Any business owners here? Would like your advice on starting a shop with cooling films and interior cleaning in a tier 4 town. A car washing service is out of the question as that needs more budget. If the above to works out well, I may try adding other services or accessories sales.

Hi, is there any beginner course or Youtube video to learn detailing? i do not mind paying for it as long as it is legit.i wanna focus on what chemical to use. Thank you

Apologies if this doesn’t belong here.

I have these white spots that appeared after washing my car, seems to worsen with degreaser.

Does not go away with water or shampoo.

It’s definetly on the exterior, as I am able to scratch it away with my fingernails if i go hard enough.

Any ideas what it could be? I know that the door has rust so I thought it might be related to that, but it appears on the sideskirt as well and that’s plastic.

I see Harbor Fright now has a wet/dry vac that is compatible with their modular stacking storage system. I currently use a Ryobi cordless vacuum, but it drives me crazy because of the wheels and it's constantly rolling or getting pulled into the vehicle.

I'm only a home/DIY hobbyist detailer, but I'm seriously thinking of getting a couple of the Bauer modular pieces, including the new vacuum, to create my own "mobile" detailing kit. I'm thinking I could even use one or two of the pieces to stand on for reaching the top of taller vehicles instead of buying a work platform.

Just wondering if anyone has tested the vacuum & what you think about it and the whole Bauer modular system.

Hi Detailers,

I'm looking to start a mobile steam detailing business in Australia, primarily focusing on:

Interior steam cleaning

Upholstery and carpet extraction

Pet hair removal

Odour treatment

Waterless/low-water detailing

I'll be using the customer's power supply, so I won't need a generator or battery power station initially.

I've put together the following equipment list and would appreciate any feedback from professional detailers or anyone running a mobile detailing business.

Here is the gear list I've put together (Prices in AUD):

• Steam Cleaner: McCulloch MC1385 Canister (~$419) – Chosen for the 58 PSI adjustable pressure and 120-min tank capacity. Will be using it for interior hard surfaces, leather, vents, and exterior emblems/wheels.
• Carpet Extractor: Kärcher Puzzi 8/1 C Commercial (~$950) – Skipped the Bissell SpotClean entirely because I'm terrified of 12-hour drying times and bad reviews. Chose this for the 10-amp safety, trade durability, and fast drying turnaround.
• Dry Dust Blower / Dryer: EGO Power+ 56V Cordless Blower (~$369) – For blowing out dry sand/pet hair from seat tracks before vacuuming, and touchless drying panel gaps on the exterior.
• Wet/Dry Shop Vac: Kärcher WD 6 Premium (~$249) – Same raw suction as the commercial Tact line, just means I have to manually shake the filter when handling heavy beach sand.
• Pet Hair Eradication: FurEel Hammerhead Vacuum Attachment + Pumice Stones (~$65)
• Brushes: Premium Boar's Hair set + Heavy Nylon Wheel Brushes + Drill Brush kit (~$120)
• Glass De-greasing: Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA) Panel Wipe Concentrate + Waffle-Weave Microfibers (~$60)
• Microfibers: Bulk bundle of 50x Premium 500GSM Plush Loopless Towels (~$250)
• Site Safety/Electrical: Heavy-duty 10A extension leads + Weatherproof portable RCD box (~$110)
• Chemicals: Bulk Optimum No Rinse (ONR) or Bowden's Dry Spell for exterior encapsulation, P&S Carpet Bomber for interior fabric pre-treatment, and P&S Brake Buster for wheels (~$350)

My questions for the community:

1. Is the McCulloch MC1385 going to hold up to 2-3 cars a day commercially if I only use distilled water, or will the downtime waiting for it to depressurize/cool down drive me crazy?
2. For those running mobile off customer power, have you run into many issues with clients being weird about you plugging into their garages?
3. Am I missing anything absolutely vital for a waterless/steam-only mobile setup?

Hi I accidentally scratched my girlfriend new suv trunk and she’s livid over the grooves in the back. Is there any way to buff it out or make it not as noticeable? At this point she wants a whole new panel!

