The interior is thoroughly vacuumed, carpets and mats are shampooed, stains removed, door jambs are cleaned, all interior hard surfaces such as the doors, dash and console are cleaned, dressed and detailed, leather seats are cleaned and conditioned, the headliner is cleaned, and the interior is deodourized with a fresh scent.
The exterior is hand washed, wheel-wells cleaned, break dust removed from alloy rims, white-walls, tires and vinyl tops scrubbed then dressed, the paint is machine waxed with a polymer sealant and then buffed by hand, finally the trim is carefully detailed and the windows are polished.
The Complete Detail costs $119.95 and takes 2.5 hours for cars. It costs $149.95 for cross-overs, suvs, mini-vans and trucks and takes 3.5 hours. It includes cloth seats vacuumed or leather seats cleaned and conditioned, however, cloth seat shampoo is an additional $49.95 for all types of vehicles.
The Complete Detail is by appointment only, please plan ahead as we book-up in the spring. We don't offer a customer shuttle or pick-up/delivery. We accept cheques, cash, interac, master card and VISA. We are open 7 days a week and most holidays. Gift certificates are available as the Complete Detail makes an excellent gift.
The Complete Detail begins with preparing the car for cleaning. Floor mats are removed and hung on a wall for shampooing. Loose items are collected and placed in a plastic bag in a holding area to the side of the car. This includes the contents of ash trays and cup holders. We will remove baby seats as well at this time in order, to clean beneath them. If the vehicle has cloth seat covers we do not remove them nor will we shampoo them. We will remove items from the trunk and if the carpet in the trunk is removable it will be hung as well for shampooing. In the event, that there is an excessive amount of items in the trunk we will opt to just skip the trunk completely. We do not clean inside of compartments such as glove boxes, arm rests or compartments along the back windows in some mini-vans. If you would like us to clean inside these compartments then you must remove all items in them and leave the compartment open to show us its been prepared for cleaning. Also, we do not clean inside the bed of trucks.
Step by Step Explanation of the Complete Detail
The Complete Detail begins with preparing the car for cleaning. Floor mats are removed and hung on a wall for shampooing. Loose items are collected and placed in a plastic bag in a holding area to the side of the car. This includes the contents of ash trays and cup holders. We will remove baby seats as well at this time in order, to clean beneath them. If the vehicle has cloth seat covers we do not remove them nor will we shampoo them. We will remove items from the trunk and if the carpet in the trunk is removable it will be hung as well for shampooing. In the event, that there is an excessive amount of items in the trunk we will opt to just skip the trunk completely. We do not clean inside of compartments such as glove boxes, arm rests or compartments along the back windows in some mini-vans. If you would like us to clean inside these compartments then you must remove all items in them and leave the compartment open to show us its been prepared for cleaning. Also, we do not clean inside the bed of trucks.
Before washing the car the headliner is cleaned. The headliner is the cloth or plastic material above your head inside the vehicle. In the case where the headliner is cloth it is gently wiped with a dry foam as the cloth headliner is very delicate. Cleaning the headliner is very helpful in removing stale smoke odour from the vehicle. Most types of stains or markings such as pop spills, hair products or grease can be removed from the headliner however, we cannot promise to completely remove all stains as we are limited by the delicate nature of the headliner to how aggressively we can clean. Also, often what appears to be a stain in the headliner may in fact be a cigarette burn and that would need a repair.
Also, before washing the car, the interior carpets are vacuumed and a stain lifting product is applied to all of the carpets to prepare them for shampooing. If the seats are being shampooed they too will be prepared for shampooing by being sprayed with this colour-safe PH balanced stain lifting agent.
The car wash process begins with spraying the paint with a pre-soak detergent designed to loosen dirt, front facing surfaces such as the windshield, front bumper and mirrors are sprayed with a special bug remover solution that breaks-down bugs so that they can be pressure washed away without aggressive scrubbing. The tires are sprayed with a white wall cleaner and the rims are sprayed with a break dust remover. Cloth Tops are also prepared with a special detergent designed to lift stains from exterior vinyl and cloth without removing their protective coating. The vehicle is rinsed with high pressure to remove grit and grime from the paint, then the vehicle is gently hand washed with special care using 100% Lambs Wool wash mitts, and then thoroughly rinsed with high pressure water. The rims are detail cleaned by hand, Tires and White walls are scrubbed with a vinyl brush then rinsed with high pressure water, including the wheel wells. The extent of our under carriage cleaning is only the visible sections through the wheel wells. Then the car is carefully towel dried with clean cotton Terry Bath Towels, no chamois are ever used.
