One already great American ritual is washing cars. And an up and coming addition to that is car detailing. Car or automobile detailing is defined as the extreme cleaning, waxing and polishing of the interior and exterior of car. Detailing is just not the usual wash-and-wax, it is the next level of cleaning your cars, and it involves giving careful attention to little details to make a car clean and shine like a jewel. For some car lovers, they do detailing for personal satisfaction while some do it to maintain and improve the appearance of their cars, to improve on the ownership experience and to maintain the higher sale value.

The components of exterior detailing include paint defect correction, polishing, claying, and waxing while for the interiors it includes vacuuming, steaming, brushes, and liquid cleaners. Then engine detailing involves using steam to clean the engine, high-pressure water, de-greasing and general-purpose cleaners.

So if you want to move to another level of taking care of your car, detailing is the way to do it. A nice way to do this is to begin cleaning your car interior. You can do this by first removing floor mats, then vacuum the carpets and upholstery. You also need to vacuum the rear parcel shelf and the dash. To clean accumulated dirt and other debris under the front seats, move the seats fully forward.

If parts in the carpet have minor stains, clean them by using foam cleaner. Thoroughly soak the stain with the cleaner on a damp sponge. Allow it sit for a while then blot it with dry cotton cloths or a paper towels. Do this again if necessary but do not over saturate as it may get mildew. Then if there are holes or burns in your carpet, you can clean them by cutting out the damaged area with scissors or a razor blade. Cut a piece that is similar from beneath the seat or any hidden spot and glue it in place with a water-resistant adhesive. Blend the repaired area by brushing the nap.

Wash floor mats and if it is a rubber mat, after washing them, apply a non-slippery dressing to avoid slipping accidents.

For hard surfaces in the interior, you can clean them by using a mild all-purpose cleaner like Simple Green and a damp cloth. For vinyl covered seats, a conditioner that is especially made for the material should be used and do not use anything that gives a high-gloss, or slippery surface. For leather upholstery, a leather conditioner should be used and do not use vinyl products.

For vinyl areas that are torn or worn, repair them using kits that are especially designed for this use. Such kits can be bought in auto supply stores. Repair such worn parts with a patch matching the grain and color of the upholstery. Leather upholstery can be patched using a high-grade polish or dyes, again making sure it closely matches the colors.

This is all about the space we have for our discussion on car detailing. Hope you learn a lot from it.