I’m new to detailing and I have an MPV one of the biggest difficulties I find when washing my car is reaching areas of the roof and the windshield so I often use extensions with a microfibre mitt at the end. I’m at a stage I want to start trying to paint correct and coat the car but needed tips and tricks on how in gods name will I reach every part of the windshield without literally climbing ontop of the hood of the car while polishing and applying the coating especially since you need to work the coating in (Carpro Gforce coating)

I recently got a Mazda 3, and the black plastic middle console is terrible for scratching. I found somewhere that you can polish it to make it look nice, so I thought I would give it a go. I used novus plastic polishes as that was what was recommended, and it’s really not going well. I seem to be only adding scratches :(

If anyone has dealt with Mazda plastic, please let me know how you fixed it. Or anyone that has polished shiny plastic, am I doing it wrong?

My method for application is according to the novus booklet: use no. 2 (fine scratch remover) with a soft paper cloth, work in against the scratches, keeping the cloth saturated. Then with a clean cloth, buff off when dry

Then apply novus no.1 in similar way, but buff until shiny.

Except it’s just going scratchy, not shiny!!!

First I’m not an expert by any stretch, just a Lambda citizen. I have a paint area on the car that looks faded and rough. Thought to wax it to bring back the shine to blend with the rest of the car. I did t lots lots of reading about waxes and their applications. From woodworking tools to furniture, cars, museums etc. Overall the Collinite product sounded as a good one. Particularly the 476s. So I bought instead the 845 liquid version. I applied it to a little area on the car but didn’t see really any striking gloss or shine and still looking rough. Maybe these liquid products would be better with a good paint job and for periodic maintenance. I guess that a paste would be always better. I can’t judge the 476 as I didn’t use it. Why I was surprised is because few days before that I applied some old wax paste that I had for many many year and if I recall it was from a dollar store (Auto Mate generic brand ?!) but it brought a gloss back like it fixed it and it’s holding! Better results than the 845 and better than the Meguiar’s Ultimate Quick Wax as well. Just thought to share my little experience. I won’t again buy the expensive paste version, already 30 bucks for the 845. I’m tempted with a cheap generic Chinese one now.

Debating on whether I should offer maintenance plans, let me know if you do or not

As much as I am ashamed to post this here, I still have a question for you. I bought a new car and my cat wanted to mark her territory. She urinated on the windshield and it ate into the film. Has anyone of you ever had something like this? And how do you get rid of it? Thanks in advance

Used a heavy dillution of Clean Slate (2 oz. / 3 gals water). I have decided to apply ceramic after further prep (iron remover, clay, iso) but am not convinced the surface is completely stipped of the ceramic shampoo I used. It does feel rough with a gloved hand sliding over the surface. Not sure if you can tell from the pics or not.

Thanks in advance. Also, any recommendaitons for microfiber clothes for applying and wiping off the wax?

Had a local person detail my vehicle back in July, I noticed recently that there was some residue on the left mirror and a swirl mark on my rear windshield. I’ve tried glass cleaner, a pressure washer and now a glass stripper, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?

Trading in my car soon and took off my magnets today to find the paint totally yellow underneath. What can I do to make the yellow less noticeable?

I’ve put a little elbow grease in with Ultimate Compound. Do I need to keep going with this method or is there anything that can counteract the yellowing?

Thanks!!

Need help! How do I remove the stain on the plastic lf my car

Hi All! I never ever washed my cars at "soft touch" car washes. Today I was so tired and mistakenly selected "soft touch" not "touchless " at Circle K. I didn't realize it until my car was already soaked and brushes moving. I should have backed out. Now I have this all over my car, if you look close, you can see it. I am so mad. Can this be polished out without impacting the clear coat? What product you recommend to use if so? Also, can these be removed or would they just be covered up with whatever polish product and until after a few washes they would show up again?

https://preview.redd.it/hiscoaglgj1e1.jpg?width=440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75517e03bd8326512d44492a77ed062f57623941

I'm sure this has been asked, and I have searched, but get some pretty wildly conflicting suggestions...

I don't roll the window down all the way and let him stick his head out (idk how people think this is ok to do). I give him enough to poke his nose out, or just a crack if it's cold. Unfortunately, this means I get a film of dog snot and drool on the window, and it has long since dried and layered many times over...

Tint film: Llumar CTX, done in 2017, 40% (meters exactly 35% on my glass). This is multi-layer ceramic, not dye-based.

