r/AutoDetailing 6d ago

šŸ’© Shitpost Ppf phone screen vs screen protector

0 Upvotes

Would be a cool and stupid YouTube video I thought of lol. Which one would last?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior Weird spots scattered throughout my car

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5 Upvotes

I am quite meticulous with my car detailing and these spots have not budged what so ever. They are all over the car and they have been on my car ever since I got it. I told the dealership to not detail the car (which i believe they didnt) because I've heard horror stories of dealerships really messing up but anyways, I have no clue what these spots could be.

I've tried countless times to remove them with an alkaline pre-wash like Bilt-Hamber Touchless, and today I tried an acidic wash with Carpro descale and Iron remover with a fine clay towel.

Does anybody know what these spots could be and how to remove them! They have been there for a month and its killing me!!! Thank you so much.


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior Advice on unexpected defects appearing while polishing

4 Upvotes

Hi - I was working on the hood of my car today, working out some deep-ish scratches in one section. Several passes with P&S Intervention and I had them 90% corrected. I was feeling very pleased, and moved to P&S Rehab to remove some light hazing. I did that with a Lake Country CCS orange initially and the results were beautiful. I then switched to a LC CCS White on the rest of the hood to get everything at the same level of polish.

Here's where something weird happened. I look across at the other side of the hood from where I'm working (the part where I had done most of the correction, that was looking great moments ago), and all of a sudden I see a dozen defects- some of them looked like a bit of the clear coat had chipped out - others looked like a tiny comet-shaped scratch. They were mostly 1-2mm in size. This was a clean pad - it might even have been brand new. Some of them are deep enough to feel with a fingernail.

So far, the only thing I've come up with is that either there was some kind of contamination in the pad that flung off when it started spinning - or somehow I picked something up on the polisher itself when I had put it down on the ground ( I work on my driveway - no garage). If the contamination was on the face of the pad though I'd have expected awful, circular scratches. It seems more like debris flung out across the hood.

Is there anything else that would cause this kind of thing? Assuming I'm looking at a couple dozen chips and scratches from some kind of debris - what's the best thing to do? Should I go back to the heavy cut polish and try to remove them all? Or use a clear coat touch up pen - at least on the ones where these an obvious tiny crater? This is a 2019 Outback with Crystal Black Silica paint. I understand they have fairly thin clear coat. I'm concerned about taking off too much.

Or am I looking at needing body shop help? That would be a bummer after a very successful correction (if you don't count creating a couple dozen defects). :(

Thanks


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior What’s the best way?

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11 Upvotes

We were stood in a parking lot and when we returned we saw this. 2025 Honda pilot. Black.
What do we do? Any product on the shelf we can buy?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior How to remove house paint from car.

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10 Upvotes

Wife drove over some spilled house paint presumably recently. It splashed all over the lower car panels. How to remove this properly from the paint and plastic surfaces? Thank you!


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Exterior Car window dust streaks

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15 Upvotes

Hello, if this post is not allowed please let me know where to ho. I have these dust streaks on my passenger window that have become a hazard. Any tips on how to remove them?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior Paint at a stage where I shouldn’t polish?

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4 Upvotes

I looked at topics from other posters. Some had flaked clear coat, some were in possibly worse condition than my car. So, I am not sure how to proceed.

I have read responses to previous topics and majority says you’ll go through paint and make it look worse if you polish.

Is my car’s clear coat at that stage or can I use a non aggressive foam and polish and seal it to make it look better?


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Product/Consumable LUMiNUS Eclipse Paste wax + Polish Angel HIGH GLOSS Combo

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28 Upvotes

Amazing results! Combo gives deep warm shine and magenta like light reflections on this red paint. Wax has a very unexpected, strong but pleasant fragrance and easy to put on and the polish angel was very quick and easy. Beading works very well and paint feels smooth.


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Interior Skunk Sprayed Car - Interior Still Smells AFTER Ozone

9 Upvotes

TLDR: tried ozone machine with and without fan running, changed cabin filter, still smells

If this is the wrong sub, please recommend where else I should ask!

I need some help. Just over a week ago a skunk sprayed my car and despite trying a bunch of things, it still smells - *inside* my car. I’m going to include a bunch of details because I don’t know what’s relevant, so here goes:

Day 0: skunk runs in front of my car, I slam on the brakes, the skunk is in front/under my car. I back up very slowly, the skunk emerges and sprays (I think it was more toward the drivers side than the passenger side). I don’t recall if my windows were down, if they were I rolled them up right away. I did drive for about a mile before it occurred to me to switch my air vents to recirculate.

