They’re saying that even good detailers can miss tiny spots. The easiest way to catch a bad detail is to check the small, hidden areas—like door areas and corners—because that’s where streaks and grime show up first.
Door jams are the parts of the car frame you see when you open the door. They get dirty because they’re not as visible day-to-day, so detailers often miss them.
The barrels are the inside part of the wheel you can’t see easily from the outside. Brake dust builds up there, so it needs extra attention during cleaning.
They’re talking about taking off a protective film that’s been stuck to the windshield. The tricky part is the edges and corners, where the film can leave marks or residue if you don’t get it all.
Window film is a sticker-like layer put on your car windows. Taking it off can be annoying because the glue underneath has to be removed too, not just the film itself.
A pressure washer is a machine that sprays water very strongly to knock off dirt. It can save time in places like door jambs, but you shouldn’t blast everything the same way—some areas need gentler rinsing.
When you clean fabric with certain chemicals, they can leave something behind. Neutralizing (or rinsing properly) helps make sure the cleaner’s effects are fully stopped so the carpet doesn’t get crusty or stay dirty.
Fenders are the panels above the wheels. They take a beating from road spray and dirt, so if you don’t clean them often, the grime can build up and get harder to remove.
APC is a strong cleaner people use for lots of different messes. If it’s the kind that leaves residue, you may need to rinse or neutralize it so it doesn’t keep reacting or leave a sticky/dirty film.
Some cleaning products are acidic or alkaline, and they can keep working on the surface if you don’t stop them. Neutralizing is a second step that cancels out that chemical so the paint or fabric isn’t left with residue or an active reaction.
Enzyme cleaners use “natural” chemical helpers that digest dirt—especially organic stains—so you don’t always need extra steps to counteract the cleaner.
A high spot is a bump or uneven area that’s higher than the rest of the surface. It can show up during inspection and usually means the surface prep or finishing wasn’t done evenly.
Swirl marks are tiny scratches that show up as cloudy or rainbow-like lines, usually from bad washing or wiping. They’re not just “dirt”—they’re damage in the clear coat that usually requires polishing to fix.
A restorative process means more than washing—it means polishing/correcting the paint to reduce visible damage. The key point is that if the problem is still obvious afterward, the job may not have been done right.
Buffer trails are visible streaks left after polishing, like the paint wasn’t finished evenly. They can happen if the polisher wasn’t used correctly or if the final step wasn’t done.
Spider webbing is when the paint has lots of tiny scratches all over, and it looks like a web under certain lighting. It usually means the surface needs polishing to smooth out the damage.
Term
touch the vehicle
Sometimes you can tell something’s wrong just by how the paint feels. If it feels rough or sticky after detailing, it can mean there’s still residue or damage that needs more work.
If there’s dirt or residue on the paint, a coating may not stick correctly. Sometimes the contamination is so embedded that it needs proper cleaning before you apply anything new.
Clay bar is a special cleaner you rub on car paint to remove tiny stuff that regular washing misses. It works best with a lubricant so you don’t grind the dirt into the paint.
A clay mitt is like a clay bar you hold in your hand. It’s used to clean the paint surface, but it won’t magically remove everything if the dirt is really stuck on or if you don’t use enough lubricant.
A clay towel is another way to use clay to clean the paint. If the contamination is heavy, a milder clay towel may not remove it all, so the paint can still feel rough or not be ready for protection.
Lubrication is the slippery liquid you use so the clay glides instead of scraping. If you don’t use enough (or use it wrong), you might not clean effectively and could risk damaging the surface.
A cutting pad is a more aggressive polishing pad. It’s used to remove stubborn stuff faster, but it can leave the surface needing a follow-up step for best results.
Decontamination is cleaning the paint more deeply before you try to polish it. Polishing fixes surface marks, but decontamination removes stuff that’s stuck to the paint so polishing can work properly.
Concept
tough contamination vs polishing-only approach
The segment emphasizes that when contamination is severe, polishing pads and compounds may not be the correct first move. Instead, you should decontaminate (often with clay) to remove bonded contaminants so polishing can focus on true paint correction.
Term
microfiber pad
Microfiber pads are soft, fuzzy pads used in detailing. They can help with certain steps, but if the paint is contaminated, using the wrong pad can make the job harder than it needs to be.
2500 and 3000 grit sandpaper are very fine abrasives used for paint correction when contamination or defects can’t be removed with polishing alone. The speaker warns that going straight to sandpaper is often an unnecessary escalation if you should be using decontamination tools first.
Traditional clay is a hands-on way to clean the paint surface by physically grabbing onto stuck-on grime. It’s a “get it really clean first” step that helps products like ceramic coatings last longer.
Ceramic coating on wheels is a special protective layer that helps keep brake dust and dirt from sticking as hard. The big decision is whether the price is worth it based on how long it lasts and how you wash your wheels.
Concept
coating longevity vs customer habits
Even a great coating won’t last as long if you don’t clean the wheels the right way. How often you wash and what tools/chemicals you use can make a big difference.
Wheel cleaner is a product made specifically to break down brake dust and grime on wheels. It’s usually stronger than regular soap so the wheels get truly clean before adding protection.
Lower rockers are the body panels along the bottom sides of a car, which take heavy road spray and debris. In car washes, these areas often get more aggressive cleaning because they accumulate more contamination.
Ceramic coating on wheels is like putting a tough protective layer on them. It helps keep brake dust and dirt from sticking as hard, so washing is easier. How long it lasts depends on how well the wheel is cleaned and prepped first.
They’re basically saying wheel coating is helpful, but you shouldn’t expect miracles. How well it works depends on the wheel’s condition and how well it’s prepped. If the wheel is poorly finished—especially inside—you may not get the same long-lasting results.
They’re saying the coating doesn’t last equally everywhere on the wheel. The inside part (the barrel) is harder to coat and if it’s not finished smoothly, the coating won’t stick or last as long. That’s why prep and surface quality matter a lot.
The wheel barrel is the inner part of the wheel that sits closer to the brakes. It gets hit with a lot of heat and brake dust, so it’s the hardest area to keep clean. Coatings can help, but it’s also the area most likely to wear faster.
Wheel weights are small weights added to balance your tires so they don’t shake at speed. The speaker is saying you should make sure the wheel is balanced correctly before coating, because coating won’t fix balance problems.
The wheel face is the visible front surface, and the speaker suggests it tends to hold up similarly to paint when coated. In contrast, the barrel area is more challenging and is where longevity concerns show up more often.
Company
Uno product
They mention their “Uno” product and say people see benefits from it on wheels. In this context, it sounds like a coating product they developed for wheel protection and easier cleaning.
They’re saying you should clean and prep the wheels before you apply the coating. Whether the wheels are new or being restored, good prep helps the coating stick better and last longer.
Ceramic coating on wheels is like a tough, slick protective layer. It helps keep brake dust and dirt from sticking as hard, so washing the wheels is easier. It still needs good prep and it won’t last forever if you drive hard.
Removing wheels is the process of taking the wheel off the car to properly clean and coat the wheel faces and barrels. Some shops avoid it due to liability and the risk of damage (like stuck hardware or wheel/vehicle contact), while others see it as necessary for best results.
