How to detail a Car, Once and for all!

[///Mummmmm]

Everyone seems to have questions about how to clean their car properly, and quite frankly there are several correct ways. But having been a detailer for over a year I’ve finally acquired enough information to do a decent write up on how it should be done.

You should always begin by cleaning you’re front windshield, side glass, and rear glass (with water and soap) to remove any dirt or bugs that may have built up. I do it in this order so I can then apply Rain-X Original Glass Treatment and Cleaner (Rain-X) I do it before I wash the car because if you don’t, if you’ve ever used Rain-X before you’ll notice that it leaves streaks if you use it last. By doing it in this order you remove the streaks when you wash the car.

The next step is to wet the car thoroughly; I’ve seen so many people have terrible scratches because the just start washing their car without wetting if down first. Now you will spray some sort of tire cleaner on your tires, I recommend http://meguiars.dailyshopper.com/ind...iqueid=1049619 which is a decent wheel cleaner that breaks down break dust and allows easy cleaning. (It’s not quite what the pro’s use, but it’s close enough.) A hint about rim/tire cleaning, just do one at a time. If some tire cleaner solutions sit on nice rims for more than 5-10 minutes they begin to eat the clear coat.

You will then mix a bucket of soap https://www.duragloss.com/new/index2.html (NO. 901/903 CAR WASH) It suds very well, and has several active ingredients that help break up dirt. I always mix my soap a little richer than what the directions call for. A bottle out the red stuff (on the link) usually lasts about 1 year) I also recommend that you mix your soap with WARM water. It helps the soap sud more. I begin washing at the top of the car, leaving any areas below the door moldings for last, as this area seems to collect the most dirt. Last I will clean the rocker panels, and hit behind the tires (fender wells) as best I can. You may also want to go ahead and hit the engine bay while you’re at it. (I often repeat the entire process to make sure I get every spot clean)

The next step would be to dry the car. Now, I worked at Porsche for over a year, every day we washed and dried $120,000 996-twin turbo’s with the California water blade. They DO NOT scratch cars. I know we have washed over 10,000 cars and never had a scratch come from a water blade. However you want to make sure that the lip of the blade is free of any dirt before you begin the drying process. The blade doesn’t go into every single nook and cranny, so I often use a shammy or an absorber to remove the excess water.

Now that the car is dry. If you wish to apply wax, let the car sit in a cool area for about an hour before application. It just helps the wax go on easier. Now I prefer to use Meguiars Cleaner/Wax first, going over anything on the car above the moldings. I then allow this to dry for about 20 minutes, before I use a 3M Yellow Detailing cloth to remove the wax. Then I apply another coat of Meguiars Carnauba wax to protect the surface, let it sit for 20 minutes, and remove the 2nd coat.

I then begin on the interior of the car. It’s always best to use a air compressor in conjunction with a good strong vacuum. Begin by removing all the floor carpet. Then blow out the seats with the air compressor, you will then want to vacuum the floors, and if there are stains present, make a mixture of water and wheel cleaner, and spray them on the stained area. ½ water ½ wheel cleaner works great to remove stains. Next I would the lexol cleaning process on my seats and dash, it’s pretty simple, just go out and buy the lexol leather cleaner, and then apply the cream. You may now want to clean the interior windows with Windex (or soap and water if you have tint.) and you should be set to go. If you have any other questions ask, and I will attempt to answer.

Oh yeah, if you want a nice (clean smell) try Freebreez (sp) Deep Clean. It works great!!!

[Greg]

Honestly dude, I would not let you touch my car after this write up. Most of the stuff you said is ok, not a big fan of Megs. wheel cleaner- too harsh and acidic. Second- wheel cleaner on the carpets- not on my car and I hope not on any that you detail. Windex is a terrible automotive glass cleaner, I would think anyone that has been in the detailing business for over a year now would have realized that Windex is not made for automotive glass. Also, you make no mention of the type of towels you are using, but I am going to make a lofty assumption that you use high quality microfiber towels. Now you've just TOTALLY NEGLECTED any type of paint prep work at all. Maybe clay the car? Here's a novelty- machine polish to remove swirls, scratches, imperfections. A professional detailer is someone who can provide a service that your typical person can't do themselves. I.E. machine polishing, steam cleaning, and so on. BASICALLY YOU'VE TAKEN A PAGE TO EXPLAIN HOW TO WASH AND WAX A CAR. That is fine, but I sure hope people don't actually pay you to perform this DIFFICULT service.

Like I said before, I would not let you touch my car because frankly you just exhibited that you know nothing about detailing and I hope no one takes any of this advice to heart because this is not how to properly detail a car.

[///M3Ryder NY]

I kinda have to concur with Greg here. Maybe you just did a real quick and dirty write-up (no pun intended), but your steps are certainly missing some critical items and points. The most glaring to me was also the lack of mention of towels, ie. microfibers. To say that a CWB NEVER scratches a car's surface is pure bull$hit. One tiny spec of dirt remaining on the car, and you will put a scratch with that thing. Drying is much more effectively and safely done with a steady stream of water, allowing it to sheet off, then the remaining water blotted with a nice soft MF waffle weave.

You talk primarily about washing techniques, but nowhere in there do you make mention of using two buckets, one for soap, and one for rinsing. Furthermore, I'm assuming you use the same wash mitt on the lower panels of your car, as for the uppers, since you didn't say otherwise.... Big nono. i use one mitt for the hood, roof, trunk and sides. Another mitt for bumpers and below the moldings.....and an entirely different mitt and bucket for rims.

I think your intent was good, but you missed some critical pointers....

[andyman]

i use one mitt for the hood, roof, trunk and sides. Another mitt for bumpers and below the moldings.....and an entirely different mitt and bucket for rims.

no doubt fo shizzle.an air compressor set at low psi is awsome as well to help dry the car in the nooks and crannies(like water dripping from moldings,lights,sideview mirrors,etc...)before waxing.actually,it just blows the water out of there,then i have to dry it with an absorber.works good tho.