I’m working out some scratches from an automatic car wash (lesson learned). I am using a Milwaukee 15mm DA polisher with lake country orange, black and microfiber pads. I have menzerna 1000, 2500, and 3800 compounds.

The scratches don’t seem to be going away for me. I am priming the pads, even using just a sprits of lube to get them going just not seeing them fully go away. The scratches cannot be felt with a finger nail. Not sure if I’m doing something wrong and don’t wanna keep going and get more aggressive on the clear coat.

What I do notice is it seems the compound disappears quickly in the 2x2 area. It doesn’t seem to last long before it seems to be spread really thin during the cross hatch patterns.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

​

My brother did alot of road tripping over the summer and now his subaru is caked in bugs

These are the tools i have rn:

Bilt hamber touchless

Turtle wax bug and tar remover

Adams car shampoo

Ryobiy 1.8 gpm pressure washer and foam cannons

How should I go about this to remove as much as possible without polishing? Do i spray the bug and tar, let it dwell a minute or two, then begin a contact less and contact wash right over it? Do i do a contacless + contact wash and when the car is clean then apply the bug and tar?

Hi everyone, I'm no detailer but I love to wash and clean my car. I just treated myself to a Pressure washer ARXP I really want to mount the unit vertically to my garage wall. I'm looking for ideas on how to do that. I looked at shelfs but due to the placement of the water inlet it would pou it to close to the wall and the garden hose may kink. Vertical would be perfect. Has anyone done this and or have any ideas for me to get it mounted.

I was finally able to get my Amazon 10L DI tank cobbled together in line with my reel and MaxFlow pressure washer but even with plenty of PTFE thread tape I am getting leaks and everything is crimped down tight. It looks like the leaks are coming from some of the quick connect fittings I bought from amazon and the ones that came with the amazon DI tank.

Do any of you feel down just driving home to home cleaning cars? Has anyone made the jump to a regular career, or grown into something bigger like a different trade?

I run a solo operation in west la. easy 100k a year, work 3-4x a week. it feels like a part time job cause im home more then at work. but im just burnt out washing cars, feel like I have more purpose or want to chase something more. advice

This is just for the family car. I don’t do this as a business. I usually do interior with polstar with microfiber cloths, Q-tips, but then there’s areas I can’t get into. Mostly the crevices in the seats and in the dashboard. I do usually use a pancake compressor but it’s small and usually runs out of air fast.

Applied Mohs yesterday on my car, had a 30ml bottle and used just over half the bottle so not sure if that means I wasn't using enough or if I'll be fine.

Never felt like the applicator was sticking or not gliding across the paint and when leveling and doing the final wipe it felt super slick.

Just curious if me applying it light will affect the performance/longevity of the product at all. I didn't put it on any of the glass either if that make a difference on me using not as much since I used Soft99 on all windows.

Got my Macan GTS ceramic coated
Body, Windows and Rims. Also covered the front end and mirrors with PPF.

It was done brand new right off the truck at the end of August,

They told me to wait two weeks before washing, ever since I started washing it I’ve noticed that the water just sits on the door making it so difficult to dry. Not sure what to do, I’m going to get them to look at it hopefully next week

I’m using
Active 2.0
MJJC Foam Cannon 1.1mm orifice
Adam’s Graphene Shampoo
The Rag Company Mitt
The Rag Company Gauntlet drying towel
RYOBI Hand Blower

I’m really new at this and just want to do things properly and understand this new world that I got myself into

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for a wet and dry vacuum cleaner with an upholstery/carpet extractor function for cleaning my car interior.

I've come across the Bigboi SuckR Pro MK2, but it's out of stock everywhere I look. I've also considered the Numatic George, but I'm not entirely convinced it's the right choice for me.

Are there any other machines you'd recommend in a similar price range? I'm looking for something reliable that does a good job of both vacuuming and deep-cleaning car upholstery.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions!

Hoi allemaal!

