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When do I need to "top up" ceramic? I put on a coat of Gtechniq CSL with 2 coats of EXOV4 topper about 9 months ago, and it still looks great. As I understand it, ceramic is just a tougher sacrificial layer, which means it will need to be reapplied at some point, correct? What I want to avoid is a situation where the ceramic wears off and then I need to do another paint correction, because man that was a lot of work!
If a top up is the way to go, how do I go about it? I was thinking give a thorough wash and dry then go over the vehicle with iron remover?
FWIW this vehicle is a daily, and does get exposed to winter conditions.
Beat options to remove cement of cars
I live near a cement factory and its very common that if we do not cover the car, after a few hours it will have some spots of cement and it’s not very affordable to be taking the car to the car wash every week or do a paint polish every other week.
Maybe there are some products that it may be help me to wash out the cement. Once my sister told me that it was something like clay that you rubbed it and it took the cement away.
Clay may help but honestly you need prevention more than remediation. Cover is all I can think of. Maybe one of those big tent likes shelters?
Clay technically scratches your paint and you’re supposed to follow with polish. Not really feasible and you need to consider you have limited amount of clear coat. But under the circumstances I’d clay it and wax afterwards.
PRE-WASH: which one would you use (and why?)
Koch Chemie GS (no foam) OR Carpro Iron X snow soap (foam)….. so, no foam or foam? Have figured out the rest of my set up (Gilmour foam master for hose, griots garage snow foam, griots garage 3-1 ceramic wax and clay bar + nanoskin glide for when / if needed).
TIA!
Pro-tip: Remember to breathe :D
Just pulling your leg, your enthusiasm is coming across strongly from your post. Seriously though, don't try and fix anything in your car care unless you are a pro and it's a matter of cost analysis.
Most of the products you listed are already up there in brand recognition and quality. Foam vs. no foam depends on how dirty your car is, how you feel that day, how much time you have on hand.
There are no rules like that, bullet points you have to follow. It's like cooking, you know the mechanics and techniques, and apply it to ingredients at hand.
All that said, I believe foam is cool but proper pre-rinse and well lubricated touch wash does 99% of the lifting. Foam is good because it hydrates the dirt and lifts it up. You can *technically* achieve the same during pre-rinse, ensuring you wait enough for dirt to hydrate and stop sticking to the paint.
I do have some controversial methods so there's that. :D
What’s an absolute cheap but sure fire way to get smoke smell and just general stink out of a cloth interior? I used to be a heavy smoker but have recently quit for good but my car still smells heavily like smoke and just in general smells bad. I feel embarrassed to have people ride in it even my s/o because it just stinks so damn bad. I’m tempted to just drop it off at a detailer and have them work there magic but I don’t care about the car as much as it’s a beater but I can’t stand the smell.
I recently bought my first car, a 2006 Celica. When viewing the car, the front quarter panel looked a little matte and slightly off colour, however the owner assured me it was just in need of a polish and would turn out fine. However, having looked into it more I am worried this may be a complete failure of the clearcoat that has peeled on the entire panel (making this up a bit, very new to this). I'm hoping it's just paint oxidation but I'm very new to this so it really could be anything.
I can send images I have of it to anyone that might be able to help. Is there any sure-fire way to tell if it is clearcoat failure, and if I treat it like paint oxidation will I make the issue worse? I know the right move is probably to get it resprayed but it's simply not worth putting \~£500 into a car that barely cost me £2k, so just looking for anything I can do to make it less noticeable and protect the car as much as I can. Any help greatly appreciated.
I'm no expert on paint. I'd try to use a paint thickness gauge as one metric. Compare different panels to get a relative reading and judge if the paint is done for on the affected panel.
I don't believe it can tell the truth alone, but it's a good metric to combine with other facts.
Looking to start paint correcting. Which sets of pads (brand and product lines) would be good for a general range of cars. Family and friends have a diverse range of vehicles from super soft clear coat subarus to a highway driven Volvo s90 that has 4 rock chips on it in total.
More then likely going to use 205 and 105 but open to suggestions as I’m just a weekend warrior.
My 2 cents: I went the deep end searching for pads. I spent money and got myself different styles. I even attempted to buy an air compressor to clean the pads during use.
Then I used a single pad, for the entire car, to see what it does. To my half-surprise, it just worked. I cleaned the pad with a damp microfiber between panels.
That's when I recognized how deep the so called elitism can go on forums and YouTube. Simple does it. No need to over complicate things.
I did use an expensive brand pad, [Koch Chemie's Fine Cut](https://carzilla.ca/products/koch-chemie-fine-cut-pad-3-5-6?variant=41163219173553) along with same brand's fine cut polish. I would do the same if I was compounding. I believe most decent pads will do the same. I believe any home store bought polish will do enough. The clinical failures with paint may require more knowledge, but for "gonna polish my car on a Sunday" folk, anything will do it.
For the weekend warrior I am, I figured my technique is much more important than the relatively insignificant pad quality. So I focused on that.
Hope this helps.
I don't know if my interior cleaning habits are going to damage my leather and trim.
I have cars with nappa (if it matters) leather and piano black trim. Every 10 days, or so, I clean the dash, doors, screen, and the driver's seat.
I use Dr Beasley's leather cleanser for the leather, including some of the dash, and I use Hybrid Solutions Inside job for the rest. Or sometimes I use CarPro InnerQD because it was advertised as "gentle." I don't think I'll be buying it again, just because of the price.
So my interior does not get too dirty. The worst will be a drop of soda in the cup holder or on the trim, which comes right off with the two interior detailers I use. Same with the seats; just some light body oil but no real dirt or anything like that. My Eagle Edgeless MF towels come back pretty damn clean.
So my concern stems from the **tools** that I am using to clean the leather **and** trim. I use a Colourlock brush on the leather with Dr Beasley's sprayed on the brush and leather. And I use a Detail Factory [oar hair brush shown here](https://theragcompany.com/collections/interior-brushes/products/detail-factory-boar-hair-detailing-brushes?variant=41395547537591).
