Tuesday, May 4, 2010

1968 Shelby Cobra

I wish I had a picture of it, forgot the camera. But this one was a beauty to detail. I like original condition cars, ones that have been taken care of so they do not have to be torn apart and put together with modern parts and all. This car had been merely touched up to keep the paint good and upholstery replaced in the front seats to match original.

Anyway, the owner hired me to detail his car to be shown at a car show. The black paint needed polish and wax and chrome pieces polished on bumper and wheels. The interior had mold so I needed to remove that before I could apply protectant to the vinyl seats and dash. Cleaned up the engine and dressed it so the hood could be popped open for the car show. Steam cleaned the mats and carpet.

Now it can stay in the garage to be kept nice until the show.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Sunny days

Sunny and warm weather is good motivation for getting the car, truck, boat, RV ready for the upcoming spring and summer months. So I encourage you to get out there and clean! It might take some time but it is worth it in the end because you have a great looking car or lawn mower or whatever you choose to drive clean.

Business is picking up some because of the weather. Regular detailing for regular people mostly, like getting a tune up for a car's engine only with cleaning tools. Keeping a car detailed is good maintenance and makes cleaning go so much easier next time. Some choose to focus on either the outside or inside of their car so that's what I'm hired for, just the interior cleaning and shampoo, or just the exterior detailing and wax. That's ok for me since most full details take 5 hours and a inside or outside detail takes 3 hours, that's a full day for me when I work by myself. Later in the spring I will probably hire someone temporarily to get me through the busiest 6 months of the year.

I get some business from those trying to sell a car on their own or returning a leased car to the dealer. Both circumstances are bettered by detailing. Sell a car for optimum price or give back a borrowed car without incurring fees for cleaning up a mess of a ride.

Let me know if I can help you detail your vehicle. (360)271-7298 or (206)780-1741.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Weather or not

Weather is tricky around here and sometimes it can be hard to know when its best to get a detail done. Sometimes it rains and sometimes its really sunny and hot. Both can be less than ideal BUT you can make it work because I can make it work. Of course if needed the appointment can be postponed or I can work in a garage. But mostly weather can clear up enough to get some important detail work done. If weather has to be perfect you might never get this type of deep clean and protection done for your car. My advice is to be good to your car, no matter the time of year.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Spruced up

Do you ever have the (bad) feeling that you can't get into your car again with it so dirty? I do. My cars are probably not as clean as they should be but I do get to them on a fairly regular basis. Especially times after a trip or before the family goes on a excursion. You don't want to have to pick up the stuff that falls out of your car everytime you open the door!



Dog hair continues to be a popular reason for needing a detail. The hair sticks to the carpet and is plain old difficult to remove. I use a rubber brush to rub the hair off the carpet or seats as I vacuum. Also a dishwashing glove can work well. After vacuuming I blow compressed air to loosen the dirt and hair in the hard to reach places before vacuuming up again. It is a big relief afterwards.



I am asked to clean cars before a trip, making sure the windows were clean for perfect visability and the floors and cupholders were free of debris. I don't always get to clean the outside, but inside is where you spend the time driving so it makes sense to tidy up there.

Remember its easier to clean up afterward if you start clean and not dirty.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Clean and go

Taking a long road trip? Maybe its time for a detail before you go. The windows will get clean for the best visability, they won't fog up as quickly with the dirt film washed off. The carpets cleaned and fresh, cup holders wiped out of the sticky goo, ready for hot or cold drinks. Detailing is also for the comfort and ease of cleaning up after the trip, you don't have to clean the months of clutter from BEFORE the trip after the trip, its already been done, only a fraction of the work remains.

Wash and wax detail today for a silver Lexus GX470. Beautiful condition, waxed and washed often. My customer was taking a trip to California and wanted it cleaned up and waxed. There are lots of car wash outfits in SoCal and the in-between cleanings would be handled there. The wax protects the finish from the bad car washes that are too rough. I'll get a call in a few months to do the whole car again. Its the cycle of detailing and it's great!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Two complete details

Wax can last 6 months with usual care so detailing twice a year is a great practice for the care of your car. This blogs customers are a retired couple with 3 cars who get them detailed at least twice a year. Also the engine bay is pressure washed and dressed each time.

