I just completed compounding, polishing and waxing my CR-V with Meguiar's Ultimate products.  I got a little of each on the black plastic trim, so wondering if I need to remove all of that as much as possible before applying the Meg's Ultimate Black, or will the bit of compound/polish/wax vanish once the Ultimate Black is applied?

If it must be removed, what is the best solution to use?  Isopropyl Alcohol?

Thanks

Someone must have placed something on top of my car and then slid it off. This spot has lots of fine scratches. Is repainting the only option?

Someone tried to remove a scratch from the piano black surrounding the shift lever and they used an abrasive sponge. Now the finish is fully scratched and completely dull. Can it be saved, or do I have to consider a cover or wrap to make it look better?

Hey crew, long time redditer, first time caller (here)

My wife and I have a 2020 sprinter with adventure buildout. It’s mostly kept outside and taken on amazing adventures

In the past year it’s developed this black streaking wherever there is a vinyl or rubber surface (the one exception to this is where the sliding door rail ends there also seems to be a small streak.)

What can be done to remove this?

I’ve tried everything that I can think of in a Local detailer did his best as well. Which improved things slightly.

Pressure wash?

Detergent of some kind?

Abandon and buy a new van??!!

Hey all I work in a super dusty environment ( next to a landfill) I was wondering would it be worth it to apply ceramic coat to my vehicle, I’m hand washing, clay, wax every few weeks. It gets exhausting. Would applying ceramic coating to my car help at all? Would I be able to just rinse the dust away? Would it keep its shine? Thank you for any advice!!

This is is the day after applying tyre kicker tire shine. Washed my wheels and tires thoroughly with wheel and tire cleaner, used tec582 on the whole car during drying and dressed the tires last. They looked great last night but today they don’t look shiny just clean. What do I do to make the shine last longer?

My 2026 CRV B and C pillar plastic trims have some tiger stripping defect. While the vehicle is still under warranty, the dealer will not be able to fix the issue because all CRVs have that defect, including 2027 models in the dealer lot. I even ordered one piece from my local dealer and it looks the same. I’m wondering if a ceramic coating could help make it look better. I’m looking for a permanent or semi-permanent solution.

2013 Jetta Sportwagon. The hood has this hazy patch in the middle, and there are starting to be some more hazy patches on the roof. Trying to figure out if this can be detailed and cleaned up or if I need to start looking at getting the car re cleared. Thanks for the help.

Been looking at Giraffe units, Active 2.0, Ryobi, and Ava Go +. I am building a wash station inside my garage and wanted a PW that is primarily for auto detail but has enough in it for home duties.

I just got a new Volvo S90 and I want to get some new products for taking care of it. It has a light colored interior that is mostly leather-wrapped and the vinyl lower section of the door is going to take some abuse, as you can see from the pic.

Based on the research I did on this subreddit I would have liked to get Colourlock but it seems to be discontinued or out of stock while Koch Chemie transitions it. I understand that my new leather has a synthetic coating so I want to keep that coat protected more than I will be "treating" the leather.

In lieu of Colourlock what's the best pairing of products for cleaning and protecting the leather? Should I use the same products on the vinyl? Any advice for getting those shoe scuffs off of the lower door panel?

The area I live in has long winters so I'm looking to get our new ride all protected before that hits.

We have a 2024 x7 with a bench second row. My 13 year old left the lid to her 64 oz water jug open on the hour long drive home from a soccer game. Guessing about 30-40oz were left and all seem to have poured through the middle of the bench seat and been absorbed in the floor of the third row.

It's currently in our garage with a dehumidifier running in the garage and a high flow fan pointed at the third row floor, all windows open. I popped a vent cover off in the third row and I can feel that the foam below the floor is very wet. I tried using my wet vac on the floor but it's hard to tell if anything is coming up and it feels like there is a hard plastic between the carpet and the foam so anything i can get up would really just be coming from the carpet surface.

How F'd are we? If i can let this setup run for 3 days will the foam dry out? Any other suggestions?

We have an SUV and a sedan. I rarely washed both on the same day. Washing was not the problem. Setting everything up and putting it away was.

I used a greenworks portable pressure washer. Every wash meant carrying it out of the garage, connecting the water and power, and dealing with the pressure hose.

The hose would not always reach the second car or the other side of the driveway, so I had to move the machine and rearrange everything.

After finishing the first car, I usually left the other one for the next weekend. Then I had to wind up the hose, put away the cord, and carry the washer back inside.

I recently switched to a giraffe tools pressure washer near the garage door. The 100 ft hose reaches both sides of the driveway, so the machine stays in place. I pull out the hose, wash the cars, then retract it when I’m done.

I still wash one car at a time so water and soap do not dry on the paint. Washing two cars takes about the same amount of time, but I only set up and pack away once.

Do you wash all your cars on the same day? Did a longer hose or fixed pressure washer make you wash them more often?

YouTube? Books? Any websites anyone can recommend?

Ive always been a car/bike person and find cleaning to be therapeutic, I am very meticulous to details. I honestly am not planning to make big coin or anything off this, just want to do it as a side hustle and to work on other bikes and cars. I am a complete noob but. There are courses locally but they are very expensive. I feel like the better route would be to research online as much as possible and slowly purchase items and give it a crack on my own stuff and family and friends. If anyone can recommend a resource that helped them I’d really appreciate it! Thank you :)

Also for products how do you know when to splurge or when to start off cheaper. I hate buying things twice

Sometimes a car comes in for PPF, but removing stubborn adhesive residue or dealing with unexpected paint contamination takes longer than planned.

Do you leave extra time between installations for situations like this, or adjust the schedule when they come up? How do you keep the next appointment from getting delayed?

Hi everyone,
My Jeep recently had its underbody cleaned with dry ice blasting and then treated with underbody protection. Unfortunately, the vehicle was not covered during the work, and now there is a film over the paintwork.
I would like to remove this film without damaging the paint or any existing protective coating.
Has anyone experienced something similar and can recommend a good car cleaner that will safely remove these residues without damaging the paint?
Thanks in advance for any advice!

Hello. I have a c7 z06 with leather seats and suede inserts. I have already gotten and used sonax on the center inserts. I’m looking for recommendations for the leather. I think it’s like a pre treated leather? I don’t want it to be greasy or tacky after. If anyone has any products they like for this type of dryer type finish I would appreciate it!

Looking for a good cheap extractor for car seats and carpets👍

Just a hobbyist who would like to learn more about detailing. I find it therapeutic but I feel like I’m missing something here and there when it comes to the final result.

I used a chemical guys water spot remover on my mirrors. It seems like there is a haze which clears out with water but comes back immediately when dry.

Would I need to replace the mirror or can a detailer fix this?

I’ve had this spot on my bonnet since the previous owner and it’s time to get rid of it, I’m not sure what it is whether it’s an old sticker or salt water marks as the previous owner used to have surf boards on the roof

I cleaned inside and out with tru vue and a waffle weave but these dots wont budge. What are they? Rock chips over the years? (Car is 30 years old)? Anyway to get rid of these, with clay bar, glass stripper etc?

Long story short: Someone went over the lane and slightly scraped the side of my car. Luckily, it was just the plastic trim that rubbed, so now there's just this residue.

I was wondering what product would work to remove these slight marks? Thank you in advanced!

I polish my scale models with metal polish and then apply "headlight paint" (transparent colored lacquer) over them to achieve metallic finishes. I am looking for a clear coat (varnish) that won't damage this paint; standard acrylic spray varnishes end up re-dissolving and ruining it. What can I use instead?