Just picked up this 21 S60 Volvo last week, thought someone did a quick wash and go at dealer but this is proving very hard to remove. Little cash strapped at the moment as soon as I can will take to pro to fix whole car. Suggestions to get it of glass?
Thanks in advance
I just detailed this car for free to get some practice. The owner said the car hadn’t been washed in three years. I also washed the door jambs, in the gas door, the rear hatch, and wheel wells. The job took me 4 hours in total. The owner asked me how much I usually charge and told him that I’ve been detailing cars for free until I can figure it out.
For those who detail for a living, how did you come up with pricing especially when you take into consideration the amount of effort and time you put in to a job?
Thanks in advance.
The car has lost a lot of its clear coat so this has been made directly on the paint, would I be able to remove these markings(caused by my friends drawing with there fingers) with some sort of cleaning technique/paint correction?
Or should I be looking at replace the hood entirely?
TIA
Hello folks,
I have a ceramic coated car and am also very lazy. I like to pressure wash rinse it only and that's it. The water here is low ppm so water spotting isn't much of a problem. However, after several washes, eventually the road film / bugs on front bumper / road pollution on rear bumper start to catch up and I need to foam cannon and scrub the car down, then rinse again. What I'm looking for is the easiest to apply ceramic boost / top coat / sacrificial layer that will help me get as many rinse-only washes as possible before I have to use soap again.
In the past I tried a few "spray and rinse" SiO2 products but they bead up and run off right away, so I don't get good coverage. I've had to resort to additionally drying the car, spray on, and buff off. (Don't like all this extra contact, but it does look pretty good afterwards)
How about any of those foam-based toppers like Hydro2 foam? I figure in the case that I eventually have to soap wash the car anyway, may as well use that. Presumably it spreads on more evenly than a spray-and-rinse. Or is this one of those cases where it really is better to separate the wash and topping process?
I saw that Shark (the company who make vacuum cleaners) have released a cordless tool thats multifunctional for leaf blowing, dusting, blasting, etc. I'd be interested to see if anyone has tried it for drying their car yet 🤓
What hose is everyone using for their active 2.0? Needing something longer than what’s included. Yamatic sells the 5/16” steel braided on Amazon for 45$, active has one for 119$.
I’m starting out with my small detailing kit of a chemical guy foam cannon I bought and a pressure washer however I see noting that indicates I can attach said foam cannon to my pressure washer. Do I need to go buy a certain part or am I slow? I know it attaches to garden hose but I’d like to use my pressure washer
Hey all,
Apologies for the noob question,
TLDR: does having PPF covered by a professional grade ‘high end’ ceramic coating that’s not specifically for PPF, prevent the PPF from self healing?
I’m taking delivery of a new car soon and regularly drive rural roads where stone chips are easy to get.
I’m wanting to get the the whole thing or potentially just the front end PPF’d with Xpel or similar. I understand a lot of these PPFs have built in hydrophobic coatings but a lot of installers seem to still ceramic coat over them. I’ll have the rest of the car ceramic coated too coated, I’ve always had my cars coated and love it.
I’m keen to have the whole car with the same ceramic coating, purely for OCD purposes, so would having something like ArtDeShine NGC+ Graphene Coating prevent the PPF’s self healing because of the coatings hardness?
Preparing for our station inspection and I’d like to give some love to the paint on our engine. We have these decals though. I’m thinking tape over to avoid getting compound on the decals. Or is it something to not worry about?
Any advice wiukd be appreciated!
bought a stubby lance from AliExpress that included this adapter and this happened on first use. are they usually poor quality?
Hello everyone, I am new to detailing and I've done some research about prewash and then after the prewash should I contact wash with a clay mitt or a clay bar and can I reuse the clay mitt or bar for other vehicles or is it single time use.
Hey r/AutoDetailing,
I’m an app developer who spends way too much time watching mobile detailing van build and job videos. One thing I rarely see is the “inside kitchen” — especially how you guys manage inventory of all those bottles, towels, pads, and consumables while on the road.
I’m just trying to understand the real workflow and pain points (no product to sell yet, just research).
Quick questions:
If you don’t mind sharing — are you mostly solo mobile, running 1–2 vans, or working in a small shop? Helps me understand different needs.
Appreciate any honest replies. Thanks!
A little over a year ago I got hit with a mini-hype train surrounding ‘Dry Me a River’ by The Rag Co. I spent most of ‘25 out of commission due to a motor vehicle accident but came right back to it as soon as I could and really gave it a go with this towel as the second step in my glass process (wet with one towel and dry with another) and, to say the least it’s been disappointing.
