Mobile Valeting and Detailing FAQs

Yes. VaporWave is fully mobile across Cornwall, covering Truro, Falmouth, Penryn, Newquay, Perranporth, St Agnes, Redruth, Camborne, St Ives, Padstow, Wadebridge and the surrounding villages. I am based near Truro, so anywhere within roughly 25 miles is standard. Further afield is still possible, just mention it when booking and I will confirm.

I arrive fully self-sufficient with my own water and power, so you do not need to supply anything. What helps is off-road parking or a safe, level space with room to work around the whole vehicle, roughly a space and a half. If you only have on-street parking or live in a flat, message before booking and I will work out the best option with you.

A Maintenance Club visit takes around 2 to 3 hours. A Deep Clean takes 4 to 6 hours. Correction Stage 1 is a full day. Correction Stage 2 is one to two days. Your car stays with you throughout, on your own driveway. If a coating is applied it needs to stay parked and dry overnight afterwards.

Time, method and materials. A supermarket wash is built for speed and volume, with the same brushes and grit passing over hundreds of cars a day. I use safe wash methods that do not put marks into your paint, professional grade products, and the hours the job genuinely takes. Every booking is fully insured and follows The Checklist, so the result is consistent every time. A £10 wash can create £300 or more of paint correction work. You are paying to never need that.

It depends where your paint is starting from. If you have only ever used a car wash, start with The Deep Clean. That is the reset. If your car is already in good order and you want to keep it there, join The Maintenance Club on a four week cycle. If your paint looks flat, swirled or dull in direct sunlight, you want Correction Stage 1. If there are deeper scratches, holograms or previous poor machine work, that is Stage 2. Not sure? Use the Find My Service tool or send me a photo taken in daylight.

A valet is a thorough clean inside and out. It leaves the car fresh, tidy and presentable. Detailing goes further and works on the finish itself: deep decontamination, machine polishing, protective coatings and attention to every surface, not just the visible ones.

Machine polishing the paintwork to remove swirl marks, wash marring, oxidation, light scratches and hologramming. It levels the surface by removing a very fine layer of clear coat, restoring the clarity, depth and gloss that washing alone cannot bring back.

Stage 1 is a single machine polish stage. It removes the majority of light swirls and wash marring, typically 60 to 80 percent of visible defects, and leaves a noticeably sharper, glossier finish. Usually a full day. Stage 2 adds a dedicated cutting stage before refinement, for deeper scratches, holograms, sanding marks or paint that has had poor machine work previously. Honest expectation: Stage 1 makes a dramatic difference to a swirled car, but it is not show standard perfection. If your paint needs more than Stage 1 can give, I will tell you before work starts, not after. Stage 2 is always confirmed on inspection.

For the best result, yes. A coating locks in whatever is underneath it, so every swirl and mark stays visible and stays sealed under there for years. Correcting first is what makes a coating worth paying for.

Typically 3 to 5 years, depending on the coating and how the vehicle is maintained. Cornwall is hard on paint, with salt air, coastal damp and road salt through the winter. A coating that is washed correctly and topped up will comfortably reach the upper end of that. One that goes through a supermarket wash every fortnight will not. That is exactly what The Maintenance Club exists for.

Not when it is measured. I check paint depth with a gauge before any machine work begins, and plan the process around what is actually there. If a panel has been resprayed thin or polished hard in the past, I work conservatively or leave it alone. Removing paint you cannot put back is the one mistake worth being careful about.

A fair question in Cornwall. Valeting and Deep Cleans go ahead in most weather. Paint correction and coating application need controlled, dry conditions, so those bookings may be rescheduled if the forecast is poor. You will hear from me the day before, not on the morning.

Not at all, and no judgement. Neglected cars are where the biggest transformations happen. Two things worth flagging when you book are heavy interior soiling and pet hair, as both add significant time and are quoted separately rather than squeezed into a standard slot. Send me a photo and you will get an accurate price rather than a surprise on the day.

Yes, and that is where the standard came from. Before VaporWave, my work was superyacht paintwork and finishing at Pendennis Shipyard in Falmouth, followed by ten years working on board. Marine washdowns, gelcoat correction and topside paint care are all covered. Use the marine estimators for a price.

Fully insured, including cover for working on customer vehicles. Booking is done online: choose your package, pick a date, and you are booked. Opening hours are Monday to Friday 8:00 to 18:00. Saturday and Sunday are by enquiry.