Discover the Top 20 Car Detailing Secrets that professional valet and detailers use to achieve a shiny, long-lasting finish. These tips will help you get the most out of your washing, waxing and polishing efforts and maintain your car’s value for resale and driving enjoyment. Here are some car detailing secrets that you can try:

1. Dry the exterior and interior glass surfaces in different directions to quickly identify and fix streaks or blemishes. Consider using an anti-glare glass cleaner to avoid streaks.
2. Wind down the windows to clean the topmost portion of the glass and prevent streaking, dripping and other marks caused by excess product buildup in the window jamb.
3. Shampoo your car every fortnight to remove dirt, reduce abrasion and prevent rust. Use a two-in-one shampoo and wax to protect as you wash.
4. Use a soft microfibre towel or chamois to carefully dry your car after cleaning to avoid water marks on the surface. Start at the top of the car and work down each panel in a figure of eight motion.
5. Remove swirl marks with car polish, not wax. To remove the super-fine scratches on your car’s surface caused by using dirty or the wrong cloth or sponge, use high-quality car polish instead of wax. Contrary to popular belief, wax won’t eliminate these marks.
6. Rinse the sponge regularly when cleaning. To prevent future swirl marks, rinse your sponge or cloth often during cleaning in a separate bucket to remove dirt particles. Keep your sponge as clean as possible to avoid damaging the paint.
7. Treat trim before polishing and waxing. Black plastic trim requires different care and maintenance. Before waxing and polishing, treat it with a black restoring product. Waxes and polishes can leave stains on the bare plastic.
8. Apply wax with a power buffer. Instead of removing wax and polish with a power buffer that can result in an uneven finish and swirls in the clear coat, apply wax with a power buffer and remove it with a soft, dry cloth. By applying wax to the buffer pad, the machine won’t burn the paint layer and will distribute wax evenly.
9. Check the surface with a plastic bag. Put your hand in a plastic carrier bag and run it over the car’s surface to feel for areas of dirt and abrasion before waxing to avoid greasy fingerprints on the paintwork.
10. Use microfiber cloths. Soft, microfiber cloths make washing, rinsing, and drying your car easier, safer and more efficient than sponges. Keep your wash and dry cloth separate, and remove labels or tags from the cloths to prevent scratching.
11. Invest in a dual action polisher. For professional detailing, a dual-action polisher is worth the investment to achieve the best possible results. It easily irons out areas of abrasion and removes old wax, leaving a smooth and even finish for a long-lasting shine.

12. Use static electricity to clean carpets. Rub your hand gently across the carpet to create static electricity that pulls up bits and dust, making them easier to remove with a hoover.

12. Brush carpets first. Brushing the carpet with a stiff nylon brush will agitate the fibres, making it easier to remove bits with a vacuum cleaner. Be careful not to rub too hard, as this could damage the upholstery.
13. Use compressed air to deodorise vents. Eliminate stale odours from your car’s air vents by using a can of compressed air to remove dirt, dust and bacteria that cause the unpleasant smell.
14. Use quality car cleaning products. Invest in quality car cleaning products and tools for best results, including car shampoo, polish, wax, and detailers which are available at providers such as Start My Car.
15. It is advisable to wash your car when the bodywork is cool and not exposed to direct sunlight. This is because water dries up quickly on hot cars, resulting in unsightly watermarks.
16. Always apply tyre dressings last since they often contain silicone, which you do not want on the bodywork when you are waxing it.
17. While washing your car, make sure to clean the door, boot, and bonnet shuts as they tend to accumulate dirt and water, which can dribble out over the clean exterior bodywork.
18. When drying your car, it is recommended to use an absorbent microfibre towel. Older chamois leathers may cause marks on the paintwork. Additionally, use a light mist of quick detailer to prevent watermarks.
19. When washing your car, use two buckets – one with shampoo and one without. This helps to avoid reapplying dirty water onto the car. It is best to use buckets with a capacity of at least fifteen litres and ideally with anti-grit grates at the bottom.

We give attribution to this article from the original source: Start My Car