Auto Detailing

What Car Detailing Services are Included in Professional Car Detailing?

While anyone can detail a car by cleaning the inside and outside as best as they can, a professional detail is done by an experienced detailer with the right techniques and high quality products.

Often, professional detailers set up packages and pricing in advance for the services that they want to offer. Many use a business management app like Mobile Tech RX to keep track of their packages, pricing, estimates, and invoices. You can try the app completely free – it will help you set up your customer database (CRM), your price list, branded invoices, your bookkeeping (through QuickBooks), payment processing, marketing, and more.

Here are common car detailing services that professional detailers typically include in their packages:

Exterior Car Cleaning

• Exterior wash and dry – This washing and drying process is done by hand. The detailer will spray and wipe down the body of the car with specialized products. This includes hand washing the rims, door handles, and glass.
• Paint Claying – A clay bar is used to remove any contaminants, overspray, or residue left after the car has been washed. Claying results in a cleaner and smoother surface, and helps increase the effectiveness of polish and wax. 
• Polishing – Polishing buffs an abrasive compound onto the car’s paint to remove small layers of clear coat. This makes small scratches and swirls in the paint disappear. 
• Sealing or Waxing – To give the car a glossy shine and to add a protective layer to the car’s paint, a sealant is applied. In some cases, wax can be used.

Other exterior services that can be added include trim repainting, engine detailing, headlight polishing, engine pressure cleaning, bumper repair, glass chip repair and paint touch up.

Interior Car Cleaning

• Vacuuming – Seats, carpets and mats, headliner, rear cargo area, and trunk are vacuumed to clean debris.
• Scrubbing and Brushing – This is done to remove stains on floor carpets and mats
• Steam Cleaning – Steam cleaning is a more effective method of removing tough stains in carpets and seats.
• Glass Cleaning – Cleaning the windshield and windows. 
• Leather Cleaning – A leather cleaner and soap are used to clean any leather parts in the vehicle. 
• Perfuming – Many detailers spray a deodorant into the interior of a car to leave the car smelling clean and new.

Additional Car Detailing Services

Some professional car detailing businesses offer additional services to the ones described above. These services include:

• Paint correction – This is a process that takes away flaws on the top layer of a car’s paintwork like dull paint or oxidation. Most detailers use a rotary machine polisher to provide the best paint correction. 
• Ceramic coating – Ceramic Coating is a liquid polymer applied to the exterior of a vehicle to add a protective layer to the car’s paint. This is often used as a premium wax alternative.
• PPF – PPF stands for paint protection film. PPF is a thin polyurethane film that helps to protect car paint from rock chips, small scratches, UV light, mineral deposits, acid rain, and more. This product and service offers more comprehensive protection than ceramic coating.