An air compressor is a machine that provides pressurized air. In detailing, it can help power spray equipment so the product goes on more evenly. Some coatings may need that kind of setup to work well.
Heavy track driving is when you’re braking hard and generating a lot of heat repeatedly. That can overwhelm protective coatings faster than normal street driving. People who track often expect shorter coating life and are just trying to buy some time.
Term
wheel coding
“Wheel coding” sounds like they mean wheel coating. They’re basically saying they tried it and weren’t impressed with how well it worked or how long it lasted.
Ceramic coating is like a tough, slick protective layer you put on your wheels. It helps keep brake dust and dirt from sticking as hard, so cleaning is easier and the wheels stay nicer longer.
This is about timing. They’re saying you can do the wheels at the end of the job, after the rest of the car is already protected, so you don’t mess up the coating you just applied.
An applicator is just the pad/cloth/tool you use to put the coating on. How you apply it matters because it changes how evenly the coating goes on and how good it looks afterward.
Concept
wheel coating workflow: full-scale on a lift vs quick add-on
They’re comparing two levels of service: a deep, full job where you can access everything (sometimes with wheels off) versus a quicker add-on that mainly improves what you can see. The deeper approach usually gives better results.
Concept
wheel face vs barrels (inside barrels)
The wheel face is the part you see from outside. The barrels are the inner parts behind the spokes where brake dust builds up—most people don’t notice it right away, but it matters for how clean the wheels stay.
A “spray coat” is a quick protective product you spray onto your wheels. It helps water and dirt slide off more easily, so brake dust doesn’t stick as hard. It usually doesn’t last as long as a true ceramic coating, but it’s great for short-term protection.
They’re describing a simple repeatable routine for wheel care. The idea is to rinse first, add a quick protective step, then rinse/dry so the wheel stays cleaner between full detailing sessions.
Brake dust is the gritty powder that comes from your brakes. It collects on your wheels and can be tough to clean if you let it build up. Protecting the wheels helps it rinse off easier.
A power washer is a machine that sprays water at high pressure. People use it to rinse off dirt and brake dust from wheels. It can be loud and may not be ideal in places like townhouses.
Term
eco one
“Eco one” sounds like the name of a specific product he usually applies to his truck. The point here is that different people use different wheel coatings, and the discussion is about what works in real life.
“Slick” here likely refers to a product that leaves the surface feeling smoother and helps dirt rinse off easier. They’re using it as part of a wheel maintenance routine after the spray-on step.
Term
passenger front
They’re saying they start with the front wheel on the passenger side. Doing it in a consistent order helps you apply the product evenly and rinse it off at the right time.
Wheel acid is a cleaner made to break down stubborn dirt on your wheels, especially brake dust. You use it, let it work briefly, then rinse it off well so it doesn’t leave residue.
Water behavior just means how water acts on the finish—whether it beads or spreads out. If it beads nicely, it usually means the surface is protected and easier to keep clean.
The hosts describe coatings as a step-by-step “entry point” for customers who aren’t convinced yet. The idea is to start with simpler spray-on products, then move people toward more durable coating systems over time.
Stack is another product name in the hosts’ coating “upgrade path.” They suggest it’s a step up from the simpler spray-on option, but they don’t explain the details in this excerpt.
Company
dose
Dose is one of the product names mentioned as part of a coatings progression. The hosts don’t explain exactly what it is here, but it sounds like a step beyond the initial spray-on products.
Tray is another product name the hosts mention in the same lineup as other coating steps. They don’t break down what it does in this snippet.
Company
sparta
Sparta is a product name included in the hosts’ coatings progression. They imply it’s a later step, but they don’t explain what makes it different here.
They’re talking about a 2019 Dodge Ram to show how wheel/tire issues can happen even if the tires aren’t old. The point is that how you use the truck (like farm/rural driving) changes what the wheels need and how well products work.
They’re talking about the wheels and tires as a system—what you see on the outside can be influenced by how and where you drive. If the cleaning and products aren’t right, you’ll keep struggling with buildup.
If you drive in rural or farm conditions, your wheels get dirt and grime differently than city driving. The hosts say you can’t just rely on stronger products—you also have to match the process to the real contamination.
Term
AWX and TRX
AWX and TRX are specific cleaning/chemical products the hosts use for wheels. Their point is that the right products together work better than trying to force results with heat or extra scrubbing.
A core theme is that when you encounter unusual contamination (like wheels that have gone uncleaned for months), the “right process” and correct chemical selection/dilution become critical. The hosts contrast this with the customer’s assumption that making products “hot” would solve the issue.
Even if you have the right cleaner, mixing it too weak or too strong can change how well it works. They’re saying the concentration matters a lot for wheels with heavy buildup.
They’re describing a car that sat with dirt/grime for months, especially from winter conditions. That usually means the buildup is harder to remove, so you need the right cleaning approach.
This is about using the right cleaner for the job. If you pick a product that doesn’t work on brake dust or the wheel finish, it won’t clean well and you’ll end up fighting the process.
“Elbow grease” just means scrubbing and working the dirt off by hand. It helps, but if you have to scrub too hard, you might risk scratching the wheel.
Dwell time means you spray a cleaner and let it sit for a little while before you rinse or scrub. The host’s point is that timing matters: too little won’t work, but leaving it too long or at the wrong moment can cause issues.
Scrubbing refers to physical agitation with a tool to remove contaminants after chemical treatment. The host’s process advice is to use chemicals to do the work when possible, so you don’t have to rely on heavy scrubbing that may not always produce better results.
AWX acid is a strong cleaner meant to break down grime on wheels. The host warns that if the wheel is hot, using an acid cleaner can be risky, so you should cool/rinse the wheel first.
This is the idea that strong acid cleaners shouldn’t be used when the wheel is hot. Heat can make the chemical act too aggressively, so the safer move is to cool the wheel first.
Headlights get cloudy over time from sun damage. Restoring them usually means sanding/polishing the clear lens and then protecting it so it stays clear longer.
Wet sanding means sanding with water so the surface doesn’t overheat and the sandpaper stays cleaner. It’s a common step to remove cloudiness before polishing.
600 grit is a sandpaper grade used to smooth and remove damage. If the headlights are really cloudy or damaged, one grit step like 600 usually won’t fix everything—you typically need to go through multiple grits.
An upsell is offering extra work that makes the car look better or last longer. In this case, they’re suggesting fixing cloudy/damaged headlights as part of a bigger detailing job.
They’re saying you shouldn’t price headlight work like it’s a quick wipe-down. If you do the full sanding and protection steps, it takes real time, so the price should reflect that.
Sanding is what detailers use to remove the damaged, cloudy layer on the headlight. It helps the lens become smooth again before polishing and protecting it.
Grit is the sandpaper “roughness.” For cloudy headlights, you usually need a rougher starting grit (around 600–800) to cut through the damaged, hazy layer before you go smoother.
1000 grit is a finer sandpaper. The point here is that if you start too fine, you might not remove enough of the cloudy, damaged layer on the headlight.
Headlights get cloudy from sun damage over time. The “UV protection” idea here is that the sun breaks down the clear layer, so restoration has to remove that damage and protect the lens again.
Oxidation is what happens when sunlight slowly damages the clear plastic on your headlights. It makes the lens look cloudy or yellow. If it’s happening inside the headlight, polishing the outside may not fix it.
