William found us on Google and brought this white 2011 Acura MDX in early on a Sunday morning in the middle of June. When he booked, he described it as pretty clean and just in need of a refresh. From the driver's seat, that was true. It is a fifteen year old SUV that has clearly been looked after, and he booked a full interior and exterior detail to keep it that way.
What You Stop Seeing in a Car You Drive Every Day
Here is the thing about a daily driver. You get in it every morning, so it never looks any different to you than it did yesterday. The dirt arrives a little at a time, and your eyes adjust right along with it. This MDX has a light leather interior with light carpet, which is the hardest combination there is to keep looking fresh in Florida. Sand and grit get carried in on shoes, leaves blow in when the doors are open, and the carpet around the mats slowly goes from tan to grey.
None of that means a car is neglected. It means it gets used. It is also exactly why a full detail is worth doing once or twice a year even on a car that seems clean. The photo below is the same spot on the driver's side, before and after.
The Work
This was about a six hour job. Inside, the mats came out first and everything got vacuumed twice, including under the seats, the seat tracks and all three rows. Then the whole interior got steam cleaned, the leather seats scrubbed, the carpets and mats cleaned, and the console, cup holders, vents and door jambs gone over by hand. The cargo area got the same treatment as the front seats, because that is where an SUV collects the most.
Outside, it got a foam pre-wash and a hand wash, the wheels cleaned face and barrel, the wheel wells, the bugs off the front end, and the tires dressed. It finished with a 2 month ceramic sealant on the paint so it stays glossy and washes off easier until the next one. Every job here is done by me personally, in a climate controlled garage rather than a driveway.
The Result
White paint is forgiving. It hides swirls and it hides dust, but it also hides gloss, so a white car rarely looks shiny even when it is clean. The way you can tell is reflections. When the paint is truly clean and protected, a white hood will mirror the lights above it in sharp lines, and that is what this one did. Inside, the carpet came back to its real color, the mats went back in black, and the leather looked a shade lighter than it did that morning.
It is late September in Panama City, and fall is a good time for this. The worst of the summer heat is easing off, love bug season is back on every front bumper in town, and hurricane season is still stirring up sand and debris. If your car seems pretty clean but has not had a real reset in a while, take a look at our detailing packages and pick a day. You will probably be surprised at what comes out of it.