Important:

The order for detailing steps is important.

At the very beginning it can be helpful to pre-wash and dry the car body remembering about door sills and recesses (all painted areas). This will make the next steps easier and will prevent you from getting dirty while cleaning the car interior. Don’t forget to empty the ashtray (if needed) and door side pockets.

Car care advice from a Car Restorer

Professionals who use our products have given us some advice. We’d like to share that with you to help make you successful in your own car detailing.

Let’s startwith the interior

1.Renewing the freshness
to car air conditioning

If your car air conditioning vents have an unpleasant or musty smell, you can clean these also.

Bad smells can be caused by several things, some of which are: clogged air conditioning drains, a clogged air cabin filter, bacteria and mold.

Air cabin filters can get clogged up with dust, leaves and other debris. To make sure you breathe fresh air, we recommend replacing it regularly. Also follow your car manufacturer’s instructions to eliminate any possible leaves and other debris under the cowl panel which may also cause unpleasant smells.

The next step is to clean the air vents. You can leave this to a professional or do-it-yourself using one of our air conditioning cleaners. Choose the one that kills bacteria and mold and at the same time removes any unpleasant smells.

2.
UPHOLSTERY

Order

  • Remove the floor mats and vacuum them separately.
  • With the appropriate attachment vacuum the seats and the carpet thoroughly.
    Reach all hardly accessible places.
  • Vacuum the cockpit, seats and the door upholstering using a soft brush attachment.


Be careful not to damage knobs and vents. Take special care while vacuuming the leather.

Remember always to test a product on a small, non-visible area before using it.

Spray the cleaner evenly on the fabric upholstery then rub energetically until the dirt is removed, later wipe thoroughly with a dry soft cloth. Repeat the procedure on all upholstered elements.

Leather upholstery can be very delicate, so it is best to use a product specially formulated for cleaning leather seats. Again, test the cleaner on a small non visible area to make sure there is no color change. After you are sure, spray the leather care product directly onto the surface of the leather to be cleaned or onto a soft, clean microfiber cloth rage. Wipe it gently onto the leather, reaching into crevices and around the edges. Leather care products can leave a slippery surface so it is not recommended using them on leather-wrapped steering wheels and gear change knobs. Clean those elements with a clean and barely moist microfibre towel.

3.Cleaning and polishing
the dashboard and interior
plastics

Apply a dedicated product on the dashboard, center console and other plastic parts.

A dedicated product not only makes the dashboard look clean and matt or shiny, it also contains UV filters, protects the plastic, and prevents the further build-up of dust. Stubborn dust and food particles in areas with difficult access can be removed by using a soft brush or compressed air.



Apply a dedicated product on the dashboard, center console and other plastic parts. Use cockpit wipes or spray some amount of dedicated product on a soft, clean cloth. Buff gently. There are several types of products available, each leaves a different finish from matt to super shine. Choose the one which suits you the best. A dedicated product not only makes the dashboard look clean and matt or shiny, it also contains UV filters helping to protect the plastic, and prevent the further build-up of dust.

Make sure you do not use plastic or glass cleaners on gauges, LCD screens etc!

Use only dedicated products designed for these plastics.

Stubborn dust and food particles in areas with difficult access can be removed by using a soft brush or compressed air.

4.Tires and
wheels

Clean the wheels before you start with the body and paint.

Use acid-free formulas to remove road dirt, strip residue (when new) from tires, and clean stubborn brake dust off wheels.

Acid-based cleaners can damage tire rubber, cause unpainted alloys to oxidize and pit, and damage painted or clear coated wheels.

Wash your tires with car shampoo and then let dry. Next, use dedicated tire car care products on the sidewall to give your tires a rich, deep “wet look”, and protect the rubber from adverse weather conditions and fading due to direct sunlight.

WARNING – DO NOT use any of these types of products on a tire treads.

5.The best wash =
the hand wash

After washing, rinse the car with plenty of water to completely remove any leftover shampoo. Now you can dry with a soft microfiber rag or a squeegee.


First of all, the hand car wash gives you a chance to inspect the car's surfaces. Use car shampoo, it is especially formulated to maintain car paint.

Cleaning with dishwashing detergent may clean your car but also strip off any protective wax coatings, leaving paint vulnerable and unprotected.

Stubborn dirt, bird droppings left on the paint can go through wax and clear coatings into the color coat underneath. To get your paint completely and thoroughly clean, you may need to do more than just a wash. Before moving on to waxing, we advise checking the paint surface carefully with a dry hand. If it feels rough, it is not ready for waxing yet.

Try using paint cleaners to remove all unwanted old waxes and other environmental chemicals that have stuck to the paint. Paint can also be cleaned another way – by paint cleaning clay. It removes bonded contamination through the mechanical action of rubbing a clay bar against the vehicle surface.

6.Polishing
(if necessary)

If your car paint has a scratch that goes down to bare metal, the only way is to go to the garage and have it fixed by professionals with the necessary experience.

Polishing smoothes paint. The smoother the paint the better the shine. There are two ways to polish your car – by hand or using an oscillating or rotating polishing machine. Using an rotating polishing machine gives the best results but also requires more experience.

For DIYers oscillating polishing machine could be more suitable. Polish can also contain wax to protect paint but wax alone will not smooth any paint. After polishing your efforts, you will be rewarded with deep reflections in your car paint.

7.
Wax – your paint’s
Best Friend!

Every day your car is attacked by harmful pollution. Bird droppings, acid rain, abrasive elements and many others can have a negative impact your car’s paint. Good wax can protect against them, it absorbs stains and small scratches before they contact the paint.

A car should be thoroughly rewaxed every 2-3 months, depending on weather and driving conditions.

Car waxes can be natural (Carnauba), synthetic or a variation of both and come in various forms. Choose one depending on your personal application preferences either liquid, paste or hard.

A car should be thourghly rewaxed every 2-3 months, depending on weather and driving conditions.

You can use liquid wax between general cleaning and protecting to touch up any picked up stains and scratches. However, it is not a substitute for full cleaning, polishing and protection given by a hard wax. It hard to know if the previous wax has already disappeared.

Even making a test with spilling water and checking for beading will not give 100% certainty. Therefore we recommend sticking to a car waxing schedule.

8.Crystal
clear glass

The above steps for cleaning and waxing a car leave residues on car glass. This is why we clean it last.

Again, we recommend not using household glass cleaning products. First, they often do not have a pleasant smell, and more importantly, they can have a negative influence on car upholstery and dashboards.


Use products dedicated for car cleaning use. Removing the dirt using a microfiber cloth gives the best results leaving your car glass streak and smudge free. Remember to clean side windows twice, when half open to reach the top edges and fully closed to remove any possible dirt and moisture left from the seals.

You can enhance your visibility and safety while driving in the rain by using our “Invisible Wiper” on the windscreen. Be sure you degrease it very well before applying. Using the “Invisible Wiper” also protects your car’s rear and side windows from water stain etching.