Paint, wheels, glass
Exterior Detailing
Washed by hand, dried by hand, and sealed if you want it to last.
- Starts at
- $90
- Time on site
- 1–2 hours
What’s included
Exterior Hand Wash
- Two-bucket hand wash, top down
- Wheels, barrels and tires cleaned
- Tires dressed
- Bug and tar spots worked off the front end
- Hand dried with clean microfiber, no air drying
- Exterior glass cleaned
Exterior Wash + Wax + Sealant
- Everything in the Exterior Hand Wash
- Paint decontaminated before anything is applied
- Hand-applied wax
- Paint sealant on top for months of protection, not weeks
- Trim and plastics dressed
- Exterior glass sealed
The order it happens in
- Wheels and tires firstBrake dust is the dirtiest thing on the vehicle. It gets its own bucket, its own brushes and its own water, before a mitt touches paint.
- Two-bucket hand washOne bucket of soap, one of rinse water, grit guards in both, washed top down in straight lines. The mitt goes back in the rinse bucket every panel.
- Bugs, tar and hand dryingThe front end and mirrors get worked by hand. Then dried with clean microfiber — never left to air dry, which is how you get water spots baked into the paint.
- Wax and sealant, on the upper tierDecontaminated first so the wax has clean paint to bond to, hand-applied, buffed off, then sealed. Trim and tires dressed, glass done last.
Worth booking if
- Paint you do not want run through an automatic wash again
- Getting ready for road salt, or cleaning up after it
- A black or dark vehicle where every swirl shows
- A truck that lives on gravel roads
Price by vehicle
Car, truck or SUV
Exterior Hand Wash
1–2 hours on site
Two-bucket hand wash, wheels, tires, dried by hand.
| Car | Truck | SUV |
|---|---|---|
| $90Civic, Camry, Malibu, Jetta | $110F-150, Silverado, Ram 1500, Tacoma | $130Explorer, Equinox, Highlander, Odyssey |
3rd row or extended cab adds $25.
Exterior Wash + Wax + Sealant
3–4 hours on site
The hand wash, then wax and a sealant that actually lasts a season.
| Car | Truck | SUV |
|---|---|---|
| $150Civic, Camry, Malibu, Jetta | $175F-150, Silverado, Ram 1500, Tacoma | $200Explorer, Equinox, Highlander, Odyssey |
3rd row or extended cab adds $25.
Our work
Exterior Detailing, in the driveway
Hood and grille of a dark blue Jeep Grand Cherokee after an exterior hand wash 
Ford F-150 covered in snow foam during an exterior hand wash 
Hood and grille of a white Chevrolet Tahoe after an exterior detail, with trees reflected in the paint 
Red Ford F-150 covered in snow foam during an exterior hand wash 
Infiniti covered in snow foam during an exterior hand wash
What people say
Rated 5.0 by the people who booked us
5.0 stars from 11 Google reviews. Every one of them left by somebody who had the work done in their own driveway.
5.0 stars · 11 Google reviews
The reviews live on Google, where you can read them in full and check they are real. Read them there, or add yours if we have already worked on your vehicle.
FAQ
Exterior Detailing questions
Why not just use an automatic wash?
An automatic wash drags whatever the last vehicle left on the brushes across your paint. That is where most of the fine swirl marks on older cars around here come from. A hand wash with two buckets and clean microfiber takes longer and does not do that.
What is the difference between wax and a sealant?
Wax is a natural product that sits on the paint and gives it depth and gloss. It is measured in weeks. A sealant is synthetic, it bonds to the paint rather than resting on it, and it holds through a season of brine and cinders. The Exterior Hand Wash has neither — it is a wash. Wash plus Wax plus Sealant decontaminates the paint first, waxes it by hand and then seals over the top, which is the combination worth having going into a Western Pennsylvania winter.
How long does the wax and sealant last?
Wax on its own is measured in weeks, especially through a winter of brine and cinders. A paint sealant over it holds through a season. The six-month ceramic spray coating is the longest-lasting option we offer and it is exactly what its name says — six months.
What happens if it rains?
Interior work goes ahead in almost any weather. Exterior work needs the vehicle to be dry enough to wash and dry properly, so if the forecast is bad we will call you the day before and move it rather than do a job that will not hold. There is no charge for a weather reschedule.
How long does it take?
A basic interior or a hand wash runs one to two hours. A deep interior or a wash with wax and sealant is three to four. A full detail is five to six hours, and a full detail with protection is six to seven. We book arrival windows rather than exact start times so a job that runs long does not make the next customer wait in the dark.
Book Exterior Detailing
Pick your service, pick your vehicle, see the total. No texting back and forth, no waiting for a callback to find out what it costs.