“Detailing” is the performance of an extremely meticulous hand cleaning, polishing and waxing of an automobile, both inside and out, to produce a show-quality level of detail. The passion and attention to every aspect cannot be rivalled by any standard “CAR VALET”, nor the dedication and service offered. Full detailing is performed to prepare a car to the highest finish possible, in all cases far higher than when you received your car from the showroom. Besides improving the appearance of cars, detailing helps to preserve the car with finishes and sealants, thus, increases resale value.

A standard “car valet” can vary so much between each company, this in-turn sometimes produces unachievable expectations. With detailing all services are explained along with the level of finish that can be achieved. The products used by detailers are the finest on the market giving greater protection and far better visual results. At Detail we complete two final checks ensuring every area is covered.

New cars look appear to be in “showroom” condition, but after close inspection they rarely have perfect paintwork. Manufacturers as well as dealerships sometimes use inferior products that mask imperfections caused in storage, transportation and the garages pre-delivery valet. After only a few weeks of general use you will start to see marks appearing. A New Car Protection service at Detail starts with a full inspection ending with two coats of the worlds finest hand-made wax, guaranteeing protection and stunning visual effects. This will also provide a natural barrier between the elements and your new paintwork and helps improve maintaing that perfect shine.

Over the period since your last car wash the vehicle has gathered millions of microscopic particles known as “environmental contaminates”. These bond with the paintwork building a film. When using general sponges, cloths or even worse an automatic car wash each particle is rubbed into the clear coat creating those undesirable swirl marks (looks like spiders cobwebs under daylight) and even scratches. At Detail we have created a 12 stage wash procedure ensuring the removal of harmful contaminates before anything touches the car. Ph neutral Snow Foam breaks down road and traffic film before the vehicle is even shampooed.

A car clay bar is an essential detailing tool that targets the common enemy of every car finish: pollution that causes automotive paint contamination. It relentlessly pursues your car from the second it leaves the factory until your car meets its ultimate demise. It's in the air we breathe, it's on the roads we drive, and it attaches to your car's paint, where it bonds and begins a process of oxidation. When contaminants get a solid grip on your car's paint, washing alone may not be enough to remove them. Pre-wax cleaners also may not be able to exfoliate large particles. In this case, you have two choices: use a polishing compound, which removes a lot of paint material, or use a clay bar. A clay bar isn't a polish or a compound, it is a surface preparation bar that smoothes the paint and exfoliates contaminants. This process leaves the vehicles paintwork perfectly smooth ready for wax, with such a smooth surface further contaminates find it very difficult to attaches helping your vehicle stay clean longer.

Wax is a final coating applied which is normally made from Carnauba wax, the higher the volume of Carnauba and the grade the better the protection and shine achieved. Polishing in the trade is when compounds or polish is applied by either hand or machine to remove marks created in the vehicles clear coat or paintwork. A combination of compounds and machine polishing pads give the detailer flexibility to be aggressive when removing deep markings or extremely gentle when creating that perfect finish.

Swirls are mostly circular, they look like spider webs, and are often called that. They are caused by many things, but most often they are caused by improper washing and drying tools and processes, but they are also caused by just driving the car. Even dust in the atmosphere while driving can cause them. Driving on dusty roads is a good way to see swirls occur. The fact is, they are totally unavoidable. You can stay on top of them if you care for your car though. They are very difficult to polish out by hand and will likely require a machine. Not a buffer kind of machine, but rather a Porter Cable type. Buffers are great at applying wax, but they don't do so well on swirl removal. You will more likely create holograms in your efforts to remove the swirls.

Scratches are lateral lines in the paint. They are caused by using coarse towels to dry with, driving next to bushes rubbing against the paint, washing with a sponge full of dirt, claying with a dirty clay bar and a million other things. Why some cars swirl and others scratch is a mystery to me. The process for removing them is much the same as with swirls. While swirls can be caused simply by driving, scratches need a little more effort put into creating them. Your car won't scratch by just driving it around. If your car looks like this then you can be assured that something you are doing wrong is causing them. Try to identify where your car care process can be improved and see if that makes a difference in how many scratches appear.

Holograms are also often called 'Buffer Burns" due to the fact that they are caused by el cheapo buffers. They are wavy lines in the paint that sometimes zig-zag across the body. Holograms are not created naturally. They are also not created by hand. These are marks that are created by buffers and polishers in the hands of armatures. Holograms are also more difficult to remove than swirls simply because of the nature of the damage. If you pick your car up from a paint shop or a detail shop and it has holograms on it, then take it right back and have them fix it. Holograms are easily hidden with greasy glazes and may not show up right away. When they show up you should take the car back in. Don't let them tell you that you created them. Any detailer knows what holograms are caused by and they know that you didn't cause them. These are best removed by a professional.

Depending on the severity of the scratch, in most cases minor to mid range imperfections can be removed. This proves a full inspection priceless, during the inspection you will be informed what can and more importantly what cannot be removed by detailing.

Currently Detail does not perform this service, however we have commissioned a local expert who will carry out his work at our studio after a full quotation is provided.

Carnauba Wax is made from the Carnauba palm (Copernicia prunifera). The Carnauba wax itself is the coating on the surface of the leaf, the wax is extracted from the leaves by either scraping or beating the wax to loosen it. Its then collected and processed which usually involves refining and bleaching depending on the quality of the wax. The resulting wax is moulded into blocks and then shipped to product manufacturers who use the carnauba wax in a variety of products from Car wax through to Lipsticks.

In its natural state Carnauba Wax has a yellowish-white or light green colour. Carnauba Wax is used as a vehicle wax as it is one of the hardest naturally occurring waxes which when applied to vehicle bodywork will give a lasting, durable and highly glossy shine to your vehicle. The effect of Carnauba Wax is to help to further disguise any swirl marks or micro scratches in the paint, Carnauba Wax has a similar visual effect of wet paint so on a well maintained paint surface it can be stunning.

There are two forms of Carnauba Wax on the market, paste and liquid, differing in the amount of water or solvents in each product. Pure Carnauba will be diluted with water/solvents to form either a paste or a liquid. When applying a paste wax, the friction caused during the application will help to melt the wax. Liquid waxes are easier to apply.

After extensive research and trails we have found Swissvax products are second to none. We also use other products such as 3M polishes (compounds), LTT leather cleaning and conditioning products. Still, when it comes to hand-made car wax, Swissvax have covered all pockets including 200ml Wax at a cost of £10,000.00. Not for your everyday run around!

Paint correction is at the heart of detailing, all other processers only mask and hide imperfections. Paint correction is were the detailer shows his or her true skills. Meticulously checking the level of the paint with a digital paint thickness gauge, we determine what polish and pad combination is best suited for the first stage of machine polishing. Depending on the level of correction required up to four passes with the buffer may be required. The final result should be a mirror finish with no swirl marks, scratches or holograms just a perfect paint finish awaiting a sealant or high quality wax.

As mentioned in question 8, whilst inspecting the vehicle we can determine how badly damaged the paintwork looks and what results can be achieved. In most cases between 90% / 100% of marks can be removed. We can even demonstrate this on a small area of your car should you wish.

Detail is fully insured for driving and all work carried out on your vehicle. We have full employee and public liability ensuring safety at all times.

Depending on how often your vehicle is used and the conditions it is stored in (garage, under a canopy or open to the elements) determines how frequently detailing is required. Generally in average conditions and maintaining a good cleaning regime every 3 to 6 months should be adequate.

Our primary service is car detailing. However we also offer other service such as motorbikes, boats, helicopters and small private planes. Swissvax specialise in all these services providing the correct product for each such as antistatic products for planes and helicopters.