Island Detail Exterior Detail Package
There are few things in life as breathtaking as an absolutely pristine, mirror like shine on a vehicle. When you see a black car shining so bright that you would swear it is dripping with black ink, or a colourful painted surface reflecting with more facets than an expertly cut diamond, it can take your breath away. There is only one way to get this look, and at Island Detail, we call it the Complete Exterior Detail Package.
To bring a car back to its showroom shine it takes a few different steps, it takes a few hours, and takes a bunch of guys in the shop that know everything there is to know about automotive detailing. Below we will take you through everything we will do to your car or truck to remove all the remnants of the open road then the stages of hand detailing we go through to return the luster to dull and faded vehicles. You might be surprised at how much we can get done when your car comes in for the afternoon, and the results will take your breath away.
What's Involved
Things start with a full hand wash and dry. This gives us the opportunity to remove all of the debris and buildup on your vehicle’s exterior. Things like sand, dirt, water spots, streaks, and smears all need to be removed before we get to work on the car with our polishers, or else they will get themselves stuck in the polishing pads and scratch up the whole paint job. Once we finish washing and drying the car by hand the paint is ready for a deep cleaning.
There are a few things on your vehicle’s paint that simply can’t be removed by washing and drying it. This layer of grime is called “industrial fallout”. This fallout comes from a few different sources. One is diesel engines. When a truck burns the diesel to operate, the combustion is incomplete, so particulate matter from the diesel is released out the tailpipe and eventually lands on all the vehicles behind them. This cakes onto the exterior of your car or truck and builds up over the years. There is also tree sap and other grime from pollution that is not water soluble and will need to be removed by hand before you get an unobstructed view of your car’s paint. This is why step two of the exterior detail is a clay bar treatment. The clay bar allows us to remove all remnants of industrial fallout, tree sap, and pollution, while leaving your clear coat nice and porous so it will be receptive to waxing and polishing later on.
Next up is waxing and polishing. Waxing involves rubbing a long lasting wax product on the entire exterior of the vehicle. This has many benefits beyond the shine including increased resistance to airborne contaminants, ease of future car washing, and masking of subtle swirl marks. The polishing portion of the service is the use of a high powered electric polisher to remove all of the wax from the surface which simultaneously buffs the cured product to a high gloss shine.
We round out the exterior detailing by focusing on your rims and tires. We clean and polish your rims, getting into all of the crevices to remove dirt and grime, then we clean and dress your rubber to give it a deep black shine that will match your car’s new exterior look.
Even though this is called an exterior detail package, we also do a bit of interior work to smooth the transition from outside of the car to the inside. We clean the interior and exterior of all the vehicle’s windows, then (at your request) we will pop the hood to perform an engine shampoo. The engine bay can get filthy with grime without you even knowing it, and most wand washes in town do not allow engine cleaning for safety reasons, so we dive in under the hood and bring your engine bay up to snuff.
Cut Polish Add-On
The exterior detail package has one optional add on, and it comes after the clay bar stage and before the wax and polish. This option is called a cut polish. A cut polish is a slightly more abrasive polishing compound that can actually remove small scratches and swirl marks from your vehicle’s top coat. A cut polish gives extreme depth to the vehicle’s shine and add longevity to the wax and polish that you can get from a simple wax.
The cut polish option is an extra fee and is recommended for vehicles with too many fine scratches and swirl marks to fix by hand with an over the counter product.
Exterior Detail FAQ
Are there ever extra charges?
Only if your vehicle had an extreme problem, and we would let you know in advance. The only add on is the optional cut polish to remove scratches and swirl marks. Totally optional.
How long does it take?
An exterior detail takes a minimum of 4 hours. If your vehicle is very dirty it could take a bit longer in the first few stages as we prep your paint for cleaning and polishing.
Do I need an appointment?
You sure do! Just give us a call or send us an email and we can let you know when you can drop off your car to ensure you get it back in the same day.