Car Detailing Tips: How to Detail a Car Yourself

Yes. A wash, decontamination, a spray sealant and a thorough interior clean need only hand tools, patience and shade. DIY usually goes wrong in three jobs: machine polishing, which levels the clear coat and can't be undone; hot-water carpet extraction; and ceramic coating.

Where you wash matters in Los Angeles. In the City of LA, LADWP's permanent prohibitions include "No washing vehicles without using a hose with a self-closing water shut-off nozzle" and "No runoff onto streets, driveways, and gutters". A rinseless wash from a bucket stays inside both. Other cities have their own codes: is it legal to wash my car in my driveway in California.

One rule sets the order: no step may undo a finished one. Dust falls, water splashes and wheel grime travels, so work top to bottom, give the dirtiest parts their own tools, and put protection only on paint that is already clean and dry. We start inside, so loose debris comes out before anything gets wet.

1. Washing in the sun or on hot paint. Tesla's manual is blunt: "Do not wash in direct sunlight" (Tesla). Products drying on the panel are the problem; CarPro tells users not to let its iron remover "dry on the surface when under direct sun" (CarPro). In a Valley summer, work early or under a roof.
2. One towel for the whole car. Chemical Guys calls it "a common but huge mistake": grit from the wheels and sills ends up on the paint (Chemical Guys). Use a fresh towel for each job and, on paint, for each panel.
3. Wiping dust or ash dry. LA County Public Health: "Avoid scrubbing dry ash, as it can scratch paint" (Public Health). Dust is no different: wet it and lift it.
4. Letting the car air-dry. LADWP's 2022 hardness averages are 8.6 grains per gallon in the San Fernando Valley and Western LA, 9.8 in Silver Lake, Downtown and South LA, and 16.3 in Eastern LA and the Harbor (LADWP). Those minerals stay behind as spots. Honda even says to wipe wheels dry "while they are still wet" (Honda).
5. Harsh wheel cleaners and stiff brushes. For alloy wheels Honda says "Do not use a stiff brush or harsh chemicals (including some commercial wheel cleaners)", which can damage the protective finish (Honda).
6. Leaving droppings, sap and tar for the weekend. Tesla's instruction is to "Immediately remove corrosive substances", naming bird droppings, tree resin, dead insects and tar spots (Tesla).
7. A pressure washer too close. Tesla sets at least 12 inches (30 cm) between nozzle and body (Tesla). Honda warns that spraying too close to the windows can push water inside, and not to aim high pressure into the engine compartment (Honda).
8. Claying with plain water. Water "tends to drag and can cause the clay bar to catch on the surface" (Chemical Guys). Use a clay lubricant, and clay only after the wash and the chemical removers.
9. Expecting clay or wax to fix scratches. "Clay bars do NOT remove scratches" (Chemical Guys), and wax levels nothing. Swirls and scratches come out with polishing: paint correction.
10. Leaving a solvent remover on too long, or on plastic. Stoner's directions for Tarminator: wait 30 to 60 seconds, wipe it off, "Do not let Tarminator sit for over 1 minute without rinsing", and keep it off headlights and clear plastics (Stoner). Dwell times differ by product, so read the label.

What not to do inside

• Silicone spray on buttons and switches. Honda says it "may cause the items to malfunction or cause a fire inside the vehicle" (Honda).
• Bleach, hydrogen peroxide or ammonia on screens. Ford says they "can damage anti-glare and anti-fingerprint coatings" (Ford of Europe).
• Soaking leather. Honda's mix is 90% water and 10% neutral soap on a damp cloth, then air-dry in the shade (Honda).
• Scrubbing across the rear defroster lines. Wipe "along the same direction as the wires" (Honda).
• Stacking floor mats. "Do not put any additional floor mats on top of the anchored mat" (Honda); the anchors are what keep the driver's mat from sliding forward.
• Leaving sunscreen and bug spray on trim. Ford's materials engineers name "sun lotion and insect repellent" as "particularly damaging" (Ford of Europe). Wipe the armrests, door pulls and steering wheel.

Tree sap and etched water spots top the list: once sap hardens or minerals etch into the clear coat, a wash no longer moves them. Most of the rest comes off with the right remover, a cool panel and no scrubbing.

Inside: sand, hair, smells and the headliner

Inside, the hard ones are sand and pet hair worked into the carpet weave, smells held in the foam and the vents, crumbs in perforated leather, and the headliner: spray the towel, never the fabric. Guides for each: how to remove pet hair from a car, how to remove smoke odor from a car and how to get stuff out of leather seat holes.