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Author Archives: Jim Lafeber

Water Spots, Acid Rain, Paint

Water Spots Etching Your Paint…Why?

What the Heck is Going on in the Rain? Rainwater is not pure. It is naturally acidic, the result of water collecting on dust and smoke particles in the clouds. Comprised of water vapor and any number of contaminants like pollen, mold, bacteria, dust, soil, pollutants, plant parts, algae, and insect parts, these tiny particles […]

Car, Clean, Car Wash, Detail a Car

The Basic Components to Detailing a Car

Detailing a car is quite a bit more extensive than just washing your car. Washing you car could be as simple as soap and water and a vacuum. However, if you’re looking to really deep clean your car for either a sale or an event, follow this guide to learn how to detail a car. […]

Detail Shop, Expectations, Requirements

10 Things To Do in Your Detail Shop

So I run and operate a detail shop in Chicago, IL called Simon’s Shine Shop where my reputation around the city (and wider) has grown based on the customer’s experience. For me it’s not about turnover and how many cars I can get in and out, it’s about the quality that goes into the cars and how […]

metal, chrome, polish, restore, rust

Metal Polishing: The Quick Guide

There is good news when it comes to polishing the metals on your vehicle. Most of it – like your tail pipe, wheels, exhaust manifold, outer panels, trim, and engine – is made of stainless steel. While stainless steel is rust and stain resistant, the chromium oxide and nickel finish on the metal is NOT. […]

Towels, Damp, Microfiber, Detailing, Drying

Use Damp Microfiber Towels to Improve Performance

All detailers should make it a habit to use a partially wet or damp microfiber towel when drying a wet car because it absorbs water better than one that is fully dry. Scientifically speaking, the skin of a water molecule is polarized (attracted to specific molecules), thereby acting like a magnet for other liquid or […]

Bid Poop, Paint Etching,

Cleaning Bird Poop From Your Car: The Acidic Nightmare

It looks harmless enough, if not rather disgusting, driving along when a big splat of bird poop splatters all over the hood of your car. It looks terrible but you just drive through it not knowing how aggressive that powerful organic acid is when reacting chemically with your automotive paint. If you did, you would […]

Polish, Buffing, Chemicals, Perfect

12 Traits To Look For When Choosing A Polish

My idea of a great polish is one that cuts paint in order to remove defects that are embedded in a car’s finish. But it needs to do this without being overly aggressive. While you do need some amount of cutting from a polish, one that is too aggressive will remove more clear coat than […]

Swirls, Swirl Marks,

12 Tips for Preventing Swirl Marks

Removing swirl marks is a little like cleaning up after yourself, or at least cleaning up after someone else’s mess. Swirls may be the professional detailer’s most despised surface flaw because they are almost exclusively caused by the detailer’s polishing technique. Because they are less visible in the shade but spectacularly obvious in sunlight, even […]

Touch-up Paint, Car, Scratches,

Touch-up Paint: What? When? Where? Why?

From the moment you drive a new car off the showroom floor, the attacks begin. Ravenous paint-eating contaminants like bird-do and acid rain hunger for your clear coat and paint. Filth billows up from the asphalt to do a dance on the lower portion of your front fascia, bumpers, and body side moldings, while thoughtless […]

Microsuede, Alcantara, Dinamica, cleaning

Cleaning Microsuede: Choosing the Right Products and Techniques

Several versatile new synthetic suedes have hit the automotive interiors market in the past five years. Soft, tough, and absorbent, Alcantara, Escaine, Dinamica, and Ultrasuede are rapidly replacing real leather interiors on high end vehicles. These are all different types of microsuede, a fabric that, in spite of being more durable and stain resistant than real suede, […]