How to detail a car

You can grab a bucket filled with soapy water, a sponge, some car wax and make your car look clean and nice. However, to make your car shine and really stand out, you will have to detail your car. Follow this guide to bring out the showroom pride on your car like a professional.

Step one

Remove the trash accumulated under the seats and around the carpet. Take out the floor mats, vacuum the floors, mats and all the dust accumulated on seats, dashboards, window trims and back window. Use a special carpet cleaner if you need to get rid of spots.

Step two

Wash the hard surface on the dashboard, window panels and trims, back window and dash console using a special car interior cleaner and a clean piece of cloth. For those hard to reach areas in the air vents and other narrow, depressed surfaces, use cotton swabs.

Step three

Then clean the seats with the appropriate cleaner for the appropriate fabric on them. Use a special dressing for the material on your hard surfaces that offer protection and shine.

Step four

Move on to your windows and use a glass cleaner to get rid of any film, dirt and spots in and out, following the directions on the product’s label.

Step five

Wash your car's body using a car wash soap starting at the top. Work in one area at a time, washing, rinsing and drying it with a piece of chamois cloth.

Step six

If you find dirt deep in the finish of your car’s body, use a clay bar to remove it. You can buy a clay kit with all the necessary tools and chemicals to work out the body without damaging the finish.

Step seven

Now, you are ready to polish and wax your car. For this part of the job, use a quality product using an orbital buffer to repair minor scratches on the clear coat with the polish. Then proceed to wax the body.

Step eight

Using your favourite wax product, apply a coat of wax to your car’s body to bring out the shine. Here, you can apply the wax by hand or the orbital polisher, working one area at a time. Skip the door handles and body trim to prevent stains.

Step nine

Once the wax has dried, remove it with a clean cotton towel.

Step ten

Thoroughly wash the tyres, rims and tyre wells using a brush. On the rims, only use the appropriate cleaner for the finish, if you have alloy or chrome rims. Finish the tyres with a special dressing to make them shine.