If you haven’t heard about car detailing before, you probably might think that car detailing and washing are just about the same thing. However, that is far from reality.
While a car wash is just a typical job at cleaning your car, car detailing has a pretty literal name and goes above and beyond to make your wheels look brand new again. Furthermore, you might be more convinced when you know that car detailing is done by hand instead of machines. Using hands to clean your car means that a car detailing service is much more thorough as compared to a car wash.
But, while the information above may convince you to get a car detailing job for your vehicle, it always helps to know what to expect beforehand. In this guide, we will mention all things a car detailing service can offer you.
So, let’s get going!
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Interior Car Detailing:
Let’s break the car detailing process into two components; Interior car detailing and Exterior car detailing. Interior car detailing involves cleaning your car thoroughly from inside. Washing your vehicle from inside includes all parts, including leather, plastics, and even natural fibers.
Vacuuming
Car detailing begins with cleaning the interior of the car. You will notice that when you Google for “full-service car detailing near me,” most of them will emphasize upon vacuuming the interior of your car before doing anything else.
This service provides vacuuming seats, headliners, trunk, shelf, and rear cargo area as well. However, if you want to make the most of vacuuming, you should ask your service provider to clean your mats separately than with vacuuming.
As for the areas which are difficult to access, implore the car detailing service to use air compressor.
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Brushing and Steam Cleaning:
Keeping your car’s interior cleaned can help keep your vehicle in its optimal condition, which goes a long way in saving money. Brushing and steam cleaning are mainly done to clean the carpets and mats of your car.
In the process of brushing and steam cleaning, the service providers thoroughly scrub on the mats, which helps wash out any resistant stains or blemishes that may occur over time.
The most effective car detailing services will use a steam cleaner to guarantee the best results. Nevertheless, you should leave your car’s carpets to dry entirely. Otherwise, you’d face mildew.
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Glass Cleaning:
Glass cleaning is crucial for optimal driving conditions, especially in winters or in a foggy season. A clean mirror can help in improving your driving experience significantly.
Additionally, glass cleaning also helps see the road clearly, which allows the driver to keep their undivided attention towards the road. Since a driver is focused on the street, the chances of accidents are cut down significantly.
The glass cleaning service focuses on cleaning the windows of your car. Glass cleaning involves cleaning all the mirrors, including windows, front and rearview mirrors. Through this service, your mirrors will have a new look and add to a good driving experience.
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Leather Trimming:
For the next step, the services focus on cleaning all the leather components of your vehicle. The services might use tools such as a leather cleaner, a leather soap, and a saddle soap to give your leather components a new look.
However, when accessing the soapy areas, the best practice is to use a damp cloth. Using a wet cloth is significantly helpful in cleaning any excess soap. However, if you have dry leather in your car, the car detailing service will use a conditioner customized especially for leather.
Using the leather conditioner will make the overall process smoother and your car cleaner.
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Re-Vacuuming and Wiping:
Perhaps vacuuming is the most significant aspect of ensuring that your car remains clean, which is why the best car dealers treat it as a “one and done” thing. Re-vacuuming comes after the process of vacuuming and is just as important as it was the first time around.
Re-vacuuming your car is one way of being vigilant against dust to ensure no residue is left. In most cases, there is dirt left in the interior cabin, dashboards, and even windows. Re-vacuuming the car can help in cleaning the car thoroughly. And as for the windows, wiping them once again using a clean cloth and a detergent will do the trick.
Once re-vacuuming is done, the process of making your car look factory new is completed!
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Perfuming:
Perfuming the car is essential in leaving your vehicle with a good scent. Generally, the auto detailing service providers will use a deodorant in the car to make your vehicle feel fresh.
Perfuming the car is often overlooked. However, a study proves that using scents in your car, such as peppermint, can increase the driver’s alertness. When you are alert while driving the vehicle, your chances of meeting an accident are considerably less, making perfuming just as important.
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Exterior Car Detailing:
As the name defines, exterior car detailing means cleaning the outsides of your vehicle. Exterior car dealing involves services such as washing and drying, restoring, and surpassing the original condition of other parts, i.e., tires.
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Washing and Drying:
As we already established at the start, car detailing is different than a car wash as car detailing uses hands to clean the car.
In-car detailing, the first step towards cleaning the outside area of your car revolves around covering the car with a specialized and potent spray. A thorough hand washing later follows the spray to clean the rims, door jambs, exterior glass, and every other exterior component of the body.
Car detailing establishes the base to make your vehicle looking like new again.
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Claying:
For the next step, the car detailing service uses a clay bar. Claying is an essential step as it ensures the removal of any impurities, traces of overspray, or any other residue which is not possible to remove using regular detergents.
Overspray can ruin the look of your car, which makes it very important to get rid of any unwanted residues.
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Polishing:
After you drive your car around for a while, you will notice that it has started to lose its finish or the original shine. A vehicle detailing expert is aware of this aspect, and hence, they do polishing on your car.
Polishing is a process in car detailing which helps in retaining the original finish of your vehicle. Polishing your car is very important if you want to make your car look good.
However, if it has been a while, your car no longer has the new aspect within it, polishing would still work for you.
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Sealing:
As for the final step in car detailing, the experts prefer doing sealing on the vehicle. The process of sealing helps in giving a glossy shine to the vehicle.
The service providers apply a sealant on the car. But, there are some cases in which the adhesive does not work on the vehicle. If your vehicle has been in a rough condition for a while, a sealant might not work for you. However, for such cases, wax gets the job done.
Final Words
Here go all the things that you can expect a car detailing service to offer you. While the points mentioned above are the most important ones, a car detailing service should also focus on evaluating the types of paint and any current or previous damages on your vehicle, such as peeling, cracking, or repainting.
But we are sure that once you get your car appropriately detailed, your vehicle will feel reinvented. You will also fall in love with the fantastic outlook of your vehicle once again! Furthermore, if you’re also planning on selling your car, getting car detailing services will help you fetch a better deal.
