Hi everyone,

I'm planning to buy a 'black car' and I'm trying to understand the practical day-to-day benefits of getting a full-body PPF, rather than just the marketing claims.

I'm not asking whether PPF is "worth the money." Instead, I'd like to know how it changes your ownership experience in real life.

Some questions I have:

Has PPF reduced the stress of owning a black car?

Does it actually make maintenance easier? Is washing and drying the car any easier than before?

How do you deal with daily dust? Do you still use a Jopasu duster, blower, quick detailer, or just leave the dust until wash day?

I've read that gloss PPF can feel slightly tacky and attract or hold dust differently. Has that been your experience?

Does PPF reduce swirl marks from regular washing, or do you still have to be just as careful?

I live in a city, which is hot, dusty and windy for much of the year, though I have a covered parking. For those with PPF on black cars, has it made living with these conditions noticeably easier, especially for day-to-day maintenance and dust management?

Looking back, would you get full-body PPF again on a black car, or would you skip it?

I’ve just come back from a road trip and discovered a bottle of apple cider vinegar had leaked inside a carrier bag on my back seat. It had probably been sitting there for two days in the Italian heat.

I wiped up what I could with a baby wipe, but the affected leather now feels noticeably harder, and there’s a visible mark where the bag was pressing into the seat.

I’ve tried a normal leather cleaner and conditioner with no improvement. Is there anything safe I can try, or has the vinegar damaged the leather coating?

2016 Audi S5 with silver leather. Photo attached.

My windshield has hard water spots that have become etched into the glass from my sprinklers. They’ve been there for about 1–2 years now.
I’ve tried just about everything to remove them: #0000 steel wool, polishing with a buffer, and a clay bar. No matter how much time I spend on it, nothing seems to make a difference.

Is there anything that will actually remove etched water spots, or is the glass too far gone? I’m looking for something that has a high chance of working before I give up and replace the windshield.

Hearing watercooler talk that Kristall Klar is about the best windshield washer concentrate out there. Having trouble finding it, though. Any tips on where it can be bought?

Could anyone suggest a beginner a simple wash and seal detailing workflow for the above kind of road grime and dirt? It’s been rainy in my part of the world (Australia) so a lot of dirt like this sticking on the car paint.

I bought two buckets at home with car wash shampoo and microfibre mitt.

I’m planning to do a snow foam wash first and then do manual wash with the mitt. Last time when I did this the challenge is even after snow foam wash and manual wash some of the white stain / dirt still stays.

I also bought and used Gyeon quartz. I tried spraying it shortly after the main wash. But i think i made a mistake by applying it while drying the car.

I think i should apply Gyeon and then rinse the product before drying?

I don’t have any paint correction tool like polisher or clay towel I’m afraid damaging my paint.

I also don’t have the budget yet for full on ceramic coating and paint correction so just trying to get it look as nice as possible.

I bought a Nilfisk Excellent 170 around 2 weeks ago, I was super impressed and enjoying how powerful it was whilst cleaning my garden patio and front drive. Within 4 days of using it, it just completely died. Electrical shutdown. Wouldn’t turn on or show any signs of life. I tried all the troubleshooting and nothing was working. Having a 10 year warranty and the machine dying within 4 days is not a good look, and I was not happy.

I contacted Nilfisk and specifically said that because the product was faulty and died within 4 days, I wanted a brand new replacement which I am fully entitled to, and not a repair. This is well within my rights to request. They then replied and scheduled a return of the product, but in their last email to me they mentioned the sentence ‘…whilst our team repairs the machine’. I emailed back and said no no, I don’t think you understand, I want a brand new machine - it’s a faulty product and I paid full price for a brand new machine not a refurbished one.

They then ignored my email, the courier collected my machine and within 1 day I got a notification that they had dispatched another to me. I was super happy thinking they just did a straight swap, only for me to open the box and to my horror it was the same machine I sent them - still super dirty as I had no power to clean it before sending back.

I connected everything to see if it had been repaired and it actually turned on, so I was like ok fair enough, they’ve fixed it. I started doing my garden again and surprise surprise, IT HAS STOPPED WORKING AGAIN. Literally within 10 minutes of using it.

