Getting Rid of Sand and Salt Without Ruining Your Paint (Mar 2026)

Before you get any water near the car, use an air compressor or a leaf blower. Blow out the window seals, the fuel cap, and the wiper cowl. Once sand gets wet, it turns into a heavy sludge that's twice as hard to move.

Chuck your floor mats out on the driveway. Give them a solid thrashing with a broom handle to loosen the deep grit before you even think about vacuuming.

Make sure the panels are cool to the touch. If you're working in 35-degree heat, find some shade. Drying soap and salt on hot paint is a recipe for a bad arvo.

Start from the top and work down. Use a wide fan spray on your pressure washer. Don't go too close to the paint, you want to wash the sand away, not blast it into the clear coat. Spend a good 10 minutes just rinsing.

This is the most important part. Use your underbody broom or a bent wand to get into the chassis rails. A customer once brought in a Ranger that looked clean, but when I poked a hose into the frame, about 5kg of wet sand poured out. Keep going until the water runs clear.

If you've been on the beach, standard soap won't always kill the salt. Mix up your salt neutralizer and spray it over everything, paint, glass, and especially the undercarriage. Let it dwell for 5 minutes (don't let it dry!).

Cover the whole car in a thick layer of snow foam. This foam encapsulates the remaining sand particles. Leave it for about 5-8 minutes. You'll see the white foam turning brown as it pulls the dirt off.

While the foam is on, use a soft brush to gently agitate the sand trapped in the window rubbers, around the door handles, and the grille. Be gentle, no pressure needed.

Blast all that foam away. Again, work from the top down. Pay plenty of attention to the wheel arches and the inside of the rim barrels. Sand loves to hide behind the spokes and mess with your wheel balance.

Now that the grit is gone, you can actually touch the car. Use one bucket for soapy water and one for rinsing your mitt. This ensures any stray sand grains don't get rubbed back onto the paint.

Vacuum the carpet using a 'scrubbing' motion with a stiff brush. This vibrates the sand to the surface. For the really stubborn stuff, I use a massage gun against the carpet while vacuuming, sounds weird, but it works wonders.

Open every door and the boot. Wipe down the jams with a damp microfibre. Sand always finds its way into the hinges, and it'll eat the grease right out of them if you leave it.

Salt leaves a film on glass that standard cleaners struggle with. I reckon a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water is the best way to cut through that coastal haze before doing a final wipe with a proper glass cleaner.