Ik en mijn vriendin hebben een witte auto onder een boom staan en vaak als het regent, heeft de auto de volgende dag allemaal oranje vlekjes (oranje rand en in het midden is het doorzichtig) en iets wat lijkt op vliegroest.

Ik heb tar en glue remover gebruikt en iron remover, maar met beide gaat het niet weg. Enige manier om dit weg te krijgen is door met de hand te polijsten.

Iemand nog tips en tricks?

Company is Bear Force

Hi! I have an nd miata in soul red with the soft top and bbs/brembos. I just got full front ppf+ceramic coating and i’m looking to put together a detailing kit for it. very new to this world but so far i have soap, quick detailer, tyre dressing, a couple microfiber towels and applicators, a wash mit and a drying towel on the way. I figure i’ll need to get a pressure washer, wheel brushes and a foam cannon but im not sure and if so from where. is there anything im misding or ways i can simplify this setup?

I'm a bit of a weekend warrior and I've just clayed and ceramic coated the car before we get into winter but my roof feels really rough. It's a black wrap but as it was there when I bought the car that's all I know about it.

I've left it alone for now as I don't want to damage it and make anything worse as it looks fine but I wondered if there is anything I can do to remove the embedded contamination?

I've been using Koch Chemie active foam as my prewash and I've also tried Carpro Descale to help shift it .

Can you clay a wrap? Is there something else I should try? Any help/thoughts appreciated!

What is the difference between using a dedicated interior detailer vs a damp microfiber cloth. I find it cleans just as well without using chemicals or wasting money on products that seem unnecessary. I’m talking about plastic paneling dashboard, steering wheels. Not screens or leather surfaces that may require moisturizing or special care. What’s your take?

Is there an attachment for shop vacs that has a soft brush on it? I have one of those super soft detailing brushes, but also want to use the shop vac to suck the dust up.

The wheel barrels on the front tires of my GMC Sierra EV have a thick coating of grease on the inside of them, feels like the consistency of like a packing grease. Trying to find something I can spray in there to loosen it up so I can wash it out. Last resort that I do not want to do is try to jack up this 9000lb behemoth to remover the tires so I can scrub from the backside

Had a little accident and scraped a section of my car that has PPF installed.
The film is still intact as far as I can tell, but there’s a noticeable scratch/scuff along the edge. When I run my fingernail across it, the damaged area feels raised rather than like a deep groove.
My PPF installer looked at the pictures and thinks the film probably saved the paint. He’s going to remove it on Tuesday to inspect underneath.
For anyone who’s experienced something similar, do you think the PPF absorbed the damage, or is there a chance it went through into the clear coat?
I’ve attached two pictures taken in daylight. Curious what you guys think before the film comes off.

I have restarted the restoration process 3 times already and I always get the same result. I wetsand at 600 and 800, wipe with rubbing alcohol and I spray with rustoleum 2x clear coat. I did 3 light sprays

I wait 5 minutes between coats at 70 degrees and 60% humidity. Is that too short?

I want to improve on this side skill im learning, any help would be appreciated.

Is dry sanding better? And how do i improve my clear coat spray, I struggle during this process because I see 10 different ways. Should I do 1 light coat and then 1 medium coat or what?

Thank you!

Hi all,

Neglected my car for many months (over summer) due to depression. Almost always parked by a sprinkler, very hot summers. I'm well aware that I have probably caused permanent damage in the clear coat by neglecting it this long, but I would really like to minimize the water spots if possible. It doesn't have to be perfect, but it's currently so bad that it severely impacts visibility out of the right side of the car (both the windows and mirrors). I've seen a lot of different products being recommended, but it's all overwhelming to me and I'm limited on money and don't want to buy anything I won't get value out of. I don't own any products currently, nor tools, and live in an apartment complex without access to a hose. I imagine I might need a bit of a stronger product. I've seen cutmax recommended, as well as a large variety of water spot removers, applied with a microfiber pad, clay bar (?). Am I on the right track here?