After sanding, a polisher is used to buff the headlight until it looks clear again. If the sanding wasn’t done far enough, polishing won’t fully fix the haze. Then you have to go back and sand more.
Term
2500 3000
They’re talking about using very fine grit to get the lens smooth enough for a clear finish. If you don’t go fine enough, the headlight won’t look right and you may have to redo the sanding/polishing steps.
This means you have to polish/buff until the sanding scratches are completely gone. If you leave even small scratches, the headlight won’t look fully clear.
Compound is an abrasive polishing product used to cut and refine the surface after sanding. The host mentions using compound even when it might not be strictly necessary, which can help ensure scratches are removed and clarity is restored.
Headlight restoration is when you clean up the cloudy/yellow headlights so they look better and shine brighter again. The important part is protecting the lens after you polish it, otherwise it can turn cloudy again.
After you fix the cloudy headlight, you have to protect it from sunlight. They describe three ways to do that: a protective film, a protective coating, or spraying clear coat again and letting it cure before adding more protection.
PPF stands for paint protection film, a clear film applied to surfaces to protect them from UV damage, minor abrasions, and environmental wear. On headlights, PPF is used to slow down re-oxidation and keep the lens clearer for longer.
A rotary is a power buffer that spins like a drill. People use it for polishing, but you have to be careful because it can remove material quickly if you stay in one spot too long.
The hosts emphasize that headlight restoration is a multi-step process with specific sequencing (prep/sanding, polishing, then protection). Skipping steps or rushing the timeline leads to poor results and faster failure, even if the headlight looks better initially.
Headlight lenses are usually plastic, and over time they can get kind of “open” or porous. That lets dirt and oxidation get trapped, which is why you can’t always fix them with a quick wipe.
They mention a 2021 Toyota 4Runner to show that the right restoration approach can depend on the exact vehicle. Headlight and trim materials/coatings can react differently to products.
They mention a specialist group where people ask questions about what products to use. The idea is to get advice from others who’ve worked on similar cars.
This is about matching the polishing pad to the product you’re using. The correct match helps you clean/restore effectively without making things worse.
LIVE
Welcome to the pints and polishing podcast, the most influential and listen to podcast
in auto detailing. Welcome to the community. Now imagine you never miss a single thing
on a detail, right? Like when you get done, you walk away. There's no window smudges.
There's no, there's no little streaks where you wiped and didn't get everything off. There's
no walk away and it's absolutely pristine. Now some of you are like, well, yeah, that's
my normal day, right? Like most of us, right? We, we don't ever have a perfect detail. I
saw this question from one of the groups that I'm in. That was a great question for us to
get started because Nick, I'm sure your guys have some things that you can see. I'm sure
you've done some things. I know I have, but here was this question. They said, Detailers,
what's one thing you see skipped all the time that instantly tells you your job wasn't
done right? For me, I'll start, I would open up a door and that, that right in the, you
just open the door and right underneath that driver's seat. If they didn't clean that,
you could see it. That would be instantly be setting me off to start looking in the other
places. If that was good, I would look in between, right? That console and seat. Geez,
if I started off there and we were already, we got those. I thought, man, we might have
a really great detail here. Yeah, I think probably a number one thing is opening up all
the doors and looking through the door jams, you know, because there's a lot of hard to
reach places and sometimes you got to, you know, especially if you're doing something
where the car is not maintained. But I think you're probably right. Little cracks and crevices
on the interior, obviously looking through the barrels of the wheels, you know, those
types of things. I mean, you just have these like random spots where it just takes a little
bit more time and care and, you know, did you get you get all the little things? But
the obvious ones, the inside of the windshield. I mean, I think that's the ultimate one is,
you know, you start looking on, you know, we did a windshield protection film removal
last week. And I could see just the corners, you know, where you got to get you got to
get in there, you know, to really get those clean. So went and did a thorough clean on
those. But yeah, there's a lot of little spots. And I'm sure it's a lot of, you know, the
type of stuff you work on, there's a little bit more of, you know, this spot is always
missed. And that spot's always missed. So yeah, there's there's a lot of little little
places.
Well, how's your window film days? How's it going these days? How's everything going?
That was miserable. It's absolutely miserable. If you've never taken a I mean, and I'm pretty
efficient at it, to tell you the truth. And I did it all. It wasn't that bad. But it's,
you know, for good windshield film. I know you guys see a lot out there for good windshield
film, the removal will be a little bit of a pain.
Yeah. Okay, so you talked about your door jams. And if you get some, you know, neglected
door jams, you're right, it can be a little bit of a trouble. I definitely think of, you
know, underneath, you know, right in that kind of edge down at the bottom, you could
definitely go into some of the where the connections and where the door goes back and
forth. When you have a really nasty what's your what's your go to I mean, you're okay
spraying the power washer through there. I mean, look, if there's mud and there's there's
crusted on dirt, you're going to spend a lot of time and a lot of rags. Am I going to let
every let everyone loose with the pressure washer? No. But you know, for those guys out
there that are doing a lot of work themselves, I think the pressure washer just saves you
time. But this is also where you got to ask what type of pressure washer do I have, you
know, you look at some of our gas units. Yeah, you're not taking those in door jams. I mean,
it's going to be pushing a lot of water. But you know, for for a little electric ones, guys
are using the popular electric ones that aren't moving as much pressure out of them. Yeah, you
can safely do it or you just take the nozzle off and use it as a rinse tool and kind of help
you that way. But yeah, there's it's it's equipment dependent. Let's say that.
And one piece that people don't think of, which I never thought of till I started going to
dealerships, I'd never used one of those, you know, arms that curves, you know, the wands. And
he I mean, we just never use those, you know, the, the, the mobile guys are, you know, even shop
guys, you don't ever see them. You go into the dealership world, they're all over the place,
because they can curve them, they can, they do little short knobs, and they do a bunch of little
stuff where they can get in in different ways. And I just don't see now, maybe, right, because
I'm not out in it as much anymore. Right. So no, it's not as widely used. It's no, it's not. It's
not. I mean, I, you know, I only remember those are dealers. You know, it's not something it.
The next thing you it is really dependent door jams seem to be dependent on two things, the climate
you're in and the clientele that you have, right? If you got even, you know, I'm sure this is the
case in Oklahoma, where you guys see some weather. When you still had good clientele, I'm not sure
you had to work that hard on door jams, you just had to make sure that they were readily hit, and
you didn't let things kind of build up after a storm or something like that.
Fenders. Yeah. Fenders are brutal. And some of the redesign offenders have really made it tough on
people in our profession. Yeah, I mean, but even just thinking of what you just talked about, right,
if somebody regularly like our weekly, our bi weekly people, those fenders weren't too bad,
right? They never get bad. Not bad. But the guy that's been out too much, too long.
Doing all that good stuff. You go, well, that's when you want to gas pressure washer.
I saw inside the comment of here, they go not neutralizing chemicals on carpets and fabrics,
like, that's the one thing they see skipped all the time.
