The Auto Detailing Podcast Apr 29, 2026

8 Detailing Mistakes Everyone Is Still Making (Stop Doing This)

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Concept

pre-rinsing with water

Pre-rinsing is just rinsing the car first with water before you wash it with soap. It helps remove loose dirt so you’re less likely to drag grit across the paint and cause scratches.

Term

pre-treat

Pre-treating means you spray or apply a cleaner first, before you do the main wash. It helps loosen the dirt so it comes off more easily.

Term

foam

Foam is a soapy cleaner sprayed on as a thick layer. It helps the dirt loosen while the cleaner sits on the paint.

Term

water barrier

A “water barrier” here just means water sitting on the paint first. That water can mix with the cleaner and make it weaker, so it doesn’t work as well.

Concept

rinseless washing

Rinseless washing is a way to clean your car with much less water than a normal wash. Instead of rinsing the whole car, you use a cleaner that helps loosen dirt so you can wipe it off.

Concept

drought

During a drought, water is scarce and sometimes restricted. That’s why some detailers use low-water wash methods instead of regular washing.

Term

Rims and tires get really dirty because they collect brake dust and road grime. They usually need extra attention compared to the car’s paint. The host is pointing out that cleaning them with a rinseless wash is harder than it sounds.

Term

acid cleaners

Acid cleaners are strong chemicals that break down tough grime, especially stuff like brake dust on wheels. They can work really well, but they can also damage surfaces if you use them wrong or let them sit too long. The host is saying they don’t really fit with a rinseless wash method.

Term

runoff

Runoff is the soapy, dirty water that runs off your car while you wash it. Some wash methods try to reduce runoff so you don’t send as much dirt and cleaner into the street or storm drains. Using less water or controlling where the water goes helps.

Term

pre-wrench

They’re saying don’t start by just spraying water on the car before you use the proper cleaner. The point is that the cleaner’s chemistry works better when it’s applied correctly, rather than diluted by early water.

Term

surfactants

Surfactants are ingredients in cleaners that help the liquid “grab” dirt and spread evenly. They help loosen grime so wiping is less likely to scratch.

Term

pre-soak

Pre-soak means you spray or apply cleaner first and let it sit briefly. That way the dirt loosens before you start scrubbing or wiping.

Term

chemical on that dry surface

They’re saying apply the cleaner when the paint is still dry so it can work at full strength. If you wet it first, the cleaner can get diluted and won’t work as well.

Term

road film

Road film is the invisible-ish grime that collects on your car as you drive. It’s usually a mix of dirt and residues that cleaner needs to loosen before you wipe it off.

Term

pressure washers

A pressure washer is basically a high-powered hose. It sprays water really strongly to knock dirt off your car, but you have to use the right settings so you don’t damage the paint or rubber parts.

Term

flow

Flow is how much water is coming out of the washer. More flow can help you rinse the car more thoroughly so dirt doesn’t get dragged around.

Term

GPM

GPM tells you how much water the machine uses each minute. More GPM can help rinse faster, but it still needs to be paired with the right pressure and how you spray.

Term

deionized water

Deionized water is “clean” water with the minerals taken out. When you rinse with it and let it dry, it’s less likely to leave ugly water spots.

Term

hard water

Hard water has minerals in it. Those minerals can dry on your car and leave spots or streaks.

Term

DI water tank

DI water is water that’s been cleaned so it doesn’t contain minerals. When you rinse with it at the end, it helps prevent those ugly hard-water spots from drying on the paint.

Term

DI resin tank

The resin is the “filter” inside the DI system. It removes minerals from the water, and when it’s used up, it won’t prevent water spots as well anymore.

Term

water spots

Water spots are marks left when water dries and leaves minerals behind. They can be annoying to fix later, so preventing them with the right rinse water is easier.

Term

spot free rinse

A spot-free rinse is the last rinse with DI water so your car dries without leaving mineral marks. It’s one of the easiest ways to avoid water spots.

Term

two-bucket method

The two-bucket method is a way to wash a car without dragging dirt back across the paint. You use one bucket for soap and another to rinse your mitt so you don’t keep smearing grime.

Term

super-soaker

“Super-soaker” is the name of the foam/soap setup the host recommends. They’re saying it’s designed to work even when the car’s paint is warm, without leaving streaks or spots.

Term

high-low pH system

A “high-low pH system” means using a cleaner that’s either very acidic or very alkaline. Those can work well, but they can also cause problems like staining if you’re not careful.

Term

all-purpose cleaner

All-purpose cleaner is a chemical spray meant for lots of household surfaces. On a car, it can be too strong and may damage finishes or leave stains, especially on plastic parts.

Term

plastic trim

Plastic trim is the car’s plastic exterior parts, like some bumpers and trim pieces. Certain cleaners can make them look faded or stained if they dry on the surface.

Term

strip the protection

“Strip the protection” means your cleaner is washing off the protective layer on your paint. Once that layer is gone, the paint is easier to stain and harder to protect.

Term

pH neutral soap

pH neutral soap is a car wash soap designed to be gentle on the paint. The idea is that it won’t be too acidic or too harsh on protective coatings.

