Detailing at home: what it is and how to do it

Detailing is a word most shops use to sell to enthusiasts: polishing machines, pads, workshop products. This page is for everyone who isn't one.

It's for anyone who wants their car to look cared for without giving up a whole weekend or buying studio equipment. Here's what you can do with just your hands, a bucket and a few products - and, further on, what really is best left to people who do this every day.

What detailing is, without the jargon

Detailing isn't washing the car. It's the whole sequence: wash, decontaminate the surface, correct what can be corrected by hand, protect, and treat the glass and interior separately. Each step solves a problem that washing alone doesn't.

If you only need to know how to wash without scratching the paintwork, the two-bucket method is explained in this guide. This page assumes you already know how to wash and want to go further.

Always wash first

Washing is still the foundation of everything; without it, you're just spreading dirt around with the next products. The Essential Wash Kit brings together the car shampoo, wheel cleaner, wheel brush, wash mitt, towel and tyre shine in a single pack. If you'd rather compare options before deciding, there's a comparison of the three Redex kits.

Only once it's dry is the car ready for the next steps.

Decontaminate what water left behind

Even after a normal wash, there are always stuck-on insects and spots of tar that water alone won't shift. There are two different products for this: the Bug & Tar Removal Sponge, which you rub over the mark, and Bug Remover 500 ml, a spray for paintwork and glass that you spray on and wipe off.

Use one or the other depending on what you have to hand: the sponge deals with more stubborn marks, the spray is quicker for everyday use.

Correct fine scratches, without erasing them for good

Micro-scratches from washing or from the comings and goings of parking won't disappear with a cloth. Scratch Remover 250 ml fills the imperfection and masks it, leaving a more even finish; it doesn't remove any paint, it disguises the scratch.

To dry and give the final finish without leaving marks, use the Drying and Polishing Towel rather than just any cloth.

Protect what you've just treated

Detailer Exterior Ceramic is an SiO₂ siloxane spray you apply in five minutes after washing: spray it on, spread it with a microfibre cloth and buff with a clean one. The sign that it's working is water beading off in the next rain.

It isn't a professional multi-year ceramic coating. It's a quick sealant to use between washes, with no curing and no machine; reapply as soon as water stops beading.

Glass without streaks or smears

Glass builds up streaks and stubborn marks that an everyday glass cleaner won't shift on its own. Glass Polish 250 ml removes those marks and restores clarity; for normal maintenance cleaning, Glass Cleaner 500 ml is all you need.

Always apply with a clean, dry microfibre cloth. A cloth with residue from another product will smear the glass instead of cleaning it.

Interior: three different jobs

The interior can't be sorted with a single product. Cockpit Spray cleans and gives an even shine to the dashboard and plastics, available in Pine, Lemon, Strawberry and Vanilla/Coconut. Upholstery Cream cleans and nourishes fabric, leather or synthetic seats, and helps prevent cracking. Odour Eliminator comes in when the problem is a smell (smoke, food, mould), not visible dirt.

To apply any of these, the Detailing Cloth 2-in-1 has one side for spreading the product and another for drying or giving the final finish.

What you can't do at home

There are three things that really are beyond the reach of a kit and a weekend.

Deep scratches that already reach the clear coat or the base coat need a polishing machine and a cutting compound; the Scratch Remover disguises that level of damage, it doesn't repair it. A professional ceramic coating lasts for years because it cures under controlled conditions, with the paintwork prepared beforehand; the Detailer Exterior Ceramic on this page is a different category of product, designed to be reapplied in minutes, not to last several years on its own. And we don't sell clay bars: for decontamination heavier than insects and tar (iron fallout bonded to the paint, for example), that step remains undone in this range.

None of this is a reason to put off the rest. It's just honesty about where the line is.

Questions before you start

Is detailing the same as washing the car?

Not quite: washing is the first step, while detailing adds decontamination, the correction you can do by hand, protection and treating the glass and interior. If you only want to solve one specific problem, such as dirty seats, a smell or wheels, the guide by problem goes straight to it.

Do I need a polishing machine to detail my car at home?

For the steps on this page, no. Washing, light decontamination, the Scratch Remover, protection with the ceramic detailer and treating the glass and interior are all done by hand. A polishing machine only comes in when the scratch is deep, and even then it is a job for someone who does this every day, not for a Saturday morning.

Does the Ceramic Detailer replace wax?

It replaces wax's job of protecting and adding gloss between washes, and it is quicker to apply. What it does not do is last for years like a professional ceramic coating: it is a sealant you reapply in five minutes, once water stops beading.

Does the Scratch Remover really remove scratches?

It does not remove any paint; it masks the imperfection and leaves a more even finish. It works well on fine, surface scratches; on scratches that already reach the base coat the result falls short, and that becomes a job for professional paint correction.

Where do I start if I have never done any of this?

At the beginning: wash the car thoroughly first, ideally with the two-bucket method so you don't add new scratches. Only then does it make sense to think about decontamination, correction or protection. The order matters more than having all six products at once.

How long does all this take?

It is not a ten-minute job, but you don't need to do all six steps in one go either. The ceramic detailer, for example, takes five minutes after washing; the rest (decontamination, correction, glass, interior) can be spread over several weekends, depending on what your car needs.

If you don't have any of these products at home yet, start with the basics: the Essential Wash Kit brings together the car shampoo, wheel cleaner, wheel brush, wash mitt, towel and tyre shine in a single pack. The next steps, decontamination, correction, protection, glass and interior, can be added as they make sense for your car.