INDEX
- Supplies
- Interior
-- Prep
-- Windows
-- Vacuum
-- Interior Trim
-- Uphostery
- Exterior
-- Prep
-- Engine
-- Wash
-- Dry
-- Clay Bar
-- Mask
-- Polish
-- Glaze
-- Wax
-- Finishing
SUPPLIES YOU MIGHT NEED
- Plastic bags (1-2)
- Micro Fiber Cloths (10-15)
- Micro Fiber Glass Cloths (1-2)
- Applicator Pads (3-5)
- Masking/Painter's Tape (at least 3/4” wide)
- Hose
- Hose Nozzle
- Buckets (1-2)
- Extension Cord
- Upholstery Brush
- Vacuum
- Extractor / Steam Cleaner
- Chamois
- Toothbrush
- Glass Cleaner
- Oxy Cleaner
- Car Shampoo
- Clay Bar
- Detail Spray / Clay Lube
- Spray Degreaser
- Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner
- Bug & Tar Remover
- Hand Polish
- Hand Compound
- Hand Glaze
- Hand Wax
- Steel Wool (0000)
- Flat Razor Blade
- Metal Polish
- Plastic Polish
- Tire Shine
- Tire Shine Applicator
- Exterior Plastic Trim Dressing
- A Shady Place to Park Along with Access to a Water Spigot
- Tools to Remove Parts You Might Want to Remove for Cleaning
** ALWAYS read the directions to the products you plan to use on your paint. Not doing so could possibly damage your paint, or at least make things not work as well or become more difficult for you. Directions on individual products may vary.
** It’s always a good idea to test new products in inconspicuous places on your car before you use the product on the entire part. Some products, such as carpet cleaners and acid wheel cleaners can permanently bleach or damage those parts.
** I am not responsible for damages or anything that might go wrong if you follow these steps.
INTERIOR
Prep
Take a plastic bag or two and gather all garbage and possessions out of the car. This including the stuff in the glove box and other compartments.
If you’re very picky (or dealing with a very dirty car) you might want to remove the front seats and/or the center console in order to clean around and under these parts. If you wish to do this make sure you’ve brought the proper tools with you.
Windows
I’ve found now is often a good time to clean the inside of the windows since a lot of times cotton cloths seem to leave small flecks of fabric everywhere. I would recommend using a micro fiber glass cloth instead though. Don't forget the moon roof if it has one (don’t look up while you spray the cleaner lol). I prefer aerosol glass cleaner because it's less likely to soak the window too much. Too much liquid makes it more likely to streak. It might help to go over with a clean dry cloth later if there are any inside swirls on the glass. Check near the front of the windows (about 4 inches back form the front) for the greasy streak that is often left from rolling the window down. Usually just scrubbing a bit harder will remove it, but sometimes these marks might be between the glass and tint if the window is tinted.
Vacuum
Don't forget to remove the mats and also get under and along the inside and outside of the seats and in the glove box and other compartments too. Watch out with the plastic tip of vacuum cleaner attachments near plastic. The attachments can scratch interior plastics, especially smooth surfaced ones. If you have a hatch style car, don’t forget to vacuum the fabric hatch cover. Don’t vacuum your headliner and make sure you don’t get it too wet either (the headliner is often held on with water soluble glue and it can easily become detached from the vehicle). Dome lights might have dead bugs in them. So make sure you remove the covers and clean them out too.
Interior Trim
Wipe down ALL interior plastics with a damp cloth. Don't forget all the plastic trim around the inside of the doors. Keep a small bucket or bowl of water with you to rinse your cloth. If you find a greasy spot (usually around the driver door) then spray a bit of Simple Green on it to clear it up. Don't let it sit though because it might discolor the trim. Also remember to wash off the rear deck and to open all the doors and wipe off the plastic in the door jams.
