How to Detail Your Car

It may be a surprise to many people, but there is nothing really hard, or difficult about detailing your car. There is no secret to getting a professionally detailed vehicle, the reason fro this is simple. Basically, all that you are going to be doing is washing and cleaning your car or truck. This is something that we have been doing since before we could drive, but how do we go about getting the best looking vehicle out there? In order to make your vehicle look it's best, you are going to have to gather a few things.

Materials needed:

• Dish soap, or car wash solution
• Soft, lint free cloth, or chamois
• Car wax
• Vacuum cleaner
• Crevice tool hose attachment
• Ammonia-free glass cleaner
• Newspapers
• Waxing pads
• Car polishers
• Bucket, 5 gallon size
• Carpet cleaner
• Vinyl cleaner
• Sponge

Once all materials are gathered, you are going to begin your detailing. This process is a fairly simple one, if you keep in mind that you are just going to be washing your car. Begin by mixing the cleaning solution in your bucket. If possible, you should use warm water since warm water does a better job of cleaning than cooler water. Using some soft rags, apply the soapy water to the top of the car, and work your way down. You can also use a sponge if you have one, As you work downwards, work the soap into a lather using gentle pressure and motions so that you do not scratch or harm the vehicles paint job. Once you have scrubbed the exterior of the vehicle in this manner, you can go ahead and rinse off the soap. Dry off the car by using the lint free cloth. Once it is dry, follow the directions on the back of the wax container, and the wax applicators to wax and buff your car, and give it a nice beautiful shine.

Next, you can begin cleaning the windows. As is described in another article, this is another step that is fairly easy. Simply spray the ammonia-free glass cleaner onto the windows, starting with the windshield first. Then wipe cleaner off using the newspaper, moving in one direction, so as to minimize the chances of having any streaks. Complete one section before going to the next.

Finally, you are ready to begin cleaning the interior of your vehicle. To start, remove all the floor mats from the car or truck. After setting aside the mats, begin vacuuming out the floors and seats. Use your crevice attachment as needed to clean out all the tight areas as well. Once the vehicle is completely vacuumed, you can begin cleaning the upholstery if necessary. Simply follow the directions on your "Rug Doctor" machine, and you are going to have clean upholstery again. Be sure that you have allowed the rugs to completely dry prior to using your vehicle, so that you can minimize the chances of mold and mildew growing in the vehicle.

While the upholstery is drying out, you can clean the all the vinyl in the vehicle's interior. The process is more fully described in another article, but simply put, just spray the cleaner onto the rags that you are going to be using, and wipe off the vinyl. Once you have completed this, take a step back and take a good hard look at your vehicle in pride. You have just completely detailed your car.