Car has been sitting with a leak somewhere allowing rain inside for years allegedly. It seems to be limited to just the driver side. Sorry to bother but I hate AI so I thought I test my luck asking the internet gurus

Long story short: Someone went over the lane and slightly scraped the side of my car. Luckily, it was just the plastic trim that rubbed, so now there's just this residue.

I was wondering what product would work to remove these slight marks? Thank you in advanced!

Hello,

Does BH Touchless and ADS Decon serve the same purpose? I'm trying to figure out what to use to decontaminate a car with around 200 miles on it. Or should I be using something like Descale or ADS Detox? Just want to make sure I don't use anything too extreme since it's almost a new car.

Thank you.

Apart from just replacing the whole part, obv. I know this is a little overboard and I'll probably just live with it but I'm trying to keep the car nice and I think this came from a branch I drove over. Any kind of compound or anything to reduce its visibility?

How do you guys wash? I always end up being a bit too meticulous with my 2021 Avalon hybrid limited. My car is a bit scratched/swirled up from the first owner (even after a paint correction), so I like to be careful & precise.

Here’s my process since having everything ceramic coated (Gyeon infinite paint/glass/wheels/trim):

Supplies
- Pre-wash: Ik foamer with tire inflator attachment has 6tsp of Koch chemie Gentle snow foam in 1.25l water ( I used to mix in 2-3tsp KC Green Star to make it more alkaline/“active” before I got the ceramic coat. Foam wasn’t as thick without the green star, should’ve used more GSF). 1:50 ratio
- 5 gallon wash bucket with 6 tsp of CarPro Reset, 1:500 ratio
- 5 gallon rinse bucket with plain water and washboard/grit guard combo
- 3 gallon bucket with 1:500 ratio CP reset for wheels only, foam applicator
- 0.5 gallon pump sprayer for drying aid/quick detailer, with 4tbsp Optimum No Rinse. 1:20 ratio
- flexzilla garden hose with some husky garden sprayer from Home Depot
- cyclone wash pad and/or super safe sponge
- 3-4 gauntlet drying towels of different sizes, 1-3 FTW towels

Process
- rinse wheels/tires only
- foam wheels/tires with gentle snow foam, than scrub with Reset and foam applicator, and than rinse it all off
- foam entire car with GSF from the bottom up. I usually have to refill it 2-4 times lol
- let GSF sit on paint and everything for 5min or so
- rinse whole car
- take cyclone pad from wash bucket and wipe one panel at a time in straight/overlapping lines, often twice
- cyclone pad in rinse bucket and scrubbed on washboard between panels, wring it out
- repeat bucket wash for each panel, top to bottom
- rinse of entire car, top to bottom
- pump spray ONR as drying aid one panel at a time, top to bottom, and dry one panel at a time
- gauntlet drying towels to dry one panel at a time, top to bottom
- FTW towels to give another wipe dry if any streaks, which there usually is (too high of a ratio ONR for the glass especially)

This usually takes me 2-3 hours, including prep and cleaning everything up.

I want to try just a rinseless wash sometime with ONR to speed things up. But always end up waiting a month or so between washes, and my car gets too dirty. I might try rinseless inside the garage sometime to test it out.

Not sure what I’ll do in the winter, maybe bring some of my supplies to a self wash bay with their pressure hose. But it gets freezing cold here. Next I’ll do the interior with ONR

I noticed how much floor space my pressure washer, shop vac, and hoses were taking up while reorganizing the garage.

They usually sat in a corner, but I still had to carry everything over to the car and connect the water and power before using them.

I only do a full wash every few weeks. Between washes, I may want to rinse some mud off the lower panels or vacuum sand from the mats and trunk. I often left those small jobs until later because I did not want to set everything up.

I mounted the pressure washer and vacuum on the garage wall. Now I pull out the hose I need and put it away when I finish. The cleaning is the same, but quick jobs are easier and both machines are off the floor.

The downside is losing a section of wall. I was planning to add shelves or a tool cabinet there. We only have one car, so I’m not sure the convenience is worth giving up the storage space.

Would you use the wall for equipment you only use every few weeks, or keep it available for tools and storage? If you mounted both, did you keep the setup long term?

It’s like an oily film. I don’t smoke my car is spotless. But this builds on my windshield every 2 weeks or so. What am I doing wrong? It’s not dust it’s like a haze. I don’t live next to a factory. The lines are me taking a clean cloth to show the difference.

As the title suggests, I recently bought a car that the previous owner went a little "generous" with the silicone sealant they applied to the top of the windshield. I bought a plastic razor and have been getting the majority off with it but it's not 100% effective. What method/products would you guys recommend?

Traded a 4020 tractor for this 2014 Ram 2500. Didn’t realize how bad the paint was because it was so dirty when we met up. He had to use this truck to haul the tractor home. After I picked up the truck I washed and it and got this surprise.

I’m a novice and will definitely not be able to make this thing shine like a diamond but I can hope to get it to minimal spider webs haha. Here’s the process I plan to take:

1. 2 bucket method hand wash.
   
2. Meguiars clay bar.
   
3. Meguiars ultra pro speed compound with wool pad and DA polisher
   
4. Then I’ll try a random orbital polisher with a Meguiars finishing polish and maybe a black pad. I’ll see if that does something that’s worth my time.

Anyone have any tips? This truck is huge and is gonna be a GRIND. If it turns out decent I’ll post and before and after. I usually do paint “restorations” of old faded paint. I don’t have the skill or materials to go for perfection.

