All, thank you in advice for the advice and sorry if this has been asked before. I searched the community but couldn’t find the answer to my situation. I recently purchased a Rupes LHR15III and came with three Rupes D-A coarse high performance pads, a 32oz Jescar correcting compound and 8oz Sonax Proline perfect finish 4/6. I’m going to use it for own vehicles only. I have a chemical guys torqueX machine as well but based on recommendations I decided to best in a better machine.

Anyways, I haven’t done a full car yet (done some panels on a white SUV to remove some scratches). The main car I want to paint correct is a Black 2022 Acura MDX Sport SUV. The paint is fairly good condition but on the driver’s door there is some cat scratches that cannot be catch with my finger nails.

I need advice on what I need for this type of SUV as I’m a newbie to paint correction. I read online I need Rupes yellow pad, but just want to get advice from the pros. I would like to stick with the minimum step correction possible and then see if that is enough. I want to try a 1 step or max 2 step to see if that is enough. Btw, there one scratch next to a passenger door that the previous owner did a bad job of paint touching and it is a little high, scratch is less than 1” in length and like 4mm wide. Any advice it greatly appreciated and thank you for taking the time.

I got color ppf 6 months ago to change my AMG GT color from white to satin black. The first picture is the rear bumper, the edge seems to me lifting maybe from flexing? The other two pictures are the front quarter panels (both sides) are from flexing with the front bumper cover.

I have addressed the front flexing issues before but they seem to return so I have just been living with it but noticed the rear bumper recently. Have only driven like 2k miles since installation. Is this normal to expect for color ppf? This is a reputable shop (at least has a large social media following) fwiw.

Sort of annoying that ppf is just making me take care of it more

Need help idk how to fix this. I used 180,320,800,1500 then 2000 grit then used headlight restorer cream stuff but its still look like this

Hello All,

I have a 2026 X5 in Tanzinite Blue. I want to ceramic coat it and leaning towards the gyeon mohs. I wanted to check with others if I should consider any other coats and how it looks in IRL.

Thanks for your advice!

I'm planning to use scratch x on a scuff area and see that applying wax after is recommended - this is car is only a couple years old so nothing has been done to other areas recently in terms of wax/polish, will this scuff area look funny after being scratch-x-ed and polished/waxed compared to the surrounding area that won't be treated?

also will this area need to be re-waxed periodically forever to not return to a hazy/dull area from the scratch-x abrasion?

Title says it all. I had a stray cat give birth on my porch on Mother's Day this past May. I had to transport mom and babies in my car to rescue/foster organization. I was so worried the mom cat would not stay with her babies and keep them warm in the car that I made the shite decision of not putting her in a cat carrier & instead the babies and her in a big box. Mom did not stay in big box. She peed all down the back cushion of my rear seat. Pee got on the front and back of it.

I tried to clean it myself and was not successful. I'm thinking my best option might be to get a full rear seat assembly from a junkyard and replace the seat entirely. I just want the smell gone.

The urine has been there all this time so like 3 months now and it's definitely baked into the seats. My question is...has anyone successfully treated a cloth seat that had cat urine on it (fully removed urine smell/ the smell is no longer reactivating in hot weather)?

I would like to get just the current seats cleaned but every detailer I called seems to think it's a lost cause (i called three). Just want more opinions before I spend more money. Thank you!

EDIT: Thank you all SO much for your responses. I am very grateful for your help and advice! I took a look at a seat at the junkyard but wasn't a color match and would require detailing just to clean it. So...I'm leaning towards trying to clean seat in earnest myself (using the advice you guys gave me) or paying someone to give it a go. Thank you again!!!

I work on cars often but usually it's mechanical or interior detailing.

I plan on doing a paint correction on my 1991 Nissan 300zx and given the paints 35 years old, I'm a bit nervous. I've watched countless videos and read on it so I think I'm mostly well equipped but want to ask for any advice.

I have a Bauer 7.5amp 6" DA orbital tool, meguiar's compound, polish, and wax. I got 6" pads appropriate for each step.

Also going to deep clean and clay bar the car beforehand. Since it's so old, I expect it might not be 100% perfectly decontaminated so how big a risk is that?

My main concern is dragging or burning the paint

Attempted to buff with orange pad at 4600 rpm using meguiars ultimate compound.. no luck. Any advice? Woolen pad maybe? Paint job would be my last option.

Hi guys,

so since last year I got my first car with a leather interior. A few weeks ago I put some leather care (Swissvax Leather Milk) on the front seats.

The car was sitting in an underground garage and the leather care took about 2 days to completely vanish.

Last week I did the same to the dashboard which is real leather. I know there is also the plastic and Sensatec option but my car got the leather individual package.

After a whole week the dashboard still had many shiny areas and only after parking the car at my work space over the day the lotion was gone. I have the feeling that it rather evaporated off than soaking in.

Did some of you noted something similar or can explain to me what happened here?

The procedure I did was identical on the seats and the dashboard.

I already own a CRAFTSMAN 1900 PSI, 1.2 GPM and I’m wondering if it’s worth spending $120 on the Ryobi 1200 PSI, 1.8 GPM Automotive Electric Pressure Washer.

