Can you be a Professional Auto Detailer?

I have been asked so many times that I thought I would just answer the question online. How do you get into auto detailing and how can you do it? It really is not that hard, you just have to know where to start and where to look. I hope I can help you in the right direction if you are thinking about or have already decided to get into the automotive detailing business.

First, we should look at what is auto detailing. Car detailing is really another way to say professional car care or car wash. It does not just cover a simple car wash, it involves many areas of car cleaning. You will see terms such as car polishing, detailing, clay bar, waxing, paint protection, paint care, paint surface repair, scratch repair and removal, surface refinishing, swirl marks and removal, etc, etc. The list goes on and they are all related to automotive detailing.

I would like to show you key areas in professional detailing as follows: Exterior surface care (the paint), Exterior trim care, Engine bay and Interior care. I hope to give you a good idea of the work and detail that is involved in properly detailing a vehicle. By no means is this list complete and there are far more details that go into each process, but you can only discover those details once you get into the work.

Exterior Surface Care ( paint correction )

Before we start, you should probably go look at your own car ( or do it later, whatever ). What I want you to do is just clean off a small area, say 2 feet by 2 feet, unless it is clean enough already. Then I want you to run your hand across the paint surface ( preferably a hand without a ring on it, I don’t want you putting a scratch into it ). I want you to notice how the paint feels... is it silky? is it a little rough ? do you feel small "chunks" or grit on the surface?

So, did you go check? If not, that is fine, You should probably do it later though. I will bet that %95 of you that actually took the time to check your car's paint surface that you probably found it to be a little rough to the touch, especially if you have a car that is any older than 3 months. And I bet that some of you with a brand new car still feel the roughness of the paint.

What is that that you are feeling? It is called "rail dust" in the detailing world. Rail Dust is simply pollution, junk and grim that bonds and sticks to your paint and exterior vehicle surfaces. It is fairly easy to remove, this is how. Pick yourself up a Clay Bar kit, you should be able to find one at any local automotive supply store with the other car care and car wash products. The kit will come with a piece of clay and some spray, which is the lubricant used in conjunction with the clay bay. The spray will often be a quick detailer, which can be purchased separately without the Clay Bar. How you use it is simple, spray a small area, flatten the clay bar into a small disk and rub it down with the clay bar ( you will feel the rail dust coming off of the car , almost gritty sounding ). Once you feel it run along the paint smoothly, wipe dry with a micro fiber cloth. I forgot to mention, you should get a pack of at least 20 to 30 micro fiber cloths, they will be used on everything for you car from now on, all the car washing, drying and detailing will all be done with micro fiber cloths. Everything else is just not good enough in my opinion. Now, back to the paint. Once you completed a section, run your hand across the paint again, and if you have an area right next to it that you did not do, compare them. See a difference now? The clay bar treated side will be silky smooth to the touch and you will probably love it already.... now you need to spend the hour or 2 to finish the rest of the car. This will also work to remove tar if you have any of it on the surface. If you have large amounts, you might want to get some sort of dedicated tar remover. You can use the clay bar on all surfaces, including your chrome, metal, glass, trim, etc. It’s primary function is to remove the pollution from the paint and exterior surfaces ( all surfaces )

Ok, now that you have removed the rail dust from the paint finish, you can go to work at polishing it. If you don't use a clay bar, you can use a chemical polish, such as a paint cleaner, and polish that in and buff, by hand or by machine. That will also remove the rail dust and pollution deposits from the surface, but I prefer the clay bar method. Polishing your car is simple, yet can be complicated when you first start out. Many people will tell you that it is an art. I am telling you that it is just common sense ( but I guess common sense is sometimes not that common ).

What will need to professionally polish your car is a powered polisher ( yes you can do it by hand, but it takes a really long time, it's a pain in the "you know what", and you get a far better result with a machine ). You should start out with a random orbital polisher, or more commonly known as a DA ( Dual Action ) polisher. Dual Action, because it both oscillates and rotates, preventing common "swirl marks" you have probably seen or heard about when someone details or polishes a car. One of the most common ones is a Porter Cable DA , and the most common model right now is a 7424 , do a Google search and you will find a large list of suppliers of automotive detailing equipment like this. You will also need a few polishing pads to start with. You really only need 2 or 3, 1 for cutting ( which is the polishing part ) , and 1 for finishing ( which is the post-polishing part ) , we will discuss that later. You can also get a 3rd one that would fit in between which would sometimes be referred to as a buffing pad. You can get most , if not all of this stuff from Eshine.ca ( in Canada ) , for US residents you have for more suppliers of detailing products then I can list. Canadian residents are more limited in their choices if they do not want to have to worry about duty and shipping charges across the border.

