An exterior detail is a long way from a drive-through wash. It's a proper hand wash, a clean of the wheels and trim, the removal of bonded grime a wash leaves behind, and a coat of wax or sealant to protect the paint through a GTA winter — all without your car leaving the driveway.
WashDash lists independent GTA detailers who post their real open times and come to you. The car is washed, decontaminated, and protected while it sits at your home or office, and you pay the detailer directly — no queue at the wash line, no waiting room.
A proper wash rinses grit off before anything touches the paint, then washes by hand with clean media so the dirt isn't dragged across the panels. It's the step that avoids the fine swirl marks an automatic brush tunnel leaves behind.
Wheels and wheel wells collect the worst of the brake dust and road salt. They're cleaned separately, with their own tools, so that grime isn't carried onto the paintwork — and the tyres get dressed if you want them finished.
Even a clean-looking panel holds bonded contaminants — rail dust, tar, tree sap — that washing alone won't shift. A clay treatment pulls them off so the paint feels glass-smooth, which is what lets wax or sealant actually bond.
A coat of wax or a longer-lasting sealant gives the paint a barrier against road salt, slush, and UV. It's the difference between salt sitting on a protected surface and salt working directly on bare clear coat.
Condition drives the work. A recently washed car and a car carrying a winter of baked-on salt and brake dust are very different jobs under the same 'exterior detail' wording — the decontamination time is where the hours go.
Protection isn't all the same. A spray sealant lasts a few weeks; a paste wax or synthetic sealant lasts months; paint correction and ceramic coatings are a bigger, separate job. It's worth asking a detailer what level of protection a given service actually includes.
Weather and space matter for a mobile job. Wax and sealant bond best on a dry car above freezing, and the detailer needs room to walk right around the vehicle. A flat driveway is ideal; a tight condo spot in January can limit what's sensible on-site — worth confirming when you book.
A car wash cleans the surface; an exterior detail cleans, decontaminates, and protects it. Beyond the hand wash, a detail removes bonded grime a wash leaves behind and adds a wax or sealant so the finish is protected, not just clean for a day. It takes longer and lasts far longer.
Yes — salt and brake dust on the paint, wheels, and lower panels are a standard part of an exterior detail, and a wax or sealant afterward helps keep the next round of salt from bonding as easily. Badly baked-on salt can take extra work, so mention it when you book.
It depends what's applied. A spray sealant might last a few weeks; a paste wax or synthetic sealant commonly lasts a few months through normal driving and washing. The detailer will tell you what a given service uses and roughly how long to expect it to hold up in GTA weather.
Within limits. Most waxes and sealants need a dry surface above freezing to bond properly, so a mild dry day is fine but a wet sub-zero one isn't ideal. A detailer will be straight with you about what's worth doing on a given day rather than applying protection that won't set.
It depends on the car's size, its condition, and the level of protection you want. WashDash shows each detailer's own listed prices rather than a made-up average, so the figure comes from the person doing the work — and a quote after they've seen photos of the paint is far more reliable than a headline number.
Exterior details and seasonal wax jobs bring clients back every few months. List your real calendar on WashDash, set your own prices and service area, and keep 100% of every job — no lead fees, no booking-software bill.
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