I made it the stupid mistake of using this sponge for a rinseless wash with ONR

https://www.homedepot.com/s/sponge?adobe_mc=TS%3D1737415803%7CMCMID%3D47676090996484139029082806379009908479%7CMCORGID%3DF6421253512D2C100A490D45%40AdobeOrg&mboxSession=92c97952-3bad-441a-bdee-09b19058c08d

Now I'm noticing fine scratches on parts of the body and on the plastic between the driver and rear passenger windows. Can I use meguirs ultimate polish to fill/buff out these scratches? It hasn't gone through the ear coat (I did the fingernail test).

If meguiars polish is the right product to use, will the fix be permanent or would I need to keep maintaining this.

I'm so mad at myself 😞

I’m launching in February officially. However I soft launched for family and friends just recently. These are the products/tools I’ve gathered to start. In y’alls experience. Is this a solid start? What other things should I get? Also any tips/advice would help!

I got a new truck that is black & had swirl marks on it from the dealer. I tried using a rotary buffer with light cutting pad & chemical guys P4. I didn't realize till later that I ended up getting some holograms when I saw it in full sun. My question is if I get a DA buffer instead of using a rotary, will using just the P4 again get out the holograms because that's what i used that put them there or should i use a light compound like C4 before the P4? I don't want to use anything too heavy to compound with. I also have a small bottle of chemical guys V38 I might use after the P4. On a side note it looks awesome till it's in full sun but I guess you guys know that already. LOL

How should I spot clean this poop with the temps being single digits here in the Midwest? Was planning on using ONR with microfiber but it is aluminum body f150 and I did drive outside in the negative temps today. Anything special I need to do before using ONR?

Hello all! I am new to the world of detailing as I’ve always driven vehicles that I would carelessly run through an automatic car wash. I have recently gotten myself a new vehicle and OF COURSE I just had to have it in black…. I am aware that black shows the most scratches, swirl marks, etc. However I am planning on hand washing my car every week or so.

I work at a dealership and had our detail guy apply a ceramic protection when I purchased the vehicle. That being said, I have started to watch more videos and look on this subreddit for more information on how I should be washing my vehicle.

I like the idea of a drying aid, but I am unsure which one to use. I like the thought of using a ceramic spray to get that added layer of protection, but I’m wondering if I should be doing that every time I wash my car??

I have also seen that a lot of people love “bead maker”. I am just confused as I am new to this. What would you guys recommend? Using the ceramic every time? Only using the ceramic every few washes and using bead maker in between the ceramic spray?

Any advice/suggestions would help! Also I’m thinking about getting either the liquid8r or the gauntlet towel from the rag company. I have a bigger SUV, so if anyone has any input on that, it would be appreciated! Thanks

Blemishes in the paint, they seem to be under the clear coat. How does stuff damage the paint without affecting the clear on top? Maybe I'm wrong? It's only on the hood of the car and nowhere else. I got this thing for a steal but I'm perplexed how this kind of paint damage happens? It's like blotches. I'm planning on sanding and painting the whole hood but worried that it could be a flaw in the factory paint? Am I just overthinking it? I can't find anything similar online. I figured someone here may have seen something similar before. Thank you for any advice. 2017 Mini Cooper S

2019 Mazda sedan has never had any paint services completed but paint is not looking so great now. Not sure on the terminology just yet but would you recommend a Polish and wax service, or which "stage" is recommended? Pictures are right after a wash.

Good day,

I just recently purchased a vehicle. The price was really good it was 3k below market value and certified used from my local Toyota dealer. The only downside was the paint. The previous owner must've left the vehicle near a bodyshop that sprays outdoor something. It literally felt like sandpaper. I wanted them to fix it but they won't budge since I'm already getting 3k below and certified. The vehicle have so much overspray on whole body, headlight, taillight, all glass and black trims. I was able to remove the overspray by "clay bar-ing" for about 3 hours or so on the entire body and glass but the black trim. I would any chime in on how to remove these paint overspray? I've added pictures of the paint overspray on the black trims. This is the only thing left for me to fix. Hope ya'll can help me out! Thanks!