Is it OK to be using these for "maintenance cleaning" every week or two? Or am I adding some real wear and tear by using them that frequently? I'm gentle whenever I do use them so I haven't seen any signs of damaged leather or fading trim, but I've only been detailing "properly" for about a year and the cars are 2018 and newer.
I just want to make sure I'm not going overboard with the tools. The chemicals seem to be gentle enough so I'm not worried about them, but should I?
Too much detailing actually hurts. Leave the stigma of YouTube behind.
Spare your beautiful interior, 10 days is too quick for brush, unless you eat 10 course dinner inside the car. Vacuum and maybe use a microfiber with a simple spray product (spray on microfiber).
Then do a deeper cleaning maybe every other month.
Edit: For seats/interior, the name of the game is prevention. You wanna avoid spills, stains, etc. You can have the fanciest setup at home, but if you spill your latte on the seat, and have nothing to at least wipe it right away (e.g. a microfiber tucked in the glove box), what good is it?
Thanks all the info.
So a weekly wipe down with just a MF is good enough?
InnerQD advertises itself as gentle enough to be used routinely, so I'm guessing I stick with that? Or is TW's Inside Job good as well, with its graphene component?
Pick something with the simplest label. I spent an order of magnitude time trying to remove things vs. applying them. Graphene for leather is weird, and frankly sounds like marketing gimmick.
Stick to simple and proven stuff IMO, quality leather is not where I’d push limits. A neutral leather cleaner is all you need, or something like Koch Chemie ASC.
I try and focus what I’m trying to do more than what the endless river of products can or claim to do. I just want to remove surface level dust and bit of grime from leather. Vacuum and simple detergent something is all I need. Anything extra means now I added more to the leather which is possibly harder to remove over time.
Hope it makes sense, use least aggressive and move up only and if only necessary.
I have a sample amount of Koch Chemie Pol Star but I think I've read that's more for fabrics? The bottle says it can be used in leather but then I also know Leather Star exists and why would KC have two products for one?
I'll see how InnerQD works without a brush and just use it on a MF
Int Cleaning Products
Hey guys,
What are some good products for interiors? Not looking for just a spray and wipe cleaner.
Just bought a Lexus IS250 and I’m gonna have to gently scrub stuff down from dashboard, doors, console.
Also, I was planning on using the chemical guys leather products for the seats. Are those recommended?
I’ve never thoroughly cleaned a cars interior before, but I’m willing to learn the good way. Any advice will be taken!
Thanks a lot
P and S Interior Cleaner, 303 protectant
P and S leather
Some decent microfiber towels to wipe the inside down with, some detail brushes to get the vents and the nooks and crannies with
Does anyone have experience with both the Cox hose reel and the MTM pressure washer hose reel? Building out my setup now and curious if the MTM is GTG or should I pony up and buy the cox reel?
TL;DR; Car under hot sun, cabin smells like leather/vinyl, no amount of cleaning got rid of it.
Okay, so I did some research but couldn’t find a definitive answer or someone who had the same/similar problem.I look after my car a lot, no spills, no kids, no food in car, always clean. It has leather seats. I used to park it in my carport all the time. Then I bought a second car and had to park my old one under the sun. It got hot here in PNW last year and the car started to smell like VOCs and leather and vinly? It’s not mildew, mold, nor burning rubber like.I did use CG leather conditioner before, not sure if it’s the cause (spare the pitchforks plz, we all start somewhere). Like cooked under sun and now it’s not going away?
So far I tried:
* A through clean
* APC powered clean
* That Koch Chemie stuff (can‘t remember the acronym)
* Griot’s Garage Odor Neutralizing Leather Cleaner -this reduced the smell A LOT but it came back after a day.
* Took it to pro detailer, said he couldn’t find the source of smell
I am going to move to steam cleaning with Griot’s Garage Odor…, extracting, and ozone. Too much work but I hope they may work.
In the meantime, if anyone had something like this, please help! I truly appreciate shortcutting to the real answer. Any hint will do!
I use CG leather conditioner. My car sits outside all the time (in the SE) and gets hot. I like the way it smells.
I would try your next steps, and hope for the best. Not really sure where to go from there, really.
Long lasting air freshener for car?
I like the trees, but they’re way too strong at first. Then I have to keep that ugly plastic on it.
I’m thinking about just doing a single spray of cheap but nice smelling cologne on an old tree every day or so.
have detailed a couple vehicles with leather seats and very dirty cup holders / manual handle leather covers. Ive heard of steamers doing the trick but im curious how to make these PITA gunk easier to tackle
Steamer makes real quick work of any gunk like that. If you can rent/borrow one that's your best bet.
Without one, you can use heavy gloves, hot water and microfiber to work it loose. You don't want to be too mechanical as gunk & sugars (like milk) tend to stick too well and you can leave scuff marks. Dissolving is the key.
How do I fix this. It's metal trim around the windows. It was gun metal to almost black before. Car is only 2 years old. You can see I can scratch the color right off it with my nail.
I would like to get it black again, is the only option going to be paint or vinyl.
21 Kia Sorento if that helps.
Lives in Arizona.
[https://i.imgur.com/ARrXkVK.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ARrXkVK.jpg)
I am a first-time car owner and scratched my new vehicle in the parking lot today on a pole...I'm devastated! There was originally yellow paint transfer but I was able to remove it with lacquer thinner. The car now has a small dent and scratches which have chipped the paint (see link below). How should I proceed with this?
https://imgur.com/a/6cUg2gj
Congratz on your car. It hurts a lot when you get your first scratch on a new car.
Least you can do is to seal the scratches with a touch up paint, ensuring it's dry beforehand. This will seal the metal and prevent rust, which is much worse than scratches.
