DIY Car Detailing Tips

In theory, a quick wash and vacuum of your car may keep it looking relatively clean and tidy. However, when you look up close, you’ll still see issues with the carpets and dirt in the small gaps between the components of your vehicle. Car detailing is the process of cleaning every area of the car in great detail to restore it to as near as new as possible. This process is very time intensive and can cost a significant amount of money when it's performed by a specialist. Many people think car detailing is only a specialist job. However, you can achieve a pristine look for your vehicle without paying hundreds of pounds. We take a look at some DIY car detailing tips so you can achieve a great finish on your car at home.

Get the right detailing equipment

If you’re going to get into all the cracks of your car to remove the dirt and debris in order to restore it to near-perfect condition, then you’ll need the right equipment. You can buy many different detailing brushes and sets online; each will include various different brushes and tools. The quality and materials of the detailing kit are important; if they’re cheaply made, then you might find fibres come off the equipment and are deposited in your car. This makes more of a mess that you need to clean up. Choose a high-quality detailing kit with enough brushes and tools to cater for different areas of your car. Additionally, make sure you read through the reviews to find equipment that has worked well for other car enthusiasts.

Carpet cleaner

Taking care of the carpets in your car is a key part of detailing. In order to get them looking like new, you’ll need to purchase a carpet cleaner that can extract water from carpets. Shampooing and cleaning your carpets with water is easy, but removing that water afterwards can be an issue. If you don’t extract it properly, then the water will hang around and cause your car to become damp and mouldy. A good carpet cleaner or carpet extractor is essential if you plan on restoring the carpets and any material in your car.

Don’t forget the exterior

Detailing a car includes cleaning the exterior as well as the interior of your car. This means cleaning around all the window seals, waxing and polishing all the paintwork on the car and cleaning your alloy wheels thoroughly. Alloys often get scratched with day-to-day driving and wear, so to make your car look like new again; you may need to get some repairs done. Repairs to UK alloy wheels are reasonably priced, and if you choose the right professional, they can make your alloy wheels look like new again. Detailing can only go so far and won’t repair any scratched or damaged parts of your vehicle.

Remove everything from the car

The best way to get to all of the dirt and debris is to remove everything from your car. Take out any belongings in the car, including anything in the glove box, remove the floor mats and if you want to go that extra mile, take out the seats. This will give you clear access to all the dirt beneath them without your belongings and the seat getting in the way. You should also clean everything you remove from the car individually before putting it back in the vehicle; this will ensure you’re not introducing dirt back into the car.

Vacuum multiple times

When you begin detailing your car, you’ll want to vacuum at the beginning to remove all of the dirt, dust and debris. As you remove dirt from the cracks of your car, between the seams of your seats or around the edges of the door, you’ll create more dirt and dust that will settle again in your vehicle. To combat this, you’ll need to vacuum your car several times to get all of the dirt out. Make sure you use a high-powered, good-quality vacuum cleaner, which will do a good job on your vehicle. The final touch at the end of the detailing process should be one final pass over the car with the vacuum cleaner.