This thread will try to give you some pointers on picking out how to build the an ideal detailing schedule based on your needs. The detailer who wants to just protect their vehicle for as long as they can and do minimal amounts of maintenance steps will have a different agenda from the detailer who likes to apply a wax monthly or even sooner. I’ll outline a few basics on developing a routine that fits your needs.

First Things First - Understand the Process
Knowing what products and steps available to you, and knowing what each step of the detailing process accomplishes, will really enhance how you choose and develop your routine. I like to say there are roughly 12 major processes that are available to do, which I’ll outline below:

Washing & Drying - This is an important step to master because this is the foundation of any detail. This is also the process in which most imperfections are added to your paint, so take the time to research the proper washing and drying techniques.

Waterless Washing - This is a great step to learn if you do not have access to a hose on a regular basis. It works great for people who reside in apartment complexes and mobile detailers.

Using a Clay Bar - This step will help further remove surface contamination that was left behind during the wash stage of the detail. It properly preps the surface for the next steps.

Compounding - This step is used to correct paint with severe defects. Only use this step as a last resort after other, less aggressive methods have been tried and failed. You will almost always leave a haze or marring behind with this step which will need to be corrected by polishing or finishing the paint. You are removing part of the clear coat during this step.

Polishing - This step will take care of most imperfections, like light swirls, water marks, light surface scratches, etc. You are removing a minimal amount of clear coat during this step.

Finishing - This step will remove any hazing left behind from a more aggressive polish or a rotary buffer. This is when you diminish swirls and other imperfections to a minimum and the gloss and depth really jumps out. You will typically remove a tiny bit of the clear coat during this step.

All In One Products - This step is used to save time by combining some cleaning or polishing characteristics along with some form of protection. While the results are not quite as good as doing the steps separately, these products save time for people looking for great results in less time.

Glazes - Glazes typically have oils and clay in their formula in order to help fill in and hide imperfections. This is only a temporary solution as the fillers will wash out over time.

Sealants - This step adds a barrier of protection that typically lasts 3 - 6 months. A majority of sealants are easy to apply and remove, while giving off a reflective, mirror like look. These products are usually created in a lab.

Waxes - This step will add protection that typically lasts 2 - 8 weeks. A benefit of waxing is you add depth and dimension that sealants are unable to achieve. This is commonly used at car shows to really give off the wet look.

Spray on Protectants - This step usually enhances either a sealant or wax and is often used after a wash and dry during a maintenance step.

Quick Detailers - These products often have light cleaners in them and are great for removing a light dusting after performing a full detail.

Getting to know each step of the detailing process will really help you grow and learn when and why you are performing a detail on your vehicle. This is especially important if you plan on detailing for other people. It will save you a lot of time and you will best meet the customers needs by understanding what happens during each step of the process.

Choose the proper products to fit your time schedule.
If your goal of detailing is to provide protection for a vehicle and you only wish to perform a detail twice a year, do not choose a product that leaves you with 3 weeks of protection. You figure at a minimum you’ll want to detail your vehicle twice a year (typically Spring and Fall). There are very few, if any, products that will provide you with longer than 6 months of protection on a daily driver. This should be used as a base line for choosing which products you plan on using. If you know you only want to detail a couple times a year, then a sealant would be a wise decision. Polymer and acrylic sealants will typically give you 3 - 6 months of protection. From my experience, many products over state their durability for most applications. They can often claim my sealant lasts 12 months, well maybe, under ideal conditions if your vehicle is never driven in an air tight vacuum. I typically will always take the low side of a range and even sometimes subtract a little bit of time off that. For example, if a product states 4 - 6 months of protection, I’ll often apply that every 3 months to ensure I have proper protection on my vehicle at all times.

If you plan on detailing on a more regular basis, weekly, monthly, etc. then you open up a door to using more products such as waxes or spray on sealant or spray on wax. You can always use a product that would out last the frequency of you detailing, so if there is a sealant you fell in love with and wish to apply that weekly, although I do not suggest this, it certainly wouldn’t hurt anything. Typically speaking, waxes and spray on protective products typically last 2 - 8 weeks. That being said, you would not want to develop a routine where you detail seasonally with your only protectant being a wax that lasts you 4 weeks. That leaves large gaps of time in which your paint is unprotected.

Once you have chosen your products you have available to you, its time to begin designing your detailing routine.

Assess your goals and current paint condition
If you have a brand new car that has just rolled off the truck from the factory with no imperfections in the paint, you certainly will have a different agenda then the person who just purchased their dream car, a black Porsche 911 Turbo, owned and babied by a local doctor who visited the local car wash weekly, which happens to use an automated wash process with scrubbing bristles (in other words, a swirl monster).

The first thing I do is assess my paint and perform a few routine checks.

Protection Test - One of the first things I do while I’m washing my vehicle is to see if there is still protection left on the paint. If there is, you should notice water beading or sheeting off the paint, not accumulating on the surface in a pool of water. This will give you some indication on which steps are needed to protect your paint.

Plastic Bag Test - One of the things I’ll do is test to see if my paint can benefit from a clay bar. A quick way to do so is to wrap your fingers in a plastic sandwich bag and glide your fingers over the paint. By doing so, the bag amplifies your sense of touch and can help determine the amount of surface contamination. If the paint feels rough, I know I can benefit from a clay bar.

Direct Sun or Florescent Light Test - Next thing I’ll do is check the condition of the clear coat or paint. I typically will check the condition of the paint after the washing and drying phase or after a clay bar stage if I decide to do so. Roll your vehicle in direct sunlight so that you are looking at a clear view of the entire sun (not shaded by clouds) reflecting on your paint. This typically will help bring out the flaws in your paint such as swirl marks, oxidation, water spots, scratches, etc. Another test is to bring the paint under florescent lighting, this yields a similar effect of the direct sun test. If you decide you want to tackle removing any imperfections, you will want to properly polish your paint.

Once you’ve assessed your paint and understand how your vehicle is holding up you can begin to develop your routine.

Determine how much time you can allocate to this detail and estimate when your next detail is going to happen.
If you only have an hour, do not expect to be able to achieve a perfect show quality finish. Come up with a time frame that fits your schedule and needs. If this is a maintenance step for you with a wash and dry and some spray on protection, you should allocate at least an hour or so. If you are trying to remove imperfections such as swirls and scratches, estimate spending anywhere from 4 - 12+ hours on the paint, depending on how big of a perfectionist you are.

If you know in the near future you have a lot of things coming up preventing you from detailing again for a few months, then I recommend you apply a sealant so you protect your paint for an extended period of time.

If you have imperfections and only have 2.5 hours today but know you can set aside a full day to detailing in 2 weeks but you want to make your car look great tonight for a car show, you may want to perform a wash and dry, glaze and wax for now, then tackle the imperfections in 2 weeks when you have adequate time.

Going through scenarios like this after you understand the entire process will help you determine how to formulate your detailing schedule. I personally try to create a routine and post it on my calendar. I have my example exterior routine posted here.

We encourage you to post your routine for review from other DU Students.

Please add to this post with tips on how you decide how to determine your detailing routine.

George