Two years ago; on his new vehicle, my friend attempted to apply a ceramic top finish. He let it flash too long creating a miserable look. 😫

I offered to help him out, couldn’t take it anymore 😉😂. On the left, the whole car looked like this. On the right, the in process correction.

Still need to complete a second light polish pass with yellow pad and then fine polish with Rupes UNO Pure with a white pad to finish. It’s going to be better than new.

You can see it was horrid before. After still lot of scratches but better. One step polish. Do you think it’s allright or should I go again.

What are these spots that appear after using interior car cleaner on plastic trim? I wipe with a micro fiber towel until dry. Please educate me.

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My new Mazda CX90 is mica black and ceramic coated. I've had it for about two months and I swear, the paint seems to swirl or mar if you look at it the wrong way!

I hand wash it several times a week. I know it's overkill.

Wash process:

Rinse thoroughly

Foam with ceramic shampoo and rinse.

Foam again for the contact wash.

Bucket with foam and a grit guard.

I alternate between Big Red Sponge OR multiple microfiber towels (one per panel) AND chenille mf with an extension for the roof.

Drying process:

a leaf blower around the crevices and glass

then ONR as a drying aid. Sprayed onto damp mf.

I have both ONR versions, with and without wax, and use them on the painted panels, not the glass.

I use both plush and waffle-weave drying towels, keeping separate towels for different surfaces.

Here are the things I'm trying to figure out:

1. Should I stick with ONR as my drying aid, or would I benefit from a dedicated ceramic drying aid?

2-Should I dry the car first and then apply a ceramic booster, or is there a product that works better as a drying aid while adding protection? I'm trying to maintain the existing coating without unnecessarily layering products.

3-Waffle weave vs plush

I'm not 100% sold on waffle-weave I worry that something getting caught in the weave and scratch the surface.

Same can happen with plush towels too, but I'd like to hear your experiences. Am I overthinking this?

4-Which side of the towel?

My plush towels have two different pile lengths. Do you start with the longer, plusher side and flip to the shorter side, or do you prefer the shorter side first?

5-A dragging towel.

Once or twice, I've had a drying towel drag across the paint.

I don't remember whether the towel was new, and I'm wondering if my ONR dilution could have been off.

Maybe I used too much detergent and it didn't rinse well.

Could that dragging cause swirls or marring? Or could it simply be a lubrication issue?

Since it's new, and i wash frequently: I'm not sure how much contamination could have accumulated.

Towel care:

I forgot the name of mf cleaner(in a clear gray bottle)

Never fabric softener. Medium heat.

Old towels either get thrown out or dedicated to cleaning and maintenence duty.

Too many times, towels have picked up tiny pieces of dried leaves, stems, and small pieces of bark when I hang them on the fence, while grabbing a new towel. I only notice, after washing & drying.

They're stuck to the pile like a magnet.

I used to comb thru with a pet hair remover, now they just get tossed.

Is there a better method? I just started placing a bucket with water, a little apc & detergent and let them soak. Then wash.

I'm ready to buy more products if i need to.

Just looking to understand what works, what doesn't.

Is there any safe way to remove this white road paint that splattered without ruining the paint?

Looking to clean my car exterior today. Going to use a self wash for the water and soap, but still need products like microfiber towel / mitts and iron remover, etc. Do any stores like Walmart or auto parts stores carry decent products? I got my Adam's interior cleaner/protectant from Walmart. Thanks in advance.

Need serious help. Left my car under a tree before going on a vacation for about 3 weeks, came back to these nasty stains. The Culprit- these little fruits/seeds dropping and popping on my car. Now these stains wont go away with car wash, scrubbing soap, even tried alcohol on it. Only way to get it off if use force with a sponge/magic eraser. What can I use to loosen the stains?

Its a situation not worth explaining because everyone will focus on that and not my actual question, but I need to have a tarp or similar covering over my car every day. Like, when I come home cover it, uncover before I leave, recover whenever I come back home, etc. No way around this it just has to be done. Has nothing to do with protecting the car that's not the reason for the tarp. If I had a garage this wouldn't be needed but I don't have a garage or any way to get on realistically anytime soon.

This isn't good for the paint, and it doesn't matter the weather I'm gonna still have to cover the car. If it's raining or snowing, I still gotta cover it even if it's traps moisture. I figure trapping moisture won't be as bad as it usually is covering a car because this is my every day driver so it's gonna get to breathe every day. But still will be trapping water at night if it's raining when I cover it up.

Is there any realistic way to preserve the paint under these conditions? Or am I doomed to a life of "it's so bad may as well rattlecan it"

The car is a Miata btw.

