What we do at Scruffy Mutt Detailing

---

Your average vehicle wash will take 2-3hrs of your time, even if your just 'popping' to the drive thru for a 10min, £15, wash and shine.

To maintain this look, you will have to repeat this at least fortnightly, which over a year could work out to be 60-100hrs of your time & around £400-500. 

You may also be inadvertently damaging the paintwork & environment by the use of harsh, incorrect or ineffective products. 

Your vehicle could look outstanding for months or years & will have a greater degree of protection by being detailed. We can give you a show room wow factor and make keeping this look easy.

As detailers we have undergone training to understand the complex & time consuming regimes to deep clean, decontaminate, correct & protective coat the different body work types & interiors.  

Just the standard process to prepare an average car for correction and coating, can take 3-4hrs to complete correctly as the baseline for the coating.

We have been trained & accredited on:

• Assessing the vehicle metal, carbon & plastic bodywork condition, using visual & electronic equipment 
• Assessing the various paint types & conditions
• Assessing the various interior plastics, leather, pleather & fabric material conditions
• What actions & products should be used to clean them & the correct application of corrections
• Application & correct use of external & internal protective coatings
• Chemical use & handling
• Correct use of power tools & accessories

We will follow an approved regime to clean and decontaminate the exterior body work, in preparation for the protective coating of your choice. 

This basic process is:

• Paint inspection 
• Pre-wash
• Rinse down
• Snow foam/Non contact wash
• Wheels & tires cleaned
• Wheel arches cleaned
• Rinse down
• Extra process * 
• Paintwork decontamination  
• Wheels decontamination  
• Contact/2 bucket method wash 
• Rinse down 
• Full vehicle dry
• Bodywork inspection
• Mechanical paint enhancement (single stage) polish
• Extra process * *
• Exterior glass polish & coating
• Tires dressed & protected
• Exterior trim, (plastic & chrome) cleaned, polished,  dressed & protected as applicable
• Application of the protective coating of your choice to the paintwork
• Final inspection 

Extra processes, if requested or required and cost pre-agreed: 

*

- Undercarriage wash in preparation for lanoline

- Engine bay clean and coat

** 

- Additional stages of correction for damaged paintwork

- Headlamp correction, polish & coating

We can deep clean, apply enhancement / correction methods (to paintwork, glass, chrome, plastics & leather) & protective coat anything within reason, including :

• Motorbikes
• Cars
• Work vans
• Camper vans
• Transporters

For larger LWB/high top camper vans, Caravans and Motorhomes please contact to agree on a price. 

Where possible we will focus on only using eco friendly chemicals that have been UK & EU certified.

We are even open to bicycles &  other domestic items e.g. roller doors, windows, mirrors, watches & mobile phones. 

There are various types of coating products that can be applied to the bodywork to create a protective barrier to reduce weather and sunlight degradation. Most will also enhance the depth & colour of the paintwork to a show room standard.

Soft hydrophobic seals

A spray on product (mostly graphene or ceramic based) used by most mobile and drive thru  service washes.

It is a cheap, quick and easy method to add a hydrophobic effect to the surface.

These are short term (days/weeks).

Waxes

A paste that is either in a pure form and can have an additive and/or be a hybrid mix (mostly graphene or ceramics).

These are also short term (weeks/months).  A more superior product to a hydrophobic seal and can give up to 9 months durability.

Professional ceramics

A liquid that needs to be applied by a trained technician, and needs to be carried out in the correct technique and conditions.

Most are designed purely for paint but there some available to use on vinyl, plastic and metal.

Please see the 'Why choose' for more information.

Plastic film

Car wraps are mostly cosmetic but they do provided a layer of protection. 

PPF (Paint Protection Film) is a transparent wrap specifically designed to  protect a vehicle.

This is superior to ceramic coating. 

Please see the 'Why choose' for more information.

Rust proofing

These are products like WD40, ACF-50 etc. They are oil based and are short term (weeks/months).

There are longer lasting products like Waxoyl and Lanolin. 

NB  some MOT centres will require Waxoly type products to be removed for the inspection.

There are various types of ceramic coatings that can be applied to the bodywork. 

Some hydrophobic seals might be labelled, or referred to as, a ''ceramic', but should NEVER be confused with a professional ceramic that was designed to provide a far greater durability, enhancement and level of protection. 

