Car Detailing in Sydney: Interior and Exterior, Done by Hand

What car detailing includes, inside and out

A detail is measured by the places it reaches, not by how shiny the car looks from the kerb. A drive-through wash cleans the flat panels you can see. A detail also cleans behind the wheels, inside the fuel flap, along the door rubbers and under the seats.

Every car is different, so your written quote lists exactly what's included for yours. If you only need the inside or the outside done, we can quote that on its own.

Interior car detailing: seats, carpets, leather and the dash

The cabin takes more daily wear than the paint. Sunscreen and sweat soak into the seats, crumbs gather in the seat rails, and grime builds on the steering wheel, gear selector and door handles. An interior detail uses the right product on each surface rather than one spray for everything.

Fabric seats and carpets

Fabric is vacuumed first, then treated and shampooed or steamed to draw out the dirt that sits below the surface. Floor mats come out and are cleaned on their own. Heavy stains, pet hair and sand from the beach take longer, so mention them when you ask for a quote.

Leather and vinyl

Leather is cleaned with a gentle leather cleaner and a soft brush, then conditioned. Harsh all-purpose cleaners strip leather's finish and leave it dry, and Sydney's summer heat does the rest. Vinyl and synthetic leather get a cleaner made for them.

Screens, piano black and soft trim

Touchscreens and gloss black trim scratch easily, so they're cleaned with a fresh microfibre and a screen-safe product. Vents, seams and switchgear are brushed out with soft detailing brushes. The dash gets a dressing that leaves a matte, factory look, not a greasy shine that reflects onto the windscreen.

Exterior detailing: paint, wheels, glass and trim

On the outside, a detail is about getting the paint properly clean without adding scratches. Most swirls on Sydney cars come from washing, not driving, so the method matters as much as the products.

• Pre-wash foam first. It softens and lifts loose dirt before a mitt touches the paint.

• Two buckets and a clean mitt. One bucket holds shampoo and one rinses the mitt, so grit isn't dragged back across the panels.

• Decontamination. An iron remover dissolves embedded brake dust, then tar and sap are lifted and the paint is clayed if it still feels rough.

• Soft, safe drying. A plush microfibre drying towel, never a chamois dragged across the bonnet.

• Exterior plastics dressed. Faded black trim is cleaned and dressed so it looks darker and even.

• A protective layer. A spray sealant or wax adds gloss and makes the next wash easier.

How we detail your car, step by step

A full detail follows the same order every time. Working top to bottom and inside before the final exterior wipe stops dust from the cabin landing on clean paint.

1. Look the car over and agree the job

   We walk around the car with you, note stains, pet hair and any marks in the paint, and confirm what's included in your written quote.

2. Wheels, tyres and arches first

   The dirtiest parts are cleaned first, with their own brushes and buckets, so brake dust never ends up on the paint mitt.

3. Foam, hand wash and decontaminate

   Pre-wash foam, a two-bucket hand wash, then iron and tar removal and a clay treatment. Door shuts and the fuel flap are cleaned at the same time.

4. Dry and inspect the paint

   The car is dried and checked under workshop lights. This is where swirls, water spots and scratches show up, and we tell you what we see.

   

5. Detail the interior

   Vacuum, shampoo or steam the fabric, clean and condition the leather, brush out the vents and seams, and clean the glass inside.

6. Protect, dress and hand over

   A sealant goes on the paint, tyres and trim are dressed, and the car gets a final check before you collect it.

   

A full detail usually takes most of a day. Larger cars, heavy stains and pet hair add time, and we confirm the timing when you book.

Detailing a car before you sell it

Buyers decide in seconds, often from photos on a phone. A car that's clean in the door shuts, fresh inside and glossy outside reads as a car that's been looked after. That's an easy story to sell.

A pre-sale detail removes the signs of daily use: dust in the vents, marks on the seats, scuffs on the door cards and dull, grimy paint. It costs far less than the difference it can make to how quickly the car sells.

Detailing before a ceramic coating or paint protection film

Anything that goes on top of the paint seals in whatever is underneath it. Bonded iron, old wax and polish oils stop a coating bonding, and a speck of grit under film shows as a bump forever. So every ceramic coating and paint protection film job here begins with a full exterior detail.

If the paint has swirls or light scratches, it's corrected after the detail and before the protection goes on. We plan the detail, the correction and the protection as one job, so the car isn't washed and handled more than it needs to be. Our guide to paint protection film versus ceramic coating helps if you're still choosing.

Our service

Ceramic Coating

A ceramic coating is a liquid layer that bonds to your clear coat and cures hard, slick and glossy. Water beads off, grime lets go and washing gets quicker. We decontaminate and correct the paint first, then coat it by hand in a clean indoor bay at Revesby or Condell Park.

Keeping your car clean between details

A detail resets the car; the way it's washed afterwards decides how long that lasts. Most fine scratches in Sydney paint come from brush car washes and dry towels, not from the road.

1. Wash in the shade, on a cool panel. Shampoo and water dry fast on hot paint and leave spots.

2. Rinse well before you touch the paint, then use two buckets and a clean mitt.

3. Dry the car every time with a soft microfibre towel rather than letting it air-dry.

4. Remove bird droppings and bat mess the same day. Left in the sun, they can etch the clear coat.

5. Vacuum the cabin and wipe the touch points every few weeks, so grime doesn't build up into stains.

6. Keep a sunshade in the windscreen to slow the fading and drying of the dash and seats.

If swirls already show under the sun, a better wash routine stops new ones but won't remove the old ones. Our guide on how to remove swirl marks explains why. A coated car is easier still to keep clean; see how long a ceramic coating lasts for the routine that keeps it working.

What drives the cost of car detailing

We quote every car on its own, because two cars of the same model can need very different amounts of work. These are the things that change a detailing quote the most.

• The size of the car. A small hatch has far less paint, glass and carpet than a seven-seat SUV or a dual-cab ute.

• How dirty it is. A car that's washed weekly needs less time than one that's been to the farm or the beach.

• Pet hair, sand and stains. These take slow, careful work to lift from fabric and carpet.

• Inside, outside or both. An interior-only or exterior-only detail is quoted on its own.

• Extras. Paint correction, a coating or paint protection film each add time, and are quoted in the same visit.

Send us the make, model and year, a few photos of the inside and outside, and anything you want special attention on, and a written quote comes back to you. You can send us your car's details online or call the Condell Park workshop.

Why book your car detail with us

We've been looking after cars in south-west Sydney since 2016, and detailing is part of everyday work in our bays. The team that preps paint for coatings and film every day details your car the same way: methodically, with clean mitts and towels, and with the right product for each surface.

Because tint, film, coatings and polishing are all done under one roof, a detail can be the start of a bigger plan. Add car window tinting to keep the freshly cleaned cabin cooler, or protect the paint with a graphene coating if the car lives outside. You get one written quote, and nothing is added on the day.