Frequently Asked Questions
How often should I get my vehicle detailed?
We recommend getting your vehicle detailed at least two times a year. We use state of the art sealants that offer long lasting protection for up to 4 – 6 months. Combining our full detailing packages with maintenance packages helps keep your vehicle well protected year round.
Where do swirl marks come from and how can I prevent them?
Swirl marks are very troubling and can be unpleasant to look at. On some level swirls are inevitable, but often times they can be prevented with good washing and drying techniques. I've never seen a regularly driven vehicle that had no swirls. Swirls can easily be seen in direct sunlight or under florescent lights. Generally, darker and flat paints show off these imperfections more. To help prevent swirls marks from being added to your clear coat you should take some of the following precautions. First off, never go through a car wash that has any kind of bristles, cloths, etc. touching your paint. These will add large sweeping swirl marks that are sure to dull the clear coat. Wash and dry with clean tools that don’t have contaminates in them.
Details In Motion uses some of the highest quality washing and drying tools to minimize the possibility of adding swirls. Details In Motion also offers Swirl Reduction packages that will help remove swirls. To prevent more swirls from occurring, we apply a durable layer of protection with a sealant. Sealants are basically synthetic waxes engineered chemically to replicate the characteristics of a wax, but better. With improved technological advancements, most sealants offer longer lasting protection than traditional waxes. Contamination tends to come off with a simple wash and dry when your vehicle is properly protected. So make sure your paint has a coat of sealant on today.
What should I do if my vehicle has a lot of fine scratches, swirls, etching or other imperfections in the clear coat?
Imperfections in the clear coat can often be buffed out or significantly reduced. Some imperfections are too deep in the clear coat or through to the paint/primer to be safely buffed out. However, the majority of imperfections can be buffed out with some different polishes to restore a bright and vibrant clear coat. We recommend that you get the Exterior package with Swirl Reduction or the Ultimate Detail Package. Both of these packages apply two coats of polishes to help restore a bright and vibrant clear coat.
What does polishing do?
Polishes can drastically improve the condition of the clear coat. Polishing will remove a micro-thin layer of your clear coat to help smooth out scratches, swirls, watermarks, oxidation, etchings and more. This micro thin layer is completely safe to be buffed off and gives you the clean and smooth clear coat needed for optimal shine. The cutting polish helps restore a transparent clear coat, which allows for light to pass directly through the clear coat, thus creating a bright reflection with a deep shine. This step produces the most dramatic differences in the detailing process.
What does a clay bar do?
A clean clear coat is the only clear coat that can give you a truly bright and vibrant shine. Tiny contaminates cling to the clear coat and inside the tiny micro ridges of the clear coat. Most of these contaminates will not be removed with a simple washing. The clay bar pulls out micro and macro contaminates to leave you with a clean clear coat. This simple process will remove many of the micro contaminates so sealants and waxes can adhere to the clear coat better.
What’s the difference between a sealant and wax?
Sealants are made in labs to replicate what waxes do, but better. In general sealants give you a longer lasting shine and better protection than natural waxes. This is done by taking the molecular composition of wax and removing elements that don't add to greater shine, durability, etc. For best results make sure you have taken all the necessary preparation steps to clean and smooth out the clear coat. The cleaner and smoother the clear coat is, the better the sealant will bond to it. The very high melting point of sealants makes them more durable and resistant to nature’s elements, abrasions and harmful contaminates. Contaminates have a more difficult time bonding to the clear coat, through the sealant, therefore its easier to remove contaminates during the washing process. Sealants typically give you full protection for 3 – 6 months depending on the sealant you select and how many coats are applied. It will also enhance the looks of the vehicle by providing a more reflective surface.
However waxes are not totally obsolete because they are well known for producing the deepest shine. After applying a sealant we recommend applying a carnauba wax for an even deeper and glossier shine. Carnauba Waxes are thicker than a sealant and give off a “hard candy” appearance that makes your paint look very deep and rich. Carnauba waxes are often used on show cars to create a head turning shine.
If I want to really restore my vehicles paint what should I do?
Get the Ultimate Detail Package to complete a thorough detail job which includes: wash/dry, clay bar, polishing, sealing and waxing your paint. Washing and drying removes much of the loose contamination and starts the process. The second step in the process is using a clay bar. This will deep clean the clear coat and leave it contaminate free. Next the polishes correct the clear coat so it’s optically clearer. This allows more light to pass through the clear coat for a deep shine. Polishes also smooth out the clear coat, which allows waxes and sealants to adhere to it better. The sealant applied now will protect and shine the clear coat for months to come. The perfect finishing touch is adding a coat of carnauba wax. Carnauba waxes are well known for their deep and glossy finishes that creates a head turning shine.
What is the best way to keep my vehicle looking great after a detail?
Sign up for maintenance packages with Details In Motion. These maintenance packages allow you to have that freshly detailed look all the time. Details In Motion will come to you again after a full detail and do a maintenance detail that cleans the interior, exterior and more. Our skilled professionals take personal pride in keeping their maintenance package customer’s vehicles in top notch condition. The exterior gets a great coat of sealant or wax for added protection and shine during this process. Your vehicle will look just like it got a full detail again!