When are the best times to detail my car?

The best time of year to detail your car? Allow us to explain...

The true essence of detailing lies in getting your car to a pristine condition and, of course, keeping it that way. One of the most frequent questions that arises in the world of detailing is how often you should perform a full detail and what that may entail. That's closely followed by "what are the best detailing products to use?"

It's important to understand the distinction between a routine maintenance wash, were we're talking about regular upkeep, and a full detail, which usually involves more extensive steps like decontamination, polishing, protection, and deep cleaning of the interior. A full detail is different from a quick car wash, even when we use extra steps to boost protection layers like waxes, sealants or ceramic coatings. But when should you carry out these kind of tasks, and what should you consider along the way?

Well, first thing's first, if your car has never been fully detailed to your satisfaction, then there’s no better time than now to break out the polishes, compounds and your choice of protection layers. When your car isn’t at the level you want it to be, this is the perfect time to get it there.

However, if you're wondering about the best times of year for different types of detailing, that's another matter entirely. So, let’s dive into when and why you should schedule those big detailing sessions…

What Is A Full Detail?

A full detail is perhaps the most comprehensive approach to car care, aimed at restoring your vehicle to the best possible condition, or in many cases even better than new.

Whether you're prepping for a special event, a road trip, or just preparing for the summer months, a full detail takes your car beyond a simple wash and often includes processes like paintwork decontamination, polishing, deep cleaning the interior and chassis and even refreshing the engine bay. The goal is to restore and refine all surfaces of the car. Simply getting your car looking it's best.

What's required to complete a full detail depends on many factors, including the condition of your interior, paintwork and other surfaces. The extent of defects in the paint, such as scratches or swirl marks, and any damage to trim or wheels will affect how much work is involved. It’s also worth noting that just because a car is brand new dosen't mean it won't need attention. Many new cars come with swirl marks and scratches from improper washing by the dealership.

In a full detail, you’ll typically perform a series of steps to get the car to the level you want before applying a protective layer, such as wax, sealant, or a ceramic coating, to ensure the car maintains its appearance for as long as possible .

What Is A Maintenance Wash?

A maintenance wash is a lighter, regular cleaning process aimed at safely removing grime, dirt, and contamination that can damage your surfaces or its protective layers. It’s designed to keep your car looking as close to the condition it was in after the last full detail as possible.

The key to a successful maintenance wash is using the right products and techniques to avoid scratches and swirls. You’ll need to be cautious about removing large particles and dirt without damaging the paint or stripping away the protection. A thorough pre-wash is essential to loosen grime before making contact, using powerful surface-safe products like Citrus Power Bug & Grime Remover or Dynamite Traffic Film Remover.

After pre-washing, a snow foam like Avalanche Snow Foam can be applied to break down stubborn dirt and contaminants, followed by a careful contact wash using the two-bucket method and a pro-grade Wash Mitt to avoid dragging grit across the surface.

During a maintenance wash, you may also want to top up protection layers and focus on areas like plastic trim, tires, and interior surfaces with appropriate dressings and finishing products. This is simply your routine maintenance to keep your car in top condition until your next full detail.

Should I Fully Detail Every Time I Wash?

No, you should not need to perform a full detail every time you wash your car. Polishing, in particular, is something that should be done sparingly, usually only once or twice a year. Routine maintenance washes are simply about keeping your car looking clean and fresh, not about restoring or refining the finish.

You shouldn’t need to deep clean your interior every time unless there’s a major spill or mess. For exterior maintenance, you’re mostly removing grime and letting your protection layers continue their work. As for polishing, it’s important to note that using abrasive compounds too often isn't a good idea. Polishing removes a small part of the paint or clear coat, so it's something that should only be done as and when it's necessary.

Once you’ve achieved the desired finish through polishing and refining, applying a protective layer will help shield the paint from future damage. If you’re maintaining your car properly, you shouldn't need to polish it again until the next full detail, unless there are new imperfections you need to address.

When Is The Best Time Of The Year To Perform A Full Detail?

If you're starting your detailing journey, the best time to perform a full detail is when your car needs it the most. For a car that hasn’t been fully detailed, now is always the right time to tackle that. After the first full detail, many detailers recommend carrying out a full detail once or twice a year.

Seasonal detailing is common, with many enthusiasts choosing to fully detail their cars at the beginning of Spring to address any damage from the winter months and get the car ready for the warmer weather. Then they may carry out another full detail in the autumn to prepare for the challenges of the colder weather seasons.

A couple of full details a year is typically sufficient, though some specialist car owners may add a third detail, say just before the summer shows or before winter storage, if needed.

Are There Different Processes For Different Seasons?