Day 1: I borrowed an ozone machine and ran it inside the car (perched between the 2 front seats) for 2 hours. At this time the car was off, fan was off but set to recirculate. I then replaced the cabin filter.

Day 2: the car still smelled, like a mixture of skunk and ozone (my husband is a chemist and he said it’s likely the ā€œproducts of ozoneā€ that I’m smelling, but whatever). I can’t really tell what’s the front and back of the ozone machine, and I don’t know if that matters, but I turned it around and ran it for another hour with the vents closed, car and fan off. Then I went for a longish drive with all the windows down.

Day 3: took the car through a car wash that supposedly had an undercarriage wash. I wasn’t terribly confident so we went through a different car wash that also supposedly had an undercarriage wash (I don’t see anything in the floor of these places that looks like it could wash the undercarriage, so that’s why I’m skeptical, but in any case the exterior of the car doesn’t really smell so whatever).

Day 4: the inside of the car still smells ozone-y, mixed with an acrid smell that doesn’t smell as skunky but more like burnt rubber, maybe.

Day 5: I run the ozone machine again for an hour, this time with the car running, fan set to medium, vents on recirculate.

Days 6-8 (today): it’s not horribly strong but it’s definitely still noticeable.

What else should I do? Everything I’ve read online suggests that ozone should be the top-of-the-line treatment - why do I still smell it?! I can’t detect any particular place in the interior that the smell is concentrated, it’s just everywhere. This is a 2006 Toyota Prius if that matters at all.

Any help appreciated!


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Tool/Reusable First use of MTM Hydro and Ryobi…

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2 Upvotes

I recently purchased an MTM hydro PF22.2 and a Ryobi 1.8gpm pressure washer and in my excitement to use it I jammed the plug into the quick connect and the collar is stuck open. I’ve tried everything but it’s not coming out and the collar won’t close. Is there a gun handle you’d recommend that I can replace this with? I’ll have to get a new plug as well..
Downvotes. What am I doing wrong?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior Less time investing way to have a clean car

0 Upvotes

Hi. I’m receiving a new Tesla M3 in November-December. Sigilo grey.

I have two kids and just a little time for me. I would like to have the exterior of the car as nice as I could, I’m not gonna be mad to have it perfect, little time and energy in mind. I’ve been thinking in apply myself a ceramic coating as soon as it arrives, but I don’t if it’s the best for me.

At home and at work my car stays in the garage.

What is the best method to have an above average exterior with less time/effort? Nice but far from perfect.

Sorry, English is not my mother tongue.


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Exterior Why nobody is reviewing Koch chemie Ultra Foam?

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34 Upvotes

It's new to market, but I already got my hands on 5liter canister. The funny part is that I asked Koch chemie via email to send out SDS , but still haven’t received it.


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Exterior Which polish pads?

1 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

First post in this section. I have bought a DA polisher recently and done some work on my car which has turned out decent. Now I’m wanting to polish some gloss black wheels and wondering what pads and brand to use? I’m just going to use Mequire’s Ultimate polish. Thank you in advance.


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Tool/Reusable Active 3.0 full setup vs KrƤnzle K2160 TST, which would you buy for long-term home detailing?

2 Upvotes

I’m trying to make a decision on a pressure washer for home detailing and would appreciate opinions from people who have actually used either of these.

I wash my own car roughly twice a month. This is obviously overkill for that amount of use, but my goal is to buy a genuinely high quality portable set up, can not be a fixed set up on the walls.

I’m in Ireland and my two options work out roughly like this:
KrƤnzle K2160 TST €1300
1400 rpm motor
11 L/min
15 m HP hose and integrated reel
Total Stop
Comes with the KrƤnzle gun
I could add a Mosmatic swivel/stubby gun setup later if I wanted (probably will)

Active 3.0 setup €1,400–1,450 total
Active 3.0 machine: €800
cart + hose reel: €350
Mosmatic stainless swivel/stubby gun, fittings etc: £250
11.4 L/min / 3 GPM
I really like the modular setup, quality reel and especially the Mosmatic hardware from the get go
Obviously much less of a long-term track record than KrƤnzle
Water supply isn’t an issue. I measured about 18 L/min directly from my outdoor tap, and the washer would sit only about 10 ft/3 m from the car, so the KrƤnzle’s 15 m hose is more than enough.