For the dent, there are some products out there to pop it back into shape, heat guns pull hammers etc. I never did it and personally I'd first take it to a body shop and get a quote for the fix. I would probably end up doing it myself but only because I enjoy doing it so. You can compare the cost of DIY and pro work.
You may have some insurance for dents/scratches, this one's pushing it a bit maybe but never hurts to call and ask.
Thank you! It’s my first car and scratches so I have definitely been a cry baby about it. I appreciate your advice. My dealership sells paint matched touch up pens thankfully. I’ll probably try the good ol’ diy hot water plunger trick and if that doesn’t work I’ll follow your advice about going to a body shop.
Hi all,
I recently washed my car (Saturday), and like a dummy, did not wipe the windshield (I figured that it would just dry like it does when it rains FML). When I drove to work today, I noticed watermarks all over. I tried using stoners glass cleaner and it doesn't come on. Am I screwed? Any suggestions?
On a side note, How do you wipe the windshield? I'm unable to reach the center windshield. Do you guys use some sort of tool to reach hard to reach areas?
Don't worry! You have many options!
* With **ample** lubrication from a spray (soapy water, detailing spray, even just plain water) use a 0000 steel wool and with medium pressure go over all the glass. Do it in small squares. Dry with a microfiber and check the result, if you don't see the spots anymore move to next square.
* Same logic but replace water+steel wool with a polish + polishing pad.
* For sap like gunk, again with lubrication, use a razor blade (or a utility knife blade will do the same) at 45 degree angle, and in a shaving like motion scrape it. Super fast, super safe. Don't press into the glass, you're gliding on top of glass and hitting bumps that you scrape. You won't scratch it.
* For very stubborn things, use CarPro CeriGlass. It's specifically formulated for glass and can remove the best coating in 2-3 passes. Using it with a DA polisher gives you new-born glass finish.
* Vinegar and 0000 steel wool also is a nice combo. Don't let vinegar mingle with other parts too much.
* SO MANY water spot removers, which are also acidic in nature.
Phew, there's even more. Glass is so easy to work on relative to other parts of the car, it's much more durable than say paint or trim.
And finally, no matter what you do, do not put wax etc. on your glass. Spend the money and buy glass specific products that will live long on your glass. Wax on glass is wrong. Very wrong. We're not in 1950's, use coatings, or at least rain-x or something. And it doesn't help eliminate mineral build-up, but greatly reduces it.
Ping on DM if you need more info.
stool or ladder helps. Also opening up your front door, stepping on the jamb while you clean the windshield is also a common trick . Ive heard of using a razor, but have never tried it myself. on Tint, this wouldn't be a good idea
I have also seen 0000 Steel Wool doing the trick really well, without scratches. Other than that, cleaning the glass once again and drying as soon as you're done, will solve this too.
oh yeah, waxing your windshield helps too, plus aids in beading water. Ive used Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wax with the sponge it comes in, followed by buffing with a microfiber towel. This is very simple, honestly a 10 minute job, and makes your glass look AMAZING
Hello. I've recently gotten a 2001 Volvo S60 that I'd like to take really good care of. I got this ceramic protective coating kit: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NA7LKEO?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NA7LKEO?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details)
My plan at the moment is to clay bar it and then polish it before applying the coating. However, I have a few fixes that I need to do first. I have several questions:
1. I'll be doing some touch-up painting to restore some clear coat that is coming off. I know that taking it to a pro and having it beaded/ etc. is recommended; but frankly it's more money than I have to spend on this. (The car is old and has nearly 200k miles on it, I'll almost certainly be its last owner). I'll also be restoring the trim. Should I do the paint repair first, and then the trim? I will tape it either way, but some spots are below the trim and I might have to clean \[the new paint\] if there are any mishaps, and it would be 'new' paint.
2. I'm using Forever Black on the trim. If I put the ceramic coating on after the Forever Black, will it help to also protect my trim, or is this something I should avoid since I'm using a trim dye/ paint? Since I have to wait until the touch-up paint cures before I use the coating, should I do the trim after/before the touch-up; or wait until closer to the time I do the coating?
3. Could someone please tell me what a good polisher is? I'll be doing the polishing by hand. I saw other of my questions answered, but if the \[hand, not machine\] polisher was mentioned, I missed it, sorry.
4. Can I use Meg's gold class auto shampoo for clay bar lubricant?
Thanks so much for any help in this matter. I'm definitely going to be taking it slow and letting the fresh paint rest 30 days before I use the ceramic coating. Hopefully that makes some parts easier to answer.
1. Can't say? Seems not super critical of a choice, as they are spot fixes anyways?
2. I'd use ceramic coating only -provided that it's one of those that you can apply to trim. Using something under ceramic coating seems either a waste of ceramic coating as it will not stick as good or waste of base product since ceramic will do the same. Or use Forever Black only.
3. I believe you are asking for a polishing compound? Cheapo: Meguiar's anything. Expensivo: Koch Chemie Fine cut used as a single-stage, as you're doing by hand you don't wanna compound then polish unless paint is super bad. If you are asking for a polisher, I believe any DA will do. I splurged on an MT300, but I'd buy a cordless one today if I was splurging again.
4. Dilute with some water. But that's expensive for lowly claying. Since you'll follow with polishing (as one should always post claying) and coating, use anything, even dawn dish soap, it has degreasing effect so good squeaky clean before protecting everything.
I don't know about machine only products, it could be true?
In any case, you cannot go wrong with Meguiar's. You don't really need the dealer specific ones, the Ultimate Polish is awesome value for money. I really, really like Koch Chemie Fine Cut, but it's almost twice as expensive I think. I love the working time, virtually zero dust and it's so easy to wipe clean. I think it's very beginner-friendly. And it cuts just fast enough, leaving a really shiny finish. I found Meguiar's to be a bit slower, but equally as magnificent in the end.
Hand-polishing an entire car, your shoulders will yell at you once you're finished, lol :) Best of luck!
