Today I was presented with a vehicle that was covered with hair from the family pet. The hair was of medium length about an inch and a half long. Hair in general presents a problem because of it’s ability to act like a needle and thread itself into fabric. Carpets, floor mats, headboards, and cloth seats all fall victim to embedded hair. As you can see in the picture below the hair was literally covering the floorboard.

The tool that I use and recommend is the Meguairs Gold Class Lint & Hair Extractor. I have used many different lint/hair removal tools and this one is the best. To receive optimum results use a crevice tool along with it. The tool has multiple sized rubber fingers that pick up the pet hair. Their are a few pictures taken from different looks on the brush.

Here are the steps I used to get the carpets and seats hair free. We guarantee that this help you with getting pet hair out of a car. Run the brush across the surface to be cleaned a few times. A pile of hair will begin to accumulate both on the brush and at the end of the stroke. Take the crevice tool and vacuum the pet hair from the extractor then run the vacuum across the pile of pet hair. Repeat these steps as necessary until it comes clean. There is no easy way to get pet hair up. It is going to take time and patience. This car from beginning to end took four hours and it received a full detail. Below you can see the before and after pictures.

There are lots of companies that do mobile detailing in Gainesville Florida.  Not only are there a lot of mobile detailing companies in gainesville but there are many that have shops. What are the advantages and disadvantages of both?  Let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between gainesville florida mobile detailing companies and ones with a shop.

Most mobile detailing companies in Gainesville Florida offer a wide variety of services from a basic car wash to full on paint restoration.  For most jobs a mobile detailing company would be just fine.  If you are looking into getting some serious paint correction done then you may want to see if the mobile company has a shop.  Some mobile detailing outfits have shops with garages while others do not.  The benefits of not having a shop is very low overhead.  The obvious downside is you may loose some really good business in the process. Finding yourself with a detail company that does not have a shop when you need one can be frustrating.  Just ask the mobile detailing company in Gainesville that you choose to see if they have a shop to recommend.  Most places network with a few different companies so they can keep their customers satisfied.

Auto detailing companies that do not have a mobile unit offer the same amount of services as the mobile detailing plus a few others.  Say for instance you need to get your car wet-sanded, and or re-clear coated, would you trust a mobile unit to do the same work?  I don’t think so.  Even with the addition of a mobile tent that can act as shelter it is recommended to take your car to someone who can put it in a garage.  Keep this in mind when you are looking into sourcing a company to do your auto detailing for you.

The similarities from a mobile unit to a shop based unit are all over the place.  Similar types of wash, wax, protectants, rags, and tools will be used no matter where your vehicle gets detailed at.  The services offered should be the same with the few exceptions.  A crucial element in choosing where to go will ultimately come down to price and any type of add-ons.  If shopped correctly a coupon or free service could be found that makes the deal a lot sweeter.  Prices vary widely in the mobile detailing industry just as it does at shop based ones.

Questions to ask yourself are:

• How did I find the Detailing Company?
• Was my source for finding the mobile detailing reputable?
• Do I know anyone who may have used this company before?  Even if you think the answer is no, ask around.
• How much am I willing to spend?  This could vary from $60-$300+ depending on what services are chosen and how much corrective detail work your auto will need.
• Will I continue to maintain the condition of the automobile after having it cleaned up?  If your answer is no, then we suggest setting up a regular maintenance wash of your vehicle
• Do I want my engine cleaned?  Most companies make this an add-on service.  Ask if it is included.  This is a highly recommended service for someone turning over a lease or looking to sell their vehicle.
• How much time can I be without my vehicle?  Let’s face it some people need their car more than others.  If you can be without it for a long time then maybe using one with a shop is your best bet.

Questions to ask your detailer:

• What services are offered and what do you recommend?  Some offer more services than others, so if you want it all done at once, make sure they offer it.
• What is the amount of time I have to wait?  If you choose a mobile detailing company then you should not have to worry because they will perform the service at your location.
• Are you running any specials right now?  A lot of times companies may have some special promotions that would benefit you.
• If you have pets, then make sure that the products used will be safe for your pet.
• Ask them to spell out exactly what each package offers, there may be a ten dollar difference just for wiping down your dash.
• What happens if I am not satisfied?

