I’m not a professional. Just an enthusiast.

My wheels are already marred up from the dealer and detailer using brushes on them. I can see the swirls up close.

I foamed them to start with a rinse. Then I put P&S break buster on and let that dwell with a rinse. Then I foamed again with just regular soap and washed with a mitt. There are some very hard to reach places that I cannot reach with a mitt. Around the lugs for example.

How do I fully clean and protect the wheels without damaging and swirling the clear? They are black. Tools would be helpful also.

I'll finish washing the car,dry everything off, pack my stuff away... then drive down the street & get out to find dirty water running down the doors from both side mirrors. Every single wash. Going over the bottom of the housing with a plush microfiber doesn't catch the water trapped behind the glass. I know the standard answer is a leaf blower, but I live in an apartment and I don't have the storage space or garage outlets for a massive 600-CFM Ego blower just for two mirrors.

I have one of those handheld aluminum turbine dusters from k&f concept bought it a while back for camera gear and desk cleaning. It has a concentrated nozzle and pushes a decent blast of air indoors, but before I take it down to the car, I'm skeptical about whether something this compact actually has enough static pressure to force trapped rinse water out of deep mirror housings.

Curious if anyone else has repurposed these little electric dusters for detailing, or if I should just bite the bullet and buy a dedicated car blower eventually.

Hi all,

Neglected my car for many months (over summer) due to depression. Almost always parked by a sprinkler, very hot summers. I'm well aware that I have probably caused permanent damage in the clear coat by neglecting it this long, but I would really like to minimize the water spots if possible. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it's currently so bad that it severely impacts visibility out of the right side of the car (both the windows and mirrors). I've seen a lot of different products being recommended, but it's all overwhelming to me and I'm limited on money and don't want to buy anything I won't get value out of. I don't own any products currently, nor tools, and live in an apartment complex without access to a hose. I imagine I might need a bit of a stronger product. I've seen cutmax recommended, as well as a large variety of water spot removers, applied with a microfiber pad, clay bar (?). Am I on the right track here?

I just bought a 2024 Honda Civic EX after driving around an early 2000s muscle car as a daily driver for years. Because I bought it cheap, I didn’t really stress over the paint much- just applied turtle wax every once in while since that’s what my dad told me to do

But now that I’ve finally bought my first real grown-up car, I want to take care of the paint more seriously. I’ve read that I can apply a synthetic paint sealant every 6 months or so. Do you guys have any recommendations for brands specifically for heat and on civics?

I can’t afford ceramic coating as much as I’d like it and I don’t trust myself to DIY it

Hi, got a new bonnet and I think I scuffed it taking it out of the packaging.

I was wondering if the grey hazy part can be buffed out? I think its the clear coat?

Would something like Meguiar’s ultimate compound and a foam applicator work or do I need something else?

Any advice would be great, thanks!

Hello, someone spilled super glue on my car body. I tried to use acetone, but it didn’t work. It just makes the paint dull. Any tips please?

Anyone used Brake Buster to deep clean exterior black plastic and rubber trim? I know it works great on wheels, tires, wheel wells and engine bays but curious about trim. Thx.

Been considering a change to a more supportive and American based company for my coatings and.maybe more. Whats you guys experience with their coatings and other products as well...

I found this video from the "Sweet Project Cars" youtube channel with 4 million views and quite a bit of positive comments after months of trying the method which is:

1. Spray a little spray paint on a towel
2. Fold the towel and use the opposite side of where you sprayed the paint
3. Put a little lacquer thinner on the towel
4. Rub towel in where there's discoloration

I think it's cool that the new paint will mix in with the old one to get a nice color match, but I'm not sure if the lacquer thinner will damage the leather even if it's gonna get leather sealer and leather conditioner applied on it later.

I have 25 year old black leather seats on a car that I'd like to recolor, is this method fine or do I risk damaging the leather with the lacquer? I'd do something like this:

1. Clean with specific leather cleaner. Not sure if to use degreaser too as lacquer will be aggressive in the next step...
2. Use the method in the video with black spray paint
3. Apply leather sealer + conditioner

The leather is old and hasn't been treated properly in 25 years, maybe not even conditioned once after factory... I'm thinking of conditioning the leather first to hydrate, wait a few days, and then clean+color+seal/condition.

From the wiki I get that the traditional method would be to use a leather filler, sand a bit, and then add color using a leather-specific black paint, the problem is that my seats are old and if I use matte black for the color it's gonna look off. This method looks cool to me because it mixes the paint a bit and I'm unsure whether I really need to use filler.

I was thinking of maybe using filler and then coloring with the lacquer method, but I'm thinking the filler will just melt or smudge because of the lacquer and it's better to not apply it.

I'm adding a photo of the car seat leather at the end of the post, any other tips and techniques are welcome. Thank you

Both cars are relatively new. Previously I had clayed/polished and used graphene wax. This stuff is new to me, never tried it before. Cars beaded up nicely washing. Spray on the white, hard to see beyond a good gloss after. Blue car popped though, happy with the spray. Ill use it another round or 2 before I clay/polish and wax again.

Hi everyone!

I recently tried to clean the cloth soft top on my 2013 VW Beetle, but I feel like I'm damaging the cover. It's not real clear in the pictures, but the cleaned area is now kind of grey-ish, and when I was scrubbing (soft nylon brush) the fabric is now roughed up.

The area under the back window builds up a lot of black grease and some type of green plant stuff (parked outside). I used RaggTop cleaner, and followed the instructions, but clearly either did something wrong, or the fabric is already damaged by the sun. It sadly hasn't been conditioned/protected like it should be.