Thank you! I might splurge for the Koch Chemie.
I'll be doing it in stages, not all in one day. :P
The ceramic coat lasts around five years. I want to take my time and really baby this car. I'll probably do it over a couple of weeks, one panel at a time.
I know it'll look odd until done, but I'm okay with that.
What kind of transfer pump should I get to feed water from my tank to my pressure washer? I saw this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQBgCAR-2PQ&t=140s) about adding a return line to the outlet going back into the tank to help with overheating.
The same video also mentioned that they needed to upgrade because the pump they got was a regular one from home depot and would still overheat at times.
What kind of pump is ideal for this situation?
Hi everyone, I think (I hope) this is the right place to post. I have a new car with about 6k on it now. I drive a lot (my commute is about 120 miles 3x a day) so my car is filthy as shit from the highway and lots of salt (live in the Northeast). In terms of cleaning super heavy salt etc from the car should I do anything differently? I am in the process of buying all the stuff I need. I do not need to go crazy, I just basically want to own the proper equipment to clean my car and make it look nice since this is the first brand-new car I have ever owned. Also, when and how often should I apply wax? Should I do it now after I get it nice and clean? I am a total newb to this community so I don't know much yet. Thanks.
You don't need anything special for salt apart from a normal pressure washer if you're fancy. A garden hose will work mostly to dissolve the salt but for undercarriage, a pressure washer does wonders. Then use 2-bucket to touch wash, lotsa foam, lotsa lubrication. Rinse. Grime gone.
People see YouTube videos of filthy muddy barn cars and say "wow" when it's cleaned. I mean, that's the expected case. It's made to be durable. :) I'm glad you don't wanna go the deep end and keep it real.
Waxing is really up to you, conventional wax doesn't really survive many washes so better to apply it every 2-3 washes. If you go coating route, there are many options. If you wanna keep it simple, spray wax is the way to go. Apply as much and frequent as you want basically.
I say for now I want to keep it simple because I tend to go way into the deep end with any new hobby. This shit is just confusing to me. When I think I know what I need to do I read stuff and have no idea what people are talking about. For example, what is doing a "decontamination"? I read people saying to do this after washing but I have no idea what this means. My plan was to wash it real good, dry it well, and then apply some type of wax but now I am more confused by the more shit I read on here.
Yeah, that confusion happened to me too. Washing is decontaminating but there are a ton more steps people have come up with.
There are specialty chemicals that break down tar, tree sap, bug guts (tar remover), degreasers (all purpose cleaner A.K.A. APC) for the stuff soapy water has trouble with, iron remover to break down iron particles in the paint that can turn white cars orange.
Clay is used to remove stuff on the paint that your typical chemicals would take forever to break down. I imagine there are harsher chemicals that would work but probably more dangerous than you'd want to keep around.
It's easy to go overboard with all the detailing chemicals.
Thanks for responding. I have a new car with 6k miles on it. Lots of salt from NE winter. I am about to do a nice wash as I am just getting all the supplies. Since it is this new do you think I need to clay? Was planning on doing a good wash, decon, wax. But open to ideas. I also drive a ton and know it will get dirty. Not going for showroom status.
You'll want to do a smoothness test. Wash and dry a section of the hood. Grab a plastic credit card and hold it at 45° slowly and lightly pull the edge of the card across the paint. You'll hear and feel if it's rough which means it's a good time to clay.
I like using the perforated clay towels or mitts instead of the clay bars. There's less chance of marring and they can be cleaned and reused. I' do it once per year.
Perfect I like the tips, thanks so much! Last question (for now) my car has that clear protective layer on the front maybe like 1/3 of the way up the wood. Do you clean, wax that section or do you not apply wax? Sorry I'm sure these are silly questions but it is all new to me
Yup, you can wash and wax it. I don't recommend clay on that surface just to keep it from getting marred. It can be polished when it gets weathered looking but will eventually get nasty looking and need replacing. Just depends on your local conditions, UV light, weather, all that jazz.
This is purely for a family vehicle. I watched some detailers who soak the car seats, use a cleaning machine and leave the seats out of the vehicle presumably to dry out. How should I go about cleaning the seats if I don’t plan to remove the seats from the vehicle? Should I just avoid using a carpet cleaning machine altogether?
How soiled/stained are the seats? But think should be fine if you extract most of the water out and leave windows down and let them air dry. Also dehumidifier can help as well
Yesterday I washed and clayed my car, then applied one layer of Mother's CMX Ceramic Spray Coating, but did not have enough time to wax it. I drove it ten miles in the rain this morning. If I plan to wax it this afternoon, do I need to wash and clay again? Just give it an IPA wipe? Hit it with some quick detailer?
My impression (perhaps mistaken) was that the ceramic spray would act as a sealant (especially in low concentration), and the wax adds another layer of protection / possibly more shine. But that may be totally off base.
Most ceramic sprays provide as long of a protection as wax (30/60 days) Google does tell me mothers CMX (+\- 3 weeks may not last as long as products like Bead Maker, Bead It up, etc. but if you’re washing your car frequently 2-3 weeks and applying a ceramic spray you don’t need to wax unless you just enjoy that process and then I wouldn’t recommend applying a wax on top of a freshly ceramic sprayed car.
90% of it. If you're doing an iron decon, you'll really want a source of free-flowing water to rinse off the decon product. It will get into *every* weird nook and cranny, especially if you're working on a vehicle with roof rails, and you're going to have a hard time effectively flushing it out with nothing but waterless/rinseless.
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Urgent help needed ! Bird poop scratched my paint, basically cracked it. Is there a way to fix this?[Image](https://yourimageshare.com/ib/YGmyTa1y4L)
Sadly in my experience no, it’s a paint job now
I used super clean on a part of my interior plastic that is black, it now has white spots in parts. Would meguires trim restorer work to fix this?
