Everyone knows when buying a car, one of the first things to think about is the maintenance it will require. Mechanically, every car is different. However, there is one maintenance item that is universally needed among all cars, and that is the maintenance of its surfaces: Detailing! It is essential for the condition of your car whether you are keeping it for a short time, or until the wheels fall off. For what it’s worth, detailing will also help prevent your wheels from turning into projectiles! More on that later…

When you choose to invest in your car by taking care of and protecting its exterior and interior surfaces, you make it safer, more enjoyable to drive, and easier to clean next time around which makes subsequent cleanings cheaper as they’ll be less extensive.

“Mechanically, every car is different. However, there is one maintenance item that is universally needed among all cars, and that is the maintenance of its surfaces.”

A detailing is more than a car wash: It is a white glove service where more care is taken than people imagine. A car wash is a production line where your wheels are clamped in, paint is assaulted with brushes that cleaned every other car, and makes more damage than people imagine.

The washes that don’t touch your car? Those do little more than nothing at all, using strong chemicals which strip the wax protecting your paint.

What does your car and a Bentley Continental convertible have in common? Neither vehicles deserve to have bird droppings sitting on the paint, causing damage!

A proper detailing preserves the surfaces as the paint, glass, wheels, seats, carpets, and dashboard are finished off with protectant. This protectant guards against attack from paint-staining tar and leaves, clearcoat-eating bird droppings and bug splatter, and even paint scratches and interior spills.

A proper detail is recommended every four months to remove the dirt and bonded contaminants that sit and fester on the paint. This dirt, combined with time, compromises integrity causing the paint to peel, rust to form, and in extreme cases: cause the wheels to weaken from the corrosive asbestos dust brakes produce. Like I said, detailing will keep your wheels from becoming projectiles! Now you know I wasn’t exaggerating.

Brake dust is corrosive, so heavy buildup like this can weaken the metal over time!

The protectants detailers apply to cars further enhance shine, depth, and reflections of the clean car’s paint and help it stay cleaner, longer because it makes the paint slicker. This reduces surface tension making dust more susceptible to sliding off than accumulating on the surface.

Protectants guard the paint from harm from about any environmental contaminant you could imagine: UV rays, bird droppings, tree sap, road tar, metal particles, acid rain, and too many more to list!

Behind the wheel well of a white Jeep Grand Cherokee, metal particles and tar specks are prevalent. The only way to remove this is via a clay bar treatment by a skilled automotive detailer.

If you have a light-colored car, go check your trunk for small black or orange dots; this is where they tend to collect the most, and are most visible on white paint. These dots are little bits of metal that adhere to the paint so well, they cannot be safely cleaned off, even by the best detailers. They must be removed with a special chemical that dissolves them, or by hand with a tedious process using a bar of lubricated clay. If you don’t get your car detailed at least two to three times a year, these black dots will build up, rust, and damage the paint. When you finally choose to have your car detailed once these are already present, it will be a time-consuming and costly removal.

“If you continue to wait, the contaminants on your paint will too!”

Ceramic Coatings

Ceramic coatings are another paint protectant. These coatings are not like wax, they are far superior. Your grandfather waxed his T-Bird, but ceramic coatings are today’s technology. They go on thin, by hand, and cure to the paint forming a protective boundary able to be measured with a paint gauge. This semi-permanent layer of protection is much more impermeable than a wax or sealant. It is strong enough to protect the paint from scratches and last more than two years. These are “wax on steroids” due to their technology, strength, and ability to repel and release dirt. Coatings should be applied to the car from the very beginning, before it is too late. But, with great power comes great prep time! (At least I think that’s how that saying goes!..) They require much more paint preparation than a wax, but in turn lead to much better protection and simpler maintenance during ownership, granting the owner quicker and cheaper car washes, and far less need for reapplication of protectant thanks to its longevity.

The glossy red of my 1991 Mazda Miata is further enhanced by the ceramic coating applied to the paint.

Give me any car that has had repaint work done, and I will identify the exact panels that work occurred. I know that is a definitive statement, but resprays rarely look as good as factory paint. If they are, well, at that point you might as well have bought another car of the same year with original paint; a car that actually was maintained by a detailer on even a semi-regular basis. Unfortunately, good paint jobs are rare, and the good body shops know that. A proper respray of previously damaged paint will more than counteract all the money you “saved” by not getting your car detailed.

This is the panel of a truck I detailed that had clearly been repainted at some point in the past. Do you notice the dotted and hazy appearance it gives to everything its reflecting? This is called “Orange Peel” and is a tell-tale sign of a repaint.

Resale Value

Another reason you need to get your car detailed, is it increases resale value! Whether you plan to sell your car yourself or receive less money by trading it in to a dealership, a clean car will always bring a higher price! It gives you, as the seller, negotiation power and will lead to a faster sale. For a dealer, they will see less reconditioning costs and have more margin to negotiate their purchase price with you. If you don’t have the time to sell privately, you should still hire a broker to handle the deal instead of taking the peanuts dealers offer on trade-ins. Good auto brokers don’t make money unless you do; dealers make money no matter what!

There are plenty of reasons supporting my stance that it’s better to keep your car’s appearance maintained by a qualified detailer. But if you are not the “big picture” type, then maybe you are the “image” type…

IT. JUST. LOOKS. WAY. BETTER!

Whether you entertain clients, arrive to important meetings, or just drive around town, rolling in a fresh car will enhance your confidence as you turn heads when people notice how exceptionally clean your car is. If you look great, you feel great!

My client, Paul, understands this concept, and his car always looks great because of it!

So go ahead, get your car professionally detailed, or spend the quality time with your vehicle and learn how, yourself. It will remind you of the day you bought it, and even prolong that urge to buy an expensive new car! I gave a lot of reasons why, and if you think about it, there are no reasons not to. It’s rare we come across a choice in life with all pros and no cons. So, if you don’t want to waste time and money with sub-par products, comment below and I will personally email my resource list of my favorite products compiled over eight years of personal and professional auto detailing experience! If you’d rather leave it to the professionals, hop on Google, check reviews, and find a quality detailer to establish a long-term working relationship with. Or mention this article and book with us if you are in the Tidewater, Virginia area! If you are not, still comment below and I will personally make you a recommendation for your area. I run an online mastermind group of car detailers who have applied for membership to sharpen their skills and improve their professionalism.

If you continue to wait, the contaminants on your paint will too!