Exterior Car Detailing Near Me [Locator Map + Guide + FAQ]

Exterior car detailing is a meticulous process of cleaning the outside of your vehicle. It goes well beyond a standard car wash and involves special steps to give your vehicle a show room finish. This is a service provided be specialists who use special techniques and the highest quality products to clean your vehicles exterior the right way. Below I” discuss how to choose an exterior detailer for your particular situation, where to find them locally, and how much you should expect to pay. I’ll also share my experiences with the places that do exterior car detailing near me.

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What is Exterior Car Detailing

Detailing your vehicle is a process of systematically performing cleaning tasks that keep your auto looking pristine. An exterior detail, specifically focuses on the outside of the vehicle and not the internal cabin. Many people think that washing your car is an exterior detail, but it’s not even close. When detailing is performed it is done by a professional who uses very specific techniques and carefully selected products that will protect your vehicle and leave it with a show room shine. Unlike your local car wash, this is a hand wash and dry, clay baring to remove dirt, debris, and other contaminants, a polish applied, and then a sealant to protect the paint.

While we all love driving a beautiful clean car, the benefits of auto detailing extend beyond a shiny ride. Detailing can extend the life of the automobile, reduce environmental impacts of sun and rain, and increase the vehicles resale value.

There are two parts to auto detailing: interior detailing and exterior detailing. This article will specifically focus on the outside of your vehicle and what you should expect when you hire someone to detail the exterior.

Exterior Car Detailing Near Me

This is not a standard car wash and dry you might get a local car wash place. This is a hand wash and hand dry job that will make the clear coat shine. It will be done in a manner as to not cause paint chips, leave water marks behind, or swirls in the paint. Your trim will be tapped off and then a clay bar will be run over the vehicle to remove contaminants and grab any fine debris that the hand wash missed. Then the car is polished and then wax to protect the exterior and leave it with a show room gleam. An exterior detail will also include cleaning of your windows, degreasing your rims, and getting your tires to a shiny black finish.

The places that do exterior car detailing near me have different packages based on what level of cleaning you desire. Every shop may do things slightly different, but for the most part here is what you should expect from an exterior detail on your car or truck.

Basic Exterior Package:

Hand Wash and Hand Drying: First they will apply a special high powered spray. Then hand wash the cars exterior panels, windows, trim, and door jams with soft cloths that will be gentle on your paint. During the wash they will scrub your rims and tires. Then hand dry the entire vehicle with soft cloths.

Clay Baring: The car will be taped off to protect areas like window trim and plastic. A clay bar is pushed over the surface of the vehicle to remove any additional fine residue that the car detergent didn’t get.

Glass Cleaning: They will clean the exterior glass with a high end glass cleaner. This will include your windows, windshields, side view mirrors, sun/moon roofs, panoramic roofs, etc. If there is any haze or streaks they will be taken care of. Some places may even apply a product that causes water to bead up and run off surfaces to provide better vision when driving in the rain.

Polishing: A high end polish will be applied to your vehicle and then buffed either by hand or a soft buffing machine.

Sealing: Sealing is what makes the exterior of the vehicle shine. Most sealant is done in the form of wax. The was will protect the exterior from weathering and road debris. Wax will be applied by hand and then buffed by hand.

Tires and Rim Shine: The rims will be degreased along with any brake dust that has built up on your rims and disk brakes. A special cleaner will be used to remove grease and protect the rim. The tire will have a special cleaning agent applied to it that will make it come to a nice shiny black finish.

Add On Exterior Services:

These are services you will need to special request and will be charged extra for…

Paint Touch Up: If you have chips in your paint and would like them filled, they can provide touch up work. Typically you need to have this booked in advanced so that they can ensure they have the correct matching paint on hand for your vehicle

Trim Repainting: If the trim is chipping or showing signs of wear getting it repainted can ensure it gets brought back to fresh state. In most cases they will remove the trim piece from your vehicle, paint it, and then remount it.

Engine Pressure Cleaning and Detailing: This is a popular service on classic cars or show cars. They will pressure clean the engine and then degrease it and polish all the parts. Certain pieces like chrome will be removed, cleaned, and polished off the vehicle. Some places may even offer to paint the engine.

Paint Correction: This is the mechanical leveling of clear coat to remove swirl marks and light scratches. This involves first using a heavy cutting compound to remove swirls and scratches, a cutting polish on a polish pad to remove further swirls and scratches, followed by a finishing polish and finishing pad. This process takes a minimum of 4 – 8 hours and a medium size car.

Ceramic Coating: This is a chemical polymer solution that protect the car from external paint damage. It gets applied by hand, it and creates a hydrophobic layer of protection for the paint. This is far better than any sealant or wax. It will make your vehicle shinier and it will last 2 to 3 years. This is an expensive add on.

