Glossary of Terms

Let’s start with the difference between Valeting and Detailing:

Valeting is a basic cleaning service, focused on removing dirt and grime from the interior and exterior of a vehicle. Detailing, on the other hand, is a more comprehensive process that goes beyond simple cleaning to restore and enhance the car’s appearance and protect it from future damage.

Elements Valeting do go beyond a basic valet, that simple quick wash outside and a vacuum inside. I take the time to get into all the nooks and crannies, looking to remove as much contamination as possible. Your car deserves to look its best and as you will see from the services I offer, I want to make sure your car does just that. Returning it to as close to showroom condition as possible.

OK, so now we know I’m more than just a valet, let’s look at the stages I use to get your car back to its best.

Outside

The Citrus Pre-Wash

A Citrus pre-wash uses a special cleaning product that contains natural citrus oils to remove loose dirt and grime before the main wash. It’s sprayed onto the bodywork and breaks down contaminants like road film, bug splatters, bird poo and other greasy residues, preventing them from causing swirl marks or scratches on the paint during the wash process. I only use a PH neutral pre-wash, which means it’s safe on all types of bodywork and will not react with or break down any wax or ceramic coating already on the vehicle.

Snow Foam

Snow Foam is a pre-wash detergent that loosens and removes dirt and grime from a vehicle’s surface before the main wash. It’s designed to be applied to the vehicle and allowed to sit for a few minutes before being rinsed off with a pressure washer, effectively removing contaminants without needing to scrub. Like the pre-wash I only use PH neutral Snow Foam.

Iron Removal (Fallout remover)

Fallout remover is a specialised cleaning product designed to dissolve and remove stubborn iron contaminants from vehicles. Often as a result of brake dust and other road contaminants being flung up along the side of the vehicle, your paint work will feel rough to the touch. Fallout Remover works by reacting with the iron deposits, changing color (often purple or dark red), and breaking down the bond between the contaminant and the surface. This allows the contaminant to be easily rinsed away, preventing potential damage and preparing the paint for machine polishing.

Tar Removal

Tar remover is a cleaning product designed to dissolve and remove tar and other stubborn contaminants, like glue, tree sap, and oil stains from your vehicle’s paintwork, glass, trim, and wheels. Using solvent-based formulas to break down the tar making it much easier to wipe away or wash off those sticky deposits without the need to scrub and risk damaging the paint.

Contact Wash (The two bucket method)

The two bucket method is a vehicle washing technique that uses two buckets with grit guards at the bottom: one for shampoo and another for rinsing the wash mitt. This method helps to prevent dirt and grime from re-entering the wash solution and potentially scratching the vehicle’s paint. Grit guards are inserts that sit at the bottom of a wash bucket and trap dirt and grit, preventing them from being reintroduced into the wash mitt and potentially scratching the vehicle’s paint

Contactless blow dryer & Drying towel

A contactless blow dryer is used to dry a vehicle after washing to avoid scratching the paint or leaving water spots. It uses a stream of fast flowing air to push water off the paintwork and also means you can reach those typical water trap areas like lights, wing mirrors and badges. It offers a safer drying method compared to using just a drying towel, as any contact with the paint increases the risk of scratches or marring the paint.

A drying towel is usually still required after a contactless blow dry, you never quite get all the water off the car. At Elements I use a super soft 1050gsm drying towel with soft edges that will soak up the remaining water with ease. It’s so soft it once again reduces the risk of marring the paint. 

Hydrophobic protection (Wax or Ceramic)

Hydrophobic products repel water. So if your vehicle is covered with hydrophobic protection you will see water beading on its surface. Drops of rain will literally form bubbles of water over the bodywork that run off easily. Having a hydrophobic protective layer on your vehicle makes it so much easier to clean and maintain that deep shine.

At Elements I offer 3 months Hydrophobic protection applied by spray, or a 12 month protection in the form of a hard wax.

Two options on the hard wax you can opt for the Fusso Coat 12 Months wax, with this you’ll enjoy year-round protection, but also excellent shine, and water repellency. Fusso Coat’s strong hydro- and oleophobic properties will significantly reduce dirt adhesion to the bodywork, making it easier to regularly wash and care for your vehicle.

Or you can opt for the more natural Collinite 476s, with its deep carnauba wax shine. Collinite has been a firm favourite wax in the auto industry for years. It’s no nonsense, does what it says on the tin Wax that offers great protection against all of the elements for up to 12 months.

If however you’re looking for longer protection, then Ceramic Coatings are the latest generation of paint sealants for your car. Ceramic Coatings offer by far the most protection, increasing both the hardness and self cleaning ability of paint. More durable than a wax they do offer a lot more protection against harsher cleaning techniques and road grime will literally fall off the car with a jet wash. At Elements I offer a 2 year ceramic coating at extra cost on top of the paint correction service. You need to have the paint completely contaminant free to apply a ceramic as the product will bond and seal in anything that shouldn’t be there for the lifetime of the coating.

At Elements we also offer an up to 12 month Hydrophobic windscreen protection. The product is applied to the outside glass and works so well at repelling the rain. Water just beads off the glass which improves visibility, especially on motorway driving.

Tyres Dressed

Tyre dressing uses a product to improve the appearance of car tyres, giving them a either glossy or satin finish. It can be applied using a brush, applicator, or even sprayed directly onto the tire sidewalls. Tyre dressing also provides protection against road grime, UV degradation, and waterborne contamination, helping to prolong tyre life. A car with its tyres dressed always looks its best. 

Cabriolet Roof Protection

Weather, trees and birds are the worst enemy of the Soft Top Roof (Cabriolet). Everything is thrown at your roof over the course of 12 months. Sunshine, Rain, Dirt, Bird Poo & Tree Sap. All of these elements will over time degrade the roof’s appearance and could lead to the soft top failing. At Elements I want to make sure your soft top is clean and protected.

I use only my preferred tried and tested products to deep clean the roof, removing any green algae build up and contamination from the fibres. The roof is then protected for up to 12 months with a hydrophobic soft top protector. Repelling water which is the main cause for algae build up as water trapped in dirt particles is prime algae growing conditions. Protection also has UV inhibitors to prevent fading from sunlight.

Inside

WetVac

This is the process of using a vacuum cleaner that is capable of dry vacuuming the carpets to remove any large contamination like gravel, leaf litter etc. Then changing the vacuum cleaner to wet operation so it can really deep clean mats, carpets or upholstery on the seats. Pushing cleaning products deep into the fibres and removing way more dirt than vacuuming alone by extracting the first water and leaving a much cleaner interior.

Steaming

Sometimes there are some really stubborn dirty parts on the car. Foot pedals, trim at the bottom of the door shuts where dirty feet get in and out. Dirt can really stick and stubborn to move patches can be steamed using a special machine that produces steam and really gets deep into the contamination to help shift it. Really sticky things like sweets that get stuck in car mats, they’ll never vacuum out, but a steamer can really break down that sticky patch and help to remove it.

Hydrophobic Coatings (Leather & Fabric)

Much like the outside of the car it can really help to protect the inside against things like water/drinks spillages and dirt.
At Elements I offer two types of protection for your car’s interior. Ceramic coatings for leather seats is agreast way to protect your leather against the elements. This entails a deep cleaning of the leather, to remove any contaminants and then nourishing the leather with a balm that helps to bring back the supple feel. A 12 month ceramic coating is then applied to protect it.

On cloth interiors it’s the same process, a deep clean of all the material and then a hydrophobic fabric spray is used to protect everything from spillages in the cockpit. Works especially well on mats that can take a battering over winter.