Term

lubricious

“Lubricious” just means the soap is slippery. That slipperiness helps the wash mitt glide over the paint with less rubbing, which helps prevent scratches.

Term

dwell time

Dwell time just means “how long you let the product sit.” Letting the foam sit for a few minutes gives it time to work on the dirt before you rinse or scrub.

Term

clings

Cling means the foam sticks to the car instead of sliding off right away. When it sticks, it has more time to loosen dirt.

Term

traffic film

Traffic film is the dirty layer that forms on your car from the road and the air around it. It can stick to the paint and needs the right cleaner to remove without scratching.

Term

bond

The “bond” is how tightly the dirt sticks to the paint. The goal is to loosen it so you can remove it with less rubbing.

Term

clay bar

A clay bar is a special cleaning tool that pulls off stubborn stuff stuck to the paint. After using it, the paint should feel much smoother.

Brand

Supersoper

Supersoper is the name of a cleaning product the host is talking about. They’re using it as an example of a soap that works well without being extremely harsh. The point is that not all “strong” cleaners are the same.

Term

pH 12

pH 12 is a very strong, basic cleaner. In car care, that kind of strength can be harsher than you want, especially on coatings or delicate surfaces. The speaker is saying their example product isn’t that harsh.

Term

pH 14

pH 14 is extremely basic—one of the harshest levels on the pH scale. For car cleaning, that can mean more risk to finishes if you use it incorrectly. The host is saying their example product isn’t anywhere near that strong.

Term

pH

pH tells you whether a chemical is more “acidic” or more “soapy/basic.” Car cleaners are formulated to hit the right pH so they clean effectively without being too aggressive.

Term

chemistry

“Chemistry” means what’s actually mixed into the cleaner and how it reacts with dirt. They’re saying the right formula should loosen grime so you don’t have to work as hard.

Brand

Turtle Wax

Turtle Wax is a well-known company that makes car cleaning and protection products. The host is saying they helped develop products for that brand.

Concept

product development

Product development is how a company figures out what to put in a product and how to make it work well. Here, it’s about building car-cleaning formulas that perform reliably.

Brand

chemical guys

Chemical Guys is a car-care brand that sells detailing chemicals and accessories. The speaker references working with a “blend house” that developed products for Chemical Guys, implying experience with large-scale formulation.

Brand

Shine Armor, The Last Coat

Shine Armor is a company that makes car cleaning and protection products. “The Last Coat” is one of their products meant to protect your car’s paint and make it easier to wash.

Term

APC

APC means “all-purpose cleaner.” It’s a strong cleaner meant for lots of different jobs, but it can be too harsh for some car interior materials and may cause discoloration or damage if you use it incorrectly.

Term

high pH

“High pH” means the cleaner is more basic/alkaline. Some interior materials don’t like that, so it can cause staining or color to shift instead of cleaning properly.

Term

clear-coated vinyl

Some vinyl interior parts have a clear protective coating on top. Strong cleaners can damage that coating, making the surface look worse or feel dry.

Term

piano plastics

“Piano plastics” is a detailing term for glossy, hard-touch interior trim (often piano-black or high-gloss surfaces). These finishes show scratches easily, so aggressive cleaners or improper tools can leave permanent swirls or haze.

Brand

Super Soaper

“Super Soaper” is the name of a specific cleaning product the host recommends or demonstrates. It’s being used as an example of a safer/alternative way to clean.

Brand

Complete Cabin Cleaner

“Complete Cabin Cleaner” is a specific cleaner made for car interiors. The host talks about how you can buy it concentrated and mix it, or buy it ready-to-use depending on how you want to use it.

Term

gallon form

“Gallon form” just means the cleaner is sold in a big bottle, usually as concentrate. That’s helpful if you want to mix it to the strength you need.

Term

four-to-one ready-to-use dilution

This means the cleaner concentrate is mixed with water in a set ratio so it’s strong enough to work but not so strong that it could cause problems. The exact mix ratio matters for safety and results.

Term

piano black

Piano black is that very shiny black trim you see in some cars. It scratches and shows smudges easily, so you have to be gentle when cleaning or polishing it.

Term

Alcantara

Alcantara is a soft, suede-like interior material. It doesn’t like strong cleaners, so the wrong product can make it dry out or change color.

Term

polishes

Polish is the “finishing” step in paint correction. It helps make the surface look smoother and shinier after you’ve removed defects.

Term

compounds

A compound is a polishing product with abrasives that helps remove surface damage. It’s usually used with a pad and can be part of a step-by-step polishing process.

Term

gel coat

Gel coat is a protective outer layer on fiberglass/composite surfaces. It can be different from car paint, so you may need a different approach when cleaning or polishing it.

Term

pads

Pads are the foam or microfiber “heads” you attach to a polisher. The pad changes how hard the polish or compound cuts and how the paint ends up looking.

Brand

3D1

3D1 is a brand that makes car detailing products. Here, the host is talking about chasing a particular polish/product result.

Brand

picture perfect polish

“Picture Perfect Polish” sounds like a specific polishing product used to improve paint shine. The host is saying they got the outcome they wanted with it.

