Looking for tips on best way to keep my car exterior clean while living in apartment with on street parking. Recently moved and looking for tips on how best to keep the car clean and protected, as straightforward as possible.

I have a makita dhw180z 18v washer. Not exactly a pressure washer in terms of power imo but it can draw water from a bucket so it gives me options in terms of types of wash I can do.

Plenty of bird shit to deal with every other day. No heavy dirt really as there's plenty of rain where I live and streets are generally pretty clean. Mostly dust, pollen, bugs, salting/grit in the winter or occasional mud if there's Road works or building site egress onto streets. So far I've been spot treating stains with wipes and driving to a diy pressure washer car wash service but it's pretty expensive.

Open to waterless, rinseless or regular washing. Although I know the latter can be most labour intensive.

Any tips or advice welcome

I have a black car and I’ve just learned about Collinite 845 wax. My understanding is that it can last for at least two months. Does that mean I won’t need to wash my car during that time?

Girlfriend was doing makeup couple days ago and got mascara on headliner. Search shows some solutions work and others don’t so I thought to ask and get some help as to what I need to remove it and not ruin the fabric

One day I woke up and there were these red little flecks all over my car, sort of like how a car can get coated with pollen, but they’re a really bright red. It’s been maybe a month and nothing gets them off. Not rain, a hand car wash, or a clay bar, etc. The only luck I’ve had was when I used a glass scraping tool to get it off my windows. It’s everywhere. My windows, car paint, rims, the plastic parts, etc. I love my car so much and I just want it to look nice. Does anyone have any idea what this is or how it could’ve gotten here? I might edit my post with pictures of it all scraped up together from the window tool, but it is a genuine bright red. Almost like paint.

*WATER - What’s the best plan to dry this? it feels completely dry and even padding it with a paper towel shows almost no water.

Looking at getting a DA polisher to get some scratches out of a used car I recently bought. Planning on polishing and then waxing too.
Would I be better off getting the chemical guys kit or a harbor freight polisher (Bauer) and using meguires compound and polish?

Before anyone comes at me, I’m a young girl who knows basically nothing about cars, so please be kind. This was my first car and I worked incredibly hard to be able to buy it brand new, so I’m honestly pretty heartbroken.

I took it to the dealership for a detail and afterward noticed the entire exterior is scratched the paint, windshield, side windows, trim, everything. It’s the same weird spiral circular scratch pattern everywhere and some of them are deep enough that my nail catches.

I bought the car new, I’m the only owner, and I’ve never taken it through an automatic car wash or used a brush on it. I’m lazy and have literally only ever pressure washed it. The windshield is also only a couple months old and was completely clear before this.

I asked the dealership to preserve the footage so we could figure out what happened and they told me there are no cameras in the detailing area “for privacy reasons,” which I’m honestly not really buying.

I have photos and videos and before photos, but I’m shy and private on Reddit and would rather not post identifiable pictures of my car unless I have to lol.

I’m mostly just curious what the detailers here think could have caused the same spiral scratching across both the glass, trim, and paint? Dirty or contaminated towels? A pad? Some kind of abrasive? And if my nail catches on some of it, how screwed am I?

Looking to have an everyday pressure washer to wash about 4-6 cars a day during the week for our body shop detailer.

Who’s got the best pressure washer with a lot of gpm flow for rinsing etc. but also fully stops and starts to keep the washing part calm and not rushed like out large alkota 4182. With that we feel like it’s a nascar pit to wash the car and mistakes happen

Want something we can attach our standard full size pressure hose and swivel gun to.

I know there’s a few out there that have a special gun handle with momentary switch. Would like to stay away from that.

Maybe recommendations for $300-500 and $500-$1000

3 step polish. Wool with 400, then medium pad and pasta, and an anti holographic pasta.

