How To Deep Clean Your Car
Overview
Car detailing is a SUPER rewarding task and the perfect way to spend a day in your garage. So, rather than asking for ‘car detail places near me’, follow this guide to help you assemble a car detail kit that will save you money and learn car detailing techniques that will have your car gleaming like you never thought possible. But first…
What is a full detail on a car?
A full detail goes beyond just washing and drying your car. It includes products and car detailing techniques to shine and protect plastic trim, add depth, clarity and protection to your paint work, and restore that long forgotten freshness to interior upholstery. Done well, a full detail will have your ride looking and feeling factory fresh.
How long does a car detail take?
A car detail can take as little as two hours, or as long as two days! The car detailing techniques we’ll be covering here expand upon our beginners guide Super easy car wash and should take you roughly two hours. For a deeper detail, our SUPER clean your car guide builds upon what you will learn here.
Items
Here’s what you’ll need in your car detail kit:
Gloves and safety glasses – some of these products aren’t so easy on the skin and eyes
Two buckets – the two bucket car wash method reduces scratching and swirl marks
A wash mitt
Car wash
A wheel brush – great for getting between spokes
Wheel cleaner – to help lift brake dust
A drying towel or chamois – we’ll cover choosing this in the article
Tyre dressing
Bumper and trim dressing
Quick wax OR ceramic detailer – we’ll cover the pros and cons of each shortly
Glass cleaner
Upholstery cleaner
Vinyl cleaner – this is for your plastic and vinyl interior surfaces
Microfibre towels
Garden hose
A vacuum cleaner – the one from your house will do fine
How to detail a car
Before you race into step one and begin your wash, consider where you’ll wash it, and the time of day you’ll do it. The location needs to be somewhere that run-off won’t enter any drains and if the only suitable spot is in the sun – choose early morning, late afternoon or a cloudy day to commence your wash.
Steps
How to detail car wheels
Begin by soaking each wheel with the wheel cleaner product and allow that to dwell (but not dry) for three to five minutes. Then grab your wheel cleaning brush and agitate the muck on each wheel, applying a little more wheel cleaner as you go if required. Rinse that off and you’re ready for step two.
The car detailing wash method
We’ll use the two bucket method in this wash; it helps to reduce scratches and swirl marks. Add your car wash to one bucket, and fill the other with water. Then proceed to wash your car from top to bottom using back and forth strokes rather than circles. Again, this helps to reduce scratching and swirl marks.
When it’s time for more suds, first rinse your wash mitt in the clean water bucket to remove any contaminants; then dunk it in the soap and continue washing.
Drying your car, chamois vs drying towel
The chamois, and the drying towel are two amazing tools to have in your car detail kit. The drying towel is faster, and usually won't need to be wrung out. However when required; wringing out is difficult.
The chamois is slower to dry, requires regular wringing out, but it’s easier to wring out when required.
Begin drying from the top of the car and work your way down. Whatever you do…DON’T. DROP. THE DRYING TOWEL. The dirt it picks up will scratch your car. A chamois can be thoroughly rinsed if you drop it, the drying towel must go in the wash.
How to wax a car, wax vs ceramic detailer
First let’s choose your product. Wax is generally the cheaper of the two and is sometimes preferred by detailing connoisseurs who believe the finish provided is nicer than that of ceramic detailer. However it doesn’t last long, on a daily driver maybe a couple of weeks.
Ceramic detailer on the other hand will last and protect much longer, albeit at a higher purchase price.
Whichever you choose, the application process is much the same. Apply it to a microfibre cloth (or directly to paint, wet or dry as instructed on the product). And then buff it off with a separate microfibre cloth.
Work your way around your car like this, one panel at a time, and change your buffing towel if it becomes too damp.
How to detail car tyres
Detailing your car tyres is a SUPER important step not only to lift the appearance of the vehicle, but to protect the tyres as well. If you chose an aerosol tyre shine, this is best sprayed directly onto the side of the tyre. Trigger spray and gel tyre shine can be applied to a microfibre cloth or a detailing brush, and spread onto the tyre.
Whichever method you choose, be careful to avoid applying tyre shine to the tread of the tyre. This could result in some dangerous driving scenarios.
Detailing plastic car parts
Trim dressing and restorer is the perfect product to restore that deep, black shine to exterior plastics, and preserve the look of any plastic still in top notch condition. Avoid messy overspray by applying the product to a fresh microfibre cloth or detailing brush, and wipe it over those plastics.
How to clean glass, mirrors and car windscreens
The bottle of glass cleaner will do the trick here. Sprayed onto a microfibre cloth, wiped over the glass, and immediately wiped off with a dry microfibre towel is the best way to do it. Work one piece of glass at a time around the exterior of the car.
For the inside glass surfaces, just use a microfibre towel dampened with water.
Car interior detailing
The first stage of this doesn’t even require a product! Just remove any rubbish that has accumulated, or items which shouldn’t have found a home in your car – but alas here they are.
Now grab that vacuum cleaner and go to town on the carpets, seats and centre console area.
To clean the vinyl and plastic surfaces, spray your vinyl cleaner onto a fresh microfibre cloth and simply wipe over. Some areas may need a bit more of a scrub, especially where arms and hands make frequent contact. A little spray onto a clean detailing brush is perfect for the finicky areas.
For the upholstery, a can of foaming upholstery cleaner will help to lift stains which can then simply be wiped away. If the stain remains, just repeat application and removal with a cloth, perhaps with a little agitation from a scrubbing brush or inbuilt scrubber if your product has one.
Tips
Can car detailing remove scratches?
In some cases, YES! Car detailing can remove scratches. However it requires a certain set of products and car detailing techniques. If you can run a fingernail over the scratch and your fingernail doesn’t catch; there’s a chance it can be fixed. Check out our Advanced SUPER clean detailing guide for more information.
This guide has you well on the way to being a detailing MASTER! So, why not finish building your skill set and go on to check out the Advanced SUPER clean detailing guide.
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