Exterior Car Detailing Course

The exterior detailing course will cover everything you need to know to confidently start working on the outside of any vehicle. The lessons are separated into clear sections so you understand the tools, chemicals, and proper detailing methods before we move on to the practical demonstrations. We will go step by step through each part of the exterior—from wheels and rims, to hand washing, engine bay cleaning, and the full decontamination process.

What the course covers:

• Tools and chemicals for exterior work, and what each one is actually for

• Wheels, rims and tyres — including heavily contaminated ones

• Hand washing methods, and how to adapt them to the car's condition

• Engine bay and door jambs, safely

• Chemical and mechanical decontamination: iron, tar, sap, adhesive, clay bar

• Wax, sealant, ceramic coating and PPF — what each does and who it suits

• Plastic and rubber trim protection

• A full exterior detail, start to finish

Each section of the exterior comes with its own workflow, DO’s and DON’Ts, and a clear explanation of how and why we approach things in a certain order. I will walk you through the exact methods I use in real detailing jobs, and explain how you can adapt your workflow depending on the car’s condition and what service the customer booked.

Besides the standard lessons on how to wash and decontaminate a car, I also dive deeper into specific situations detailers run into. These include how to safely clean heavily contaminated wheels, what to do if chemicals start drying on the surface, how to protect sensitive engine bay components, and when it’s safe to use a pressure washer. There are also dedicated examples for dealing with tar buildup, iron contamination, and even difficult cases like tree sap and adhesives.

There is also a full start-to-finish practical example where I detail an entire exterior. Here I explain the workflow in a more direct way, showing exactly how a full exterior wash, decontamination, and preparation for polishing is done. The goal is not only to teach you the correct techniques, but also to show you how to work efficiently and save time—because in detailing, time truly is money.

Throughout the course I also highlight variable situations that only come with experience, like when it’s better to do wheels two at a time, how to avoid chemical drying in the sun, how to adjust your wash method before polishing, and how to decide between a maintenance wash and a full decon wash. These are the kinds of insights you only learn after hundreds of cars, and that’s exactly why I’m sharing them here.

Exterior detailing is where you really see the shine and transformation happen, and after almost a decade in detailing, teaching these techniques has always been one of my favorite parts of the job!

This comes out of over years in detailing — running a shop, and years of distributing and testing professional car care products. Over 300 students have taken this course so far. I keep adding lessons based on the questions students ask in the Q&A. Updated for 2026.

Enroll now and start with the next car you wash — you'll see the difference on the first one.