There are several areas on vehicles that I notice get overlooked by professional and amateur detailers alike. Attention to these easily missed items can really elevate the quality of your work and the impression it makes on customers.

Trunk pulls.
This is the area above the trunk latch. It’s out of sight when the trunk is shut, but when opened, it’s fully exposed. Be sure to clean this during the wash, and if residue remains after the wash, clean it out with a detailer’s brush and an all purpose cleaner. No need to buff/polish/wax this spot…just be sure it’s clean when exposed.

Beneath door handles.
This area gets scratched by fingernails and is viewed every time the owner opens his/her door. The light scratching can quickly be removed with rubbing compound, and gives the impression of a more thorough car detailing.

Turn signals.
Turn signals, through frequent use (tens–even hundreds–of thousands of clicks) accumulate skin and dirt deposits. Simply wipe clean with an all purpose cleaner (diluted Simple Green is fine) and clean cracks and gaps with a toothbrush. The customer will certainly notice when touching a freshly cleaned turn signal.

Underside of rear hatches.
SUVs, minivans, and station wagons with hatches have interior panels that often accumulate pet hair, scuffs, and dirt. It’s easy to overlook this area. Look up! Your customer will. Wimply wipe clean with a clean towel and all purpose cleaner.

Shift console
When cleaning below the shifter, be sure to shift it into park and reverse to reveal and clean the mechanism you don’t see when the car is parked. About half of all detailers seem to miss this. It gets immediately noticed when the owner starts his/her freshly detailed car, and shifts it into reverse and drive.

Consoles that can be disassembled
Many center consoles contain ashtrays and cup holders that can be disassembled and removed. You will find coffee, dirt, and debris in these spots. Disassemble everything that can be disassembled and clean it from above and below. You can count on many customers to check these areas.

Between seats.
Crumbs, dirt, and pet hair collect here. Your customer cannot access this area with his/her vacuum. Blast out dirt with an air compressor from these areas, and vacuum it up where it settles. If there are food/beverage spills, wet with all purpose cleaner, scrub with a long handle toothbrush, then blast clean with compressed air. If dirt and spills are excessive, remove the seat, clean, and reinstal the seat.

We now reupholster seats, benches, headliners, and carpets in vehicles and boats.

Have a look at a recent repair of an F150. Its bench had seam failure and the headliner had delaminated and begun to sag.

The headliner was removed, its wrap removed, and a new one applied.

The bench was removed, its cover removed, and a new one applied.

Pictures:

 

 

 

 

These repairs are permanent and performed with top quality materials. Email info@acecars.net with photos of your auto and boat upholstery needs and we’ll reply with a repair estimate within 12 hours.

 
Portland Car Detailing - More free videos are here

A full detail, step by step:

• Secure customer’s personals (loose change, sunglasses, pens, notepads, etc.) in Zip Loc bags and set aside.
• Pre-treat door jambs, wheel wells, trunk jambs, frame rails, and grill with mild degreaser/cleaner.
• Pressure wash all door jambs, wheel wells, trunk jambs, frame rails, grill, window seals, door seals, emblems, key holes, door handles, gas filler area.
• Wash car by hand with clean microfiber wash mitt and mild car wash detergent. Scrub license plates clean with appropriate brushes and cleaners.
• Hand clean wheels with industrial strength wheel cleaner and assorted brushes and degreasers. Pressure wash wheels and wheel well with 1500 psi of water.
• Remove large deposits of road tar, bugs, and tree sap using multiple applications of Stoner’s Tarminator. In some cases, lacquer thinner must be used to remove exceptionally embedded contaminants.
• Hand dry vehicle with damp chamois towel. Door seals, window seals, trim pieces, trunk jambs, emblems, and external mirrors must be “blasted” dry with 90 psi of compressed air.
• Polish and wax all painted surfaces with Cyclo polisher, mild compounding/polishing foam pad, and high gloss Klear Kote Vanilla Hand Wax. Minor surface scratches are removed, paint achieves a reflection superior to new condition, and the embedded wax provides approximately 6 - 12 weeks of protection from dust, water spotting, and UV fade if vehicle is washed every 10-14 days.
• Dress tires and wheel wells with high-silicone rubber/plastic dressing.
• Remove floor mats from interior. Blow clean with 90 psi of compressed air. Scrub dry soil with carpet brush and vacuum clean. Spray generous amount of high-foaming carpet shampoo. Scrub with heated steam to bring embedded dirt to surface. Inject high temperature water into carpet followed immediately with high suction steam from carpet shampooer. Allow floor mats to air dry for 1 hour.
• Using compressed air gun (90 psi), “blast” dust from vents, console, dash, under seats, between seats, upholstery seams, in crevices and hard to reach places, between seat cushions, into map pockets, into cockpit switches and controls, steering wheel gaps, trim pieces…anywhere fingers cannot clean. Vacuum out resulting dust and dirt.
• Clean headliner stains with Desiderio vapor steamer. View videos of the Desiderio vapor steamer in use here.
• Clean upper trim parts (upper seat belt anchors, plastic pillar facades) with appropriate cleaners and degreasers.
• Clean leather seats and head rests with appropriate brushes and clenaers. Be sure to clean deep in seams, creases, along piping, and in map pockets. Apply leather conditioner when dry.
• Apply high foaming upholstery shampoo to cloth seats. Scrub into a foam. Extract clean with vapor steam and vacuum suction.
  Clean all surfaces in trunk area. Remove spot stains as necessary from trunk liner. Lift trunk liner and vacuum/clean spare tire. Push seats forward to vacuum crease where rear seats meet trunk. Wipe clean trunk jambs and decklid.
• Clean lower trim parts (door sills, lower seat sections, foot wells, door panels, map pockets, ash trays, door handles, door pulls, windows switches with appropriate cleaners and degreasers.
• Scrub clutch, brake, and gas pedals clean with appropriate cleaners and degreasers.
• Apply high foaming carpet shampoo to all carpeted surfaces. Scrub with pressure to create foam. Extract clean with vapor steam and vacuum suction.
• Clean exterior and interior glass using Cobra Glass-Specific Microfiber towels and Stoner’s Invisible Glass glass cleaner. Repeat 2-3 times to remove all hazing and streaks. Remove glue, tree sap, and stickers when necessary using lubricated razor and adhesive remover.
• Return customer’s personal items to car.
• Inspect vehicle for errors. Return keys to customer. Allow inspection of vehicle by customer. If work is acceptable, present with receipt and accept payment (cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover).

