History of Detailing

Before we dive into the depths of what ‘car detailing’ is today, let’s take a look back at where the industry began. In 1800, yes 1800, the world’s first wax was developed out of animal fats, in a German town called Bischofsheim, to protect the ‘lacquer like paint’ that was applied to the horse carriages.

The first production vehicle was invented in 1886 by Karl Benz and the vehicle was powered by petrol. The company now known as Mercedes Benz, was founded in 1889, by Gottlieb Daimler and Wilhelm Mayback.

In 1888, Menzerna, a top selling company today, started developing a range of solid, liquid and paste polishing compounds. In 1901, Frank Meguiar Jr. founded a small furniture polishing laboratory, in his own garage. The company is now known as Meguiars and they are recognized as an absolute ‘juggernaut’ in the detailing industry.

In 1910, George Simons developed a cleaner and a carnauba wax product for automotive paintwork. His company was named ‘Simons Manufacturing Company’ and the products were named ‘Simons Cleaner’ and ‘Simons paste wax’ however, in 1912, the company was renamed ‘Simoniz.’

In the early 1920’s, 3M invented the world’s first waterproof sand paper, which reduced airborne dust during automotive manufacturing. In 1925, 3M revolutionized the automotive industry by inventing masking tape, which allowed paint shops to get a razor-sharp line, on two-tone paint jobs.

In 1944, PlastoneTM auto polish is the first bottled car wax. This liquid auto polish was invented by Ben Hirsch and it was renamed Turtle Wax® for its hard-shell finish. In 1969, the polymer sealant introduced by DuPont, is the world’s first commercially available product of its kind