Intricacies of Detailing Processes

We thought it might be beneficial for us to provide some insight to our valued customers about our processes and the intricacies of getting the job done right. Car Detailing involves in-depth processes, plenty of time and a great level of depth and attention to detail. 

This blog will teach you the process and tricks but here are some key products or concepts you can’t go without

• 3+ high quality microfibre towels (the more the merrier)

• Tried and tested high quality chemicals (save yourself time and money)

• Essential tools, some are incredibly versatile.

• Space to work in, when cleaning interiors and using chemicals, cover from direct sunlight is ideal

• TIME - give yourself time to do it right the first time, and properly look after your vehicle.

When looking at the process of a full detailing service with Penrose Detailing, there are many intricate steps involved and they’re in a particular and tested order to increase efficiency. However, keep in mind, the time and practice I have had to get these details right, it may not come the first or second time even if you do follow these steps closely. 

1. Footwells and Boot

First thing to mention is we always start with the interior, and particularly the floor and seats, as this is where you will agitate dust and can make a mess of the upholstery or outside panels. 

1. First thing we do is give a good vacuum over the entire carpeted area, remove loose dirt and crumbs (save flicking them around later). Remove floor mats, and follow steps 2 and 3 with them outside of the vehicle. This may be enough if you are maintaining your vehicle interior on a regular basis. 

2. DRILL BRUSH or TORNADOR: This is my personal favourite step, for this you will need access to either a drill or air compressor, and one of the tools linked just above. These tools are designed to loosen deeper dirt and sand that has embedded deeper into the carpet. We use a combination of both tools for the best result but understand these aren’t available for everyone to use. Regardless of the tool being used, we recommend changing movement patterns, use circles, sweeping lines up and back and side to side, attacking dirt from every angle. This step can spray dust and sand everywhere, hence why it is the first step so it doesn’t ruin any previous progress. 

3. Vacuum again, get all that loose dirt and sand from every corner and crevice of the car. Some spots may be hard to reach so we recommend a grout brush, this will help you get beside your seats and around anchor points. This might be the last step, or you may have to repeat steps 2 and 3 again.

4. Our Full Detailing Package includes carpet shampooing and steam cleaning. This will include a spray of carpet shampoo onto all areas, using rug doctor chemicals and then steam cleaning this area. Following the same movement patterns from step 2. Then we use the Bissell Turbo Spot Cleaner to extract dirty water from the carpet, leaving it smelling fresh and looking clean. This step may not be applicable for most people but if so carpet should be given some time to air and dry once the entire detail is complete.

2. Dash, Doors and Console. 

This Stage is where we will use an interior cleaner/detailer, to remove grease and grime from leather and plastic parts of the vehicle’s interior. Aside from the interior chemical you will want a few microfibre towels, a good detail brush and sometimes a leather brush. The products we use and recommend based on trials are:

• Car Gods Interior Detailer

• Bowden’s Own the Foursome Detailing Brush Set

• NV Four Seasons General Purpose Microfibre Cloth

• Soft Bristle Leather Brush (Shoe Brush)

Now that you’ve got some or all of these products ready to go, let's get into the steps. 

1. Choose a surface to begin with, usually choose sections small enough that your product doesn’t dry. Spray liberally onto the surface, a couple of sprays of interior detailer into the brush, soaking it so the product spreads onto a surface instead of getting absorbed, then use your detailing brush to agitate crevices and flat aspects if required, then wipe off/buff a little with your microfibre. Repeat this process for tough stains and marks. 

2. Buttons, handles and crevices can be tricky, it is a similar process, spray the interior detailer into the space, agitate meticulously with the detail brush, working from lots of different angles ensuring contact with every corner and crevice. Wipe clean with the microfibre, ensuring chemicals and dirt are completely removed. 

3. On trims where foot scuff marks and more dirt may be present, spray the product even more liberally, and use the soft bristle brush and some serious elbow grease to really agitate and loosen dirt before wiping off with microfibre. 

4. Leather seats would also follow the same process, spray liberally, and use your soft bristle brush to agitate. Leather seats can get very grimey, and might mean you need several applications and more microfibre cloths. 

• For these steps it's important to use the chemical to your advantage, spray liberally and let soak for tough spills and stains particularly in the centre console. 

• AND don’t forget to change your cloth, if you try to use one rag for the whole interior, you’re just spreading old dirt to a new location. 

