41 Ways To Make Your Car Look Awesome (Detailing Checklist)

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I’ve heard people complain about the term “auto detailing” and that it should really just be referred to as washing a car. And if you’re describing some of the lazy detailers out there, it’s probably accurate.

But there’s a lot more to detailing a car than simply giving it a quick bath.

It’s what separates the lazy detailers from the truly skilled ones.

A good detail consists of focusing on areas of a car that people can’t quite put their finger on… and yet they still notice.

So in this post, we’re going over 41 things you can clean or polish that’ll completely change how your car looks, even if you don’t spend hours doing it.

This checklist isn’t intended to be used as a start-to finish project (you can, though). That would take you weeks to complete. Instead, pick something off this list as a bonus on top of your regular routine every time you wash your car. Before you know it, your car will be looking better than the day you bought it!

1. Hand wash it first

None of these other ideas matter if you’re still running your car through an automatic car wash. They don’t do a very good job of cleaning, especially things like the spokes of your wheels and exhaust.

So get into the habit of washing it yourself.

2. Decontaminate your paint

If your paint is starting to feel a little rough (or you’re planning to polish or ceramic coat it), using a clay bar or chemical decon product will remove any embedded debris and get your paint feeling smooth again.

3. Clean the underside of bumpers and rocker panels

Tar and road grime tend to build up on these lower areas that you never really see unless your car is jacked up or on a lift.

Cleaning this up has a few benefits:

• Accidentally touching this dirty area with your drying towel after a wash can scratch the rest of your paint
• It’ll be less work to clean it up before doing a paint correction
• Gives you peace of mind knowing your car is super clean

4. Clean inside the fuel door and gas cap

This is something that isn’t noticeable from the outside of a vehicle. But as soon as you go to pump gas, you’re immediately reminded that you missed a spot.

Dirt and grime can really build up in here over time so take a few minutes with a degreaser to clean it up – then maintain it by popping it open whenever you wash your car.

5. Detail the side mirrors

Sure, these get washed along with the rest of the car, but are you sure they’re fully dialed in? They probably aren’t.

Use a glass cleaner to remove any leftover water spots on the mirror itself. Then use a towel (you can wrap it around a bamboo skewer) with a bit of compound on it to scrub inside the gap between the mirror and the cap. Adjust the mirror back and forth to reach all the angles.

6. Clean and degrease the door jambs

The level of dirt here really varies based on how the car is used. On fair-weather weekend warriors, you can probably just give it a quick wipe down.

But a daily driver will likely require more work. Take the time to degrease the area around the door hinges, and clean the rest of the jambs too.

You can actually use your pressure washer here – just make sure you get the angle right to avoid soaking your interior. It’s also a good idea to hit this area with spray wax to protect the paint and make it easier to clean next time.

And of course, re-grease your hinges if you did a lot of deep cleaning.

7. Polish black plastic b-pillar trim

This stuff can be a nightmare because it shows every little swirl mark. To make it worse, it’s nearly at eye level every time you climb into your car, making it impossible to ignore.

So if your car has these, you can compound and polish them like you do your paint. Be careful how you touch them after because it’s really easy to scratch them again – some people even put paint protection film on these.

8. Clean the license plate area

Remove your license plates and any plastic brackets they might attach to.

Dirt loves to collect in behind here and it can cause a big problem – the friction of the plate or bracket rubbing on the paint combined with the abbrasive dirt can actually wear the paint away.

If your license plate bolts are getting rusty, paint the heads black for a refresh. If you have license plate covers and they’re scratched or oxidized, either attempt to polish them or replace them with new ones.

9. Detail the door handles

Your door handles might look fine at first glance, but as soon as you pull on them, you’ll likely find dirt along the edges. This is also a common area to find wax or polish stuck inside. Clean it up with a towel and a toothpick. Also remove any crud from the door lock.

Lastly, polish the scratches behind the handle that are caused by peoples’ fingernails when they grab them. Be careful here – the paint is thin. Either polish it by hand or use a small machine that can fit.

10. Restore black plastic trim

Some cars have a little of this, and some have a lot. Either way, the textured plastic will fade over time. If it’s in decent shape, you can use a dressing or ceramic coating to bring them back. If they’re really bad, use a trim-specific dye to restore them fully.

A good way to test if the surface needs to be dyed is wipe them with a damp towel – if they look good when they’re wet, you can probably stick with a coating.

11. Detail the grille

Bugs and leaves love to get stuck inside the front grille and the bumper openings so take a minute to clean them thoroughly.

