It’s recommended that you get your car detailed at least twice per year. Ideally, every six months, but if you can, every four months. This gives you the opportunity to ensure your vehicle looks and feels good when you get behind the wheel. And honestly, leaving damage on the bodywork and interiors can actually do more harm than you might initially realise.
But what do you do in between details? How can you keep things clean and looking good?
Let’s take a look.
Clay Bar Treatment
Your car’s paintwork will collect bonded contamination. That’s a hazard of simply being in the environment. Some accumulate more than others, but for the most part, it’s hard to avoid this completely. A regular wash, however, doesn’t always remove everything, and if your car feels rough to the touch, then it’s likely there’s something lingering post-clean.
Clay bar treatments used with a lubricant lift these contaminants off the surface without scratching, leaving the paint underneath smooth and ready to hold a wax or sealant rather than trapping more underneath it. You can do this a few times a year for added protection.
Paint Sealant or Wax
Clean paint left unprotected oxidises. Then it loses gloss and becomes harder to maintain. A synthetic paint sealant applied after a thorough wash and clay bar treatment creates a barrier that repels water, reduces bonding of new contamination, and makes subsequent washing easier. These types of sealants last for around three to six months, making them the perfect option between detail body care treatments. You can use Carnauba wax, but this doesn’t last as long and needs to be applied more frequently.
Full Service Car Wash
A proper full service car wash will catch those areas that a rinse doesn’t always get. Think door jambs, wheel arches, lower body panels, and trim lines where max grime can collect and hold.
Between detail appointments, a full service wash every few weeks will remove surface contamination before it gets a chance to bond and help keep any protective layers in good condition, too. Plus, when you undergo this step prior to adding a sealant or wax, you’ll get better results and ensure you’re not trapping anything underneath.
Glass and Trim Protection
A glass and exterior trim protection step is going to help you ensure your car is in good condition at all times. Skipping it means you’re exposing areas around the paintwork unnecessarily. Plus, if you have a water repellent coating on your windshield and windows, you’ll drastically improve wet-weather driving conditions too. Water will simply sheet off and not sit or smear.
In regard to trim, if you leave it, it will fade and go chalky, and once this happens, it’s really difficult to reverse. If you use a dedicated trim restorer or protector every few months, you can keep plastic and rubber surfaces in good condition, prevent or delay degradation, and maintain the overall appearance of the vehicle.
Vacuum
It’s not just the exterior you need to care for between detailing. Letting your interior get messy and not vacuuming it can result in the debris causing damage, rips, stains odors you can’t quite seem to eliminate. A quick vacuum as frequently as every week means you can keep the inside looking just as good as the ouside at all times.