Detailers damage wheels guessing dilution ratios for strong cleaners
14 posts in the last 30 days, all from r/AutoDetailing.
“Wax is great if you have micro scratches everywhere. Fills all that in nicely and adds a lot of depth to the paint that spray can't”
“The new black ford paint does this!! I hate it and can’t find fix other then 3500 cermic coat”
“Soak it in wd40 over multiple days and try a gentle plastic scraper like an old credit card. Wd40 is very safe on plastics but is a decent solvent for adhesives.”
Auto detailers are frequently discussing the power and potential risks of strong cleaning products like Dark Fury. They share experiences with etching, dilution techniques, and finding the right balance between effectiveness and damage to vehicle surfaces.
SOURCES (48)
“Soak it in wd40 over multiple days and try a gentle plastic scraper like an old credit card. Wd40 is very safe on plastics but is a decent solvent for adhesives.”
“Both my parents professionally ceramic coated car and my KC Protector Wax car show these imperfections all over flat surfaces. Are these waterspots? We have a descaler and we (= me) always dry the cars. Maybe some rain and the sun hit? It’s disappointing to see these imperfections are detailing the cars and doing my best. I tried CarPro Spotless on a few parts briefly, but I’m afraid it will harm the coating if I fully do the car(s)? I didn’t see a noticeable difference, but I may have wiped it”
“In professional carwash industry, hand wax has been turned into a push button service. In the detailing industry, hand wax has been pushed to the side by many detailers for higher priced/higher margin semi-permanent coating. Quite frankly, the only downside to hand wax is the need to reapply it frequently.”
Not all waxes, but it's inherent in most anything that's worth using
“I believe you are thinking of a glaze. Not all waxes have a "filling" capability like a glaze would.”
“Wax is great if you have micro scratches everywhere. Fills all that in nicely and adds a lot of depth to the paint that spray can't”
“The one I have was Japanese import. I don't think they changed the formula over there, but I could be wrong.”
“I have some Fusso Coat Soft99 that is legitimately impressive. Like, ceramic level of water beading and it lasts a good 8-12 months. I ceramic coated my cars last year and had been using the Fusso Coat up until then and it's impressive. So, I wouldn't say they are obsolete.”
“I use wax from time to time. Did a f150 with soft pad and wax. I use carbanaura wax that says it has some light cutting ability. For paint that’s close just needs a bit of love I’ll go that route if I’m not planning another route of protection. If I had to cut or polish it first though, would’ve used a spray ceramic sealant like car pro reload or other similar products. With that said I have to admit I don’t use wax all that often. 95% of my jobs are more in depth and would take me longer in the”
“For me, nothing beats the carnauba glow especially on darker colors. Ceramic coatings always looked too cold like it was missing something. So I stuck with the old school way of doing a sealant base with a carnauba topper. Only difference now is that the new generation of sealants are way more durable now and with all the new drying aids, even waxes last longer too.”
“Pete's 53 is good too. These products were developed back before they turned gimmicky.”
“I'm still a believer in the routine wash with ceramic spray wax, but for special occasions, I would wax it with carnauba for extra shine and hides basically all the small imperfections.”
“Waxing for durability is obsolete but waxing for appearance is still very much in play. In my opinion, there’s no ceramic coating (or sealant) that provides the depth and warmth of a good carnauba-based wax. As for that particular wax, that’s one of the few CG products that is pretty good. Honestly, it’s probably not worth much even with the signature.”
“inspect the car before you start and take pictures of any damage or marks on any part of the car that way once done you have proof you didnt do it”
“Hi yes you got to use ionized water from detail shops they sell at 10cents per gallon. Even if u work fast 84 degree dry can dry them fast”
“And that right there is why I never wash my car during the day unless it’s in the winter!”
