You can learn how to detail, or learn how to run a successful detailing business.
Detail Academy is a five-month program: one full training day a month, working alongside your instructor and a small group of fellow students on technique, business fundamentals, and everything in between — so you build a stable, scalable business, not just a skill.
Built for people entering — or leveling up in — detailing.
You don't need a shop or a background in cars to start — and you keep working while you train.
New to detailing
Looking to learn a real trade the right way, from the ground up.
Starting a second act
Considering detailing as a new career or a serious side business, and want to learn it right the first time.
Already in the trade
Detailers who want to formalize their technique, earn professional certification, and build a more capable, more professional business.
Bumper to bumper — and the business behind it.
Five full-day modules, one per month, covering hands-on detailing technique and the business skills to price it, sell it, and grow it.
Each module builds real technique and pairs it with the business side — pricing your services, selling them, working with customers, and setting goals you can actually hit. Along the way you get coaching and a short list of things to work on before the next module, plus a direct line to call whenever you want extra support.
This isn't five days of training — it's five months of it. You'll stay connected between modules, not just with your instructor but with your cohort, building a professional network that outlasts the Academy.
Five Months. Five Modules. One Complete Academy.
One full day a month, for five months — so you keep working and still pay your bills while you build toward something bigger.
Getting Started: Your Business, Your Goals & Making Money Now
Set your goals, learn the fundamentals of professional detailing, and get your business and marketing presence set up — with services you can start selling right away.
Detailing Fundamentals
Learn an efficient, consistent detailing process, complete a full-service detail, add headlight clarification as a sellable service, and begin your IDA certification.
The Complete Guide to Interior Detailing
Master the complete interior process, plus advanced services like deodorization, fabric protection, and leather repair.
The Prep Wash & Standard Exterior Detail
Master the exterior — from the critical prep wash through decontamination, paint enhancement, protection, and advanced headlight restoration.
Advanced Paint Correction & Ceramic Coating
Get hands-on with paint correction and ceramic coating, complete your certification activities and IDA Skills Validation, and set your plan for what's next.
Pay per module. No one big bill up front.
Enrollment plus five monthly module payments — or attend a single module as a guest.
Full Academy (all five modules)
- All five modules, technique & business
- Multiple certifications, including IDA
- Ongoing coaching & support between modules
- Pay module by module, not one lump sum
Single Module
- Hands-on technique training
- Attend one module of your choice
- Good way to test the fit
Study Guide Only
- 10 core detailing topics
- Certification exam prep
- Shipping included, continental US
Financing questions, group rates, or scheduling conflicts — just ask when you apply.
Prentice St. Clair
Prentice has spent over three decades training detailers and running Detail In Progress in San Diego. He's a founding board member of the International Detailing Association, a curriculum developer for the IDA's own certification program, and has trained on-site for detail shops, car wash detailing operations, and dealership detail centers nationwide.
His resume includes detailing for the McCall/Quail Motorsports Revival, the Air Force One Detail Team, and Los Angeles County Fire and Police museum preservation teams — plus over 450 published articles and appearances on HGTV's Smart Solutions.
Detail Academy is that same real-world knowledge, taught in person, one full day a month, for five months.
Tell us where you're starting from.
Fill out the form or reach out directly. We'll get back to you with current module dates and enrollment info.
We'll follow up by phone or email with current dates and pricing.