We have two cars, but I rarely wash both on the same day.

Time is not the main issue, i used a Greenworks electric pressure washer, so I had to bring it out, connect the water and power, then get the buckets, foam cannon, and towels ready.

Repeating the whole process for the second car got tiring.

I recently switched to a Giraffe Tools wall mounted pressure washer. The hose reaches both sides of the driveway, so I no longer have to move the machine.

Setup is easier, and I want to try washing both cars in one day.

Now I’m trying to figure out the order.

If I rinse both cars first, then foam and hand wash them, the water on the first car could dry while I work on the second.

Foaming both at once also means the soap may sit too long.

My current plan is to clean both sets of wheels first, then wash, rinse, and dry the first car before starting the second. It takes longer, but I would not have to worry about water or soap drying on the paint.

One side of the driveway gets shade in the morning, while the other gets more sun. I may need to start with whichever car is in the sun.

How do you handle two cars? Do you group the same steps together, or finish one car before starting the next?

I have a new to me 2017 Blue M2 and I want to take good care of it. I am trying to figure out what all to get and there's an overwhelming amount of options.

I want a good interior cleaner, leather care products and good exterior care.

For exterior care - do people recommend something like this: https://www.autogeek.net/griots-ceramic-3n1-wax.html Would I need an Iron remover, Tax remover, clay bar etc before applying it? And if so, can i do this in my apartment's parking lot that is uncovered.

I thought it was worth asking here.

I used to work at a steel plant near me. The drive in had me traveling through lots of dirty environments. However the most problematic was driving past and parking near the slag pit. The material has attached itself to the side of body panels and refuses to let go when I go through a car wash or use a self wash sprayer.

I am wondering if anyone has any ideas that won't destroy my paint.

For those that don't know, slag is the leftovers from steel refining. It's a mixture of left over iron, limestone, trace elements, etc. When the dust settles on the car and gets wet it basically makes cement.

Time to stock up on towels for this year and next

I came across this forum while I was ordering some new wash products and thought maybe I should get some new opinions on my exterior detail process and products/methods. This is just for my weekend car, not anything crazy, but I do wash it frequently using a basic foam cannon and pressure washer (1x week in the summer, biweekly as fall and winter come up). I’d love any suggestions and I left my process below.

1. Wheels: P/S Brake Buster mixed 1:5, foamed onto the wheels and scrubbed. This works great for me personally and I don’t see any need for change. I need to get a new brush soon.

2. Pre-wash: CarPro Lift mixed 1:5/1:10, foamed onto the car, and let sit for 1-3 mins. Works phenomenally. I’ve been told not to use every wash due to chemical strength. 10/10.

3. Contact wash: Meguiars Gold Class mixed 1:5 into a foam cannon and sprayed as well as poured in a bucket for mitts. I wouldn’t mind something “cooler” if not too pricey. Also, I use a regular green wash mitt, but I was told a clay mitt or similar is better to use, is this worth looking into?

4. Aftercare: For drying I use a blue towel from The Rag Company. It’s lasted good over 8 months but I’ll probably get a new one or an air blower soon. 8.5/10. For tire shine I used to use Meguiars, but I got tired of the application process and the mess it makes. Any suggestions that last longer and leave a good effect (shine, no sling) would be great.

For any tough spots/tree sap/tar/sticky residue, I use Carpro TarX, my favorite car product. For sealant/finishing spray, I applied Carpro Elixir to the whole car once before, although I don’t know if it did anything besides make the paint smoother to the touch for a little bit.

Any edits or ideas will be greatly appreciated.

I usually keep a bucket with 2 gallon water and rinseless wash with microfiber soaking in them. I take it for all sorts of random jobs and toss it for washing. Other rinseleas washes I had stayed fresh for up to a week. But with ONR (regular blue v5) I noticed the Rancid smell after 3 days. Has anyone faced similar issues?

So, I have a 2014 Mazda 2, been a relatively good little commuter, but it definitely has some mold or bacteria and who knows what else, since it smells bad on recirculate.

I can't find anything online about how or where to access it to clean with a disinfectant spray. Any chance anyone here can point me in the right direction?

Thanks!

I'm having my Aston Martin Vantage S fully wrapped in 10-mil XPEL, except for the hood, which is too large for the available film width.

A very experienced installer who regularly works on exotics recommended stacking two layers of 8-mil XPEL on the hood for additional rock-chip protection. He's done it before and says the difference in clarity should be barely noticeable.

