Wheels and tires are the only part of our cars that actually make contact with the road. This in turn causes dirt and grime build-up over time. In addition, brake dust and fine shavings from the brake rotors end up on your wheels as well. What is brake dust? Brake dust is a residue which is a combination of iron particles, carbon, and fraction material that makes your wheels look filthy. What’s worse than dirty wheels and tires? Regardless of if your car is using aftermarket wheels or factory OE wheels, cleaning your wheels (and tires) is one of the...

There is nothing more frustrating than the sound of bugs hitting your clean windshield, or the sight of the front of your car that’s littered with bug splatter. Worse yet, your windshield wipers do close to nothing to wash away the bugs. If you drive your car often, chances are you’ve encountered insect remains all over the car’s front bumper, side mirrors, headlights and windshield. Bug splatter is one of the toughest stains to clean off the surface of your car, and the longer it sits, the more difficult it becomes to get rid of. Modern cars are painted using...

The most common question about waxing your car goes like this, How often should I wax my car? The answer depends on two things.  1: How do you use your car? 2: How do you wash your car?   Let me address both of these variables in two segments. 1: How do you use your car? What this means is, what kind of environment is your car exposed to? Do you drive your car back and forth to work Monday through Friday?  Or do you work from home? Or are you retired and no longer driving your car back and forth...

4 types of water stain spots There are different types of water spots when it comes to water spot stains and etching on car paint and car glass.  These include,  Type I Water Spots – Mineral deposits on the paint surface. Type II Water Spots – Imprint etching in the paint. Type III Water Spots – Crater etchings in the paint. Type IV Water Spots – Whitish discoloration stains on and in the paint. Type I water spots are simply called hard water spot stains.  This means that there were dissolved minerals in the water and after the water evaporated,...

I’ve been detailing cars since the late 1970s.  I am the only detailer in our industry that has had 2 TV shows, authored 5 car detailing books and 1 boat detailing book.  Have written over 1000 articles on the topic of car and boat detailing and have taught and documented more car and boat detailing classes than any other detailing class instructor on planet Earth.  So, for what it’s worth, below are my favorite and must have car detailing tools.  Tools for detailing the exterior of your vehicle The FLEX XC 3401 VRG aka the BEAST - All brawl, zero...

I’ve been detailing cars for over 30 years.  That’s a long time and I’ve seen a lot of products come and go and I’ve also seen a lot of products endure the test of time.  With the introduction of the Internet and the World Wide Web, we all have access to the latest and greatest products around the world.   The downside of the Internet is there are just as many mediocre products as there are truly great products and sometimes the only way to separate the good from the bad is to either purchase and use the product yourself or...

Exterior Auto Trim Modern cars use a lot of exterior plastic trim and cladding as part of the aesthetics and design.  Before the 1980s, car manufacturers used primarily chrome for trim accents, but the expense of using chrome compared to plastic became excessive and thus one of the reasons car manufactures switched over to plastic trim.  Another reason car manufactures switched over from chrome to plastic is because plastic weighs less than chromed metal components. The problem with exterior plastic trim Unlike plastic trim and other parts used for the interior of the car, including the passenger areas, the trunk...

Flying insects and bugs - they may be small but they can be a huge problem! Driving head-on into flying bugs is unavoidable.  If you drive your car any distance at all, chances are good any flying insects that cross your path are going to slam into the front of your car’s body panels, headlights and grill as well as the side mirrors, windshield and the front portion of the roof of your car. When bugs slam into a glass windshield or a chrome grill, there’s no risk of damage because glass and chrome are not affected by the acidic...

Question: Which shines the longest, a paste wax or a liquid wax? Answer:  If you choose a quality brand of wax, the shine will last about the same time no matter what form the wax comes in. The more important question is how long will the wax last?  And the answer to how long any wax will last comes down to how well was the paint surface prepared to accept the wax?  Just like getting a custom paint job for your car, the final results always depend on the prep work performed before applying the wax.  If you’re working on...

Before After Cosmetic Engine Detailing When it comes to most modern cars, when you open the hood you don’t see an engine but instead, see lots of plastic covers and cladding that cover the engine.  For the most part, due to better technology, the engines don’t become covered in oily sludge like they did in the old days, thus there’s nothing to clean or degrease. The plastic covers and plastic cladding inside the engine compartment does become dirty and neglected looking over time but the good news is - it’s fast and easy to clean and then restore that factory...

When it comes to cleaning cloth seats as well as any other cloth, fabric or upholstery inside your car, the process is actually quite easy and simple.  It helps to use quality tools and products and of course the key ingredient is you and your focused attention to the task at hand.   Besides these things, the most important thing I can share when it comes to cleaning cloth seats is try to work with a foaming upholstery cleaner and after all the cleaning is done, place a small fan inside the car for an hour or two as the moving...

Before After Cosmetic Engine Detailing When it comes to most modern cars, when you open the hood you don’t see an engine but instead, see lots of plastic covers and cladding that cover the engine.  For the most part, due to better technology, the engines don’t become covered in oily sludge like they did in the old days, thus there’s nothing to clean or degrease. The plastic covers and plastic cladding inside the engine compartment does become dirty and neglected looking over time but the good news is - it’s fast and easy to clean and then restore that factory...