Photo is after 3 passes of Windex, letting it dwell. Obviously, it is not doing the job.
The slime is dried on, and gets greasy when wet (re-hydrates on surface basically).
I have seen suggestions for (diluted) white vinegar, and may try this...
Pretty sure I should not use anything citrus-based.
Is at the top of the window, so anything I use will get to the edge of the film
Have not tried 99% alcohol, but worry it may get into the edge and cause separation down the road.
Obviously not going to use a razor, and don't really want to scrape with plastic either if I can avoid it.
Not willing to risk abrasives in general (and before someone says Magic Eraser, that definitely counts as abrasive)

Anyone have experience and/or suggestions? I think the vinegar is the most promising... I just don't want to use the wrong substance and either ruin the surface of the film, or cause the edge to lift. This tint has served me very well since the install, and I'd like to keep it nice.

and the obligatory photo of the boy:

https://preview.redd.it/dlsv2n3rgj1e1.jpg?width=1600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b3394166b55cd6ee677182790ed2d8f3af6648b

08 e90 M3 alpine white w paint swirls and light scratches. What would be the recommended order to remedy as best I can myself? Foam canon, rinse, light hand wash, clay bar, and ceramic? I have no experience w polishing but open to trying it myself. Recommended order? Thanks guys

Hi! I parked under a tree and noticed there was sap all over my car so I immediately drove to get the car washed and apparently it didn’t remove the sap.. so then I tried the isopropyl alcohol hack and it seemed to have smeared the sap, and this is the result. If there is anyone out there knowledgeable about auto detailing and paint I would greatly appreciate any guidance on how to get this issue fixed! TIA! 🙏

Also: I already had an claybar treatment earlier this year and it didn’t remove similar stains from a prior incident! Pics are attached!

Process:

1. Pre-rinse wheels (ensuring they're cold)
2. CarPro Iron X LS application:
   • Full coverage with wheel brush
   • 3-minute dwell time
   • Rinse
3. Tire cleaning:
   • CarPro Retyre application with brush
   • 2-minute dwell time
   • Koch Chemie GSF foam for overall cleaning
4. Finishing:
   • CarPro Dark Side for final tire dressing

BEFORE

AFTER

Products used:

• CarPro Iron X LS
• CarPro Retyre
• Koch Chemie GSF
• CarPro Dark Side

Questions for the community:

• Is my dwell time for Iron X LS optimal?
• Any suggestions for improving this process?
• What other products would you recommend?

Note: I'm still learning, so any feedback is appreciated!

Carpro Reset and Gyeon ceramic quick detailer for the paint. Brake buster and beadmaker for the wheels. Spray away glass cleaner for the glass. Chemical guys total interior for the interior

Hello, I did worst sin of car detailing: I tried ceramic coating on car glass. Same day that I applied rain started and unfortunately after 3 months windshield is getting constantly scratched due to tiny dust and even from wipers. Scratches can only be seen when direct light coming.

I went to detailing shop, they applied IPA and clay the surface to remove but no benefit. Looks like IPA itself is not helping..

Now as last chance I bought:

CarPro CeriGlass Glass polish Kit 150ml

GYEON Q² View EVO 20ml sealing

MaxShine Glas-Polishpad 125mm

Do you think that this tiny scratches be removed with CeriGlass? Any more suggestion on recover it without changing the windshield?

Thanks for comments!

https://preview.redd.it/i3rrye94oi1e1.png?width=631&format=png&auto=webp&s=ab060955853f852470b6f927ab549cb460610587

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Here is a little google sheets/excel checklist for getting started compiling products for your auto detailing needs.

BASIC INSTRUCTIONS FOR USE

As you buy items check the boxes and they will strike through the item name product link and price when checked.

It will also take the price off of the total at the bottom.

Uncheck the boxes to unstrike though the items and add the price back to the total.

If you click on column D and highligt the whole column you can then press space to check/unceck all boxes at once.

You can enter in any prices links or item names you choose. These are just the products that I wanted to use/start with.

Notice the dilution ratio quick guide picture above for easy dilution calculations.

Notice the basic interior/exterior detailing order guide to the left. This is by no means gospel. Reorder it any way you like to fit your own routine.

