What is considered a, "detail"?

**SATracker** · 03-07-2011, 04:15 PM

As I hear people talk about having their cars, "detailed", it seems "detailing" is a rather broad term. What some people say is a detail, I consider a real intensive car wash- and I don't mean that in an insulting way. I've heard folks say that they're having their car detailed at the car wash and it will take about an hour; I don't know how a car is detailed in an hour, but then it depends on how you define "detail".

**Ted S.** · 03-07-2011, 04:29 PM

Anything more than a wash, wax, vacume, and interior wipedown IMO. So claying, trim, steaming or extracting the interior, dressing, and paint correcton. Maybe tire shine, too.

**PA DETAILER** · 03-07-2011, 04:29 PM

good question. for me a "detail" consists of a good hand wash. wheels/tires cleaned. interior cleaned and dressed. windows if needed. wheel wells/frame dressed. finally tires dressed and trim if needed. and finish with a spray detailer after drying. to me waxing/polishing/sealing is a seperate process.

**Spicy McHaggis** · 03-07-2011, 04:31 PM

oh god, not this again!

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/...at-detail.html

**LuxuryMobile** · 03-07-2011, 04:53 PM

Spicy I was thinking the same thing. You beat me to it.

**02nissanISR** · 03-07-2011, 05:04 PM

As the industry is not regulated the definition can take on broad meanings. I think (and this is just my opinion) that like many other things there are different levels of what some would consider detailing. If you wash a car and don't touch any more than say an automatic car wash, and maybe vac the
carpets/floor mats i would consider that a car wash very basic. But once you start doing door jams, including the trunk, wheel wells, wheels and tires, engine compartment, vac and shampoo carpets/floor mats, clean cracks and crevices in the dash, interior glass, polishing the paint etc., etc. Then your getting into what would be considered a detail. Which to your point is in its most basic form an intense car wash. All that being said there are different levels of detail that people offer or are capable of offering. ie some may have the skill to polish paint or offer higher levels of paint correction such as wet sanding others may not have acquired these skills yet so they are limited in what they can offer.but they can still offer what most would consider a detail. If you look at many of the pros on this forum on their websites they will offer from the basic car wash all the way up to a full on "detail". Even at that there are varying levels of what is offered depending on the customer, the car and what is expected. Again this is just my opinion. hopefully others will chime in as well.

**A4 1.8tqm** · 03-07-2011, 05:26 PM

A detail is when a "Detailer" does any cleaning or correction process.

Otherwise it's a "hack job" by default.

**SATracker** · 03-07-2011, 05:29 PM

Sorry guys, not trying to create problems or controversy. I did a quick check of the threads and didn't find anything. It's an honest question on my part.

**Grizzly** · 03-07-2011, 06:00 PM

Originally Posted by Ted S.

Anything more than a wash, wax, vacume, and interior wipedown IMO. So claying, trim, steaming or extracting the interior, dressing, and paint correcton. Maybe tire shine, too.

Well,

I consider some vacumming jobs tougher than dressing a tire so thats sound a little odd to say the least.

**SATracker** · 03-07-2011, 07:04 PM

What really got me thinking about it, a friend of mine knows that I like to work on cars. She asked how much I'd charge to do her car. I gave her a price & she said that she pays half that much, I walked her around my car showing her what I do. She said her detailer doesn't do half that. I suggested that she stay with her detailer because I do it as a hobby and he's a pro. But it had me wondering, what do people consider a detail.