Car Wash vs Detailing
In short, detailing is an art of restoring, rejuvenating, improving and protecting each aspect of your vehicle.
Rather than just cleaning, we take care in each step to ensure we are not cutting corners or adding scratches to your vehicle.
Read on to see some differences between a detailing service and a standard car wash.
Equipment
Some things you won't find in a detailer's arsenal:
Yard brushes, telescopic brushes - except for cleaning up after ourselves. The bristles on these brushes are abrasive and trap dirt. Plus, it's easy to apply too much pressure as you can't feel for feedback in your fingers. This leads to scratches in your vehicle's paint.
Sponges - there have been advancements in this area and some detailers use professional grade sponges. However, a sponge has a large contact area with paint. Grit and dirt cannot absorb into a sponge, or escape. The dirt will sit between the sponge and your cars paint and it can be like washing your car with sandpaper. Instead, we use premium microfibre, which safely guards your paint from harmful grit by absorbing it into the fibres.
Drying leathers - these generate a lot of friction and have a harsh contact area with paint. Dust and dirt sits between the leather and the paint, and can generate scratches and swirl marks. Again, we use premium microfibre to prevent this. Microfibre keeps dirt away from the paint, is highly absorbent and does not cause friction.
Processes
Here are some things detailers do for a professional service:
Pre-wash: Before we touch the car, we remove as much dirt as possible using a citrus pre-wash and snow foam, followed by a thorough rinse to minimise the risk of scratches.
Contact Wash: Next we use a high-lubricity premium shampoo to reduce friction whilst we wash the paintwork, to safely lift off any remaining dirt, again without instilling new scratches.
Two-bucket method: One bucket has the shampoo, the other is clean rinsing water. After each panel, we rinse the microfibre mitt before reloading with shampoo. This again keeps the dirt out of contact with your paint and keeps our equipment clean.
Wheels First: This is a very important step. It wouldn't make sense to spend an hour cleaning the paint only to blast wheel dirt all over it. So we wash wheels with a separate bucket before the rest of the car. We have special PH neutral products to break down brake dust on the wheels to ensure they shine, using a combination of detailing brushes and microfibre for a spotless finish.
Products
Unlike many hand car washes that rely on harsh chemicals (which can strip your cars protection), all the products we carry are premium grade, most are PH neutral, better for the planet and safe on waxes and ceramic coatings. Every product in our lineup as been carefully selected through hands-on research and testing.
Choosing the right product for each job matters. Interior and leather cleaners must lift grime and oils without leaving residue or causing damage. We also follow up with quality conditioners and UV protection to preserve surfaces properly.
We trust top tier brands such as CarPro, Bilt Hamber, Gyeon, Koch Chemie, Gtechniq and valet Pro, but we will always use the best products for each job.
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