Use a wet toothbrush on all the places you can’t reach with the cloth, such as the buttons on the seatbelts and the locks and switches in the doors. Don't forget to wipe off the tops of the seat brackets too. Underneath the seatbelt brackets on the B-pillar particularly seem to gather crud. Don’t’ let the toothbrush touch any screens that might be in your car such as the radio, DVD players or the plastic cover on the cluster. It will scratch them.
Now I like to use a cleaner / conditioner type of product on my interior plastics. My preference is to use Meguiar’s Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner and Conditioner. You can let it dry shiny, though buffing it dry looks much better in my opinion.
Upholstery
If you have access to one now might be a good time to use an extractor on the upholstery. Oxy Cleaner style cleaners work well on many organic stains. Just spray the product on, let sit, and then blot or brush the area or just use the extractor over it. If you use an extractor in the car, make sure you allow the car to dry properly before you decide it’s time to leave the car all closed up! You don’t want to grow mold in your freshly cleaned car.
EXTERIOR
Prep
Before you get the car wet, make sure the car is parked in a shady area. Open the gas door and the hood. If you’d like to razor blade the windows now is the time (just run a flat razor across the entire window making sure to avoid seals and stickers that you might want to keep). If you wish to use a wheel cleaner spray it on now when the car is still dry so it works better. If needed, spray bug and tar remover on the front of the car and behind all the wheels. In the sad event that you have a car bra, remove it now. Remember that bras often do more damage than help to your paint.
Engine
Start the engine up and spray the engine compartment down with Simple Green. Watch for really greasy spots. You can let it soak in for a minute before you spray it down with the highest pressure you have. Don't forget to get under the top corners, down the sides and the hinges. As long as you keep the car running there shouldn't be a problem with the engine cutting out on newer cars. Don't spray directly on electronic parts for too long though just in case it forces water in. If getting water on the electronic parts might be a concern for you, cover those parts with a plastic bag before you wet the bay.
Shut the hood when you're done. You can let the engine run for a bit until you're sure it's dried enough. If you have a Honda with power locks it might be best not to shut the keys in the car since at least some models have a known problem of randomly cycling the door locks to locked. Pop the wipers up after you’ve shut the hood too. Some windshield washers can be popped out of the hood from here.
Wash
Some people might prefer to wash with one bucket while others might prefer one soapy wash bucket along with a rinse bucket in order to keep the dirt from being in the clean wash water. Remember that the wash water is meant to "float" the dirt off of your car. Don't be too selffish with the car wash soap though; that's the lubricant for the wash.
Spray the car down entirely. Don't scrub when you wash. If something doesn't want to come off, we can get it off later. Scrubbing scratches clearcoat!
Wash from the top part of the car down. Washing the cleanest parts of the car first keeps your wash buckets cleaner and gives time for the dirtier parts to have the dirt break up. Every time you was a bit (for example, the right side of the roof, right windows, right side of the rear window, and the right side of the windshield) then spray the car down again. Keeping the car wet helps it not get new water spots. Only wash a bit of the car at a time, then rinse it off and do another part. The bottom and front of the car and right behind all the tires are usually dirtiest.
I also divide the car into three main sections: from the bottom of the glass up, from the side molding up to the bottom of the glass, and then the side molding down. Don’t forget to open the doors and wash the door jams and then open the hatch or trunk and wash all around that jam too.
I find the best idea is usually to wash in this order:
- Right side of windows and roof; rinse;
- Left side of windows and roof; rinse;
- Trunk and sides from the side trim up behind the doors; rinse;
- Doors from side trim and up plus front fenders side trim and up; rinse;
- Hood and headlights; rinse; rear or front bumper (depends which is dirtiest);
- Rinse; other bumper; rinse; sides of car from the side molding down from the back forward (it's dirtiest right behind the wheels so get that last), bottom of sideskirts; rinse;
- Wheels; rinse;
- exhaust, wheelwells; rinse entire car one more time.
Dry
If you don't want to clay the car you might as well dry it now. Once again, using the same front to back, back to front, motions to cut down on the directions of scratches from contaminants. I use an Absorber. Some people prefer to ue microfiber clothes or a water blade. Certain people also claim that any of those products scratch the paint, but as long as they're clean and there isn't dirt on your car then it shouldn't be a problem.
