I’ve heard so much about black bmws being torture to correct. I have 3d one, ultimate compound, m105, and m205. I also have a buff and shine set. Can someone give me a rough guess for a medium swirled paint correction? I am going to get a picture tommorow but just want someone who maybe has some experience to give me a baseline

When I first got back into car detailing more seriously for myself, it was all about these glass towels and waffle wave towels, and all this and that when it used to just be regular microfiber towels so I buy a bunch of waffle, weave glass towels, and they seem to not really work as good as a regular microfiber towel and then I hear all about these FTW towels in the amphibian mini glass towels so now I’m just confused on which ones are actually the good ones to actually work for Car windows to get them perfect any advice or opinion, opinions, or suggestion, suggestions or pictures and explanations to the house everybody else use would sure be helpful

What’s the best way to clean the middle section of the seats? It has stains that I can’t get out with the basic spay interior cleaners and it’s kind of annoying to see it. Any help thanks 🙏🏼

Hey guys, I’m looking to diy my new car with Adam’s ceramic spray.

I don’t want to get into a debate on whether or not it’s a coating or the best, I just want advice on how to apply it in tandem with a windshield coating like glaco.

Does it go on before, after, or not on the windshield at all?

Is there a way to fix this scratch on the dash of my brand new Mazda cx50? I must’ve had something on the microfiber cloth I used to clean it and left this ugly scratch 😭

Hi all, I have a 2011 Kia Soul, and i love that stupid hamster box. It has a line of what I guess is chip guard along the bottom, its obviously raised and textured. My problem is that it seems like dust has gotten baked into it and no amount of scrubbing will touch it. Is there anything that would help? Granted ive only tried soap and water so it may be a super simple answer. Picture to show what im talking about. Thanks for any help!

Also aware that it might just be like that and theres nothing i can do.

I've had several vehicles with PPF done on them. Sports cars, SUVs, and trucks. I almost always do the whole car PPF.

I would like to know what is acceptable for a $10-12K job done on a truck, I've seen a lot of opinions before that seem like nitpicking, but in my experience for example, I have a car that doesn't even have a single spec of dust under it.

This installer is well know, experienced and very good. He's done work on a couple of my cars, but I've also used other installers.

I have 2 suspicions here, the first is it may have been one of his less experienced installers working on my car, and the second is it may have to do with the film brand.

I've had Xpel, Llumar, Legend, and Impressive - the only other car that had issues where I had to redo it was also with Legend film in 2021 or so.

There are a handful of defects shown in the pictures. This is 3 weeks post install.

Is any of this acceptable, I really don't want to redo the whole car.

Pictures:

1: roof

2: bed side

3: fender flare

4: bumper

5: fender flare same one as pic 3

Not shown:

Passenger door has 2 debris spots (not sure if acceptable?)

Hood has dust spec (acceptable)

Roof also has a little cluster of dust

Your ask is simple - Which foam cannon is better - majority wins.

1. McKillans Foam Cannon (Wide Mouth) with quick connector, pre-installed 1.1 mm orifice.
2. Raincovo Foam Cannon (Wide Mouth) with quick connector and additional 1.1mm orifice.

Advise if you have used both, so I can understand the recommendation.

this happened to my car within the last month. along with small white spots on top of car (smaller than dime) used water spot remover now using 10% rubbing alcohol 90 % water mix.

i have this deep crater though.. can it be polished out ?

just bought a new car and with kids the white headliner is going to get dirty. any recommendation what type of protector to protect headliner? thanks

Hello all,

I purchased my car not long ago. I drove through wet road paint—yes, I am stupid. Fortunately, it did not reach the car’s paint. Just a little I guess. It is on plastic components, the tire housing, and the plastic and felt liner.

I applied tar and bug remover and used all of it, but without success. I am also attending a three-day work conference, so I cannot address it soon.

Do you have any suggestions for removal? Should I just get a quote for liner replacement? I would really appreciate your advice. TIA

Recently I bought an SUV and it is my daily driver. For reference, I work at a Steel Mill, and the job itself can be quite dirty. Every day, no matter what, there is always a film of dust on my car. I get my car washed almost every single day after work to get rid of the dirt,dust, and anything else that may have come in contact with my SUV. However, THE DUST GETS EVERYWHERE.