If you remember this little checklist when calling around to source your detailing company, you will be fine.  Please feel free to leave a comment, give us a call or use our contact form for any questions.

Today i had the opportunity of detailing a Chevy HHR. These vehicles are kind of funny looking to me. I believe it was a remake of an older version or something. The vehicle has a dark blue paint with metallic flecks in it. The paint was not in too good of shape. After washing it really good with the two bucket wash method I gave it a clay treatment. Here is a picture of what the clay looked like after a few passes in a two by two foot section on the hood. Needless to say this vehicle needed paint cleaning really bad. All I was going to do today though was wash, clay, and polish then wax. All of these steps were done by hand. It is going to need some paint correction with a machine, but for now it needed these hand steps at the least.


This paint was thoroughly covered with tree sap due to its location in the parking lot. No worry I just kept working one section at a time. Each time I was finished with a section I kneeded the clay bar until it exposed some fresh clay. It took the better part of an hour to do which is very long for claying a vehicle. Well after getting it completely clayed I applied some zanio polish to it. I finished it off with some Mother’s pure caranuaba wax and it shined up really nice. This vehicle will still need to get some paint correction done in the future. You can see how well it shined up from this picture below.

Today I had the pleasure of getting to detail a black Infiniti QX56.  For those of you that don’t know these are the really large Infiniti suv’s.  This one was a really nice black one with aftermarket 22 inch rims wrapped with some nice low profile tires.  This one had a clear bra on the front, and I don’t really recommend it because it takes away from the beauty of the paint job.  After giving the vehicle a really good spray and cleaning the tires I washed it with a microfiber wash mit.  The truck was then dried.  After it was completely dry a nice coat of wax was put on it to bring that deep black shine out.  I will quit talking about it and let you see for yourself. Here are some pictures of the truck after getting a full detail.  Most all of my pictures are taken from my Iphone.  I do this so I can send them to my flickr account which is linked to my photo gallery.

Today I came across some floor mats that had definitely seen some better days.  They had dirt and various other stains ground into them.  Well I got to thinking, and decided this would be a great set to get some pictures of.  I am going to walk through what it takes to get the stains out the first time.  So for you to get an idea of what I was working with this is what the before picture looked like.

You can tell these mats are very, very dirty.  Some people would probably throw them out, but I feel that is a waste of money.  If these stains take two scrubbings to come out of the floor mats then so be it.  Maybe the one mat that is starting to wear thin from the heel could use replacing.  I still feel that getting the stains out of the floor mats will be best decision.

First I vacuumed the floor mats to get all loose dirt out of them.  After vacuuming the floor mats I banged them on the side of the wall to get any other loose debris out of them.  Another vacuum was done.  Once the floor mats had been vacuumed I began to tackle the stains.

Second I sprayed a degreaser onto them.  The degreaser was a 20-1 concentrate and it said to use it at a ratio of 5-1 for heavy stains.  Remember that each chemical you use will have different strengths depending on the type of application.  Remember to follow the directions for what type of stain you are trying to get rid of.  Least aggressive to start with is the only policy.  You can always add more, but if you have too much and the carpet fades your in trouble.  The last piece of advice I will give you for treating stains is to test in an inconspicuous area first.  Once again these will all be in the directions on your degreaser of choice.  Now that the floor mats had an even thin coating of degrease on them I let it do its thing for few minutes to break up the stain.

I prepared a bucket of fresh water and got my upholstery brush ready.  After about three minutes I dipped the upholstery brush in the wash bucket and then shook it out.  After shaking out the brush I began to work a back and forth motion vigorously.  The carpet began to foam up and I could see the stain beginning to come up.  After scrubbing the floor mat for a about a minute I dipped my brush in the wash bucket again.  I am now done with the first part of cleaning the stains off.

My next step was to get a clean terry cloth towel and blot the mat.  After blotting the carpet for the first time and finishing with a vacuum this is what they looked like.