Term

clear coats

Clear coat is the shiny, protective top layer on modern car paint. If it’s thinner or softer, you have to be more careful with polishing so you don’t wear through it.

Term

aggressive polish

An aggressive polish is a stronger polishing product, but it’s usually not as harsh as a heavy compound. The goal is to fix the paint defects without taking off too much of the clear coat.

Term

rocks in a bottle

“Rocks in a bottle” is slang for extremely abrasive polishing products. The host is saying you don’t need that kind of harsh, old-school approach anymore.

Term

lacquer paints

Lacquer paint is an older paint system that typically uses solvent-based layers that can be more easily reworked. The speaker contrasts it with modern clear coat systems, implying different correction and product choices.

Term

single stage paints

Single stage paint is where the color and shine are in the same layer. That changes how you polish, because you don’t have a separate clear coat protecting the color underneath.

Term

heat

Heat comes from rubbing the pad against the paint. Too much heat can make the polishing process more aggressive than you want, which is risky on modern thin clear coats.

Term

pad dependent

“Pad dependent” means the polishing pad you use changes the results. The same polish can work better or worse depending on whether the pad is softer or more aggressive.

Concept

three, four step process

A “three or four step process” means doing multiple polishing stages instead of just one. The host is saying modern products can sometimes reduce how many steps you need.

Term

pre-rinse with water

A pre-rinse is a quick wash before you use your main car-cleaning products. Some detailers use chemicals that loosen and lift dirt so you don’t have to do that extra water step first.

Term

rotary polisher

A rotary polisher is a machine that spins a polishing pad to buff your car’s paint. It can work fast, but it’s also easier to accidentally burn or mar the paint if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Term

holograms

Holograms are those weird swirl-like reflections you can see in the paint under certain lighting. They usually mean the paint wasn’t finished smoothly enough yet.

Term

paint correction light

A paint correction light is a special bright light used to check the paint. It makes scratches, swirls, and hologram reflections easier to see so you know if you’re truly done.

Term

dual action buffer

A dual-action buffer is a polishing tool that moves more gently than a rotary. That makes it easier to avoid overheating or damaging the paint, especially when you’re finishing.

Term

DA

DA means a dual-action polishing machine. It moves in a safer way than a rotary, so it’s less likely to damage the paint while you’re learning.

Term

finishing out the car

“Finishing out” means the last step of polishing to make the paint look its best. It’s where you clean up the final haze and make the surface look smooth and shiny.

Term

polishing out

Polishing out means using a cleaner/polish to smooth the paint. It helps remove light scuffs and swirl marks so the finish looks clearer and shinier.

Term

coding

They’re talking about a protective coating on the paint. Even with a coating, it won’t necessarily last 8–10 years—how long it lasts depends on how well the car was prepped and how it’s maintained.

Term

stacked it

“Stacked it” means adding multiple layers of protective product. The point here is that more layers don’t automatically mean it will last forever—detailing products still wear off over time.

Concept

lease

A lease is when you rent a car for a few years and then turn it back in. Since you might not keep the car long, it may not make sense to buy a product that’s only worth it after many years. The speaker is saying most people with leases won’t keep the car long enough to benefit from the longest claims.

Term

ceramic coating

A ceramic coating is a protective layer you put on your car’s paint. It helps the paint resist stains and makes washing easier. Even though some bottles claim “10+ years,” most people won’t keep the car that long, so the useful benefit is usually shorter in practice.

Term

multi-layer coating

Multi-layer coating means you apply the protection in more than one layer instead of just one. The idea is that more layers can last longer. But even with extra layers, how well you prep and maintain the car still matters a lot.

Term

ceramic spray coating

Ceramic spray coating is a protective product you put on your car’s paint. It helps water bead up and makes dirt easier to wash off, so cleaning is less work.

Brand

gloss boss

Gloss Boss is the name of the coating product/brand the host is selling. Different brands can work a little differently, so it’s worth following their specific directions.

Term

stack it

“Stacking” means putting more than one layer of the coating on your car. The idea is to boost protection, but you should follow the product directions so the layers bond correctly.

Concept

insurance to me

Here, “insurance” just means the coating gives them peace of mind. They’re saying it helps protect the paint and makes cleaning easier later.

Topic

steps

Detailing “steps” means doing the right tasks in the right order. If you do things out of order, you can end up with worse results or even damage the paint.

Topic

processes

“Processes” is just the overall method you follow to clean and protect the car. When people don’t understand the process, they usually end up redoing work or not getting the protection they expect.

Brand

Protector Style Wax

That’s the name of a wax product the host is getting ready to sell. Wax is something you put on your car’s paint to help protect it and make it look glossy.

Concept

pre-sale

A pre-sale is when you can buy something before it’s officially released. It’s basically reserving it early so you get it as soon as it’s ready.

LIVE

There is honestly a slew of things

that people are doing wrong

while they're detailing their car.

And this goes both to professional detailers

or people that call themselves professionals

and also those DIYers, the weekend warriors,

the enthusiasts, the people that are doing this as a hobby

that I think they're doing wrong.

