I say it time and time again, the pre-wash stage is the most important process in detailing your vehicle as this massively reduces the chance of producing swirl marks and light scratches when going through the various stages. This is a ‘no-contact’ wash that helps remove most of the heavy soiling from the vehicle’s paint. Using the right chemicals will ensure your vehicle’s paint is ready for the ‘wash’ stage.

It goes without saying that dragging any grit and heavy soiling around your vehicle’s paint is never a good thing. So, with that in mind, specific high-end chemicals will be used depending if there is a layer of wax or sealant present that you would like to maintain. A full two-bucket method will be used to completely wash your vehicle of any leftover dirt and soiling from the pre-wash. When I’m happy that the vehicle’s paint is as clean as it can be, I can then move on to the more advanced decontamination stages starting with ‘decon wash’.

The decon-wash stage is a process designed to remove the most harmful of ingrained contaminates, i.e. sharp metal particles. In most cases, you will not see these minute pieces of metal with your eye, but trust me, most vehicles’ paint if not all, has fallen foul of this type of contamination.

Fallout removal is impossible to remove by traditional methods, the only way to eradicate metal contamination safely is by dissolving through a chemical reaction. This is why the decon-wash stage involves using a product specially formulated for ferrous material removal. In most cases, a single application is required to rid the paint surface of any iron particles, but for extremely heavy contamination a second application will be made and worked into the surface.

Other contaminates include jet fuel deposits (aviation fallout), diesel fumes, adhesive residues, tree sap, rubber, and general fuel and smoke. Most of these contaminants have in common is that there sticky oil-based stains. This is where a strong solvent-based formula is used to dissolve them away.

After your vehicle’s paint is fully decontaminated a full re-wash will take place to ensure all leftover oils and residues are completely removed from the vehicle’s paint. We have now reached the drying stage where the majority of the water is removed with an air dryer/blower. This ensures that hardly any contact is made with the vehicle’s paint which massively reduces any further light scratches and swirl marks. Any leftover water will be absorbed with an ultra-plush microfiber drying towel.

If you want your vehicle’s paint to look better than ‘a showroom finish’, then you need to consider polishing where a machine polisher will be used to achieve amazing results. This is time-consuming but very rewarding. This part of the full vehicle detailing process also has its own ‘stages’ which all depend on your vehicle’s paint condition. Having first looked at your vehicle’s paint will then determine whether a one-stage or a full three-stage paint correction is required. Before machine polishing can be performed a full ‘claying’ session will take place. This pre-polishing stage is a crucial part as it’s the final step in cleansing your paintwork.

This protection whether it’s wax or sealants can be applied without the need of having your car’s paint fully machine polished. Applying a layer of wax or sealant over your car’s paint will protect all the previous work and most importantly, will also protect your vehicle’s paint from the elements.

The purpose of a maintenance wash is to basically maintain previous results from refining and protecting your vehicle’s paint finish. This helps your car to look its best all year round. Don’t worry if your car has not had any refinement previously as this service will bring your vehicle’s paint up to a good standard with some added short-term protection.