Visit our website at http://www.acecars.net for more information. 

Thanks for reviewing Portland car detailing.

Have a look at our newly created and uploaded bumper repair video:

Portland Bumper Repair - Watch more funny videos here

At Ace Car Reconditioning in Portland, we specialize in 8 hour bumper repairs. Scuffs, cuts, splits, chips…even full replacements can be completed in 8 hours or less for 30% to 50% less than body shop prices. Consider rapid bumper repair for your car: a convenient, quick, and affordable alternative to conventional auto body repair.

Are the improvements of a full detail simply temporary? They’re not. Here’s 4 reasons why.

1. Prevention and repair of paint failure. Have you seen a red car that turned pink? A black car that turned gray? Even worse…a relatively young (6-10 years old) car with paint that’s peeling away? Regular waxing can prevent these conditions. Applied once a season (twice in the summer), the UV protection of wax prevents the fading of paint pigments and delaminating of paint materials. Most neglected paints (excluding peeling paint) can be repaired with a combination of buffing, polishing, and waxing. Consider this oxidized Mercedes 300E:

 

 2.  Stain removal.  Grease, food, dairy, coffee, soda, glue, paint…all the things you transport in your car can potentially stain interior surfaces.  Detailers are equipped with chemicals and machinery to remove MOST stains:  battery acid, gasoline, and certain food dyes (if left untreated for too long) require replacement of carpets and/or seating surfaces.  The water rings and beverage stains in this SUV’s rear seat were removed with a commercial strength steamer.  Consistent (every 6 - 12 months) detailing will remove interior stains before they become set and permanent. 

 

 

While it’s true that a do-it-yourselfer can clean a car with items in a common garage, there are issues that require professional equipment and experience. I’ll list some:

1. Carpet and upholstery stains. A combination of a pressure washer, carpet shampooer, steamer, and stain treatment chemicals can remove protein, ink, food, coffee, soda…even urine stains.  Crisp, clean looking seats and carpets are essential to good auto detailing.  A wet/dry vacuum and over-the-counter carpet/upholstery shampoo simply don’t treat all these issues. 

2. Paint overspray, scratches, oxidation, and swirling. The waxes and polishes available to do-it-yourselfers these days are excellent at preserving healthy paint. But if the previously listed problems develop, a combination of claybar removal, wetsanding, buffing, polishing, and waxing–applied with a high speed rotary buffer and orbital polisher–are the only means of restoring the health of your paint.

3. “Nooks and crannies.” These are areas that are simply not accessible with common tools. They include: under seats, between seats, in vents, in seams, around buttons, in crevices, around weather seals, and even in screws and bolts. A combination of specialized chemicals, brushes and compressed air allow auto detail shops to clean items like dirty knobs, vents, seals, and screws as well as access areas between and under seats to ensure a thorough cleaning of a vehicle.

We’ve made an equipment investment of over $30,000 at Ace Car Reconditioning in Beaverton to ensure that if it can be cleaned in a car detail, it WILL be cleaned in your vehicle.  Please consider us for your car detailing needs in the Portland, OR area.  Vist Portland Auto Detailing to view 50+ photos and a video