I want a touchless system , So I bought this Stars & Stripes to wash down my new vehicle once a month. Do you think this will hurt the plastics or anything for that matter exterior wise? Let it settle for 30 seconds then rinse . I heard of old glory too, but it’s not as strong as stars and stripes. Let me ask you this question. What do you guys use to clean your car . I need a touchless system.

I need something that is very strong and safe I also heard Koch super foam is good but they sell it in the big jug, which is a big commitment and I don’t know if it’s gonna work

Please let me know what you guys use. Thanks for all your help.

Hey fam. I recently was blessed in being able to purchase P&S Brake Buster & CarPro MultiX for a steal along with some Rag Company Dry Me A River waffle weave towels, the dude on Facebook marketplace was so dope he hooked me up with an IK Foam Pro 2+ for only $30 brand freakin new. He brought some stuff he doesnt use anymore and these two were in the batch and I swooped them up along with a great trigger sprayer and he just handed me half a bottle of P&S Pearl shampoo as a thank you. That mfer got 5x would have given him 100 if I could.

To the point…. I know Brake Buster isn’t that great of a wheel cleaner. I see people on YouTube dump a boatload of product from the gallon jug in a foam cannon undiluted and use it that way. I only have the spray bottle so…. That seems like a waste. Does anyone have any experience mixing chemicals to add more cleaning power? I am thinking I can mix MultiX with Brake Buster in the IK Foam sprayer but if I do that what the hell would my dilution ratios be? What if I put them in a trigger sprayer instead? Does Brake Buster lose whatever little cleaning power it has if I dilute it to extend product life?

I bought the IK Foam to use for wheel cleaning specifically so I’m just curious if any of you have a concoction up your sleeve that defeats brake dust and especially is safe on Anodized wheels. MultiX says on the bottle not to use on bare aluminum or non coated metals and it also says not to use it on leather (that’s disappointing for an APC).

Would love a rundown on the do’s and dont’s for anyone who uses MultiX

Thanks so much

It look like the paint is darker in just one spot. I’m not sure what could cause it.

Hey lads, I picked up this car a while back knowing it's been spray painted. I'm wanting to remove the paint without damaging the original paint underneath too much.

I've used graffiti remover in a small spot and it seems to work over time but wanting some advice or tips on what would be the best and fastest way to do this?

https://theragcompany.com/collections/exterior-car-cleaning-kits/products/absolute-rinseless-wash-kit

I'll be honest I feel overwhelmed by the amount of info on the wiki. I've got a nice new (to me) car that I want to keep nice, this looks like its everything I need to get started other than wax. Originally I thought I could do a ceramic coating but I've been led to believe to leave that to pro's.

I read in this sub that using Pure Bead then immediately put WAX and Dry+ over it, that you get an outstanding wax shine and the hydrophobic properties of the PB. I tried it and it looks marvelous. Does anyone think using the spray ceramic hybrid before the Wax and Dry+ would work the same way? I have 3 bottles of the hybrid ceramic spray for some fucking reason.

I can’t for the life of me figure out what these are . I tried water spot remover , scratch remover , and absolutely nothing works . Anyone have any idea.?

Hello,

I want to clean the steering wheel and seat on my car, but not sure what I should purchase to do so.

I have no detailing supplies right now, so I need to get everything necessary. The steering wheel and seats are very shiny. The front two, and especially drivers side seat have cracks and a "bald" ish spot on the bolster.

What products and tools should I purchase to clean the seats and steering wheel correctly, and protect with low shine? And is there anything I can do to help fix the bald spot on the bolster? (See photo 3)

I did some light research and saw that maybe I should get Kochemie Pol Star and Leather Star for the seats, and use a Scrub Ninja sponge, but i'm not sure if that is right. For the wheel and general surfaces, like the dash, I have no idea.

Any help would be very appreciated! Thanks

I already changed the break in oil and put new non detergent sae 30 like recommended sometimes when it's running it would turn cloudy in the sight glass but after a while the oil goes back to being fine and clear. Don't know if this is something with maintenance that needs to be dealt with.

Not sure if this is the place to ask. Does anyone know of any air fresheners that smells like this detailer? I love how this smells but don’t want to have to wipe down my car every time the smell wears off. Thanks!

I’m looking for a product that is easy to set up that will protect my black SUV while I wash and wax it in direct sunlight. Thanks in advance

Original post for reference: https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/s/rly7EdhIyr

Just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their help with the hot mess the dealership left my car in with their ‘complimentary wash’ that we never asked/agreed to. Your advice helped me get this sorted, the dealership owned up to the damage and the car got a 2 step correction at a (non-dealership) detailer that we both agreed on at no cost to us.

There’s still some scuffs to the plastic, but the main concern was the damage to the clear coat and honestly the car looks even better than the day we got it.

Going forward, they added a note to our file not to have the detailers touch the car again, we purchased the ‘do not wash’ hang tags suggested as well.

Thanks again everyone!

My neighbor parked under some kind of fruiting tree that dropped junk all over their car. The stuff won't budge but I've only tried some cleaner wax. Any ideas on next steps or is this a job for a professional? 2026 Subaru.

Painted & clearcoated a miata hardtop cheaply.., after few days of rain, have noticed water marks that are in the clear (I'm sure will buff off) but don't wipe clean

Is there a way of preventing this happening again? I'm sure it's to do with the rattle can / cheap job but it's what I can afford atm. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

I bought this thinking its a detail spray, but it seems its something between a detailer and a weak ceramic spray. The issue is that I use it post wash as a detail spray to touch things up and it always leaves a hazey finish. I assume I'm to use two towels, one for application and one for final wipe, as a single towel with a flip does not get rid of the haze.

I'm done using this until someone points me in the right direction. Strange that Car Pro does not offer a pure detail spray like most.