Slim's Master Detailers share the techniques they've spent years perfecting

Let us let you in on a little secret. Anyone can be a detailer. Whether you're just starting out or been at the trade for years, it's never too late to learn a thing or two. You absolutely can teach an old dog new tricks. So, let us share with you some of the best detailing techniques we've spent years perfecting.

We asked Master Detailers James and Stefan to give us their best bits of advice they've learnt over the years and curated it into a handy blog for you to read!

1. Sun's out, no suds out 🚫

The sun is one of the biggest factors in car detailing! Knowing when and how to avoid it is key to your routine. Working out the best time to clean your car around the sun is a big thing for at home or your workplace. In some areas it may not be until after 5pm that the sun gets out of the way, but in others it may be that early in the morning is your best bet for safe cleaning. 

Why not clean in the sun? Direct sunlight can cause a multitude of issues when it comes to detailing. Heat speeds up the drying time of chemicals, soap, and water causing streaks and leaving behind residue which can potentially damage paintwork.

2. Bottoms up ⬆️ ⬇️

When using a pre-wash, apply the product from the bottom up to leave the chemical on to work longer on the heavier contaminated areas. You want to also rinse from the bottom up to avoid diluting the product before you get to the dirty part.

When pre-washing, the car is at its worst state so rinsing from the bottom up enables the impact of the water pressure to hit the chemical at its strongest dilution while on the panel. The top part of the car is never that bad, so rinsing that first will heavily dilute the bottom before you get to the grubby part.

For shampoo and spray sealants like Pw it doesn’t matter, but for pre-wash to remove the worst of the contamination, it’s far better that way.

See: Koch-Chemie Vb, Bilt Hamber Touch-Less, Stjarnagloss Först X

3. Start fine ☝️

When machine polishing, always start at the least aggressive and work your way up. It is always better than diving in with a big cutter when you may not need to.

For example, start with a fine cut product like Koch-Chemie F6 and, if that does not shift the marring, move on to a heavy cut like Koch-Chemie H9 or a medium cut like Malco Epic Medium Duty. Then refine back down through the grades - heavy, medium, fine, ultra-fine - to bring back the gloss.

See: Heavy Cut Compound, Medium Cut Compound, Fine Cut Compound, Ultra-Fine Compound

4. Bottoms up (part 2) ⬆️

When applying chemicals, especially wheel cleaners, work from the bottom up again. You always want to let the chemical run into itself rather than a dry area where it could streak or stain. Once product has been applied to the bottom, it will easily bleed into itself from the top.

5. Seize the clay 🪨

A top tip for using a clay bar is to rotate the clay regularly. It's what you catch in the clay that causes marring rather than the clay itself. Rotating it and using a fresh face of the clay bar will keep these fine scratches to a minimum.

Plus, always remember to use plenty of clay lube!

See: Bilt Hamber Auto-Clay, CARPRO Clay Mild and Hard, CARPRO Immolube, Soft 99 Qjutsu

6. Correct and perfect ⭐️

When polishing, you can use this handy motto: Use rotary for correction and DA for perfection. It's a lot easier to heavy cut with a rotary and a lot easier to finish with a DA.

Due to their power and speed, rotary polishers are excellent at heavy cutting and cut through paint correction stages quickly and easily. They are slightly more tricky to use and can easily burn through paint if not handled correctly.

DA polishers are slightly easier to use and less likely to burn paint making them ideal for fine polishing and finishing. They might not be as effective at removing deep scratches but they can help you to achieve a high level of shine with less risk of burn-through. 

See: Rotary Polishers, DA Polishers, Heavy Cut Compound, Ultra-Fine Compound

Also see: What polisher should I buy?

7. Crystal clear glass 💎

A top trick for perfect glass cleaning is all about the direction you wipe in. For example, wipe the inside of the glass left to right, wipe the outside up and down. That way, if you do get a smear, you know whether it's inside the window or outside.

See: Koch-Chemie Speed Glass, CARPRO Clarify, Slim's Detailing Glass Cloth

8. Dry snow ❄️

Always apply snow foam to a dry vehicle! Although it may be tempting to rinse off your car before applying your snow foam, don't! Snow foam is designed to cling to the surface of your vehicle which it can't do if there is a layer of water in the way. Don't be scared of the dirt and blast your foam right over the top of it. You'll enjoy the satisfying results, trust us.

The only time you should pre-wet the car is when the panel is hot - sometimes you need to cool it down before applying by spraying with cold water first, then allow some of the water to evaporate.

9. Snow Foam + APC ❄️

One of our favourite techniques we've learned over the years is to strengthen the cleaning power of your snow foam by adding a powerful all-purpose cleaner. Take Koch-Chemie Green Star, for example, and add it to your favourite snow foam when you need a bit more oomph.

See: Koch-Chemie Green Star, Koch-Chemie Gentle Snow Foam, Bilt Hamber Auto-Foam

10. Hologram free without DA 🔦

Ok, so, despite what we've said above, you can get a hologram free finish just using a rotary. 

Heavy cutting with a rotary will generate heat. Abrasive compound, plus aggressive pad, plus aggressive polisher all adds up to inducing heat into paintwork. One of the downsides, especially on dark-coloured cars, is the inducing of holograms. These look horrible when caught in the light but sometimes it’s just unavoidable when doing a heavy correction. 

Most people will switch to a softer pad, plus lighter compound with a DA machine to remove holograms and refine the heavy correction stage. If you don’t have access to a DA machine, you can get it hologram-free quite easily with just slightly changing your technique with a rotary.

The best combination we’ve found for this, which we have used successfully with bodyshop customers who haven’t got a DA, is Koch Chemie F6 with either their Fine Cut Pad or a RUPES Yellow Rotary Waffle Pad. This technique will work with soft finishing compounds and soft foam pads. Give it a go!

1. 3-4 pea sized drops, spread on the surface using speed 1.
2. Turn the speed to around 2 or 3 to work it in and refine the heavy cut stage.
3. Reduce the speed to 1 again and if you have a speed adjustment trigger, have that pulled in half to 3/4s and lift all the pressure off the machine and lightly go over where you’ve been. This will help cool the surface down while still working with the residue of the compound to remove the holograms.
4. Wipe off and job done.