Car Wash VS Car Detail; What's the Difference?!

What is a car detail? Isn’t it just a more expensive car wash? Why is it so expensive? These are questions we are faced with all the time in this industry.

A detailing is so much more than a car wash. It is a thorough and meticulous cleaning service where more care and effort are put into cleaning and protecting your vehicle than people realize. Every area of your vehicle is meticulously cleaned, by hand, to ensure excellent results. It goes beyond what a car wash can accomplish to clean, correct and protect your investment.

What is a car wash?

A car wash most often refers to a tunnel setup where the majority or all of the exterior wash is performed by a machine.The drying process is often also performed by a large blower or sometimes a team quickly towel dries your vehicle.Sometimes a quick vacuum and wipe down of the interior is included. There are a few different types, tunnels, touchless, and do it yourself wash stations. Despite the type of wash it is the main focus of automated wash is efficiency rather than quality.

What is a detail?

Car detailing keeps the vehicle in its best possible condition. This is achieved by removing both visible and invisible contaminants from the vehicle's interior, and polishing the exterior to its original blemish-free finish. A detail is completely done by hand and done with care and love. A detail is much more time consuming and meticulous. A technician will carefully clean all of the exterior surfaces of your vehicle including the door and trunk jambs, wheel wells etc. Contaminants such as bird droppings, bug residue, and road tar are targeted with special chemicals. Every surface, nook, and cranny on your car is addressed. In an exterior cleaning after the vehicle is hand washed and dried it is treated with a clay bar that removes more stubborn contaminants such as hard water spots, brake residue, rail dust, over spray etc. Once that is finished then the vehicle is treated with protectants to extend the life of your paint and give it a nice glossy finish. These protectants not only protect your paint from chemicals and scratches they also protect your vehicle from UV radiation that causes color fading. In an interior detail the carpets are vacuumed and spot treated, even shampooed and extracted. The cloth, leather, or vinyl seats are washed and treated. The dash and other sensitive surfaces are cleaned and coated without leaving behind ugly stains from the use of improper cleaning agents. Odors are eliminated and the windshield and other glass is dealt with.

Automated Car Wash Cons

Wheels are clamped in and can cause damage. Touchless washes use much harsher chemicals that can strip away the wax and sealants protecting your paint. The foam waxes are heavily diluted and do not protect your vehicle nearly as much or as long as a professional hand wax. Tunnel washes can leave scratches and swirls in your clear coat or paint, which diminish the gloss and look of your vehicle.These are micro-scratches caused by the abrasive power brushes and harsh rags used to wipe down a car as it exits the tunnel. Almost always the brushes in machine washes used to scrub your vehicle are not cleaned between vehicles, if ever. If the vehicle(s) that went in before you had excessive sand, dirt, mud or just has general grime build up, there will inevitably be some dirt and grime left on the brushes that will be rubbed on your vehicle and can scratch your clear coat.

Professional Detail Cons

Professional detailing can be costly due to the amount of manual labor and processes involved. They can also be rather time consuming and need time and planning to arrange. You may also not get the quality you were expecting from some professional detailers.

So which is better?!

When it comes down to it a vehicle needs to be detailed every 3-4 months to maintain and protect the quality of the vehicle. Car washes are also necessary between detailings. When it comes to car washes though, a hand wash and wax is far better for your vehicle in the long run than any automated car washing using abrasive brushes and harsh chemicals. Either washing it yourself by hand or allowing us at Hawkeye Detailing to handle all of your maintenance needs will keep your vehicle looking fresher longer!