1. Pre-Job Walk-Around (phone out, filming, about four minutes)
1. Front bumper / defects ☐
2. Hood / defects ☐
3. Roof ☐
4. Rear bumper / trunk ☐
5. Front-left door and fender ☐
6. Front-right door and fender ☐
7. Rear-left door and fender ☐
8. Rear-right door and fender ☐
9. Wheels and curb rash, all four ☐
10. Headlights / tail lights (fog, chips) ☐
11. Interior: driver's seat ☐
12. Interior: carpet ☐
Tag or film every existing defect: scratches, dings, curb rash, chipped trim, foggy headlights. The timestamped video turns "that scratch was already there" from an argument into a fact. Before-and-after pairs shot the same way every time: same angle, same light, same distance, dirty first, clean second; the three most valuable pairs are driver's seat, carpet, wheels.
2. Site Check
☐ Spigot located (or rinseless plan confirmed)
☐ Drainage path checked: water never reaches a storm drain
☐ Shade found; if none, work panel by panel, wet-to-dry, or move the exterior to morning
☐ Staging set so the homeowner's day isn't tripping over yours
3. Exterior Process Order
Wheels first, always: dedicated bucket, brushes, and mitts; spray, dwell, agitate, rinse pushing water away from the car; knock out the adjacent fender well while each wheel soaks
Two-bucket wash (hose available): foam first if you have a cannon; soap bucket + rinse bucket with grit guards; one panel in straight lines, never circles; top-down: roof, glass, hood and trunk, doors, lowest panels last
Rinless wash (constrained site): a few gallons with concentrate, quarter-folded towels, one pass per fold-edge, dry immediately with a second towel
Dry top-down with a dampened drying towel in straight lines; blower or compressed air for mirrors, badges, panel gaps
Details in jambs, fuel door, door sills: what separates a detail from a wash
4. Interior Process Order
Declutter and trash-out, with the customer present at the walk-around; hand over found valuables in a bag
Vacuum everything, seats pulled forward and back; air into vents and seat rails
Agitate and extract: APC and brushes on plastics, dedicated fabric or leather cleaner on seats, extraction and steam where owned
Wipe and dress with a matte protectant, never gloss
Glass last, always, inside and out
Pet hair: brush, latex-glove static, pumice block, patience; never promise all of it, "vast majority" is the review-safe word. Doors open while working; never mix chlorine- and ammonia-based cleaners.
5. Wash-Water Disposal Confirmation
☐ Disposal confirmed: rinseless default, containment method used, nothing to a storm drain
6. Final-Lap Walkthrough and Handoff
☐ Final lap with the customer, narrated, ending at the best angle
☐ Narrate two specifics (the stain that came out, wheels before and after); hand over the keys
☐ Review link texted on the spot; referral ask made