What exactly is Auto-Detailing?
Simply put, it’s a thorough cleaning of your car using specialized tools and products. Generally, a detailer may perform some free hand cosmetic touch-ups, but the process does not include paintwork or body repairs. It includes cleaning and re-conditioning the interior and exterior of the car. The aim of this is to restore the paintwork by eliminating scratches or swirl marks to make the car look almost brand new like it did when you first drove it out of the showroom.
A normal car wash gets rid of dirt on the outside of your car, and if you clean the interior you may catch some particles with a vacuum, but car detailing takes this process much further. Every car we detail has every last imperfection buffed, polished, or vacuumed out, leaving it as you got it from the showroom.
Since there is no hard and fast rule, you will see a great variety in terms of the services included in a complete detail. At EPA, our complete detail package consists of an exterior detailing using clay treatment and high-quality wax, an advanced interior cleaning with stain removal and leather and upholstery treatment as well as dressing on all the plastics.
How is Car Detailing and Car Wash different?
Apart from cost, which ranges from 10,000 to 30,000 – a typical car wash only covers a small amount of the cleaning that you can get from a detail, and so only achieves a fraction of the result. So what does a car wash include?
Most car washes take 15 mins to go from washing to drying. A car wash can be done by hand or by machines that run bristles, soap, and water to clean your car’s exterior.
A car wash tends to be a superficial cleanse while an auto-detail is more thorough and restorative.
So how is all this done?
A thorough car detailing consists of two main phases – Interior detailing and Exterior detailing.
Exterior Car Detailing
With an exhaustive exterior car wash to remove as much dirt as possible. By allowing the soap to foam, dirt and mud are softened and lifted off the surface.
Next, using special brushes and wheel cleaning products, we take off all the dust and filth from the wheels; brake calipers, lug nuts, etc. The wheels are usually the dirtiest when compared to other parts of the car.
After the wheels have been cleaned, the paintwork is washed and dried from top to bottom using washing mitts and soft micro fiber towels. The paintwork is then clayed using automotive clay bar that removes the tightly bonded dirt of the surface of the car, which is your car’s clear coat. If required, the paint is polished to eliminate any light scratches, oxidation, and swirl marks. The paint can be polished by hand or by a polishing machine. This can be the most time-consuming part of the detailing service depending on the car and the state of its paintwork.
Finally, the paint is waxed to give it an additional protective layer using high-quality carnauba based paste wax. This added protection results in a noticeable shine too, the kind that you saw when you first bought it.
The remaining exterior parts, like the windows and other rubber parts, are then polished and methodically cleaned, adding the finishing touches in all the corners of the car’s body and exterior trim to make the entire car sparkle.
Now to avoid or prevent any marks which may occur because of the car use, we ceramic coat or polymer coat the depending upon the customer.
Interior Car Detailing
In interior detailing, the upholstery inside the car is thoroughly vacuumed and shampooed to remove stains and dirt. If the car has leatherwork, this is often conditioned and scrubbed to remove dirt that is deeply ingrained. Plastics and vinyl are also cleaned and dressed.
Lastly, the interior glass is also cleaned and polished very carefully.
Additional Options
Cleaning the engine bay is an important step but a lot of detailer’s simply don’t do it. The reason for this is probably that some people don’t care what their car looks like from the inside.
Keeping the engine bay cleaned can make identifying any engine problems easier and faster. Mechanics love working in a clean engine bay, and if the car owner is having the car detailed before selling, a clean engine bay can make a big difference on how well maintained a car is. Cleaning engine always increases the car value.
All silicone, plastic and rubber components should be properly dressed to protect them from cracking. This is a simple way that serves to protect the car from everyday problems of wear on rubber and silicone.
Benefits of getting your car detailed?
A total car detail will bring your car to its best condition. You can then perform small periodic details to keep your car looking as good as new.
Car Price
Keeping your car in good condition will help maintain or restore the value of your car. A good detailer will bring your car to its original beauty and increase its resale value. Having a regular exterior and interior detail can increase your car’s resale value by 10-15%.
Protection
Car Detailing protects the finish from contamination and oxidation (rust) when a wax coat is routinely applied to the exterior painted surface
Attention to Detail
Car Detailing is a long and thorough process. You will not get this kind of personalized Service at a car wash.
What’s the Car-Detail Service cost?
A basic car detailing package starts from 5,000 – 10,000 INR for an average sized vehicle, while an SUV or Big sized vehicle tends to cost between 10,000 and 20,000 However, additional services like clay bar treatment, leather conditioning, and pet hair removal, as well as the quality of these products, may increase the cost.
Mobile Car-Detailing Prices
You can expect to pay more for a mobile car detailing service since they come to your location at a convenient time. This saves you the trouble of having to drive to a detailing shop and wait around while your car is serviced. An average mobile auto detailing service takes between 1.5 hours to 3 hours.
For example, at EPA our detailing packages (Mobile Car Detailing) range from 7,000 to 15,000. We offer many optional services that you can add to your package.
How do you choose a Car Detailing Service?
You know 2 things till now – How much is it going to cost, and what detailing is. Now, when it comes to choosing the correct vendor for detailing – the quality and experience of the detailer makes all the difference here. Contact us and we’ll let you know how we are different!