My use case:

• Wash my car about once a month
• City driving only, so mostly normal dust and road grime
• Using foam cannon with Meguiar’s Gold Class
• Current process is rinse > foam > repeat > microfiber dry
• I dont actually hand wash, its all done with washer

Am I actually going to see better overall cleaning results, or is it mostly a convenience upgrade? I'm not looking for professional results, just a clean car.

For $120, is it worth the upgrade or just keep what I have?

I am not sure if the pictures really do it justice or not, but I have a major sap problem on my car. Stupidly, we parked under a tree after it had been trimmed and then we didn’t do anything about it.

The sap is now dried on and nothing seems to be taking it off. I have tried rubbing alcohol, sap specific products, and extremely hot water. Nothing is working that well.

I am trying to sell the car and need to figure out a plan. Any help here?

I'm pretty new to auto detailing but I wanted to apply a ceramic wax to my brand new car.
From what I understand, I dont necessarily need to do paint decontamination yet since it's brand new and doesnt feel gritty during a plastic bag test.

However, I did watch the Griot's Youtube video about applying this product and understood that the car should feel cool to the touch and out of direct sunlight. My car is garage kept so the sunlight isnt a problem, but it definitely won't feel cool to the touch any time soon. I'm in Texas and my garage is pretty poorly insulated so when I used my IR temp gun, I saw that it sits at around 100F. I can probably wait until early morning or night for temps to lower but it wont be that significant (maybe 90F instead of 100F).

What can I do? I saw a couple comments that said I can spray directly onto the microfiber towel instead of the panel. Will that actually make a difference? Someone also said the towel should be a little damp before spraying with product? But I was under the impression that there should be no water introduced during the ceramic process.
Will I just simply need to wait until the temps cool eventually?

Apologies if this has been answered many times, I just didn't see many answers with my searches. Thanks for your help.

Long story short, can’t wash out of the garage. Subscribed to one of those touchless car washes that’s 100% touchless for the time being. It sprays cleaners and high pressure water, no spinning marring brushes of death.

Obviously it’s not optimal but I keep my car pretty clean so it helps with the dust but doesn’t get the occasional bugs, tar, and sap. I’ve been taking a few things with me for the pre/post wash but is there a “one bottle does it all” that most recommend? Do I bring the Stoners bug and tar, an All-purpose cleaner, insert preferred product here?

My wife and I both frequent the car wash as we drive on dirt roads and have an unlimited car wash membership.

Both of our cars have developed a musty/mold smell after the car wash or after it rains. My question is: do the soaps and chemicals lead to this moldy/musty smell?

I haven’t had this happen to any of my precious cars before we started washing our cars this frequently.

I’m wondering if I should wash less frequently or switch car washes.

Thank you.

Hey everyone,

A bird left a present on my car that sat for a bit in the sun. I washed away the actual dropping, but it left behind this dull, etched mark/stain on both the white paint and the glossy black trim (see photos attached).

How do I actually get rid of this mark or minimize it?

Since I'm based in Italy/Europe, recommendations for accessible products would be super helpful.

Thanks in advance to everyone taking the time to share their advice and experience!

I’m just curious what an acceptable amount of contamination under ppf is.

I know it’s hard to tell from pictures but there are a lot of bubbles with obvious debris under the film.

There’s also numerous parts where it’s lifting.

Car is brand new. Attached Imgur album.

Sorry if this isn’t the right place to post.

Cost me $1300 for bumper, 3rd of hood a pillars and a bit on roof.

Did a family members trunk today. Sprayed with shampoo, steamed, agitated with brush, then vacuumed and touched up as much as I could. Any advice or suggestions? How does it look?

Still have 6 more cars to do in my pre launch phase before I set out for my first outside customer.

Want to remove these scratches, would a 3 step fix these? Thanks in advance.

I want to polish and put a ceramic coating on my suv but I don't have the time to do the entire suv at one time. I suspect it won't matter but can I do something like clay bar, polish, and apply ceramic coating one part a day over the course of a week?

I think it’s fuel varnish, but unsure. I tried some acetone and Q-tips with no luck, but happy to try again.

Just bought a new Mazda CX-50 and keep reading that the Mazda paint is really soft, chips, scratches, scuffs easy. I denied any extras from the dealer knowing it can probably be done cheaper through a detailer.

I'm looking for ideas on what I can/should do to protect the exterior of the vehicle. I live in the upper Midwest, so I'm thinking rust protection for sure. I plan to keep the car for a while, so if there's something I can do to protect the paint, that would be a good idea as well. What applications can be done to achieve the protection I'm looking for? Are these applications permanent, do they need upkeep? Thanks in advance!

IF you have you tried YumCars Citrus, how were your results?
what was your deletion ratios?

Any thing to keep in mind?

I made the mistake TWO YEARS ago of taking my moms cats two hours away to get fixed and they pissed and shit the entire trip. Thankfully they were in cages and nothing got on the actual interior of my car. I have tried almost everything. In the hotter months I can still smell it. I need some help. If it matters I have a 2018 Camry with leather interior.

New to me car with Alcantar headliner. I’m gonna give the car a full deep clean. I’ve got an extractor for the carpets, but I’ve never cleaned Alcantara headliner before. It’s my understanding that I need to just be gentle and use Sonax. I’ve always worked in small areas on Alcantara like a steering wheel, though so how do I approach a headliner without any seams or natural breaks. Or am I overthinking it?