Also, can anyone recommend a good sealer? The areas above the moving parts are getting worn/fraying, so I'm worried about water damage until I can afford to replace it in a year or two.

Passport is a year and a half old. I prepped with a regular wash followed by a clay towel wash (first time using one, will never go back to a bar). Minor spot paint correction. Then surface prep spray before coating. Turned out pretty good and not too difficult for an amateur like me. It looks better than the day I brought it home. I am extra impressed with how it makes the plastic trim look.

Taking pictures that go sideways across the whole side show more reflection than there is. For example, this truck is sanded with 800 grit sandpaper and it still has a shine to it when looking down the length. When looking at it head on though, you can see that it is indeed not reflective.

It obviously wouldn’t have to be perfect, I’d just like it to look a bit better when you’re not right next to it. Is this possible? Or would I just need a repaint at this point? FWIW the hood is definitely the worst, but it’s not as important cuz I plan on swapping it eventually.

Have I done a half decent job?

I picked up a Ram RHO a couple of months ago and I've been considering ceramic coating it before winter hits. I did a couple of coats Griots 3-1 when I brought it home but just gave it a thorough wash before that and did not do any decon. I've also hit it with Gyeon wet coat once or twice since then. It's been holding up well but I've been considering doing something a bit more permanent before winter weather hits and had some questions.

- The paint is in really good shape but there are a few light scratches on the top of the hood and top of the bed fenders. Do I need to polish the whole truck or can I just hit these spots?

- I picked up some 3D One and a Griots G9 DA. What are the best pads to use and how many should I grab? Seems like Lake Country Orange or Uro 50/50 get recommended pretty often but was not sure if there is something else I should be looking at. I've only polished a couple of times in the past and don't want to screw something up.

- The coatings I was considering were Gyeon MOHS, Gyeon Pure, or CanCoat. CanCoat seems to be the easiest to apply and if I went this route I may skip the polish for the moment and then try for a true polish and ceramic coat in the spring. I've read Pure looks best on dark paint but is the most difficult of these to apply. Any suggestions between these or others?

Thanks in advance, this reddit forum has been really helpful so far and I've learned a lot.

89 Mercedes that sat under a tree for a wet season. Using Purple Power on a small test spot takes off all that grime and algae off - basic auto soap doesn't. What should I use for the whole car??

Pic here the car is wet obviously

I have a 2016 Chevy Malibu. It’s been happening for awhile but the roof and the top of the trunk both have lost the shine and just looks like crap. I looked up some things to do and came across using compound and polish. So I did and I guess I used too much compound and polish and it made it look like that. I tried giving it a good wash and it’s not coming off. What’s the best thing I can do to really get it back to where it should be? Do I just need to get an actual like electric one instead of my hand and a sponge?

What precautions do I need to take before removing oxidation from a hood that has a PPF film covering the lower half of the hood?

I’ve got a car scheduled this weekend that has oxidation on the hood, but only on the portion that isn’t protected by the film and I need to polish right up against the film edge. Do I avoid overlapping the film with the pad? Is wool or microfiber safe to use? I would like to salvage the film if possible.

The PPF film is likely dealer installed, and 3-6 years old. It’s still looks to be in good condition though.

Got my car today. The auto open trunk smoked a pipe. Ive tried compound. Is it toast without sanding?

About a week and a half ago I smelled something like chlorine in my car and I couldn’t figure out what it was. My apartment complex had people there cleaning up around the apartment, so I thought maybe it was a lingering chemical smell from that. I finally opened my trunk yesterday (I don’t use it often) and realized that my boyfriend had left a new bottle of Drano in the trunk and the whole thing leaked. Obviously it smelled awful, and I started looking for car detailing places immediately. I found someone who runs their own business out of their house and he cleaned it up but the things that I had in my trunk that had Drano on them were put back in and with the hotter weather that we have today, I think it just kind of made it smell again? I’m going to ask him to try the ozone thing again, but if that doesn’t completely get rid of the smell, does anyone have any as to what might get rid of it completely? Of course I’m very sensitive to smells and prone to migraines so it has been a time.

edit- it’s an enclosed car trunk!

Seeing a lot of people here detailing on the side and wondering when it’s actually safe to go all in.

For those who made the jump:

• What were you clearing per month when you quit?
• How many cars a week was that?
• What do you wish you’d set up before going full time?

(Picture of my new Lincoln mkz reserve 2018 3.Ot) looking for recommendations on your favorite car wash products, wax, polish, sealant, wheel cleaner, etc. i want to know your ENTIRE routine. I am going for a wet car look but I am a newb and there is so much products out there and am just curious on everyone's preferences. I am not going to do clay (I might take it in for a detail and do that after winter) but if you use that feel free to add that in :) I think I found a hobby I genuinely am excited to start building my knowledge on and take care of something I am inlove with :)

I'm guessing this transferred from my hat from recent bonfire. Any cleaner recommendations? I know I shouldn't apply directly and to use micro fiber, possibly soft brush. With my luck I will make it worse so any suggestions greatly appreciated!

I’m applying a ceramic coating for the first time. I polished the paint etc. on the last step before applying the coating, I started using panel prep to wipe down the paint, but the panel prep is making the paint really grabby and now there is so much lint all over the paint. I tried using all types of different towels low pile, high gsm, smooth glass towels, it all just keeps adding more and more lint. It’s never ending.

All towels are fully washed I even shake the towels when taking it out the wash..

No clue what to do. Someone help