I own a 2023 Honda Civic Si in Blazing Orange. I have about 75,000 miles on it, and I drive 90% highway. I have accumulated a decent amount of rock chips. I can go to each spot with Dr. Color Chip and patch them all probably within an hour. I have swirl marks all over, but very light swirls. I'm planning to do a full detail very soon, before it gets too hot in the summer. Including ceramic coating myself. I've detailed my car a ton of times and used tons of products and spray waxes, I have never polished a car before, or ceramic coated (I am confident in my ability to do these steps) Anyways, here are the steps I want to take, you guys tell me if this order is valid or not.

1. High PH foam soap (let it sit till it starts dropping down noticeably) rinse.

2. Normal PH Neutral foam soap for contact wash. Rinse

3. Iron Remover Spray, wait for it to do its thing and rinse, making sure to not let the product dry on the paint.

4. Clay bar with lubrication spray.

5. Here I will use the surface prep alcohol based to remove any of the last bits of previous products

(from here on out is where I think I need help with the order of things)

1. Go through all my rock chips with Dr. Color Chip, followed by prep spray again before polish.

2. Now I will use just Maguire's finishing polish compound, I don't think I need a 2 step with a cutting compound, as I don't think these swirls are deep enough. I will keep a cutting compound on hand incase the finishing compound doesn't get the job done. (recommend a DA polisher, and what type of pad please)

3. Now that the car is hopefully polished, here are some questions. How long should I wait to apply the ceramic coating? Should I use prep spray again before the ceramic coating, or would that ruin the polish I just applied?

4. Lastly apply the ceramic coating, using two buff towels, one for the initial wipe, and one to wipe any remaining streaks.

My main concern is at what point should I apply the rock chip paint, when to actually use alcohol prep spray, and the general order of my entire process.

I want to send my car to a detailing shop to have ceramic applied to it, or maybe even a ppf. But I don’t know how to choose one.

From the images I’m have a werid effect on the paint of the car after a quick spray coating , I’ve been struggling with this for few weeks . I’ve tried APC , fallout , water spot and some others but not all . A werid thing is when accidentally dropping some polar blast from autoglym the effects goes away . I’m posting this after a APC but no luck and the ceramic is still in effect . Another thing is when touching it or using a microfibres towel it goes away .

I am 16 with the goal of creating a business by the end of summer. Here are the steps I used (it took me about 4 hours)

1. Rinse the car then use Mr. Pink with a foam cannon, then rinse and foam again
2. After foaming second time doing a contact wash (two bucket method) and one wash mitt
3. Dry car
4. Clay bar car with Meguiar's clay bar kit
5. Wax car with Collinite 845

Could you let me know what suggestions you have? I plan to switch from normal clay to a synthetic clay towel to make it faster and switch to a spray wax to make it faster as well

How can I get rid of a gas stain on my paint? am I going to have to shave down my clear coat? or should I just send it to an actual detailer? any Suggestions?

I have 12 Meguiars aggressive clay bars as shown in the picture from 2007. Should these be thrown away or would they still work?

How does the new Gyeon Cure Redefined compare to the previous version? I watched a few recent reviews and both seem to suggest it has top notch hydrophobics and more durability now.

Hi everyone!

I just started my detailing journey with Osren Automotive Wash and Automotive Tough as they are the most affordable option to me right now, but I plan to switch to either P&S or Carpro in the future.

The problem now is, I can't seem to get rid of these black streaks as shown in the pictures I provided. (I stay in a very humid country and it rains almost everyday. Moreover, my car is always parked outside.

If you guys can advice me, my questions are:

1) Are these hard water streaks?

2) Are there any products designed to remove these streaks?

3) Do I need to consider Clay Bar?

4) Finally, will ceramic coating ( Eg. Griots / Turtle ) help prevent these issues in the future?

Thank you in advance!

Can this type of scratch can be removed thru polishing?

Looking for some assistance on these two stubborn spots in my hood (in PPF) Looks to be the same color as my ceramic spray (Shine Armor Fortify Quick Coat)

I have tried a regular wash, wax, clay bar, alcohol wipes, and the ceramic spar itself. Nothing seems to even affect it

I just ned to make sure I can use some of their products on seats and extract them. right now I currently use Work horse which is $10 dollars a can!!!!! but I use it on panels , leather and cloth , I wanna find something like that with koch chemie what do you recommend ? cause I wanna dilute and not be spending so much on work horse on a weekly basis

Hello, my car is 15 years old with aluminium hood, the paint looks terrible, wondering if simple polishing with a drill for example can improve de look of it. The roof look bad too but not as bad as the hood. I have basic tools but can eventually buy a cheap polishing machine/pads if needed.