And in doing it wrong,

I'm not here to judge you that you're doing it wrong

or doing it that I think you're doing it wrong

because honestly there might not even be a right way to do it.

But in these things that I'm seeing people do wrong

and I'm seeing them via either the internet

or from you reaching out and asking,

hey, what about your products or methods or whatever?

It's not that you're doing it wrong

and that's a problem that it's the wrong way to do it.

It's that in doing it the way that you're doing it

or these things that I'm gonna point out,

nine or 10 things that I'm gonna point out

is that you're stripping the enjoyment out of it

or you're not getting the result

that you're actually looking for

or the result that you may be seeing online from other people.

And that's why you're doing it wrong

and you're doing it wrong because you're not enjoying it

and you're not getting the most out of the products,

you're not getting the most out of your methods and systems.

And so, but anyway, let's get right into it.

So the first thing that I see most people doing wrong

and it's kind of crazy because I do see with,

especially when we talk about doing things wrong

or right or different methods

or different ways people like to do things

and there's so much gripe and infighting

with different methods.

One of the methods or one of the things

that is really becoming mainstream

and really there is no argument about it,

there's just some old timers that don't think it's true,

is pre-rinsing with water.

So pre-rinsing the car, I mean, gosh,

I grew up, I didn't actually grow up washing my car

a little bit, but not at a hobbyist level,

just more of a need to get it done or a chore level.

But even when I started doing it,

even for years and years and years,

professionally detailing cars,

the pre-rins with the steady stream of water

was always the first step, always.

It actually wasn't, for me,

it wasn't until a couple of years ago

that I actually picked up a product

and it said to not do this,

that it first kind of started, I started to question it

because I never questioned it

because everyone pre-rinses with a steady stream of water,

right?

But when I tested it and when I started to find out,

like, oh my gosh, this is not the best way to do things,

in fact, it's actually better to foam a dry car

or to pre-treat a dry car

and not have that water barrier diluting the product.

That actually makes the product work better,

makes my life easier and simpler

because we're letting the chemical do the work.

I'm not physically doing the work.

This is one of my, this is a little bit of a tangent,

but this is another one of my big ripes

with rinseless washing.

Again, I've said this a million times,

but being in Southern California, going through a drought,

running my detailing business during a drought,

I was a rinseless wash-only mobile detailer.

I've done literally no exaggeration,

thousands and thousands and thousands of cars

via rinseless wash.

I've done every single variety of rinseless wash

you could think of.

I've tried every single sponge

and I'm not here to say that I've tried it,

so you shouldn't.

All I'm saying is it is very taxing on your body.

A rinseless wash, you literally have to touch

every surface of that car

and again, don't get me started on dirty rims and tires,

trying to do that rinslessly

or trying to use acid cleaners with a rinseless wash.

Trust me, I've tried it, I've done it.

I even have a YouTube video from a long time ago

talking about a hybrid wash method that I was developing

where you did kind of like, you could use less water

and that was eliminating my runoff.

So I'm using like water and a rinseless wash

to try to speed things up a little bit.

Tried it all, right?

I don't think rinseless washing is bad.

I think there's a place for it,

but on a relatively dirty car,

it is very taxing on your body.

And for me, I wanna enjoy cleaning my car.

Sometimes I have multiple cars to clean in a day.

And for a rinseless wash, it's just very, very taxing.

So that was a tangent,

but don't pre-wrench your car with water.

Don't do it, it doesn't do anything.

That's the main problem, is that it doesn't do anything.

That's why you're doing it wrong,

because it doesn't do enough.

I know people will say,

oh, there's surfactants in the water

and water's abrasive and water will help

break down the dirt.

All that could be 100% true,

but does it break it down as good as a chemical would?

And the answer that I found is no, right?

So don't pre-wrench.

You're gonna either pre-soak, pre-foam.

You want chemical on that dry surface

in its most concentrated form

to start breaking down that dirt, grime,

and road film, traffic film,

and any debris that is on the surface,

thus not only giving you a better end result,

but actually making it less physical work for you.

And speaking of water, just in general,

I'm not, these aren't like the top 10,

like worst to best, or best to worst, or whatever,

but I am gonna try to break it down into methods

when you would do it on the car, right?

So starting with a car wash

and working our way all the way up to a ceramic coating,

right, so speaking of water,

I see there's tons of talks

and the videos do extremely well

of different pressure washers and flow and GPM

and electric and gas and blah, blah, blah.

All this talk about pressure washers,

which I think is really, really important, right?

I think if you're taking car washing or detailing

as a serious hobby, I had this conversation with Bryant,

my video guy the other day of like, you know,

my videos and we're talking about car detailing

and so I sometimes already assume

that we have a certain level of understanding

because if you're watching a YouTube video on car detailing,

I figure you're already pretty serious about the hobby

and when we take our hobbies serious,

we're really in the hobby, right?

If you took photography serious,

you would know the lingo, the ins and outs

and you would be taking it very serious

and there's different levels to the hobby as well, right?

But I think if the same is true with car detailing

or car washing as a hobby,

you would want the kind of best you could, right?

