When starting any task, it’s often difficult to know where to start, no matter the details. Detailing can be a maze – there are many different levels of detailing, with many different techniques and theories, but we are here to discuss some of the basics. Concepts that probably sound too basic, but are important if you want that perfect car detailing.
We want to share 12 steps below, that if followed as we recommend, will help anyone to get a precision auto detailing and a very professional result, no matter if you are a beginner or your level of experience.
Always, always, always start with the wheels. We never get tired of mentioning this. The wheels are, among all the elements of a vehicle, the dirtiest area, so it requires intense soaking and the use of specific detailing products for wheels and rims. You’ll need brushes to get hard-to-reach areas, along with a wash mitt and bucket to separate contaminated water each time you use the mitt.
It is recommended to carry out a pre-wash with degreaser. Above all, by specifically using a product formulated to remove bugs and stubborn dirt. We recommend specific PH9 shampoo as it contains citrus cleansing properties to safely, yet effectively, diminish road grime and pollution. In addition, this will be decisive to achieve a smooth bodywork to later apply the layers of wax or sealant that we want to apply, something that will benefit us in the next washes. You will have to spray the product in all those critical areas, especially in the front part of the vehicle, where most of the bugs and mosquitoes are concentrated on the front bumper.
Snow foams help break down stubborn dirt, as well as remove loose particles from the vehicle, before we do the physical contact wash. Removing as much dirt as possible before contact will help reduce the chance of inflicting swirl marks on the paint finish. Remember, that micro-scratches or swirls are usually caused by the washing process.
Have you ever thought how important car detailing shampoo is? It’s important to use a good quality shampoo, which further reduces the chance of marring, scratching, or swirling. The deep part of the cube allows the particles to be absorbed by the glove instead of being pressed and dragged across the surface. Fill one bucket with a manufacturer recommended dose of shampoo mixed with water, and the other bucket with plain water.
If we have a hydro-cleaning machine, we will always pour the water from top to bottom in sections. Once we have the car soaked, we must start cleaning by hand. Before putting the glove in the bucket with shampoo, we should ALWAYS put it in the bucket of water to decontaminate the glove. This method guarantees that the bucket is not contaminated with the shampoo and in this way, we avoid cleaning the car with contaminated water.
First of all, before doing anything else, the ideal would be to apply a ferrous decontaminant product: There are a lot of products on the market that are responsible for dissolving any ferrous contamination, such as industrial dust and railway particles that easily adhere to the paint. We will have to wait a few minutes for the product to do its job. Normally, an iron decontaminant tends to cause a pink effect on the bodywork. In addition, the smell it gives off is very characteristic.
Next, we will need to use a CLAY-BAR or solvent tar remover to soften any tar or hard particles that may be adhering to the paint. An important step here is to rewash the vehicle, or at least the areas treated with the iron decontaminant, as the solvents will melt the clay bars and really interfere with the next step. Using the clay bar, rub the block over the paint with a slip or lubricant (we can just use water), effectively removing any remaining contamination such as tree sap or leftover bird and mosquito droppings. With this process, and if you have followed the previous steps correctly, the clay bar should not rise and it should slide smoothly over the bodywork. After working on the entire body of the car, we will go on to rinse and wash again with water.
This step is perhaps one in which most of us make big mistakes. Who has not complained that there are always drip marks? We always recommend drying with a large microfiber to facilitate the work. We will always start at the top and end at the bottom. It is important that the drying is progressive, natural and without aggressiveness. The correct way to dry a vehicle, reducing possible swirls and scratches, will be by sliding said towel over the surface, as if we were even gently “massaging” our vehicle.
It can be polished with a machine or by hand. Hand polishing will give you a nice finish, but it won’t be as good as machine polishing. There are numerous applicators and polishes on the market, but we advise you not to put any polisher on your car without experience. If we want to venture to polish with a machine, we recommend doing it on a separate panel to practice (like a separate car hood). In a junkyard you can get one cheap and in good condition. It will always be a better option than making a huge and sparse mess on the paint of our car. Polishing a car is a technique that is based on experience and trial and error.
Once the polishing process is done, before sealing or protecting our bodywork, we will use a Glaze or paint cleaner. Normally it is a step that many, even professionals, skip in the protection process. These types of cleaners contain polymers that fill in the micro scratches that we may have caused and leave the bodywork ready for its final sealing: Wax the car.
Each of these steps is just as important as each other, but waxing or sealing a car is right up there on the must-do list. Let’s say that the application of a wax or sealant will help us to protect all the work that we have done previously. The form of application will always be done in a circular way, with the help of a special pad to apply waxes or we can do it with our hands. There are a large number of types of wax or sealants on the market.
After cleaning the tires and their moldings, we must condition them for a brighter finish. There are numerous products that allow you to restore the originality of plastic to such an extent that they seem recently restored. We must apply this product both to the tire and to the exterior plastics, if the car has them.
The crystals or glasses of the car are usually something that people forget. Whether it’s minor scratches or just fingerprints (Titanic style), a good quality glass cleaner will always be a must in any detailer’s kit.
The final touch-up and cleaning of the vehicle will be the most decisive step that will show the difference between a good car wash and a car detailing. A good detailer will rid the surfaces of any possible residue from waxing or sealing, as well as any fingerprints that may have been left around your vehicle, and will generally fix any missing parts even in those non-visible areas. This step may take even more than 1 hour of work.
The best product or tool that we can use in this last step will be ourselves, with our perseverance and our desire to perfect and touch up those areas that we believe are not perfect. And we all want to have a SHOW CAR result.
