Full Car Detailing in Raleigh, NC, Inside and Out

A full detail is the complete interior service and the complete exterior service performed on the same vehicle in one visit. The exterior side covers wheels and wells, a hand wash, decontamination of every painted panel, trim, glass, drying and protection. The interior side covers a full vacuum through rails and seams, compressed air through vents and gaps, crevice and hard surface work, carpet and upholstery cleaning, leather and vinyl cleaned and conditioned, and interior glass.

Longer than either half on its own, since it is both jobs in sequence, and the exact time depends on vehicle size and the condition of each half. None of that time has to be yours. Leave the vehicle accessible, tell us where the keys will be, and carry on with your day.

It is quoted per vehicle and it is our most variable service, because either half can be the one that takes the hours. Vehicle size sets the floor; after that it is how long since the paint was decontaminated and what the cabin has been carrying. Send photographs of both halves and we will quote the actual vehicle rather than an average.

It is one of the two most common reasons people book one. Buyers form an impression in the first ten seconds of a walk-around, and they open doors, look at footwells and check the trunk. Tell us the vehicle is being listed when you send photographs, because it changes where the hours are best spent. We will not tell you what it adds to your sale price, since that depends on your buyer and your market, but presentation is part of what they are judging.

No. This catches people out and it is worth saying plainly. Swirls, wash marring and etching sit inside the clear coat, and removing them means polishing that layer rather than washing it, which is paint correction and a separate service. A full detail leaves paint clean, smooth and protected, and any existing swirls will still show in direct light. If that is what is bothering you, correction is what you want, with or without the detail alongside it.

What is certain either way is that doing both in one visit sequences the work properly. Exterior work moves water and contamination around and interior work pushes dust out of vents and seams, so doing them in the right order on the same day means neither undoes the other.

Once or twice a year suits most daily-driven vehicles in the Triangle, with washing correctly in between. Vehicles carrying children, pets or a long commute sit at the shorter end. A vehicle detailed on a regular interval takes less time on each visit than one that has gone several years, which is worth knowing when comparing the first quote to later ones.

Nobody has to be there. What we need is the vehicle, a way in, and room to work around it, and everything else comes with us. Clearing anything valuable or breakable out beforehand makes the job faster.