Exterior Detailing Process

Written By Guest User

Not only does it feel good to drive around in a shining freshly detailed vehicle, maintaining your vehicle's exterior with routine detailing is critical to protecting your investment. Exterior detailing involves a focus on cleaning the very small details of your vehicle and then restoring it from “just clean” to a “like new” appearance. To take it a step further than just cleaning detailing is also to restore and protect by removing embedded paint contaminants with clay treatment and following up with a wax or sealant. Not only does a wax or sealant protect the underlying paint and clear coat from fading caused by the sun’s UV rays, but it also gives it hydrophobic properties to repel water, prevent excessive buildup of surface contaminants, and helps keep the paint shining.

Of course, it’s possible to save money by detailing the exterior of your vehicle yourself but please note that a proper exterior detail requires technique, experience, professional tools, and equipment such as a machine polisher to deliver superior results. However, you choose to have your vehicle's exterior detailed, please take some time to review our exterior detailing process below and feel free to contact us to schedule your appointment or regarding any questions, you may have about the exterior detailing the process:

1) Rims, Tyres, Wheel Wells

  • Apply wheel cleaning solution such as P&S Brake Buster, using a brush to agitate tire sidewalls, clean rim face, spokes, inner rims, and lug nuts with wheel brushes, and thoroughly rinse to remove the excess cleaning solution.

2) Pre-Rinse

  • Gently pressure wash the vehicle to remove all loose dirt, debris, and road grime. clean door jambs, trunk jambs, apply cleaning solutions, agitate and rinse.

3) Pre-Wash 

  • Apply pre-wash degreaser/bug remover such as 3D Orange Degreaser to remove bugs, tar, and road grime from heavily soiled areas around the bumper, wheel wells, side skirts, etc.

4) Snow Foam Bath

  • Apply snow-foam car soap around the vehicle, allowing it to dwell and work away leftover dirt and debris.

5) Exterior Details

  • Using a fine exterior detailing brush to clean hard-to-reach areas such as the grill, emblems, badges, fuel caps, etc.

6) Hand Wash

  • Starting from top to bottom using a clean microfiber mitt, wash and rinse buckets to gently agitate the vehicles' exterior to remove remaining dirt and debris. Followed with a thorough rinse for low pressured water and dry with an air blower and/or a plush towel.

7) Decontaminate 

  • Apply an iron fallout remover CarPro Ironx to paint allowing it to dwell briefly and/or clay the vehicle to remove excess embedded paint contaminants.

8) Rinse and Dry

  • To fully remove decontamination chemicals in preparation for the quick polishing stage. Followed up with another dry with an air blower and/or a plush towel.

9) Express Polish

  • Using an applicator pad or DA polisher to apply polish to the vehicle, remove the excess polish using a plush buffing towel, wipe exhaust tips and apply metal polish if applicable, buff until shine.

10) Wax or Seal

  • Apply Ceramic Detail Spray, Carnauba Wax, or Sealant to protect the freshly restored exterior paint providing hydrophobic properties that repel water and keep it looking clean from weeks to months depending on the solution.

11) Dress Exterior Trim and Tyres

  • Apply to dress to restore moisture to exterior Vinyl, Plastic, Trim, Grille, Bumper,  and Tyres.

12) Glass

  • Apply an ammonia-free glass cleaner on the exterior using a dedicated glass cleaning microfiber waffle weave towel to buff until streak-free.

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Interior Detailing Process