I would say that's that's I would use a different term. I think they're using fancy terminology
there. I see far too much APC. Right. And let me tell you, if you think you're going to neutralize
that out of the carpet, you haven't been around too much APC in your life, like that that becomes
real crusty and a headache. But yeah, they're probably right. You know, there's there's a lot of
systems that people use that do call for neutralization. And if you don't do it,
you're going to have some serious problems. I also think that's why you really shouldn't be using
chemicals that need neutralizing and carpets and fabrics, because
it's not just about when you scale, but that means you got to neutralize it perfectly
on your next step. And so I would probably be out of the neutralizing game, because it's not
necessary anymore. You can use something like enzyme and then come back with complete. That
stuff doesn't need to be neutralized. Obviously, you don't want to massively oversaturate anything
that you're working on. But heavy neutralization would be one, but that's also very outdated
technology. You know, and I had a laugh last week, I was working on some carpets.
Yeah, we had we had a laugh. We had a laugh. Marty was Marty Marty was showing some things
not seen on TV. Not working well to not not not working well. So that's behind the scenes.
All right, so I gotta I gotta ask this because I think it's just fun right then then let's go to
one thing on a coded car. I mean the easy one right as you mentioned the window right the easy
one that we can all go come on we can all go high spot right now we all know that if we see a high
spot, we can go crap. Like something wasn't done right. But let's throw this curveball based on
a recent conversation. What if we see swirl marks? Yeah, I mean, it's it's a possibility you don't
know what was sold to the client if you didn't do it. I don't think we have a lot left to say on
this. It's you know, we're back to where again, guys, we need to we need to hit this home and
we need to talk about it is, you know, swirl marks are a restorative process, you know,
so did the customer pay for restorative process and they still have massive amounts of swirl
marks or they have buffer trails or things like that. Yeah, that's problematic. You know,
then yeah, you are going to see some some spider webbing and some swirling and stuff like that.
Okay, here's here's one. If it's a white vehicle, and you see these little tiny little specs,
maybe kind of reddish, you know, something like that. Or if you're like me, and you do touch the
vehicle, right? And you feel something on the paint. Uh oh, I then know so I would be more inclined to
feel. Okay, something's gone wrong. If I if I touch the paint afterwards and I feel something,
I think something's gone wrong. More in that circumstance or could have gone wrong. Then
looking at the paint out in the sun and seeing whatever right seeing swirls seeing car wash
seeing light bridge seen whatever in the paint in the clear coat versus touching the clear coat.
I definitely I definitely would go touching. Yeah, when you when you can feel contamination,
you know, one or two things either something's contaminated this car after the coding application
or worse, there's contamination under the coding, which is going to affect its bonding. But
it's one of those things. I just had a recent, like, you know, somebody asked me about clay
towels and clay mitts. And this is, you know, all these kind of things are always one of the things
that I do think is being misrepresented is start using those things on real contamination. And
you have to work a lot harder to get that contamination off than you think. And I think
a lot of people either are learning the hard way overlooking the fact that that stuff is still on
there. Again, it really doesn't matter what you prefer. There's limitations to a lot of this.
If somebody says, I have a clay towel, and no matter how bad the contamination is,
it's never going to scratch the paint. I got news for you when you come across bad contamination,
it's not coming off with that towel. There's no if ands or buts about it. And that's why
we always on here, we've always talked about grade of clay bar, you know, used to be you only had
the hammer. It was like, this thing's going to take everything off and, you know, mar up. I mean,
we now, you know, have more fine clay bar, medium clay bar, heavy clay bar, those types of things.
But I think one thing that that we are seeing reflected in our area a little bit is a lot of
people using a lot of clay medium, like, you know, towel or or whatever. And they're leaving a lot
of contamination behind. And I got news for you, man, those things have a place that's not what's
right and wrong. That place may be a little bit more limited than you're being led to believe.
So if we're somebody that's using a clay mitt, a clay towel, a clay bar, and we're going over the
paint, but it's not getting everything off, what's something that we should do? For me, it was always,
hey, maybe I got too much lubrication. And then I do need to actually kind of start marring up the
service a little bit, I'm going to have to polish over it. But if I don't have any other options,
that's what I would would always try and do. Like, okay, maybe I got too much lube.
Well, there was there was also another, I don't want to say trick, but thing that, you know,
this is really popular in the dealer world once upon a time, as you know, is like, you can just
do a quick buzz over with, you know, a cutting pad and get all that stuff off there. But no,
like, hey, that's like, that's my decontamination step. That's not actually polishing. I just
don't have anything to get this off. And there's times I mean, contamination gets so bad, you
have to sand areas, I mean, stuff like that can happen. But I would say, if you're doing this,
and you're finding that as an issue, and I think you're going to find this a lot with the towels
and the mitts and things like that, when you run against like tougher contamination,
I just don't see a world where I wouldn't have at least a tougher clay bar on hand,
at least some type of bar something. Okay, because, and again, you're looking at mitigating what I
just said, where you have to grab like an old microfiber pad, and you're now into this whole
step where you're taking compound and having to try to chop this stuff off or worse, like some high,
you know, some 2500 or 3000 sandpaper. I just don't be led down the path that these towels and
these mitts have it all figured out. They're good tools. They're a tool for the right situation.
But when you run against some tough contamination, you better have a clay bar there.
Is there any and right, this isn't for us making a statement, right? Like,
well, I just know some people would get into these moments. And you know, we talk about not
running to the park store to get chemical. But is clay something you can get? Like, I mean,
those generic clays, yeah, like a paint shop, you know, that's where I you know, like, you know,
somebody that sells to auto body shops and things like that, you got to have one in your area if
you live in any city with any, even like, you know, Riley's, you know, they have generalized retail
clay. I mean, hey, yeah, yeah, and like these little packs with this brand, I just wasn't
want to talk about the brand, but they do you know, and you just go, Hey, clays clay, right? I mean,
yeah, it could be more fine clay. And that may not help you out of this situation. But I always
tell people just go to a paint shop, you know, they usually have the stuff you're looking for.
And I would say, I just am coming across way too many people that seem to be confused on
where they may have a coding failure from a certain brand or whatever. Instead of blaming
the brand I go always go to, I wonder if they used one of those clay towels that supposedly is this
and supposedly is that. And you left some contamination behind and you're seeing failures
from that. I really would push people, I'd rather be safe than sorry, you're already doing the work.
You know what I mean? Like, so if you're coming against some real tough contamination,
I'd probably ditch the mitt and the towel and I'd be, you know, traditional clay.
All right, so I saw this question inside one of the groups, and it really hit home and actually
did because today we were going through and cleaning, you know, employee cars here, cleaning my
beamer, got out of the weekend, plus I was working on something I was telling you about.
That's where we were, you know, we needed to clean some cars. And I saw this question and
then I saw something later in our group and it just kind of hit home and he goes, is it worth it
to get ceramic coating on wheels? There you go. Is it worth it? Is it worth it to get
your wheels ceramic coated? You got to go, okay, well, if I'm a customer, you know,
that I'm going into a shop, I guess it's going to go, well, how much am I being charged? And then
what really is this is the quit? I think this is the time where people really want to know what,
how long is it going to last, right? So then if I'm a detailer and I'm saying, is it worth it?
I've got to go, okay, well, how much am I charging to put this on? And then
what's that balance on? What's this customer going to do? How house or habits, right? I mean,
what are they going to do? We talk about car washes that the greatest abrasion and some of the
the best tools in the car wash are the lower rockers and the wheel cleaners.