So I have looked over the web and have decided to compile a top 3 Detailing Resources list for those that are interested. I looked far and wide and clicked on hundreds of pages. So here we go.  Just continue to read to see if your favorite place made the top 3.

Detail King According to Detail King’s website they have been around for over ten years.  The reason they cracked the top three is due to their business focus on the articles.  “Step-by-step: Train your staff”, is the very first article on their detailing resource  board.  The rest of the articles on Detail King’s website are geared towards helping the professional.  All of the articles on their site are well written and informative.  Anyone from a beginner to a seasoned pro can learn something from Detail King.  Now on to number two for the best Detailing Resources.

At the number two spot comes Detailed Image.  The guys at Detailed Image have one of the most comprehensive lists of detailing articles I have seen yet.  They cover every facet of an automotive detail and provide it in clear concise writing that even the novice can understand.  If you scroll down to the bottom and click on the esoteric auto detailing link it takes you to a page where Todd has some of his details described word for word with lots of great pictures.  This is a good idea for any detailing resource website.  In depth descriptions to go along with quality photos helps the reader understand what is going on throughout each step of the article.  I particularly like the article on the 2006 Acura TL.

Our number one detailing resource had to be the International Detailing  Association.  Formerly known as the Professional Detailing Association it accomplished all of these items under that name.

• Published a quarterly magazine, The Detailer
• Published a monthly membership newsletter, The Detail Dialogue
• Conducted over 15 Detail Seminars across the country
• Formed two regional PDA Chapters
• Published a glossary of detailing terms
• Conducted the Detail Educational Seminar at the Car Wash Association Expo.
• Sponsored the Detailing Pavillion at the Car Wash Association Expo.
• Became the recognized source of information for the detail industry, all over the world

The above list was taken directly from their website to ensure accuracy.  Some of the items to be accomplished from the International Detailing Association are a Detailing Certification Program.  Also they are looking into a Eco-Friendly program as well.  Basically these guys will be setting the standard for future detailing.  Membership is low @ $50 for a detailer and increases from there depending on what level you wish to get in.  Their detailing resources can be found on their blog International Detailing Association Blog.  I encourage everyone to check out the above three resources.  Doing so will only increase your knowledge of what it means to be a detailer, and how to properly detail your vehicles.

If you have other resources that you feel should have been on the top three list please leave a comment.  We will respond to all comments and if needed update our top 3 list.

After getting a good Gainesville Detailing scrub down. Read our previous post on Heavy Bug Removal to see how we did it.

Both water based and oil based protectant work great. Although both of these types of products work well, they work for different applications. You let the situation determine what type of product that you will use and what part of the vehicle it is. Your water based protectants will attract less dust and lint to the surfaces that they are applied. Although water based may attract less dirt and dust it will also wash away a lot faster than the oil based products. This should be taken into consideration when applying products to the outside. For outside trim, tires and wheel well area I prefer to use a good oil based product. Not only will the oil based product provide a nice deep gloss it will also last longer when exposed to the elements. The reason behind this is due to oil not liking to mix with water.

On the flip side this extra long lasting protection is not necessarily needed on the inside. No one wants to have greasy surfaces inside the car. Not only will it look a little off when you touch it, but it will attract more dust and grime than the water based ones. If you are going to use an oil based product then make sure you apply it sparingly. These types of products go a long way. When applying around the console area make sure to be careful by the instrument panel as the product can leave a film and or stain the plastic components. The same precaution needs to be taken when using a water based solution but the staining is not as prominent. Just be careful and make sure you use a clean damp microfiber to wipe up any excess. On the interior I normally err on the side of water based. If you use a quality water based protectant then it will provide long lasting protection and a nice shine. Most water based protectants can be diluted also which is another advantage over the oil based products. If diluting a water based protectant make sure that you shake the bottle prior to each use. Shaking the bottle prior to use ensures an even distribution of the solution.