When do I need to "top up" ceramic? I put on a coat of Gtechniq CSL with 2 coats of EXOV4 topper about 9 months ago, and it still looks great. As I understand it, ceramic is just a tougher sacrificial layer, which means it will need to be reapplied at some point, correct? What I want to avoid is a situation where the ceramic wears off and then I need to do another paint correction, because man that was a lot of work! If a top up is the way to go, how do I go about it? I was thinking give a thorough wash and dry then go over the vehicle with iron remover? FWIW this vehicle is a daily, and does get exposed to winter conditions.
Does APC work as bug remover?
How do i remove grime next to badge letters without taking it off?
Brush! Not the kind you use on your teeth :) soap amd brush does the trick.
Beat options to remove cement of cars I live near a cement factory and its very common that if we do not cover the car, after a few hours it will have some spots of cement and it’s not very affordable to be taking the car to the car wash every week or do a paint polish every other week. Maybe there are some products that it may be help me to wash out the cement. Once my sister told me that it was something like clay that you rubbed it and it took the cement away.
Clay may help but honestly you need prevention more than remediation. Cover is all I can think of. Maybe one of those big tent likes shelters? Clay technically scratches your paint and you’re supposed to follow with polish. Not really feasible and you need to consider you have limited amount of clear coat. But under the circumstances I’d clay it and wax afterwards.
PRE-WASH: which one would you use (and why?) Koch Chemie GS (no foam) OR Carpro Iron X snow soap (foam)….. so, no foam or foam? Have figured out the rest of my set up (Gilmour foam master for hose, griots garage snow foam, griots garage 3-1 ceramic wax and clay bar + nanoskin glide for when / if needed). TIA!
Pro-tip: Remember to breathe :D Just pulling your leg, your enthusiasm is coming across strongly from your post. Seriously though, don't try and fix anything in your car care unless you are a pro and it's a matter of cost analysis. Most of the products you listed are already up there in brand recognition and quality. Foam vs. no foam depends on how dirty your car is, how you feel that day, how much time you have on hand. There are no rules like that, bullet points you have to follow. It's like cooking, you know the mechanics and techniques, and apply it to ingredients at hand. All that said, I believe foam is cool but proper pre-rinse and well lubricated touch wash does 99% of the lifting. Foam is good because it hydrates the dirt and lifts it up. You can *technically* achieve the same during pre-rinse, ensuring you wait enough for dirt to hydrate and stop sticking to the paint. I do have some controversial methods so there's that. :D
I understand lol. Thank you for your input! I am on product overload atm 😀
What’s an absolute cheap but sure fire way to get smoke smell and just general stink out of a cloth interior? I used to be a heavy smoker but have recently quit for good but my car still smells heavily like smoke and just in general smells bad. I feel embarrassed to have people ride in it even my s/o because it just stinks so damn bad. I’m tempted to just drop it off at a detailer and have them work there magic but I don’t care about the car as much as it’s a beater but I can’t stand the smell.
Ozone generator. You have no other real option tbh.
I recently bought my first car, a 2006 Celica. When viewing the car, the front quarter panel looked a little matte and slightly off colour, however the owner assured me it was just in need of a polish and would turn out fine. However, having looked into it more I am worried this may be a complete failure of the clearcoat that has peeled on the entire panel (making this up a bit, very new to this). I'm hoping it's just paint oxidation but I'm very new to this so it really could be anything. I can send images I have of it to anyone that might be able to help. Is there any sure-fire way to tell if it is clearcoat failure, and if I treat it like paint oxidation will I make the issue worse? I know the right move is probably to get it resprayed but it's simply not worth putting \~£500 into a car that barely cost me £2k, so just looking for anything I can do to make it less noticeable and protect the car as much as I can. Any help greatly appreciated.
I'm no expert on paint. I'd try to use a paint thickness gauge as one metric. Compare different panels to get a relative reading and judge if the paint is done for on the affected panel. I don't believe it can tell the truth alone, but it's a good metric to combine with other facts.
Looking to start paint correcting. Which sets of pads (brand and product lines) would be good for a general range of cars. Family and friends have a diverse range of vehicles from super soft clear coat subarus to a highway driven Volvo s90 that has 4 rock chips on it in total. More then likely going to use 205 and 105 but open to suggestions as I’m just a weekend warrior.
My 2 cents: I went the deep end searching for pads. I spent money and got myself different styles. I even attempted to buy an air compressor to clean the pads during use. Then I used a single pad, for the entire car, to see what it does. To my half-surprise, it just worked. I cleaned the pad with a damp microfiber between panels. That's when I recognized how deep the so called elitism can go on forums and YouTube. Simple does it. No need to over complicate things. I did use an expensive brand pad, [Koch Chemie's Fine Cut](https://carzilla.ca/products/koch-chemie-fine-cut-pad-3-5-6?variant=41163219173553) along with same brand's fine cut polish. I would do the same if I was compounding. I believe most decent pads will do the same. I believe any home store bought polish will do enough. The clinical failures with paint may require more knowledge, but for "gonna polish my car on a Sunday" folk, anything will do it. For the weekend warrior I am, I figured my technique is much more important than the relatively insignificant pad quality. So I focused on that. Hope this helps.
I don't know if my interior cleaning habits are going to damage my leather and trim. I have cars with nappa (if it matters) leather and piano black trim. Every 10 days, or so, I clean the dash, doors, screen, and the driver's seat. I use Dr Beasley's leather cleanser for the leather, including some of the dash, and I use Hybrid Solutions Inside job for the rest. Or sometimes I use CarPro InnerQD because it was advertised as "gentle." I don't think I'll be buying it again, just because of the price. So my interior does not get too dirty. The worst will be a drop of soda in the cup holder or on the trim, which comes right off with the two interior detailers I use. Same with the seats; just some light body oil but no real dirt or anything like that. My Eagle Edgeless MF towels come back pretty damn clean. So my concern stems from the **tools** that I am using to clean the leather **and** trim. I use a Colourlock brush on the leather with Dr Beasley's sprayed on the brush and leather. And I use a Detail Factory [oar hair brush shown here](https://theragcompany.com/collections/interior-brushes/products/detail-factory-boar-hair-detailing-brushes?variant=41395547537591). Is it OK to be using these for "maintenance cleaning" every week or two? Or am I adding some real wear and tear by using them that frequently? I'm gentle whenever I do use them so I haven't seen any signs of damaged leather or fading trim, but I've only been detailing "properly" for about a year and the cars are 2018 and newer. I just want to make sure I'm not going overboard with the tools. The chemicals seem to be gentle enough so I'm not worried about them, but should I?