The best you could afford at that time

and then you'll probably upgrade over time.

That's a very, very obviously common thing with hobbies, right?

But before, so pressure washers fall into that, right?

People are very interested in, like I said,

GPM, flow, wattage, all the things, right?

Me personally, I'm not as interested in that.

I think it's helpful information.

I think it's great.

I'm much more of a touchy-feely kind of guy

and so I can, you know, I don't need the machine

to tell me how many GPM or what my flow is.

I could feel it in the gun, right?

And so, but before we even get to the pressure washers point

and there's so much emphasis on pressure washers

and so little emphasis on one important thing

and that's using deionized water.

A lot of you are on well water or city water or hard water.

You may have a water softener at your house

but having a DI water tank,

DI resin tank is arguably,

and I know you guys will argue,

more important than your pressure washer

when it comes to the things that I'm talking about

as far as the enjoyment of the hobby,

getting the result that you want from the hobby.

So, because with deionized water,

even if you use a garden hose with deionized water,

you're not gonna have water spots.

Even if you have to use a garden hose foam cannon

with deionized water,

you're gonna get better foaming than you would

without deionized water.

And then yes, maybe you can upgrade

to a pressure washer later

but I actually think people are getting the cart

before the horse

and they're getting a pressure washer first, right?

And not even talking about deionized water.

Deionized water and getting a spot free rinse

is so imperative to the enjoyment of the hobby, right?

You have to start there.

Me personally, I have always rented tanks

from even before I started my business in 2008,

my detailing business in 2008.

I've always, always, always, always,

always had deionized water.

I personally always rented tanks

so I never really had to go to like the local

detail supply store and fill up my water tank every day.

But get a tank, get a deionized water tank.

Like before you get a pressure washer,

before you get a pressure washer,

it'll just eliminate so much hassle.

It'll be, it's ridiculous.

Like I can't believe and I think more and more people

will start talking about it

once they realize how much better

it just makes everything when you have deionized water.

I think a lot of people don't talk about it

because they don't have something to sell

or there's not really any good affiliate programs

to sell deionized water but deionized water is massive.

So another thing kind of goes in with the pre-rinsing

or not pre-rinsing and pre-soaking

but the two-bucket method again

is just becoming kind of antiquated.

You don't need it.

There are better ways to wash your car.

There are more modern ways to wash your car.

Again, the dry foam method,

like I've talked about at Nausium it seems like

I have multiple videos on it but I'll, you know,

regurgitate it again here.

You will dry foam a car.

If you're using the super-soaker,

even if that panel is hot,

the super-soaker because of how it's developed and designed,

it will not streak, it will not stain,

it will not create any problems for you

even on a warm panel.

If the panel is scolding hot,

sure maybe a steady stream of water

just to cool the panel down,

let it dry a little bit and then foam over that

but honestly, this is what something

that makes the super-soaker so special.

It's the special super-soaker, say that 10 times fast,

is that unlike using a high-low pH system,

the super-soaker is just slightly above pH neutral

that has extremely good cleaning ability

and so unlike a high-low pH system

where you really have to be careful with staining,

especially on plastics or pre-soaking

with an all-purpose cleaner,

which I see a lot of people doing,

those will dry out and stain your plastic trim,

everything can stain the paint,

can definitely strip the protection on your car,

the super-soaker is none of that, none of that

because I have a ton of experience detailing cars,

I have a ton of experience actually foaming

all-purpose cleaners and using them as soap

and I know the long-term damage of that

and so I didn't want that in my soap

but I also didn't want a pH neutral soap,

which is actually another thing

that the next thing on my list that I see people doing

is using a pH neutral soap because it foams really good

and is lubricious.

Those are great things

but those should just be attributes of a soap

that is actually functional.

Your foam has to be functional,

the foam has to be doing something on the paint,

it can't just be doing nothing, right?

And this is why when I developed the super-soaker,

I developed it all right here on YouTube,

I'll try to remember to link all the videos,

developmental videos on here

but the foam in the super-soaker serves a function.

In the directions I'm very clear

about giving it three to five minutes of dwell time

and the reason why the super-soaker foams so well

and the reason why that foam clings so well

is it's clinging to the dry surface like I talked about

because we're not pre-rinsing with water

but the foam is separating the traffic film,

separating, trying to get in between that bond

that the dirt and the grime and the traffic film

has with the paint of your car.

We were trying to break that bond, right?

So the foam is serving a purpose.

It's awesome that the foam looks good.

It's awesome that it foams incredibly well.

It's awesome that it is super-lubricious

and on your second foam you could actually clay bar the car.

That's all the bonus.

That's all the cherry on top.

The main attributes are that the foam is functional

and it's actually cleaning your car

and doing the work for you.

Remember what I talked about with the rinse-less washing

and how taxing it is and how labor-intensive it is

and so I didn't want that like I talked about.

I've literally done thousands and thousands of cars

with a rinse-less wash.

I don't have anything against a rinse-less wash

other than it is extremely taxing on your body.

Try to do 10 cars in a day, rinse-lessly.

It's kind of a nightmare.