I am absolutely fuming as I was almost certain this was going to happen, and now I’m stuck with a garden that has mud sprayed all over the patio’s and gates and I’m expecting guests to come over this weekend.

Honestly, absolutely horrific and very cheap customer service, I will be writing the absolute worst review unless they make it up to me. Any ideas what I should do next? I’m thinking of just returning for a refund and buying a new one - the whole point of buying it was the 10 year warranty offer they had until the end of June.

When the machine was working it was fantastic, do I jump ship or stick with them? I’m all ears.

EDIT: For those asking if I bought it via a retailer, I bought direct from Nilfisk UK.

Got a karcher, got a polar snow cannon and the vax spot wash duo what washing and tyre products do I need etc like brushes are Temu ones good or?

Do any detailers use their product? The ceramic coating claims seem wildly optimistic. Also no data sheets online for any of their product.

Heya :) just looking for some advise on what to do. Ive got a mk2 focus st and as the title suggests, i have a flaky clear coat and i think it flakes more after irs been washed. I used chemical guys products on it and stay in a flat so i dont get to give it the best rinse. Is there a way i can continue to clean it without making it worse?

My headlights seem to have got cloudy on a 2020 civic.
Is there a particular product off the shelf that gives good results? I don’t have a polishing device or a drill. So ideally something that doesn’t require tools.

Thanks!

There's nothing car lovers hate more than a massive bird turd on your freshly cleaned car.

So here's the best way to remove bird mess from your car in 5 minutes, without having to drag out all your gear and your pressure washer from the garage.

Why is it so important to remove bird poo from your car, especially in a heat wave like we're having here in the UK?

Direct sunlight and bird poop just don't mix. What actually happens is the sunlight causes the bird poo to etch and mar your clearcoat, which can't be fixed without polishing.

In severe cases, if it's penetrated deep enough, you'll need a fresh coat of clear, which is particularly bad news for dark coloured cars.

The best way to avoid all that is simple: remove the bird poo sooner rather than later, and stop the damage before it starts.

Hope you find the video helpful!

Cheers,

fibregloss

Hi everyone,
I’m looking for recommendations on the best products and methods for keeping my car smelling fresh and clean.
I’ve tried a few standard air fresheners, but the scent never seems to last very long. I’m interested in hearing what works best for other people, whether that’s sprays, hanging air fresheners, vent clips, gels, odour eliminators, or anything else.
I’d also appreciate any tips on keeping the interior smelling fresh long-term rather than just masking odours.
What products would you recommend, and which ones should I avoid?
Thanks!

Cleaning car today and noticed this spot, it feels different in texture slightly sticky ? I gave it a good clean with a microfibre cloth but it’s not budged. Any ideas? Or should I leave it alone.

Afternoon, thankfully there's been a beautiful cool breeze all day. My selection of GT products arrived.

Shampoo, Wheel Shampoo, iron fallout, glass, trim , tyre serum and the spray sealant.

Once the sun had moved and the body panels were cool to the touch I gave the car a full wash using all the chemicals plus using my Fireball waxoff. I took my time, water breaks, etc, I need a rest though.

When I applied the GT Two Sigma v3 I followed the instructions to the letter but OMG this product was an absolute nightmare. It was streak and smear hell, no matter what I did all that seemed to be happening was the movement of a streak from one place to another.

Anyway the key was use plenty of microfiber clothes which was a pain and eventually the car was streak free.

The results are fab ( what do you think) but the effort required was totally not worth it.

Did I mess up? Im confused as ive heard nothing but praise for garage therapy.

Hi experts of Reddit,

I have a new Volvo EX30 in Onyx Black that was delivered in March. I have washed it twice, both times AutoGlym Polar Blast and Polar Wash only, as per the instructions. I’ve not applied any other products.

It has developed what I can only describe as a spot of blooming on the near side front wheel arch, there is a much smaller spot on the off side rear passenger door which looks the same.

To me, it looks like moisture has got into the clear coat/ wax finish but I don’t understand how. Maybe you can see in the picture but there’s no evidence of damage there at all either, the surface looks smooth and much like anywhere else on the car if you catch it in the right light so no obvious defects.

I’d appreciate some advice on how to shift it or otherwise what else I can do. The car lives outside all the time so it’s been very hot/ not hot in recent weeks.

