The goal is to get the car as clean as possible, and if washed once a week and waxed once a month it will stay relatively clean untill they start throwing salt onto the road again.


Before you start:
-Make sure you have plently of time so you don't feel rushed or have to stop midway. It typcially takes me 8 hours to do a full detail, not including the interior.
-Make sure you have everything you need, product, clean towels, food, music, etc.
-A good location. it is best to detail inside or in the shade. it's okay to wash your car in the sunlight, but during the polish and wax process its important that the sheetmetal does not get hot, thus the reason for needing shade. If you have no shade, use a thick & clean blanket or car cover to cover the area of the car your not working on inorder to keep the metal cool

Step 1: Wash car
-I use meguiar's gold class. It's not cheap (about $10 half gallon, most others are about $5-6), but it works very well and my paint always looks better after using it. Any other car wash soap will do. It's best to avoid using dawn/dish washing detergent. The improtant issue with is soap is that it creates a lot of suds.
-Buckets: for best results use a 2 bucket method. 1 bucket has soap in it; the other is used to rense the wash mitt after you soap down the car. If jsut using 1 bucket use a good 5 gallon plastic one, you can buy them at Home Depot for a few bucks. If you want to go all out, use the two bucket method with grit gaurds in the bottom. Grit gaurds are a piece of plastic that sits in the bottom ot bucket and keep dirt (from the car) on the bottom and from mixing with the soap, thus getting back onto the car.
-Wash the car from top to bottom; one section/side at a time and throughly rensing between sections. Keep the car wet at all times to avoid dry spots from forming
-Time: 20 minutes

Step 2: Clay Bar
-Clay barring removes surface containments such as dirt, road grime, and other large particles stuck to the paint
-Most clay bars come in a kit with clay, a towel and some sort of Quick Detailer spary. The critical thing to remember when claying is to keep the surface lubricated. You can do this either with the quick detailer spray or by using water. I perfer using water as it yeilds the same results and I can keep the surface wetter.
-After wetting the surface, fold the clay into a pancake shape and rub. pattern does not matter, but circles are best. Fold over the clay every so often. Rub untill the surface feels slipery under the clay, it's harder to push the clay over dirty surfaces.
-The clay will become brown/black as it picks up more and more dirt
-Time: varries with how dirty the car is/throughness of job. 30 to 90 minuets if not more

Step 3: Wash Car, repeat step 1
-I like to wash the car again to get off any clay that may be left on the surface or any particles that may have been knocked loose and pick up by the clay
Time: 10-20 minutes

Step 4: Dry Car
-The car needs to be dry before you move to the next steps, make sure every area is dry, I like to shake the car a few times to water to flow out of unreachable places and use an air gun to blow the water out of the mirrors. Keep a towel handy when going through the next steps to dry up any water that might appear on hte surface from running out of the mirrors, seaping out from under molding, etc.
-I use a water magnet waffle weave towel, follewed with a terry cloth towel
-Time: 10 minutes, but it's good ot allow 20 minutes to let the rest of the car air dry after you towel it off

Step 5: Paint Clean
-Paint Cleaner removes surface containments that were not removed by the claying process, such as old wax.
-Using a paint cleaner (Meguiar's Step 1: Paint Cleaner) rub each section vigorusly and then rub off immeditaly before moving to the next section.
-I perfer to use two 10"x10" terry cloth towels, one to apply the cleaner, and one to rub it off.
-When rubbing off clean paint will squeck.
-Paint Surface should look clean, but may be a little dusty.
-Time: 60-100 minutes

Step 6: Polish
-Polish is used to remove scatches and swirl marks by removing a small portion of your paint. A scratch is a groove in your paint, by removing the "sides" of the groove the scratch is thus gone
-Apply in sections
-Rub polish on, and then immediatley buff off before moving to the next section
-Again, i perfer to use two 10"x10" terry cloth towels; one to rub on, on to buff off
-Deeper scratches may require a more aggressive polish to remove
-For best results use a buffer/orbital; I have yet to get one, so i can't help you out yet on how to use one. Most deeper scratches will require the use of a buffer
-Surface should look great and give an awesome reflection
-Time: 80-100 minutes (by hand)

Step 7: Wax
-Wax is used to protect your paint
-I use Meguiars gold class in paste form. With todays technolgoy is no difference betwen using a liquid or paste wax, so use which ever you perfer. Note: From what i've learned Meg's Gold Class & NXT are pretty much the same formula, gold class tends to look better on dark colors, and NXT tends to look better on mettalics
-rub on using a foam wax applicator, let haze build up before buffing out with a super plush terry cloth towel
-Allow atleast an hour before applying another layer, however allowing 24 hours is best
-Applying 2 layers is good, 3 is good too if you wish to spend that much time; anything more is overkill
-Be sure to avoid getting wax on non-painted metal areas such as porous plastics, they will soak up the wax, be stained white and can be hard to remove; cover areas with a towel or using blue painters tape
-Time: 100-120 minutes

Step 8: Dress Car
-Apply tire shine
-Clean vinyl surfaces
-Clean windows (I use meg's nxt glass cleaner with a super plush teryy cloth)


Some Notes:
-the entire clean/polish/process can be used on painted wheels
-Headlights can be polished, as well as other clear plastics

Total Time: 7.5 hours

Materials I use:
Megauiars Stuff:
Step 1: Paint Cleaner $5.50
Step 2: Deep Crystal Polish $5.50
Smooth Surface Clay bar kit $17.00
2x Waffleknit Water magnet towel $9.00/each
2x Super Plush Terry cloth towel
Gold Class wax, paste form $12
Foam wax applicator $2.00/ 2 pack
Hot Rims wheel cleaner, for all wheel types $6.50
NXT glass cleaner $5.50
Gold Class car wash $10.00
Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Coating $6.50
PlastX Plastic Polish $5.50
Mircofiber Wash Mitt $5.00

Non-Meguiars Stuff:
about 20; 10"x10" terry cloth towels ~$10

Total: $99; This may seem like a lot but consider a proffesional will charge atleast this if not double; and those supplies will last about 3-4 details

by: T. Wingate