Detailing

My car needs a good cleaning. (I want it to look like Big L's!) I have never had a car detailed before. Our son's friend works at a place that does detailing mainly for car dealers. He said they could detail my car for around $150. Is this the normal price? What do you guys do to keep the cars looking so good?

He said they could detail my car for around $150

Does that also included the inside and under the hood??

It depends on the condition of your car. Paint oxidized? Stained crapets,seats, etc

The detailing includes interior cleaning, carpet and seat shampooing, and also steam cleaning under the hood, and washing and waxing the exterior. The car is in good condition, just dusty. The carpets aren't bad, the driver side floor has dirt because that's the only spot that gets used every day, the seats look good, on the outside the paint needs wax.

$150 sounds about right. I do this for friends for around $100....but mine includes brake inspection, tire rotation, belt and hose check, and fluid levels check.

I'd ask about the wax they plan to use. All waxes are not created equal!

150 buck isnt a bad deal then.

Ive always done my own cars and in the spring I use some Dawn dishwashing detergent to remove the old wax,thats the only time you want to use it!Since it will remove the wax,always use a soap made for cars.I like to use Eagle One Wet car wash soap which won't strip wax like household cleaners and detergents.

Next is to use a Clay Bar to remove all of the contamination of off the paint. After the claying is complete,its time to top off with your favorite wax or polymer product.I prefere polymer over wax because it holds up longer.The problem with carnauba/wax is a 180 degree F. melting point. This may seem high but a black or red car parked in the sun can have a sustained 200 degree F. paint temperature. The wax is literally melting off the car! As a rule of thumb, 50% of a carnauba wax coating is gone after 30 days, 75% is gone after 60 days and after 90 days it’s time to re-wax the surface.

Ive been using a polymer called BlackFire and have been very happy with the results for the past 4 years.I also apply it with a polishing buffer.

CLICK HERE FOR BLACKFIRE (http://www.properautocare.com/blackfireusa.html)

Also here is a good site to buy some very good products from.

www.properautocare.com


~Larry~

Autopia has a great downloadable "Car Detailing" guide. It tells you how to do practically anything and everything relative to automotive beautification.

http://autopia-carcare.com/freeguide.html

I think to do all that is great. But Big-L's doesn't look that good. He figured that he would just buy the Photoshop software. It was faster.

Here is a picture of my car,a day after I did my spring detail,which was an all day job also it was the first time I ever used BlackFire,almost 4 years back.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v285/BIG-L/carwash.jpg

Here is a picture of my car,a day after I did my spring detail,which was an all day job also it was the first time I ever used BlackFire,almost 4 years back.


http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid60/pe7f34ec454105de447888bcb42ad96bd/fc5296c6.jpg

::jaw drops to floor::

BIG-L, that picture is awesome! yeah, I want my car to look like that!! Hubby has had my GP GT shined up pretty nice before, but lately he concentrates on his bright red Chevy sport truck which he took on the Hot Rod Power Tour again this year, while our other vehicles get neglected
:-(

Has anyone heard of a product that uses acrylics for it's base instead of wax or polymers?