While the core processes of detailing—like polishing and decontamination—remain the same year-round, certain details can be adjusted depending on the season. For example, during a full detail, you'll want to ensure that your paint is completely free from contamination before polishing. This is especially important in winter when salt, grime, and other contaminants are more prevalent. In warmer months, the main issue is bug splatter and UV damage, which can deteriorate your paint and trim over time. This may affect the type of pre-wash product you choose.

When polishing is taking place, regardless of the season we'll also add in a 3-stage decontamination process - or a decon wash. During a full detail, you’ll remove heavy contamination with products like Iron Out Contaminant Remover to dissolve metal particles, ObliTARate Tar & Glue Remover for sticky tar, and a Clay Bar to physically lift any remaining contaminants. These steps are important to ensure that polishing pads don’t work contaminants into the paint.

For the lowdown on the best decon wash, check out our article: Safely Decontaminating Your Paintwork.

Finally, the approach to polishing can also vary. Some detailers opt for machine polishing in the summer when aesthetics are the focus, and hand polishing for winter choosing to focus more on the hardiest protection. Paint correction will always range from a light enhancement to a full multi-stage correction, depending on the severity of the defects and the main focus of the season.

The approach to polishing can also vary. Some detailers opt for machine polishing in the summer when aesthetics are the focus, and hand polishing for winter choosing to focus more on the hardiest protection.

Paint correction will always range from a light enhancement to a full multi-stage correction, depending on the severity of the defects and the main focus of the season. But of course, with that comes selecting the correct products and accessories.

Some other stages processes may simply be more in-depth versions of those during routine maintenance. Interior cleaning is a prime example.

Full details typically involve carrying out a deep-clean surfaces such as carpets, boot areas, plastics and seats using Total Interior Cleaner, Hide Leather Cleanser or a suitable Dilution of Verso All Purpose Cleaner. Then all we need to do is give the interior a quick once over with Total and Spritz Interior Quick Detailer during our regular maintenance.

We’ll also use products that nourish and protect interior surfaces during our full detail, such as Hide Leather Conditioner and our Caramics Interior Protection Kit.

When it comes to your wheels and tyres a full detail is the best time to go even further and get them off the car for a deep-clean and decontamination.

Once your wheels are clean and protected with a suitable product like Mint Rims Wheel Wax or our Caramics Wheel Protection Kit, a little Imperial Wheel Cleaner or Revolution Wheel Soap is all you’ll need to keep them well maintained over the colder months.

There are other processes you may be looking to carry out such as engine bay deep cleaning using Eradicate Engine Degreaser.

That way a few targeted touch ups - with some Verso and Dressle All Purpose Trim Dressing - during your routine maintenance will be plenty to keep everything fresh until the next full detail.

Finally there’s the kind of finishing essentials that we’ll carry out at the end of every detail, regardless of if it’s a large detail or a maintenance wash.

Making sure our windows are smear and streak-free using Crystal Glass Cleaner and dressing ourr tyres using Satin Tyre Crème provides the ultimate finishing touches to push any detail to the next level.

How Does The Weather Affect My Detail?

You should always take the weather into consideration when detailing. The winter months may come with challenges with regards to comfort but the key thing to look out for is cold water - icy crystals can scratch and abrade protection layers. Aside from that though, winter detailing tends to be a little more straightforward than in the summer.

No matter the time of year it's important not to let your cleaning products dry naturally on surfaces. This becomes more apparent in the summer and it’s the main reason why we don’t wash cars in direct sunshine or when they're hot.

Most car cleaning products work by using a mixture of surfactants and water to safely remove grime. A hot surface simply makes products dry out prematurely leaving behind the contamination. It's important to Always keep your car wet until it’s time to dry safely using and Aqua Deluxe or Silk Drying Towel.

As a general rule carry out your spring and summer detail early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid the sunniest part of the day.

Does The Type Of Contamination Change Seasonally?

yes the season affects the kinds of contamination that your car comes into contact with - it's the main consideration when it comes to seasonal detailing. Cars get dirtier in the winter but the the warmer months have their own challenges.

In short, the type and the concentration of the contamination, changes throughout the seasons making it important to consider in terms of the products you use for cleaning and protection.

Colder, wetter months have significantly more heavy contamination. Corrosive road salt, mud, traffic films and heavy, gritty soiling is bad for paintwork and can even eat into protection.

This is where our most versatile products like our Dynamite Traffic Film Remover and Verso All Purpose Cleaner are ideal. These dilute-to-suit cleaners can be mixed up to perform a whole host of heavy-duty cleaning tasks safely, and without stripping protection.

Just because there's less heavy grime on the roads in the summer doesn't mean that there's not far more bugs to splatter all over your pride and joy. Dead bugs, along with bird droppings, are extremely acidic and can eat through protection and paintwork if they're left for long enough. These need to be removed during your pre-wash using a suitable dilution of Dynamite, or our powerful, ready-to-use pre cleaner, Citrus Power Bug & Grime Remover.