3. Door Jambs + Fuel Bay

1. The best option for cleaning door jambs is using a degreaser or prewash chemical, spray liberally onto the door jamb and detailing brush, agitate with the detailing brush and hose off. I would also recommend this option for the fuel bay as well, and at the same time.

2. Another option when the jambs aren’t overly dirty is to use the same chemicals, spray less of the product over the area and wipe down thoroughly with a microfibre cloth. 

4. Wheels and Wheel Arches

Wheels and wheel arches are easiest to be done together, before washing the body of the vehicle, as it can flick iron and grime up onto the body of the vehicle. Wheel arches can be difficult to perfect, and often only need to be perfected on serious restoration projects. 

1. Spray wheel cleaner onto the wheels, tyres and rims liberally. Leave to dwell for 2-5 minutes or as long as possible without the product drying. It is important to use a good cleaner as linked above, and to give it time to go to work for you. 

2. Time for the elbow grease. A lot of cleaning rims, tyres and wheel arches comes down to the elbow grease. Using tyre brushes like Salty Captain Brushes and Apex Customs Brush will get you in all the crevices and contact all surfaces to remove road grime and brake dust. 

3. Pressure wash immediately after, again not allowing the product to dry as this will leave marks especially on rims. Take your time with this, make sure you get rid of everything, soap and dirt from the area, washing from the top down so as to not waste any extra time. Rims and tyres will appear very clean when wet, but you may notice missed spots once it's dried again, therefore you may need to repeat this step or touch up missed spots. 

Ensure you utilise the pressure of your pressure washer for the wheel arches, they will usually require the pressure nozzle to be pretty close to the surface to blast away contaminants. 

5. Snow Foam Wash + Chamois

1. With access to a pressure washer, the first step should be to do a full pressure wash of the exterior of the vehicle. Don’t miss any spots, get wheel arches, badges, roof and crevices. Try to work from the top, down. 

2. Snow Foam application with Foam Cannon, applying a thick layer to help break down dirt and contaminants on the paintwork. Allow to soak for up to 5 minutes but do not allow to dry

3. Rinse off in the same manner as step 1, not missing a spot, or leaving any soap on the vehicle. 

4. Now that all loose and larger contaminants have been removed, we will spray another layer of foam on, and agitate this with a wash mitt, again getting every crevice, edge and part of the paintwork

5. Repeat step 3. Rinse the entire vehicle from top to bottom, removing all soap and any remaining dirt. 

6. Use a drying towel, start by drying the glass, then roof and working your way from top to bottom so you don’t have water dripping over sections you’ve already dried. 

6. Glass Cleaning

Glass Cleaning should always be one of the last steps of cleaning the vehicle, if you try to do it earlier, you will end up with chemical overspray or dust on the glass, after you’ve already cleaned it. 

Glass cleaning is one of the most particular and difficult parts of cleaning your vehicle. It is awkward, and getting the right results comes down to you chemicals and equipment.

The result of a lot of trial and error has led us to the conclusion that you can’t get perfect results without a specifically designed high quality glass cloth, and the right cleaning chemical, we have found Gyeon Q2M Glass Cleaner works great and also Gtechniq G6 Perfect Glass. 

1. You want to begin making sure to remove any big marks or greasy films off the glass. You can do this either by using one part of your folded rag to be the dirtiest part, reserving other sides for getting a streak free finish. OR use a regular microfibre first to get the bulk of the grime off, before repeating with the glass cloth. For this step spray liberally and wipe off until product and grime is removed. *May not be required on cleaner vehicles. 

2. This step NEEDS to be done in the shade, do not attempt in sunlight as you’ll almost never get it right. Spray very sparingly onto the glass, use a clean surface of the glass cloth for each section, wipe off all product residue and you should be left with a streak free finish. At times you may be better to spray the chemical onto the rag and wipe the windows that way. 

>>>> I urge you to consider the importance of the products you use. As much as the steps of glass cleaning are simple, the results are heavily dependent on:

• Cleaning in the shade

• Cleaning the glass last, once everything else is perfected

• And cleaning with the right glass cloth and chemicals. 

7. Engine Bay Cleaning

There are a couple of common methods for cleaning an engine bay and depends on the vehicle and your concerns for damaging the vehicle. These methods will get you very much the same result, and neither is much more effort than the other. 

Method 1. 

