Category Archives: How To

How To detailing videos, articles, examples and more.

Mike Phillips demonstrating how to correctly hand wash a car using a microfiber wash mitt for a scratch-free clean
16
Aug
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To

How to Correctly Hand Wash a Car | Beginner’s Guide

Posted on by Mike Phillips

TRANSCRIPT You know, the most common way we get swirls and scratches into the finish on our cars comes from the way we wash it and dry it and also anytime we wipe it with a microfiber towel. Now, I’ve already completely polished out this car. It has a scratch-free, a swirl-free finish. And I’m […]

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Beginner's Guide to Polishing Cars
09
Aug
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, How To, Paint Correction

Beginner’s Guide to Car Polishing

Posted on by Mike Phillips

TRANSCRIPT Over time your car becomes filled full of swirls, scratches, water spots, and oxidation. And if you’re a beginner—you’ve never machine polished before—trying to fix this can be kind of intimidating. Let me show you how, and I’ll make it easy. In this video, I’m going to show you how to remove swirls and […]

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Swirls, Swirl Marks,
08
May
Behind the Detail, Featured, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Tips

12 Tips for Preventing Swirl Marks

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

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 […]

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matte black paint
11
Oct
Featured, Guides & Tips, How To, Matte Car Care, Paint Correction, Tips, Videos & Media

Scratched Matte Paint

Posted on by Celine Witherell

We’ve blogged about this topic on more than one occasion, but we still receive tons of comments and questions from our customers about scratched matte paint. Matte 101 There are some basic matte paint rules to know. Matte paint cannot be clayed, polished, or waxed. Ordinarily, these are the processes one would use to remove […]

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Close-up of hand holding clay bar with imprint marks showing contaminants removed during car detailing with header text that reads "what are clay bars?"
11
Jun
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing

What Does a Clay Bar Do? Detailing Clay, Explained

Posted on by Mike Phillips

A clay bar removes above surface bonded contaminants off the surface of your car’s paint to restore a clean and smooth surface. However, there is some confusion over the topic of how a clay bar works, why you should use one and what it does for a vehicle’s paint.  Let’s take a deeper dive. Myth […]

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Matte wheel on a Ferrari.
28
Sep
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, How To, Matte Car Care, Tips

How to Clean Matte Wheels & Rims

Posted on by James Detmer

Caring for matte or powder coated wheels isn’t that different than normal wheels, but there are certain things you should know about cleaning and protecting matte painted wheels…

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Undercarriage, Show Car Cleaning, Undercarriage cleaning
05
Dec
Behind the Detail, Featured, How To, Professional Detailing, Tips

Proper Maintenance of a Vehicle’s Undercarriage

Posted on by Will MacNeil

In the realm of detailing and car maintenance, the undercarriage is often overlooked. A full car detail cannot be complete without paying attention to the bottom side of the car as well.  It’s like spending time in the gym and only doing chest and arm exercises. Sure those areas look great, but you’re neglecting the […]

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IPA wipedown being done on a red Porsche 911.
11
Oct
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Featured, Guides & Tips, How To, Tips

IPA vs. Panel Wipes: Which Is Better at Removing Polish Residue?

Posted on by Victor Espeland

In the world of car detailing, IPA stands for “Isopropyl Alcohol”. Detailers will typically talk about IPA in the context of an “IPA wipedown” or “IPA panel wipe”, a process for cleaning polishing oils and residue from paint before applying protection like a ceramic coating.  Despite being a common topic in detailing, there’s a lot […]

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How to Clean and Restore Black Plastic Trim
17
Jun
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, How To

How to Clean & Restore Black Plastic Trim on Cars

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Most modern cars have some amount of black plastic trim as function of the body design or for beauty accents.  Over time, with exposure to the sun and inclement weather, these black plastic trim components will fade, oxidize, and lose their original factory appearance.  Besides aging from exposure to the sun and the elements, the […]

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Wet sanding with 3M Trizact system
08
Nov
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Live Detailing Classes, Videos & Media

How to Wet Sand Paint Using 3M Trizact System

Posted on by Mike Phillips

The 3M dry sanding system is actually what I consider like one of the safest sanding systems out there and especially if you’re brand new to sanding. One of the cool things about this system is you can use it by hand or machine. They make these in sheets. This is the 3000 six-inch disc, […]

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