Well the title says it. I used a plastic bristle brush to wash my 2021 Mazda. Tiny microscopic scratches all over the body. Already used a scratch repair product with a microfiber cloth, it almost looks worse as it just made the scratches glossy and more noticeable. How fked am I and is there anything I can do aside from getting it repainted/detailed? I am quite literally flat broke and don't even have enough for a basic detail currently, and am highly allergic to most cleaning/finishing chemicals. I already needed my hood repainted and back bumper as well due to other issues. At this point I am considering a bridge (jk).

Any help will be much appreciated!! One of the rims on my 2025 ram 1500 daily driven in Florida 43k miles mostly highway seem much duller and less glossy than the others feels a tad bit gritty to the touch (basically feels dry not like sand paper) no chemicals were spilt onto the rim at any point in time.
Is the wheel duller from grime and minerals?
Could a good cleaner fix this there’s no peeling or bubbling my main concern is did the clear coat fail?
I go to big dans car wash and if the issue was with the chemicals the car wash uses wouldn’t all rims seem duller?
Another thing is tire shine/wax does seem to make the wheels look the same but looking for a more permanent fix.

Have tried nothing yet because I don't want to make things worse or permanent. The stuff in the foreground is the underside of the dog bed/material that caused it.

Car is a 2023 Volvo XC60 if that matters.

Should I just use a leather cleaner? Magic Eraser? Spit and a rag?

Thanks for any help you guys can give me! 🙏

I’ve just paid for my first detailing-I’ve been subbed here since I bought my new car and have tried to follow the advice here to baby this car of mine. After a really unfortunate bit of roof work on my garage, I discovered my car completely covered in rubble.

Now I admit that I noticed the occasional light scratch/swirl on the paint that I’m certain I caused while learning how to properly care for my car. But the rubble caused lots of pockmarks and scratches, and I wanted it fixed properly. I took it to a reputable shop in my city and paid over $600 for their level one correction. On top of that I paid for a ceramic coating. But it’s come back with MORE scratches than anything I ever did before I got better microfibers. Am I being unrealistic or should these kinds of scratches have been eliminated with a $600 exterior only detail? These are just the scratches I saw while filling up my car, I’m sure in the sunlight it’s much worse.

I have a month-old 2026 Toyota RAV4, and this bird dropping sat on the paint for at most 5 days. I first washed the car with Chemical Guys Honeydew Snow Foam, then tried warm water to remove the spot, but it wouldn't come off. I didn't want to rub too hard and risk scratching the paint.

Does it look like dried bird-dropping residue that's still stuck to the paint, or has it etched into the clear coat?

What would you recommend trying next to remove it safely?

Pictures attached. Thanks!

Ceramic coating I’ve learned is a cheat code

I used a clay sponge and then air dry, followed by cleaning all glass with isopropyl alcohol, invisible glass, and then a damp norwex cloth.

I applied griots ceramic topper to all of the body, wheels and exterior of all glass.

Rubber/plastic treatment on the tires.

I was happy to catch a reflection on white

Just sharing due to a sense of self satisfaction

The previous car owner spilled power steering fluid in the trunk. It has deteriorated the sound deadening material around the spare tire. I've scrubbed. I've scrapped. I considered drilling drain holes and using a power washer. Current plan is to scrape the deadening material, put hot soapy water in the wheel well and scrub, then soak up with inexpensive towels. Then finish with degreaser.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated because this mess is a mess.

Have been using both of these recently and I LOVE them. I pair them with my rupes hlr15 and lake country microfiber wool pads, and orange ccs foam pads. Genuinely phenominal products with GREAT run time.

My problem with the compound/polish is that the bottles have horrible seals right where the sprayer goes on the bottle. They leak everywhere when not standing upright, or when being shaken, essentially wasting product and money. Anyone have alternative nozzles that they've used with the optimum compound/polish? Or anyone use different spray compound/polish?

Hi there, I'm looking for some tips on some rough spots on my steering wheel. Not sure how to approach this. Is there a buffing technique that could help resort the smoothness of the leather? Or instinct shot?

Any tips on how to remove these spots? They look like water spots. It's on silver plastic

Good morning, all!

I was on my way to a doctors appointment this morning and was attacked by a wild piece of road debris that rolled off someone else’s truck and collided with the front of mine.

Its a new 2026 F-150 Tremor so I immediately became frustrated but couldn’t be late for said Doc appointment.

Damage doesn’t look too bad and looks mostly localized to the headlight housing, but looking for any and all advice to see about buffing it out with minimal scratching to the lens.

Not looking for repair advice per the rules of the subreddit, just advice to buff it out if possible!

Thanks in advance!

Hi all, newb here. I did some clay work on the roof and guessing this is marring from not doing it properly? Some general research suggests I could use a light polish followed by a wax/ceramic. The car is 2.5 years old and I got a professional ceramic coating when new. I typically wash with ONR.

Does this sound like the proper course of action? This would all be done by hand and I’ve read about proper cleaning with IPA after the polish. Thanks in advance!