If you regularly wash your car and give it a good pamper from time to time, you might wonder why mobile auto detailing is still a necessary service. After all, you’re keeping it clean yourself, right?
Well, detailing goes well beyond regular washes, and it’s actually crucial for several types of wear and tear that drag down your car’s value and ruin its appearance over time. No matter how often you clean it or how much attention to detail you put into it. It can preserve your paint job, upholstery, and more in ways that normal cleaning can’t.
However, you don’t have to do it constantly to get great effects. You really just need to pay attention to your car, and you can figure out when it’s time to hire professional help.
Here are seven warning signs your car needs professional mobile detailing to make sure you’re doing the best for your ride.
1. Interior Dust Builds Up Fast
You can wipe up dust, vacuum, and everything else, and you will get awesome results at first on your own. Especially if you put a lot of work into getting the smaller crevices and really putting in detailed work.
However, you will eventually notice that dust builds back up almost immediately. Even if you put in a lot of work and cleaned everything.
This is for two reasons.
First, a lot of the methods you use will generate static electricity that attracts dust worse than it did before you cleaned. So, your seats and surfaces will become extra prone to gathering dust.
However, that’s not the primary reason.
The second and most impactful reason is your car’s ventilation system. Even if you clean your surfaces extremely well and create an appearance worthy of the local car show, you’ll turn on your AC a few times, and dust will be everywhere.
When you notice that, it’s a clear sign your car needs a detailing service. A thorough detailing session won’t just clean the surfaces. The team will clean out the ventilation system to ensure long-lasting results.
2. Odor Won’t Go Away with Normal Cleaning
Most of the time, if you’re quick about cleaning it up, odors will disappear after a normal cleaning. However, you’ll eventually find that, no matter how much you try, the odor lingers.
This is because you can only actually clean the surface of the issue. If a spill can penetrate deep into the upholstery or unnoticed water creates mold underneath accessible areas, you can clean it all day without results.
Professional mobile detailing services are equipped to handle those issues. They can penetrate upholstery far deeper to remove stubborn stains that generate scents, and they can reach those inaccessible spots.
3. The Surface Isn’t Smooth After Washing
You can expect the surface of your car to feel rough when you haven’t washed it in a while. However, when you finish washing it, even without professional equipment, it should feel like glass all over.
If you run your hand over your car after washing it, and it feels rough, your clear coat is contaminated. Little bits of debris have worked their way in, and that’s what you feel.
Pulling those tiny bits of debris out on your own isn’t practical. It requires specialized materials and expertise.
A professional mobile detailing will use a comprehensive clay treatment that pulls the impurities out without damaging the coating or leaving scratches. This will give your car that glass-like feeling it’s supposed to have, assuming there isn’t a bigger issue at play.
4. Water Spots
Water spots aren’t actually water. There are minerals in the water that you use to clean your car, and when the water rushes off or evaporates, a tiny amount of those minerals is left behind. Over time, those minerals build up and develop a water spot.
The unfortunate part is that you can’t really do much about them on your own, and they seriously ruin the aesthetic of your vehicle.
However, professional mobile detailing services have access to far more potent cleaning agents that are safe for your car’s paint, and they can remove those water spots with ease. If you want a showroom-worthy paint job, it’s worth it to occasionally have a detailing service knock the mineral deposits off.
5. Thin Cracks in the Paint Under Light
At first glance, your car’s paint probably looks flawless as long as you keep it clean. However, if you take a closer look with light reflecting off the paint, you’ll probably see a lot of micro scratches that look like spiderwebs. Especially if you check your car out at night when they’re particularly noticeable.
Those aren’t cracks or damage. At least, they’re nothing bad enough to cause serious issues in the short term. They’re very fine scratches from going through a car wash and letting those bristles swirl all over your car or from using inappropriate tools when washing your car by hand.
A detailing team will properly polish the car or even perform a paint correction, if necessary, to remove all of those little scratches.
6. Leather Surfaces Look Dry and Brittle
Leather upholstery feels and looks luxurious, but it’s certainly not a maintenance-free material. You have to put in some work to keep that luxurious look. Unfortunately, doing so is difficult, has a lot of room for error, and takes time.
When your leather surfaces start to look dry, it’s time to call a professional detailing service. They’ll be able to remoisturize and revive leather to help it age gracefully and maintain its luxurious appearance.
7. Your Headlights are Dim or Foggy
First, you have to make sure you don’t have a headlight issue causing this. That’s not usually the problem, though.
However, if your headlights are in good shape but they still look foggy or dim after cleaning them, it’s time to call a professional.
This is caused by the sun’s UV rays deteriorating the plastic shell covering your headlight bulbs. It yellows over time, just like any other plastic.
The mobile detailing team will remove only the top layer of material to make them crystal clear again, and they’ll apply sealants that can reduce the effect of the sun on your headlights to keep it from being a problem for years to come.
Even the Most Devoted Car Enthusiasts Need Professional Mobile Detailing Service
As you can see, there are some issues that you simply can’t take care of on your own. Sometimes, you need a professional.
When you notice any of these signs, contact the team at Finetactic Detailing today for expert paint correction and ceramic coating services to get your car showroom-ready!