Some like our motorbike products can be used for all surfaces (will not be applied to the seat or tyres) as they are also durable up to 700'C.

There are professional products that are specific to other types surface i.e. paintwork, vinyl, PPF, metal, plastic, etc, as well as home products. 

All of our auto products will come with a guarantee with a stated duration (from 1 year+) and will :

- Enhance the depth & colour, giving a show room standard of finish 

 - Increase the surface durability from a H3-4 to a H9-10. protecting it from swirls and light scratches

 - Create a seal to reduce weather and road salt corrosion 

 - Provide UVA filtering to slow or stop paint fade by the Sun

 - Prevent dirt & other deposits from gripping on to the surface

 - Promote a high hydrophobicity level

 - Makes it much easier to keep the body work looking cleaner, for much longer

PPF film (Paint Protection Film)

This product provides an even higher level of durability, enhancement and protection than ceramics.

It is a transparent bodywork wrap can last for 10 years, and most have self healing properties but it is very expensive.  

The current starting point is around £1500 and we are happy to quote for you, should you wish to explore it.

What is hydrophobic?

Water (like most fluids) will naturally use its surface tension to form a ball (also referred to as beading).

When it encounters a surface that provides grip it will spread so the ball takes on a fried egg profile (consider the yolk to be dirt), so instead of collecting with other drops to form one large ball and roll off your car, it stays put depositing its contents when it evaporates away

Hydrophobic products fill the surfaces microscopic holes, creating a very smooth surface that water finds difficult to grip onto, so in its ball profile (more donut in appearance) it runs off, taking any dirt with it.

This flattening effect also reduces light refraction (which causes a greying of the paintwork), so there is a also an increase in the colour depth.

How long will a professional ceramic last

The Industry uses calendar terms to describe the product lifespan, and may quote anywhere between 1-5 years.

The reality is its actually determined by the vehicles usage and how its maintained.

e.g.:  A Sunday drivers car will get more from a 1 year coating, than a farmers Landrover.

The main things determining the duration of the product are the following:
1 - The surface to be coated has undergone a full preparation to deep clean & decontaminate it, followed by a machine enhancement.

The key stage to ensure the product bonds.
2 - The product has been applied and handled in a controlled manner, preferably indoors where the environment can be controlled.

Incorrect application, too cold/warm, sudden rainfall will have detrimental effects on the coating which will need to machine stripped and reapplied.
3 - Following an approved wash maintenance regime by the owner. Using a car wash or the wrong product with high Acid or Alkaline content, will eat the paint surface and damage the ceramics beyond recovery. 

We can get the bodywork & interior looking as good as the day it was made, but have you thought about your engine bay & the undercarriage of the vehicle?

These forgotten areas get the brunt of the daily road dirt & grime, contaminated water & split top up fluids. 

Having these areas regularly cleaned & coated will be cheaper than structural, mechanical & electrical repairs.

We currently use Lanoguard (lanoline) coating which when professionally applied, will halt & protect the metal structure from rust, for 9-12 months.

We can ensure you will always have that first impression wow factor, as part of our services for your vehicle maintenance regime.

We can provide you with a regular bodywork service, that can be undertaken during your downtime.

We can provide you with a pre-sale service, to increase the kerb side appeal and value of the vehicle to a potential buyer.

Why not work with us to add our services to your offerings & we can add that showroom shine, & added protection as part of the forecourt services or new owner handover.

The aim is to provide paintwork enhancement. This is achieved by machine, which will remove up to 80% of the surface swirls and light scratches and polish the final surface to a show room standard or better.

This may not always be possible and correction work needs to be carried out. To do this we will use painting techniques and/or various sanding/polishing machines to cut slightly deeper into the paint lacquer surface and then perform an enhancement stage to complete the process.

As part of the assessment of the paint thickness & general bodywork condition, we may suggest remediation work 

If the scratches and chips are beyond what we can provide as a services required we can arrange a collaboration with a smart repair technician or paint shop.

We want to provide our services using the best product available to us. 

We will not use products from suppliers that are unable to show pedigree, are a reseller, cannot provide specific Coshh/safety data, or simply being pushed by an untrained person or influencer.

We will not knowingly use any product that is overly expensive or cannot be replaced by an environmentally safer product.