Tar and tree sap are then removed. A powerful yet paint-safe degreaser is applied to tar and sap, then left to penetrate for a few minutes, then carefully wiped away. This is very time consuming and we do not guarantee to completely remove tar or tree sap. Most tar or tree sap issues can be addressed by the Complete Detail but if your car is covered in tree sap or tar we wouldn't even be able to address it in the time we allow for a Complete Detail. If you are specifically concerned about tar or tree sap you would need to bring the vehicle to the Super Carwash before making an appointment and allow us to see how bad the tar or tree sap really is and confirm whether or not we could remove it with our Complete Detail. Also, it is important to know that sometimes when tree sap has sat on paint for a long time it damages the clear coat and even when the sap is removed a blemish remains.
Scratches in the paint may be polished before we wax the vehicle. We use a heavy cut cleaner and an angle polisher to remove or lessen the visibility of scratches, then a second stage of power polishing is done with a cleaner glaze to smooth out the finish and enhance the shine where the scratches have been removed. The extent of scratch removal is limited to an area pointed out by the owner and a total area of no more than a square foot. The Complete Detail does not include a power polish, if the vehicle has heavy oxidization, acid rain damage or extensive scratches that cannot be resolved by our Complete Detail. Moreover, we cannot guarantee to completely remove scratches because they may be too deep to be removed or be on surfaces that cannot be polished.
Faded headlights and bug deflectors are polished with a plastic polish to remove haziness or clouding that occurs over time. The results depend on the severity of the fading. We do not remove bug deflectors or plastic liscense plate covers to clean behind them. We will remove and clean front-end masks or car bras but we will not re-install them, they will be left in the trunk for the car owner to re-install once they have completely dried.
Paint over-spray will be removed from exterior glass. However, paint over-spray on the paint can only be removed to the extent of a square foot pointed-out by the owner. A soft-clay brick with soapy water is used to gently pull the over-spray from the paint as the clay is passed over the area. Paint over-spray comes from industrial painting done out doors that lands on the car. In many cases you cannot see it but you can feel it as you run your fingers across the surface of the car. Or you can see how the windshield wipers don't wipe the windows properly because of the over-spray. Certain types of over-spray cannot be removed such as road paint that splashes up onto the paint from when you've driven over freshly painted road lines. The Complete Detail can address some aspects of paint over-spray but if you are specifically concerned about removing paint over-spray the Complete Detail will not be enough.
Commonly on white or light coloured vehicles small rust spots occur on the surface of the paint. This is caused by rail dust or brake dust landing on the paint and then turning a rust colour. It appears mostly on the sides of the vehicle and on the back. We will remove these spots with a rust remover solution but in some cases if the rust spot has been present for a long time it must be polished by hand to successfully remove it. Sometimes older vehicles have rusted body parts or bumpers and we employ the rust remover and/or polish to remove as much of the visible rust as possible. We cannot guarantee to completely remove rail-dust or rust due to the time consuming nature of the removal process, but certainly the majority of rail-dust and or rust can be addressed with the Complete Detail.
We remove decals or trim as requested by the owner such as dealer decals on the rear of the vehicle or emission test decal on the inside windshield. The extent of decal removal is limited, graphics or commercial lettering is far too time consuming to be addressed with the Complete Detail. We do not remove decals that are on painted plastic. Moreover, we do not remove tint. Even if the owner removes the tint themselves and leaves the glue-backing on the glass we will not remove it with the Complete Detail. Often children affix stickers to windows and these are easily removed as long as they aren't affixed to the inside of tinted windows. We cannot guarantee to completely remove stickers affixed to window tint because the tint is easily damaged by the removal process.
