7 Questions to Ask Before Letting Someone Detail Your Car

1. Walk me through your wash process

You want to hear about a pre-rinse, foam, two-bucket or rinseless contact wash, grit guards, wheels done separately and first, and drying with filtered air in the shade. If the answer is "pressure wash and soap," that's the whole answer.

2. Do you decontaminate the paint, and how?

The right answer mentions both chemical decontamination (an iron remover for embedded brake dust) and mechanical decontamination (clay or a clay alternative). This step is invisible in photos and is the one most often skipped.

3. What microfiber touches my car?

Fresh, dedicated towels per vehicle, laundered separately. A towel that cleaned someone's wheels last week will put scratches into your hood this week, no matter how good the soap is.

4. Are you insured, and can I see it?

Garage-keepers liability coverage. Asking is normal. Any hesitation is your answer.

5. Have you worked on this make before?

Listen for specifics: paint hardness, trim materials, known problem areas. "We do all makes" is not an answer to this question.

6. What protection will be on the car when you leave?

You should learn what's applied and roughly how long it lasts. If the car is already ceramic coated, the correct answer is a coating-safe topper — not a traditional wax layered over the coating.

7. What can't you fix on this car?

This is the most revealing question of the seven. Deep scratches through clear coat, failed clear coat, and hard-water etching that's gone too far cannot be polished out. A detailer who says everything is fixable is either inexperienced or planning to hide it.

Frequently Asked Questions