Auto valeting in Wokingham
How our valeting service works!
Don't be put off by confusing packages or hard-to-find locations: we are here to make it easy for you. If you require auto valeting in Wokingham just give us a call, and shall talk about the work you require, say an interior or exterior valet, the size and condition of your vehicle, and we shall come back to you with a quote straight away. Our service takes just three simple steps in total, from quote, to confirmation, to the valeting process itself.
If you have any questions, you can always call us on 07789 678918.
Our simple process!
Get a Quote
Fill out our form, select a type of valet, tell us your vehicle, postcode, contact number, and ask any questions.
Confirm
We will call you back with a starting quote (full quote given upon inspection of vehicle), and book the best time and date to visit.
Valet
We come to you and fully inspect your car before we start work. On completion of your valet we will also check your tyres and tyre pressures for you and adjust if necessary.
A little extra care
With our auto valeting in Wokingham, it's the little details that matter. One item often neglected are number plate fixings. If they are damaged or the plastic screw cover is missing, we'll replace them free of charge. If you prefer we can supply and fit anti-theft screws for your number plate (there is a nominal charge for this service). Likewise if the valve caps on your wheels are missing or have seen better days, we'll replace them free of charge too.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is snow foam and what does it do?
Snow foam is known as a pre-wash. It's a form of detergent we apply to your car immediately before we give it a proper wash. It helps lift some of the dirt so that the wash can work more effectively. As you might have guessed from the name, snow foam creates a thick, white foam that looks like snow over your vehicle.
Your car's paintwork takes lots of abuse. You may drive your car at high speeds, so all kinds of dirt and residues will impact it and be dried on pretty quickly, such as bird and insect mess. A regular wash and wax treatment just won't be strong enough to get the job done by itself.
Snow foam helps your car washing routine by partially breaking down dirt on your car's paintwork, wheels, and other surfaces, making it much easier for your regular car shampoo to finish the job. This will give you a much cleaner car that's better protected against further dirt and general paintwork damage. It'll also make it much easier to clean your car as most of the dirt will already have been rinsed off.
What is traffic film remover (TFR) and what does it do?
This product is most often used at your local roadside car washes at your local supermarket, garden centre or petrol station. A traffic film remover is a product that is specifically designed to remove “traffic film”. This is a very fine layer of dust, grime and even oil that covers your car and is notoriously difficult to wash off! A traffic film remover can be wax-safe, but many are not. This is not a product for the weekly wash, but more to be used once every couple of months. “Traffic film remover” is often shortened to TFR.
Although traffic film removers are nothing new, they have some myths around them. They are not enough for a complete decontamination, and they usually have little to no effect on iron oxide (fallout). Most traffic film removers are based on solvents, and not cleaning agents such as surfactants and emulsifiers.
Traffic film removers are not designed to be used as a shampoo or a weekly wash. Traffic film remover can also dull paint and tarnish chrome work and can also damage rubber and plastics if used incorrectly, if the strength is too high, or if the TFR is allowed to dry (such as when waiting in a queue at a car wash).
What is a contact or safe wash?
A contact wash is as it sounds, where direct contact is made with the vehicle's bodywork using a microfibre wash mitt. It involves working on the vehicle from top to bottom and working in small sections, rinsing the wash mitt in the rinse bucket before reloading with shampoo solution from the wash bucket.
The Two Bucket Wash Method is a system of using two buckets to safely wash your car, reducing the risk of introducing swirls and scratches to the bodywork from any contaminants, which remain following snow foaming and jet washing.
One bucket is used for washing the car and one bucket of clean water is used for rinsing the wash mitt. A grit guard is a metal or plastic grill designed to sit a few inches from the bottom of the rinsing water bucket to trap the grit when we rinse the wash mitt.
How do you remove road tar from a car's bodywork?
Tar removal spray is exactly what it sounds like - a spray solution that removes tar. It's a specialised chemical product that uses various dissolving materials to break down tar without causing damage to your car's paint.
What is fallout contamination and how is it removed?
Surface contamination such as industrial soot, brake dust, railway dust, paint overspray and exhaust dust can bond to the paint surface causing the paint surface to feel rough and look lifeless. Using a fallout remover will break down the contaminated particles and dissolve them, making them easier to simply rinse away with water. With our auto valeting in Wokingham, we apply snow foam, road tar remover, and fallout remover to the wheels, as part of our service.
What is clay barring, why would I need it, and what does it do for my car?
Claying a vehicle is the process of removing bonded surface contaminants from your car that cannot be removed by washing alone. These often need to be eliminated before the polishing process, using a synthetic bar of poly clay. It works by gently pulling and lifting the bonded contaminants off the surface, which then become encapsulated in the clay. It's a process that gives the best results for a great shine. Most importantly, it opens the pores of the clear coat surface so that the wax or paint sealant will soak in deeper to give it that extra depth of shine and layer of protection.
Should I wax or polish my car?
Polishing, in car detailing or valeting terms, means applying a mild abrasive or polishing compounds to your paintwork. This process is more commonly referred to as machine polishing. This is a specialist process involving several stages of paint "correction", refinement, polishing and lastly a stage known as ceramic coating.
The abrasives used in machine polishing help remove contaminants, oxidation, and light-to-moderate scratches. Depending on the product, a polish can then also add oils or conditioners, which enhance the appearance of your paintwork. Some polishes, especially those formulated to remove more serious scratches, only contain abrasives of various degrees. If your car is scratched to the point that you can see grey paint or bare metal underneath then polishing alone will not suffice, and the panel will need to be re-painted.
Waxing refers to the application of automotive wax to the paintwork. Unlike polishes, most waxes do not contain any abrasives. The main purpose of waxing your car is to protect the paint finish. Many waxes also contain paintwork enhancers that leave your car looking shiny and glossy. You can both polish and wax your car, and with our auto valeting in Wokingham this is included as part of your external valet package.