Once the exterior paint issues are addressed the vehicle is Waxed. Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Liquid Polymer Sealant is applied to all exterior painted surfaces with a Flex Orbital Buffer at it's highest speed with moderate to heavy pressure using a clean soft terry cotton wrap around bonnet not a foam polishing pad. The cleaner component of the polymer sealant and the high speed buffing will remove some spider webbing or haziness in the paint. There will be no swirl marks in the finish because the Flex Orbital Buffer uses a random motion unlike an angle polisher. Moreover, there is no polish in the sealant so the waxing is safe for any type of paint treatment. While buffing the operator will take special care approaching edges to avoid pushing wax into them and creating excessive removal work. Trim and window mouldings are carefully avoided. After buffing the terry bonnet is used to hand apply wax to those painted areas inaccessible to the buffer such as under roof racks, door handles and rear spoilers. Once applied the wax is left to dry for at least one hour while other tasks are completed.
If the cloth seats are being shampooed we begin by shampooing them first. We employ a Cyclo Polisher with plastic bristle brushes to effectively scrub the seats in conjunction with a pH-balanced upholstery cleaner. The cleaner is drip fed to the brushes to ensure it foams up lifting dirt away from the seat to allow it to be vacuumed out. We employ an extremely high powered drum mounted vacuum to extract all dirt and moisture from the seats by passing slowly and meticulously over all parts of the seats. Various hand held brushes are used to shampoo those parts of the seats inaccessible to the Cyclo, such as the sides along the centre console or under the head rests. Our shampoo process which uses the Cyclo polisher in conjunction with the pre-sprayed stain lifting agent, the high foaming upholstery cleaner and our extreme vacuum suction is the most effective means available to remove stains from upholstery. Once shampooed the seats are wrapped in clean terry cotton bath towels and weights are placed to wick away moisture while the rest of the vehicle is cleaned.
After the seats, we shampoo all of the carpeted areas within the vehicle including the mats and carpets removed in the initial stage. We use a more aggressive plastic bristle brush on the Cyclo Polisher to shampoo the carpets and we employ the same PH balanced upholstery cleaner that we use for the seat shampoo. Also, for difficult to access areas we use a variety of brushes and crevice tools. We do not remove the seats from the vehicle to shampoo under them. This is unnecessary, the front seats are pushed all the way forward and we have tools that reach under them. In mini-vans or vehicles where the seats are removable they are just lifted forward to shampoo the carpet beneath and also clean out the tracks where the seats anchor. If the owner has placed the removable seats un-anchored in the car for cleaning they will be re-installed after the carpet has been shampooed. Unusual areas where there is carpet and upholstery such as on the sides of doors or the back deck below the rear windshield will be shampooed as well at this time.
Sand, mud, dirt and grime are easily removed with the shampoo process because those types of stains easily dissolve and our powerful vacuum easily extracts sand and dirt.
Salt stains are commonly found on the driver's side floor and on carpeted mats, they are caused by snow in winter melting along with road salt on the carpets, the Complete Detail and our shampoo process can effectively eliminate these stains. The PH balanced stain lifting agent is designed to dissolve the salt so that it can be easily brushed away by the Cyclo. However, in some cases where salt stained carpets have been left uncorrected for many years the pile of the carpet is damaged and even though we can remove the white salt markings from the carpet there remains an unevenness or markings within the carpet. This is more prevalent in vehicles where the carpet is mostly nylon and has a very low pile. As a final solution in the event the salt stain or resulting carpet pile damage cannot be removed we will dye the carpet. We use a quick drying carpet dye that does not run or wash-out. We have excellent dye matching for most carpet colours such as most types of grey and beige and of course black. There are certain colours of carpets that we cannot dye they are white, blue and red.
Ink stains are very difficult to remove including drink spills that include food dyes such as orange pop. We cannot guarantee to completely remove these stains. When there are ink stains on cloth seats the problem is compounded because usually the ink flows into the cushion beneath the upholstery and even though we may be able to clean the upholstery when the seat is compressed after cleaning the stain returns. To address this type of stain we flush the spot with a special anti-bacterial fluid and quickly vacuum out the fluid and the ink, repeating the process as many times as it takes to extract the ink. It's important that the customer lets the seat completely dry before sitting on it to ensure the ink within the cushion doesn't re-stain the upholstery. Where the ink stain is on the carpet we may be able to dye the carpet provided we have an appropriate dye for the colour of the carpet.