They really do a pretty great job considering it's automatic, considering all that they've
got to go through, you go, man, they do a pretty good job. Why? It's heavy abrasion. It's high
chemicals. So is it worth putting a coating on a wheel? I don't know. How long do they drive,
right? I think wheels, it gets also into other braking habits. How hot that all gets.
Wheels can get a little different. You know, what do you think? Is it worth it to coat ceramic
coat wheels? Yeah, I think it's worth the coating wheels. I think you also need to be realistic
about it. You know, this is one of the things of our wheel coating development. It leaves
something to be desired. But if you're realistic about it, wheel coating is a good thing.
You know, but you also have to remember the part that we all really care about
making easier is the barrel. Some barrels aren't finished properly. It's very tough to coat and
get the coating to last. You know, even, you know, we see some wheel weight issues and things like
that that can arise if you don't have the wheels balanced first. There's things to be concerned
about. But I think if you have the right mindset about a wheel coating, it works well. Wheel faces,
you know, that's going to last, you know, probably pretty similar to paint. The only thing we're
really concerned about with wheel coating is the barrel. And that's when things become tougher,
right? That's when I've seen longevity, you know, things that people have said I've been
not as impressed with that. But if I look at it realistically, it's still pretty impressive if
done right. And, you know, people see a lot of, you know, benefits of our Uno product on wheels
and things like that. I don't think this is one of those things where you draw a hard line and
stand and say right or wrong. There's definitely benefit to it. You know, especially if you got
brand new wheels, you want to prep them before you put them on the car, or you want to refurbish
some old wheels, I think it's definitely worth the time. I think you also want to be realistic
about it. The barrels are going to come down largely how well they're finished. And I've seen
some really bad finish on barrels right out of the factory. And you go, you're not getting much to
last on that. So just be realistic about it. I guess I don't see wheel coating post as much as I
used to, you know, as I made once again, my algorithm maybe maybe in groups that I'm in not sure. I
just don't mean I feel like I don't know just call it six to eight years ago or so four years ago
seemed to be a lot more people ceramic coating wheels and really talking about it. I wonder if
there's been a little bit of like, just natural evolution, like you mentioned, people using Uno,
right? Just going, Hey, Uno's not really sure what to say, you know, I because I really think
that people get to the why I listed that or I gave that example a second ago, because I think there's
a lot of people get into that situation. They really don't know what to say. And they used to
charge people, well, it's going to be $100 a wheel, you know, and you go, huh, that's 400 bucks
extra. You know, and you go in today's time 2026. I don't see that and I don't see many people doing
it. I think there's shops that that, you know, saw some liability with removing wheels.
Yeah, there's part of that. I have gone through a lot of those conversations with some guys that
did a lot of wheels back in the day. You know, five, six, seven years ago, and they go, Hey,
man, it just wasn't worth it. We had this we had that happen. But it's like removing seats. We're
not mechanics guys. Yeah, but here's the deal. It's also if you don't have a problem removing them,
remove them. You know, this is I think one of those places people love to draw a line in the sand,
and I'm not sure there is a line to draw. You know, I'm that guy. Yeah, I'm not. Yeah, I'm not going
to draw. I mean, I have no problem removing wheels, if that's what somebody wants. But
you know, I think why maybe this took a turn is I think a lot of companies still can't see the
longevity in it. And that comes from actual manufacturers of the product. There's some
things you could spray on wheels, but now you're getting into do you got a big enough air compressor
or you set up, you know, some industrial style stuff you could get into. It's it's one of those
things. I think you have to say it this way. If everybody's expectation is realistic, I think
you're going to be just fine. And when that gets out of whack, I think you have massive problems.
Any idea what realistic is? Like you said, it's going to be driving behavior. You know, we've
dealt with some people that do heavy track and you know, that stuff doesn't last long. And they're
very aware of that. They're just trying to buy themselves some time. I don't really know what
to say because I've been underwhelmed by wheel coding. And that's one of the reasons we don't
still to this day have it in our lineup. It is something we want in our lineup.
But it's also something that I want in our lineup the right way. And something that I really go,
hey, this is above and beyond. I've tried all the ones you guys are going to tell me to try.
I've seen the underwhelming behavior of it. It doesn't mean they're bad. I'm not saying that I
just go for removing wheels and for something that's really driven. It's it's a it's a little
tough. But doesn't mean it's not solvable. Doesn't mean I haven't seen some things that are better
than others. But it still leaves a lot to be desired. You mentioned Uno, but I'm going to go,
hey, listen, for anybody going curious if they should put ceramic coating on their wheels,
listen, throwing a little stack on there is pretty simple. Yeah, it's very simple.
Very simple. Very easy to do. This is something you could do at the end of your detail after you've
if you've coated the car. I'm that guy. I'm that guy using that same applicator,
putting a little bit more product on and going around the face of the wheels just to help,
you know, help the guy out. I've always been the the the person that puts the wheels
into the package. Sure. I've never been somebody that charges, except for like maybe the first
couple times. And right, this gets into everybody's particular packages. Don't don't hear me and go,
well, that's what I'm going to do. No, I'm just saying this was me. And I found and
removals different. I mean, if you're going to full scale, it's on a lift, you're removing on.
Yeah, that wasn't me. Never going to be me. But here's the deal. The face, like you said, if
you know, somebody's on the fence and you go, Hey, man, you know, I'll throw in the wheel faces,
I'll coach your wheel faces for you. It's incredibly valuable. I mean, that's where you're
going to see a lot of the ugliness. Many people aren't like a lot of us and see into the barrels
and see the degradation. That's not what they're the most concerned about. It's not for us to decide.
But yeah, I mean, there's there's a lot of ways to go about this. But for everybody that always
asks me these questions, and I appreciate the questions, I've been underwhelmed for 15 years.
I mean, I've had every wheel coating on the planet sent to me. And I'm like, I don't know, man,
it's okay. I mean, you know, and I mean, we've even seen that in our own testing. I'm like,
it's okay. But if I'm taking wheels off, I just I'm just going to be more realistic than most people.
Yeah, I sort of fall into the camp of Brian Wesley. And the reason why I brought up the story
earlier is, is I'm cleaning wheels and we're cleaning cars. And I go, you know what, golly,
Brian, you're right, man, it's been a bit since I put some spray coat onto my wheels, right. And
it's been a bit since we've put it onto one of the team members that we clean. It was like,
you know what, let's let's let's get everything rinsed off. Let's spray a little spray coat on
there and come rinse it back off. I mean, if you do have residual and I say residual, like,
hey, I constantly have too much brake dust constantly have too much going on on my wheels.
Spray coat on the wheels. It's simple. It's easy. Doesn't last years, but it'll last you a good
month or so. And really does give you some good protection in there on the wheels. Brian said,
Brian said this, he put inside of our specialist group when we're talking about spray coat, he
said, I don't get to use spray coat much on my personal vehicle. I live in a townhouse and don't
want to piss off my neighbors with the power washer running. That's the big, the big gasman like Nick
uses right like so not the little electric but man, I was at my girlfriend's house and got to use
it on my truck. I think it's definitely a pretty great underrated product. And you know, you guys
can go into the specialist group, read the entire post and and look at where he talks about normally
on his truck, he gets this but eco one but since he was here, had the power washer available.
