tpoe5
9/17/2008 7:36:43 PM
What''s up everyone. I am a Certified Automotive Reconditioning Professional or "Professional Detailer." I have worked at a GM dealership for 5 years now and I use a line of professional products that can''t be found in any stores. The main company I use is called "Car-Brite." Most dealerships use these guys because they are pretty much the best out there. I also use a few products from the Meguiar''s Professional line which also can''t be found in stores. These guys usually show up about once every other week and do a very good job of keeping me stocked up on all my products.
I''m going to tell you all the process I use when cleaning cars...
I usually clean the interior first. Some people do the outside first, it doesn''t really matter.
INTERIOR:
I start out by taking out all rubber cup-holders and rubber mats that are placed in the bottom of small compartments and such. I then just throw them in a bucket full of my water and car wash soap and let them soak until I''m almost done with the interior. Then, I use an aerosol "all purpose" cleaner and a rag to clean all of the plastic door sill plates and door panels that have been dirtied up and scuffed up by shoes, and also any other interior plastics that are dirty or grimey. This product is also safe to use on leather, therefore I use it to clean leather upholstry also. I then move on to stains and stuff in the carpet, floor-mats, and other cloth upholsry. I use a stain removing chemical from "Car-Brite" called "See Spot Go" on stains. And don''t forget to check the trunk too. I just spray it on the stain, let it set for 30 seconds to a minute (depending on the severity of the stain) then scrub the area with a stiff brissled brush. This product is very effective and usually does the job. While I''m doing this I''m also keeping my eye out for dirty seat tracks and bracketry. If I find some, I wipe them out real well. When all stains are gone, I move on to the dash, radio area, guage cluster area, and air vent area. I usually just take a microfiber rag and dust everything off. I then use a detail brush (aka: a small, soft brissled paint brush) to get in all the small places such as air vents, in between the buttons on the radio and around the air conditioning knobs, around the shifter boot, and the CD slot. When all that is done, all that is really left for the interior is a good vacumn. Any good shop-vac will work, and make sure you get underneath the seats real well. You wouldn''t believe what I''ve found underneath seats. I mean...Wow...people are crazy. And don''t forget the trunk. When I''m done vacumning, it''s time to get all of those rubber cup-holders out of that bucket, rinse them off, wipe them out, and put them back in the car. When the interior is completely done, I give the inside a quick squirt of odor-eliminator/air freshener. I use a product from "Car-Brite" called "Terminator." I give it a quick squirt and if it''s real bad I give it a really really good squirt and I turn the car on and turn the air on and spray it in where the car sucks air in from the outside...usually right at the bottom of the windshield. It will suck it through the air vents. Turn the car off and close the car up because it''s now time to move on to the exterior.
EXTERIOR:
It is very important to use rubber gloves while cleaning the outside of the vehicle because some of these chemicals are very harmful to skin. I usually start by cleaning the engine compartment real quick. It actually doesn''t take much. I start out by opening the hood and spraying the engine compartment down a little with water. Don''t worry, a little water shouldn''t hurt anything. I then spray an all purpose degreaser from "Car-Brite" called "Blue-Max" (it''s blue) all over the engine and everything around it REALLY GOOD and don''t forget to get the underneath side of the hood around the heat pad thing and in the hood jambs. I let it set for about 30 seconds then dip a wash mit or car wash brush into the soapy water and just kinda wash what you can under there and around the underneath side of the hood and in the hood jambs. Then, I lightly spray everything back off. I then use a light dressing from Meguiar''s called "Hyper-Dressing" and spray it all over any black plastic or black rubber. It goes on white, but dries with the water on the plastic and gives it a wonderful satin finish...And it smells like grapes. lol Keep in mind that it will take a few hours for this change to take place, but when it does it will look great. Now I close the hood and start on the wheels, tires, and wheel wells. I use the same all purpose degreaser called "Blue-Max" and spray the wheels, tires and in the wheel wells real good. I then use a wash mit or car wash brush (which is only used for those three things because they usually get more dirty) and get the wheels really well and get the dirt and other crap out of the wheel wells. Then spray everything off. If the wheels are still dirty (they sometimes are) "Car-Brite" makes a chemical called "White Lightning" which is a wheel acid. It is very very strong stuff. All I have to do is spray it on the wheel, wait for 30 seconds and then just spray it off and you can see the dirt and grime come off the wheel. It''s now time to move on to bug removal. I spray off the windshield, mirrors, and front of the car with water. Then it''s time for more "Blue-Max." This stuff works really well on all kinds of stuff...not just cars. lol I spray the windshield, mirrors, and front of the car really well with it, then wait for 30 seconds. Then I use a special yellow scrubbing...thingy...(that''s what I call it.) I get them from Meguiar''s and they are just a yellow bug sponge about the size of your hand. I scrub everything that I sprayed with the "Blue-Max." The bugs just come right off. When I''m done, I spray it all off as well as spray the whole vehicle down. I then wash the car with a biodegradible car wash soap from "Car-Brite." I use a wash mit or a car wash brush, it doesn''t really matter. Depending on the size of the vehicle, wash only certain parts at a time. Just make sure you wash from top to bottom. Simple gravity works with dirt, soap, and water too. You just don''t want your soapy water to dry before you get a chance to spray it off. When the car is all washed and sprayed off, it''s time to dry. I use a water blade that I get from "Car-brite"...you can get them at Wal-Mart too. After I blade most of the water off, I then use a shammy or on dark colored vehicles I use a special microfiber towell which I get from "Car-Brite." It''s just a microfiber rag, but bigger and the fibers are smaller. It does a very good job and leaves no shammy marks at all...seriously...none. Make sure you get an old rag and wipe out your door jambs. When the car is dry, it''s time to move on.
At this point, I usually remove any tar, road grime, or road paint that is stuck to the paint. With tar, "Car-Brite" makes a product called "Take-Off" wich does a very good job at removing tar. I just spray it on the tar and I use one of those yellow scrubber things and remove the tar. This usually does the trick. It''s the same for road paint, they just make a different product for that, but it''s the same process. This part usually takes a while...
When that''s done, I usually put tire shine on the tires. I use this stuff from "Car-Brite" called "Sheen" Everyone has their own way of applying it tire shine. I just spray it on an applicator sponge and apply it that way. I also sometimes spray the tire shine up in the fender wells to make the plastic shine. Wipe any excess off the tire with an old rag and if you accidently got some on the wheel, wipe it off too.
When that''s done, all that''s left is cleaning the windows inside and out. I use a glass cleaner from Meguiar''s simply called "Glass Cleaner Concentrate" it is the best I have ever used and it also smells like grapes. When you are done with the windows inside and out, you''re pretty much done. I usually give the car a few walk around''s and get anything that I missed. (same with the interior)
The car is now done, now take it for a drive and show it off.