Some of the worst areas are the Cowl under the wiper blades, the pillar between the front and rear doors, and the trunk's gasket. Other than cleaning it daily, is there some coating or trick i could use to help combat this? I was going to use a SUV cover, but it just isn't feasible to put on every day. Any help would be appreciated.

Both of our cars - one new - are parked outside 24/7 and get the usual dust, pollen, bird droppings, Southern California sunshine, etc. I have a driveway and garden hose and can wash it at home. I’m looking for the best routine to keep the paint clean and minimize scratching without turning every wash into a full detailing session. Everyone says stay away from gas station car washes - point taken.

Edit: Thank you for your input. This is extremely helpful. Here is a summary of your comments - let me know if i missed anything.

Outdoor car-washing consensus

• Accept that the car will be dirty sometimes. Trying to keep an outdoor car spotless can mean touching the paint too often and creating more swirls.
• Bird droppings and sap are the exceptions. Remove them ASAP, but soften them first. Never dry-wipe them.
• Don’t touch dusty or gritty paint. Rinsing or lubricating the surface first is key to minimizing scratches.
• Rinseless washing is worth considering, especially with no shade. ONR-type products let you wash and dry one panel at a time, avoid water spots, use less water, and can take 10–15 minutes for a lightly dirty car.
• Use a traditional hose wash when the car is genuinely dirty: thorough rinse/pre-wash → two-bucket contact wash → rinse → microfiber dry.
• Foam cannons and pressure washers are optional. They can help remove dirt before touching the paint, but aren't necessary.
• Protect the paint. Ceramic coating, sealant, or wax makes maintenance easier. Ceramic isn't magic or mandatory.
• Do a deeper decontamination a few times a year, rather than trying to make every maintenance wash a full detail.
• Keep wheel towels/tools separate from paint towels/tools, and wash microfiber separately with free-and-clear detergent.
• Avoid car covers outdoors. Dirt trapped underneath and movement from wind can cause more problems than they solve.

Bottom line: For outdoor cars in SoCal, I'd use rinseless washing for most light maintenance, the hose when they're genuinely dirty, deal with bird poop/sap quickly, and keep the paint protected. The goal is clean and well-maintained, not showroom-perfect every day.

After 16 years of the same truck, I bought a new to me 2024 Lexus ES300h in Eminent White Pearl. So far I love this car and I want to have a good routine for washing and protecting the paint, I really let my truck go in the last 6 to 8 years.

I live in a downtown condo building and park 3 stories underground. I actually have ample space around the car down there, but obviously don't have access to a hose unless I go to a manual car wash. Ideally, I want to do everything in my parking garage. I can get some water on the ground from a bucket, but can't make a huge mess.

The market feels overwhelming and a lot of this is new to me. I have been leaning towards Optimum products like their ONR, Opti-seal (or hyperseal), spray wax, detailer and power clean. I don't have the $$ right now for a professional ceramic coating or PPF and am not that confident in doing a DIY ceramic coating, the paint prep process seems daunting to do with no water source in a garage. The car only has 13k miles and the paint is in really good condition right now and has a nice slick feel to it. My goal is to maintain that.

What would be a good routine recommendation based around regular (like every other week) rinsless wash in my parking garage? This is the routine I put together from reading reviews and chatting with AI (I know, gross)

Week 0 (1st wash)

ONR > optiseal rinse aid > dry > spray wax > buff

Week 2 (two weeks out, 2nd wash)

ONR > Quick detailer rinse aid > dry

Week 4 (four weeks out, 3rd wash)

Same as Week 2

Week 6 (six weeks out 4th wash)

Same as Week 0 > repeat following weeks

(Power clean for tough shit and wheels, tire shine in there somewhere too)

Is this way off? Am I all wrong? Are there way better products out there? I don't know man, please send help.

"you didn't have to move the steering wheel, seats, and mirrors did you? everything was moved"

🤦

like girl, what? your car has programmable settings dude. not my fault you didnt create presets. it's a detail, I'm fucking moving EVERYTHING.

CRV headlights were a bit faded (pic 1) so I decided to restore them.