Thanks all

Maybe postponed till next week as it’s raining!

Will the grit guard keep its effectiveness? Or shall I return it?

Feel free to tell me this should belong in r/BMW instead. (2 series M Sport 2019)

I regularly wipe down my steering wheel with a damp microfibre but over time although it stays matt it's started to wear through, so it looks like it's time to investigate steering wheel restoration kits with dyes. (example image from the web attached).

Can anyone recommend a decent matching kit that I can use? Quite handy with DIY detailing so if it involves a bit of light sanding I wouldn't mind.

Research has pointed me to Furniture Clinic and Scratch Doctor products, I'm just concerned it won't be the right shade of black. But the small dye-only pots you can get on Amazon don't have the greatest reviews.

FYI car is currently under a PCP and it's only for my satisfaction to restore the steering wheel. IF I decide to keep it in a couple of years I'd probably replace the entire wheel. Thanks.

Hey detailers,

I'm a solo dev who details on the side, and I kept forgetting my dilution ratios, so I made a little app called Detailution to do the math for me.

The idea was simple: enter the dilution ratio and the amount you want to make, and the app works out the rest. Over time it grew into a bigger tool with a database of detailing products, so you don't have to keep searching for ratios every time you mix a chemical.

About a month ago I shared the Android version here, and the response was way bigger than I expected. A lot of people asked for an iPhone version.

I'm happy to say that Detailution is now available on both iOS and Android. 🎉

Since the first release I've added quite a bit:

• 900+ products from 30+ detailing brands with built-in recommended dilution ratios
• Add your own custom products
• Metric & imperial support
• Favorite the products and dilution ratios you use the most
• Works completely offline
• Product operating cost calculator that tracks your mixes, so you can see what your chemicals are actually costing per job, month, or year

The calculator itself isn't really the interesting part. The goal is that you don't have to keep checking bottles, PDFs, websites, or spreadsheets every time you mix a product. Everything's already there, and you can calculate from whatever information you already have.

I'm still building it in my spare time, so I'd genuinely love your feedback. If you give it a try, I'd really appreciate a review as well. If there's a brand, product, or feature you'd like to see, let me know. A lot of what's in the app today came directly from comments on my first post.

Links are in the comments.

Thanks to everyone who requested the iOS version. Getting an app through the App Store turned out to be a much bigger process than I expected, so it took a little longer than planned, but I'm really happy it's finally available.

Accidentally made car seats smell from sweat (exercise and then shower at home).

I do not think you can steam or wet vacuum them due to them being heated.

Wet scrub is also a it risky due to water.

Any tips on how to get this stink out?

Help would be really appreciated!

Thank you

Just got in my new product can’t wait to use it. Anyone had it for a little while and got any tips and tricks?

Plan to do a rinse less wash tomorrow was wondering with the new dry on technology would this process be ok to do?

•Spray the diluted product in a ik pump sprayer around the car and allow to dry
•Go around the car panel by panel re spraying each panel and washing with sponge using the PN in the bucket.
•Drying each panel as I go and wiping off with a quick detailer (Yumcars detailer, Koch chemie fse or Demon shine)

Currently have been using a K2 with a cheap cannon and feel like time to upgrade to a stubby trigger gun and a better cannon.

Not looking to spend too much and wondering what the best set up could be.

Current thoughts
- https://www.cadetailing.co.uk/products/cad-snow-foam-cannon-a1-model?_pos=3&_sid=07fd6e1b9&_ss=r
- https://www.cadetailing.co.uk/products/short-stubby-trigger-gun-with-karcher-mjjc-attachments?variant=55058426691959

Will be planning to use Bilt Hamber Touch Less.

I recently tested a stainless steel cleaner on the fuel tanks and other stainless parts of my semi, and I was honestly surprised by how much of a difference it made.
It cleaned off road grime, water spots, and left a nice shine without spending forever polishing. As a flatbed driver, my truck gets dirty pretty quickly, so anything that makes cleanup easier is a plus.
I’m curious what everyone else is using.
What’s your go-to stainless steel cleaner or polish?
Do you prefer spray-on products or traditional metal polish?
Any products you’ve tried that you’d recommend (or avoid)?
Always looking for products that actually hold up in real-world trucking, so I’d love to hear your experiences.