When im lazy and its only light dirt or after rain.I hose down the car with water and swipe with my hand left and right and dry it with a Microfiber towel.

any of you does this?

I've come across some of their Facebook videos and am curious to see what type of chemicals he's used to make that product. I'm kind of thinking of doing door to door to make some extra dough, but something tells me that's stuffs just modern day fish oil.

Hopefully someone here with some experience can help me out. I don't want to get sued to high heaven and back using it on a clients vehicle and ruining it.

I have a midsize suv and i have outdoor parking. Unfortunately i do not have access to a hose which means im going with the rinseless wash route. Given this situation, what are your guys recommendations to wash and protect my car

As of now my list is:

1. Optimum no rinse wash
2. Big red sponge
3. Griot’s Garage 10978 Ceramic 3-in-1 Wax

I still need a bucket and plan to fill it in my apartment and haul it down to my car.

Do i need two sets of different towels to dry and apply the ceramic wax? Or can i just buy one set of towel that can dry and apply the ceramic wax? Im a little confused about The Rag Company - Eagle Edgeless 350 (5-Pack) towels - on the amazon page this towel set is used for wax and sealants. Is it not good for drying? Is the eagle edgeless good for applying the Griot’s ceramic wax?

The goal here is to have the bare minimum that i dont have to carry a lot down from my apartment. A list of recs - from bucket to towels is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Polished the right side (technically the left side of the vehicle) using 3m machine polish on a foam pad with medium to low speed.

Definitely brought a bit of color back to the hood stripes.

Thinking about getting a second one, or just getting a bigger one.

Hello,

Hyundai Tucson has these interesting alcantara/suede seats. Which product should I use to clean them? My best bet right now is Meguira’s Ultimate Leather Detailer or go with dedicated Sonax Alcantara cleaner, but that might be overkill (because it’s fake alcantara)

Hi everyone. Noob here. So I’ve been detailing for a few months now and have been getting booked regularly on mostly weekends since this is a side gig for me.

I have a client who booked an appointment with me on Saturday for an interior detail and requested mobile service since the car isn’t registered at the moment. My challenge is, client is in an apartment complex and does not have access to an outlet for my extension chord. I typically have no issues with clients letting me use their power. In this case, there’s not much of a choice. I really just need to run my shop vac and Bissell extractor. I don’t think I want to invest in a generator just yet since this is a weekend gig, so I’ve been looking at inverters. The latter I’m sure I’ll get more use out of down the road. The question is, what would you do? I don’t want to turn the job down, but is it worth it for me to do this job to essentially pay for the inverter? Is the inverter even worth it? Thanks in advance.

