How to do an exterior detail without sucking

[The_Stig]

Id really like to know what products you are using at each step if at all possible... or a recommendation as what to use

Well this is what I personally use. Detailing is a very subjective thing when it comes to what works for you and what doesn't. A certain method of completing a particular task may work for some but not others. So it really depends on your personal "style". I personally need to change my strategy to some degree on every car I do to account for variables between cars.

Variables would be things like how hard/soft the paint is, color of the paint, severity of scratches, whether I need to buff or just foam the paint, etc. That is just the exterior. As far as the interior...does it have dried salt on the carpet? Do the seats need to be scrubbed (like light colored leather) or can I just do a once over? Do I need to scrub the carpets with degreaser before I extract them? The list goes on.

So this is what I typically do on a full detail:

Washing:
-Car Brite concentrated soap
-Lambs wool wash mitt

Interior:
-After getting everything blown out and vaccumed, I scrub the surfaces down with interior cleaner (by Car Brite) using a foam sponge and a toothbrush.
-Excract it (water and detergent)

Eexterior:
-Solvent wipe down (I use Car Brite stuff called All Sol)
-Clay (Meguiars "Mild" blue clay)
-Buff (Meguiar's wool pad + Meguiar's #105 Ultra Cut compound)
-Foam (Meguiar's medium cut yellow foam pad + Meguiar's #205 Ultra Finishing polish)
-Wax (Meguiar's soft black foam pad on a DeWalt random orbital + Meguiar's liquid wax)

Then finishing up:
-Car Bright window cleaner (I add alcohol to my bottle to reduce streaking more)
-Car Brite Vinyl Renew for any black exterior trim and door sills (if they're black)
-Wizard's liquid Metal Polish for chrome tailpipes
-Window cleaner on a towel to wipe down wood trim on the interior and chrome stuff on the exterior
-Car Brite tire shine with an applicator pad

I go through a terrycloth towel or two for cleaning the interior, about four misc-purpose towels (solvent, claying, windows, and random use), and about two microfiber towels on the exterior.


I think that covers it?

[Die Frau]

For those of us who don't have tools like the extractor for carpets - what can we do to acheive similar results? In the past I have scrubed the carpets with water and soap, then used a shop vac to pick up what I could.

Can you think of something better, or which soap to use in this manor?

[The_Stig]

That's basically it. I can't think of any soap or degreaser in particular that works better than something else. Just scrub it with a cleaner you like, spray it down with water and suck it up with a wet/dry vac.

[Mike2288]

Great Write Up, I'll be bookmarking this one..

[Aladinsane07]

Better yet, can we get this stickied?

[Das VR6]

Better yet, can we get this stickied?

i’ll give you something sticky

[turbofan]

i use the 3M line for buffing compound and i love that stuff kinda spendy though and like the OP said take your time and it will turn out great.

[euro]

fantastic write up, i'm glad to hear those drafting erasers will work on textured trim

[derp]

kyle, it's a good think you didn't leave your amber turn signals up front, because if you had, i'd have 'stickied' your car from here.

god that thing looks good.

great write up

[The_Stig]

Thanks. I have my ambers in currently because my smoked ones (pictured on page 1) fucked up. The clip on my passenger side one broke while I was on my way to Campwerks. Bryce flies up next to me on the highway screaming bloody murder. We pull over and it slapped my fender a bunch of times leaving some scrapes and a couple small dents Oh well. I'll be getting new ones this spring.

[Casper]

Great write-up!

[MisdemeanorMatt]

Can you wash microfibers and expect them to be clean/safe after a detail or are they simply thrown away?

[The_Stig]

Yes you can, but you want to wash them separate from everything else to keep stuff out of the fibers.