How To Detail A Car – A Brief Guide

Cleaning the car is quite bothersome for many people, especially if you don’t know how to detail a car. Cleaning cars from top to bottom can be a hectic and highly time-consuming task that feels quite unpleasant. Though cleaning your automobile is challenging, it is the most important thing to do correctly.

Therefore to help you, we have put together a quick guide on how to detail a car, at-home car detailing, and answer the question: how much is car detailing? Keep reading to learn more on how to detail your vehicle quickly at home.

Before we go over how to detail a car, let’s first understand what it is.

Understanding Car Detailing

Car detailing refers to cleaning and restoring your automobile, transforming your vehicle into a new one. Car detailing can be misunderstood as car washing which is less detailed and is quite labor intensive.

At a car wash station, your car passes through an automated process to clean the exterior of your vehicle. However, car detailing is more accurate and involves cleaning your vehicle’s interior and exterior.

Car Detailing 101: At Home Car Detailing

For at-home car detailing, you will generally require car detailing supplies, car-specific tools, and some stuff from your home. You need a few hours to complete the process if you are detailing your car for the first time.

Tools You Need For At Home Car Detailing

Let’s go over the tools you will require for this job.

• 2 Wash buckets
• Various Detailing Brushes
• Glass cleaner
• Leather cleaner
• Safety Gloves
• Soap
• Wash mitt
• Clay bar:
• Wheel cleaner
• Car wax
• Foam pad applicator
• Microfiber towels
• Fabric or carpet cleaner
• Vacuum

Now that you know the tools required, let’s go over how to detail a car at home.

How To Detail A Car: Steps To At Home Car Detailing

Once you assemble the tools, you can start the detailing process. Here you can begin with the exterior detailing first. However, there are a few key aspects you must consider.

First, always ensure your vehicle is not heated or parked in direct scorching sunlight. It is essential because it will dry out most of your cleaning products which do not have positive results.

How To Detail A Car: Steps To Detailing The Exterior

Rinse The Car

The first step is to rinse your car with water. Doing this step will wash away all the dirt from the surface of your vehicle and eliminate the chances of getting the paint scratched.

Wash The Wheels

Wash the wheels of your car carefully. For this, you can use any wheel cleaner to remove the dust. However, if the wheels are covered with brake dust, you may require a wheel brush to scrub them off. Once done with all the wheels, rinse them with clean water.

Wash The Car

Now, take two buckets and fill one with water and one with soapy water to wash your car. Begin with cleaning the top of your vehicle, focusing on cleaning one part at a time. Next, with the help of a soapy wash mitt, clean your car and rinse it off once done.

Rinse The Car

Once you complete cleaning a particular section with soap, rinse it off with clean water immediately. Delaying this step will make the soapy products dry out on the car, which will be pretty hard to wash off later.

Dry The Car

Using a microfibre cloth or towel, dry out your car completely.

Use Your Clay Bar

Once your car is dry, take a clay bar to eliminate any contaminants left on the paint. Begin by spraying over lubricant or solution for exterior detailing and carefully rub the clay bar on the targeted part of the car. Once completed, dry it with the microfibre towel.

Wax The Car

Now apply wax to finish off the exterior detailing. On the foam applicator, apply wax and rub it off on the paint in small portions. After finishing the waxing process, use a microfiber towel to eliminate leftover wax.

How To Detail A Car: Steps To Detailing The Interior

Clean Interior Parts

Begin by cleaning all the panels and interior parts of your car. Take a microfibre towel and a cleaning spray to clean.

Pay great attention to the armrests, door handles, and steering wheel. Use brushes to remove any dirt or debris from small spaces within your car.

Clean The Seats

Now clean the seats of your car. If your seats have cloth, clean them with automotive fabric cleaner. On the other hand, if seats are of leather, clean them with a leather cleaner.

Vacuum The Carpet

Now vacuum the carpets of the car to remove dust or other particles.

Clean The Floor Mats

If you have carpet floor mats, scrub them separately and vacuum them to clean them. Otherwise, if you own rubber mats, wash them with soapy water.

Clean The Glass

Using a glass cleaner, clean your vehicle’s inside windows, including the rear glass and windshield.

Apply A Deodorizer

Lastly, apply car deodorizer to give a car a friendly, pleasant, and fresh feel.

Now that we’ve gone over how to detail a car, let’s answer the question on everyone’s minds “how much is car detailing?”.

How Much Is Car Detailing?

You may want to get detailing done professionally, so how much would it cost you?

Generally, car detailing costs depend on the type of service you choose. However, roughly it costs around $180 to $400. Additionally, the interior is relatively inexpensive compared to complete detailing. However, this cost may vary based on the condition and size of your car.

Car detailing is a must, especially if you haven’t serviced your vehicle in a long time. Though doing this job yourself might be tiresome, the feeling of a fresh and clean car gives great satisfaction, especially when you have done it yourself. Now that you know how to detail a car, clean it once in a while to maintain your vehicle.