1. RIDGID 14 Gallon 6.0 Peak HP NXT Shop Vac Wet Dry Vacuum with Fine Dust Filter, Hose, Accessories and Car Cleaning Kit
2. RIDGID Wet Debris Application, Foam Wet Dry Vacuum Shop Vac Filter for Most 5-16 Gallon RIDGID Shop Vacs (1-Pack)
3. DEWALT ATOMIC 20-Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Compact 1/2 in. Drill/Driver Kit with 2.0Ah Battery, Charger and Bag
4. 4.5 Gal. Portable Electric Quiet Air Compressor
5. 32 oz. All-Purpose Cleaner Spray
6. ZEP 1 Gal Premium Carpet Shampoo
7. Nature's Miracle 1 Gal Stain and Odor Remover
8. HARDY Latex-Dipped Work Gloves, X-Large
9. MERLIN 1/4 in. x 25 ft. Polyurethane Air Hose 
10. MERLIN Steel Industrial Quick Coupler Set, 5 Piece
11. MERLIN Pocket Blow Gun with Industrial Coupler
12. GRANT'S Ultra-Plush Edgeless Microfiber Towels, 12-Pack
13. CENTRAL PNEUMATIC 20 oz. HVLP Gravity Feed Air Spray Gun
14. STONER 10 oz. TARMINATOR Tar & Sap Remover
15. PREDATOR 3500 Watt SUPER QUIET Inverter Generator with CO SECURE Technology, EPA
16. VANGUARD 50 ft. x 10/3 Gauge Triple Tap Extension Cord, Yellow
17. BAUER 7.5 Amp, 6 in. Long-Throw Random Orbit DA Polisher
18. CENTRAL MACHINERY 1500 Watt Steam Cleaner Kit
19. Suds Lab N2 Interior Cleaner 32 oz
20. Super Clean Tough Task Cleaner-Degreaser - 1 Gallon | 128 Fluid Ounces 
21. 32 oz. Professional Spray Bottle by ZEP 
22. Sudslab DS Interior Scrub Pad 2pk 
23. Platinum Series XL Multi-Purpose Microfiber Cleaning Towels, 30 Pack 
24. Chemical Guys Extreme V.R.P. Dressing 2 Long Lasting Super Shine 100% Dry To Touch Vinyl, Rubber -Tire & Plastic Restorer+Protectant (16 oz)
25. Suds Lab D3 Interior Car Detailer, 32 oz. Bottle
26. Meguiar's G7148 Gold Class Car Wash Shampoo and Conditioner - 48 oz.
27. Suds Lab XA Zero-Acid Wheel Cleaner 32 oz.
28. Mothers Ultimate Hybrid Ceramic Spray Wax (24 oz.)
29. Meguiar's Hot shine High Gloss Tire Coating, G13815, 15 oz, Aerosol
30. Suds Lab TS Tire Shine Applicator Pad - Reusable Foam Applicator for Tire Treatments - Use with Tire Gel, Tire Shine, Tire Wet, Tire Balm, and More!
31. Stoner Invisible Glass Glass Cleaner Liquid 19 oz
32. Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit - Safe and Easy Car Claying for a smooth as Glass Finish, G191700
33.  Chemical Guys WAC20116 Butter Wet Wax, 16 fl oz 
34. White Diamond Metal Polish with Long Lasting Sealant, 12 FL. Oz.
35. Auto Drive Car Waxes Microfiber Applicator Pad 2 Pack, Blue
36. Cooking Concepts Bamboo Skewers, 100-ct. Packs 
37. Scrub Buddies Scrub Brushes with Soft-Grip Handles
38. Scrub Buddies Squeegees 10 in
39. Scrub Buddies Quick Eraser Sponges, 2-ct. Packs
40. 303 Automotive Interior and Exterior Protectant Spray 24oz
41. Adam's Polishes Iron Remover
42. FOLEX FOLEX 1 GAL 128 Ounce
43. Stoner Car Care 91034 Trim Shine Vinyl and Plastic Aerosol Protectant Coating for Automotive Interior and Exterior Restores OEM Finish and Color, Protects From Fading, 12 Oz, Pack of 1
44. Holikme 6 Pack Drill Brush Power Scrubber Cleaning Brush Extended Long Attachment Set All Purpose Drill Scrub Brushes Kit for Grout, Floor, Tub, Shower, Tile, Bathroom and Kitchen Surface White

I just tried to order some Meguiar's Bug and Tar Remover on Amazon. They say it's not legal to sell in California. What are the best legally available alternatives for a California zip code?

Hi All,

Just wanted to share my experience with two companies recently after having made some orders that had problems.

I made a very small order relative to many they process every day (~$150) from The Rag Company recently that went missing in a UPS center for 3 business days, I emailed TRC and they immediately got an investigation started and followed up 2x to let me know that the package was moving now & after it was marked delivered to make sure that it had actually gotten there and wasn't damaged.

I made an order from DTLR Supply (IMJOSHV on youtube's store) for a little specialty thing he carries (the little MJJC foaming insert that's 3 pieces instead of 1) and it didn't work right in my foam cannon - AliExpress special so I assume the problem is on my end. Anyways, I wanted to return but Josh himself emailed me to let me know it was fine to just keep it and sorry it didn't work for me.

Nothing big in the grand scheme of things, but it was really nice to just shoot an email and have an actual human immediately get back to me with solutions, instead of some torturous process involving chat bots and scheduled call backs and the like.

You always see the negative reviews but wanted to share a positive experience for a change!

P.S. Pan the Advertiser despite his flaws was spot on with recommending the Liquid8r - 25x36 version had an Explorer bone dry in a shockingly fast amount of time - incredible price to value there. My point of comparison, is a small PFM, Grant's XL, a Gauntlet knockoff from Lucallan on Ali, and various others some nice some cheap - all cared for properly (free & clear detergent, diluted ONR as a booster, & vinegar to fluff. Tumble dry low or air dried. stored in plastic storage boxes to keep dust free. PFM was the only one that remotely compared.)

I’ve seen several people here tout ONR’s usefulness for general house cleaning. I’m curious what kind of things it’s good for and what it’s not.

Also, are there any surfaces that it absolutely should not be used on? Or is it so benign that it’s safe on anything that you’d normally use a damp towel on?