Vomit, milk, red wine, blood, urine, other body fluids and food spills that don't contain food dyes like pop do not present a stain removal problem, they present an odour problem. Where ever these events have occurred in the vehicle we perform an anti-bacterial flush and extraction with our powerful vacuum to remove as much of the contaminant as possible, we repeat the process until the odour is addressed. This process is aided by having the customer show us exactly where the spill occurred. We cannot guarantee to completely remove the odour from these types of spills but we can significantly extract the source of these odours leaving the car owner with the task of properly airing out the vehicle to eliminate any residual odour.
We can also address mould and mildew with the Complete Detail. When we detect the odour of mould and mildew we include a special anti-bacterial solution in our stain lifting agent that effectively eliminates mould and mildew. Mould or mildew is caused when fabric areas of the vehicle are left wet and sealed up for extended periods of time. It is actually the fact that the vehicle is sealed-up and not allowed to air-out that intensifies the odour of mold or mildew. To effectively eliminate the odour of mold or mildew and eliminate its recurrence, the customer will have to diligently leave the windows open over a period of time after the cleaning. In our experience, the elimination of mould or mildew odour is 100% effective when the vehicle is allowed to dry properly and the owner leaves the windows open over a long period of time.
Similarly, the removal of smoke odour requires a diligent airing-out of the vehicle on the part of the customer after we have cleaned it. This airing-out requires an extended period of more than a week even upto a month in extreme cases.The cleaning of the head-liner which is included in the Complete Detail addresses the majority of the source of cigarette smoke odour. After that, shampooing the upholstery and cleaning the interior surfaces like windows, dash and pillars removes all of the continuing causes of the smoke odour. The only remaining areas that may cause smoke odour are those that cannot be reached by any cleaning such as behind the dash or deep inside the vents. After the Complete Detail nothing more can be done to remove the cigarette smoke odour than leaving the windows open a crack diligently over a long period of time to ensure that the vehicle is completely aired-out.
Two common carpet and upholstery cleaning problems are crayon and chewing gum. Chewing gum is easily removed with a petroleum based spot remover. Crayon however is very difficult to remove. Often it is left on seats or carpet and allowed to melt in the hot summer sun. By re-heating the crayon we can remove most of it but the process is not completely successful. Similarly, we cannot completely remove industrial glues such as contact cement or industrial adhesives.
Gas or oil spills can be addressed by the Complete Detail. Often while transporting gas in the trunk it spills and the resulting odour is overwhelming. We can flush the area affected whether in the trunk or the car until the source is removed. After that the odour would need to be addressed by properly airing-out the vehicle. The same applies to oil spills, however due to the viscous nature of oil its difficult to guarantee to completely remove the oil. We find that in addition to flushing the affected area wiping the area down with towels removes the majority of the oil. Still the customer must be diligent in keeping the windows down to air-out the vehicle after the cleaning.
When bleach or pool chemicals spill the resulting stain may be dyed provided we have a matching dye. However, chlorine often removes the glue backing and the carpet fibre actually comes away from the backing. It's difficult to dye just the backing.
Water-Spots on cloth seats are a common problem affecting many domestic cars. The shampoo process is very effective for the removal of water-spots on cloth-seats but in some cases their removal cannot be guaranteed. Many customers find water-spots on their newer domestics cloth-seats in spite of being very careful. The reason for this is that there is a plastic liner under the nylon that keeps dust close to the surface, when the nylon becomes wet even with just water from snow or rain it mixes with the dust under the nylon and as the seat dries a water spot is left behind. The trick to remove the water-spot is to completely shampoo the seat and vacuum it thoroughly to remove the dust under the nylon so that when it is allowed to dry evenly no spot remains. We cannot guarantee to completely remove water-spots because the nylon of the seat covering is very impermeable the dust can be removed but often cleaners or other liquids that fall on the seat cant be completely removed in the shampoo process so they cause water-spots even after a thorough shampooing of the seat.
For those vehicles with cloth seats where the owners opt out of the seat shampoo we perform a thorough vacuum. In some cases, we may remove spots or stains on the seats but we cannot guarantee to address all stains.
