This morning I witnessed a guy, in a fully sign-written transit, arrive to clean a neighbour's car - across the road from me.
His procedure was as follows:-
1. hand spray bottle of something over the wheels - alloy bits only;
2. 7 litre pump spray of something all over the car - missed the roof;
3. pressure washed the car - chased the draining pre-wash mainly and did not thoroughly complete;
4. Single bucket plus what looked to be a window cleaners mop - possibly a brush with handle - like a yard broom - was brought from the van and left on the ground while the bucket was prepared with shampoo;
5. Said brush was dipped in bucket and vigorously rubbed over the car - going from top to bottom and bottom to top in a series of u and n shaped movements. I think there were 4 rinses of the brush/mop in the shampoo bucket;
6. pressure wash - again chasing shampoo rather than being methodical;
7. Squeegee used to remove surface water
8. small waffle towel used to wipe off remaining water - side skirts, rear valance and other bodywork parts were done with the same towel in a pick and mix method;
9. waffle towel at 8 used to wipe wheels dry and clean- they so far had only been sprayed and pressure washed.
10. The doors and hatch were opened and what could have been the cloth at 8 was used to rub down the door edges and shuts.
I stopped watching here.
Now this man is well regarded locally; his reputation is 4.9/5 on Google.
I'm only an amateur, so what do I know, but surely this can't be right?
Do the professionals who claim to be Valets or Detailers need some form of professional body to lay down standards and offer accreditation?
His procedure was as follows:-
1. hand spray bottle of something over the wheels - alloy bits only;
2. 7 litre pump spray of something all over the car - missed the roof;
3. pressure washed the car - chased the draining pre-wash mainly and did not thoroughly complete;
4. Single bucket plus what looked to be a window cleaners mop - possibly a brush with handle - like a yard broom - was brought from the van and left on the ground while the bucket was prepared with shampoo;
5. Said brush was dipped in bucket and vigorously rubbed over the car - going from top to bottom and bottom to top in a series of u and n shaped movements. I think there were 4 rinses of the brush/mop in the shampoo bucket;
6. pressure wash - again chasing shampoo rather than being methodical;
7. Squeegee used to remove surface water
8. small waffle towel used to wipe off remaining water - side skirts, rear valance and other bodywork parts were done with the same towel in a pick and mix method;
9. waffle towel at 8 used to wipe wheels dry and clean- they so far had only been sprayed and pressure washed.
10. The doors and hatch were opened and what could have been the cloth at 8 was used to rub down the door edges and shuts.
I stopped watching here.
Now this man is well regarded locally; his reputation is 4.9/5 on Google.
I'm only an amateur, so what do I know, but surely this can't be right?
Do the professionals who claim to be Valets or Detailers need some form of professional body to lay down standards and offer accreditation?