Exterior detailing
Exterior car detailing that actually decontaminates
From $138 for a sedan. Wheels and arches first, hand wash, clay decontamination, then sealed, in that order, because the order is what makes it work.
What's included
Every exterior detail covers all of this
Cars, trucks, SUVs, minivans, RVs and boats. Same process, priced by size.
- Wheels, tires and wheel arches first, so their grime never reaches the paint
- Tire shine
- Pre-rinse and hand wash
- Clay decontamination
- Sealant applied to protect the finish
The order matters
Four steps, in this sequence
Wheels, tires and arches first
Brake dust and road grime are the dirtiest things on the car. Doing them first means none of it ends up dragged across paint you have already washed.
Pre-rinse, then hand wash
A rinse takes the loose grit off before anything touches the paint. The wash itself is by hand, top down, so dirt runs away from panels rather than onto them.
Decontaminate with clay
Washing removes what sits on the paint. Clay removes what has bonded into it, rail dust, overspray, tree sap, which is why clean-looking paint can still feel rough.
Seal it
A sealant goes on last so the finish has something protecting it. Without that step a wash is just a clean car until the next rain.
Straight answers
What this service is and isn't
What an exterior detail will not do
It will not remove swirl marks, oxidation or scratches. Those are defects in the clear coat and need polishing, not washing. That is the buff and polish service. Anyone selling you a wash as a fix for dull paint is selling you the wrong thing.
Why the wheels take the longest
Brake dust bakes on. Once it has been through enough heat cycles it stops being dust and starts being part of the surface, and if it has been left long enough it begins corroding the wheel underneath. Getting it off properly takes brushes, time and a non-acidic cleaner.
Tire walls matter more than tread
Sun and standing water crack tire sidewalls, and a cracked sidewall can fail an inspection even with plenty of tread left. Cleaning and dressing them is not cosmetic. It is the cheapest tire maintenance there is.
Worth adding
Aquapel glass treatment
Rain beads up and runs off before it can sit. Easier to clear ice and dirt, and less glare at night. It is the one add-on that changes how the car drives rather than how it looks, and in a Clark County, WA winter that is not a small thing.
Less glare at night in the rain, easier ice and snow clearing, and fewer water marks left behind when it dries.
- Windshield
- $60
- All glass
- $96
The step most washes skip
What decontamination actually removes
Wash a car, dry it, then run your fingertips lightly over the paint. If it feels like fine sandpaper rather than glass, everything below is still sitting in your clear coat.
Iron and rail dust
Hot metal particles from brake pads and railway lines land on the paint and rust into it. On silver and white cars they show as orange specks. Soap will not move them; an iron remover dissolves them and runs purple as it works.
Tree sap and honeydew
Park under a maple in Clark County, WA for a summer and you get both. Sap hardens into a dome that a wash mitt slides over, and it etches the clear coat underneath while it sits there.
Overspray
Road-line paint, building work, someone else's rattle can. It lands as a fine grit you can feel before you can see it. Clay lifts it off without abrading the surface, which is the part a scouring pad gets wrong.
Water spot minerals
Hard water dries and leaves the minerals behind. Caught early they wipe off. Left through a hot summer they etch a ring into the clear coat, and at that point it is a polishing job rather than a washing one.
This is the difference between a car wash and an exterior detail. A wash removes what is sitting on the paint. Decontamination removes what has bonded into it, and until that is done any sealant or ceramic coating you put on top is bonding to the contamination rather than to your car.
Prices
Exterior detailing prices
An exterior detail on its own, bundled with the interior as a full detail, or stepped up to a paint enhancement if the finish needs gloss brought back.
| Package | SedanCars and coupes | Mini SUVSmall crossovers and 2-door trucks | Full SUVThree-row SUVs and 4-door trucks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full detail Most booked Interior and exterior, everything we offer on both. | $360 | $390 | $408 |
| Exterior detailOutside only, wash through to sealant. | $138 | $150 | $186 |
| Paint enhancementA single polishing step for gloss and clarity, without a full correction. | $252 | $300 | $360 |
Questions
Exterior detailing questions
How long does a full detail take?
Three to five hours for interior and exterior together, depending on the size and condition of the vehicle. If it needs shampooing or pet hair removal, plan on the five-hour end. Interior alone runs two to three hours, exterior alone an hour and a half to two, and a buff and polish adds another one to two hours on top.
Book an exterior detail
We arrive with our own water and power. Tell us the vehicle and where it will be.