A Long Way From A Drive Through Wash
An exterior detail is not a bigger car wash. The paint is washed by hand using a method that keeps grit off the panel, then chemically decontaminated so the bonded iron and tar a wash cannot touch actually comes off. Wheels, arches and exhaust tips are done separately with their own tools, and the paint is protected at the end. At Platinum Pro Clean, trucks, duallies, semis and trailers are all normal work rather than an exception, and so are boats and side by sides.
What An Exterior Detail Covers
Three stages. The middle one is the part a wash never does, and it is the reason the result lasts.
The Wash Itself
A drive-through wash puts more swirls into paint than anything else a vehicle meets. Here the wash is by hand, with a method that keeps grit off the panel, and wheels and arches are done first and separately so brake dust never ends up on the paintwork.
- Two bucket hand wash with grit guards
- Wheels, arches and tires done first, with their own tools
- Door shuts, fuel flap and jambs included
- Dried with clean towels rather than left to spot
Decontamination
Washing gets what is loose. It does not touch what has bonded to the paint: the orange iron specks from brake and rail dust, the tar off the interstate, the overspray from a job site. Those come off chemically and by clay, and until they do the paint is not actually clean no matter how it looks wet.
- Iron fallout remover across the painted panels
- Tar and adhesive residue removed by hand
- Clay treatment until the paint is smooth to the touch
- Exhaust tips and brightwork addressed separately
Protect And Finish
Bare, decontaminated paint is worth sealing. A sealant or wax goes on to give the finish something to sit behind, trim is treated so it does not chalk out, and the glass is finished clear. If you want protection that lasts years rather than months, that is a ceramic coating instead.
- Sealant or wax applied to the paintwork
- Exterior trim treated
- Tires dressed and exhaust tips finished
- Exterior glass cleaned clear
A crew cab dually is not a sedan and is not priced like one. Bryce quotes after seeing what is being brought in, which is why there is no flat exterior price here and why a semi or a trailer gets a real answer rather than a shrug.
Why Owners Book Exterior Work
What brings vehicles in, from Mooresville out through Brownsburg and Speedway.
Duallies And Semis Are Normal
A one ton dually, a semi tractor or a trailer is routine work, not something to be squeezed in. Bryce has been doing work trucks out of Mooresville for five years and prices them on the vehicle rather than turning them away.
Boats And Side By Sides
Gel coat, a UTV that has been in the mud and a boat coming off the trailer all get exterior work here. If it has a painted or gel coated surface, it is worth asking about.
It Is Not A Car Wash
A wash removes what is loose. A detail removes what is bonded, then protects what is left. That is the difference between a vehicle that looks clean while wet and one that still looks clean on Thursday.
Owner Operated
Bryce quotes the work, does the work and hands the keys back. Nothing is passed down a line once you have booked, which on a large vehicle is the part that usually goes wrong elsewhere.
If the paint is swirled as well as dirty, that is paint correction, and to keep the finish for years rather than months look at ceramic coating. Cabins are covered under interior detailing.
