Exterior detailing involves cleaning and bringing a shine to the car's paint, chrome trim, windows, wheels, and tires. Different detailers use different products to do this, including detergents, detail clay, waxes, polishes, and a variety of applicators and special cloths.
The three main components of exterior car detailing are cleaning, polishing, and protecting.
Cleaning refers to removing all foreign surface particles from exterior
surfaces through the use of washing and claying. A clay bar helps to
clean contamination/dirt from within the clearcoat that cannot be
removed through weekly washing such as bugs, tar, sap, etc. Correcting
refers to using mechanical polishes by hand or with a machine and
specific polishing pads that remove micrometers of clearcoat from a
vehicle to remove fine scratches and swirls from a paint surface
produced from improper washing or drying technique. Protecting involves
the application of a protective wax (in liquid or paste form) that
prevents foreign matter from adhering to the surface of the vehicle,
including water, bugs splatter, tar, and dirt. Waxes and sealants
provide this barrier against the elements. Waxes are some of the most
expensive elements of the detailing process.