Clay Bar
If you chose to clay bar the car, there's no need to even dry it. Get the hose OR detail spray in one hand and the clay bar in the other. Spray down a panel and then flatten one side of the clay enough. Rub the clay across the surface of the paint. I always use the same back and forth motions when I clean a car again, for those scratches (which is called marring btw) only coming out in the same direction. Don't rub too hard. It's just like washing a car. If you drop the clay bar, throw it out. It will be worthless if you drop it so really try not to because it contaminates it so it'd just scratch the car. Being that it’s $15, most of us would rather not drop it, so be careful. A normal bar should last 2-3 cars. I do the car top to bottom to get the cleanest parts first since most cars I know are usually washed and don't just sit, which allows dust to pile up (which would make the top dirtiest). If the car has been sitting for awhile but otherwise was decently clean… claying top surfaces might be something to do last because of the dust and fallout on those panels. Usually you will not need to clay bar any of the door, hood, and trunk/hatch jams.
After the clay barring the car should look very dirty and streaky unless you’ve been using a hose, which then would make the car look pretty clean. We're going to get rid of that streaky look now. You're about to have the first look at the car actually clean.
Mask
If you would like, mask off all the areas which you don’t want to get polish, glaze, or wax on now. Remember not to get these products on black trim in particular since it can stain it white. There are ways to remove it but it’s kind of a pain to have to deal with (wax removers which are hard to find, and I also heard of using peanut butter, but have never tried it).
Polish
Get your polish, an applicator pad, and several micro fiber cloths out. Polish removes other surface contaminant the clay might not have. It also removes some oxidation. Apply the polish to the applicator pad and apply as I told you to before. Back and forth. Do a panel at a time and let it form a haze. It might take a few details to feel out how long you want polish to set just so you know how long to let it set and it will still not be too difficult to remove. Colder weather and hot weather makes polishing more difficult even sometimes making the polish leave greasy streaks when you remove it. Do a panel or a two and then remove the polish with the micro fiber cloths. Folding the clothes in fourths helps you have a clean side when one side gets dirty. Don't forget to unfold it and use the other side of the cloth it you need to. I don’t usually worry too much about making sure the car looks perfect upon finishing polishing (i.e., removing that hazy greasy look) since the wax will get rid of that anyway.
Glaze
Now that you're done with the polish, get the glaze out along with a clean applicator pad and micro fiber cloths. If you’re working on a car that doesn’t show too many scratches and you’re using Meguiar’s Hand Polish you probably won’t have to glaze the car. Glaze will hide tiny scratches plus helps add depth to darker paint in particular. It, as the polish, puts some oils back into the paint so it looks wet again instead of dry like many cars. Apply and remove it exactly like the polish. Again, I don’t usually worry too much about making sure the car looks perfect upon finishing glazing either (i.e., removing that hazy greasy look) since the wax will get rid of that anyway.
Wax
Finally the wax. Bring out the wax, applicator pad and micro fiber towels. Apply it like you did with the polish and glaze. Wax will protect all the work you just did. In fact if you don't apply wax over the glaze you might as well not glaze it since rain or sunshine can get rid of the effects of the glaze in mere hours. Once you're done walk around the car to make sure you got any possibly missed spots. It's not that bad to miss little swirls of product on other steps, but this is the last one involving paint so it should be totally clean. Sometimes wax has a tendency to turn up days after you might have detailed a car and so keeping a clean micro fiber cloth in the glove box isn’t a horrible idea.
Finishing
Remove all the masking tape from the car now if you have used it.
Now, particularly in cooler weather the wax might leave a swirled greasy pattern on the hood. If this is what happens to you, doing a quick wash is the easiest way to remove this residue. Buffing with all my might doesn’t usually remove the residue well enough and quick enough that I’d rather do it that way.
