If you simply want the dirt removed from your car quickly and inexpensively, a hand car wash can be very difficult to beat. Valeting isn't simply about getting a car “more clean” — much of the difference is in how the car is cleaned, the time spent on it and the care taken throughout the process.
Detailing is different again. Rather than simply being an even more thorough clean, detailing is generally about bringing back or enhancing the finish of a vehicle, which can then be maintained through careful valeting.
There is plenty of crossover between all three, and there isn't a universal definition of exactly where a car wash becomes a valet or a valet becomes a detail. However, as a simple guide:
Car Wash
Valet
Detail
Is there anything wrong with using a hand car wash?
Not necessarily.
If your main priority is simply getting a dirty car clean for relatively little money, a good hand car wash can offer excellent value. They can clean a large number of vehicles relatively quickly, and for plenty of owners that is exactly the service they want.
The compromise is largely a result of that business model. To clean a car for a relatively low price, considerably less time can be allocated to each vehicle. Processes and equipment also vary enormously between individual car washes.
That doesn't mean a car will come out dirty. In fact, getting the majority of everyday dirt off a car is relatively straightforward.
The more important difference is what happens to the vehicle while getting it clean.
What makes valeting different?
For us, the biggest difference is the process.
A vehicle's paintwork is surprisingly easy to mark. Dirt sitting on the surface can be abrasive, so repeatedly moving it around the paint during washing can gradually introduce the fine scratches and swirl marks that become particularly visible in sunlight.
This is why a valet isn't simply a case of spending longer with a sponge.
At Wright Shine, we start with a pre-wash and snow foam before physically washing the vehicle. The aim is to remove as much loose dirt as possible before we make contact with the paintwork.
While the snow foam is working, detailing brushes allow us to clean around badges, grilles, trim and other areas that a wash mitt cannot properly reach.
For the contact wash we use a soft natural wash mitt rather than a traditional sponge, along with separate wash and rinse buckets with grit guards. The principle is fairly simple: once dirt has been removed from the car, we want to minimise the amount of it that gets transferred back onto the paint.
There are many more small details within a careful wash process, but you don't need to become a detailing enthusiast to understand them all.
The important point is that getting the car clean is only half of the job — how you get it clean matters too.
Does a valet actually get the car cleaner?
Generally, it should provide a more thorough finished result — but this is where there can be a misunderstanding about what you're paying for.
If a hand car wash costs a fraction of the price of a valet, it's tempting to assume the more expensive service should simply make the car several times cleaner.
That isn't really how the difference works.
More time allows us to work around the vehicle methodically and spend longer on areas that can easily be overlooked during a faster wash. It also gives us time to check our work rather than simply completing one stage and moving straight on.
Once a vehicle has been cleaned and dried, for example, we go around it again. This secondary check gives us an opportunity to catch water drips, streaks or small areas of dirt that may have been missed, using a quick detailer where appropriate to leave a consistent finish.
The same principle applies inside the car. More time allows for a more methodical clean and a more consistent result.
However, more expensive doesn't mean unlimited cleaning until every individual imperfection has disappeared.
The starting condition of the vehicle matters. Heavily embedded dog hair, significant staining or unusually intensive cleaning can require considerably more time and may need additional treatment beyond a routine valet.
A valet should therefore produce a thorough result, but a significant part of what you're paying for is also the process, time and care used to achieve it.
A simple way of looking at it is to think about a pair of running shoes.
Spending more on a good pair doesn't necessarily make you run any faster. Much of what you're paying for is how they have been designed, the support they provide and how they look after your feet while you're using them.
Valeting is similar. A hand car wash and a valet can both leave a dirty car looking clean. From a few metres away immediately afterwards, the difference may sometimes be relatively small.
The difference is what has happened while getting the car to that point, and how repeated cleaning affects its condition over months and years.
What about convenience?
There is another significant difference, particularly with mobile valeting: your time.
Driving to a car wash, waiting in a queue and waiting for the vehicle to be cleaned may not be a huge inconvenience occasionally, but it still requires you to organise part of your day around getting the car cleaned.
With a mobile service, we come to the vehicle instead.
For many of our regular customers, that is as important as the cleaning process itself. Their car can be looked after at home or work while they carry on with everything else they need to do.
You don't necessarily need to know which wash mitt, brush or product is being used. The reassurance is knowing that the car is being looked after properly without having to spend your own time doing it.
So what is car detailing?
Detailing is often described as simply being a more thorough version of valeting, but we don't think that's particularly helpful.
A better distinction is the purpose of the work.
Valeting is primarily about cleaning a vehicle while helping to maintain its appearance and condition. Detailing is generally about bringing back or enhancing the finish of a vehicle.
Over time, paintwork can lose some of the depth and shine it once had. Fine scratches, swirl marks from previous washing and other light marks can become particularly noticeable when sunlight hits the car. A detail can address these sorts of issues and bring back much of the clarity and gloss in the paintwork, rather than simply cleaning what's sitting on top of it.
The amount of work needed will naturally depend on the car. A relatively new, well-maintained vehicle may need very little, while an older car that has been washed less carefully over a number of years may need considerably more work to bring its finish back.
Once that work has been done, careful valeting can then help maintain the finish for as long as reasonably possible.
No washing method will keep a car completely perfect forever. Cars are driven, exposed to the weather and repeatedly cleaned, so some deterioration and light marking will eventually occur.
The aim of a careful maintenance process is to minimise how quickly that happens, rather than unnecessarily introducing prominent wash marks every time the car is cleaned.
Does it matter how a detailed car is washed afterwards?
Yes.
There is little benefit in spending considerable time bringing back the finish of a vehicle only to then maintain it using a washing process that quickly reintroduces the marks that have just been removed.
This is why we would generally recommend that a vehicle is carefully maintained after detailing, whether that means washing it correctly yourself or using a valeting service.
Detailing brings back or enhances the finish. Valeting helps maintain it.
Which one should I choose?
There isn't one option that is right for everybody.
If you simply want your car looking clean quickly and inexpensively, and maintaining the paintwork to the highest possible standard isn't particularly important to you, a hand car wash may be exactly what you need.
If you want the convenience of having somebody look after the vehicle for you, while using a more considered process designed to clean it safely and thoroughly, a valet is likely to make more sense.
And if the aim is to go beyond maintaining the vehicle and bring back or enhance its finish, that is where detailing comes in.
Ultimately, the name attached to a service only tells you so much. Different businesses use different processes, products and definitions.
What matters most is understanding what you're paying for, how the work will be carried out and whether that matches what you want from the service.