I'm curious to hear from folks here like Moe and others.

What order do you detail a car in? And why do you do it in that order? I'm curious about specifics.

Interior first?

Wash first?

I'll post mine when I have a little more time!

Thanks in advance!

D!

 

Many people will have a different take on this as many of us will have slightly different processes and use different product such as ONR which will require a totally different way of doing thing...... the important thing to remember here is that MY process is correct and the best.....

Mine can change up a little depending on the weather, but typically.....

1 Interior First
Dust thoroughly
Vacuum
Wipe down and clean everything
Leather conditioning
Rewipe anything with dry MF to make perfect

2 Exterior
Tires, Rims, Drums, Wells cleaned first then Exhaust tips (so I don't get water on car after it's cleaned)
Two bucket wash
Clay while wet with soapy water (saves a ton of time over washing, drying then claying)
Rinse with open nozzle, (helps to sheet water off surface which saves me a little time when drying)
Blow dry with high velocity electric blower (ensures I do not create any possible swirls in any way)
Touch up with MF and QD (only if I'm not polishing)
Seal Paint with PC, (ROB spreads it thinner and more evenly then by hand as well as less effort and possibly faster)
Dress Tires with applicator (no build up or sling)

If it's over 90-100+ degrees and or outside in direct sunlight, I will wash quickly panel by panel then rinse and pull car in garage to clay and dry so to assure no water spotting occurs.

This is really a brief summery as there are many many little things included that you discover along the way that each different car adds to the process.

Typically a simple wash and clay will take me a little over an hour depending on the condition and interiors typically take me about an hour depending.


Josh

 

I clean the vehicle in this order - interior first and then outside- roof, front hood, front fenders, doors, rear fenders, doors, rear deck lid, rear fenders, and rear of vehicle, then clean wheel surfaces, tyres, wheel fenders and finally engine compartment. This is usually a progression from the least to the most soiled areas.

 

I start at the top of her head and slooooowly work my way down to her toes...sometimes I get distracted along the way

 

Wise guy...but it works in this case as well

 

using ONR on every car:
ONR wash body from top down (half hood and half windshield and back glass, dry that, get to the other side and repeat. Then proceed from middle of hood out towards fender and work my way around the car)
wheels and tires
dress tires
dust interior
vacuum interior
wipe door jambs
do windows last no matter what!

OR OR OR

ONR wash
clay
compound
polish
wax
wheels/tires/jambs while wax is setting up

Full interior gets:
dusting
vacuum
carpet shampoo/HWE
leather cleaning
plastic/vinyl cleaning
plastic/vinyl protectant
leather conditioner
windows last!

then just depends on the temp outside...usually its the interior first so it has more time to dry, but if its going to be a scorching day and I HAVE to polish outside, then exterior goes first to get it done before the heat sets in!

 

HEY! We're talking about CAR detailing here!



D!

 

I tend to always vacuum first because then if there is anything flying around in the air from the vacuum it doesn't get on my nice clean paint before I polish.

D!

 

wash/dress engine
clean wheels/wells/tires
wash paint
clay/polish/wax
clean windows
dress tires
detail interior