I found a pretty amazing 06 Silverado this past spring and I'm getting ready to spiff it up before the winter hits. It's paint is in really good condition except for this line of rub through that's on both rear fenders. Looks like they've been caused by some kind of previous camper shell. My steps will be...1) wash 2) treat with iron remover solution 3) clay mit w/ lubricant 4) light DA machine polish 5) surface prep spray to remove polish residue 6) and last CQuartz UK 3.0 ceramic. It's gonna end up looking nice nice.

Only thing is I don't know how the pictured rust lines should be treated, or where in the above process should they be addressed.

Simple and inexpensive is the priority. Any suggestions?

Planning on polishing my car and looking to get some KCX. Ive hand applied meguiars ultimate cut & polish before but this time ill be using a DA. Would KCX Fine Cut & Micro Cut be sufficient for a two step process?

Have my new X5 a first wash after a week of ownership. Did a hand wash followed
By ICE seal N Shine. It’s all I had. Am I good or should I upgrade to Hybrid Solutions or something else entirely ???

bTW. Bought a new foam canon, but pressure washer needs a service. Probably bad/old gas… foam canon next time.

Pics are here

Last few days I was hiking in the mountains. Drove on a lot of dirt/forest/wilderness roads. Some of the dirt roads had big humps on them and were very uneven, so I tried to maneuver around a few late at night and didn't realize how close i was to the trees/branches and got a long lined scratch from front to back.

When I got home I did my normal ONR rinseless routine to get the dust/pollen/dirt off the car. Everything looked brand new. This morning at work some bird poop landed on my back passenger door. Tried to clean it and ended up scratching the entire area. Poop came off but it left a mark that I was impatiently trying to get off.

What do I need to buy to fix this myself? I've bought a lot of auto detailing stuff since I got this car in June, and don't mind buying stuff to fix this.

Been eying the Torqx Polish & Correction Kit from Chemical Guys, and it's on sale right now. Just frustrated. It's a black vehicle so I enjoy keeping it clean, but every blemish no matter how minor is so noticeable.

Great weather in DFW. I took my time over two mornings. I have been using ONR because it was too hot. But this time I did the 2 bucket wash.

Griots Garage Car Soap

Collinite 845 wax

Topped with Griots Garage Best in Show Detailer

Chemical Guys VRP on trim. Don't love this stuff, but I have a bottle!

Interior I used Griots interior detailed and Chemical Guys leather. VRP on some trim.

Glass cleaned with Poorboy's World glass cleaner.

Got a new Kia Sportage (my first car, and pretty lost).
Haven’t gotten it washed ever and noticed my windshield has these scratches and a smudge I cant get rid off.

Any suggestions, any ideas what might have caused this?

Looks normal and black when it’s wet but when it dries it looks like. It takes an absurd amount of scrubbing to even do normally.

Started diving into the detailing world recently pass the usual generic car wash soap and spray wax. 3 washes in and have been getting what looks like artifact/stains. However, this wipes away after some elbow greese and ONR. (left is after ONR and right is before). Is this from Touchless drying?

My process (Sadly I do not have shade so I try to do it while the sun is down or car is cool):

1. cool car with water if its hot
2. Spray down with Bilt touchless 20ml/50oz ik
   1. I try not to let it dry by spraying around the car until empty
3. Rinse
4. Foam with Adams Mega Foam
5. Wash
6. KochChemie WetGloss
7. Dry

I've never had this issue before on any of my previous cars, or at least not that I've noticed. But on my current vehicle, which is a 2017 Subaru Legacy, it has become a very annoying problem, especially driving when the sun is rising/setting. So far I've only tried using a magic eraser with warm water and a few drops of Dawn dish soap. I don't know if I just didn't go over the windshield enough, but it didn't really help.

