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There is a lot of misinformation about paint contamination and when it occurs and what to do about it.

First, contamination is simply any foreign object that gets embedded in the paint. It could be brake dust, fallout, dirt, pollen or whatever. Embedded means that a basic soap wash will not remove, nor a strip wash. How does something get embedded? There is only one way. It has to sit on the paint for weeks, typically about three weeks. There is no other way for anything to get embedded in a car's paint.

This is why washing your car every few weeks is a good idea. With this wash interval, you are pretty sure to never get anything embedded in your paint and therefore have to decontaminate it.

How can you tell if your paint is contaminated? Simple. When it is wet, lightly rub the paint with your hand. How does it feel/sound? If it is clean, it should feel soft, smooth and make no noise. If your paint is contaminated, it will feel rough and make a 'swoosh' sound when you gently rub it.

How do you decontaminate your paint? Easy:

1. Wash the car to get rid of surface dirt
2. Chemical decontamination, using an iron remover product like Iron X, Ferrex, Iron & Fallout Remover, etc. then rinse
3. Physical decontamination, using a lubricant like ONR and a clay bar, clay pad or mitt, then rinse
4. Dry

It is always a good idea to check your work by feeling the paint after you've decontaminated it. It should feel silky smooth. If it doesn't clay it a bit more.

Your car isn't contaminated as soon as you drive it after a wash. It is dirty.

If you wash your car regularly, your paint is very likely NOT contaminated. Decontamination risks scratching the car, so only do it when needed. Always test it first.

For a daily driver, the horizontal surfaces will be the most contaminated, as stuff falls on it and sits there. For people that drive off road a lot, the lower section of a truck or SUV may be more contaminated if dirt is left on the paint for a long time (and the lower portions are more likely to get dirty).

I hope this clears up a lot of misinformation.

I did my 3rd job as a detailed and I’ve been charging $30 for these type of interior cleans. It includes restoring black trim, conditioning the leather, deep vacuum, deep clean of crevices. Average time for each clean is an hour to hour and a half.

Told em I usually do $250 for full detail on tow trucks but I’ll do $200 if he has me do his entire yard . Looked at me like I was trying to take him out of business because my prices are “too high”

What do you recommend when trying to contract businesses ?

Can I ceramic coat over scratches like these without them being more noticeable? I’ve hit them with some heavy cut and they are still there and I’m not willing to lose more clear coat.

The dark spots you see have a very sticky and caked up consistency. Plan on selling this car but the driver seat is very dirty. Is this too far gone for cloth seats?

Hi, the was an accident with one of these cans and it exploded. The was covered with drops. I removed a big part of it but there are some more remaining.

What is the best way to remove them without damaging the paint or parts?

I saw this video on yt but I’m not sure if steam will damage the pait.

https://youtu.be/9DpTKiG_81Q

I’m 15 and I’ve been practicing detailing for a while and I think I’m ready to start doing it for money. Where would the best place to advertise be?

What are the preferred car wash, interior cleaner, and upholstery cleaner I can get at any big name department or parts stores?

I just bought a 2020 KTM Duke 890 R and am waiting on a full graphics kit. I would like to ceramic coat the entire bike after the stickers are applied. I see a lot of people suggest Cquartz 3.0. Would that be a good product for the plastic body work and sticker kits? I will not be costing the plastic before applying the stickers as i have read the stickers will not stick well. The guy I had coat my Audi said he could do it and would use Revivify. I am thinking I will do it myself rather than paying someone to do it.

hey fellas, I recently got myself an air compressor (finally lol) and I was wondering if it would be a bad idea to mount it inside my car, my car is my detailing rig and I have replaced the trunk carpeting with plywood and mounted milwaukee pack out boxes to it, pretty proud of it ngl. There's a space that would totally fit my compressor, but I was wondering if the vibrations could cause any damage to anything on my car, I know that road vibrations wear some parts over time and I just wanna make sure that I'm not causing unnecessary damage to my car.

Are they equally effective? What's best if I want protection but also the least amount of work?

I want something stronger than natural carnauba wax, but I don't have a polishing machine. Also are there any sealants that you guys recommend?

I don't know where to start, what things I need, how to get customers, how to learn. Is this doable when I have children? Thanks!

I bought a car from a guy with several young crotch goblins and knew I'd have to clean the interior.

What I didn't know is just how bad the back seats are. I have a home use extractor that usually does quite well for this kind of thing. On this one however, I can't get dark brown/black juice to quit coming from the upholstery. I've ran a few gallons through by this point and it still comes out just as filthy. There must be years and liters of soda or juice sitting in these seats!

I'm about to the point of just hosing them down on the hot sunny driveway until the water finally runs clear and then cleaning/extracting them from that point. Is this a terrible idea? Any better ideas?

Really interested in expanding to more specialized cleaning services and from what I've seen I'm sold, but have no personal experience. Anyone here ever do the work?

Hello

So my girlfriend tried to be nice and tried to wax my truck. She went out and got some high quality ceramic spray wax, sprayed my entire truck, and then forgot about it because she got a phone call from her mother. I got home from work, and noticed that the wax had completely dried in the hot sun all day. I’ve gone through the car wash two times now (my girlfriend gets free car washes), and the wax will not come off. The glass is stained, my black paint is stained, and my black trim is stained. What should I do to get this stuff off?

God Bless,

:Jacob-Taylor; .Steele:

2009 civic. I know it’s on the older side. What options are there to restore it or is this something that just needs to be repainted?

I just bought a new car today. The dealer didn't have time to full detail the exterior. They took the white protection off of the outside and it left a horrible line on the hood, roof and other places. How do I remove these lines safely? It's going to be 90 and sunny here in NC tomorrow and I don't want it to bake into the paint

This is on my mercedes, trim is called opened poor black ash wood

I purchased a 2016 Camry and I think it use to be Uber/Lyft during covid days. Any idea how to clean this? I think it had some kind glass shield.

Does ceramic coating protects car paint from UV rays and fading?

What’s the best product you guys use for cleaning your motor when washing its