How To Detail Your Vehicle: Waxing and Final Touches

I have found that following these steps in order makes the overall waxing job fairly simple and hassle free.

1. Touch-up. Make sure you have the correct touch-up paint for your vehicle. Go around the car and touch up any chips and scratches you may have.
2. Take a look at your wheel wells (the black area under your fender by your wheel). They probably look like crap. Take your can of black spray paint and paint these areas for a fresh new look! This step is often skipped, but it does wonders for looks! Picture this: Your car is now shining like never before and you're driving at night. Someone's headlights shine on your car and your wheel wells are not painted black. Believe me when I tell you, all your hard work was ruined because that's the first thing someone will notice!
3. Dress your tires. This means take your spray bottle of tire shine (or an applicator pad if you prefer) and shine those tires up! Be sure to take a cloth and wipe tire shine residue off of your wheels.
4. Dress plastics. If your vehicle has plastic moldings (that are painted), plastic mirrors, plastic by your windshield, etc...you want to dress these also (using an applicator pad) -- don't overdo this.
5. Wax the vehicle. Take your oh-so-soft applicator pad and a decent bottle of wax and get to work. Apply the wax in a back-and-forth motion, not in circles! Check out this link at Autopia for more information on waxing a vehicle (about 3/4 the way down in the article).
6. Clean the windows. Cleaning the windows now will allow the wax to settle for a few minutes. Also, most glass cleaners remove wax, so it's better to do this while the wax is still hardening.
7. Remove the wax. This should be done with the softest of towels/cloths. If some streaks remain after removal, grab a clean cloth and some detail spray to smooth out those streaks.
8. "Detail" the vehicle. This means take that small, soft, detailing brush and clean out all of the little cracks and crevices that wax may have settled into. Be sure to have a soft cloth with you to wipe away residue.
9. Give the vehicle one final walk-around, making sure that all the wax is removed and that there are no streaks.

Your car should now look like it did the day you purchased it (if from a dealer) -- on the outside. Look for additional articles on detailing the interior of your vehicle!