When starting anything, it's often hard to know where to start, let alone the details. The details can be a maze, with many different levels of detail, and many different techniques and theories, but we're here to give you some basics. It might sound too detailed to be the basic basics, but we can assure you it's as basic as the proper details.
Here's our 12-step procedure for beginner details:
Step 1: Wheels
Always, always, always start with the wheel. We can't say enough. Your wheels are the dirtiest areas of your car, so they need a good presoak with a good wheel cleaner. You'll need a brush to get to hard-to-reach areas, and a separate washing glove and bucket instead of the bucket you use on paint.
Step 2: Pre-cleaning, first stage
Always use a pre-cleaner. A formula specially formulated to remove bugs and stubborn dirt.
Step 3: Snow Foam, Stage Two
Snow foam helps break down any stubborn dirt and remove any loose particles from the vehicle before the physical contact wash stage. Removing as much dirt as possible before contact washing will help reduce the chance of swirl marks on the paint finish (most swirls are caused during the wash phase).
Step 4: The most important two-barrel contact cleaning
Have you ever thought it was step four before you put on your gloves? ! Using a good quality shampoo is important, it further reduces the chance of any chafing or minor scratches or swirls, and the deep fluff allows any particles to be absorbed into the glove instead of squeezing and dragging on the surface. Fill one bucket with detergent and the other with clean water. Apply washer fluid to the vehicle (top to bottom in small portions at a time) - rinse gloves in a bucket before bringing fresh washer fluid to the car. This method ensures that you don't contaminate your washer fluid and always use clean wash water on your car.
Step 5: Purification Phase
First of all, before doing anything you need to spray with iron remover.Next, you'll want to use a solvent tar remover to soften any tar that might be sticking to the paint. An important step here is re-washing the vehicle, or at least the solvent-treated area, as the solvent will melt the clay stick and really interfere with the next step. The clay stick is great, just use a slip or lube to rub the block over the paint and it will do the hard work for you, effectively removing any residual contamination like tree sap or even overspray in its path .
Step 6: Dry
Start at the top of the vehicle and work your way down. Working on it panel by panel will be the easiest way to make sure every area is free of streaks. It is important to work quickly (to avoid water spots) while being thorough so as not to leave any streaks in the drying process. If you have any water stains, a quick groomer is a great product to clean up afterward.
Step 7: Polish
You can polish by hand or use a machine polisher. Hand polishing will give you a nice finish, but it won't be as good as machine polishing (if you know what you're doing). We have products for both applications. We recommend against putting any machine polisher on your car without experience. Our first recommendation is to practice on a separate panel first. These are easy to pick up from the scrap yard. This is better than burning the paint on the car, causing the entire panel to be repainted or even the entire car.
Step 8: Glaze
Between the polishing, waxing and sealer stages, we add our paint glaze.
Step 9: Waxing/Sealing
Each of these stages is just as important as the others, but waxing or sealing is on the must-do list. A coat of wax or sealant will protect all your previous hard work from steps one to eight. If you're not sure what wax to use on your paint, check out our wax explained article.
Step 10: Tire Dressing and Trimming
After cleaning the tires and trim, it's time to start tidying up. There are products that can restore plastic to its original color, and there are things that can touch up your tires without making them greasy.
Step 11: Glass
Glass is something people often forget. Whether it's a minor scratch or just a fingerprint (all Titanic style), a good quality glass cleaner like crystal is a must in any detailing kit.
at last. Step 12
The finishing touches and a quick detail wipe will do all the hard work that came before. A good quick detailer will remove any potential residue from waxing or sealing, as well as any fingerprints you may have left around the vehicle, and will generally clean up any missing pieces or stray trim. Finishing touches like this are often overlooked, but are probably the most important, especially for the show-off we all so desperately want to achieve.
That's it for our 12 detailed steps for beginners. If you have any further questions, or you are unsure about any aspect, please send us an email and we will get back to you as soon as possible.