“Rinse with 0 pressure first maybe a couple times just to cool down the exterior. Then wash and hand rub quickly to wash the car. Prespray again to start the rinse as well as cool the car again. Rinse. Dry immediately after using chamois or drying towels before you get to this point. This looks like a "dried too quick chemical" situation and will just need a rewet”
“The new black ford paint does this!! I hate it and can’t find fix other then 3500 cermic coat”
“I have these. Taking a da polisher next week to my car for first time ever to get rid of these and minor swirls. Hoping I don't make shit worse but we're ganna send it. I think in your case a good polisher would solve it right up”
“Even at 84 degrees, if a dark car is in direct sunlight, that surface is going to get hot quick. Make it even worse, if you have hard water, forget about it. If the water spots were there because of your wash, you should still be able to wash it off. Sooner the better. If the water spots do not wash off with a contact wash, those water spots were already there. There's alot more strategy to washing cars than people think. Time of day. Weather. Sunlight. Shade. Timeliness of the wash. Youll g”
“I could be wrong, but it looks like this car just needs a good buff and polish to get the hard water spots out. I don’t think you did anything bad.”
“Great points. Synthetic clay will also Marr paint and won’t remove these. Scratch that point”
“I am not going to argue these points but if by second detail I am going to assume OP is more DIY/Shade Tree for friends/family (as am I) then literally the #1 point here is your gospel. I have washed dark vehicles for years and not seen an after detail water spot situation as bad as the above. Don't wash a car in hot sun and if you happen to be a mobile detailer, then invest in a couple of canopies.”
“I recently tried Chemical Guys water spot remover on a personal car. Did a small test square on the roof in my garage and it left the area looking whiter than the area around it on a black car. The panel was completely cool, and I let it dwell for 15-20 seconds before wiping off and then flushed the area with water before the contact wash. The “white” stain would only come off after a heavy compound and polish. I had previously used it on glass with great results but I would never bring it aroun”
“Will warn that the Chemical Guys water spot remover is based on ammonium bifluoride, a derivative of hydrofluoric acid. I’ve heard it is very effective, but HF and ABF are very dangerous and linked to dozens of lost time injuries to car wash/detailing workers. They will also etch glass with too much dwell time.”
“Tip #1…. Don’t ever wash a black car (or a dark paint in general) in the sun. Hot paint is a disaster. If you’re gonna wash during the day, do it very early in the morning or when the sun is setting and the sun isn’t absolutely beaming on the car. Otherwise this happens. Cold weather is more forgiving but nonetheless, don’t forget the color black is literally like a black hole and sucks up everything i.e. UV rays 😭 tip #2 - buy a decontamination shampoo, perhaps something like Armor Detail Supp”
“Is Dark Fury good? Doe Howdy Doody have wooden balls? Dark Fury is way good. Maybe too good....... not much has more cleaning punch than Dark Fury. But with great power, comes great risk. Dark Fury can etch clear coat. It can etch polished wheels (happened to me, ended up taking the better part of a day to polish them back out), Every detailer needs access to a product like Dark Fury but as far as using it for regular or maintenance cleanings, not so much. Road Warrior would probably be a better”
“I loved this stuff... Bought 3 spray bottles on sale and used them all. I ran it diluted like 6-7:1 in a foamer as my wheel / tire / bug cleaner and it was fantastic. I got to where I'd use it on paint too but was of course careful. There's a very popular and successful YouTube detailer who recommends this stuff all the time, and uses in his business frequently (wilson something?). That's what got me to try and I wouldn't hesitate to but again for diluted use.”
“After watching some comparisons, I’m sticking with Adam’s Wheel & Tire cleaner, a gallon usually ranges from $30-$40 on Amazon and I dilute it 3:1 and it’s been great. I did buy some NanoSkin SpeedyBrite (acid wheel cleaner, but it’s supposedly not as strong/dangerous as traditional wheel acids), and that allows me to clean the inner barrels better.”
“this should be at the top. Unless wheels are neglected or have heavy tar/iron deposits, shampoo and APC are enough.”
“It's the nuclear option & only needed for super trashed wheels that haven't been cleaned in 5+ years or restoring barn finds Road Warrior is plenty fine, and for most maintained wheels all you really need is a good shampoo with maybe some degreaser / APC mixed in like Green All. Pink Perfection is basically cherry foam w/ green all and I'd be surprised if you need more than that assuming you have tire brushes 90% of people are way WAY WAY overkilling on products.”
“Yep, keep going, my best(absolute worst) was 12 hours on a car covered in over spray.”