If you use a foam cannon to wash your car, you can clean this area with a brush while it’s covered in soap.

12. Detail the emblems

This is another spot you can clean with a brush after spraying soap on the area. The surrounding area is probably already clean from your regular washes, but inside the tight spots is where dirt tends to collect.

13. Restore the taillights

You can do a “paint” correction on your red or amber plastic taillights by compounding and polishing them. This is a well-kept secret that will make the rear end of your car super glossy.

Don’t forget the 3rd brake light!

14. Detail the trunk jamb and the backside of the trunk lid

This is another spot that you might not think to clean and degrease when you’re washing your car but you’ll be reminded of it the next time you get groceries.

Clean up the hinges and hydraulic props too.

15. Detail the underside of the hood

Sometimes, people will touch on this when they detail the engine bay but a lot of people forget to look up.

Clean the area first, then use a wax or polish to remove any water spots and protect the paint. Be careful with getting foam hood insulators wet though – they like to crumble easily when they get brittle.

16. Clean and polish the wheels thoroughly

Every once in a while, it’s a good idea to pull the wheels off to clean them separately from the car. Even with all the fancy detailing brushes, it can be hard to reach in behind them.

Remove any tar or adhesive from old wheel weights from the inner barrels and give them a coat of wax or sealant.

If you want to go crazy, you can machine polish your wheels. Apply a ceramic wheel coating if you wish.

17. Restore the wiper arms

Maybe this is more common up here in Canada, but the black paint on the arms of the windshield wipers tends to get corroded and flake off. This looks awful.

If this has happened to yours, take them off, sand them down and give them a fresh coat of black paint.

If yours are still in good shape, give the area a good cleaning and put a coat of wax or sealant on them.

18. Do a paint enhancement

You might not be ready to attempt an in-depth paint correction yet, but using an all-in-one polish with a machine can bring a TON of life back to your paint.

This has some benefits:

• There’s very little risk of damage or burning through the clear
• It can be done in a day by polishing and protecting in 1 step
• Great practice to get used to machine polishing

19. Do a paint correction

If you’ve completed an enhancement in the past and you’re ready to remove more scratches and swirl marks, step up to a full paint correction.

This is very time consuming and tedious – and also dangerous since you can damage your paint if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Make sure to do your research first to learn as much as you can before attempting this.

20. Detail the engine bay

Give your engine bay a thorough cleaning. On modern cars, you don’t have to worry too much about getting this wet – I even use a pressure washer on mine.

On older cars or highly modified ones, you’ll want to use a more gentle method. A steam cleaner can be helpful here.

Finish with a water-based dressing to protect the plastic and rubber while giving it a natural looking sheen.

21. Restore the headlights

Aside from the paintjob, nothing makes a car look more worn out than dull, faded headlights.

Wet sand the remaining failed UV coating off until it’s gone, then compound and polish the sanding marks. Make sure to apply a new layer of protection – either a ceramic coating, 2k Clear coat, or paint protection film will do the trick.

22. Deep clean the wheel wells

If you’re going to remove your wheels to clean them, you might as well do inside the fenders as well.

This area gets super dirty since your tires fling grime at it constantly. Thoroughly degrease the suspension, plastic liners, and mud flaps. Finish with the same dressing you would use on your engine bay.

Making this area nice and dark black creates a ton of contrast behind your wheels and will really make your car pop.

23. Detail the exhaust tip

It doesn’t matter what kind of finish is on the tip (chrome, stainless, powdercoat), it can probably use some attention.

If it’s chrome or stainless, clean it with wheel cleaner and steel wool. Make sure to remove the built up carbon from the inside edge. Follow up with metal polish to remove any water spots and bring out some extra shine.

24. Clean and polish the windows

Sometimes the attention your windows get during a wash isn’t quite enough. There might be grime or water spots in the edges or the glass might be getting dull.

Start by using a clay bar to remove any bonded contaminants. Then machine polish them (this is for deep-cleaning, not scratch removal). Use a glass cleaner to remove any residue after. Then add spray wax or a dedicated glass coating to help them repell water.

25. Detail the lug nuts

If you have chrome lug nuts, they tend to get corroded or rusty over time. Take them off and give them a quick polish to make them shine again.

26. Restore red or amber plastic side markers

You can treat these just like your tail lights – compound and polish them to remove any oxidation or scratches.

27. Detail the sunroof area

You don’t realize how dirty this spot gets until you open your sunroof and take a look inside. Clean this up but try your best not to get your interior dirty.

Clean and protect the glass the same way you do your windows.

This is also a great time to make sure your sunroof drains aren’t clogged – blow them out with compressed air if they are.