So again, a pH neutral soap isn't really doing anything.

If you're just foaming a car, everyone talks about,

oh, foam is stupid, foam is stupid.

You're 100% right.

Foam is stupid if you're not doing anything with the foam

or if the foam is not doing anything for you.

But if you can have a soap that is, again,

like the Supersoper, it's not a pH 12 or a pH 14.

Like some people I've tried to claim on YouTube,

it's not, pull out your pH meter and test it

and test it how you're going to actually use it.

No one is using it straight.

The directions don't say to use it straight.

That is ludicrous to test it like that.

Test it how you would use it, right?

And how you would use it is according to the directions.

Four ounce and a foam cannon,

one ounce to a gallon in a bucket or any other way, right?

Pretty so start with one ounce to a gallon.

Test it then, test it there.

You'll see it's slightly above pH neutral.

I'm talking a nine or 10 maybe, right?

It is a very unique formula that we developed.

I developed from the ground up

and it's developed with all these attributes in mind.

The foam has to be functional.

The soap has to be doing something.

I want the chemistry to do the work.

We're in 2026 and beyond.

We are way past these antiquated formulas

of pH neutral soaps that do nothing.

I wanted something that it was aggressive,

something on the cutting edge of technology,

something that could do the work for us

and not have to be so labor intensive.

That's exactly what I designed.

That's exactly the thorough line

through my whole entire brand is,

again, I consulted for Turtle Wax for five years.

I saw product development on a global scale.

I worked at two different blend houses

that one of them developed products for chemical guys.

Shine Armor, The Last Coat was another one.

Couple other brands.

I've seen the behind the scenes of how the sausage is made

and my thing is, and the reason why I developed

a product brand when I never wanted to do it

is I knew that products could be made better in brands.

I'm not saying any of the brands that I mentioned,

but brands are actively not putting out

the best formulas possible.

Literally, I know that sounds crazy

and I sound crazy for saying that, but it's true.

But anyway, back to our list here.

So, because I don't want to seem like

I'm just bashing other brands to make my brand seem better.

That's always the lazy argument that I get in the comments.

That is not my intention at all

and my intention is to get actually better and clearer

with my messaging.

And so, I think when I go off on tangents

and it comes across as me bashing other brands,

that I'm trying to elevate my brand by bashing other brands

and I'm really not, what I'm trying to do is highlight

that products could be better.

And sometimes when they are better or they're more unique,

like I think my product line is a little bit more unique.

It takes more explaining and clearer messaging.

And so, yeah.

Another mistake that I see people doing

is using an APC on interiors.

This is something that I used to do all the times,

just use a diluted down all-purpose cleaner.

What I found out in the reason why my product,

the complete cabin cleaner is pH neutral,

that is really a pH neutral product,

is that sometimes with an all-purpose cleaner,

it would either dry out the interior plastics

or on certain tan carpets,

it would actually turn things brown.

It wouldn't remove the stain,

it would turn the stain a different color.

And apparently that is from the high pH environment

that is created on that surface.

And then again, there's just so many surfaces

inside the car.

So you have clear-coated vinyl,

sometimes you have real leather,

you have Alcantara, you have plastics,

you have piano plastics,

that APCs scratch up to death.

You have just a variety of different surfaces on the car,

on the interior of the car.

And APCs can be really damaging on different surfaces.

So not using a dedicated interior cleaner

that is kind of more of the pH neutral,

there's other ways to clean other than pH.

I show that with the Super Soaper,

I show that with the Complete Cabin Cleaner.

The Complete Cabin Cleaner in its gallon form

does come full concentrate.

And then in the 16 ounce,

it comes in a four-to-one ready-to-use dilution

that is for hobbyists and DIYers don't wanna dilute,

they wanna grab a bottle and spray it and use it.

So I found that that four-to-one dilution

is the best across the board.

But if you're looking to have a little bit more control

over that or you're a professional,

that's why I have the gallon form of that

so you can kind of dilute as you see fit.

The Complete Cabin Cleaner can be heavily diluted,

especially as a maintenance product.

And I'll have a full tutorial on that coming out soon.

But using an all-purpose cleaner on the interior

can be done, I've done it again a zillion times.

But what I've just found is in certain areas,

it's like it'll really scratch piano black, plastics,

it can dry out Alcantara,

it can turn stains and carpets brown.

And so for that reason,

I just wouldn't use an APC on interiors.

Another mistake that I see a lot of people use,

again, it kind of goes into the theme of like,

guys, we are in the modern era of car detailing chemistry.

There are serious chemists

that are dedicating serious time

to making car detailing products better,

not only better for us, but work better.

And we are definitely in an era

that you do not need multiple compounds

and multiple polishes, like you just don't.

And when I see that, when I see that being released,

for the vast majority of people,

we'll say a little asterisk caveat,

if you're working in extreme environments

of like a gel coat or extreme environments

kind of these fringe ends of the spectrum,

you really don't need multiple polishes and compounds.

You need multiple pads.

And so I know 3D1, that was kind of what I was chasing.

I think I did that with a picture perfect polish,

but you do not need multiple products.

