Ideas on tackling this?

[Bini]

We want to sell our home and we have a million things that must be done! The hardest part is downsizing everything. While I've slowly been checking off my To Do list, there are a few items that I've intentionally been avoiding. I'm supposed to get two vehicles and a trailer detailed, and ready to sell. My husband has more on his plate than I do, so I told him not to worry, and that I'd get this done. Now that I've mustered up the motivation to do this, I just don't know where to start.. My husband is really money savvy, and does not want to pay for a professional detail service, he'd rather do it himself. We did this with our last vehicle that we sold. So I volunteered to get the job done, in hopes of relieving him of this additional stress. From start to finish, what are the steps I should take to tackle this? Ultimately, the end goal is to get all three sold, or at least with a For Sale sign up on them.

[Dravin]

What do you mean by detailing? You have the most basic level which is pretty much washing the car and vacuuming it out, and then it can get more involved from there (waxing, tire cleaning, shampooing, reapplying clear coat or even repainting, reupholstering...).

[Bini]

What do you mean by detailing? You have the most basic level which is pretty much washing the car and vacuuming it out, and then it can get more involved from there (waxing, tire cleaning, shampooing, reapplying clear coat or even repainting, reupholstering...).

The full shebang. I'll do what I can do without DH.

[Dravin]

The full shebang. I'll do what I can do without DH.

Well, what can you do without the hubby? Do you know upholstery? Is reupholstry even needed? The basic things that pretty much everyone can do are:

• Wash and wax the exterior, don't forget the windows.
• Hit all the hard surfaces with something like Armorall (after they've been cleaned off if there is more than dust involved). You can even hit the tires with a product designed to make them snazzy.
• Vacuum and shampoo the carpet.
• Vacuum out the seats, shampoo them if they are fabric, hit them with Armorall if vinyl, or with a leather cleaner and conditioner if leather.
• Give it a nice air freshener, and above all make sure there are no funky odors. If something like milk spilled and shampooing doesn't clean it that may mean using an enzyme cleaner like Liquid Alive.
• Empty out everything that doesn't have to be in there* (you probably did this when cleaning but make sure you don't put stuff back in and clutter it up), less stuff makes the car look neater. Don't forget to clean out the trunk, and speaking of the trunk you didn't forget to shampoo and Armorall it did you?
• Hit under the hood with a degreaser, if you can make the engine compartment nice and shiny that's a plus. But if it's an old car it may not be possible, just so long as it's not covered in gunk. Be mindful of electronic components, particularly if you're doing this at a spray and wash set-up with a pressure washer wand.

That should get you started.

*Stuff like a jack, spare tire, emergency road kit, and any legal paperwork.

Edited August 14, 2012 by Dravin

[Guest]

How to Detail a Car: 18 steps - wikiHow

[Bini]

Thanks, guys.

Eowyn, it certainly doesn't get much more clear cut than that! Well, I pulled the newer vehicle out (they're both old - one is a '02 and the other is an '84) and started on it. I couldn't face exterior today, so just vacuuming the insides out and wiping things down. It's in pretty good condition overall but I could have probably spent more time on it.

[RipplecutBuddha]

btw, magic erasers are great for car interiors. When my ex and I bought a minivan a magic eraser was the only thing that got some stains off of the backseat from a toddler's safety seat. They were leather seats so I cleaned and conditioned all of them (a lot of work in a minivan) but it looked amazing afterward. The Magic eraser works great on scuff marks on plastic prior to armorall treatment too.

[EarlJibbs]

Great for detailing (or any house hold use) is the "magic Eraser" it will take any scuff mark or stain off just about anything in your car. I even used it on my leather...BAM... gone! The plus is that you can get them at the dollar store (non-brand of course), at least you can where I am at. I like it so much I would endorse them for free... and just did.

Oh, I also use it on my shoes, gets the scuff off of the white. Good luck!