There are some Volkswagen and Honda cloth seats that develop lint and the seat vacuum is very effective in addressing this problem. Before vacuuming we brush these seats with a special brush that collects the vast majority of the lint so it can be easily vacuumed away.
The seat vacuum and carpet shampoo of the Complete Detail is very effective for the removal of dog hair. With our drum mounted vacuum and the plastic bristle brush of our Cyclo Polisher we can remove the vast majority of dog hair. However, due to the insipid nature of dog hair we cannot guarantee to completely remove all dog hair. Even though we can remove all visible hair for pick-up as you drive the vehicle dog hair falls out from a variety of areas such as the headliner, under seats or under the dash.
There are two types of leather issues that are difficult to address. Firstly, there are ink or dye stains such as pen ink or the actual dye transferring from leather coats to light coloured leather seats. It's difficult to remove inks or dyes because the process begins to remove the actual dye of the leather seat, we are very careful to stop cleaning the seat before we begin to damage the seat itself. For this reason, we cannot guarantee to completely remove ink or dye stains from leather seats. Secondly, another common issue are marks on the leather which although appear as stains are really scratches in the leather they may be cracks or rough areas in the leather that no amount of cleaning will remove.
After the upholstery and leather seats have been addressed we begin the interior detailing. We start with the door jambs including the area around the trunk. These areas are washed with a special degreaser that cleans the painted metal without leaving a film. Unless specifically instructed we do not remove rustproofing and we cannot guarantee to completely remove it if the customer requests its removal. Moreover, dirt often sticks to waxed-based rustproofing so even after our Complete Detail the doorjambs and seams along the bottoms of doors that are waxed-based rustproofed may appear dirty. After the cleaning of door jams we dress all of the plastics and rubber, such as seals and wiring covers, with an oil-based silicon free dressing that protects rubber and plastic and leaves it with a clean glossy appearance.
The interior of the doors, the dash, steering wheel, console and all the interior hard surfaces are cleaned in a counter clockwise manner starting with the driver's side. We use a colour safe plastic cleaner that removes body oils, grime and traffic marks. We take special care cleaning around electronics such as the stereo, environment controls and window controls Once cleaned these surfaces are wiped dry with a flannel cloth. We use a special tool wrapped in flannel cloth to reach inside vents and crevices to clean and dry them. After these surfaces are cleaned and dried we spray or wipe them with a special dressing that is oil based and silicone free. Then we repeat the whole process of drying them and wiping away the excess dressing. Including, using the special tool to reach inside vents and crevices to dry them.
Adhesives that are placed on the dash or console are very difficult to remove. Often, an adhesive is used to attach aftermarket electronics to the dash. If the adhesive can't be removed with a cleaner we cannot scrape it off because the surface underneath is very delicate. We cannot guarantee to completely remove these adhesives from the dash.
The clear plastic lens in front of the speedometer is a problematic area as well. Often car owners spray cleaners such as Windex on this plastic that dries or stains or worse drips behind and stains on the inside. We are limited in our ability to clean this plastic. We can polish it with a special plastic polish, but we cannot guarantee to completely remove these types of stains from the speedometer plastic.
Where the carpet in the trunk is not removable we may opt to just vacuum and or spot remove stained areas. The reason for this is that the closed trunk is very difficult to properly dry as the area is sealed tight. The same applies to rear cargo areas that are covered with a tight fitting rubber or plastic cargo liner, the carpeted areas beneath unless soiled or stained would just be vacuumed so that there isn't a problem having the carpet underneath dry properly. We do not clean the spare tire or underneath it unless we are cleaning a gas or oil spill that has occurred in the trunk.
The clear plastic lens in front of the speedometer is a problematic area as well. Often car owners spray cleaners such as Windex on this plastic that dries or stains or worse drips behind and stains on the inside. We are limited in our ability to clean this plastic. We can polish it with a special plastic polish, but we cannot guarantee to completely remove these types of stains from the speedometer plastic.
Where the carpet in the trunk is not removable we may opt to just vacuum and or spot remove stained areas. The reason for this is that the closed trunk is very difficult to properly dry as the area is sealed tight. The same applies to rear cargo areas that are covered with a tight fitting rubber or plastic cargo liner, the carpeted areas beneath unless soiled or stained would just be vacuumed so that there isn't a problem having the carpet underneath dry properly. We do not clean the spare tire or underneath it unless we are cleaning a gas or oil spill that has occurred in the trunk.