Spray coat is something we don't really talk about very much at all. Really, I mean,
what I do with spray coat is pretty simple. I tell people, like if I have a ton of time,
I'm like a spray coat and slick guy, like I'll just spray coat and rinse it off, dry it off,
use slick. I don't have a problem with that. Alternating them is a great, you know, use of,
you know, during maintenance. But one of the things on your wheels, I would tell people
is, you know, for whatever reason, I think it's just habit. I start on the passenger front,
I spray all four and then I go back and rinse it off and give it some time and all that kind of
stuff. So I mean, once a month, if you're one of those, you know, guys that remembers every time,
I mean, throwing a little bit on every time is no big, I mean, it's just, it's just an added benefit.
And one of the things you'll see is that if you use something like wheel acid or Fuego the next time,
when you do that rinse, you'll see that water behavior really come back and be really intense.
So it's just a great product that yeah, you're probably right, we don't talk about enough. But
for ease of protecting your car, man, I mean, it's just kind of, it's almost a no brainer.
He gave a he gave an interesting comment towards the end that that's why I want people to go into
the specialist group, go read Brian's comment is it is really interesting because he says,
you know, he's talking about most of his customers don't, they, you know, he's got
maintenance clients and they don't get they're mostly concerned about the inside of their car
and they don't get the outside coated. And he's going to try and convert some people into coatings.
What are you guys, what are your guys thoughts of spray coat, right? Like,
you could almost see this. Yeah, okay, it's such good. I'm seeing the water behavior,
we're getting and then he could explain it to a maintenance customer and then why the
maintenance customer should get that should get a coating. And and you go, okay, cool. I can see
this, Brian, I can see the the wheels turning you go, yeah, that's probably a really great idea.
Yeah, it's a good entry point. Right. I mean, that's the thing about stuff like slick and spray coat is
you can usually take, you know, non believers start there, then you can get them into stack,
then you can get them into dose or tray or sparta and those types of things. So I think it's a great
these products have a place, you know, not just in maintenance, but, you know, if you have a really
un-maintained car, you're doing an interior and exterior on your own car, you know, some of you
have cars that get really beat up and you're like, man, I just don't take great care of it. But when
you do go load it up with spray coat, try my my trick, load it up with spray coat. Then once you
get everything blown off, take slick go over the paint, you're gonna have a nice little finish there.
It's not a coated car, but it's a lot better than just leaving it, you know,
without anything, I think. You definitely when you see, and this is going to be as we go into this,
a 2019 Dodge Ram, black wheels, big tires, you go into these moments where, no, I'm not going to
feel you dog. Yeah, tough. But this lady, she's in a group, and she says, okay, guys, need help.
What's going on with these wheels and tires? I've never had such a problem. Right 2019.
Only a couple years old for 20. The tires are only a couple years old. Now, she does say it's a
farm truck. Yeah. So we do have to say, go back to those driving habits. When we talk about wheels
and we talk about putting on coating and putting on protection. I see this lady struggling and her
question, which you know, we're not going to get into it. She's struggling with the same thing we
talk about. The she's she's got product on that's very hot. She doesn't understand I'm at one to
one. I've tried three different times. I'm going through all this and you go, Yeah, your problem
probably wasn't your chemical here. Your problem was over the years. I get it. You never felt that
you're out in the farm. You never felt you were in the country. Like, for those of us that have
customers that are rural, right? We can understand that they go, Yeah, I'm not gonna. And then you go,
Oh, yeah, you should have, right? So if they don't do the coating spray coat is really the next
option. Yeah. And I also, when you see posts like this, you do have to think of, well, if you're
struggling and she put a picture that shows she's struggling pretty bad, probably didn't have the
right chemicals. And it didn't matter how hot she made them. They weren't doing the job. Great place
to be using AWX and TRX as a combination. But yeah, we see more and more struggle. And I think you're
probably in this position to going through groups or having people ask us questions. You know, when
you run up against something that you don't normally see, having the right process becomes
even more important. And having the right chemicals becomes more important. Because now
there's nothing I can't fix with TRX, AWX and Fuego on a wheel. It's now just about how strong I
want to mix that those dilutions on AWX and TRX, right? Like now it's just all I'm not going to run
up. We had we had a vehicle come down from Canada that you couldn't have come from a harsher winter
drove all the way down from there, uncleaned months and months and months without cleaning.
TRX, AWX, made a debris. Now, were those dilutions pretty strong? Yeah, they're pretty strong.
Close to straight in some instances, yes. But that becomes important to not have to abandon
what I know works already, I just have to mess with some dilution ratios. And this is where I see a
lot of people getting off hand, right? Which is if you're using products that can't handle anything
that's thrown at you on a wheel and entire, you have the wrong products and process more than likely.
Because elbow grease and a stronger dilution should fix anything. And I would say in your
history in this business and with the clay and the dirt and the stuff that you've dealt with in
Oklahoma, when you had everything right, it was just dilution ratio time. How strong we want to mix
this and what kind of elbow grease that we're going to have to put in. The next thing that could
be a pressure washer issue. If you're doing this professionally, you know, we don't really get into
this talk, but a lot of what I see in that picture should have been handled by your pressure washer.
And, you know, using these underpowered pressure washers that have become popular,
that's not a pro unit. Like, it's just not. And I can see a huge difference when I had that car
come down from Canada that came to the shop. My guys back up with the gas pressure washer,
it's making even easier work of all that stuff. This is just the reality of, you know, some of this.
And I think more now as we have more and more people coming into the market, which again,
we've never bashed that. What you're seeing is inexperience is starting to build up and you get
to see a lot more of that in groups. And you're not doing it out of judgment. You're going,
you have a chemical that doesn't work the way you think it works. Now that's being exposed.
You're trying to figure a way out of it, but you don't have the tools to figure yourself out of this.
And that becomes really difficult. If you don't have the pressure, you got to do the glug glug.
Yeah. Oh yeah. And this is, this is the hill I will die on the rest of my life is why people would
rather work three, four X's hard than just putting a stronger dilution. Let the cleaner,
silver cover man is agitated scrub my heart out. Would you get the feeling that if you say if this
lady says that, I agree, then she probably did. You know, and the other thing is sometimes
letting a chemical like TRX sit is not a bad thing. But you do that with the idea that that's
my rent step. I'm going to go with the pressure washer because I let this sit and but then when
I get it on the tire the next time I need to go in there while it's still activated and go in there
and do my scrubbing. So now you have a pressure, you have a process problem. When I let it set up
on the tire, I'm doing it because I'm going when I rinse this off, it's going to be good to go.
But if I really need a lot of cleaning power with my tool in my hand, I'm, I'm putting it on fresh
and going in with the tool. I'm not lit. I'm not going to let that set around. I'm letting it sit
for the rinse and just using my pressure washer to help me. The other times in her situation,
she should have had to clean her on there fresh and the tool and go to work. And you feel for
all of this stuff because it's almost impossible that you could use TRX one to one and be left with
the problem that she had. That wouldn't, that wouldn't happen. So now you have a major chemical
and process and that's going to have, you're going to have a tough day.