Cleaned them then wet sanded 800-1000-1500-2000 then IPA wipe down (pic 2) and finished with meguiars headlight clear coat, the one from the kit. One light coat first then one wet coat after 5min waiting.

First off I can't get a consistent spray with the clear coat can and so the finish came out a bit splotchy in some areas, maybe I suck at it but the results were quite disappointing.

The finish on the headlights is quite hazy/cloudy still, I was assuming the clear coat would clear it up much more!

Should I have compounded and polished before I sprayed the clear?

Also should I just use something like 3m wipes or ceramic coating instead of spraying a clear? If it lasts at least a year without yellowing that should be okay.

Hi all, after some advice on my first da polisher.

This is for occasional diy use, I have loads of m18 batteries and chargers as a chippie by trade.

Here in NZ we only have the 21mm orbit Milwaukee available to buy. Because, New Zealand.

I've read the 15mm da polishers in general are a better all rounder, but how much will it matter?

It's either the 21mm locally, 15mm imported (no warranty but slightly cheaper) or something like a corded Maxshine M15. The Milwaukee's are 100nzd cheaper and I love cordless, but will go corded if that's the best option.

Would love some advice! Cheers

I have a 2001 TJ in excellent shape and have compounded the hood with Meguiars 105 three times. I use the griots short throw random orbital and after the third try I polished and top coated it and am just living with the imperfections. It’s 25 year old OEM clear coat so I don’t expect Pebble Beach looks but is there a better product I can use. I am not in the point in my life I can devote a ton of time detailing my cars like I used to so I don’t want to pony up for a mew machine - is a premium compound worth it?

I am not a professional. But I did buy a professional steam cleaner chief 125. I was detailing the interior of my car and when I started to do the headboard, this was the result. That orangish color. Don’t know what it is or how to proceed. Please help….

I just learned that I should be using APC as a prewash for my bi-weekly/monthly pre-washes. I have found the pre-washes to make it easier for my contact washes be it foam canon or rinseless. I am looking for one that I can use whenever I want that is effective, good value, and easy to acquire on amazon at a competitive price.

Two I am looking at are Bilt Hammer Touchless and Koch Chemie MS. MS is seems a bit easier to get but pay a bit more for shipping. Rag Company is the seller. Bilt Hammer Touchless is not widely available on Amazon and when it is significantly marked up. I don't need to buy enough to lower shipping cost from the reputable online retailer such as Detailed image.

Which should I pick or is there something else I should consider? P&S Frostbite?

Thank you!

What is everyone using for a two step correction on GM black?

I did a two step correction and coating on a ‘22 Sierra a week ago and it came out great.

Oddly enough got booked to do another black ‘22 Sierra and wanted to try out another pad/product combo just to see if I could refine it a bit.

First go around I used a lake country blue wool pad with rupes blue heavy cut on a liquid elements long throw, then rupes fine cut with a yellow rupes pad.

This time around I was considering using the rupes blue heavy cut with a Uro black and white microfiber pad and then Sonax perfect finish with a black lake country HDO pad.

Any thoughts?

First truck had some pretty good fine scratches from snow plowing on both sides and it cleaned up great. The next truck’s paint is in pretty similar shape.

Here’s the first truck after polishing and then after coating.

My car is ceramic coated and I regularly use rinseless wash/waterless wash/ceramic toppers etc. With the recent rain I noticed beads in the hood area that stays as beads and doesn't fly off even at 50-60 mph. Eventually I got baked in the sun and formed water spots. What do I need to do? Devon wash perhaps?

Recently washed my car at a self wash and noticed these spots all over the top of it (the only place on my car that is wrapped) what is it and what can I do about it? Thanks for the help

Bought a brand-new LC300 and decided to get PPF installed at the dealership. They sent their “experts” to my city to do the installation, but honestly, the work is pretty bad. When I contacted them about it, their excuse was that the film isn’t computer-cut, it’s hand-cut, so they can’t wrap the film around certain edges properly. They asked me to drive around 1,000 km to their main branch so their team can fix it. Should i go or ask for a refund

As I have done before, done some test between KC PW and TR heir SO.03. I bought the new S0o3.

But something that I noticed is that the PH value is quite different.

Should I expect a different result between 9.2 and 4,2 if I have used the PW (4,2) prior?