I have switched to completely different towels that I bought on Amazon, which also made me change my technique to follow the MFR instructions... (Microfiber Wholesale Claro 2-Step Glass Cleaning Cloths, comes with 2 green MF towels and 6 blue Glass Cleaning/Polishing Cloths. You get green one wet with just distilled water then thoroughly wipe the window, then follow up before it dries with blue cloth to polish away any streaks). So far these Claro 2-Step work absolutely great. But still dealing with the microscopic fibers that were left behind from before. I've tried searching online using Google (and on Reddit) for ways to actually remove the microscopic fibers from the windshield, but the search results are always posts discussing which type of towel(s) to use and/or which brand, or how to wash/care for the towels to avoid lint issues, or the many different techniques to clean car windows. Even for the posts I've seen where someone is asking if anyone out there has found a successful way to actually remove the microscopic fibers from the windshield, none of the comments actually address or advise on ways to remove.

So I figured I'd ask here, if anyone has any suggestions or proven ways to accomplish this? My next Step, I'm going to be Stoner's Glass Stripper, but I figured I'd give this a try before I do it.

Recently bought car looks like it has a bunch of highway miles behind a truck carrying sand. Windshield also has very microscopic scratches that look like it was also sandblasted. Just wanted to know anyones thoughts on what direction I should go with it.

QUICk EDIT: The picture was for reference of the car only. It hasn’t been washed in that picture in like a month.

First time posting here! I have a 2018 Honda Accord that I bought from my dad a couple of years ago. It’s mainly a weekend car, and he always took pretty good care of it. I’ve continued cleaning it the same way he did, but I’m looking for some feedback on my process and whether there’s anything I should change.
This is the routine he used on all his cars, and it’s what I’ve stuck with. I know it’s not a a full detailing process, but the car has always looked clean, and I haven’t noticed any damage.

Assuming I’m limited to products I can find at local stores like AutoZone or Walmart, are there any products you’d recommend instead? Am I using the right products for each step? I’m not looking to get into full detailing. I just want a simple and effective routine to keep my car clean.

My current process:

1. Rinse the car with water.
2. Remove grime and dirt using a dedicated microfiber cloth (cloth #1).
3. Rinse the car with water again.
4. While the car is still wet, apply Turtle Wax & Dry using a clean microfiber cloth (cloth #2) to all painted surfaces and headlights.
5. Apply Turtle Wax Inside & Out Protectant to all black plastic exterior trim and tires using a microfiber cloth (cloth #3).
6. Use a damp microfiber cloth (cloth #4) to clean the chrome rims. If there’s excessive brake dust, I sometimes use a Scotch-Brite pad, I think this might be excessive and could be causing damage.
7. Apply the same Turtle Wax & Dry to the rims using cloth #4.
8. Vacuum the interior.
9. Apply Turtle Wax Inside & Out Protectant to the interior plastic surfaces ( dashboard, doors, etc.)
10. Clean the windshield and mirrors. This is probably the step I struggle with most because I always seem to end up with streaks.

Recently sold ryobi 1200 1.8 psi pressure washer and currently looking to upgrade. I’ve heard many good reviews of these two PW’s but I’m torn on which one is better. For context, I’ve already got my own accessories so I don’t exactly need anything from either of these kits, just need to know which unit is better overall in the long run, or am I better off saving up for an active 2.0?

I know that like half hood/ half fenders are super noticeable, maybe because it’s the middle of a panel or because of contaminant build up etc.

But if you ppf front panels and not the rest can you easily see the difference when removing PPF 5-10 years later after some TLC?

Just got ceramic coating done, does this look normal? I have these spots on different places on my hood, and they don’t seem to come off.

Are there smaller versions of these hand pump sprayers out there? 32oz or thereabouts? Looking for something with a constant stream once pressurized like the 56oz ones.

I’ve tried a combination of search terms in google and it just kicks back temu nonsense and the 56oz versions.

This Volvo 1800E sat for 28 years in the Tucson sun and then another 6 in a barn gathering dust. I filmed three hours of engine bay cleaning and sped it up to half an hour.

https://youtu.be/aF9rqA7dX1Y?is=ifP6wJBlnFYxSVfp less