People are going to look at 2019 Dodge Ram wheels and go, wow, Nick, you're going to put acid
on those black wheels? Yeah. You bet it. AWX acid. Yes, no question. Now, we've said this,
the wheel needs to be cool. There's where I don't worry about it. If it's hot at all,
you shouldn't be using an acid. Okay, I don't care who's acid, acid and heat do not go well
on a black wheel. Okay, they're never going to go well on a black wheel. But yeah, and if I was
ever worried, I would just do a rinse and cool the wheel down and make myself feel better. And
this is where I feel like you need to have a process, but you need to have these slight tweaks
to your process to make things more comfortable, safer and those types of things. So if I rolled
up on that exact and you guys need to go to YouTube to see, you know, Marshall put the picture up
there on the screen for you. I'm one to one and one to one would be about what I'm doing one to
one TRX and one to one AWX and I'm going to work. Because if not, I'm going down a road of heavy
scrubbing, which may not come out in my favor all the time. I want to use the chemicals to my
advantage. And I'll say it till I'm blue in the face, I use chemicals to make my life easier.
So I don't mind and never have when I did know in a chemical company of using cleaners to my
advantage and using acids to my advantage. I mean, you know, one of the most popular ones in
industry history, I used it for years and had no problem with it. And we would use it in direct
sun and we'd rinse the wheel down. If that's what we had to do, that's what we had to do.
But AWX in this instance on a cool wheel, I couldn't use it quick enough.
All right, we were talking a second ago about, you know, is it is it worth coding,
you know, wheels, right? I saw this post inside of a group, not about wheels, not about wheels,
but about headlights. And I first had to go, is it worth coding headlights?
I know, and let's let's go into first just if I'm coding a car, you're somebody that just puts
coding on, right? I mean, that's not an upcharge, right? As many people love upcharges. There's
no upcharge. I'm just putting coding on the headlight. I'm not not coding the headlight
headlight, tail light. I mean, just part of the game, trim. Well, yeah, I would I would say that
we don't have some stack reapplications for us is just simply stack. But as you get into, you know,
Uno, Trey, Sparta, yeah, I mean, trim's getting coated with trim. There's no question about it.
All right. So this guy asked, he says, yo, can you give me some tips? I've wet sanded them,
600 grit, then he lists his polish, then there's something and then buffed it. And they still
look exactly the same, right? Like, you go, that's pretty hard if you really did.
Right? Yeah. So you have two things that can happen here. Okay. Well, so what I was, yeah,
you do. And that's what some people start talking about. And you go, the first is,
is you got to if you're got a headlights, and you've got damaged headlights, whether or not
somebody you thought they protected in the past, right? We're past that, right? Moving on to,
I've got a full detail. I'm going to upsell this customer. And I'm going to go and get their
headlights taken care of. One, one, one sandpaper 600 grit was all I used. No, no way. You got to
use more than one sand. Yeah, with those headlights, yes. I mean, with those headlights, there's no
question. So what you got to where, where do you start? How many? Well, here's where my actual
starting point is. How much does it cost for new headlights? That's actually where most of us should
be starting. Because you'd be surprised what it is going to take for you to fully restore headlights
and charge appropriately. You can see some very equal pricing, you know, if it's certain type of
vehicle. So that'd be the first place you should start. Let's say the average. I mean, I thought
the average detail of charges like 50 bucks a headlight. What's so we have a listening problem
on this podcast. Even with a co host, I said if you're charging appropriately for the level of
work it's going to take, you might want to price out some headlights. We're not talking about the
$50 guy. We're talking about people doing all of the steps you need to do. And there's some
instances where it's worth you restoring them. So I want to say that I'm just saying you might
want to price them out first. Just like we talked about with certain plastic trims.
Before you go down this road, you might want to see how what it costs to replace that tiny
piece of trim because it might be, you know, $11. I think most of us dudes go like hey listen, 50,
75 bucks. No way. No way. But the average guy, I mean, most of us do that. I guarantee you.
Right. I know you're right, which is why maybe inflation has gone up a bit. Maybe so let's call
it all in 125 to 150 bucks is what we're going to charge the customer. And that's probably high in
2026. I bet you people are really charging 3040 bucks a pop. I believe you but that's why I made
the caveat. If you're charging appropriately, what was appropriate 200 bucks a light? I'd be I'd be
like 250 a pair probably 300 a pair. Because again, I'm thinking all the way through the steps. If
you're properly sanding was 600 all the way up. You're on that headlight quite a bit. By the way,
you've had to tape everything off. You've had to do the work you've had and I'm not saying this stuff
is rocket science. I'm saying there's just a time involved. Yeah, you know, that you have to think
about. So I think he did a step most people did is he actually started with 6 to 800 grit, which
most people started like 1000 and that to me, you got to be in the 6 to 800 range to get all that
that that you know, dead, you know, UV protection and all that stuff off. Not down to five. Yeah,
I mean, let's give him credit. Like he actually started where most people don't start.
The next thing is if you start to see a problem that he may have run into, let's just give him
the benefit of the doubt and said he did all the steps right. If the oxidation is on the inside,
and you have interior problems with that lens, now you're looking at the client going, I can't
really charge you these need to be full replaced because there's something going on inside the
headlight. Yeah, you've done headlights and you're right. Absolutely great to call that out there
inside, you know, if you get to the point, but you've also done headlights where you've done
a five six something like that. We can all go Hey, say even the third step, there's part of a
headlight where once you get your sanding done. I mean, you could go over with the polisher just
because if you don't really have to, though, if you do your standing right, yeah, if you back it
all the way out, you go to 2500 3000. I mean, you got a pretty clear if you don't have a clear
right around that 2000 number, if you don't have a pretty clear headlight,
you either need to start your steps over. And I would say that's what we see most often is that
people that did use the 600 didn't go as far as they needed to go. Yeah, right. Yeah. And I would say
your headlight should be not see through anymore. I mean, you're hitting 600 the right way 800 the
right way 500 the right way like you're looking at a really frosty you're looking at a pretty scuffed
up headlight. And then backing it out from there and making sure you back out all the
sand marks and you don't miss a spot and you don't, you know, you get that's what I say,
you know, you look at people doing it for 50 bucks, it's not a $50 job. I mean, it's just not.
Then those hand marks are like, you know, like those edges of a high spot, right? There's edges
of a corner on a panel, you're like you always talk about like, that's where you're gonna find
those high spot. Yeah, same on right, you find those edges of sandpaper. Yeah, they're over on
the like, oh, and you don't because you don't really know how to use the sandpaper, you don't
know how to like go with the contour, you've dug in on that spot. Again, on the flat spot,
there's a lot of stuff there. So you back it all out. Like you said, for some reason, I always
use some type of compound. Even when it's not necessary. I don't know if it's just habit or
whatever. And then I polish it out. Here's where you get to decision time. And we had this, you
know, we have a discord for clutch culture now. And we had somebody say had some old headlights,
quote unquote, fixed by by and I had to edge, he's like, you know, a month later, I said they
weren't fixed. I said, you know, the month later, they were they were bad again. I said, well,
this situation, they just got it good enough. And then the oxidation was still there, and you
just saw it come back. Or you didn't really think about how to protect the headlight after all this
work was done. So you really have three modes of protection. You PPF the headlight. Okay, which
gives you a lot of UV protection again. Second, you coat the headlight, again, you're going to have
that level of protection, or the most permanent way to actually make it more of a real restoration
is you're taping off the car, you're plastic, you're plasticing off the car and guess what
you're doing, you're spraying clear again, and you're re clearing those headlights, and then
you let that set up and then you go over and coat it or put PPF on it or whatever. I don't see any
world that's a $50 job. People may think it is. I don't really do this type of work. So there's
that tells you anything. I don't think there's a ton of money in it. I'm not saying if you're a single
operator, this isn't something you can but running a company where you're paying team members and
skill sets and all this kind of stuff going on, it's going to be pretty tough to make this profitable
long term. And again, we walk through this. What if a brand new pair was $400?
