Wash the lower areas first--wheels, wheel wells, kick panels, et cetera--before washing the rest of the car.
In regular washing situations, especially with darker coloredcars, this has been extremely helpful: lightly spray your favorite "quick" liquid wax directly onto the dripping wet painted surfaces after the final rinse. Then dry as normal with a chamois. Finish by lightly buffing the painted surfaces with your finest "wax-off" towel. This will remove any remaining water spots, add some depth to the paint, and leave a great shine.
Always clay at least the horizontal panels (hood, roof, trunk) before waxing or sealing, even in express detailing situations. The impact of this activity is huge--have the customer feel the resulting smoothness--and it only takes a few extra minutes.
Some clay bars can be used during the wash step, using the car wash solution as the lubricant. This is especially effective for vehicles that are detailed frequently because the build-up of fallout between waxings is minimal. However, for heavy fallout or over spray removal, it is best to wash and dry the vehicle and then use the clay bar with the recommended lubricant (usually a "quick" liquid spray wax); this allows you to check your work more carefully.
Dress the trim (all rubber, plastic, or vinyl pieces that are adjacent to painted surfaces) and tires before waxing or sealing. This has two benefits:
ï It is much less likely that these surfaces will absorb the wax product, thus greatly reducing the amount of final wax removal in these areas
ï It takes much less time to apply the dressing to these areas because there is less worry about getting dressing on the paint--any sloppiness will simply be taken up during the waxing process.
Don't forget to dress the wheel wells by spraying inexpensive or diluted dressing into them. Most wheel wells are lined with black plastic panels or black anti-rust coatings. Both of these materials respond well to even the most inexpensive dressings. Does this seem silly? Next time you are driving at night and your headlights hit a clean car, look at the wheel wells; are they clean and dark black or dirty and light tan? Which one looks better?
There are many ways to distinguish between clearcoat and conventional paint systems. An especially easy way is to take a small amount of your favorite polishing compound on a white rag and rub a small and inconspicuous painted area of the vehicle. If the color of the vehicle comes off on the rag, the paint is conventional. If not, it is most likely clearcoat.
I hope you find these tips helpful. If even one of them saves you some time or helps you achieve superior results, this article will have been a success. Most importantly, share your tips with other detailers and ask them about theirs. If we foster a spirit of "friendly" competition, we will all profit; and certainly, there are plenty of vehicles out there that need the attention of the relatively few truly professional detailers that exist.