From $110 · About an hour.
Exterior detailing and paint protection
An exterior detail is a proper wash and decontamination of the outside of your car: paint, wheels, glass, plastic trim and tyres, finished with a spray coating or sealant that shields the paint for months, not days.
For daily drivers coming out of a Canberra winter, weekend cars stored between drives, and anyone who wants their paint protected before a ceramic coating becomes worth it.
You'll have a quote back within a few hours, 7 days a week.
How we do it
Canberra paint takes a beating between May and September. Frost burns tree sap into the clear coat, salted mountain roads throw grit onto the sills, and iron dust from the brake pads bonds to the panels every time you drive. By spring, the paint feels gritty under your hand.
We start with a pre-wash snow foam that clings to the panels and lifts loose grit before anything touches the paint. Wheels, arches and tyres are washed first with their own mitt so we're not dragging brake dust across the bodywork.
Once the car is visually clean, we chemically decontaminate. An iron remover turns purple as it dissolves bonded brake dust. A tar remover takes bitumen off the lower panels. If needed, we clay bar the whole car to pull out embedded contamination.
The car is dried with plush microfibres and a filtered air blower, then we apply a spray-on SiO2 coating or a paint sealant depending on how long you want protection to last. Tyres get a satin dressing. Glass gets polished and sealed.
Common questions
Isn't this just a car wash?
No. A regular wash cleans loose dirt off the surface. An exterior detail chemically strips bonded contamination that a wash can't touch, then puts a protection layer on top. You'll feel the difference running a hand over the paint.
How often should I book one?
For most Canberra daily drivers, every 4 to 6 months. If you park outside under trees or drive a lot on country roads, closer to every 3 months. Between details, a normal wash is enough while the protection layer is still active.
Will it remove swirl marks?
An exterior detail cleans and protects but doesn't correct paint defects. Swirls, wash marring and light scratches need paint correction. If your paint has visible defects, we'll flag it on inspection and give you a price.
Keep reading
Also useful
Also see: Full detail and Ceramic coating.
Book an exterior detail.
Tell us about the car and we'll come back with availability and a fixed quote.
- You send the car and your suburb.
- We text back a fixed price and the next open days.
- You pick a day. For coatings and correction we call to confirm the details.
- Book at least a day ahead. Same-day is sometimes possible by phone.
- Mobile service across Canberra and Queanbeyan, no call-out fee
- Fully insured and finish-guaranteed
- Prefer to talk? 0426 661 820, Every day, 8:30am to 5:30pm