I thought I would post some of my detailing tips and tricks that I have picked up while managing a detailing shop and over the years.
Some are common sense/well known, but I'll state them anyways for those new to detailing.
- Clean off bird crap ASAP -
Pure acid that will eat through your clearcoat and paint. Rinse it, spray it off, whatever. Just get it off!
- Not all microfiber (MF) is created equal
With MF towels, you get what you pay for. If you've ever held/used a
www.pakshak.com MF and compared it to bulk MF from WalMart/Target, the difference is quite obvious.
- Most scratches and swirls come from YOU -
Dirty mitts, dirty towels, dirty applicators are the most common source of scratches and swirls. Use the 2 bucket wash method. Use only clean mitts, towels and applicators, and be sure to wash after each use. Just beacuse it looks clean doesn't mean it is.
- Wash top down -
Always. The bottom parts of your car are dirtiest, so you want to leave those parts for last.
- Wheel wells -
Wash them with an old dirty mitt used strictly for the wheel wells. IMHO, nothing is worse than seeing a clean, shiny car that has filthy wheel wells.
- Wiper blades -
Increase the effectiveness and longevity of your wiper blades by cleaning them. I just use my wash mitt and run it up and down the blade. It should be clean. If it leaves black residue, then it's dirty. You might want to start with paper towels and alcohol to get all the black residue off.
- Rinsing -
I use no attachment and let the water run over the surface of the car from the top every time I rinse. That way the water runs into every crevice and gap and rinses away all residue and soap. An attachment that pressurizes is only good for initial rinse to clean off the surface. It's not nearly as effective as using no attachment.
- Applicators: foam vs MF vs cotton/terry -
I've used all three and my preference is foam. I find that MF and cotton/terry just absorb way too much product. (The products I use are not exactly cheap!) I also prefer the control with foam over the other two.
- Quick detailing sprays (QD) -
Can make all the difference. I hav yet to find an over the counter (OTC) QD spray that comes close to anything available online. Not even close. Local CEGers can attest to the difference they have felt on my car. Follow every wash with a QD and your wax will last longer. I can't stress this enough.
- Applying wax -
Give your applicator a spritz occassionally to keep it damp while you wax. I find that whatever product you are applying to your car goes on smoother.
- Wax in the shade -
I speak from experience!
- More is not better -
Using more wax is not better.
- White residue -
If you have white wax residue on porous plastic use peanut butter and an old toothbrush. Wipe off with a paper towel. Trust me, it works. I've used peanut butter for many years.
- Treat your wheels like you treat your paint -
Meguiar's Hot Wheels, Eagle 1, etc. You wouldn't spray that stuff on your paint would you? Just use your favorite car shampoo and wash them. Make sure you hit them with a couple coats of wax to protect them.
- Carnauba vs synthetic -
I'm a synthetic man. I don't see a
huge difference between the two and can't justify sacrificing all the pros of synthetics for slightly better color/depth/gloss.
Once you've applied carnauba, you're done. I enjoy waxing and that doesn't cut it for me. I enjoy being able to apply coat after coat with a synthetic (Zaino is still my favorite). With Zaino I apply it to: headlights/taillights, all windows except front, mirrors, all rubber trim, etc. - everything except porous plastic. Can't do that with caranauba. For me, synthetic has way too many pros over carnauba.
- Swirls -
Machine application
> hand application.
No ifs, ands or buts. You're not going to be able to easily get rid of swirls by hand. Your best method if to use a product that fills the swirls and hide them.
- "Looks great!" -
You can make any car look great with a picture. A true detailer will show up close shots of the paint to show the swirls (or lack of). My car looks great in distance shots, but it has a ton of swirls from the dealership's "detail shop" that you can't see in the pictures.
If you truly want to see how your paint really looks, take it to a shopping center at night that has really white flourescent lights. Every imperfection will show. It's quite depressing actually!
- Feel free to add any tips/tricks that work for you!