Both of these water based and oil based protectants can be applied with a variety of tools. I choose to use a quality microfiber. I use a different microfiber for the inside and the outside. Also remember that on the outside the oil based is preferred so we don’t want cross contamination with the water based protectants. There are applicator pads, brushes, sponges, and cloths of all shapes and sizes depending on what they are to be used for. Stay tuned and shortly we will go over all of the different detailing tools and what they can and should be used for. We will also be going over some case studies on different products.

Many people have heard of and even used a microfiber cloth. In the auto detailing industry these are pretty much the choice of professionals. They can be used for just about any task involved with detailing.

What is a microfiber? A microfiber is a material that is made up of two different fibers: Polyester, and Polyamide. It is very densely woven with strands that measure 1 denier. What is a denier? A unit of measurement of linear mass-density of textile fiber calculated as one gram per 9000 meters. (Wiki) Human hair measures at 20. So the fibers used are 1/20th the density of a human hair. What does this mean? Some of the highest quality microfibers have upwards of 200 thousand strands per square inch! This provides for an ultra soft, super strong cloth that can stand up to the demands of cleaning and washing.

Due to the way it is constructed the cloths leave virtually no lint, or any type of residue. The tightly woven fabric also allows it to absorb up to seven times its weight in water. This means your products stay on the cloth longer and leave a smaller amount on the automobile. This smaller amount gives you more control and conserves your products.

What type of microfiber should you be using for your vehicle? Well I would first make sure that you buy at least 5-6 different colors. The different colors help make sure you don’t cross contaminate. You can have a different color for each task on the vehicle. No one wants to have leather condition wiped all over their windows. Store the microfibers in such a way that the different colors do not co-mingle. This also means that you will be washing them separately also. If you drop a microfiber on the ground, you may want to consider throwing it out. Remember these special cloths are designed to trap dirt and grime. Neither of those two are wanted by a customer. I would suggest only getting microfibers that are in the high thread-count. The higher the count the better they are especially for automobiles. Do not skimp on these because the lower quality ones can and will do small damage to a vehicles paint.

Many people take this task for granted when detailing their vehicles. Not only do most people take it for granted but they usually do it at the worst time. Either the wheel is cleaned while they are in the middle of washing the car or they do after the body of the car is washed.

Two reasons to not wash at either of those times is 1.) The wheels are the dirtiest part of the vehicle.
2.) Chemicals used on the wheels/tires/wheel-well area are much harsher than ones used on the rest of the vehicle

Now lets address those two issues. Both of the above mentioned issues are a prime example of why the wheels need to always be done first.
Since the wheels are the dirtiest part of the vehicle they should be cleaned first. The reason they are done first is so you avoid splattering dirty water or grime from them up onto a freshly washed body. Begin the same way you would normally. First rinse off any and all loose dirt. I always make sure that I spray down the wheel wells really well. Sometimes a lot of dirt and grime can get caught up under the wheel well. Prepare a bucket with rinse water that is completely separate from the normal wash bucket. For this procedure it is good to have a couple brushes as well as a good scrub pad that is only for wheel cleaning.

On to the cleaning. Spray down the wheel well area with a good all-purpose cleaner/degreaser. Make sure you get it evenly distributed and spray down the tire and wheel. Don’t skimp on the product here. Now move onto the next wheel and do the same. Stop after getting to the second wheel. Although you can do all four wheels at once it’s sometimes hard to get to the last one before the cleaner dries. The cleaner should be left on for a couple minutes. Letting the cleaner sit for a few moments will allow it to begin to break down any dirt and grime. Now take one of your brushes and work the cleaner into the wheel wells. Some wheel wells are funkier than others and may require special brushes. Know your wheels and what it will take to clean them. Rinse your brush after scrubbing the wheel well. Begin to scrub your tires really well, they have lots of dirt nasties ground into them. For the actual wheel itself you will want to use a brush that can fit between the spokes and get into any lugnut areas. After scrubbing all areas good give it a rinse. Inspect the wheel for any signs of discoloration or uneven color. This is usually a sign that they wheel may still be dirty. If it is dirty don’t worry just use the same method again and it will come out spotless. We hope that this helps. Keeping them cleaned the right way will ensure an even distribution of the protectant that will be applied.