You know what I mean? Are you really doing them a service? Like, I'd rather just get the new
headlights, coat the headlights, put them on, you know, we're all in for a cup, you know, for,
you know, 100 bucks more. I don't know. I look at it and go I just don't know and in the cars that
headlight restoration are usually the ones where the headlights are the cheapest.
But I thought you were going to say are really sort of the yeah, they are cheap because yeah,
usually if they come in and they're heavily needed, we can all understand that situation.
What the car is who that you know, there's a reason they've been neglected. Yeah, it's not
usually like a GT three Porsche that I mean, and that's okay, you know, that's I mean, everybody
needs the one that I showed, right? There's a reason that yeah, 2004 BMW with 400,000 miles on it,
right? So you look at these types of things and you have to kind of have a realistic approach and
I don't know any shops with team members that are restoring headlights. I mean, I couldn't tell
I'm trying to think through everybody we know I mean that they largely just don't do it. This is
more of a single operator, you know, type of thing, which again, if you're if you have the time and
people willing to pay, I think it's a good thing. I just find it's very hard for people to in the
steps we walk through aren't going to be 15 minutes. You're just not getting them done in that time,
not re spraying them or putting PPF on or something like I mean, you're just not getting things done
that quickly. I mean, so to make it really worth your time, it's going to be pretty pricey.
So after we've done the sanding, what's our pad product combination?
I would go with the microfiber that we have and you could also if you're comfortable with a rotary,
you know, good time to use a rotary and kind of clean everything up that's that's kind of on you.
I use I would use level and and, you know, microfiber cutting pad and I would go back with
like orange foam and and luxe and move on with my life.
Yeah, we coating that headlights or what are we doing?
Yeah, I mean, if the proper restoration would be to respray the clear.
But if you don't have that option, just just throw some coating on it, call it a day.
PPF is a good option. This is kind of what I told that guy in the discord of clutch culture is,
hey, man, it just wasn't done right. There's a lot of steps to this. I wasn't trying to like
be a know it all with them. I was just like, just so we're clear to do this right.
He should have been there for quite some time.
You know, we're talking about a I think he said he had an early 2000 vehicle,
you know, guy did it buzzed in and out like, nah, man, that's that's that's not what this service is.
Is headlights and I'm coating I got to treat that like I'm doing the rest of plastics windshields.
I've got to really this isn't the time to to lightly put it on, especially after I've done
all that restorative work, light it up. It's time to let that headlight soak it in.
Yeah, it's it's a very porous plastic on most of the vehicles we're talking about.
Load it up, man. Like just just protect the headlight and
we've seen people use, you know, stacked to tray to anything they were using on the car.
And they've had years of good experience. But when you talk to them about their process,
they went through the process. I mean, it was a restoration, kind of largely what we see on
trim restorations, people are mistaking mistaken, redying trim and coating it with just
something else entirely, like throwing a dressing on it. They're like, well, you know,
I restored. It's like, no, no, man, that's a separate thing. Like restoring stuff
is not usually a 10 minute process.
You know, some of the cool parts and I want to send everybody over to the specialist group,
some of the cool parts about what's happening inside of there is, you know, we had Mark,
we had Daniel, we've had some people that give some very specific vehicles. Hey,
I'm working on this or hey, I've noticed this on these vehicles. What are you guys noticing?
You know, Mark talked about a one step with a 2021 Toyota four runner. You know, I want to just
say, Hey, this is I just see these things and you just go, Yes, you know, this is the perfect
use for the hyper clean specialist group, guys, you know, you're working on some cool cars, we see
even more cool. What was that? There was some random that you were like, Hey, you guys will
probably never see that car. A working Fisker. Yeah. Yeah, you know, many of them don't work,
but they look cool as hell. Yeah. So always you got school stuff or specifically things that you
know, hey, I'm working on this car, you know, what do you guys use pad product combination,
anything like that. It's always great to go ask that question specialist group. So Mark,
thanks so much for asking that. And what was your answer? And then we'll see everybody inside the
specialist. Yeah. So he was asking about Velo and just I said, you know, buy the orange in the blue
because you don't know how that's going to react. I would most likely say it's probably going to be
orange that works well on that Toyota. But if it's a little tougher, you know, a little you need a
little bit more cut and you like the finish of blue. So it's a good good to have both of those
because they can fit multiple cars. Cool. All right, we'll see everybody next week and inside of the
hyper clean specialist group on Facebook. See you guys
About this episode
Detailers trade hard-earned lessons on what gets skipped: door jambs, wheel barrels, windshield corners, and interior cracks—plus why “perfect” cleaning is rare. They debate chemical/process choices for carpets (neutralization vs modern enzyme approaches) and how swirl marks can signal incomplete restorative work or contamination under coatings. The wheel segment weighs whether ceramic wheel coatings are worth it, stressing realistic expectations, proper wheel prep/finish, and using spray coatings as an easier maintenance entry point. Headlight restoration advice focuses on correct sanding progression, pricing realistically vs replacement, and protecting restored lenses with PPF, coating, or re-clear.
Most detailers overlook a simple detail — yet it instantly signals a job done wrong. Imagine leaving no crumb, streak, or smudge behind—pristine every time. That's the clarity and precision every professional strives for, but it's easier said than done. Nick and Marshall dig into common mistakes that cost time, reputation, and results, revealing the overlooked areas where even top pros miss spots — like door jambs, windshield corners, or tiny swirl marks that ruin the finish.
Chapters:
[0:00] Introduction: Setting the stage for a perfect detail.
[0:29] Common Mistakes: Identifying skipped details that signal a job wasn't done right.
[1:25] Door Jambs and Crevices: The importance of thorough cleaning in hard-to-reach areas.
[3:00] Pressure Washer Tips: Choosing the right equipment for different detailing tasks.
[5:06] Chemical Neutralization: Avoiding outdated techniques and embracing modern solutions.
[7:27] Swirl Marks and Coatings: Understanding the impact of swirl marks and how to address them.
[15:16] Ceramic Coating on Wheels: Evaluating the worth and longevity of wheel coatings.
[28:51] Spray Coats and Maintenance: Practical advice for maintaining wheels and tires.
[37:05] Headlight Restoration: Techniques and considerations for effective headlight care.
[50:17] Community Insights: Engaging with the Hyper Clean Specialist Group for shared knowledge.
Conclusion: If you're serious about mastering your craft and avoiding costly oversights, this episode is your blueprint. Perfect for detailers, car enthusiasts, and shop owners eager to perfect every inch of their work and stand out in a competitive market. Tune in to hear how small details make a huge difference — because in detailing, perfection is in the details.
