— For our sponsor, Advance Auto Parts, as part of a paid radio sponsorship on WIZS.

It’s time to wash your ride – maybe past time – and you’ve found a few minutes in an otherwise busy day to put some soap in a bucket and get to work. But before you pull out an old t-shirt from the rag bag and squirt some dish soap in a bucket, you may want to check in with the folks at Advance Auto Parts.

Cleaning your vehicle properly is not as simple as you may think.

Michael Puckett is a district general manager for the auto parts chain, whose shelves are filled with a variety of cleaning products to fit any need, from chenille and microfiber cloths to rubbing compounds and paint touchups.

If you normally run through a car wash to get that road grime off your car or truck, you may find the selection a bit overwhelming. If your car is newer, it may have a protective clear coat on it. If you’re babying a vintage model, you can select a rubbing compound to enhance the color.

And let’s talk about tires and rims for a bit.

“We’ve got brushes to use on your tires,” Puckett said, as well as other products to put some gleam on those tires. Are those pricey rims aluminum or chrome? There’s a different product for each material, and those products aren’t all spray-on, so you’ll need to know how to apply them.

Puckett outlines a 5-step process that he and the staff at Advance Auto recommend to customers to create that perfectly clean vehicle:

• Step 1: Wash and headlight restoration
• Step 2: Surface prep and paint repair
• Step 3: Wax and polish
• Step 4: Wheels and tires
• Step 5: Glass and interior

There are products that combine wash and wax products for a 2-in-1 effect and Puckett said the ceramic clear coat products help restore faded paint colors.

If your vehicle has a scratch that you’d like to fix, Puckett said there’s a variety of touch-up products on the store shelves to choose from. Don’t see your particular color? Let the folks at Advance Auto make that paint match for you. “We can actually mix it right here at the store,” he said.

“I enjoy helping every customer and helping them get what they need to complete their projects,” Puckett said.

When you’re picking up those cleaning supplies to make your car or truck sparkle, just remember there’s one thing that Advance Auto does NOT stock – elbow grease.

The information contained in this post and audio is not advice from Advance Auto Parts or WIZS.  Safety First!  Always seek proper help.  This is presented for its informational value on and is part of a paid advertising sponsorship.

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