1. Using degreaser, pick sections of the engine bay, starting with the underside of the bonnet, spray liberally.

2. Agitate all crevices and edges with a detail brush, until marks and stains are visibly loosened. Meticulously wipe off all residue with a microfibre cloth, you will likely need more than one to do the whole engine bay effectively. 

Method 2. 

1. Using degreaser, pick sections of the engine bay, starting with the underside of the bonnet, spray liberally.

2. Agitate all crevices and edges with a detail brush, until marks and stains are visibly loosened. Using a garden hose nozzle, wash away all residue. 

>>> This method is considered more risky by some, it is mostly safe on modern day vehicles but if you have any suspicions, speak to a professional before attempting this. Complete this method at your own risk. 

8. Cut and Polish

A cut and polish is a comprehensive service requiring a large amount of tools, chemicals and experience to get right, we don’t recommend doing at home unless you have all 3 of the above factors. 

Attempting this without experience and knowledge could lead to mistakes ruining the appearance of your vehicle and costing you thousands in professional repairs.

1. With access to a pressure washer, the first step should be to do a full pressure wash of the exterior of the vehicle. Don’t miss any spots, get wheel arches, badges, roof and crevices. Try to work from the top, down. 

2. Snow Foam application with Foam Cannon, applying a thick layer to help break down dirt and contaminants on the paintwork. Allow to soak for up to 5 minutes but do not allow to dry

3. Rinse off in the same manner as step 1, not missing a spot, or leaving any soap on the vehicle. 

4. Now that all loose and larger contaminants have been removed, we will spray another layer of foam on, and agitate this with a wash mitt, again getting every crevice, edge and part of the paintwork

5. Repeat step 3. Rinse the entire vehicle from top to bottom, removing all soap and any remaining dirt. 

6. Using soapy water and a synthetic clay scrubber or clay bar to remove iron particles and contaminants from the paintwork. Ensure you decontaminate the entire car and rinse your scrubber occasionally. Rinse the entire vehicle again to remove loose contaminants. 

7. Use a tar desolver compound to remove any tar spots (these appear as chunky black spots, usually appear behind the wheels or on the rear of the vehicle, normally 1-3mm diameter). Each tar dissolver has different instructions/methods so follow those instructions directly. 

8. Now that all contaminants are removed, give the vehicle one last rinse down and then use a drying towel to completely dry all panels and glass. 

9. With the vehicle inside/undercover, and completely dry begin the process of actually polishing the vehicle. *other preparation steps are just as important to getting a good result, do not try to cut corners. Using a one step polishing compound, pick a section of a panel (don’t try to overdo it), spread about 4-5 pea sized drops evenly over the section. 

10. Turn your polisher on a low speed setting and begin working the compound over the paintwork. And move your polisher up and down and side to side, a 2-3 minutes spent on one section if a reasonable measure, or until the compound is worked away. (each time this is repeated is called a pass). 

Tips for the polisher, 

• keep the pad as flat as possible on the panel, only using the edges for curves on the panels. 

• Occasionally clean the pad by turning the machine on and gently using a brush to dust away excess polish

• The first pass with the pad may require a bit of extra compound as it will absorb a lot. 

• Use a soft polishing pad, this will make it harder to make mistakes and cause problems with the paint. 

• Check the temperature of the pad occasionally to ensure you don’t overheat it, and increase the risk of paint burn.

• Sometimes one polishing pad may not be enough for a larger vehicle, each pass may become less effective and you likely need to swap to a new pad.

• Consider the type of polisher you are using, Rotary is more aggressive, Dual-Action Orbital less aggressive but may take more passes to get to the same result. 

• Use a microfibre cloth to buff away compound residue, check your work and gauge whether you need to repeat this section again for a better result. 

• Repeat stages 10-11 for every painted panel of the vehicle, and if you choose to do 2 passes on a particular section, do the same for each other section, don’t do a mixed number of passes between different panels. 

• Use a panel wipe or quick detailer product and a clean microfibre cloth to ensure all compound residue is removed. 

9. Ceramic Coating

Ceramic Coating is a scrupulous process, we recommend this should only be done by a professional, but nonetheless here is how it is most often completed.

1. With access to a pressure washer, the first step should be to do a full pressure wash of the exterior of the vehicle. Don’t miss any spots, get wheel arches, badges, roof and crevices. Try to work from the top, down. 

