"A professional detailer combines chemicals, equipment, knowledge of vehicle surfaces, industry standards, and customer requirements into systematic procedures that yield quality service and ultimately a delighted customer."

Let us take a closer look at this statement and specifically define the points demystifying the art and science of professional detailing.  Here we will describe how detailing is more than 'just an expensive car wash'.  We will also give you a foundation of what any professional detailer should be knowledgable about so you can ask the proper questions when getting your vehicle detailed.

Chemicals

     There are dozens of cleaning solutions, protectants, polishes, and other products a detailer will use that will handle virtually any issue upon any surface of a vehicle.  Some of these chemicals are from distributors of quality chemical manufacturers unique to automotive detailing and some are the same products you may pick up at your local automotive supply store.  Knowledge of the contents and uses of these chemicals is just as important as the techniques used to apply them.  High alkaline cleaners will damage surfaces and silicone polishes will fill paint blemishes rather than correct.  Some advertised "paint cleaners" are actually nothing more than waxes.  Improper use of a product can badly damage a vehicle.  Product safety is also a concern both in emergency treatment and environmental risk.  The carwash and detail industry is monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency .

Equipment

     These are the special tools of the trade that every professional detailer is skilled at using.  Steam cleaners, extractors, polishers, and pressure washers are just a few examples.  Correct and safe use of these machines increase the efficiency of detailing, but also hold a risk if used improperly.  Detail chemicals are formulated for use with specific types of machines; high-speed rotary or random orbital polishers.  With a high-speed polisher a professional detailer can perfect an entire vehicles paint surface in the time it would take a random orbital to polish a single panel.  However, inexperienced use can cause permenant paint damage that can only be repaired by repainting at a body shop.

Knowledge of a Vehicles Surface

     Paint, rubber, vinyl, glass, plastic... these are only a few of the different types of surfaces on your vehicle and every one needs to be treated differently.  It is the responsibility of the professional detailer to understand how to rejuvenate and protect each and every unique surface.  Paint thickness, single stage or tri-coat paint, coated aluminumwheels or painted aluminum wheels, real leather or artificial leathe; these are all concerns that any professional detailer should be able to identify before beginning work on any vehicle surface.  Upon inspection a professional detailer can also identify previously repaired body panels or signs of a repaint.

Industry Standards

     This is a tough point to define because at the moment there is no specific industry standard for detailing.  A previous existing organization called the Professional Detailers Association (PDA) merged with the International Carwash Association (ICA) in 1996, which holds no standards to detailing over general car washing, and dissolved soon afterwards.  There has since been a split between the founding members and executive board of the old PDA and up until recently there has been no representation for professional detailers.  Now, there are two relatively new industry organizations fighting for dominance in the professional detailing industry; the International Detailing Association and the National Association for Professional Detailng and Reconditioning .  There are also multiple detailing schools around the country that teach the business aspects and skill sets needed to start an automotive detailing company.  At the moment, the only standards are judged by peers in the industry and only time will tell if either of the two detailing associations will form a respectable certification similar to ASE for mechanical repair and iCAR for collision repair.

Customer Requirements

     Each customer is as unique as the vehicle they drive.  This is why having your vehicle detailed is such a personal experience. Budget, time, and convenience are all variable values that are different for each customer.  A professional detailer will assess these values along with the condition of the vehicle at hand to create the best possible procedure for an individual.  Not all vehicles need to look like show cars with 12 hours of reconditioning.  Some vehicles need different protection or maintenance than others because of driving habits and where the vehicle is stored.  Something as minor as tree sap can be a paint emergency when sitting under the summer sun.

Systematic Procedures

     A trained and practiced order with a defined number of steps to complete the job at hand given varying qualities and expectations.  This is what make one professional detailer different from another.  Every detail can be broken down into steps and it is these steps that enhance the end result.  There are 5 basic steps to proper paint care, which professional detailing product supplier Meguiar's outlines in their Information Station on Meguiarsonline.com :

    Meguair's 5 Step Paint Care Cycle

     Each detailer has their own individual process which is honed and perfected over years of experience and knowledge.  The steps in a detail process can range anywhere from the 5-steps above to 61-steps featured by Paul Dalton of Miracle Detail, the "most expensive car wash in the world".  A saying in the detail industry is "the perfection is in the preperation."  If any of the basic steps are skipped in the detailing process, the end result suffers greatly and is visably noticable.