Wash the exterior windows with glass cleaner to rid it of any water spots that might have just dried. You might not be able to remove old spots without polishing with fine steel wool (0000) or using a proper glass cleaner. Some water spots will not be able to be removed from either the glass or the paint. Those are actually from the different things in the water which corrode away the clearcoat or the glass. This is called etching and you’d have to replace your glass in order to no longer have it. Machine polishing might also remove it on paint… but at the same time it will also thin your clearcoat if you actually manage to “remove” the etching.
If you have mag wheels or polished exhaust, polish them with a nice automotive metal polish now. Mostly I only worry about visible metals, though it’s a special treat to remove the entire wheel and clean inside and out or even get under the car and polish the exhaust at least as much as you can reach. Test your metal polish in an inconspicuous spot on each type of metal. Some metal polishes might work just fine on your wheels, but when you go to do the same with your mirror-finish exhaust, it might leave tiny scratches where you polish.
Finish up with applying tire shine if you wish and wipe down any black trim with trim dressing if applicable. Make sure to wipe surrounding paint and glass off if you dress the trim since often the dressing will streak onto other parts of the car.
The car should be done now. Have fun.
PRODUCT CHECKLIST!!!!!!
Hand Detailing Product Checklist:
Meguiar's Products
[_] Meguiars Detailer Shampoo Plus D11101 - 1 gal - $17
Very gentle, thick medium-suds,general purpose wash.
[_] Meguiars Body Shop Hand Polish M8132 - 32 oz - $17
Very fine cut, combines best qualities of hand glaze and polish.
[_] Meguiars Hi-Tech Yellow Wax M2616 - 16 oz - $13 (summer)
A thick, full carnanuba wax. High shine, easy on, medium off.
[_] Meguiars NXT Tech Wax G12718 - 18 oz - $18 (winter)
A medium-thick, synthetic wax. Easy on/off in cold + high humidity.
[_] Meguiars NXT Tech Protect G12924 - 24 oz - $8
Exterior/Interior dash/trim dressing + wax removal.
[_] Meguiars Gold Class Endurance Tire Dressing G7416 - 16 oz - $8
Thick, high gloss tire dressing. Gel form.
MOTHERS Products
[_] MOTHERS Mag & Aluminum Polish MO-05100 - 5oz - $6
Fine cut metal paste/cream polish.
[_] MOTHERS Billet Polish MO-05106 - 4oz - $15
Super-Fine cut mirror-surface/billet paste/cream polish.
[_] MOTHERS PowerBall MO-5140 - $30
Excellent metal polishing tool. Requires drill.
3M Products
[_] 3M Perfect-It II Rubbing Compound 39002 - 16oz - $12
Removes medium oxidation, medium swirls, water marks.
Other Products
[_] Clay Magic Perfect Finish Kit 88256 - 100g - $12
Stiff, sticky fine grade clay. Removes contaminants and overspray.
[_] Sprayway Glass Cleaner SW-050 - 19oz - $4
Non-Amoniated glass cleaner, high foam.
[_] Simple Green Concentrate - 1 gal - $10
All-purpose stain remover and degreaser.
[_] Rain-X Bug & Tar Pre-Wash Gel 5067042 - 23oz - $7
Gel-spray adhesive remover. Works on bugs, tar, glue, stickers.
[_] Urethane Supply Wax Blaster 3401 - 8oz - $6
Removes wax build-up from urethane trim.
[_] The Absorber B0000AY3X8 - $11
Synthetic chamios drying cloth. Reusable.
Application/Removal
[_] Open-Cell Foam Applicator Pads (6) - $15-20
[_] Microfiber Cloth (10) - $20-25
[_] Glass Cloth (3) - $10-15
[_] Tire dressing sponge (2) - $6
[_] Upholstry Brush - $5
[_] Blue Shop Towels - 1 roll - $2
Tools
[_] 50ft Kink-Free Hose
[_] Multi-Setting Hose Nozle
[_] 5-Gallon Bucket
[_] Shop Vacuum With Hose Attachments
[_] Old Toothbrushs
[_] Q-Tips
Linear Mode
