A Step by Step Guide to Properly Detailing Your Vehicle
Auto detailing can be a very tedious job, one which requires a lot of time and dedication to do properly. However, it is necessary to maintaining your vehicle and keeping it in optimum condition. Now, you may think that having a dirty car couldn’t possibly have any effect on how the car operates, but you couldn’t be more wrong. Having a dirty car can eventually translate to getting dirt in under the hood of your car or having it ground into the paint on your vehicle, which would be expensive to re-paint after damage caused by dirt and grime.
It is a well-known fact that things, be it your house or your clothing, stay in better condition if they are kept clean. Cars are no exception to this. By taking special care of your car by way of careful auto detailing, you are lengthening the life of your vehicle and making sure that you have a nice, distraction-free space in which to drive.
Below you will find the five major steps to auto detailing your own vehicle so that you will not have to go and pay a professional to do the job for you.
Step 1
Wash and Dry
Washing and drying the exterior of your car is the first place you want to start when auto detailing. The reason for this is so that you don’t have to worry about dirt and grime from the outside of your car being redispersed inside your car as you are detailing the interior.
First, start by hosing off the outside of your vehicle. This will knock off any dirt that could potentially damage the paint. Washing with mild soap and a soft microfibre cloth is all you need to do after this and you are well on your way to completing the exterior portion of your auto detailing.
Step 2
Polish and Wax
Next up in your auto detailing regimen you will want to polish out any imperfections in the exterior of your car with the experts like proautospas.com. This is an important part of auto detailing because it will buff out any problem areas and remove any stubborn debris from your paint.
Once the polishing is complete, you can go ahead and wax your vehicle. Remember, a little bit of wax goes a long way. You don’t want to use too much wax otherwise it will take a long time to dry. Using too much wax could end up leaving runs in the shine of your vehicle which will take away from your auto detailing experience. You can check out Blazing Auto for more information.
Step 3
Headlights and Windows
After you have washed, polished and waxed the body of your car it is time for you to polish and shine the headlights. This is an important step to auto detailing because it allows you to get the most light from your headlights as possible. This will make it safer for you to drive around at night by increasing visibility.
Next, you will want to carefully wash the windows of your car. For now, you are mainly just concentrating on the exterior, so don’t worry about cleaning the insides just yet, we’ll get the that when we get to the interior auto detailing.
Pro tip: Use a tea towel or newspaper to dry your windows to ensure you get a streak-free shine.
Step 4
Pick up Junk and Vacuum the Interior
Now that the exterior of your car has been fully detailed, it is time to start on the inside. Begin the interior portion of your auto detailing by picking up any loose objects such as garbage or loose change off the floor and seats of your vehicle. You will also want to remove the floor mats as well.
Once that is done you can go ahead and vacuum the entire interior of the car. Don’t forget to vacuum in all of the cracks and crevices, including under the seats and in the door panel areas. This is one thing that often gets slacked on during an auto detailing. Vacuuming thoroughly is very important to ensure the job is done right.
Step 5
Wiping Hard Surfaces
Now that you are done stirring up any dust within your car, it is time to do a thorough wipe down of all hard surfaces within your vehicle. This is a very important part of auto detailing. Make sure that you wipe down the steering wheel, dash and window panels, and even the gas a brake pedals.
With a separate cloth, wipe down the windows and dry them with newspaper or a tea towel to make sure you don’t have any streaks.
Step 6
Air Out and Freshen
The last step in your auto detailing is airing out and freshening up your car. You can use hanging scent decorations or a nice mild air freshener for this one. This step will complete your detailing and ensure that your car is left looking clean and smelling fresh for a long time to come.