· by Michael Blair, Nashville's Mobile Detailing
Nobody owns the word detailing, so two quotes for “a full detail” can describe very different amounts of work, from a careful wash to several rounds of machine polishing. Here is what each level means when we quote it, and where the hours go. For what those levels tend to cost around town, see our guide to mobile detailing in Nashville.
What are the levels of car detailing?
Our maintenance detail is a proper hand wash, wheels and tires, an interior vacuum and wipe-down, the glass, and a spray sealant. It keeps a car that is already in good order looking that way.
A full detail adds decontamination with a clay bar and an iron remover, a machine polish, and the interior done thoroughly, carpets shampooed and leather treated. Our full detail is all of that in one visit at your house or office.
Paint correction
This is where the price separates. Correction uses a machine polisher and abrasive compound on the clear coat to take out swirl marks and scratches. 3M’s data sheet for its Perfect-it III Fast Cut XL compound describes an aggressive abrasive that removes oxidation, scratches and car wash scratches from factory paint, then directs a finer polish after it and a last polish to clear the swirls the compound itself leaves. Those steps are the stages, and we decide how many a car needs once we have looked at the paint in good light.
Every pass takes some clear coat with it, and there isn’t much to spare. A 2016 Ford Research presentation hosted by NIST puts the clear coat on that automaker’s paint at about 45 micrometers over a basecoat of 10 to 20, and gives its job as gloss and shielding the color underneath from UV light. That is why we correct sparingly, and why our paint correction service starts with the question of which defects are worth removing.
- Maintenance detail: wash, interior, sealant
- Full detail: adds decontamination and a light polish
- Paint correction: machine polishing in one or more steps, quoted after we see the paint
- Ceramic coating: applied after decontamination and, where the paint needs it, correction
- Interior deep clean: its own line on our quote
What does paint decontamination do?
We clay the paint to lift contamination that has bonded to it, and use an iron remover on the brake dust that settles on the panels. When freshly washed paint still feels gritty under a flat palm, that is the sign we look for.
Coating makers treat this step as a requirement. Gtechniq’s directions for its Crystal Serum Light coating say to wash and decontaminate the paint thoroughly before application and to polish out imperfections first if required, and a coating that goes on wrong has to be machine polished back off. Whether a coating is worth paying for at all is the subject of our post on ceramic coatings.
What does interior detailing include?
Our interior work is extraction cleaning of the carpets and fabric, steam on the hard surfaces, leather cleaned and conditioned, and the vents and crevices done by hand. Interior detailing has its own page with the details.
On a car that carries kids or a dog, the inside can take us longer than the outside, which is why we quote it as a separate line. Tell us how the car gets used when you ask for a free quote, and we’ll price the two halves on their own.
Sources
- 3M Technical Data Sheet, 51052 Perfect-it III Fast Cut XL (2020) — Aggressive abrasive compound removes oxidation, scratches and car wash scratches from factory paint; followed by a finer polish and a final polish for compounding swirls
- M. Nichols, Ford Research, Paint Materials and Processes from an Automotive OEM Perspective (NIST, 2016) — Clear coat about 45 micrometers over a 10 to 20 micrometer basecoat; clear coat provides gloss and protects the basecoat from UV light
- Gtechniq, Crystal Serum Light product page — Wash and decontaminate before applying a coating, polish imperfections first if required; a wrongly applied coating is machine polished off
FAQ
What Car Detailing Actually Includes — questions
What is the difference between detailing and a car wash?
A wash removes surface dirt. A detail goes further: decontamination with clay and an iron remover, machine polishing where the paint needs it, a sealant or coating, and real interior work. It takes a good deal longer than a wash, and how much longer depends on the size of the car and the state it is in.
Do I need paint correction?
Only if the paint has swirl marks or light scratches you want removed. On our quotes it is usually the largest line, because it is slow machine work. It also removes some of the clear coat, which on factory paint is a thin layer, so it is not something to repeat at every visit. Careful washing afterwards is what keeps new swirls from going back in.
Why are detailing quotes so different?
Because the word covers everything from a careful wash to several rounds of machine polishing. Ask whether decontamination, machine polishing and interior extraction are included, and how much time is allowed for each. Those three explain most of the variation.
What does detailing a car include?
At the basic level, a hand wash, wheels and tires, an interior vacuum and wipe-down, glass and a spray sealant. A full detail adds clay and iron-remover decontamination, a machine polish, extraction of carpets and fabric, and leather cleaned and conditioned. Paint correction, ceramic coating and a deep interior clean are separate lines on our quote.