· Michael Blair
Detailing covers everything from a thorough wash to multi-stage paint correction, at wildly different prices. The word alone tells you very little, which is why quotes are hard to compare.
The levels
A maintenance detail is a proper hand wash, wheels and tyres, interior vacuum and wipe-down, glass and a spray sealant. It maintains a car that is already in good order.
A full detail adds decontamination — clay bar and iron remover — a machine polish, and thorough interior work including shampooing and leather treatment.
Paint correction
This is where the price separates. Correction machine-polishes the clear coat to remove swirl marks and scratches, in one or more stages depending on condition.
It is genuinely skilled and time-consuming work, and it removes a small amount of clear coat, which is why it cannot be done indefinitely.
- Maintenance detail: wash, interior, sealant
- Full detail: adds decontamination and a light polish
- Paint correction: multi-stage machine polish, priced by hour
- Ceramic coating: applied after correction, not instead of it
- Interior deep clean is priced separately on most menus
What decontamination does
A clay bar removes bonded contamination that washing cannot, and an iron remover dissolves brake dust embedded in the paint. Both are why a washed car can still feel rough.
It is a prerequisite for polishing or coating and is often the step that makes the biggest visible difference on a neglected car.
Interior
A proper interior detail is extraction cleaning of carpets and fabric, steam cleaning of hard surfaces, leather cleaned and conditioned, and vents and crevices done properly.
It takes longer than the exterior on most cars and is priced accordingly.