Beyond a Car Wash: A Professional’s Guide to Car Detailing Services

Ask ten different detailers how they define detailing and you’ll likely get ten different answers. In general, we can all agree that it’s about enhancing the appearance of a vehicle, but detailing encompasses a vast array of services. One detailer might specialize in quick cleans, while another has honed their skills in meticulously correcting paint finishes over many decades. There’s no one-size-fits-all here.

Let’s explore my five categories of (very generalized) detailing services.

1. Disaster Details

In my experience as a professional detailer, these are by far the most common. Generally speaking, most people don’t take very good care of their cars, and they’ll wait until it’s absolutely disgusting before calling a pro for help. It’s often a grudge purchase made out of necessity.

Sometimes they’re planning to sell their car and want it to look better for valuation ahead of a sale or trade. Sometimes it’s for an occasion — like a special passenger they want to impress — or they’re loaning it to a friend and want it clean purely to avoid embarrassment. And sometimes they call simply because they can no longer handle the gooey substance in their cupholders, the crusty French fries stuck in their seat rails, or the stink of dog vomit emanating from an unknown area in the back seat.

We were once hired to detail a nearly brand-new Audi that was so unbelievably gross I wondered if we were being pranked. Its carpets were so matted with dog fur that they had changed color from black to white, pet puke literally filled the back seat buckles so they were inoperable, and there was a sticky goop in the center console so vile it should have been sent for forensic analysis.

Disaster details make for great social media content. They offer fantastic before-and-after videos, and the sense of gratification for both the client and detailer can be very satisfying.

2. Maintenance Detailing Services

On the flip side, some clients simply enjoy stepping into as pristine a vehicle as possible at all times. They want their car to appear, smell, and feel as fresh as it did the day they drove it out of the showroom.

These services require a different routine, as we — their preferred service provider — generally know what we’re getting into ahead of time. I hate to use the word “quick,” but maintenance jobs, for the most part, can be performed in less time than those aforementioned disaster cases.

We have one regular customer who called us to clean his Land Rover so soon after our previous visit that we questioned why he even bothered. A minuscule amount of dust on the dash, a few grains of sand in the driver’s carpet, and maybe a few specks of brake dust on the wheels. Nevertheless, we understood the assignment and returned the vehicle spotless.

Maintenance details can be set up as periodic visits on a set schedule, such as monthly, bi-weekly, or even weekly for those with bigger budgets and Olympic levels of OCD.

3. Paint Correction

Here’s where things get very specialized. While “paint correction” can be considered a fancy way to say “buff and polish,” please understand that it can get way more complex than that.

It’s actually very easy for a backyard DIYer to run a buffer over their car’s painted surfaces and achieve fairly impressive results. But a skilled professional should be armed with an in-depth knowledge of different paint types, specific tools and techniques to correct various imperfections, proper preparation ahead of any procedure, and — most importantly — how not to inflict

damage in the process.

Here are some common paint correction terms explained. Note: this is an extremely abbreviated list.

One-step:The process of buffing with a single type of polisher pad (there are many) and a single compound or abrasive (there are many). A one-step addresses light swirl marks, scratches, and water spots, leaving a smooth, glossy finish that’s impressive to the average eye.

Two- or three-step:Sometimes referred to as “cut and polish.” This involves an aggressive initial approach using coarse pads and compounds, followed by varying degrees of refinement to reveal ultimate levels of clarity and reflection.

Wet sanding:An extremely aggressive first step used to correct defects such as deep scratches, oxidation, orange peel, or paint drips formed during the painting process. Wet sanding is always followed by two- or three-step polishing processes.

It’s important to note that paint correction is not reserved solely for beaten and battered older vehicles. A brand-new car, as shiny as it may appear, can still benefit from paint correction. The vast majority of modern cars are painted on assembly lines by machines that do make mistakes. Their job is also to work as quickly as possible, meaning very little effort goes into refinement. I’d argue that the paint on nearly every new car can be improved by a skilled detailer.

Lastly, I encourage any client interested in paint correction to consider the final step of ceramic coating. The reason ceramic coating jobs are expensive is due to the labor and time required to properly prepare the paint beforehand — and that time and labor is spent in paint correction. In short, if you’re willing to pay for quality paint correction, you’re already about 80 percent of the way to a full ceramic coating and long-term protection for your vehicle.

4. Restorative Detailing

Take everything above and add a sprinkle of mechanical know-how.

Allow me to paint a picture. A client inherits a 1991 Mercedes with 130,000 miles on the clock from a relative. It’s lived a rough life: the black plastics are faded, the red paint is chalky, some fly-by-night mechanic made ugly wiring repairs in the trunk, and the engine bay is greasier than Liberace’s hairbrush.

No problem. We can fix all of those things — and we love doing it. This may stray a bit beyond traditional detailing, but it’s what 33 Detailing specializes in. Personally, I’m a stickler for OEM appearance and will go to great lengths to make a car look as its manufacturer intended. This might involve disassembling certain components, replacing others, and using tools more commonly found in a workshop than a detailing studio.

There are limitations, of course. I can’t repair rust, for instance — but I can recommend someone who can.

5. The Pursuit of Perfection

While this is every detailer’s dream, it’s a very rare service in reality. A client who wants every tiny blemish repaired, every nanoparticle of dirt removed, and every surface perfected and protected is seldom seen — but they do exist.

This type of service is most often performed on valuable collector cars or cherished heirlooms, and there’s usually very little discussion about budgets or time frames. These clients are prepared to spend many thousands of dollars and don’t mind if the job takes many weeks.

I’ll add that even with unlimited budget and time, perfection is virtually impossible when it comes to a car’s aesthetic appearance. It’s any true detailer’s curse. We can always find something that could be improved. I guarantee I could inspect a Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance–winning show car and still find a flaw. It’s just part of the game.

Detailing isn’t about chasing labels or rigid definitions — it’s about understanding a vehicle’s condition, its history, and the owner’s expectations, then applying the appropriate level of care. Whether a car needs a rescue, routine upkeep, serious refinement, or an obsessive level of attention, every job deserves respect and I try to give them all the same amount. My goal at 33 Detailing has always been simple: improve them honestly, and leave them better than I found them — no matter which category they fall into.