You don't need heavy cut compounds

when you're talking about modern clear coats.

And it's very interesting to me

when we talk about how clear coats are getting thinner,

clear coats are getting softer,

less paint on the car, less material on the car.

And then a brand releases like a heavy cut compound, like wise.

So you can chew through the paint.

Like that's crazy to me, right?

You need a aggressive polish, not an aggressive compound.

You don't need rocks in a bottle anymore.

We're not talking about lacquer paints.

We're not talking about single stage paints.

We're talking about really, really thin,

clear coats, you need a product, a liquid

that doesn't generate a lot of heat

that will give you the result that you want

being pad dependent, right?

So having a three, four step process,

a heavy cut compound is really just

not even needed anymore at all.

It is very, very difficult to create one liquid

that can do all those things.

Again, that's why it doesn't happen all that often.

But again, we are dealing with the modern era

of car detailing products.

We don't need a pre-rinse with water.

There's chemicals that could do that.

You don't need 14 different steps for your polish

or your compound.

In that same vein, the most ludicrous thing

I think I've seen and the craziest thing,

especially when we're talking about the home hobbyist,

the person who is doing this as a hobby,

finishing with a rotary polisher,

though it can be done, why?

We don't need to do that.

We're making things more difficult than we need to.

You don't need to do that.

And I've seen it over and over and over again.

And even watching YouTube videos of people claiming

that they finished out paint with a rotary,

I can see on the video, and it blows my mind,

I can see the holograms.

And when you can't see the holograms,

is because they're not putting a paint correction light

on it to show you the holograms.

And why are there still holograms?

Because it's incredibly difficult to finish out

a dark color car, dark color paint with a rotary.

And honestly, there's no need to do that.

Why?

It is not glossier.

It's not shinier than it would be with the DA.

And with the dual action buffer,

you eliminate any risk at all,

especially when it comes to finishing out the car.

So finishing out with a rotary is crazy.

Just crazy.

If you are a home hobbyist, a DIYer,

or even a professional, there is 0% reason,

or zero reason in my mind,

to finish out a car with a rotary.

It just is insane to me.

The risk is sky high,

and the reward is at the bottom of the barrel.

So again, not that you're doing it wrong,

just my opinion.

Why take the risk?

Why take the learning curve

that it takes to learn how to finish out with a rotary?

Why take all that time

and have all that frustration build up

when you don't get the results that are being shown to you?

And again, then you think it's your bad, right?

Why do that to yourself?

That's not fun.

It's not fun to learn how to do that

when there's better alternatives to that.

Again, stuff, you know,

enjoy the process of cleaning your car, right?

Enjoy the process of polishing out your car.

Don't have it lead to frustration

and finishing out with a rotary

is just setting yourself up for failure.

It's completely setting yourself up for failure.

Again, not necessarily wrong,

not necessarily can't be done,

but why set yourself up for failure?

Why set yourself up?

I've seen the videos of people claiming they're professionals,

and I could see the holograms.

I could see them on the video.

It's crazy in my mind.

All right, two more things.

Let's wrap this up because this is getting drawn on.

So the last thing is thinking

that your coding is gonna last eight, nine, 10 years.

I don't care if you stacked it.

I don't care.

Doesn't matter.

Your coding is not gonna last eight years.

And in fact, what I found is that

in my detailing business,

I stopped selling those like really long-term coatings,

even if you enjoy applying them,

they're easy to apply.

That's great.

But in my detailing business,

I noticed interacting with my customers,

once I got beyond that like five years,

they were like, what?

Like 10 years, lifetime?

I don't know, man, this seems like a long time.

I'm not even gonna have the car that long.

This is just a lease.

I don't even know if I need it to last that long.

And so I found that like three to five years

is that sweet spot for a ceramic coating.

Again, even if you apply a multi-layer coating,

even if the coating says it'll last 10 plus years,

most people can't even see that far enough into the future

or can't even see that far into the future.

And so whether those coatings can or cannot,

it really doesn't matter

because are you even gonna have that car in 10 years?

Probably not, right?

So again, if you have the right systems,

you have the right processes,

you are enjoying maintaining your car,

you have products that are easy to use,

you have a soap that's cleaning,

you have a ceramic spray coating

that applies like a detail spray.

Who really cares how long the coating lasts, right?

For me, I still ceramic coat all my cars.

I highly suggest a ceramic coating.

I sell a ceramic coating in the gloss boss.

I claim it lasts three to five years

because I think that is what is reasonable.

I tell you that you can stack it if you want.

I apply it to my car, I have it on my car for other reasons.

It's insurance to me.

It makes cleaning my truck very easy.

I drive a big truck, it takes a lot to clean, right?

I like my car looking clean all the time.

I am a hobbyist and a professional.

In one, I hate that saying like

the cobbler sun shoes always needs fix, right?

I think as a detailer, as a brand owner of a product brand

that I should be unreasonable

when it comes to cleaning my car.

I should be insane.

I should be getting those comments of like,

how is your truck always clean?

Wow, your truck looks brand new.

When people hop into my car, wow, this looks so nice.

