HOW TO DO CAR DETAILING LIKE A PROFESSIONAL?
Would you too like to learn how to do detailing like a professional? If you are already an experienced DIY car care enthusiast who has been maintaining their vehicle for many years, learning how to do detailing like a professional will be much easier for you. After the end of this article, you will be detailing your own cars and bikes like a seasoned pro!
Washing & Cleaning the Cars
Washing the vehicle’s exteriors is the first step in the auto detailing process. For general detailing, a car wash shampoo such as the Wavex Foam Blaster Car Shampoo can be used in a professional foam cannon such as the Wavex Foam Cannon 3.0 while it is connected to an extremely impressive pressure washer machine.
Use wheel and tyre cleaners such as the Wavex All Wheel and Tyre Cleaner Concentrate to effectively clean your vehicle’s wheels and tyres. A professional and dedicated degreaser such as the Wavex All Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser will be diluted 5 times with water and shall be used to safely yet effectively clean your car’s engine.
For detailing that would be notch above conventional detailing, you’d have to take the assistance of the Wavex Strip Wash Car Shampoo whose job is to remove pre-existing waxes, glaze, polishes and sealants.
This shampoo is to be used strictly for professional detailing purposes and not at regular intervals as it is extremely strong furthermore, this car detailing shampoo works best when used in the regular bucket wash method by adding 20 ml of the shampoo to a professional car wash bucket such as the Wavex Car Washing Bucket (20 Litres Capacity) + Grit Safe.
When you want to detail like a pro, then you’d have to do things like a pro. The first and most integral step before you commence detailing after washing your car is for you to mask and protect its integral yet delicate parts and components. For masking wider areas such as headlights, tail lamps, windshields etc., you must take the assistance of a masking film or paper however, to protect small and irregular components, one must take the assistance of an automotive masking tape that will be applied to edges, inside grooves and apertures. To steadily hold the masking films and papers in place, you can again take the assistance of professional automotive masking tapes.
Now that the vehicle is appropriately protected with the assistance of an automotive masking tape, you will move on to the second phase of car detailing which is- paint correction. Paint correction is conventionally done with the assistance of professional rubbing compounds or paint correction compounds. Rubbing compounds contain abrasives which work on the surface of automotive paints to lift a certain amount of paint and in the midst, lift minor swirls, scratches and paint imperfections.
Pro Tip: Using automotive detailing clays such as those found in the Wavex Clay Bar Kit before using rubbing compounds will help remove contamination and imperfections present in the vehicle’s paint thus leaving it with a soft-to-touch smooth surface that is free from various types of contaminations.
Rubbing & Polishing Compounds
Professional rubbing compounds such as Wavex’s range of RC-Series rubbing compounds come in three variants namely- Hard Cut Rubbing Compound, Medium Cut Rubbing Compound and Final Finish Rubbing Compound.
To give you an idea as to the capabilities of each rubbing compounds, the Wavex RC1 Hard Cut Rubbing Compound has an abrasive strength that is equal to that of a sanding paper of 1000 grit strength, the Wavex RC2 Medium Cut Rubbing Compound has and abrasive strength which is equal to that of a sanding paper with grit strength equal to 2000 grit strength whereas, the RC3 Final Finish Rubbing Compound has an abrasive strength equal to that of a sanding paper with 3000 grit strength.
Another option in rubbing compounds comes in the form of the Wavex One Step Polishing Compound which has partial cutting as well as polishing capabilities. In terms of its effects and results, it could somewhat be categorised as having ‘partial strength’ of the Wavex RC3 Medium Cut Rubbing Compound.
A small section of the car is divided into a couple of sub-sections where the effects of the RC2, RC3 and One Step Polishing Compounds are tested to see which one of them works best to provide the best form of paint correction with very minimal effort. There will be extremely rare cases where one would have to use the RC1 Hard Cut Rubbing Compound. In such a case, all three compounds i.e the RC1, 2 and 3 will be used subsequently.
