Detailing a car is different from just cleaning it; detailing is the process of making a car look like you just bought it. Detailing means leaning your car’s interior and exterior through a process that usually requires a fair amount of time.
Two methods of getting your car detailed exist: You can have a professional do it or you can do it yourself. Professionals generally do a good job but it’s cheaper to do it yourself. If you are looking to keep your car in tip-top shape, detailing is important in either case. However, here’s a guide to detailing a car yourself! We hope you enjoy it!
Before you get started, vacuum all the floor mats, and upholstery. Use a narrow vacuum nozzle to get into all the seating cushion cracks and between your seats. On a five-passenger car, we estimate it will take about fifteen minutes to get the vacuuming job done.
Now for the official detailing process:
Step One – If there are stains or ground in dirt on your seating or carpets, apply a foam cleanser and rub it into the needed areas. After soaking for a few minutes, use a dry cloth to blot the moisture up and allow for drying.
Step Two – Apply a good conditioning to any leather seats. Take your time and work the conditioner into all seat stitching and cracks that are in your car.
Step Three- Wipe hard interior surfaces with an all-purpose cleaner and then use an interior dressing, such as Armor All, to give the surfaces a good shine. This step makes your dash and instrument panel look really good.
Step Four – Clean your windows and mirrors with a spray on cleaner that you know will work well. A professional detailer’s method is to use single-edge razor blades and 4-ought steel wool for cleaning off stubborn gunk from the glass.
Step Five – Clean wheel rims with a wheel brush and wheel cleaner or degreasing product. Allow the wheel cleaning product to penetrate wheel rims for 30 seconds to 1 minute before you brush the wheels. After you clean, you can apply a metal polish or special wheel surface enhancer to give your wheels a polished look.
Step Six – Wash your tires with whitewall tire cleaner, then apply tire dressing to get a nice glossy look.
Step Seven – Spray degreaser on the engine and related parts and allow for sitting for 15-20 minutes. Then wash off using a garden hose, or what may be better: a pressure washer.
Step Eight – Wash your car’s outside with a car washing soap , not a soap that you wash dishes with! Dishwashing soaps can be too harsh for today’s car paint jobs so they should be avoided. Also, use a deep-pile terrycloth towel which will trap contaminants so they will not grind into your car’s paint surface.
Step Nine – Apply a polish or wax using an orbital buffer. Go by the instructions on your polish or wax container.
Conclusions
Do your detailing in the shade or on a cool day. When the hot sun shines on a car, such as the exterior paint or interior dash, are too hot, the fluids you use for cleaning will quickly dry out which makes the detailing process harder.
Article Courtesy of: Hoffman Chrysler Jeep Dodge