Yeah, I should be unreasonable about my car

because one, I'm a professional detailer.

Two, I have a friggin' product brand, right?

So I should be unreasonable about my car

and having a ceramic coating, a stout ceramic coating

on my car helps me maintain my car

to an unreasonable standard, right?

I hold myself to an unreasonable standard of clean

when it comes to my car.

And so I want products that help me do that

without wasting all my time

because I have everything else I need to do, right?

And so, yeah.

And the last thing I was gonna say

that I think people are doing wrong

is they're confused about steps.

They're confused about processes

because for so long,

we have been sold a bill of complicating things

and making things over complicated.

And I think detailing has gotten so complicated

and I'm here to help you with that

and to make things not complicated.

And I get tons and tons and tons of emails every week

about Jimbo, I'm confused.

What do I do?

In fact, just got one from a guy.

I can't remember his name off the top of my head,

but he goes, I'm so overwhelmed.

I'm so confused.

I found your stuff in my research.

Can you just tell me what to buy and I'll buy it, right?

And so, though, I love those.

This is great and he did, actually.

If we can make things less complicated,

that would be better in my opinion.

And so, again, these are the things that I see

most people doing wrong,

but I know that's a little bit of clickbait.

It's not that you're doing them wrong.

It's that there may be a way to do it better.

And a way to do it better may be more enjoyable for you.

And so, my goal as a brand owner

and someone who has the opportunities

to bring new products to the market,

I want each one of those products

that I want to only do something

that I think is meaningful,

but do that in an easy way.

And so, I'm very, very excited

about the products that I currently have.

And if you want to support this channel,

this podcast, whatever,

of course I will link everything below.

And also on to Amazon,

I have everything on Amazon as well,

or most products on Amazon.

I do reserve a few things that are on my online store only

because it allows me to give you the customer experience

that I'm looking for.

That's a little bit different from Amazon,

but all the liquids are up on Amazon.

But even with the new products

that I'm looking at launching,

the Protector Style Wax, which is so close,

we're almost done with the label.

And then I'll open that up for pre-sale

once the label is completed and I have a mock-up.

But again, an easy protection wax style product

that is not over complicated, right?

And I have about five videos

on the development of that product.

And that is coming soon.

So, those are the nine things

that I see most detailers are doing wrong

and how you can correct it, how you can fix it.

So, what else, what have I missed?

What other products am I doing wrong?

What other things do you find yourself doing wrong?

Leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Again, I will link all my products below,

both direct on my website and on Amazon.

Thank you so much for the support.

And you getting the products and supporting me,

that allows me to continue to do things like this

and allows new products to be developed.

And so, we're growing this community

of like-minded individuals that I'm super excited about

and just wanted to say thank you for joining that circle.

So, with that, I will catch you guys on the next one.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for watching.

See ya.

About this episode

The host pushes back on a lot of detailing habits that have become routine without much benefit, from pre-rinsing and the two-bucket method to overcomplicated correction steps. He argues for smarter wash chemistry, deionized water, and simpler interior cleaning, while also saying modern products reduce the need for heavy compounds or rotary finishing. The episode closes by challenging exaggerated ceramic coating longevity claims and favoring more realistic expectations.

3D1 acid cleaners aggressive polish Alcantara all-purpose cleaner APC bond ceramic coating ceramic spray coating Chemical Guys

Original notes

Most detailers think they're doing things the "right" way… but what if the industry has been teaching it wrong this whole time?

In this episode, I break down 8 common detailing mistakes that are holding people back—from outdated wash methods to overcomplicated systems that take the fun out of detailing.

This isn't about calling people out… it's about showing you a better, simpler, more effective way to get pro-level results.

Here's what we're getting into:

• Why pre-rinsing with water is actually less effective than pre-soaking
• How DI water can completely change your results (especially in the sun)
• Why the 2-bucket method is outdated (and what to do instead)
• The truth about pH neutral soaps vs functional cleaning power
• Why APCs don't belong on most interiors
• How to simplify paint correction with ONE polish and pad choice
• The reality of ceramic coating durability (and what actually works long-term)
• Why most detailing brands overcomplicate everything—and how to simplify your process

At the end of the day, detailing should be fun, simple, and effective. If your process feels complicated… you're probably doing too much.

If you want better results in less time—and actually enjoy the process again—this episode is for you.

PRODUCTS TALKED ABOUT:

The Gloss Boss: https://jimbosdetailing.com/TGB

Tough As Shell Ceramic Spray: https://jimbosdetailing.com/TAS or on Amazon https://amzn.to/4r5UxYr

The Super Soaper: https://jimbosdetailing.com/TSS or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/49KEM2d

Picture Perfect Polish: https://jimbosdetailing.com/PPP or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4sQWpWu

Microfiber towels: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/orange-wash-microfiber or https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/everyday-microfiber

Cut & Finish Pad: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/cut-finish-pad or on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3LsxJ69

Finishing Pad: https://jimbosdetailing.com/products/black-finishing-pad or on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FJNDCPTG

SHOP ALL JIMBO'S DETAILING ON AMAZON: https://amzn.to/3LX3mVE

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