Can Auto Detailing Extend The Lifespan Of Your Car?

Auto detailing is so much more than just getting your car cleaned. Detailers will clean your car to a level that surpasses that of when it was new. While detailing is great for helping your car stand out at meets and shows, or to maximize your profit when selling it, auto detailing can actually help extend the lifespan of any car you plan to keep.

The Secret Damage Caused By Dirt

A lot of people think having a dirty car isn’t a big deal. Sure, it makes your car look older and more run-down than it actually is, but it doesn’t actually harm your vehicle. You’d be surprised to find out that dirt can cause damage to your vehicle. Dust, sand, and other road debris are naturally abrasive. When there is a layer of dirt on your vehicle, even the softest microfiber cloth becomes a scratch hazard.

Wet dirt, like leaves and mud, can trap water against the paintwork of the car. Usually, this isn’t a problem, but the slightest damage to the clear coat of your car can be the perfect ingress point for water to start rusting your car’s body.

Auto Detailing Prevents Rust

While it doesn’t snow in Florida, and we don’t have a need to salt our roads, salt is still a significant concern for Florida’s car lovers. Winds coming in from the ocean can pick up salt water and deposit it on your car, which is made worse when tropical storms hit. While hosing your car down or taking it for a wash does help slow down the effect of rust, there are areas of the body you’ll always miss.

A common procedure done by auto detailers is to raise the car on a lift so they have good access to the entire undercarriage. This allows them to easily remove protective panels like splash guards and wheel well liners, which allows them to clean the vehicle more thoroughly. This also makes it easier to treat any surface rust that may have occurred and apply a rust protective coating.

Auto Detailing Keeps Paint Factory Fresh

Have you noticed how water stands on an older car, but just seems to run off a new car effortlessly? This is because contaminants get embedded in the clear coat of the paint over time. Examples of these contaminants are dirt, oil, asphalt, carbon, iron dust, and remnants of insects. The detailer will use a combination of iron remover and clay bars to remove these contaminants.

Once the contaminants are removed, the clear coat still won’t be as smooth as it was from the factory, as the particles leave holes and craters in the clear coat. The best way to remedy this is by using a wax or ceramic coat. Ceramic coatings and wax fill in any imperfections in the clear coat, leaving a smooth surface behind while adding a layer of protection over the clear coat that future contaminants will get stuck in, rather than in the clear coat.

Paint Repairs That Look Brand New

One of the benefits people don’t think about when they consider detailing services is paint repair. Paint repair isn’t respraying the car; it’s far more intricate than that. Paint repair takes into consideration what the vehicle actually needs. Paint swirls might need to be buffed out; paint chips might need to have the rust cleaned out and filled in. The clear coat might need to be repaired due to sunburn.

In short, paint repair makes your factory paint look as close to perfect as it can get without having to respray the vehicle.

Preserved Interiors Prevent Premature Aging

No matter how hard you try, three things will always prematurely age your interior: the sun, dirt, and oils from your skin. The materials in your car’s interior are often textured. Soap and a cloth alone will rarely get all the dirt embedded in the creases of the texture. This is before you consider the hard-to-reach areas like between the seats and center console, under the seats, and door wells.

When cleaning your vehicle, a detailer will remove as much of the interior as required to get to every nook and cranny that needs cleaning. Combined with an array of wet vacuums, steamers, and detail brushes, there is no dirt that can’t be beaten. It’s not enough to clean the interior: you’ll want to protect it, too. Ceramic coating, beeswax, and leather creams can all be used further to protect your interior from stains and UV rays.

Interior Repairs From Wear And Tear

It’s inevitable as you use your vehicle that wear and tear will occur. Detailers will often redye worn leather, fix stitch work, touch up paint, polish out scratches in the glass, and re-glue fabrics to the door cards and roof lining.

Unfortunately, some items will need to be completely replaced. While detailers can do their best to repair what they can, some interior repairs, like torn fabric or cracked leather, will have to be done by dedicated upholsterers or with suitable replacement parts.

Benefits Of Hiring A Detailer

Detailing a car is not for the faint of heart. It can take anywhere from 4 hours to 3 days, depending on the condition of the vehicle. Then comes the costs of the tools and materials involved. Once you have everything you need, you may be set back hundreds of dollars.

This is all before considering the space you’ll need and the know-how. A detailer will know all the different ways to attack a stain, what chemicals to use, and how to use them without damaging your vehicle. While detailing your car at home can be a very rewarding experience for some, it’s definitely not for everyone.

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