If you have about £7,000 to spend, Gurcharn Sahota will give your car the most thorough cleaning imaginable. Each car can take up to 250 hours of effort, in part because Sahota uses a microscope to examine the car for blemishes. Here’s how he starts:

Gurcharn first sprays the car with a degreaser to loosen any mud then jet washes it to get the worst off.

Next he wipes the vehicle with a lambs-wool mitten dunked in warm soapy water before jet washing it again.

Gurcharn sprays the car with mild wax solution to reduce the risk of scratching before drying it with a microfiber towel.

The final stage uses a special clay which is rubbed over the paintwork with wax to remove any impurities.

He then polishes up to five times using a buffer and an abrasive compound.

A paint gauge is used throughout the cleaning to check how much clear coat and colour there is to work with on the body work.

And a microscope linked to a computer allows him to view bad scratches in detail.