What is Car Detailing?

When you bought your new Lincoln, did you make rules forbidding food, drinks, and pets from being in the cabin? Those rules tend to not last very long because they just don't work with busy Macon lifestyles. While cleaning spills as soon as possible and doing frequent surface-level cleanings can keep your cabin presentable, sometimes you need to go deeper and have your car detailed. What is car detailing? It's a deep cleaning, inside and out, that doesn't just refresh your vehicle but gets it as close to like-new levels of clean as possible. Find out more about interior car detailing, car detailing prices, and how to detail a car with the Five Star Lincoln service department. 

How to Detail a Car

If car detailing prices are more than you want to pay, we have instructions on how to detail a car at home. Let's cover supplies, interior car detailing, and exterior car detailing:

Supplies

If you'd like to know how to detail a car at home in Dublin, you'll need to start with these supplies. Most of them are items you're likely to already have in your home or garage: 

• Vacuum cleaner
• Washing mitts
• Microfiber cloths 
• A variety of small, clean brushes such as a paintbrush
• Canned air
• Gentle soap and water
• Upholstery cleaner
• Carpet stain cleaner
• Car-safe cleaner
• Window cleaner
• Surface protector for vinyl and leather surfaces
• Car wax (optional)

Interior Car Detailing Steps

Start your detailing on the inside of your car. When possible, start at the top and work your way down so you don't find yourself backtracking. 

• Ceiling Liner: Driving with children? Then you might have stains on your ceiling liner. Give the ceiling a quick vacuum to get rid of any trapped dust, then treat any stains with an upholstery cleaner.

• Door Interior: Use a solution of soap and water to clean any parts of each door that aren't carpeted or upholstered. For upholstery or carpet on the doors, use their respective cleaners. Open your car doors to clean the metal and plastic parts of your door jambs. 

• Windows: Use a window cleaner on your rear-view mirror and inside of all the windows. Wipe dry with a microfiber cloth. 

• Steering Wheel Column: Remove dust and stains with a soap and water solution, then wipe dry and apply a surface protectant indicated for the material of the wheel and column.

• Dashboard and Center Console: Use your small brushes or detailing vacuum attachments to clean cracks and tight crevices. Dry completely with a cloth.

• Upholstery: First vacuum the upholstery and remove any stains with a stain remover and brush. Let them dry with your car doors open, or use a wet vac to avoid mildew. 

• Carpeting: Vacuum your carpeting. If you have stains on the carpeting, use a stain remover and brush to remove them. 

Exterior Car Detailing Steps

This is more than just a car wash, so get ready to scrub! Just make sure you're not using household detergents that can strip the wax off your car's surface. It's also important to frequently change cleaning cloths. They can hold debris that can scratch your car's paint. 

• Rigorous Exterior Wash: Use water, a car-safe washing solution, and microfiber cloths to clean the body of your vehicle. Once completely clean, dry the vehicle off with clean towels.
• Clean the Wheels: Using the solution you used to wash the rest of your car, clean your vehicle's wheels. Use your small brushes to clean the crevices on the wheels.

• Wax the Exterior: This step is optional. Follow the instructions on the wax package.

Find Car Detailing Supplies at Five Star Lincoln Warner Robins

Are you missing some items in your home car detailing kit? You can find them, formulated just for vehicles, in the parts department at Five Star Lincoln. If you have any questions about what cleaners are safe for detailing your Lincoln, contact us. Our certified technicians can help you know for sure that you're exterior and interior car detailing are successes!