Car Detailer job description: duties, skills and qualifications.

Core duties

15

O*NET task statements

O*NET occupation

Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment

O*NET-SOC 53-7061.00

Preparation

Job Zone 1-2 of 5

very little to some preparation

Typical entry education

No formal educational credential

BLS 2025–35

Median pay

$35,830

BLS May 2025

Data Government data groups this job as Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment (O*NET-SOC 53-7061.00). O*NET 31.0 lists “Car Detailer” as a job title for this occupation only (evidence: O*NET's Sample of Reported Titles (titles job holders report), O*NET job-incumbent data, the SOC Index and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). Figures on this page are for that occupation. TryHired has no separate career page for this title yet.

1. Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees, or air compressors to dry surfaces. importance 4.0 of 5
2. Apply paints, dyes, polishes, reconditioners, waxes, or masking materials to vehicles to preserve, protect, or restore color or condition. importance 4.0 of 5
3. Clean and polish vehicle windows. importance 3.9 of 5
4. Drive vehicles to or from workshops or customers' workplaces or homes. importance 3.9 of 5
5. Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses. importance 3.9 of 5
6. Inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations. importance 3.9 of 5
7. Mix cleaning solutions, abrasive compositions, or other compounds, according to formulas. importance 3.7 of 5
8. Maintain inventories of supplies. importance 3.7 of 5
9. Pre-soak or rinse machine parts, equipment, or vehicles by immersing objects in cleaning solutions or water, manually or using hoists. importance 3.7 of 5
10. Turn valves or disconnect hoses to eliminate water, cleaning solutions, or vapors from machinery or tanks. importance 3.6 of 5
11. Turn valves or handles on equipment to regulate pressure or flow of water, air, steam, or abrasives from sprayer nozzles. importance 3.6 of 5
12. Sweep, shovel, or vacuum loose debris or salvageable scrap into containers and remove containers from work areas. importance 3.6 of 5
13. Monitor operation of cleaning machines and stop machines or notify supervisors when malfunctions occur. importance 3.6 of 5
14. Press buttons to activate cleaning equipment or machines. importance 3.5 of 5
15. Connect hoses or lines to pumps or other equipment. importance 3.4 of 5

Work activities O*NET rates most important here: Performing General Physical Activities, Handling and Moving Objects, Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials and Making Decisions and Solving Problems.

Also part of the job

Supplemental tasks O*NET lists for this occupation: less central than the core duties above, and not done in every job.

• Clean the plastic work inside cars, using paintbrushes.
• Disassemble and reassemble machines or equipment or remove and reattach vehicle parts or trim, using hand tools.
• Lubricate machinery, vehicles, or equipment or perform minor repairs or adjustments, using hand tools.
• Transport materials, equipment, or supplies to or from work areas, using carts or hoists.
• Fit boot spoilers, side skirts, or mud flaps to cars.

Knowledge areas: Customer and Personal Service, English Language and Transportation.

Software O*NET lists for this occupation: Microsoft Windows, Inventory tracking software, Bella FSM Auto Detailing Service Software, BookFresh, Green Cloud KleanTRAC, Thoughtful Systems Scheduling Manager for Auto Detailing. These are examples O*NET records for the job, not a list of tools every employer uses or a checklist of what you must know.

• Education: BLS lists no formal educational credential as the typical entry-level education.
• Experience: BLS lists no work experience in a related occupation as typical to enter.
• Training on the job: BLS lists short-term on-the-job training as typical once hired.
• Preparation: O*NET places the job in Job Zone 1-2 of 5 (very little to some preparation). Some occupations may need little or no previous experience; others require several months to a year of experience.
• Licenses and certifications: not listed here. A license is a legal requirement set by a state; a certification is a credential from a private or professional body. Rules vary by state and employer, and a missing entry on this page does not mean none is required: check with your state's licensing board.

Most car detailers surveyed by O*NET (54%) name a high school diploma or equivalent as the education the job requires.

Job title: Car Detailer
[Company] · [City, State] · [Full-time or part-time] · [Pay range, where your state requires one]

About the role
[Company] is hiring a Car Detailer to wash or otherwise clean vehicles, machinery, and other equipment.
[One sentence on your team and why this role matters.]

What you will do
- Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees, or air compressors to dry surfaces.
- Apply paints, dyes, polishes, reconditioners, waxes, or masking materials to vehicles to preserve, protect, or restore color or condition.
- Clean and polish vehicle windows.
- Drive vehicles to or from workshops or customers' workplaces or homes.
- Scrub, scrape, or spray machine parts, equipment, or vehicles, using scrapers, brushes, clothes, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides, acid, abrasives, vacuums, or hoses.
- Inspect parts, equipment, or vehicles for cleanliness, damage, and compliance with standards or regulations.
- Mix cleaning solutions, abrasive compositions, or other compounds, according to formulas.
- Maintain inventories of supplies.

What we are looking for
- [Education: BLS lists no formal educational credential as typical for this occupation; set the level this role truly needs]
- [Experience: BLS lists no related work experience as typical to enter; set what this role needs]
- Strength in operation and control, quality control analysis and operations monitoring
- Working knowledge of Customer and Personal Service and English Language
- [Software your team uses, e.g. Microsoft Windows or Inventory tracking software]
- [Any license or certification your state or company requires]

[Schedule, benefits and how to apply]

Illustrative: every name, employer, school, date and number in these samples is fictional or a bracketed placeholder. Replace each bracket with your own true details; never copy a result you did not achieve.

Not a real job posting. This template is TryHired's illustration built from government occupational data. It is not an opening at any employer, and no employer wrote it.

For Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment, the median annual wage was $35,830 in May 2025. The median hourly wage was $17.23. BLS estimates about 380,430 jobs in this occupation in the U.S.

BLS projects employment of Cleaners of Vehicles and Equipment to grow 3.9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 51,500 openings a year over that period, including openings to replace workers who leave.

• Read a real car detailer posting next to the core duties above. Duties it repeats, such as “Rinse objects and place them on drying racks or use cloth, squeegees…”, tell you what that employer weighs most; anything it adds is specific to that team.
• Tailor your resume to the posting, not to this page: describe only car detailer work you have actually done, with your own results.
• Prepare a story for each of the top-rated skills (operation and control and quality control analysis): a real situation, what you did and what changed.