What do you guys plan on buying for Black Friday ? Genuinely curious lol

Thank you in advance for your reply

All, I found a lot of mixed answers and I suspect this has been answered 100 times on this thread but I love this subeddit because I think the folks posting work on here are doing straight magic and I am jealous.

I just bought a new-to-me vehicle that has the entire vehicle wrapped in PPF. I mean the entire thing. It's a stellar job and the vehicle was super low miles so it's basically new (sub 1000 miles).

It's not a daily driver for me so it's going to be in the garage most of her life and I'll take it out when I want to drive her for fun.

So here's my question... she's going to get dusty. Can I use something like Griot's Garage Best of Show Detailer and a microfiber to lift the dust off her? Or am I washing her as soon as she's dusty?

I am mainly looking for a few bullet points of "don't do X and don't do Y but Z is okay"

-- signed, scared to micro scratch her but she's wrapped in goo and you folks are in the know!

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for some advice on decon washes for my Xpel Stealth PPF, which has a ceramic coating on top. My car is black and spends all its time outdoors, so it’s exposed to Queensland’s heat and the regular storm during warmer months.

I try to do a maintenance wash every 1–2 weeks, using pH-neutral products like GSF for foam, Reset or Bathe for shampoo and finishing up with Cure Matte as a sealant which leaves some streaking. Even with this routine, I notice a lot of what looks like water marks or sap that has slightly etched in the PPF after a wash. Fortunately, these marks usually fade with a water spot remover, but they keep appearing in other areas after each wash.

So, I’m wondering, is there a safe decon process specifically for matte PPF? Can I use a light clay towel with iron remover to remove impurities? Has anyone tried low pH acid washes like Descale or Purifica on without issues? Or maybe high pH options like Bilt Hamber Touchless or Lift? Or is sticking to strictly neutral pH products my safest bet?

I’d love to hear about any tips or experiences you’ve had with maintaining stealth PPF. Thanks in advance for the help!

I applied this spray sealant to my car on Monday, and after a heavy rain today, there is no tight beading.

I bought this as a topper for my 2 year old ceramic coating, the horizontal panels have taken a beating from being parked outside, and I wanted to restore the hydrophobic properties.

Method:

1. Washed with Adam's Graphene Shampoo

2. Clayed with DIY Detail clay towel and DIY iron remover

3. Used DIY Detail water spot remover

4. Dried vehicle

5. Applied spray sealant according to directions on the bottle

Did I do something wrong? It's like I never applied anything. Any advice or better spray sealant recommendations are very appreciated!

As you can see on the picture, I have applied leather dye with a foam applicator however it left uneven finish. How can I make it smoother?

https://preview.redd.it/ehgn5zef4v0e1.png?width=1290&format=png&auto=webp&s=c352388b1f35e45da5df02cc00508fe8c7f9f861

I just got a new car and want to keep it in good shape. My last car was 15 years old and developed a gross sticky dash. I searched around for how to “prevent” the sticky dash, but all I can find is how to “fix” a sticky dash. I don’t want to wait until I have to try a “fix”. I want to do as much as I can to “prevent” it from happening in the first place. Seeking tips. Frequent cleaning with water and microfiber, baby wipes, special cleaner, special wipes? Thank you!

Just got into detailing and bought this wheel brush, the bristles feels kinda rough, has anyone used this brush before? How’s your experience with it?

I recon I won’t be able to use it on most alloy or painted wheels.

Should I just go for those Microfiber brushes and mitts for wheel cleaning?

Hello! After doing a bit of research on car cleaning, I realized that I don't want to spend hundreds of dollars to professionally ceramic coat my car, nor spend the money/prep time to DIY the coating (especially since I can screw it up). Instead, I plan to use a ceramic sprayer like Girot 3 in 1 or Turtle Hybrid Ceramic Spray once every few months. Some people say to polish/deep clean the car before applying the spray but is that really necessary? My car is about a week old now and I was wondering what my next steps should be. For reference, I have a white (Ice Cap) 2025 Camry LE. It has not been washed yet and has only been hit with the water hose for now. The car has been driven lightly so far (about 150 miles) and I plan to drive this car on only pavement (for daily commutes through streets and highways).