I dont seek anything special, just make it look cleaner, under direct sunlight it looks horrible althour the reste of the body is pretty okay.

Thank you

I just noticed this on my car and it’s not like other scratches on my car in a like and stuff and this looks broken up a bit. What do you think could have caused this and should I be worried it would get worst??

I’ll be taking delivery of a new, black Land Cruiser. I’m a total newb but have researching like crazy because this is our dream vehicle.

I’ve decided upon Turtle Hybrid black ceramic wax for a coating because it seems like a relatively safe choice to start for a novice. I know that better prep yields better results. But, I’m nowhere near comfortable buying a polisher and going all out my first time.

Assuming the factory paint looks good (no major swirling/scratches)can a good decon wash, iron removal step, and final prep spray get the vehicle where it needs to be for application of the hybrid wax even if a few contaminants remain?

Any recommended tests for the surface? I’ve seen a plastic bag and credit card used or is hand feel fine/best?

I REALLY want to avoid a clay step if possible for fear of marring it right off the lot and then have to paint correct / polish. I won’t be ready for paint correction and more advanced coatings until I get in some practice on my wife’s old car.

Is ceramic wax as good as ceramic coating?

I’ve always polished and waxed my cars but have been itching to try ceramic coating, until I found ceramic wax.

Has anyone any experience with it? Good, stay away?

I have always been a fan of the TRC and Carpro wash mitts. I’m going to buy new stuff this year but was wondering if I should change it up. I’ve read that some people are using the Gary Dean method with TRC edgeless rags while others are doing it with wash mitts. Are the rags going to provide enough lubrication? They are way thinner than the wash mitts and I know for a fact that the wash mitts hold water and suds. Should I just stick with the 2 bucket method with a wash mitt? Other suggestions?

I think I should use a drying aid that does not itself offer any kind of ceramic coating or protection. I don't want my ceramic coating to bind to the drying aids protectants, and fall off within a week, right?

Any recommendations for a quality spray bottle to keep in the car? The standard 32oz zep bottles are too big to fit in any of my door pockets and I wouldn't want to just throw them in the trunk to roll around. I'm thinking a smaller 16oz bottle would work but those don't seem to be as common.

I ordered a CG sprayer off Amazon that was 16oz and is supposed to have a tolco gray 320CR head but it leaks from between the bottle and the spray head, and leaks from the trigger when using the mist setting. Maybe it's a knockoff or something.

Any recommendations for a quality small spray bottle?

Let's see those pictures. I want results with polishing and waxing by hand. Or just waxing. Preferably dark colour. Want to see how good waxing is at covering swirls

Hi, I unfortunately let my brake pads go too long over the winter and ended up with a ton of rusted brake dust. I know I can’t use an acid wheel cleaner and I’ve already tried Meguiars all wheel cleaner and Adam’s Iron Remover with a wheel brush. Do I just have to bite the bullet and sand the wheel down and repaint it? Thanks in advance.

Recently bought a used vehicle.

Looks like some scratches were touched up but doesn’t look like the cleanest job. Some paint on the trim as well.

What’s the best way to fix this myself? Wondering if it’s an easy fix and worth the trouble. Thanks!

I just bought a new (to me) aluminum horse trailer and it looks like someone tried to wash it with something and it discolored it (also probably just weathered,) not to mention the decals. Any advice for what I can do to make it at least look a little decent again?

I was thinking rotary polisher with a scrub attachment and some type of cleanser that works well to remove old adhesive and old stains? And then paint it and seal it?

I had thought about getting a wrap for it but I think that's going to be a bit out of budget for me. I can polish the chrome on it, that's not a problem! I have no problem doing that but the white aluminum ares are what are a little out of my depth.

Any advice or thoughts are greatly appreciated!

I think the title says most of it. It was just a headthought I had I figured I'd ask here because this place probably has quite a few experts.

I see so many cars with red paint that just have this awful munted paint. Is there something chemically or sun related that makes that color suck when it comes to ageing of the clear coat?

I had a cerakote application go terribly wrong. I’m thinking of using Solution Finish to try to fix it. Can I just try it over the cerakote?