How to detail your car at home

Car (or auto) detailing is the process of giving the outside and inside of your car a very thorough clean to remove every bit of grit and grime. The aim? To get it back to showroom condition. More than just a few splashes of soap and water, regular detailing can help protect your car’s surfaces, increase headlight visibility, and boost windshield clarity. 

Getting a professional to detail your car is always an option, but it can set you back a few hundred dollars. So if you’ve got the time and the willingness to put in a little elbow grease, you can easily detail your car yourself.

Step one, supplies! You may have a fair few already, but if you don’t, simply add a quick trip to your local auto shop or hardware store to get the goods. Now, a word on pricing. It might seem like your money will be better spent on paying somebody else to do the work for you, but once you’ve invested in all the equipment you need, you’ll be able to detail your car to a high standard over and over again, saving you money in the long term. If you’re a complete detailing newbie, a car cleaning kit is a great way to get started and an awesome budget option. Here’s a few items you may need:

• Wash buckets
• Microfibre wash pad or mitt (or two!)
• Microfibre drying towels
• Vacuum
• Car shampoo  
• Clay bar 
• Wax or pain sealant 
• Tyre dressing  
• Glass wipes 
• Upholstery/leather cleaner

First order of business, move your car into a shady spot. This will help keep the car cool so you can avoid soap drying on it. Next, give your vehicle a thorough rinse with a hose to gently loosen dirt and debris. This will help make the washing process more efficient. 

Alright, now you’re ready to wash the surfaces. You’ll want to prepare two buckets, one with soapy water, and one with clean water. This ensures you don’t double-dip into grit you’ve already removed. Trust us, it makes a difference!

Patience, grasshopper. You’ll want to wash your car in stages, not all in one hit. This is so the soap doesn’t dry on the car surface and create streaks. You'll want to wash the car from the roof down, leaving the glass until the very end. Give each section a thorough suds, then rinse off the soap with clean water.

Top tips for the exterior:

• Don’t use dish soap 
  It’s super important to use a specific car cleaner because products like dish soap are too abrasive.  

• Make those wheels sparkle 
  Inexpensive foaming detergents are a fine option for cleaning your tyres and the rims, but a specialised wheel cleaning product will make them really shine. 

• Get rid of animal poo  
  Bird poo is high in uric acid and will corrode your beautiful paint job. It’s best to remove it as soon as it happens, but if it’s been there for a while, leaving a damp cloth with some of your all-purpose cleaner on the area to sit for a bit sometimes does the trick.

Glass can be tricky to clean, but we’ve got a few tried-and-true ways you can leave your windows and windscreen streak free and gleaming. Here’s what to do:

1. Wet the windshield with cleaning solution. For your windows, roll them down slightly to get the top edges too. 
2. Use your microfibre towel to remove dirt and fingerprints. We find circular motions work best.
3. Whatever you do, don’t use paper towels. It leaves lint on the window.

Once the exterior is washed and dried, you’re ready to go in with a clay bar and polish.

1. Apply a small bit of tar remover and leave for half a minute to soak in, before wiping away with a microfibre cloth. 
2. Next step, the clay. Lubricate the surface of the car with the spray that came with your clay kit. Again, you’ll need to do this in sections, don’t attempt to do the whole car or entire side panel all at once. Next, gently rub the clay over the section in linear motions. 
3. Wipe down with a microfibre cloth and keep going until the whole car is complete. You’ll know it’s done when the clay glides smoothly over the paintwork with no resistance. 

Now, it’s time for a polish. Again, we’ll be doing this section by section.

1. Pop a small amount of polish on the pad. 
2. Using circular motions, rub the polish onto the paintwork using a bit of pressure. 
3. Buff the area to remove residue using a microfibre cloth. 

OK, almost there. Time to wax.

1. A protective wax coating is the last step. Use a cream or liquid wax and apply it to an applicator pad.
2. Section by section, apply the wax to the car, rubbing in circular motions. 
3. After each section, wipe the surface with a microfibre cloth. (Luckily, Bunnings sell them in bulk!)

Time to complete the job and give the inside a little love. Start by taking the floor mats out, and then:

1. Sprinkle a little bicarbonate soda on the floor carpet and let it sit there for up to an hour. Then, give it a good vacuum. This will help lift out stains and odours. 
2. Switch heads on the vacuum to an upholstery brush to gently hoover up any dirt and debris from the seats of your car. 

Speaking of car seats, if you’ve got leather seats, give them a light spray with leather cleaner and wipe them down, or use leather cleaning wipes. Afterwards, you can buff them with a soft leather brush if you’d like.

Ah, squeaky clean! While it takes a bit of time, detailing your car yourself is a great way to save on costs, and you are more than capable of doing a great job. Experts recommend you should be detailing your car 2 to 3 times a year, so in-between those deeper cleans, keep up with regular washes and vacuums to keep it looking spick and span.