A clean car not only reflects its maintenance schedules but also goes a long way in revealing the personality of the owner. We definitely agree that maintaining a clean and shining vehicle is an extremely hard feat, especially in a country like the UAE, where the climate is itself against it. This means that car owners in this part of the world have to be extra careful with their vehicles and schedule more trips to the local car wash than people living in more forgiving conditions.
However, one must understand that frequent trips to the car wash just doesn’t cut it. A car wash service quickly cleans the exterior of your car in order to make it presentable in public within 20 minutes. It can be quite effective in getting the mud off your car-body during rains or right after a sandstorm but does little to address the issue in detail.
This is where car detailing comes into play. One needs to understand that car detailing and car washes are completely different concepts. The difference lies not only in the process, the intention and the result but also in terms of prices.
A proper car detailing service can cost you about ten times more than that of a regular car wash but also addresses certain parts of your car that is inaccessible during a normal wash.
The main aim of a car detailing service is to clean up the dirt that went unnoticed during regular car washes and optimize the car in a manner that it reflects near-showroom condition. This means ensuring spotless exteriors, shiny rims, transparent windows and hygienic interiors.
Does car detailing remove scratches?
The very simple answer to this question is no. Car-detailing cannot get rid of scratches, at least, not permanently, As the process does not work on repairing the scratches entirely, it only fixes and hides the milder ones.
If only we got a dirham every time someone asked us this question, we’d be detailing the interiors of our coffers instead! A small scratch can be repaired and hidden after a thorough wash and waxing or polishing steps but the more prominent, critically spoiled ones, you’ll have to opt for professional repair.
Scratch Damage – Assess and Repair
Run your fingers across the scratch to assess the damage. Some hairline scratches that do not invade the primer layer can be fixed (read: hidden) through a proper car-detailing service but do not expect great results when it comes to more stubborn scratches. If the scratch runs deep on the metal exterior of your car, you would definitely require professional help for the repair.
The complete car detailing process includes steps like a car wash, interior cleaning, car exterior surface’s waxing and polishing and other operations like a steam wash, accessories installation or tire cleaning. If you are unsure whether a car-detailing service will be able to take care of the botch, you are better off taking it to a body shop or a dedicated car garage instead. Chances are they will not be able to fix it through conventional means and will instead end up hurting the paint job itself.
How do I remove deep scratches from my car?
Since car detailing will not work for the deeper scratches on your car’s surface, you can work out on its repairs yourself with the following ways:
- First, you’ll need to assess the damage. You can fix a slightly deep scratch by applying a whitening toothpaste directly on the scratched area. Repeated applying and rinsing cycle for 4-5 times will repair the damage done. This technique does not work for very deep scratches.
- You can opt for temporary repairs like car paint, colour-spray or the use of a scratch repair kit. Suitable for one time patch up work, the kits have repair solutions that will fix the deep scratches on your car.
- For permanent solutions on very deep scratches, you must seek professional help on its repair service.
Go through our dedicated post on the different types of car scratches in order to learn more about ways to combat and contain them.
What can you expect from a car-detailing service?
A complete car-detailing package should take care of every nitty-gritty detail in your car in order to make it presentable at an auto-show. This is what a layman expects when they take their car to a reputable car-detailing service.
So make sure you know what to expect before spending thousands on your dream ride. This section shall strive to get you up-to-date on modern car-detailing services and what to expect from them.
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Interior Detailing
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Vacuuming
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Brushing and Steam-Cleaning
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Glass Cleaner
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Leather Trimming
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Vacuuming and Wiping
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Perfuming
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Exterior Detailing
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Hand Car Wash
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Claying
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Polishing
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Sealing
Generally, the service provider addresses the interior of your car first. This gives the interiors the time to soak up the water while the team works on the exteriors. You’d end up with wet interiors if it was done the other way round.
Most service packages include both interior and exterior detailing, but there are some premium service providers who provide dedicated services for each. These are generally more detailed and also heavy on the pocket. If you have chosen a detailing plan that includes the interiors, then you can expect the following services:
The very first step is a thorough vacuuming of the car’s interiors in order to remove all material remains and pave the foundation for more rigorous cleaning. An air compressor is used to tight spaces instead of vacuum cleaners.
This method is mainly reserved for the mats and carpets inside your car. It helps in getting rid of the more stubborn particles while keeping it mostly dry.
An appropriate glass cleaner is used to clean the glass-sections and car windows. Use a good quality cleaner in order to ensure maximum shine.
A proper leather cleaner, saddle soap and leather soap are used to clean the areas containing leather. Sometimes a dedicated conditioner for leather is used for dry bits of leather.
Once the above steps are completed, the personnel will then generally vacuum and wipe the interiors of the car in order to remove dirt and particles missed in the first round or to collect the dirt that came off the body of your car during the scrubbing and brushing process.
Lastly, the car will be sprayed with disinfectants and car-perfumes. This ensures that your car smells just as good as it looks!
Once the interior of your car has been properly addressed, it’s time to spruce up the exterior. A good car detailing agency will pay close attention to hairline scratches in order to minimize them, use an industry-standard paint sealant in order to protect the paint job and also provide you with insights on how to maintain that pristine look of your car.
Therefore, make sure that the agency is well-reputed for customer experiences before booking extensive packages with them.
Expect the following when it comes to detailing the exterior of your car:
Contrary to everyday car wash services, a proper car detailing agency will hand wash the car from top to bottom. This gets rid of any hidden blemishes that are otherwise ignored by automatic systems.
Make sure they pay close attention when it comes to the rims of your car as they can accumulate quite a lot of filth over time. Supervise the process closely in order to ensure the best results.
You can also check our article about how to wash a car without scratching the paints
A clay bar specially made for this purpose is used to remove all impurities that are otherwise ignored by normal detergents. This is extremely crucial so make sure they don’t skip this part.
Most reputed car detailing agencies will polish the body vigorously in order to restore the shine to its original condition. Don’t be alarmed when you see them polishing your car as if possessed by a spirit! This is quite normal.
The last step involves sealing the paint with a proper sealant in order to retain its original shine. Sometimes car-wax is also used. There are several other services that the agency might provide like trim detailing, engine bay cleaning and headlight polishing but they are not included in all packages.
When you get a normal package from an agency, you can expect the services mentioned above. All other services may or may not require extra money. Make sure you know the problem areas of your car or the areas that require immediate attention before taking it to the agency itself.
It definitely helps if you can elaborate on the present condition of the car as well as convey your exact expectations. This ensures that there are no additional costs or charges levied after the completion of the process.
Having trouble retaining the shine on your car? Car seats too dusty? Click here to instantly get connected to our trusted service providers and receive direct quotes from them accordingly. Refer to customer reviews for additional information on these service providers and finally book services remotely according to your preferences! Join us in revolutionizing the car servicing and maintenance industry.
