Citroen C4

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Ever hired a car and thought, this doesn’t feel as clean as it should be?

We recently had to use a hire car and the vehicle we received was the Citroën C4 pictured below. Now, most people don’t clean hire cars — but I couldn’t resist giving it an AM Auto Aesthetic Refresh. I considered going full Revive, but decided that might be a bit much.

What stood out during the clean was how contaminated the car’s paintwork was, despite it only being about a year old. The rear panel, shown below, is a good example. Even after a thorough pre-wash and contact wash, the surface was still covered in iron and other embedded contaminants.

The white paintwork made them particularly visible — and this is exactly why iron remover is such an important part of the decontamination process. A proper clean goes far beyond just soap and water.

This vehicle was the first to go through our new pricing scheme, and while the work took slightly longer than anticipated—due to heavily embedded dirt in the carpets—we kept the customer informed throughout the process.

While the car now looks fresh and presentable, a closer inspection of the paintwork reveals a different story. Although fully decontaminated, the surface was still covered in fine scratches and swirl marks. In this case, the customer wasn’t looking for a full paint correction, as they planned to sell the vehicle shortly after and simply wanted it looking cleaner and more appealing for photos.

Take a look at the results below! Even without machine polishing, a proper clean can make a huge difference when preparing a car for sale.

We recently purchased this stunning vehicle from the local Ford dealership in Salisbury, and I have to say, it was one of the best used car buying experiences I’ve had—certainly a step up from Land Rover! The team was friendly, informative, and went the extra mile to make the process an absolute pleasure. If you’re in the market for a used Ford, I’d highly recommend them.

However, when it came to the condition of the paintwork, it was a different story. I specifically requested that the dealership did not valet the car before collection, as I knew from experience that the last thing it needed was more swirl marks being added. There’s a common misconception that a used car from a dealer will be pristine, but the reality is that most dealership vehicles are full of paintwork defects. Why? Because they rarely have the time or trained personnel to carry out proper polishing and paint correction.

This vehicle had been treated with GuardX by the previous owner, yet the paint was still heavily swirled and lacked depth and clarity. This highlights an important point—dealership-applied coatings don’t correct or protect against swirls if the paint isn’t properly prepared first.

To truly restore the finish, I carried out a full cutting and polishing process using a microfibre pad and a medium-cut polish to safely remove both the GuardX and the heavy swirl marks that had built up over time.

As you can see in the before and after slider below, the difference was incredible. The driver’s side door, in particular, was covered in swirling, but with the right products and techniques, we brought back the deep gloss and vibrant shine the paintwork was meant to have.

I still need to carry out a finishing polish and apply a ceramic coating though, as every detailer knows, personal cars always seem to be the last in the queue for perfection!

If you’ve recently bought a car and want it looking its absolute best, get in touch today. We’ll take it to a standard far beyond "dealership clean."

This was the very first wash for a brand-new vehicle, with the owner choosing to avoid the risks of typical "scratch and shine" car washes by bringing it straight to us. Even with just 3,000 miles on the clock and six months of ownership, it was remarkable how much tar and road film had already bonded to the paintwork. As part of our Refresh—just like with our Revive packages—we carried out a full decontamination process to remove every last bit of contamination, ensuring the vehicle left us looking its absolute best.

Although we couldn’t apply the ceramic coating this time due to the shorter winter days, the car will be returning soon for that finishing touch.

One of our regular customers brought us their fourth car—this time, a nearly-new vehicle just a year old, purchased from a local dealership. While you might think a dealership would deliver a spotless car, there’s clean, and then there’s AM Auto Aesthetics clean!

Dealerships often overlook proper paintwork decontamination, and this car was no exception. The paintwork was covered in tar spots—those pesky black marks that stand out, especially on grey vehicles, and don’t wash off easily. Some can even smear if picked at! We meticulously removed all the tar spots and other contaminants, which had been dulling the finish, to reveal a smooth, flawless surface.

The wheels were another area needing attention. The inner barrels had never been properly cleaned, and with this car’s striking wheel design, the difference after a thorough clean was truly remarkable.