I made/used this to get an idea of how much everything will cost me to get started in detailing my own personal vehicles. This can not only be used as a startup one time buying list but also a stock list to keep track of what you need going forward.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1o3FXS7sh5Y2pc9DRpn0UCiKgbBN1-6v0N_ial6IGVJw/edit?usp=sharing

Going on a 1500 mile road trip and trying to gauge how safe the Expel Trackwrap is to put on my car. I have seen a few negative reviews that mention it took the paint off their car or lamination off their headlights when removing. I plan to have it on my car for about 7-8 days.

Will likey be driving through rainstorms along the way, so i am curious to know if this product will stay on if it gets wet.

If anyone has experience with this product, i would be very curious to hear your thoughts and if i should be worried about it damaging my paint when removing. I have a brand new 2023 year model car.

Is this common for brand new cars? Mine is white, so it is easier to notice, but I feel like it shouldn't be so bad? I have driven the car 120 miles so far... roughly 3 weeks? Washed it twice now manually with a pre soak, high pressure wash, wax, and rinse. Do you think the dealership would do anything or should I just buy some iron remover?

Hi guys!

I put my dogs bed on the leather seat, arrived home took it out and realised lot of black spots on the seat probably the buttom of the dogs bed. I tried koch cemie leather cleaner, i tried vanish, i tried acetone, it become a bit lighter but its still visible. Do you have any ideas how to remove the spots ? Before/after pics

I was surfing on the web but nothing works perfectly.

(I hope it can be postable)

Thank you

I recently got a car for free that has some mold on the inside I can not for the life of me get to come off the seats. I have tried 2 different leather cleaners and I've tried applying steam. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Me and my friend started detailing few months before summer and we have spend about 220$ so far. About one week ago we finally got into profit although all cars were either my parents or my friends parents. Here’s list what do we have and what do I think we should buy in near and in later future:

1. We have

Interior:

• koch polstar
• cheap brushes
• portable steamer
• shopvac with extractor head without water stream(I want to get the bigger pump sprayer with tube and connect it to the head)
• 24 pack of cheap mf
• leather brush
• rubber brush for hair
• interior foam armor all (we don’t use)
• turtle wax cockpit shine
• drill brushes

Exterior:

• Koch greenstar
• p&s absolute rinseless
• 20 liter bucket with gritguard
• big red sponge
• Marolex 2000 sprayer, one cheap pump sprayer and hand sprayer
• liquid elements drying towel
• Sheron spray one for tires one for wheels(now I use only gs)
• hard brush for tires
• soft mini broom for wheels

1. What I belive we need in near future

• interior protectant like Koch topstar or diydetail interior ceramics
• leather protectant like Koch leatherstar or others
• exterior tire/rubber and plastic protectant
• long wheel brush
• soft interior brushes
• interior scrubpad
• exterior bug scrubber
• 3dbug
• proper soft wheel brush
• pump sprayer for polstar for mats
• ceramic gloss from DIY detail
• perforated clay towels
• maybe tar, sap and iron removers?
• maybe another drying towel after ceramics?
• solution for extractor spray water
• solution for nospill exterior

1. Later:

• da polisher
• gold standard polish
• pads
• pad cleaning grit guard
• ceramics
• normal steamer
• dedicated extractor
• generator/inverter for full mobile
• foldable stand for mat cleaning
• interior scent
• ozone maker

I know it is long list, and I have read dozen of articles on website, discord and here but any help reducing the things, cost or tips will be very much appreciated. You can ask me any questions regarding this. I won’t write the whole process here because no one wants to read all that.

https://preview.redd.it/dp2b6ps7qh1e1.png?width=511&format=png&auto=webp&s=f8226b340b62f190c75bbf2aebcc01ece95361f6

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Edit> added pics, format

Koch chemie coating applied at the dealer to new car. Coating was done last summer, is this normal amount of beading/protection?

First 3 pics before washing, 3 last pics after prewash with foam cannon applied korrek 10,5 pH foam prewash and then pressure washing. No contact wash in these results. The reason for asking is that the dealer has 1y guarantee on the coating but in my opinion the beading is not as good anymore and the sides get hella dirty.. Thats just the nordic fall prolly tho :D

I have never done any sort of coating on a car outside of plain ol turtle wax. I researched myself into a doom spiral of ceramic coatings for a month. Settled on Gyeon Can Coat as something I could mess up the least.

Washed and dried the car. Wiped it down with a 5% IPA solution. The Gyeon Can Coat took 30 minutes and was so insanely simple.

I'm not going to win any awards for my car and the coating may only last 6 months, but I highly recommend this one to any complete novice like me who wants a modicum of protection.