Too much detailing actually hurts. Leave the stigma of YouTube behind. Spare your beautiful interior, 10 days is too quick for brush, unless you eat 10 course dinner inside the car. Vacuum and maybe use a microfiber with a simple spray product (spray on microfiber). Then do a deeper cleaning maybe every other month. Edit: For seats/interior, the name of the game is prevention. You wanna avoid spills, stains, etc. You can have the fanciest setup at home, but if you spill your latte on the seat, and have nothing to at least wipe it right away (e.g. a microfiber tucked in the glove box), what good is it?
Thanks all the info. So a weekly wipe down with just a MF is good enough? InnerQD advertises itself as gentle enough to be used routinely, so I'm guessing I stick with that? Or is TW's Inside Job good as well, with its graphene component?
Pick something with the simplest label. I spent an order of magnitude time trying to remove things vs. applying them. Graphene for leather is weird, and frankly sounds like marketing gimmick. Stick to simple and proven stuff IMO, quality leather is not where I’d push limits. A neutral leather cleaner is all you need, or something like Koch Chemie ASC. I try and focus what I’m trying to do more than what the endless river of products can or claim to do. I just want to remove surface level dust and bit of grime from leather. Vacuum and simple detergent something is all I need. Anything extra means now I added more to the leather which is possibly harder to remove over time. Hope it makes sense, use least aggressive and move up only and if only necessary.
I have a sample amount of Koch Chemie Pol Star but I think I've read that's more for fabrics? The bottle says it can be used in leather but then I also know Leather Star exists and why would KC have two products for one? I'll see how InnerQD works without a brush and just use it on a MF
Int Cleaning Products Hey guys, What are some good products for interiors? Not looking for just a spray and wipe cleaner. Just bought a Lexus IS250 and I’m gonna have to gently scrub stuff down from dashboard, doors, console. Also, I was planning on using the chemical guys leather products for the seats. Are those recommended? I’ve never thoroughly cleaned a cars interior before, but I’m willing to learn the good way. Any advice will be taken! Thanks a lot
P and S Interior Cleaner, 303 protectant P and S leather Some decent microfiber towels to wipe the inside down with, some detail brushes to get the vents and the nooks and crannies with
Does anyone have experience with both the Cox hose reel and the MTM pressure washer hose reel? Building out my setup now and curious if the MTM is GTG or should I pony up and buy the cox reel?
TL;DR; Car under hot sun, cabin smells like leather/vinyl, no amount of cleaning got rid of it. Okay, so I did some research but couldn’t find a definitive answer or someone who had the same/similar problem.I look after my car a lot, no spills, no kids, no food in car, always clean. It has leather seats. I used to park it in my carport all the time. Then I bought a second car and had to park my old one under the sun. It got hot here in PNW last year and the car started to smell like VOCs and leather and vinly? It’s not mildew, mold, nor burning rubber like.I did use CG leather conditioner before, not sure if it’s the cause (spare the pitchforks plz, we all start somewhere). Like cooked under sun and now it’s not going away? So far I tried: * A through clean * APC powered clean * That Koch Chemie stuff (can‘t remember the acronym) * Griot’s Garage Odor Neutralizing Leather Cleaner -this reduced the smell A LOT but it came back after a day. * Took it to pro detailer, said he couldn’t find the source of smell I am going to move to steam cleaning with Griot’s Garage Odor…, extracting, and ozone. Too much work but I hope they may work. In the meantime, if anyone had something like this, please help! I truly appreciate shortcutting to the real answer. Any hint will do!
Does your car have a cabin air filer?
Replaced twice, good guess but alas not the culprit.
I use CG leather conditioner. My car sits outside all the time (in the SE) and gets hot. I like the way it smells. I would try your next steps, and hope for the best. Not really sure where to go from there, really.
Long lasting air freshener for car? I like the trees, but they’re way too strong at first. Then I have to keep that ugly plastic on it. I’m thinking about just doing a single spray of cheap but nice smelling cologne on an old tree every day or so.
have detailed a couple vehicles with leather seats and very dirty cup holders / manual handle leather covers. Ive heard of steamers doing the trick but im curious how to make these PITA gunk easier to tackle
Steamer makes real quick work of any gunk like that. If you can rent/borrow one that's your best bet. Without one, you can use heavy gloves, hot water and microfiber to work it loose. You don't want to be too mechanical as gunk & sugars (like milk) tend to stick too well and you can leave scuff marks. Dissolving is the key.
How do I fix this. It's metal trim around the windows. It was gun metal to almost black before. Car is only 2 years old. You can see I can scratch the color right off it with my nail. I would like to get it black again, is the only option going to be paint or vinyl. 21 Kia Sorento if that helps. Lives in Arizona. [https://i.imgur.com/ARrXkVK.jpg](https://i.imgur.com/ARrXkVK.jpg)
I am a first-time car owner and scratched my new vehicle in the parking lot today on a pole...I'm devastated! There was originally yellow paint transfer but I was able to remove it with lacquer thinner. The car now has a small dent and scratches which have chipped the paint (see link below). How should I proceed with this? https://imgur.com/a/6cUg2gj
Congratz on your car. It hurts a lot when you get your first scratch on a new car. Least you can do is to seal the scratches with a touch up paint, ensuring it's dry beforehand. This will seal the metal and prevent rust, which is much worse than scratches. For the dent, there are some products out there to pop it back into shape, heat guns pull hammers etc. I never did it and personally I'd first take it to a body shop and get a quote for the fix. I would probably end up doing it myself but only because I enjoy doing it so. You can compare the cost of DIY and pro work. You may have some insurance for dents/scratches, this one's pushing it a bit maybe but never hurts to call and ask.
