How To Wash Your Powersports Vehicle

Now that we’re through the summer, you may be considering putting your powersports vehicle away for the winter. Before you do, though, it’s important to give it a good wash. Your vehicle gets pretty dirty while you’re mudding and coasting through dusty trails and all that mud and grime can significantly impact its functioning if left unaddressed. Also, you won’t be able to tell what maintenance needs to be done if you don’t clean your powersports vehicle off.

1. Gather Supplies

Park your powersports vehicle on flat ground with good drainage. Make sure you’re not parking it on your lawn as the run-off of soap and foreign plant matter could damage your grass. You may also wish to park it out of direct sunlight to avoid water spots forming as you clean. Plug up your exhaust pipe with a rag to prevent water from getting into it.

Gather up your supplies before you start to save time. You will need a source of fresh water, buckets, a good car-wash soap, a degreaser, a plastic mud scraper, hard-bristle brushes, sponges, soft brushes, and plastic polish. An air compressor can be useful for drying the vehicle off but isn’t necessary. 

2. Soak & Scrape Mud

Now you’ll want to use your hose to give your powersports vehicle a thorough soaking. Let the model sit for a bit and hose it off again. Use a plastic mud scraper if your vehicle has a lot of large mud chunks to get them off more efficiently. A pressure washer can also speed up the rinsing process if you have one.

3. Apply Soap & Scrub

Mix your car wash soap with some water in a bucket and apply it to your powersports vehicle with a sponge. Clean from top to bottom and try to rinse as you go. You’ll probably need to change out your sponge and refresh your bucket with clean water a few times to really get all the dirt off. Use your hard-bristle brush to get into every nook and cranny. If your powersports vehicle has a great deal of grease or oil on it, then apply a degreaser and let it set for 15 minutes before scrubbing or rinsing it off.

5. Apply Polish

Use a chamois cloth to apply your plastic polish to the exterior of your powersports vehicle. Make sure you don’t get it on the seat as this can make things slippery. If you like, you can also apply a tire shine to your wheels to get them gleaming. Now you can step back and admire your handiwork before you address any maintenance issues or get your vehicle ready for storage.

Need help to care for your powersports vehicle’s more difficult maintenance tasks? Then be sure to swing by Specialty Recreation & Marine to have our expert service team do the job for you! We are conveniently located just nearby in Coeur d'Alene, ID, and proudly serve the nearby city of Spokane, WA as well.