Exterior detailing
Exterior Car Detailing in Mississauga
A wash that removes what's actually bonded to your paint — iron fallout, tar, tree sap and winter salt film — not just the loose dirt on top of it. From $75.
Why a drive-through wash doesn't get you there
There are two kinds of dirt on a car. Loose dirt sits on the surface and any wash removes it. Bonded contamination has chemically or mechanically attached itself to the clear coat, and no amount of soap and water touches it.
Run your hand over your paint after a wash. If it feels gritty rather than glass-smooth, that's bonded contamination — and in Mississauga it's mostly three things: iron particles from brake dust and rail dust, tar from fresh asphalt on the 403 and QEW, and mineral deposits from salt brine.
Removing it takes chemistry and clay, not pressure. An iron remover dissolves the embedded metal particles. A tar solvent lifts the asphalt. A clay treatment shears off whatever's left mechanically. Then the paint is actually clean, and only then is there any point sealing it.
What's included
- Pre-rinse and foam soak to lift loose grit before anything touches the paint
- Wheels, arches and tires first, with dedicated tools that never touch paint
- Two-bucket contact wash with grit guards
- Iron and fallout remover across all painted surfaces
- Tar removal on lower panels and behind the wheels
- Clay treatment for anything still bonded
- Filtered rinse and forced-air dry — no towel dragging
- Six-month paint sealant
- Exterior glass, trim dressing, tire dressing
The two bookings that matter
Late October. Decontaminate and seal before the first salting. This is the single most valuable exterior booking of the year.
Late April. Full salt decontamination once Peel has genuinely stopped salting. Not March — salting often runs into early April and you'd be paying twice.
Pricing
| Service | Time | From |
|---|---|---|
| Express wash | 1 hr | $199 |
| Exterior detail Decon, clay, sealant | 3–4 hrs | $75 |
| Salt decontamination Seasonal, includes underbody | 3–4 hrs | $249 |
| Engine bay clean | 1 hr | $79 |
| Headlight restoration Pair | 1–2 hrs | $129 |
Then what?
A sealant lasts about six months, which covers one winter. If you want protection that lasts years and makes winter washing dramatically easier, that's a ceramic coating. If your paint is swirled from years of brush washes, decontamination won't fix that — see paint correction.
Exterior detailing questions
How often should I do this in Mississauga?
Twice a year for a car that's driven daily — October and April. Maintenance washes in between, more often through salt season. A car that's garaged and lightly driven can go once a year.
Do you clean the underbody?
On the salt decontamination package, yes — a high-pressure underbody flush focused on the wheel wells, rockers and frame seams where brine collects and sits. It's the part of winter damage nobody sees until there's rust bubbling through a rocker.
Is touchless washing bad for my car?
Touchless is the safest automatic option because nothing physically contacts the paint. The trade-off is that it relies on strong chemistry and won't remove bonded contamination. It's a good maintenance wash between proper details, and it's much better than a brush wash.
Can you remove water spots?
Usually. Fresh mineral deposits come off with an acidic wash or clay. Spots that have etched into the clear coat — common on cars parked under a sprinkler all summer — need machine polishing to level out.
Book an exterior detail
Best value in late October before the salting starts, and again in late April once it stops.