Here is my current plan (please let me know if I should do something different):

1. Do a standard rinseless wash with P&S Absolute (1 bucket method). Prewash with a sprayer using rinseless solution. Use Ultra Black Sponge then Chemical Guys Chenille Microfiber Wash Pad for smaller nooks and crannies. Use separate brush and towels for wheels.
2. Use a Liquid8r towel to dry off the panels/windows afterward, using the remaining rinseless solution already on the car from the wash as the drying aid (so no additional drying aid). Use separate microfiber towels to dry wheels.
3. Apply ceramic spray onto dry car, applying 1-2 sprays per panel. Use one Eagle Edgeless 500 towel to apply and spread, and another to buff it out afterwards
4. Put microfiber towels in another bucket with Rags to Riches solution to prevent the microfiber towels from becoming hydrophobic from spray
5. (skip step 3-4 if doing a weekly maintenance wash without Ceramic Spray)
6. Wash microfiber towels/Wash Pad with Rags to Riches again in the washer (cold/warm water), then air dry.

If you didn't notice, the reason I listed all of the product names fully is because I have not bought them yet (maybe wait till black Friday sales) so here is my shopping list so far

• A cheap Chapin Sprayer to prewash
• Eagle Edgeless 500 towels
• Chemical Guys Chenille Microfiber Wash Pad
• P&S Absolute
• Ultra Black Sponge
• Rags to Riches Detergent
• Liquid8r Towel
• Ceramic Spray (I'm thinking either Girot 3 in 1 or Turtle Hybrid Ceramic Spray for now)
• A Grit Guard (not sure which one to get)

Please let me know if you think you can improve my plan so far. Any tips like certain products to switch out that you find better is helpful too. I also want to know if using the ceramic spray right after a rinseless wash is good or should I go out and spend more time/prep to make sure the ceramic spray sticks (like using polish and iron remover) and if so, is it really worth the extra cost and time.

Sup detailers,

Basically I got into detailing from a friend and now I'm building out my own wash kit and am stuck on the detail and wax situation. My car is a 2014 vw jetta, so nothing super crazy, but I just want to try seeing how I do detailing it.

So I have a rinseless wash for pre wash, soap for contact wash, and where I'm confused is should I use iron and tar removers and then clay my car, and then what do I do after that? I don't care for a sealant as my car isn't anything special so I'd honeslty be fine with a spray wax.

But from the pro's out there like is getting my paint that clean even necessary? My car has never been detailed before so it's never had any of that protection and I may do paint correction or buffing it in the future, but for now I want something simple, won't break the bank, but also feel like I did a baby detail or something that gets a lot of bang for you buck on effort.

So is claying necessary or what are your thoughts?

I park my car infront of my house and there are other cars as well, however different colors. Mine is silver and no matter how much i avoid trees and branches, it seems that my car gets pooped on by those flipping birds than the rest. Has anyone else experienced this? Any solution apart from changing colors to avoid being pooped on?

So I’m looking to start interior detailing.

I have ONR, MF towels, spray bottle, and that’s about it…

I can land a wet/dry vac for around $30-35 or so..

What are some essentials to complete an interior detailing.

For context before anyone tries to roast this…

I’ll be door knocking (as I already do for headlight customers) and by that it’s easy to pick and choose vehicles so that I won’t run in to disasters.

I’m essentially looking to detail a few “maintenance” type of vehicles that are more on the well kept side just to get cash flow going and then I can purchase more of what’s needed for heavier interior details.

I just need to start and do a great job.

I can likely find detail brushes at dollar tree or even a cheap set from Burlington or something as I’ve seen them for about $5.

I can get a glass cleanse for $3 Walmart.

What else do I need?

Thank you in advance.

Hi guys brand new to the forum here so apologies if I accidentally break any rules.

My apologies for the title to start out with ! I kind of winced typing it but couldn't think of a better way to put it - I am in absolute awe of all the people on here who put in the time and effort to make their car look sparking clean like it came brand new fresh off the dealer's lot and they have my utmost respect but.. I'm just not that kind of guy myself (I know I know what am I even doing posting in this part of reddit then? :) )

I've been using the squeegee and washing fluid at gas stations for years.. and was dismayed to find it created a smudge on my three month old Honda 2025 CRV's tinted car windshield that would not go away. I panicked and used Stoner's "Invisible Glass" cleaner and some cheap detailer's choice microfibre wash towels from home depot (I would post the links but my last post got removed automatically so trying this without the links to home depot this time) and breathed a sigh of relief as the combination of the two wiped the smudge away (I was particularly nervous about the Invisible Glass cleaner possibly doing damage to the tint on the windshield but apparently so far so good ).. this has made me a lot more nervous about the gas station free cleaning tools though in case it leaves some smudge that I won't be able to remove so easily or worse.