I was asked to detail two of their cars at same time this day. At this time of year it is a special condition that I can manage 2 cars at once (think limited daylight hours), but I know these cars well and can move quickly through them. Each car was pressure washed, waxed, and engine cleaned, door jambs wiped out and carpet cleaned, windows, dash/console cleaned and air purged. Per customer request I even dressed the rhino lining in the pickup truck. This was a 9to5 kind of job and it took the full 9hours.

These vehicles are so mechanically sound and clean they will keep their value high until whenever they are sold.

Another kind of green

Programming note: To establish this blog I am journaling my work throughout the weeks. As we go farther along, I may move to topical type entries. Thanks for reading.

A truck cab had become moldy on the dash and seat. Not a pleasant or healthy situation for the truck owner. It takes awhile but the mold is removed with some spray that kills mold and viruses and a brush and steam clean. Because of the steam clean, the area will need to have air moving within the truck cab so the mold doesn't reappear.

Wash detail for a black Mercedes S550. Black paint is a very sharp color when clean, but it needs cleaning often! This car is cleaned regularly with exterior wash and vacuum at place of work. As needed the windows, dash/console, and carpets are cleaned.

After vacation and travel over snowy mountain passes a minivan can get pretty muddy and messy. Washing off the dirt is a good practice for the longterm health of your paint, paint can deteriorate when left dirty. Sometimes you need the family car cleaned BEFORE you head out, but most times when you return. It makes your trip more enjoyable.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Dog hair part deux






















    Top photos: This dirty Escalade was completely detailed 2 weeks ago, now it just needs a wash to look like new again.

    Bottom photos: Its hard to see the white dog hair in first pic, but the next photo shows finished job.



  1. I take special requests for detailing; yesterdays interior detail was dog hair removal and vacuum with some washing of the doors, dash, etc and the windows cleaned. But NO steam cleaning of the cloth seats and carpet. So today, different customer but same request: dog hair, vacuum, windows, wash doors and console, but no shampoo. Its fine with me, I can take some off the price with less service. Not to say they didn't NEED deep cleaning, just it was customer preference.



  2. I also was able to clean up a headliner for an insurance job at an auto body shop. A FJ Cruiser had rolled and some liquid had splattered over the ceiling of the car. Avoiding the expense of complete replacement of something that wasn't damaged, except for the stains, I saved the company money and kept materials out of the landfill. It looked great after, must have been a Pepsi or something because it came right out with some pre-wash treatment a good steam cleaning.




  3. A long gravel road with areas of mud this time of year can leave its mark on a car. I was able to quickly clean up a couple cars to look like when they were detailed a couple weeks ago, like new!


Monday, January 4, 2010

Dog hair be gone

If you carry a dog in your car and give them full access throughout you know how hair can stick to everything, and how difficult it can be to remove. Todays detail was mainly about removing dog hair from the inside of a VW Beetle. The customer was preparing her car to sell but the dog hair was everywhere on the cloth seats and carpet. A strong vacuum along with a rubber brush (also a dishwashing glove works) can loosen the hair so it can be removed.

Friday, January 1, 2010

What is Shine by Design?

This blog is intended to highlight the detailing business of Shine by Design Mobile Detailing. The following entries will show photos of work done and discuss jobs throughout the days, weeks or months. You as a reader should get a feeling for what kind of detailing this company does. Hopefully some will want to comment or ask a question about some of the work shown, perhaps even hire us to detail a vehicle for you or as a gift for someone.

Shine by Design is a detailing company that is mobile, doing full service details in someone's driveway or place of work. A full range of detailing is available for ones car, truck, SUV or minivan, even RVs and boats. Machine polishing, waxing, hand wash, claying, engine cleaning, pressure washing are some of the exterior detailing services. Interior detailing includes vacuuming, air purging, steam extraction (shampoo), mold removal, odor control, conditioning and window cleaning.

More to follow, thanks for reading!