Routine maintenance, not firefighting

A regular schedule keeps your paint, wheels, and interior from ever reaching "problem page" territory in the first place. Here's genuinely how often each step actually needs doing.

The real schedule

Typical intervals — adjust for how much the car's actually outdoors

Task	Typical interval	Why
Wash (shampoo)	Every 1–2 weeks	Road grime and traffic film build up fast in the UK — leaving it longer lets dirt embed into the paint rather than sitting on top of it.
Wheels	Every wash, not separately	Brake dust is acidic and bonds to alloys quickly — it's the one area that genuinely gets worse the longer it's left, not just dirtier.
Spray wax / quick detailer	Every 4–6 weeks	Tops up protection between full wax applications — quick, low-effort, keeps water beading between the bigger jobs.
Full wax or sealant	Every 2–3 months	Traditional wax and synthetic sealants both wear off with washing and UV exposure — this is the step that actually protects the paint, not just makes it shiny.
Ceramic detailing spray	Every 2–3 months	A lighter-duty top-up if you're not running a full ceramic coating underneath — extends beading and gloss between deeper details.
Interior/fabric protection	Every 3–6 months	Less exposure than exterior paint, but UK damp means fabric/carpet protection is genuinely worth doing more than once a year.

Seasonal considerations

UK weather changes what actually matters each season

Autumn/Winter

Road salt and grit grip aggressively — wash more often than the summer interval above, especially the wheel arches and underbody where salt sits longest. A wax or sealant layer matters more here, not less — it's your real barrier against salt corrosion.

Spring

Tree sap and pollen season — see the tree sap page if it's already bonded. A fresh wax layer after winter's salt exposure is worth doing now, not waiting for the "every 2–3 months" clock alone.

Summer

UV is the real enemy of wax/sealant durability — direct sun genuinely shortens how long protection lasts versus a garaged car. Bird droppings (see the bird droppings page) also etch faster in summer heat — don't leave them.

Year-round

Headlights cloud gradually from UV, not a single event — check them every few months, see the headlights page once they're noticeably duller.