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My daughter, Eleanor, headed back to college last week, for her second year. Last year she was a nervous freshman, but this year she is a self assured sophomore! In fact she is a resident assistant in a dorm this year, so she has all kinds of responsibilities, and she had to go back to college a week before everyone else for training. Now she would have loved to show up on campus in a fancy new car, to impress the rest of the staff and her friends, and show how sophisticated she is. But the reality is she driving a 2003 Oldsmobile Intrigue that she inherited from my Dad, and it shows its age!
My Dad loved this car, and he took meticulous care of it. It was clean and polished, and never driven in the winter. After he passed away my Mom gave the car to my kids, and well, they have been a little bit neglectful. So to help Eleanor make a good a first impression on campus we set out to clean it and make the old car look like new. Here are seven easy steps for making an old car college ready!
Step 1 – Get Rid of the Garbage and Vacuum
My girls did quite a bit of commuting with car this summer, and seemed to do quite a bit of eating in it too! There were receipts, straw wrappers and crumbs all over the car, along with random debris like highlighters and flip flops. So the first step was to pick up the garbage, and then get out the shop vac and vacuum thoroughly.
Step 2 – Clean the Interior Trim
There were years of dust and grime inside the car! The door handles were especially dirty, but dust was everywhere. So we took a cloth wiped the inside down, and then used a little dish detergent on the really dirty areas. After we had everything cleaned off we used some Armor All® Outlast Trim & Plastic Restorer to shine up the plastic and give it a protective coating. Now it looks like new!
Step 3 – Clean the Windows
The amount dirt that accumulates on the inside windows is surprising. The back windows were especially bad, with lots of smears from dog noses pressing up against them. Of course smeared windows don’t just look bad, they are a safety hazard too, so it is important to clean them often.
Step 4 – Wash the Car
My daughter insisted on getting out the pressure washer for washing the car, and it did make it faster. We soaped it up, scrubbed it down, rinsed it off and let it dry in the sunshine. It is amazing how much mud and dirt a car picks up just from everyday use.
Step 5 – Glaze the Tires
Bright and glossy tires are the finishing touch on a car makeover. We used Armor All® Outlast Tire Glaze to take the tires from dull to shiny, and it really makes the car look sharp. The glaze is easy to use, and sprays on in just a few seconds. Check out my before and after pictures:
Step 6 – Accessorize
Once the car is clean and shiny you have to accessorize it to show your personality. Maybe you want to hang fuzzy dice from the mirror, or add a bumper sticker for your favorite band. Eleanor, for example, has a window decal proudly displaying her Alma Mater, so everyone at college knows what high school she graduated from.
Step 7 – Check Safety Equipment
Before your child heads off to college make sure the car is ready to go! We checked the oil, checked the tire tread, and made sure there was a car emergency kit in the trunk.
After all this work and effort the Oldsmobile looks like – well it still looks like a 2003 car. But a clean and polished 2003 car, which does make a great first impression. It says you don’t have to have the latest and greatest to appreciate and care for what you have.
So this back-to-school season don’t neglect your car! Since my daughter was cleaning the Oldsmobile I had her clean my car too – and I love how it looks now. These simple steps and Outlast products from Armor All can keep your car looking new too, so you can make a great first impression, on campus or at work. Â We found the products in the car care section of our local Walmart.
Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win some Walmart Gift Cards, perfect for getting supplies to take care of your car.
Armor All Outlast #1stImpressionsCount SweepstakesArmor All Outlast #1stImpressionsCount Sweepstakes
Do you need to make your old car look like new? Check out all the Armor All products, like the Trim Plastic Restorer and Tire Glaze.  Share your favorite car memories with me below!
Yes, your Dad loved his Intrigue, but he would be pleased to know that his granddaughters are making use of it. Love the Hogwarts alumni sticker
I’ll have to send this to my husband. He loves to wash the car, and he’s all about black, shiny tires.
Back to school time is so exciting!! I can imagine how nice it would be to start college off with a clean car like this, she did a great job on it!
That looks like a great tire cleaner. One of the best parts of a clean car is slick looking tires.
I love Armor All Products, they work great and keep your car looking clean longer than other auto care products!
I love using Armor All products to keep my car looking beautiful! The tire cleaner is my favorite! #client
These are great tips! My husband is a huge fan of Armor All.
Thanks for the great tips Anne and thanks to your daughter too! Armor All products really works great to keep your car nice and clean. 🙂
Thanks for your post and your daughter’s effort. I will share it to my little girl and we are going to clean my car together.
These are great tips! Shiny tires really make the car look new again!
Wow. Hoping to convince me wife to keep the old car by making it look like new with these car cleaning tips
Ya, it is a very inexpensive process to make an old car look new. Though the blog has delivered with some still I want to some some common steps to maintain the look of an old car in the following.
1)Make a habit to clean and organize the car on a regular basis.
2)I think floor mats are such things to get in a car easily. So, change the old floor mats and replace it with a new one.
3)Replace seat covers and windshield wiper blades.
4)Clean all the windows and repair all the dents and scratches. Etc.
So, on a final note I can say that it is very important to take some kind of care for the look of car which will keep it aesthetically pleasing. Thank you.
I will apply these steps for my 8 years old car. Your step by step guideline makes it very easier for me. Thanks for sharing your car care tips.
One easiest way to improve your car look is to keep the wheels and tires clean. Same as car body, the most important thing is using the right wheel and tire cleaner. It should be Non-Acid-Based tire cleaners. Acid-based cleaners can cause bare alloy wheels to oxidize and pit, and they can damage wheels painted with color or clear coatings. Thanks for the awesome tips which can make old car shine like new after 45 mins.
Simple but really useful tips to make our used car shining like new. One more thing I usually do with my vehicle is Wax for Protection.
It will be the last step of a home car wash. Waxing will protect the high gloss finish from UV rays so that it does not fade away. Although a bit expensive, use the polymer wax instead of carnauba to get the best result.
Excellent advice! Going to try this with my car as well
Now, this is something every car owner should check out!
Take note that some auto parts are unique to certain engine and transmission combinations. As such, it’s best to be extra careful to avoid wasting your money.
Along with making your car paint shiny, automotive wax will also create a protective seal against the elements. In order to make sure that your car’s paint is cleaned properly, you will want to schedule this service at a professional car detailing center.
A good shop will remove as many of these things as possible so there is no possibility of a perceivable line between the painted parts and the unpainted parts.