Exterior detailing involves removing the dirt from your vehicle exterior in the safest manner possible. Most washing methods including commercial car washes have a tendency to leave scratches and/or swirl marks in the car’s clear coat. Over time these can become visible and dull the shine. This is especially noticeable on dark or black paint. A professional detailer will use several techniques to minimize or eliminate the creation of these defects. These include using separate buckets for wheels and paint, wiping in straight lines rather than circular motions, washing from top to bottom, etc. The main goal of these procedures is to remove the dirt and at the same time avoid rubbing a wash mit, sponge or towel that contains embedded dirt or sand on the vehicle.
The entire wash process takes from 60-90 minutes depending on vehicle size and condition.
The Process
We use water purified by reverse osmosis to remove all contaminants and over 98 percent of dissolved solids. What does this mean to you? It means no water spots even when washing on the hottest days. It means your vehicle receives the best water available allowing the various other products such as soaps, degreasers and sealants perform at their maximum potential.
Your wheels get special attention. After testing several wheel cleaners, we arrived at the best (and most expensive) wheel and tire cleaner from Adams. We then use a number of special brushes for the various areas such as sidewalls, barrel, spokes, lug nuts, etc. Tire dressing is available if desired at no extra cost.
After spraying off any surface dirt or grit, we treat the paint work to a gentle wash using Peal Auto Shampoo from P&S Professional Detail Products. Special bug remover is used on the front areas as needed to remove even baked on critters. After rinsing with spot free water, we blow dry paying special attention to areas where water tends to accumulate to minimize after-wash drips. This is followed by final drying with a premium special-purpose drying towel from The Rag Company, a Boise based detail supply company with a national reputation.
Finally, your vehicle is treated to a final coating using P&S Beadmaker. Legendary in the car detailing arena, Beadmaker provides an extremely slick hydrophobic (water beading) surface while also adding tremendous gloss and UV protection lasting weeks. Once you slide your fingers gently across your vehicle paint and experience the incredible, smooth and silky slick surface – you will understand why we finish every wash this way.
Optional services include application of a 12 month windshield hydrophobic coating by Diamond Protech to repel water and allow the wipers to glide smoothly. For older vehicles we offer a ceramic based plastic trim dressing/restorer to bring back the dark color and provide UV protection.
The Quick Wash is an option which involves using less water. This is commonly called a rinseless wash because the wash and rinse steps are one and the same. This involves the use of a special rinseless wash solution designed just for this purpose. A special sponge is used and the wash is done one small section at a time followed by drying that section. Wheels receive a surface cleaning which is not as involved as a full wash. As with the full exterior detail, we finish with P&S Beadmaker, providing world-class slickness and gloss. The Quick Wash wash can be done anywhere and is especially useful during the colder months when washing outside is not an option. This option may not be appropriate for heavily soiled or caked on dirt.