DA Polisher Machine
To effectively and professionally correct the vehicle’s delicate painted surfaces, one would need to use a professional-grade polisher machine. There are two primary options such as a rotary polisher machine and a dual action polisher machine however, we at Wavex Auto Care would recommend that you use Wavex’s Range of Dual Action Polisher Machines as they do not tend to overheat the vehicle’s surface thus preventing any form of unwanted paint damage. Using specialised polishing pads such as hard cutting, medium cutting and final finishing pads with the designated polishing/ rubbing compounds will provide greater results.
Once the paint correction compounds are effectively used, you’d notice a stark difference between what your vehicle looked like before and after correction.
One thing to remember about paint correction is that it should always be seen as the last alternative in your detailing as, every time you use paint correction compounds on your car or bike’s paint, it tends to strip off a partial layer of the paint. Assuming that you’ve used rubbing compounds once, you should only use it again after a span of 6 to 12 months.
The Wavex Coating Prep spray can be used to give your car a ‘post compound clean’ followed by the use of excellent glass cleaners such as the Wavex Crysta Clean for cleaning exterior glass and windows. For future cleaning, you can fill the windshield washer tank with the Wavex Windshield Washer Fluid which will dispense a copious amount of windshield wiper and glass-compatible fluid for future cleaning and maintenance purposes.
The auto care product that would then complete your car detailing in the most appropriate manner would be using an automotive wax such as Wavex Auto Care’s range of premium waxes that offer a high gloss, mirror like shine, paint protection and hydrophobicity.
Interior Detailing Cars Like a Pro
After the first detailing phase, it’s now time for interior detailing. If you’d actually like to do this phase like a seasoned professional too then you’d first dismantle and remove all the car seats thus exposing the complete interiors. Before using any auto care chemicals, one needs to take a portable vacuum and clean all of the interior’s component thus ensuring that no loose dust particles are entrapped in places that would be hard to reach.
Car Interiors Cleaning
An exemplary interior cleaning chemical such as the Wavex PLVR Cleaner would be used to clean the car’s interior plastic, leather, vinyl and rubber components with the assistance of a professional detailing brush. The best part about using the Wavex PLVR Cleaner is that it would clean and simultaneously sanitize the aforementioned components with utmost ease leaving them looking very tidy, fresh and supple in texture.
There might be certain cases where the level of dirt and grime would be unfathomable. For such dilapidated interior components, you can use the Wavex All Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser after diluting it 15 times with water however, you must remember that using this product is only recommended during such cases. For general and daily cleaning purpose, the Wavex PLVR Cleaner is always recommended instead of the Wavex All Purpose Cleaner and Degreaser.
For Upholstery & Carpet
The fabric mats and roof of the car will be cleaned with the assistance of the exquisite- Wavex Upholstery and Carpet Cleaner Concentrate which will be diluted 15 times with water, sprayed on the fabric’s surface and agitated with the assistance of a detailing brush till it partially foams. A dry microfiber towel will be used to lift the chemical’s residue.
The seats of the car’s will be placed in their designated places when they too have been cleaned with appropriate cleaning chemicals.
Car Interiors Dressing
Once you have cleaned the car’s interiors to your heart’s desire, using a protective dressing would be ideal which is where the Wavex Dashboard and Leather Conditioner comes into play. Its job is to condition and protect the car’s interior plastic, leather, vinyl and rubber components whilst providing it with a mild and natural shine. Infused with a pleasant peach fragrance and non-greasy, dust-free formulation, this product will be the one that will leave your car’s interiors looking exactly the same way as they were when you first brought your car home from its dealership.
Pro Tip: Auto care products are primarily meant for protection and maintenance. If your car’s interior components have already reached a ‘point of no return’ in terms of their appearance then, auto care products will not restore them. Their job would be to provide them with the best possible appearance all while averting any type of future damage.
We are extremely confident that henceforth, you will be able to do car detailing like a professional by yourself with little to minimal assistance. For more such informative articles from Wavex Auto Care, make sure you read the other articles that have been listed in our website’s ‘learning’ segment.
