Whether it’s a cars-and-coffee or a concours d’elegance, it’s virtually impossible to arrive at an event in a spotless vehicle. If a perfect appearance is your goal, some on-site final prep will be required, no matter how good your detailing is it or how carefully you drove.
The key to detailing your vehicle while you’re at an event is in the planning and preparation. After all, you want to spend your time talking to other owners, seeing the other cars, and sharing your car with other admirers. No one wants to spend their whole time at a car show cleaning.
Here are some tips for detailing your vehicle at an event without missing out on it.
Major Preparation in Advance
It might seem obvious but have your vehicle as prepped and ready as possible before you head out. This starts with a thorough full-vehicle detail at the start of the season. Thoroughly wash the vehicle including wheels, inside the fenders, under the hood and in the jambs of all openings. Deep clean the paint surface with a clay treatment or decontamination spray to remove embedded particles. Polish the paint to remove swirls and scratches and seal the paint with a wax, polymer, or ceramic protectant.
Once your foundational detail is done, you only need to do light touchups between events. For a cars-and-coffee event, this might only require a quick rinse and dry at the self-service car wash. While you’re there, don’t forget top vacuum the interior, especially if it’s your daily driver.
For a judged show, you’ll probably want to spend more time ahead of the event preparing. Applying additional wax will enhance paint depth and gloss. A bit of brush work afterwards will remove debris from emblems and trim, for a perfect presentation.
Prepare Your Travel Kit
Make yourself a mobile detailing kit that you can keep in the car with you. This should only contain the products and tools you’ll need for final prep. Leave the clay, the car wash soap, and the paste wax at home. Here are the essentials:
- Quick detail spray – for removing light dust and fingerprints (with ceramic or without, your choice)
- Waterless car wash – to remove any more serious road debris you may have picked up on the drive such as oil, tar, or bugs.
- Plastic trim conditioner – for unpainted trim, dashboards, and underhood components
- Tire conditioner or dressing – to bring a little attention to your tires and wheel (but resist the urge to over-do it)
- Window cleaner – leaves less streaks on windows than quick detail products
- Bottle of plain water – because you don’t always have to spray a chemical product to get something clean
- Microfiber towels – separate ones for each type of product you’ll us
- Detail brushes – for all the little things you’ll notice once the rest of the car is spotless
- Roll of clear packing tape – to remove crumbs, lint, hair, leaves, and other debris from carpet, upholstery, and convertible tops
Show-Quality Details
If you’re going to make the effort, make it count. Put your best work into it, otherwise you may as well just enjoy the show.
Spray your touch-up products (quick detail, trim dressings, etc.) directly into an applicator pad or your wipe towel to avoid getting them everywhere. Use your towel to wipe off any excess product. While a shiny dashboard may be a personal choice, a wet dashboard never looks good. The same goes for greasy tires – wipe them down even if you prefer a shiny look.
Be Considerate
Finally, don’t forget you’re in the presence of other people who love their cars as much as you love yours. Consider their space by not spraying your detail products indiscriminately. And please respect the venue by not leaving behind greasy shadows where you worked. It’s not always easy for event organizers to host car events, so let’s leave them as clean as we found them.