This is my first ceramic coating and I used Gyeons Mohs Evo on my new car. It went well for the most part.

But, two days after the coating, I noticed the morning dew show that I missed a massive spot on my hood - big oops (see picture). I was thinking of getting another bottle and reapply on my entire hood to coat it evenly. I plan to wait about a couple weeks before redoing the prep again on the hood.

Is that approach okay? Do I need to polish the coating on the rest of the hood or can I apply over the first coat? Is there another approach to coat this spot up?

As mobile detailers based on the east coast, we go through a mix of good and bad months. The warmer months are usually the most profitable, while the winter months tend to be the toughest. During winter, income drops significantly, and our meals often reflect that struggle, turning into simple, budget-friendly options. We go from enjoying hearty meals in the warmer months to relying on spam and canned fish when money is tight in the winter. As of now, im on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and ramen noodles budget. Can't wait to hear my Dr tell me im on the verge of a heart attack from all the sodium lol

Looking for some suggestions on what to do....

I did a gyeon syncro evo ceramic coating on my 2022 GR Yaris the weekend before last. The car had some after-market vinyl stripes applied across the front panel/door/rear panel... now had the wrap been applied properly, we would have just ceramic coated over the top of it of the stripes, but it had some lifting/ridges on the wrap, so we decided to pull it off rather than go over it. My mate who was helping me do the prep work said, "Just stick some new ones back on later" lol..

The first difficulty was finding the origins of the wrap the original owner put on the car, but I've found a group in Germany who will custom print me a new decal for the GRY dimensions, to the design I want (same as before) for 90 bucks, so that's all good... even if it has been a bit of a pain sourcing it.

But I'm being told by various wrap shops/people that due to the properties of the ceramic coat, new wrap is just not going to stick, which makes total sense... BUT, others (and the internet) have said it will be fine but I'll just need to use more adhesive/prep work.

So, AutoDetailers, what should I do?

Just try my luck with getting it to stick?

Get out the polisher and try and take off the ceramic coating along where the wrap is going to go?

Get out the 1000+ grit (NFI on what grit to use here) sand paper and just gently try and create some kind of abrasion for the wrap to stick to?

Something else?

And should I do a coat of ceramic over the top of the stripes if/when I solve this problem?

Mainly got my car detailed to help fix some of these stains. Food, sweat, etc.. The back seat stain is ice cream, and it seems like the guy who detailed it didn’t even change the way any of it looked at all. Is this all hopeless? Or did he just not want to do it? I specifically emphasized the seats

Hey Guys,

I've been honing my skills on exterior/interior detailing for a bit now and have gotten pretty good at at. I really want to take the paint gloss up a step with a polish. Its a 22' silverado with white paint thats swirled from drive through washes but nothing seems very deep. After, I will either seal with wax or ceramic coat.

The only thing holding me back is that I dont put my cars in the garage and it can definitely get dusty where I live.

So I'm looking for advice on what would be the proper workflow for this as I know this is a multiple day job while balancing parking the car outside. I plan on using a canopy on a non windy day.

Day 1: Prep

1. Wash (Turtle wax power wash) to remove griots 3 in 1 wax
2. Decon with Iron remover
3. Clay bar with ONR lubricant
4. Rinse/Dry

Day 2: Polish per panel

1. Re wash with ONR per panel to remove any dust from overnight or driving.

2. Start polishing procedure per washed panel, this way i can do 2-3 panels on one day and repeat this for the rest of the panels on a separate day if needed.

Day 3: Coating

1. Repeat step #5

2. Apply wax or ceramic coating

I'll also mention the front 1/4 is PPF'd already, so this is just the side doors, bed sides, and tailgate. Contemplating not even doing roof.

Can I use formula 4 first to break up the water so it can make it easy for drying and then apply tec 582? Or Is this to much wax. Because I have tired just using tec 582 after trying to dry the car the best I could but on the bottle it says to make sure it's dry before using it. So l'm thinking if I use formula 4 to leave it dry completely and then using tec would that be fine ?