28. Restore the fog lights

Everyone knows about headlight restoration but nobody talks about restoring your fog lights. They get just as dull and faded as the headlights but because they’re lower on the body, people forget about them.

If yours are cloudy, hit them with some wet sanding then compound and polish them. Just like your headlights, make sure to protect them after.

Bringing clarity back to your fog lights can really freshen up your front end.

29. Detail the brakes

Remove your wheels and deep clean the brake calipers. If they’re painted, polish them and apply a ceramic wheel coating or sealant.

If they’re not, consider using a caliper painting kit – you don’t have to make them a bright color if you don’t want to but painting them grey or black will make them look super clean.

If the hats of your brake rotors are rusty, sand them down, tape them off, and paint them. This can usually be seen behind your wheel so it’ll make a big difference.

30. Deep clean the tires

Road grime and old dressing builds up on the rubber of your tires so clean them with a degreaser or tire cleaner. This will help your dressing to last longer since you’re applying it to the bare rubber.

If your tires have turned brown due to blooming, they can still be saved – it might require a few passes of cleaning and rinsing to get them black again.

Use the dressing of your choice but remember tires aren’t supposed to be shiny – the goal is a dark, satin finish.

31. Polish the chrome

Depending on the vehicle, chrome might be used in different places. It could be on the door handles or window trim, or the entire bumper might be chromed.

Regardless, make it shiny again with some chrome or metal polish.

Pro tip: Remove any leftover residue with a rinseless wash – it’ll be even shinier!

32. Detail the trailer hitch

The trailer hitch often gets super dirty and even rusty depending on your region. Clean and degrease it and give it a fresh coat of black rust paint if it needs it.

33. Add an extra layer of protection

Boost the protection on your paint with an extra layer. If it’s ceramic coated already, use a ceramic spray. If it’s waxed or sealed, add a layer of carnauba or spray wax.

This will add a little extra shine and slickness to your paint, and add a little life to the protection you have on it.

34. Clean the steering wheel

If it’s starting to look shiny, it’s definitely time to clean it. Your steering wheel should have a matte finish so any shininess is caused by oil from your skin, lotion, and sweat. Yum.

To step it up a notch, clean the turn signal stalks and steering column as well. Make sure to turn the steering wheel to get the dirt and dust from the gap between it and the column.

35. Polish the gauge cluster lens

For some reason, the clear plastic lens on the gauge cluster is almost always scratched on cars that have them.

You can restore the plastic the same way you restore the lens on your headlights. It’s probably easier to remove the cluster from the car unless you have a tiny polisher.

36. Detail the pedals

This is one of the dirtiest parts of your interior since your feet touch the pedals non-stop. Clean them with an all-purpose cleaner or degreaser and don’t forget the dead pedal and parking brake (if it’s a pedal).

Make sure not to dress these after because making them slippery is a safety hazzard.

37. Clean under the seats

The abyss that most of us forget about. For starters, move both the front seats as far forward as they’ll go. Then vacuum up all the dirt and garbage that’s been hiding underneath.

You can also take a minute to clean the seat rails and mounting hardware as well.

38. Polish and wax woodgrain or piano black trim

If your car has fancy trim like woodgrain, marble, or carbon fiber, polish any scratches or dullness out of it. Piano black trim is really common in modern cars and it’s also incredibly easy to scratch or leave fingerprints on.

You can either polish it by hand or with a machine.

Protect the trim with a wax, sealant, ceramic coating, or even paint protection film after.

39. Clean the infotainment screen

This often gets missed because we don’t want to use the same strong cleaners on it that we use on the rest of the interior. Then we forget to grab a different product, and the smudges live on to fight another day.

I like to use a rinseless wash product diluted as a quick detail spray to clean this. It won’t harm the touch-screen function but is strong enough to remove dirt and fingerprints.

Be careful not to scratch this (don’t scrub too hard!)

40. Clean the rearview mirror

A lot of people remember to clean their windows but completely forget the rearview mirror. You look at it just as often though, so it should be smudge free as well.

Use the same glass cleaner you use on your windows and an interior cleaner for any plastic parts.

41. Deep clean the dash vents

Most people tend to wipe down their dash board to get the dust off whenever they wash their car. This is a good thing to do, but over time, dirt and dust will collect inside the vents.

Use an interior cleaner and a brush to get in there every once in a while so it doesn’t look neglected when the sun hits it.

Conclusion

This list will continue to grow as I come up with more ideas. If you have a recommendation, drop it in the comments below and I’ll add it to the list!