Car Detailing for Jeep Patriot

Detailing your Jeep Patriot

A Patriot is a cheap, boxy Jeep that a lot of students and first-time buyers in Scarborough and Oshawa have kept running far longer than anyone expected. The interiors are hard plastic and dark cloth that hide a decade of dirt until the extraction pulls it out, and the plastics come back even with the right dressing. Outside, oxidized paint, hazy headlights and grey bumpers are the norm, and restoring them makes an old Patriot look surprisingly good.

What we watch for on a Patriot

• Hard plastics everywhere scuff and go shiny; a cleaner and a matte dressing even them out
• The flip-down tailgate speakers and the hatch seams trap grit; we vacuum and wipe them
• Dark cloth hides dirt until extraction, so we always shampoo
• Cloudy headlights and faded black bumpers and roof rails are nearly universal and restore well
• Single-stage-looking paint on the roof and hood oxidizes; a compound and polish bring back the gloss

Compact SUVs: cargo areas that do everything

Compact crossovers are family cars, gear haulers and dog taxis in one. The cargo floor, the rear seatbacks and the door sills collect the most dirt, while taller bodies catch more road spray along the sides.