Category Archives: Guides & Tips

Wiping hood with waterless wash
10
Sep
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Tips

How to Wash a Car Without a Hose (A Science-Based Approach to Avoiding Paint Damage)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

Washing a car without a hose removes the single biggest safety mechanism in traditional washing: bulk water removal of particulate matter. When you eliminate that step, you are fundamentally changing the system. Instead of relying on water volume to carry contaminants off the surface, you are relying on: If those three conditions are not met, […]

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tire dressing application
10
Apr
Dr. Beasley's News, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips

The Problem With Tire Dressings and Trim Restorers (And Why They Keep Letting You Down)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

You can spend hours washing and polishing a car until everything looks right. The paint is dialed in, the glass is clean, and overall the car feels well cared for. Then you step back, and something still looks off. Over time, through working with customers and partners like The American Muscle Car Museum and OEMs, […]

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03
Apr
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing

Why Ceramic Coatings Fail (And What Actually Makes Them Last)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

A lot of people are skeptical of ceramic coatings, and I understand why. They’ve been burned before.  Marketing makes ceramic coatings sound impervious. You hear it over and over: “Years of protection!” “9H Hardness!” “Extreme water beading!” And yet six months later, the gloss is gone, the finish is swirled and there’s no water beading […]

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Drying automotive paint with a microfiber towel
27
Feb
Behind the Detail, Ceramic Coatings, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Professional Detailing, Tips

How to Dry Your Car (Without Scratching the Paint)

Posted on by Jim Lafeber

Drying a vehicle is often perceived as a quick, final step after washing with little risk.  It is not. Drying is actually one of the highest risk steps in the wash process if your goal is maintaining paint clarity and preserving the clear coat long-term.  Although they are often called “wash marks”, most swirl marks, […]

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Swirls in automotive paint
21
Feb
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing

How to Avoid Swirls & Scratches in Your Car’s Paint

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Now follow me. It takes hours to buff out a car. For example, this black 1957 Chevy. I have literally hours into perfecting the paint. It takes seconds to put swirls and scratches back in. And the question is, how did the swirls and scratches get back in the paint after you remove them? In […]

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The best way to remove water spots
22
Jul
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Professional Detailing

The Best Way to Remove Water Spots

Posted on by Mike Phillips

One of the most annoying paint defects to see on your car’s paint and then have to somehow remove are water spots! And while you may think removing water spots is a simple process, it can actually be quite complicated because there are more than one type of water spot.  In fact, I’m the guy […]

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Diagram showing the different types of scratches on car paint based on depth
28
Apr
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction

How to Tell How Deep a Scratch is On Your Car

Posted on by Victor Espeland

Surface science begins with understanding clear coat, paintwork, and scratch identification. Here’s everything you need to know about the science behind car scratches and the different ways to remedy them.

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Red Volkswagon Jetta in the Snow
20
Sep
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips

Easiest Car Color to Keep Clean? Ranking the Best & Worst

Posted on by Victor Espeland

Choosing the best car color to keep clean isn’t something many people think of, but it’s surprisingly important when it comes to how much you’ll enjoy your car long term. After all, who wants to spend all their time driving a car that looks dirty and is a pain to keep clean? The fact is, […]

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The best car polishers for beginners
24
Jun
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Garage & Equipment, Guides & Tips, Paint Correction, Videos & Media

Best Car Polishers for Beginners (2024)

Posted on by Mike Phillips

The good news about polishing car paint in 2024 is there are a LOT of options when it comes to machine polishers for beginners starting out doing paint correction. The bad news? There are SO MANY options now when it comes to polishers and buffers that it can be VERY confusing. As a teacher of […]

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How to Polish Vinyl Graphics on Cars
13
Dec
Behind the Detail, Exterior Detailing, Guides & Tips, How To, Paint Correction, Videos & Media

How to Polish Vinyl Stripes & Graphics

Posted on by Mike Phillips

Transcript Have you ever wondered if you can polish vinyl graphics? Well, I’m here to tell you you can. And we just took a Detailometer reading of the vinyl graphics, the before. And what I’m going to do is I’m going to show you how to carefully restore graphics like these. This is a 1999 […]

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