Beginner’s Guide to Car Detailing

Knowing how long it takes to detail a car is only a single part of a through car detailing process. There are many reasons to have your car detailed by pros, and many aspects of a professional car detailing effort. For example, there are differences between a car detail and a car wash, one of them being an in-depth approach to cleaning the interior of your baby.

So, if you’ve never booked a car detail in San Diego, you should know the basics of it. You need to be familiar with how car detailers clean your car from top to bottom, as well as how long a standard car detail can take. Let’s see about these car detailing essentials.

How do you detail a car exterior from start to finish?

Even if you’re planning on booking a premium car detailing service to pamper your ride, it’s still good to know just what steps go into a thorough car detail. Here are the X essential steps of comprehensive car detailing.

1. Wheels

It’s best to begin with the wheels. The wheels tend to be the dirtiest area of your ride, so it’s wise to spend some time pre-soaking them with a high-quality wheel cleaner before proceeding to clean them in detail with specialized brushes.

2. Pre-cleaner

Reputable car detailers never skip the pre-cleaning procedure. You should use a pre-cleaner that is specialized for removing stubborn grime and bugs. Spray the pre-cleaner over the lower areas of your car first, as they tend to be dirtier than the upper areas, and leave it to rest for a bit.

3. Snow foam

When the pre-cleaning stage is over, it’s best to transition to using snow foam. It will help break down the most stubborn of dirt, and also remove loose particles. It is essential to remove dirt as much as possible before proceeding with the contact washing, as it reduces the possibility for swirl marks.

4. Two-bucket contact wash

The most important thing about contact wash is using premium-quality shampoo that further reduces the possibility of swirls, scratches, and marring. Fill a bucket with plain water, and the other one with shampoo solution. Apply the shampoo to your car, then wash the mitt before repeating the process. This process ensures that your washing solution doesn’t get contaminated.

5. Decontamination

First, spray some iron dissolver that will help you get rid of rail dust and industrial fall out. Next, soften any existing tar by applying a tar remover. Always rewash the areas you’ve applied tar remover to. Finally, use a clay bar to remove any remaining tree sap or other dirt. 

6. Drying

Take a cloth, and work your way from the top of your car to the bottom of it. The easiest way to ensure your car remains streak-free during the drying process is to tackle it panel by panel. Remember that you need to dry your car quickly in order to eliminate streaks and water spots.

7. Polishing

Polishing can either be done with a machine polisher, or by hand. Machine polish is superior, but it requires a specialized tool to do it properly. Experienced car detailers are able to polish your car to perfection without causing damage to the paint, so if you don’t have any experience polishing, try doing a single panel first, and see how it goes.

8. Glazing

You should apply the paint glaze between the stages of waxing/sealant and polishing. Glazing reduces swirling and it enhances the paintwork of your ride. Glaze is especially useful on cars that have a metallic or darker paint job.

9. Waxing / sealant

Waxing is one of the most important stages of car detailing, and you should never skip it. Applying wax to your car will protect your ride from the elements and make sure all your previous hard work doesn’t go to waste. 

10. Trim and tire dressing

Besides needing to clean the trim and the tires on your car, you should also go through the process of preening, which will get all the plastic on your car to its true color, and make your tires shiny without greasing them up.

11. Glass

Finally, don’t forget to clean all the glass surfaces on your car. Use a high-quality glass cleaner and clean all the glass on your car from fingerprints and light scratches.

How long should it take to detail a car?

If you’re looking to give your car a detailing on your own, it can last for as long as you’re willing to spend on it. Also, the fact that you probably don’t have any previous experience with car detailing will influence the duration of the job.

On the other hand, when it comes to professional car detailers, there are three important aspects that affect how long it will take them to give your ride a proper scrub-down:

1. Current condition – The dirtier your ride is, the longer it will take detailers to finish the job.
2. Frequency of detailing – Regular car details provide an excellent basis for every subsequent one, which means that detailers will need less time to clean your car. 
3. Detailing package – Finally, most car detailing companies offer different detailing packages, depending on the types of cleaning you would like to do. The more comprehensive the detailing package, the more time the detailers will spend on your ride. 

Who does the most thorough car detail in San Diego?

Car detailing is a process that demands more than just an eye for detail. You have to truly love cars in order to give them the cleaning they deserve. And that is exactly what sets La Jolla Mobile Car Detail apart – all of us adore cars. We’re proper revheads, all of us, and we enjoy giving cars good scrub downs. 

So, if you’d like to treat your baby to a detailed interior and exterior mobile cleaning, reach out to us today. It doesn’t matter where in San Diego you are, whether near Mission Hills or in another part of the city. We will promptly send an experienced car detailer to your address to clean your car. We’re here to help you out!