The wet towel is a simple tight waffle weave no-name from amazon but I needed a storied towel with real chops to come in clutch with the dry and took Wilson’s recommendation for Dry Me a River. Sadly, it didn’t pan out because, despite multiple washes using all Free&Clear and DWV as a softening agent the towels are still grabby and leave streaks or worse, smears as if there were inclusions in the towels. I have a dozen or so DMARs from different shipments and they all behave that way.
I wanted to reach out to the community to see if anyone had a suggestion for a great, low/no lint finishing towel for glass.
Hello!
Since I’m working mobile, a compressor unfortunately isn’t an option, so I’ve been looking into alternatives like handheld blowers.
I’m trying to find an efficient way to clean product out of small cracks and tight areas when cleaning interiors. Right now I usually spray product onto a microfiber and wipe to avoid excess foaming, but I’ve found that foaming with a brush is much more effective overall.
Has anyone dealt with a similar issue, and how do you handle product getting stuck in tight areas without compressed air?
Thanks.
I work in an industrial environment and have to park my car near the projects at times. One day they were painting and I guess the mist from the guns drifted its way onto my car.
I can’t even tell that it’s on my cars paint, but it’s noticeable on my windows. I want to do a ceramic coating because it’s becoming dangerous to drive in the rain. Can’t see anything. So I need to clean this film of paint, that looks like dust, off before I coat them.
What’s the best way? Razor blade would take forever. Will #0000 steel wool scratch the windshield? Clay bar? Paint thinner?
Thanks for your time.
In 6 weeks I get a new car (brand new) and I would like to protect it well. I do have some detail experience but not so much on claying and polishing.
My idea now is:
- Foaming
- Washing (2 buckets)
- De-ironing
- Degreasing
- Collonite sealant
But should I use claying after the de-ironing? I am just afraid it will make it worse with some swirls, potentially.
Need some help, I’ve had some panels sprayed on my car 4 days ago, They left some holograms on the newly painted panels so I’ve used some menzerna 3 in 1 one step with a DA to remove most the haze
But I’ve just realised this will have sealed the new paint that’s been painted, will be be ok to leave sealed for one night and what do you recommend me buying to strip the panel clean from the wax and polishing compound so the paint can vent
Forgot to add I’ve used some neat citrus wash multiple times on the panel after but I’m not sure if this will help unseal the paint
Found this mark on my rear left bumper last night. Cleaned it up and sprayed it with WD-40 and used a microfiber towel but doesn’t seem to be going away.
Reading all over the internet and I see mentions of using a magic eraser, rubbing compound etc. would like some solid advice so I don’t ruining what I already have. Thanks in advance!
Hi everyone, I’m honestly exhausted and hoping someone here has gone through something similar and can help.
A melon was accidentally left under the passenger seat of our car for about a week. It rotted and leaked juice into the floor. The smell is absolutely horrible (like very strong feet/rot).
We’ve been trying to fix it for several days now and have done ALL of this:
• Removed the source and cleaned everything
• Used upholstery cleaner on seats, carpet, and doors
• Applied an enzymatic cleaner multiple times (like Nature’s Miracle)
• Left the car in the sun for hours with windows open
• Washed mats and vacuumed thoroughly
• Found an opening under the carpet and manually extracted liquid from the foam using towels (they came out brown and smelled like the melon)
• Applied enzyme directly to the foam and dried it again
At one point the smell improved a lot (down to maybe a 3/10), but now it keeps coming back, especially when the car sits overnight in a closed garage and it smells terrible again (like 6–7/10).
Important detail:
We believe the smell is coming from the foam/insulation under the carpet, not just the surface.
We’re at the point where we don’t know if we should keep trying or just go to a professional
Has anyone dealt with something like this (food/liquid rotting inside car foam)?
• Did it ever go away completely?
• Did you need professional extraction?
• Is it possible to fix without removing seats or replacing materials?
Any real experiences or advice would help a lot. Thank you 🙏
Hello, I live in a ranch style apartment but there is no spigot near my unit to hook up to a pressure washer.
I drive a compact sedan (Subaru WRX) that I normally just take to the self car wash once a week and I would like to be able to do clean it at home.
I do have a garage to store stuff and what not easily I think my biggest question is what should I do to get a pressure washer setup without having spigot access preferably something small since my car isn't very large and I don't want to take up toooo much space in garage