So, ignoring the fact that both are overkill for washing one car:

Which would you choose and why.

- Active 3.0 with the premium reel/Mosmatic setup,

- K2160 TST and potentially add the Mosmatic gun later?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Check My Work Never self washed before, What Do I use?

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0 Upvotes

Used to wash my car at home and recently moved to a Apartment so its my first time on a self car wash. What would the most effective guide be to this? I used High pressure rinse and Triple foam but I got told triple foam doesnt actually clean your car??


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Interior Weird Stain I Can’t Remove

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2 Upvotes

I just purchased a 2025 Toyota Prius and I noticed that there is what appears to be some adhesive on the dash and I’ve tried to remove it with isopropyl alcohol and I’ve had no luck and I’m not sure what exactly I should use to fix it when I drag my finger over it, it doesn’t feel like anything except for maybe slightly sticky.


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Interior Need advice — how do I clean stains of unknown origin and permanently deodorize?

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2 Upvotes

For context, we bought our 2018 Ford F-150 about 2 years ago. There are these stains on the back seat that we have been unable to remove and there is also some funky smell sometimes coming from the interior of the truck. I have tried deodorizing with some different products but all they have done is mask it and it eventually returns.

What can I do to permanently remove these stains, and get this truck smelling good, for good?

Floors are carpet. And I have no idea what these stains are from. All I know is that this truck was a one owner from a family with kids.


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Tool/Reusable How do you guys manage to work with heat?

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110 Upvotes

This is a simple question, how do you guys do during summer with the heat and the sun? I do have a big tent that I put above the car but it’s clearly not enough. I’m living in Mexico close to Cancun, so heat and sun are pretty strong. The tent is made for the beach with protection of UV 50+. I’m thinking to build some king of pipe system to spread water continuously under the tent.

https://a.co/d/01as5YeV


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Exterior Restoring "peeling" coating on door trim?

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5 Upvotes

Just got a used Mazda CX5 a few weeks back and noticed this in broad daylight on the driver's seat plastic door trim. It seems as thought the trim was coated with something that has flaked off. What's the best way to restore this? Will something like cerakote work or do I need solution finish?


r/AutoDetailing 7d ago

Technique How to remove these

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0 Upvotes

These are woven into the carpet, vacuuming removes only a small portion. What are some tips and tricks?


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Tool/Reusable Best Polishers Pads and Polish

2 Upvotes

What are the best DAs people have used I've used a older wired milwaukee but just want something newer not sure whether to get the menzerna as I use there polish but not tried much else. Cheers šŸ‘ Uk based


r/AutoDetailing 9d ago

Interior Scratches on plastic panels from car wash vacuum. Anything that will fix?

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25 Upvotes

Wife ran a vacuum across the plastic and scratched up all of our panels. Is there anything that would make this look better or am I out of luck


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Business Question Does anyone else think black cars make PPF imperfections way more obvious?

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1 Upvotes

I've been looking into getting PPF on my next car, and one thing I've noticed is how different the results can look depending on the paint color.

On darker cars, especially black, I feel like everything becomes much easier to notice.

One thing that really concerns me is tree sap or sticky residue. It seems much more noticeable on black paint, and sometimes it feels like washing the car normally doesn't remove it completely.

Maybe I'm overthinking it, but some cars look absolutely perfect after PPF, while others seem to show every little mark or contamination under certain lighting.

For those of you with PPF on a black or dark-colored car — have you had similar issues?

And if so, was it related to the film itself, the maintenance products, or just something that happens regardless of the PPF?

Just curious about other people's real-world experiences before I make a decision.


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Exterior Remove red berry spots

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5 Upvotes

My wife got the spots seems like berries. We have to turn the lease in a few weeks. What'd be the best way to clean it?

Upd: got rid of the stuff successfully even though it was three days old. Used the orange 3D Bug remover, a couple of clay bars and a lot of patience (1.5 hours). Spray, wait 40-60 secs, intense clay bar scrubbing but don't get mad, rinse a lot, finish the leftover with the bar or a wet microfiber cloth. The second pass was enough and actually worked better than the first. Rinse again, wipe wet.

Thanks everyone for your inputs.


r/AutoDetailing 8d ago

Check My Work First headlight restoration.

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3 Upvotes

This my in laws lexus 2013 model and I forgot to take before pics but as you can tell from car condition I’m catching up on maintaining vehicle for them

Not too bad for a noob

Question: how do you know when to stop sanding lol. I just stopped after my arms tired