When it comes to supercars, the McLaren F1 is something special. So when you clean one, you don’t just use regular cleaning methods. You use a method called dry ice blasting!
In this video by Hagerty, professional detailer Tim McNair taught us how to clean an F1 using dry ice blasting. He said that using this process to clean a car is more effective than the usual methods and looks really cool too!
An F-1 car is great for showing off how dry ice cleaning works. According to McNair people often drive them, which makes them different from many collector cars. When we take off the wheels and some body panels, you’ll actually see it has a lot of dirt on it and that it has the high-downforce kit with the big rear wing.
Dry ice pellets are blasted in tough to clean places like wheel wells and brake assemblies so that dirt can be removed with less water and more accuracy. This is a much better way to get tough spots clean than other methods.
Once the car has been washed, it’s time for the detailing. On an F1 vehicle, different products and methods need to be used because there are various materials on the car. When cleaning the brakes, McNair skillfully uses a cotton swab and bamboo skewer with brake cleaner and then mascara brushes together with fine steel wool for any anodized parts to keep them from getting damaged. After, he sprays on a special metal detailer so that it shines.
McNair talks about the F1 car and its cool features, like the electric fans inside the wheel wells that help keep the headlights from getting foggy.
McNair explains the steering wheel. The paddles on it are not for shifting gears, they’re just buttons to turn on the horn and high beams. This type of wheel needs a special kind of set up since it’s impossible to connect it directly to the steering column – instead, infrared beams do the job. All these details come out when you spend time cleaning a car carefully.