2. Snow Foam application with Foam Cannon, applying a thick layer to help break down dirt and contaminants on the paintwork. Allow to soak for up to 5 minutes but do not allow to dry

3. Rinse off in the same manner as step 1, not missing a spot, or leaving any soap on the vehicle. 

4. Now that all loose and larger contaminants have been removed, we will spray another layer of foam on, and agitate this with a wash mitt, again getting every crevice, edge and part of the paintwork

5. Repeat step 3. Rinse the entire vehicle from top to bottom, removing all soap and any remaining dirt. 

6. Using soapy water and a synthetic clay scrubber or clay bar to remove iron particles and contaminants from the paintwork. Ensure you decontaminate the entire car and rinse your scrubber occasionally. Rinse the entire vehicle again to remove loose contaminants. 

7. Use a tar desolver compound to remove any tar spots (these appear as chunky black spots, usually appear behind the wheels or on the rear of the vehicle, normally 1-3mm diameter). Each tar dissolver has different instructions/methods so follow those instructions directly. 

8. Now that all contaminants are removed, give the vehicle one last rinse down and then use a drying towel to completely dry all panels and glass. 

9. With the vehicle inside/undercover, and completely dry begin the process of actually polishing the vehicle. *other preparation steps are just as important to getting a good result, do not try to cut corners. Using a one step polishing compound, pick a section of a panel (don’t try to overdo it), spread about 4-5 pea sized drops evenly over the section. 

10. Turn your polisher on a low speed setting and begin working the compound over the paintwork. And move your polisher up and down and side to side, a 2-3 minutes spent on one section if a reasonable measure, or until the compound is worked away. (each time this is repeated is called a pass). 

    • Tips for the polisher, 

    • keep the pad as flat as possible on the panel, only using the edges for curves on the panels. 

    • Occasionally clean the pad by turning the machine on and gently using a brush to dust away excess polish

    • The first pass with the pad may require a bit of extra compound as it will absorb a lot. 

    • Use a soft polishing pad, this will make it harder to make mistakes and cause problems with the paint. 

    • Check the temperature of the pad occasionally to ensure you don’t overheat it, and increase the risk of paint burn.

    • Sometimes one polishing pad may not be enough for a larger vehicle, each pass may become less effective and you likely need to swap to a new pad.

    • Consider the type of polisher you are using, Rotary is more aggressive, Dual-Action Orbital less aggressive but may take more passes to get to the same result. 

11. Use a microfibre cloth to buff away compound residue, check your work and gauge whether you need to repeat this section again for a better result. 

12. Repeat stages 10-11 for every painted panel of the vehicle, and if you choose to do 2 passes on a particular section, do the same for each other section, don’t do a mixed number of passes between different panels. 

13. Use a panel wipe or quick detailer product and a clean microfibre cloth to ensure all compound residue is removed. 

14. From this point forwards the steps must be done in a controlled and enclosed space, away from sunlight, with minimal airborne chemicals and dust and a low temperature to allow correct application times. *Each ceramic coating product may differ in their instructions, these steps are based on GTECHNIQ CSL LIGHT. Wearing gloves, soak the applicator with a pipette worth of product, spread over a small area eg ¼ bonnet, ½ door, etc. generally make an X, create borders and then spread from there using an up and down and side to side motion, ensuring the entire section is visibly covered. (this spreading pattern allows better even coverage, rather than putting excessive coating on one side or around the edges and trying to spread it from there.)

15. With 2 clean microfiber towels, use one to do an initial wipe, and a second to properly remove all residue. This should be done immediately after application or product, you can wait up to 30 seconds to do so, allowing product to ‘flash’ but this will significantly increase the risk of ‘high spots’ of coating. 

16. Repeat steps 14-15 on the entire painted surface of the vehicle, assess your work with a detailing light, make any changes necessary.

17. Allow to cure for 12 hours minimum in the enclosed space, out of sunlight and also avoid washing the vehicle for the first week after applying. 

Flash: with regards to ceramic coating is the point where it may visibly change appearance, ie form droplets, lose shine. This is usually the indicator that the excess residue needs to be removed. 

High Spots: with regards to ceramic coating are areas where excess product may not have been removed early enough, these may show as cloudy or rough, usually requiring the panel or section to be buffed back and ceramic to be reapplied, costing valuable time. 

*This article is not to be taken as a guarantee of what we do for your vehicle during our services but it is better seen as a guide to understanding detailing and advice on how you might attempt to complete these processes yourself at your own risk and expense.