Dent Removal: Not all detailers will offer this, but some can perform dent removal. Most will use a suction device to pull the dent out carefully in a way as to not damage the paint. Any issues with the rims can not be fixed and need to be taken to a specialty shop.

Headlight Restoration: Overtime headlights can build up a haze that reduces the brightness of the light and causes the headlight covering to look dull. Headlight restoration applies a cleaning agent that removes the haze and makes the headlight perform optimally.

How Much Does Exterior Car Detailing Near Me Cost?

All of the exterior car detaling shops near me, charge different rates. Rates can be influenced by class of vehicle, reputation of the business, conveniences offered, etc. The size of your vehicle most certainly will impact the price, the bigger the car, truck, SUV, or Van, the more costly it is.

The national average low for an exterior detail is about $50 and on the high end is $100. That is exterior only. Here is some general packaging you can expect…

Basic Exterior Only Package: This would include services including a hand wash, waxing, window and mirror wash, trim detail, rim degreasing and shine, and tire shine. This should cost between $50 to $100 for a mid size vehicle. An SUV or van is gonna run $75 to $100.

Upgraded Exterior Service: This is a more meticulous and through cleaning and would include the basic package in it. What it will include will vary by the business you choose. This could be adding on services like superior waxing (+$50), All the exterior detailers near me start packages like this at $100 for a standard size car.

When you call to book it is important to be upfront about exactly what services you want done. You can even request to get high quality cleaning agents or organic cleaning agents, Some places may charge more for special care on classic cars, boats, motorcycles or RVs.

If you have issues with something specific like sap build up or need a wet sand job, you can also consider hiring a car buffing service.

Mobile Exterior Detailing

Some places offer mobile services or are just mobile detailing businesses. They will come to your house, job, or wherever your vehicle is and detail it. You don’t even need to have running water as they will have water in tank and pump inside of a van. I like to use mobile services for a good exterior hand wash when I don’t have time to do it in between details. With the convenience of mobile detailing though you should expect to pay more then taking your car or truck into an auto detailing shop.

What Kind of Cleaning Products Will They Use?

Every shop chooses different products to represent their brand. Some use organics while others use chemicals. All detailers though will place an emphasis on high quality products that will do no harm to your paint and choosing cloths that aren’t abrasive. Some of the popular brands for exterior car detailing are Chemical Guys, 303, Super Clean, Brush Hero, Mothers, Turtle Wax, Zymol, Amor All, and Rain X.

The Benefits of Exterior Detailing

Getting your car or trucks exterior gleaned goes well beyond the aesthetics. A thorough cleaning actually benefits both you and the vehicle.

Here are the benefits of exterior detailing:

Extends the Life of The Auto: Exterior detailing removes contaminates that damage chrome, paint, carbon fiber etc. By cleaning it routinely the vehicle will depreciate at a lower rate.

Saves You Money: By doing regular upkeep you will have fewer things to fix later. If you are getting your engine detailed, it will run more efficiently and save on gas.

Prevents Paint Wear and Tear: Wax and other sealants provides a protective barrier on the paint from debris, bust, dirt, bird droppings, etc. It can even protect against lite scratches and rocks coming up from the road.

Extends the Resale Value: Detailing keeps the car in higher quality condition. This can make your resale value hold for significantly longer then another model of the same year that isn’t detailed.

Reduce the Risk of Accidents: Cleaning the glass removes the haze that gets built up from pollen and other environmental contaminants. This will increase your vison of the road. Headlight restoration makes your headlights shine brighter and allow you to see more of the road at night.

How to Choose an Exterior Detailer Near Me

Choosing who you want to do an exterior detail on your vehicle will depend on what is important to you and your situation. You can choose by services offered, vehicle type they work on, price, location, availability.

Here is the way I think about the exterior car detailers near me:

Vehicle Types Serviced: What kind of vehicles do they service (Don’t take your commuter car to a luxury exterior detailer, you will over pay).

Services Offered: Perhaps you want ceramic coating, not every one does that and you may need to shop around.

Read Reviews and Testimonials: What are their reviews saying? Look at pictures people posted. Read the good and the bad reviews.

Pricing: Can I afford It? Is it priced reasonable? How dirty is my vehicle and will it result in extra cost?

Location and Availability: Can I conveniently get the vehicle there? Can they pick it up? Can they drive me back? Do they have mobile detailing?

Exterior Car Detailing Near Me Conclusion

Exterior detailing goes well beyond a car wash and is more about protecting the finish as much as cleaning it. Even just a basic exterior detail done on a semi annual schedule can reap all of the benefits we listed above. If you did some minor cleaning yourself in between professional details you can even extend your detailing between every 8 to 10 months. Don’t get me wrong I love that detailing my has greater benefits, but I really love driving a clean car. I can get it pretty clean myself, but there is something special that a pro can do that I can’t no matter how meticulous I am. This is what i have learned from the places that exterior car detailing near me.