“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe” – Abraham Lincoln. The essence of this quote is extremely relevant in context to car detailing. Undertaking the detailing process is a challenging task that needs careful planning and preparation. A professional detailer knows how to mask a car before starting the detailing process and they spend a good amount of time ensuring that the masking process is done properly.

It might seem tempting to skip this step or perhaps do it in a jiffy, but it can potentially cause substantial damage to your car. Therefore, it is critical that you make sure that your car is masked properly before starting the detailing. You can communicate this point to your service provider before choosing from car detailing packages for your vehicle. Here is a quick guide and some best practices that are pertinent to how to mask your car and what to tape off.

What You Should Mask Off

Before you learn how to mask your car, you need to understand what areas should be covered. The answer is quite simple; any surface that you do not want to contaminate, damage, or alter the appearance of should be masked off. For some pointers, headlights are extremely important to cover, particularly when the detailing process involves fenders. Other areas include:

Tail lights

Emblems and Badges

Plastic trim pieces

Rubber seals around door jams and windows

Door handles and mirrors

Again, the best way to understand what areas are required to tape off is to ask yourself what exactly don’t you want to touch with your applicator.

How to Mask a Car When Detailing?

Using the right tape can make all the difference when masking your car. A transparent tape will not suffice; you will require a masking tape that is made specifically for cars, generally known as automotive masking tape. You should opt for the blue one which is the one used by professionals offering car detailing packages. Though it is little expensive, it does not stick and keeps your car paint safe, thus potentially saves you hundreds of dollars in repainting costs.

If you are working on an extended detailing session, it’s advisable to tape off features as you switch from one panel to another rather than covering it all at once. The reason behind this approach is that the tape tends to lose adhesion after some time, thus it might peel off till you actually get to that part. Also, if you are using low-quality tape, you might damage your car’s paint.

Similarly, it is critical that you remove the tape when you complete the detailing process on that specific section. The reason is the same -- if you let the tape sit for a longer duration, it can potentially leave residue behind after you take it off. Though you may be able to remove it by using a microfiber towel and diluted All Purpose Cleaner, it may affect your car’s paint.

These are some of the pointers related to how to tape off your car. There are several aspects that you must consider when detailing your car. It is always better to opt for a professional service that offers car detailing packages to ensure that your vehicle is masked off properly. They are accustomed to carrying out the detailing process and take adequate safety measures to ensure that your car paint is not affected during the detailing process and saves you from all the hassles, allowing you to enjoy your weekend with your loved ones.

Car detailing is not only about a simple wash to clean the dirt away or application of wax to protect the paint. Its main purpose is to restore the original condition of the car, both its interior and exterior. A well-done car detailing task will not only bring sheer shine but also restore its value. You can clean and wash the car on your own but when it comes to detailing, it can only be efficiently done by a professional.

To restore the value of your car, you will have to contact the provider who offers the best mobile detailing for cars. A professional team will know all the tricks of the trade and have the right set of tools to give your car a new finished look. For best results, you need to look for a car detailing shop that works with the professional workmen. Here are few tips that will help you in selecting the best service provider:

Tip # 1: Ask Friends For Reference

References provide great help in finding the right detailing company for your car. Ask people in your friend circle to refer detailers from whom they probably have availed detailing services. Somebody in your neighborhood must have called mobile service detailer to restore the condition, so if you don’t find anything within your friend's circle, try expanding the search circle. Ask people about their experience with car detailers to know which one is the best mobile detailing for cars service provider.

Tip # 2: Find The One Which Offers Maximum Detailing Services

You will be looking for a mobile detailer because they are convenient and you wouldn’t have to waste your time standing in a queue waiting for your turn. To avail most out of the mobile service, you need to know that they offer all the services that your car requires. You wouldn’t be pleased to know that they only offer car wash the moment they arrive at your doorstep when you were expecting an interior polish as well. So it is advised that before hiring car detailer, call to ask about the services they offer.

