Five Easy Ways to Make an Old Car Look New
The average number of years people keep their cars has been rising for about ten years—today it stands at about 14 years . Besides improved reliability, with new cars costing an average of $49,740 and used cars costing over $26,000 , it’s not hard to see why. If your car still performs well and gets you where you need to go reliably, that’s all that really matters.
However, you probably don’t want your car to look old. Time takes its toll on every car, from sun damage to paint chips and scratches, and eventually even a car that is maintained to perfection will begin to show its years. If you want your car to look as good as it still performs without investing in full detailing, there are a few tricks you can try in an afternoon without spending a lot of money.
Try clay polish
The first step is, of course, to thoroughly wash the car. But once the car is clean and dry, you can use a clay bar to remove anything that a simple wash couldn’t remove. Clay bars remove all the fine sand particles , sticky bits of resin and other contaminants that make paint look dull. (For extra curb appeal, give the car another wash and then polish the car with a high-quality polish ( either by hand or with a power tool ).
Remove scratches with a power tool
A scratched finish will extend the life of any vehicle, but scratches can also allow moisture to penetrate underneath the topcoat, causing rust and other visual damage. Repairing these visible scratches is a logical next step.
For relatively shallow scratches, you can use a scratch remover like this one . Simply apply a small amount of product to the included pad, insert the pad into the drill, and run it over the scratch a few times. Once you remove the excess, the scratch should be gone (if you don’t have a drill or don’t want to use one, there are other products that rely solely on muscle strength).
Deeper scratches require a lot more work, including sanding, filling and repainting, and are best left to a specialist shop unless you’re concerned about an unsatisfactory result.
Restore plastic sheathing with a heat gun
Your car’s plastic exterior trim can begin to wear out after years of exposure to the sun and harsh weather conditions. If you don’t restore the plastic, of course.
There are two ways to do this:
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Use a heat gun. You can use a heat gun to heat the plastic and watch it darken and glow like magic . This works because the heat brings any remaining oil in the plastic to the surface. However, there are two downsides to this approach: it’s easy to overdo it and actually melt the plastic, and it will only work a few times before your plastic dries out and can no longer be repaired.
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Buy a product designed for this purpose. If you’re wary of taking a heat gun with you on a trip, there are store-bought options for car upholstery restoration. Something like Wipe New is easy to use—you just wipe it off—and can last anywhere from a few weeks to a few months. They can be reapplied repeatedly to keep your finish looking newer.
Use an electric scraper to clean the discs.
Cleaning and polishing your tires and wheels will also help keep your car looking new. A spray cleaner applied with an electric brush can bring your rims back to life with just a little lubrication. This tire coating can also bring back the shine to your tires.
Polish your headlights with toothpaste
Finally, older cars always suffer from headlights, which can become cloudy and dim over time. Of course, you can rip them out and replace them, but cleaning them is much cheaper and works surprisingly well.
You can do this DIY in a variety of ways by scrubbing your headlights with toothpaste , a mixture of vinegar and baking soda, or even sandpaper . Or you can make your life a little easier by using a special product that will bring those headlights back to life without any extra work or mess.
Doing these things regularly will not only maintain your car’s appearance, but will also protect it from further damage and help its exterior last as long as you need it to, which hopefully won’t last another 14 years.