The effects of UV radiation can be more damaging in the summer, too. Our advanced Revive Trim Dressing can be uses to bring faded plastics back to life all-year-round - in Winter this water-resistant, silicone-based formula will give extra help to protect from grime ingress, and in Summer the UV inhibitors it's packed with will help to shield against the fading and cracking associated with prolonged exposure to the sun.

What Protection Should I Use?

Our pro-level protection products - including all our waxes, sealants and ceramic coatings - can be used all-year-round.

The best protection products are designed to form a hydrophobic barrier to the elements which stops water and grime from sticking or abrading the surfaces. This in turn keeps your car cleaner and swirl-free for longer. The idea is to seal surfaces so they can’t react with the oxygen in the air causing oxidation it also helps to shield your car from the UV radiation that causes paint fading. In other words it's down to you to make the choice of the type of protection product you like the best in terms of looks and durability.

You can also choose your protection wisely by considering the different characteristics of different types of protection that may be geared towards your particular needs or even the season. When you use a polish or a compound you will remove any protection present, so you can change the type of protection you use after every full detail, and according to each season.

Summer is mostly about your car looking its best. This means that, you may be after a warm carnauba glow to get the nicest paintwork finish. For many nothing looks better than wax so you could choose one of our Signature Hard Waxes which are available for all types of paintwork and come with up to 6-8-months durability. There's also Radiance Carnauba Crème which is designed to give the warm look of a hard wax while being extremely quick and easy to use. This one comes with up to 3-months protection.

When it comes to the winter months shielding your car with the hardiest protection from the elements tends to be the priority. ceramic coatings and sealants, and all the easy-clean properties that come with them may be a better fit, especially for daily drivers. So you may be looking for the ultra-durable hard-layer protection from products like our super-sealant, Graphene Liquid Filler Wax, or our easy-to-use Caramics Paintwork Protection Kit and Caramics Glass Protection Kit. These products offer loads of gloss, but also the most extreme hydrophobic protection that lasts for up to 12-months.

Whether it’s tailored protection for each season, or simply the type of protection you most like to use, the choice is yours here. You can't go wrong.

When Should I Do A Maintenance wash?

How often you wash your car should only be as frequently as when you feel you need to to keep your car looking it’s best.

You may hear people say that you should perform routine maintenance once or twice a month, and maybe bit more in winter, but it really is up to you. As long as you're cleaning regularly to stop the onset of corrosion from the most harmful contaminants, you can clean your car as little or as often as you like... within reason.

While, traditionally speaking, there is risk to surfaces when you clean, by using the right products and techniques you can eradicate the risk altogether. So, technically you can clean as often as you want to without causing harm.

It's all in how our cleaning products work. Essentially, they use surfactants, degreasers and other advanced ingredients to pull potentially harmful particles off of surfaces on a microscopic level and surround them in the solution. Then they can be rinsed or wiped away without touching the surface underneath.

So, rest assured that when you’re utilising Citrus Power, Imperial Wheel Cleaner, Lather Car Shampoo, Total Interior Cleaner, or any of our other cleaners to remove grime the process is risk-free.

How Do I Top Up Protection During Maintenance?

Our most popular protection products are designed to be easy to use for both maintenance and full details. Products such as Graphene Liquid Filler Wax and Radiance Carnauba Crème are ideal for regular use during your routine maintenance washes as well as the initial instillation of protection the first time around.

With that said we also have other products specifically geared towards speedy maintenance protection top ups. Some, such as Lavish Ceramic Foam, Aqua Coat Hydrophobic Rinse Aid and Caramics Enhancing Shampoo are great for use during the wash stages to top up ultra-hydrophobic ceramic coatings.

Caramics Enhancing Shampoo is another great product, this simply replaces your normal car shampoo in the contact wash. Lavish is applied using your Snow Foam Lance, just spray on and rinse after your wash. Aqua Coat is a spray-on product for use just before you dry.

Other products can be used at the end of your detail to quickly add gloss and top up the protection layers with just a spray and wipe with a soft microfibre cloth. Caramics Gloss Enhancer is ideal for extending the life and performance of ceramic coatings and using Glisten Spray Wax is a speedy way to top up any wax-based layers. You can also use Ceramic Spray Wax, Wash 'N' Gloss Car Shampoo and Caramics Glass Cleaner for topping up ceramic protection on all exterior surfaces including paintwork, wheels, vinyl wraps, glass and trim.

The only thing to remembers to match the type of protection to the one you’ve used after your last full detail. If it’s using a wax, top up with a wax, and if it's a ceramic coating we’d always recommend using a ceramic product .

So, that's our guide on the best time to detail your car, and what detailing products to use along the way. If you have more questions - or you're looking for tailored advice of specific detailing problems - contact our customer service experts on support@autofinesse.com. And be sure to check out more top detailing guides in the Guides Section Of Our Blog.