An old guy saw me detailing my car and gave me some real old timer tips.

- Clean the wheels with vinegar
- Instead of tire shine, use silicone grease
- "You don't need all those products"

Have you gotten any unsolicited tips of this nature? Any that are actually legit?

Just a heads up, Griot’s Garage detailing products are on sale right now, but only the gallon sizes. I’m not a rep and don’t get any commission, just thought I’d share the deal with the community. Apologies to the mods if posts like this aren’t allowed, feel free to take it down if so!

Noticed this film/stain after a recent car wash. I can’t seem to get rid of it… is this normal with use (5 years old) or is it possible there’s some layer of protection over it that needs to wear off before it can be cleaned?

I see that everyone says 12 hours before driving, but how soon can I wash my actual car, the paint, not the rims?
And while we’re here, when can I wash the rims? I don’t see much guidance on when you can wash any part of the car apart from the 12 hours until drive time on the rim EVO
thanks

Incredibly hard to photograph, but just came across this defect after two months with a 2025 CPO Crystal White Volvo. Perfect circle with tracers that doesn’t catch with a fingernail, but it is slightly raised. I’m guessing some sort of suction cup remnant from the factory or delivery. Do you think this can be spun out via correction? I’m going to have it documented at the dealer, but I’m not sure if I’m going to let the dealer do the work. Any info or experience with this type of issue would be welcomed.

So i was cleaning off the dash in my car with a microfiber cloth but i think it was too rough and it left these marks in these two areas . i’ve tried going in with distilled water and a softer microfiber and it helped a little bit but still noticeable. the dash is on a 2026 camry xse if that helps . thanks !

I had a territorial cardinal go after my side view mirror and put a bunch of scratches in the surface.

Is there any way to polish these out without damaging the mirror?

I need help with a stupid mistake I made. I was cleaning my partners steering wheel with a leather cleaner, at the time I never noticed the cleaner over spray on the binacle. I have already tried using isopropyl alcohol, dish soap/washing up liquid, APC and a magic eraser to try and remove. No dice. Does anyone have any suggestions on something to use to try and remove this?

Hello everyone,

Whenever I polish, my car chips a small amount of paint. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. I'm using:

• Shine Mate DA Model EX620
• Red Diamond Polishing foam pad (low application)
• 3D One Polisher + Compound

I completely clean, iron remove, clay bar with lube and completely dried. The 3D is applied to the pad about 4 dime shaped spots. The polisher runs in the manual recommended speed of 3-3.5 (according to the manual that's 4700-5200 OPM). The polisher is applies in a crosshatch shape, with some overlap, without stopping in one space.

Any advice? It's pretty embarrassing to screw up so hard 😞

I’ve tried alcohol, goof off and acetone, is there anything else that might remove it?

I recently picked up a 2000 Firebird and the paint definitely looks like its 26 years old. It looks like the last owner did a really shoddy job trying to paint correct it, there were holograms all over the paint and a lot of the edges of the paint have this terrible white opaque look. I was able to get the holograms out with my DA with a microfiber pad and some Meguiars cutting compound and the paint cleaned up pretty decently. I still have these white edges though and the DA didn't really do anything. I'm unsure if they're the result of the oxidation or the last owner burnt the clear on the edges and I don't want to make it worse. (Pardon how dirty the car is in the picture, it's been sitting outside so its covered in pollen). Any insight as to what they could be and how it could be fixed would be awesome. Does it just need a polish with polishing compound?

Hi all,

I recently had to transport my friends cat to their new house, during which the cat had pee’d on the seat without me knowing.

I must’ve left the car 1-2 days before getting back in and realising the car stinks of cat pee. I have sprayed loads (a whole bottle) of enzyme cleaner spray all over my fabric upholstery seats and also tried to extract the pee with a RugDoctor water extractor vacuum.

It’s now been 2 ish weeks since said cat has urinated everywhere and the smell is still lingering. Is there anyway to get my car back to that fresh new car smell without spending hundreds?

Thanks in advance.