Tip # 3: Compare The Price Of Services Offered

The best mobile detailing for cars will include a number of services that means that you will have to pay a good amount of money to the detailer. If you are on a budget and wanting a detailing service to fit into your ability to pay, then try evaluating companies on the basis of the price they charge. Don’t opt for the one that offers the least price, as it can be one of the signs that they will be using low-quality products in the servicing of the car. Make sure if you are paying a premium price for the detailing services then the company is offering excellent services and using high quality and durable products.

Mobile auto detailing is a great option to save your time and money. Whether you are at home tending to your children or at work attending an important meeting, you can have vehicle washing mobile company come to your place and wash your vehicle onsite while you attend to other important matters.

Here are the few main reasons why you should use the services of a mobile auto detailing company.

1.   You Don’t Have To Take Time Out Off Your Busy Schedule

If you work on a tight schedule, you simply cannot afford to spare some time to take your vehicle to an auto detailing shop and wait the entire time it is being washed and cleaned. A convenient way for you to take care of this necessary chore is by asking a vehicle washing mobile company to visit your place at your convenience.

2.   You Receive Customized Services At A Reasonable Amount

A mobile vehicle detailing professional offers a selection of auto detailing packages to choose from. You can also get special services as per your requirements. From washing and polishing the exteriors; cleaning and vacuuming the interiors; to scratch and dent removal, you can order different services from your vehicle washing mobile company at the right price.

3.   Increases Its Resale Value  

Some car owners purchase new cars for the purpose of using it for a few years and then selling it off to buy another new model. If they wish to get a good price on their cars, they need to make sure that it looks its best. A used automobile that has its wheels, headlights, tires, windows, mirrors, internal surfaces in an excellent condition will be easily sold at a good price. Auto detailing professionals are well aware of industry standards, thus you can be sure they know how to do a job well done.

When it comes to Auto Interior Repair, auto repairing constitutes the mechanical as well as cosmetic and surface repair of cars that includes polishing, cleaning, restoring and enhancing. For instance, the Antique Automobile Club of America provides its guidelines in reflection of the following statement as put forward by them, evaluate an antique vehicle, which has been restored to the same state as the dealer could have prepared the vehicle for delivery to the customer. The above mentioned statement gives us an idea as to what, and to what extent, must be included to get your car well repaired and restored and maintained.

When we are talking about auto interior repair, one also needs to be clear as to what restoration actually is. Restoration can be defined as removing, repairing, or replacing some damaged parts of a vehicle either under preventive or precautionary maintenance. Preservation on the other hand means keeping the old components for use, having assessed them and considering them fit for further use.

In the context of automotive restoration, an auto interior repair or restoration means the recondition of the vehicle’s interior. This restoration might mean bringing the interior to an as good a condition as a brand new vehicle or even better by additions that are not a part of a company packaged car. There are dozens of ways that a vehicle can be restored and restyled. Any of those methods can be used based on the taste or discretion of the owner and driver of the car.

Polycarbonate plastic is used in most of the manufacturing processes used for headlights and headlight lenses.  Though this compound of plastic can be considered ideal for the rough and tough performance of cars and their headlights running on all sides of challenging terrains, they often fail to be as adamant in front of the sun. Now this is where affordable headlight plastic trim restoration comes into play. Having faced the stern and testing winds of time, weather, rough roads and the sun, these lights and lenses need some pampering. We start with what basically a Plastic Trim Restorer is. A plastic trim restorer is a plastic dye and a permanent chemical solution that is used to be applied on those dimming headlights. On its application, it restores the shine and luster of the headlights to its original, or brand new form. Hence, an affordable headlight plastic trim restoration treatment can be considered essential for a vehicle that has been on the roads for a while now without getting some kind of treatment for the headlights.

The exterior plastic trim gets worn out in a few years of a car purchase depending on the frequency and kind of use that the car goes through. Sooner or later, every car needs to go through such a treatment to keep, not only the functionality of the headlights at their prime, but also for the mere appearance of them. After all who wants dim looking headlights in their car? It’s only an affordable headlight plastic trim restoration that it takes to get the car back to its optimum.