In the part of Florida where we live sadly we have hard water and as I mentioned the car windshield and other windows on our Honda CRV.. also on our 2019 Honda Civic and 2019 Honda Odyssey .. are all tinted.

I'm wondering if the following would work as a "quick and cheap" method.

Fill a bucket with water from the hose outside the house (though again I'm wondering if using hard water repeatedly on the tinted windshields would damage it over time and if I'm better off just buying bottles of distilled water from say Walmart)

Use this squeegee

"DSV Standard Window Squeegee for Car Windows"

(this was the only website I could find far as recommendations for a good squeegee for cars, website seems to think the DSV is best for windows)

https://www.oldcarsweekly.com/review/best-car-squeegee/#DSV\_Standard\_Car\_Squeegee

wash the windows of the car (front, back, side windows.. I should note the back windows have those line things on them that you can warm up to defog windows, living in Florida frost or snow on the windows likely will not be a problem :P but it would be nice not to damage them anyways) with the hose water and the sponge part of the squeegee to remove the dirt from the windows then use the rubber "blade" on the squeegee to pull the water off the windows.

Wipe the windows down with this wafflecloth

"The Rag Company - Standard Waffle Weave Towels, Microfiber Detailing, Window/Glass and Drying, Wax & Polish, Lint-Free, Streak-Free, 370gsm, 16in x 16in, Light Blue (3-Pack)"

(the only reason I used the detailer's cloth originally was it was available at home depot but for some reason home depot didn't have any waffle weave cloths I could find right away to buy like I said I was in panic mode :P .. the rag company waffle weave towels have been ordered from amazon and hopefully should arrive later this week)

More specifically I would use one single waffle wash cloth for all the windows checking it periodically to see if it got dirty.. saving the other two waffle washcloths in case I need to use them for Invisible Glass cleaner :) (see below).

If there's a smudge or other noticeable problem on the windows that won't go away after all that or if the windows just don't seem clean enough to see through after that (too "streaky" for example) use the Invisible Glass cleaner and rag company waffle towels on the problem areas or the entire window if necessary.

I did do some research on this part of reddit and have read suggestions like say putting a few drops of dawn dishwashing liquid into the water to help with the cleaning (if so though then how many drops of dawn dishwashing liquid per gallon would be good?) but there seems to be a debate on whether or not this damages tinted windshields between various people posting on this part of reddit - I did figure out from reading posts on this part of reddit you want to avoid ammonia which is bad for tinted car windows. Apparently dawn dishwashing liquid does not contain ammonia however

https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify/verify-dawn-and-clorox-and-ammonia/65-faab52dc-d57e-48b8-a730-068af6a727d1

(debate on dawn dishwashing liquid on reddit - here's one example :) , scroll down to tumadretambien's post and the replies )

https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/8wygfn/windshield\_cleaning\_recommendations/

And again not necessarily looking for windows as clean as if the car was brand new off the dealer's lot or they were professionally cleaned or anything like that :) , just car windows clean enough to see clearly through when driving.

Sorry for the long post as you can probably see I'm very ignorant, new to this and very nervous :) .. thanks very much to anyone who reads this and replies :)

I've been gearing up to make my first purchase of polishers, pads, and liquids. I’ve about reached my wits end with analysis paralysis regarding which compounds, polishes, and pads to go with. Just focusing on pads for this post, I think I’ve settled on the SDO/HDO line from Lake Country (SDO if I end up going with a standard throw polisher & HDO if I go with a long throw).

For corrections on cars with average level of imperfections, which two pads from the SDO/HDO line would you recommend I purchase? I was originally thinking orange and black. That way I can use them for two step corrections, as well as just the orange pad for one steps. However, I recently watched a video from Sandro of Car Craft Auto Detailing where he mentioned he uses blue for compounding/one-steps and orange for finishing. Should I go that route instead? Or how about blue and black?

Unfortunately, every website that carries LC pads has a different write up for each color so I’m hoping you all could provide me some info based on your experiences with each one, or at least with blue vs orange. (Yes, I've looked at the master chart for pad aggression on LC's website, but it doesn't do much for me as someone who hasn't polished before. That's why I'm asking for advice here.)

And for reference I am just a long-time enthusiast but lately more people in my circle have been asking about providing detailing services so I will be branching out after I practice polishing on my own cars.

TLDR: which of the three colors of Lake Country SDO/HDO pads should I buy and what are your experiences with each. Thank you!

Has anyone here used solution finish on interior plastics like the dash? Just wondering since I couldn't find much discussion on it.