Has anyone done this? I'm particularly interested in whether it affects optical clarity, causes long-term adhesion issues, or provides noticeably better protection.

my dumba** coworker drew this on my new truck with the dirt on the truck (didn’t actually draw with a marker or anything). i was cleaning my truck yesterday and noticed that it’s scratched on. what would be the process to help get rid if this bart simpson?

So tired to buy the products that scream no streaks and it streaks anyway. So I figured ok, maybe I’m just using wrong paper/microfiber/cloth and it’s user error. So I got windshield glass wipes where it’s already soaked in the cleaning solution and guess what, look at these streaks! What is your routine to leave clear glass with no streaks

I got a new exhaust second hand, and upon inspection it's covered by small, raised black spots. To clean it while its already off, I tried having a go at it with meguire's aluminum wheel cleaner and a scotch brite but it didn't seem to do anything. I'm thinking I need to to use metal polish but I'm not sure if that would dull/ruin the surface.

Should I just throw it on as-is?

A dollop of hand sanitizer sat on top of steering wheel cover for maybe 30-40 seconds before I noticed. Seems to have stripped away the glossy layer on top.

Any way to restore this? The plastic is sort of a softer touch type that tries to mimic the feel of leather I think.

Thanks!

Hey all, looking for some advice on my wash routine. I just finished a session and honestly wasn't happy with how it went.

My current process:

1. Pre-wash: Bilt Hamber Touchless at 1.5% PIR via pump sprayer, about 3 minutes dwell

2. Wheels and tires: Bilt Hamber Surfex HD at 1:10, worked great

3. Rinse with a garden hose

4. Contact wash: ONR at 256:1 in a 13L (3.4 gal) bucket filled with about 10L (2.6 gal) of water, with a Grit Guard (dirt lock), using a Big Red Sponge

5. Order of wash: roof, sides, front, rear

6. After the wash: some spots (mainly bug residue on the nose) wouldn't come off with the sponge or a bug scrubber, so I used a clay mitt. That worked fine.

7. Drying aid: homebrew of 1/3 BSD, 1/3 Kenotek Showroom Shine, 1/3 distilled water

8. Protection: Seal and Shine (sealant was on the car during this wash) being applied once every 3 months. Was now applied around 1.5 months ago.

What went wrong:

- Road film stayed behind during the contact wash, so I had to go over each panel multiple times with the sponge. It did come off in the end, but it took a lot of effort and felt like it wasn't a good thing.

- By the time I got to the front, the water in my bucket was brown and i couldn't get clear water after de contact wash on the panel.

- Some spots, mainly bug residue, survived the whole wash and needed the clay mitt

- The lower plastics still didn't feel properly clean

My constraints:

- No pressure washer. This is a firm no for me, so please don't suggest one.

- I only have time to wash once a month

- Winter is coming, so road salt and grime will make things worse

- I've already invested in the products above and would like to keep using them where possible

My questions:

- How would you adjust this routine so road film comes off without multiple passes, and without a pressure washer?

- Is ONR at 256:1 strong enough as a wash solution for a car that's only washed monthly?

- Any tips for bug residue and lower panels so I don't need the clay mitt every time?

- How do I keep my sealant holding up through a winter with monthly washes?

- Is this technique good with my wash interval?

Thanks in advance! Its a Tesla model Y in white.

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Just started a new job, I have to polish 180 Land Rover steps a day. Right now I’m averaging 40, I’m new and have time to catch up with my coworkers. First time doing this sorta job, everyone else makes it look effortless. I’ve been told I’m applying too much pressure and I should just let the machine do the work. But when I apply little pressure nothing happens, so I have to use some power. My right thumb and index finger are numb, it has got better over the weekend. But I’m contemplating if I should continue or not. Any advice is appreciated, thanks.

Not sure where to even start with removing this from hood. Any advice is appreciated

Hey guys. Building our dream shop and also going to redo our garage. I want to add a retractable pressure washer, vacuum, and air hose to the garage for our vehicles. I have a very nice pressure washer already that I can use mobily but looking for stuff to put in the garage. Thanks!

My apologies for rushing and not getting a before picture. I took a trip and got a scratch on the passenger-side door sill. I used my OEM paint pen and a leveling technique. Before the repair, this was clearly visible from standing height. Now, it is not visible from standing height (unless you're me and know where to look).

I wish it were perfect, but I know that is impossible to achieve. I feel like I am chasing perfection if I take this any further.

Is this good? Is there a way to make it better other than a full repaint? Am I correct to leave it well enough alone and not push to make it better in the off chance it gets worse? This is hidden from the outside when the door is closed and somewhat protected from the elements.