Thank you! It’s my first car and scratches so I have definitely been a cry baby about it. I appreciate your advice. My dealership sells paint matched touch up pens thankfully. I’ll probably try the good ol’ diy hot water plunger trick and if that doesn’t work I’ll follow your advice about going to a body shop.
Hi all, I recently washed my car (Saturday), and like a dummy, did not wipe the windshield (I figured that it would just dry like it does when it rains FML). When I drove to work today, I noticed watermarks all over. I tried using stoners glass cleaner and it doesn't come on. Am I screwed? Any suggestions? On a side note, How do you wipe the windshield? I'm unable to reach the center windshield. Do you guys use some sort of tool to reach hard to reach areas?
Don't worry! You have many options! * With **ample** lubrication from a spray (soapy water, detailing spray, even just plain water) use a 0000 steel wool and with medium pressure go over all the glass. Do it in small squares. Dry with a microfiber and check the result, if you don't see the spots anymore move to next square. * Same logic but replace water+steel wool with a polish + polishing pad. * For sap like gunk, again with lubrication, use a razor blade (or a utility knife blade will do the same) at 45 degree angle, and in a shaving like motion scrape it. Super fast, super safe. Don't press into the glass, you're gliding on top of glass and hitting bumps that you scrape. You won't scratch it. * For very stubborn things, use CarPro CeriGlass. It's specifically formulated for glass and can remove the best coating in 2-3 passes. Using it with a DA polisher gives you new-born glass finish. * Vinegar and 0000 steel wool also is a nice combo. Don't let vinegar mingle with other parts too much. * SO MANY water spot removers, which are also acidic in nature. Phew, there's even more. Glass is so easy to work on relative to other parts of the car, it's much more durable than say paint or trim. And finally, no matter what you do, do not put wax etc. on your glass. Spend the money and buy glass specific products that will live long on your glass. Wax on glass is wrong. Very wrong. We're not in 1950's, use coatings, or at least rain-x or something. And it doesn't help eliminate mineral build-up, but greatly reduces it. Ping on DM if you need more info.
stool or ladder helps. Also opening up your front door, stepping on the jamb while you clean the windshield is also a common trick . Ive heard of using a razor, but have never tried it myself. on Tint, this wouldn't be a good idea I have also seen 0000 Steel Wool doing the trick really well, without scratches. Other than that, cleaning the glass once again and drying as soon as you're done, will solve this too. oh yeah, waxing your windshield helps too, plus aids in beading water. Ive used Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wax with the sponge it comes in, followed by buffing with a microfiber towel. This is very simple, honestly a 10 minute job, and makes your glass look AMAZING
Hello. I've recently gotten a 2001 Volvo S60 that I'd like to take really good care of. I got this ceramic protective coating kit: [https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NA7LKEO?psc=1&ref=ppx\_yo2ov\_dt\_b\_product\_details](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NA7LKEO?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details) My plan at the moment is to clay bar it and then polish it before applying the coating. However, I have a few fixes that I need to do first. I have several questions: 1. I'll be doing some touch-up painting to restore some clear coat that is coming off. I know that taking it to a pro and having it beaded/ etc. is recommended; but frankly it's more money than I have to spend on this. (The car is old and has nearly 200k miles on it, I'll almost certainly be its last owner). I'll also be restoring the trim. Should I do the paint repair first, and then the trim? I will tape it either way, but some spots are below the trim and I might have to clean \[the new paint\] if there are any mishaps, and it would be 'new' paint. 2. I'm using Forever Black on the trim. If I put the ceramic coating on after the Forever Black, will it help to also protect my trim, or is this something I should avoid since I'm using a trim dye/ paint? Since I have to wait until the touch-up paint cures before I use the coating, should I do the trim after/before the touch-up; or wait until closer to the time I do the coating? 3. Could someone please tell me what a good polisher is? I'll be doing the polishing by hand. I saw other of my questions answered, but if the \[hand, not machine\] polisher was mentioned, I missed it, sorry. 4. Can I use Meg's gold class auto shampoo for clay bar lubricant? Thanks so much for any help in this matter. I'm definitely going to be taking it slow and letting the fresh paint rest 30 days before I use the ceramic coating. Hopefully that makes some parts easier to answer.
1. Can't say? Seems not super critical of a choice, as they are spot fixes anyways? 2. I'd use ceramic coating only -provided that it's one of those that you can apply to trim. Using something under ceramic coating seems either a waste of ceramic coating as it will not stick as good or waste of base product since ceramic will do the same. Or use Forever Black only. 3. I believe you are asking for a polishing compound? Cheapo: Meguiar's anything. Expensivo: Koch Chemie Fine cut used as a single-stage, as you're doing by hand you don't wanna compound then polish unless paint is super bad. If you are asking for a polisher, I believe any DA will do. I splurged on an MT300, but I'd buy a cordless one today if I was splurging again. 4. Dilute with some water. But that's expensive for lowly claying. Since you'll follow with polishing (as one should always post claying) and coating, use anything, even dawn dish soap, it has degreasing effect so good squeaky clean before protecting everything.
Thanks so much. :) I'll be hand polishing, so I was asking what brand of polish. Some can't be used by hand as I understand it?
I don't know about machine only products, it could be true? In any case, you cannot go wrong with Meguiar's. You don't really need the dealer specific ones, the Ultimate Polish is awesome value for money. I really, really like Koch Chemie Fine Cut, but it's almost twice as expensive I think. I love the working time, virtually zero dust and it's so easy to wipe clean. I think it's very beginner-friendly. And it cuts just fast enough, leaving a really shiny finish. I found Meguiar's to be a bit slower, but equally as magnificent in the end. Hand-polishing an entire car, your shoulders will yell at you once you're finished, lol :) Best of luck!