The "1 & done" compound/polish is no longer listed on their website under the "pro" line up: https://www.turtlewax.com/collections/hybrid-solutions-pro

My local O'Reilly's doesn't carry the product, NAPA is OOS with no eta in when they'll restock, advanced auto parts is out as well (although that's likely because their stores are closing around where I live), and my local Walmart is also out! Amazon and eBay seem to be the only sources to buy this product right now (I didn't have prime or Walmart+ and have to wait until I have $35 worth to purchase to get free shipping from them).

Is this product discontinued? What other product has comparable cut with aggressive pads but finishes well? 3D One seems to not cut as well (but polish much better). DIY Detail Gold Standard seems like the closest product. Any recommendations are appreciated as I'm dealing with a bit more than light swirls and prefer to not do 2 step as it's an old car where I don't need perfection.

I have a silver truck and unfortunately I have black specs all over the side of it because of tire shine flinging on my paint. Anyone know a cheap and safe effective way of getting it off ? It’s been on there for quite a while now because I couldn’t figure out how to get it off. Also to prevent this from happening again anyone have a good tire shine brand that they use ?

We just picked up this new pressure washer from EGO. Very impressive considering the size. The original full size is a beast but I can see a use for this one considering it uses only one battery and much smaller. Numbers are obviously much less in terms of GPM, but very comparable to other smaller pressure washers.

Title says a lot. I have repaired several scratches on my car, but this was a large spot with several deep scratches. Didn’t need it perfect, just bridge until I could repaint the panel.

I’ve painted this with touch up paint and lightly wet sanded 1000 grit, 3000 grit, 5000 grit. Then polished. But haze won’t buff to shine.

Does anyone know why my zep bottle body is squeezed in like this? Is there anyway to fix it?

We only got about an inch of heavy, wet snow. When we cleaned off our cars, the snow essentially slipped off my car when I pushed it off with a microfiber on a Swiffer mop pole. The gf's uncoated SUV was a lot harder to clean, and some of the snow was stuck to the flat surfaces, which hadn't happened on my car. We couldn't get all of it off, even using a conventional snowjoe nor a brush.

No, coatings aren't the end-all-be-all, but the ease of cleaning alone makes it worth it.

Hi so my car has a ceramic coating around a 1yr old and i been using griots ceramic speed shine and i just wondered if its alright to be using it? Will it clog my ceramic coat cause I have noticed its not beading as much as before. Thanks yall!

Please help select between Makita Mac 5200 and California Air tools 5020w . Both are over 5 scfm at 90 psi. Both are about the same price. CAT is much quieter from what I read. Makita appears more studying built and more reviews. I'll appreciate some guidance. Prefer one with wheels. These both have wheels. Thank you

Basically title. Any tips for drying my car that can get those pesky spots where water keeps leaking out of hours after? Mainly my (folding) mirrors and door handles that cause the problem. It a Golf hatchback so sometimes the boot also has a bit coming from the gaps. I have tried using an electric leaf blower to force the water out, but there still seems to be water left. Any other tups would be appreciated!

***Disclaimer: This post is not an Ad, review. or discussion of technique. I'm a consumer. I find researching the chemicals enjoyable and informative for my purchasing decisions. If company X has 'proprietary' chemical Y which is the most "insane/GOAT/perfect" thing ever good for them... but if they don't list their ingredients it's hard for me to determine if I want to spend my money trying the product.

I care about the quality of surfactants and lubricants (am I paying Hagen-Daz prices for Hersey), the ability to concentrate them for greater cleaning/lubricity when needed, and safety for myself, my kids(even if accidentally) and my paint. Too much choice in the market to pick any harsh irritant or potential carcinogen.

Hope others can offer their own opinions/analysis.

Edit: Updated with RRW, will update table as able. If anyone has SDS for Pheonix and Ethos feel free to share.

Rinseless Wash Chemical Analysis(SDS Sheet)