The interior detail is concluded with wiping down the leather seats that have been allowed to sit and absorb the leather conditioner. We use clean flannel cloths to completely remove the excess leather conditioner. Also, at this time we wipe the dash and steering wheel with dry flannel cloths to ensure that the over-all effect of the dressing is a matte finish. Often, customers are needlessly concerned about excessive shine. We only use the oil based non-silicone dressing to ensure that the surfaces cleaned are not stripped of the necessary feeder oils. Our goal is a near new look with limited sheen.
Before removing the wax and cleaning the windows the wheels are detailed. The tires are wiped dry and any remaining marks are cleaned off by hand with a special white wall cleaner. Then the tires are sprayed with a high-gloss oil based tire dressing. The rims are then detailed with a flannel cloth to remove water spots and streaks. If the clear coated alloy wheel still has areas of brake dust we use a polish to remove it. We cannot guarantee to completely remove brake dust because sometimes the brake dust has been left so long on the rim that the finish is actually corroded and although with our cleaners and polish we can remove the majority of the brake dust there still remains a damaged area. Also, certain types of non clear coated rims require a final stage of chrome polishing and hand buffing to bring out their shine this is done after the tires have been dressed.
The windows are then cleaned and polished. We lower the side windows a half an inch and clean them with a special tint safe window cleaner. They are lowered to ensure the top rim of the window is cleaned. For windows that have excessive film we repeat the cleaning process. Afterwards, we polish the windows with a special flannel cloth that leaves the windows absolutely clear. In some cases, the windows have etching from cleaners that have been allowed to dry on the glass. We hand polish these areas with a special glass polish. When the wax has had sufficient time to dry completely we remove the excess by hand. Moving around the vehicle with folded flannel towels, we remove the wax. While doing so, we constantly fold or replace the towel so that the excess wax is being removed with a clean portion of the towel. The resulting paint finish is now protected with the polymer sealant and will have a deep lustrous shine. The Meguiar's Polymer Sealant will protect the paint from fading or oxidizing. And it is rated to last 6 months under normal conditions.
Exterior plastic mouldings, trim around windows, mirrors, vinyl tops and tonneau covers are all dressed with an oil based silicone-free dressing that is applied with a cotton terry towel wrapped sponge. This sponge is used to remove any excess wax that has touched the trim. The dressing is then buffed dry with a flannel cloth to give these surfaces a clean low sheen appearance. Chrome such as on front grills or bumpers is buffed by hand with a chrome polish.
At this point if the customer has provided a paint touch-up stick we will go around the vehicle with it and touch-up any stone chips.
The floor mats are then hand dried and returned to the vehicle. In spring, we place winter mats in the trunk and place the carpeted mats in the vehicle and vice versa in the fall. The loose items gathered in the beginning are placed in the trunk in their clear bag. Baby seats are returned to their original places and re-anchored but customers are told to inspect the anchoring to be sure they are satisfied with the installation. If the seats have been shampooed the baby seats will be placed in the trunk. Please note, the Complete detail does not include cleaning baby seats, these seats have a removable liner that can be machine washed. Although, extraordinary lengths are taken by us to protect and properly return items to the vehicle, it's important for customers to understand that because of the nature of our business we cannot be responsible for any loss or damage to the contents of the vehicle, ideally to avoid difficulty customers should clean-out the vehicle prior to detailing to allow us to concentrate our time on cleaning and not on moving around your belongings.
Finally, the vehicle is deodourized, in some cases where there are strong odours such as smoke we will run deodourizer through the airconditioning system. The deodourizer we use is an aerosol that leaves a fresh subtle scent.
Over the next week the customer is urged to leave the windows open a half inch, especially, the rear vents in mini-vans and trucks, on clear days. This is very important so that the vehicle can dry properly. If left sealed-up after detailing a vehicle could become musty. If the cloth seats have been shampooed a plastic bag is provided to sit on while driving home, the customer is cautioned to remove the bag once the vehicle is parked to allow the seat to dry.