Next, you will need the polishing compounds. This is where the list gets huge, so I am not going to cover everything, just the basics to get your car ( or your customers car ) looking pristine. You are going to mix and match your polishing pads with the polishing compounds, each combination will yield a different cutting ability. A light pad ( buffing or finishing ) with a light compound ( like Meguiar’s speed glaze ) will yield a very minimal cutting power. A cutting pad combined with a heavier compound, such as Meguair’s medium cut compound, you will get a significant amount of cutting power that will remove heavy scratches. I warn you now, that either combination can eat through your paint if you do not use the powered polisher properly. There are a few good video’s on YouTube that show this well, check out part 4 and 5 on how the polisher works. I would start with a simple medium or mild cut compound and a speed glaze. If you feel you might use something else and you have the budget, then go for it.
Lastly, you will want to protect the finish you just spent several hours correcting with the polish. You can either use a sealant or a wax. The difference is both in durability and personal preferences. I prefer a sealant on darker colored vehicles, it works just as well on any other color too. A paint sealant will last anywhere from 2 months to a year, where as a wax usually only lasts up to 6 weeks with normal washing. You will need to re-apply a wax more often. Klasse makes one of the best sealants, but also the hardest to work with. It is very durable , up to 1 year, but is extremely difficult to apply. Klasse sealant must be applied very sparingly, use 1 to 2 drops on an applicator, rub into the paint quickly and then quickly buff dry with a micro fiber cloth. Do only a small 2 foot by 2 foot section at a time and with as little of product as you can. A little goes a very long way with that stuff. There are other great products out there that work well and last long too, such as Wolfgang’s Deep Gloss Sealant.

Exterior Automotive Trim Detailing

This is really to focus all the non-painted exterior surfaces of you vehicle, the trim. This would include the rubber door seals, door trim, bumper trim, chrome and metal surfaces, etc. These areas are often forgotten about, once they are detailed properly, it will really make the exterior look great. You will need an all-metal polish ( to be applied by hand ) that you can use on chrome and other metals. You will also need some sort of trim detailer and the best one I have seen is called Black Wow. Again, with Black Wow, a little goes a long way too. A dressing that you would use on your interior and engine bay will work well on all your exterior trim too, Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing. It is probably one of the better all-purpose detailers and can be applied to all your exterior trim, tires, rims, and engine surfaces.

Engine Bay Detailing

Your engine bay can look like it was new again, just look at this example from the photo gallery from a professional detailer. You can really see a huge difference on the engine bay ( and the rest of the car too ). This engine bay ws detailed with a simple degreasing agent ( several times I might add ) and then treated with a good wash and light brushing. Then it was dressed with an all-purpose detailer on all the surfaces. I think it looks great and the process was fairly simple. You only need an all-purpose cleaner like Kleenol ( there are others and I have found most work very well ), just make sure that you get one that is water based so that you can dilute it for each application. You will also use the same car wash soap you use on the exterior and the same all-purpose dressing you would use to detail the interior/exterior trim and tires with. Simple, quick and done.

Interior Auto Detailing

The interior of your car is a very heavy traffic area, it’s a small space and a lot of dirt and grim come into your car from the outside. It can get dirty very quickly , but also cleans up fairly easy too. The first thing ( which you probably already do ) is to thoroughly vacuum the interior and truck area. Make sure to remove all the floor mats, garbage and everything else that is not tied down. Next , you will want to clean the stains. Another great use for your all-purpose cleaner. Dilute it to proper solution and start cleaning the upholstery , carpets, dash, leather, etc. Next would be the windows, you will need a good non-streaking glass cleaner, do not use vinegar and water or Windex, both are crap and Windex or other similar products do leave a residue behind. Next, is your dressing. You will want to detail the leather , vinyl, plastic and other trim with a protectant / dressing. Your all-purpose Hyper Dressing will be great to use here. Your interior should now be fully detailed and probably smell great too. Another great product for interior surface finishing is Meguiar’s #40 . It has a great shine to it and smells great. I use it on plastic and vinyl surfaces too, most detailers do. It does not do well I found on reflective surfaces ( like the gloss finish of a stereo system deck ), or on the clear plastic of your gauges.

Can you be a professional detailer?

Yes, now you can. I have covered a lot of what goes into a professional detailing service, mostly high level, but you get the idea. Once you know what is involved, you can start with your own vehicle at a very minimal cost. If you really enjoy it, you can take it further and expand it into a successful home based business. You will need to check into your local government for home business guidelines before you decide that is the route you want to take.

Some other online references you might want to review would be some other auto detailing sites or online forums.

Thanks for reading and I hope your venture into the Automotive Detailing Business goes well, or if you decide to just work on your own car, there will be one more great looking car on the road today.

Until Next Time.