Car Detailing  Your Accord

If you investigate you will find that there is no formal definition for taking care of the both the inside and outside of your vehicle. You would assume that there would be some common agreement on a process that may cost several hundred dollars. Most people assume that they know what car detailing means. Since there is not a common agreement on what car detailing,  be careful when you ask someone to do it to your car. Insure they are planning on doing what you want.  We suggest you ask very specific questions an understand what the company is planning on doing.

•  However there are certain common steps that are done in a typical car detailing project.  Usually the average car detailing job consists of doing a thorough washing, cleaning, polishing and waxing the exterior of the vehicle. There should also be a through cleaning of the interior, but this article will not address those techniques.

•  Some companies start on the exterior of the car, and others begin on the interior. Assuming we start on the exterior the first step in detailing is wash the car to remove all heavy particles of dirt and related materials. This car detailing step removes surface contamination.

•  The next step in car detailing is that a Clay Bar is used with some type of liquid  lubricant such as spray wax, window cleaner or sometimes even water. This car detailing step should remove road grime, tar, bugs, light rust, tree sap and even some paint over spray. Clay helps removes contamination that is embedded in the paint. The first two steps in car detailing remove contaminates which are on and in the surface. A good car detailing job should always have both of these steps accomplished. If someone tells you that they do car detailing and they do not do the claying step, you are not receiving a professional car detailing job.

•  The third most common step in car detailing is polishing the vehicle. Polishing is a critical major car detailing step as it can usually remove oxidation, swirls, water deposits, light scratches and some other minor surface imperfections. A good car detailing polish can be just a chemical that cleans the surface and removes oxidation for a new car. For heavier needs in car detailing such as an older car which has been left in the sun a different type of polish containing various abrasive materials will be used. The most severe polish used in car detailing is usually called rubbing compound. It looks like a heavy paste but acts like a very very fine sandpaper. Rubbing compound can remove too much paint if done incorrectly. This is why you want a professional to do your car detailing. A professional will use a rotary buffer, while an amateur should use an orbital buffer which is less apt to remove too much paint.

•  The last major step in exterior car detailing is the use of a sealant or a wax. The newest sealants are typically a polymer based product which seems to offer more durability from car detailing than the best wax. They are liquid based and applied like a liquid wax. One factor should be kept in mind if you want a sealant instead of wax. Sealants must not be applied over wax or any surface contamination, If you did it can slow down or stop the bonding of the sealant to the paint surface. There is always disagreement between owners if a chemical product or a real wax looks better. In car detailing the wax can enhance the gloss of the paint and give it the appearance of depth. However keep in mind that in car detailing the polishing step is responsible for the shine. Without this polishing step you will be disappointed with the final product.

You can apply a carnauba based wax or a synthetic wax. Car crazy owners and most owners who show their cars, are on a never ending quest  to find the best wax to use in car detailing. Some car waxes are even being sold today with instructions that should be applied with your bare hands. The heat from your hands rubbing in the wax while car detailing and applying the wax is supposed to give you a better finish. I have never seen proof that this is a better wax than others. There are various one-step products which claim to clean, polish and protect at the same time. A professional shop will never use these type of products because of the compromises that must be made for each one of the steps.

Reports that I have seen suggest that the synthetic products for car detailing go on easier and last longer than pure wax. But don't try and convince most owners of this. On the typical car, either one will give you a great finish to car detailing.

Accord Car Detailing Products