How To Get The Best Results With One Step Compound
How to Get the Best Results with One-Step
A Beginners Guide to The Maintenance Detail
For a professional maintenance detail, a minimum of eight products is essential. The maintenance detail should be one of the simplest aspects of caring for your vehicle and its surfaces. Just eight products are all you need to restore your detailed finish and enhance any previously applied protection. Start by rinsing the vehicle thoroughly from top to bottom with clean water using a jet wash. Working from the top down ensures that any loose debris or dirt is effectively removed without being left on any surfaces.
Once the vehicle is rinsed, it's time for the snow foam. Mix the appropriate ratio of snow foam in the lance and apply it, again working from the top down. Allow the solution to dwell for a few moments to let it work its magic before rinsing it off. Next, wash your wheels. Thoroughly saturate all four corners with Imperial Wheel Cleaner or a high-quality alternative that effectively tackles dirt while being gentle on your wheels’ finish. Let it dwell for a few minutes before rinsing thoroughly.
Now, prepare two separate buckets: one with car care shampoo mixed with clean water—this time, we’re using Summer Fruits Lather. Dip a wash mitt into the soap bucket and apply it to the vehicle, working panel by panel. Rinse off the mitt before starting on the next section. After washing the vehicle, do a final contact wash of the wheels using a different mitt, ensuring that your wheel wash mitt is kept separate from the one used for other surfaces. It’s best practice not to mix them. Once you’re satisfied that every surface has been cleaned, rinse off the entire vehicle with a jet wash and dry it using a quality drying tool, such as our Aqua Deluxe towel.
After rolling the BMW back into the bay and out of direct sunlight, it’s time for the protection stage. This is simply a top-up to your previous thorough detail. Our master detailer, Ash, begins with Ultra Glaze, the perfect pre-wax product that fills in fine imperfections for a smooth wax application. Apply it in sweeping motions across each panel. Once the entire car has been treated, go back around and buff off any remaining residue using a clean microfibre cloth (one of our work cloths is ideal for this task).
After applying and buffing off the Ultra Glaze, it’s time for a top-up coat of our Illusion Wax. Working panel by panel, twist the applicator half a turn in the wax tin and apply it to each panel. When moving to a new panel, twist the applicator in the pot for another half turn. Repeat this process until the whole vehicle is coated. Finally, buff off with a clean microfibre cloth, following the same order.
With the paint protected, it’s time to seal and protect the wheels. You might think wheels are less important, but they’re arguably more crucial since they encounter the most dirt, grime, and brake dust. Protecting them will make your next wash quicker and easier. Simply apply the wax to the wheels using an applicator, then go around and buff off after coating all four wheels.
Once the wheels are done, finish all glass surfaces with Crystal Glass Cleaner, taking advantage of the previously applied Caramics Protection. Next, use Mercury Metal Polish to maintain the pristine look of all the brightwork on the vehicle, including those essential exhaust tips! With the brightwork polished, finish off the maintenance detail with Satin Tyre Dressing.
Once the lights were finally turned off, we did a walk-around of the car with a daylight torch to simulate sunlight and check for any wax smearing that might have been left during the buffing stage. If any residue is spotted, simply buff it off with an additional clean microfiber cloth.
Top tip: Avoid using any cloths on the paintwork that have previously been used on the wheels or other surfaces, even if they appear clean.
