Car detailing in Riverwood

Quotes labelled ‘full detail’ cover wildly different work, which is why prices vary by hundreds of dollars for something that sounds identical. Here is what ours involves, so you can compare like for like.

Exterior. Foam and rinse first, to float grit off the panel rather than drag it across. A two-bucket contact wash with clean mitts. After that comes the part most washes skip: iron and tar removers to dissolve what is bonded into the clear coat, and clay to lift what the chemicals leave. Run your hand over a washed bonnet and feel the grit; that is what this stage removes.

Wheels and arches. Faces, barrels and the inside of the arches, done with their own brushes, mitts and buckets. Brake dust is abrasive and it stays on the wheel side of the job.

Interior. Vacuum everything, including under the seats and along the rails. Hot water extraction for carpets and cloth seats, steam for vents, switches and the tight spots a cloth cannot reach, and leather cleaned then conditioned with a product matched to its pH.

Finish. The last hour goes on glass, trim and the door shuts, then the paint is protected. That is a sealant for most cars, or a ceramic coating where you want it to last.

Wheels take the worst of it. Brake dust bakes on, and the barrels and arches are where most people stop cleaning.

Taking the wheels off gets a genuine full-face, barrel and arch clean, and then they can be coated so brake dust releases instead of bonding. It is the single change that makes a car easiest to keep clean afterwards.

Wheel faces take real heat, so they get a coating rated for it, not whatever is left in the bottle from the bodywork.

New does not mean perfect. Transport film residue, dealer wash swirls and light marring are extremely common on delivery, and dark colours show all of it.

The best time to protect paint is before the first wash, while it has not yet accumulated damage. That means less correction, less clear coat removed, and the coating goes onto the best surface the car will ever have.

Dealer paint protection packages are frequently a sealant applied over that delivery damage in an afternoon, which locks it in.

The make, model and colour, and a rough sense of the condition. Photos taken outside in daylight get you a closer answer than any description, because swirls and etching simply do not show up under a garage light.

Tell us how you use the car too. A weekend car and a car that does school runs and street parking every day want different work, and the honest recommendation changes accordingly.

One big detail followed by a year of neglect is the expensive way to run a car. A full detail sets the baseline, then a lighter maintenance visit every month or two keeps it there for far less money and far less clear coat.

A maintenance detail is a safe wash, the wheels, a quick interior and a top-up of whatever protection is on the paint. No claying, no polishing, because a car kept up to date does not need them.

It suits people who like the car clean but do not enjoy washing it, and it suits anyone with a coating, because the coating lasts longest when the washing is done right. We run maintenance rounds through Riverwood, Narwee and Padstow.