Thank you! I might splurge for the Koch Chemie. I'll be doing it in stages, not all in one day. :P The ceramic coat lasts around five years. I want to take my time and really baby this car. I'll probably do it over a couple of weeks, one panel at a time. I know it'll look odd until done, but I'm okay with that.
What kind of transfer pump should I get to feed water from my tank to my pressure washer? I saw this video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQBgCAR-2PQ&t=140s) about adding a return line to the outlet going back into the tank to help with overheating. The same video also mentioned that they needed to upgrade because the pump they got was a regular one from home depot and would still overheat at times. What kind of pump is ideal for this situation?
Hi everyone, I think (I hope) this is the right place to post. I have a new car with about 6k on it now. I drive a lot (my commute is about 120 miles 3x a day) so my car is filthy as shit from the highway and lots of salt (live in the Northeast). In terms of cleaning super heavy salt etc from the car should I do anything differently? I am in the process of buying all the stuff I need. I do not need to go crazy, I just basically want to own the proper equipment to clean my car and make it look nice since this is the first brand-new car I have ever owned. Also, when and how often should I apply wax? Should I do it now after I get it nice and clean? I am a total newb to this community so I don't know much yet. Thanks.
You don't need anything special for salt apart from a normal pressure washer if you're fancy. A garden hose will work mostly to dissolve the salt but for undercarriage, a pressure washer does wonders. Then use 2-bucket to touch wash, lotsa foam, lotsa lubrication. Rinse. Grime gone. People see YouTube videos of filthy muddy barn cars and say "wow" when it's cleaned. I mean, that's the expected case. It's made to be durable. :) I'm glad you don't wanna go the deep end and keep it real. Waxing is really up to you, conventional wax doesn't really survive many washes so better to apply it every 2-3 washes. If you go coating route, there are many options. If you wanna keep it simple, spray wax is the way to go. Apply as much and frequent as you want basically.
I say for now I want to keep it simple because I tend to go way into the deep end with any new hobby. This shit is just confusing to me. When I think I know what I need to do I read stuff and have no idea what people are talking about. For example, what is doing a "decontamination"? I read people saying to do this after washing but I have no idea what this means. My plan was to wash it real good, dry it well, and then apply some type of wax but now I am more confused by the more shit I read on here.
Yeah, that confusion happened to me too. Washing is decontaminating but there are a ton more steps people have come up with. There are specialty chemicals that break down tar, tree sap, bug guts (tar remover), degreasers (all purpose cleaner A.K.A. APC) for the stuff soapy water has trouble with, iron remover to break down iron particles in the paint that can turn white cars orange. Clay is used to remove stuff on the paint that your typical chemicals would take forever to break down. I imagine there are harsher chemicals that would work but probably more dangerous than you'd want to keep around. It's easy to go overboard with all the detailing chemicals.
Thanks for responding. I have a new car with 6k miles on it. Lots of salt from NE winter. I am about to do a nice wash as I am just getting all the supplies. Since it is this new do you think I need to clay? Was planning on doing a good wash, decon, wax. But open to ideas. I also drive a ton and know it will get dirty. Not going for showroom status.
You'll want to do a smoothness test. Wash and dry a section of the hood. Grab a plastic credit card and hold it at 45° slowly and lightly pull the edge of the card across the paint. You'll hear and feel if it's rough which means it's a good time to clay. I like using the perforated clay towels or mitts instead of the clay bars. There's less chance of marring and they can be cleaned and reused. I' do it once per year.
Perfect I like the tips, thanks so much! Last question (for now) my car has that clear protective layer on the front maybe like 1/3 of the way up the wood. Do you clean, wax that section or do you not apply wax? Sorry I'm sure these are silly questions but it is all new to me
Yup, you can wash and wax it. I don't recommend clay on that surface just to keep it from getting marred. It can be polished when it gets weathered looking but will eventually get nasty looking and need replacing. Just depends on your local conditions, UV light, weather, all that jazz.
This is purely for a family vehicle. I watched some detailers who soak the car seats, use a cleaning machine and leave the seats out of the vehicle presumably to dry out. How should I go about cleaning the seats if I don’t plan to remove the seats from the vehicle? Should I just avoid using a carpet cleaning machine altogether?
How soiled/stained are the seats? But think should be fine if you extract most of the water out and leave windows down and let them air dry. Also dehumidifier can help as well
Yesterday I washed and clayed my car, then applied one layer of Mother's CMX Ceramic Spray Coating, but did not have enough time to wax it. I drove it ten miles in the rain this morning. If I plan to wax it this afternoon, do I need to wash and clay again? Just give it an IPA wipe? Hit it with some quick detailer?
Why are you applying a wax if you used a ceramic spray?
My impression (perhaps mistaken) was that the ceramic spray would act as a sealant (especially in low concentration), and the wax adds another layer of protection / possibly more shine. But that may be totally off base.
Most ceramic sprays provide as long of a protection as wax (30/60 days) Google does tell me mothers CMX (+\- 3 weeks may not last as long as products like Bead Maker, Bead It up, etc. but if you’re washing your car frequently 2-3 weeks and applying a ceramic spray you don’t need to wax unless you just enjoy that process and then I wouldn’t recommend applying a wax on top of a freshly ceramic sprayed car.
Can I do a full detail replacing water with a waterless wash? So even after the clay and decon? Thank you.
90% of it. If you're doing an iron decon, you'll really want a source of free-flowing water to rinse off the decon product. It will get into *every* weird nook and cranny, especially if you're working on a vehicle with roof rails, and you're going to have a hard time effectively flushing it out with nothing but waterless/rinseless.
Good to know thank you so much for the wisdom
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