“Low pH” means the cleaner is more acidic. Detailers use acidic soaps on tough grime like brake dust because they can dissolve it better than gentler cleaners.
“pH neutral” means the soap is gentle and balanced. It’s often used for normal washes because it’s less likely to cause problems than very acidic or very harsh cleaners.
Term
contact wash soap
“Contact wash soap” is a cleaner meant to work when it touches the car’s surface. Detailers use it to help loosen dirt so it can be rinsed away more easily.
Term
dry-nade
A “dry-nade” is something you use to help dry the car with less streaking and fewer water spots. It’s basically a drying helper after you wash.
“Paint protection” refers to products that add a protective layer over the clear coat to resist contamination and make washing easier. Common examples in detailing include waxes, sealants, and ceramic coatings.
Alcantara is a soft, suede-like material used on some car interiors. It’s easy to mark, so you usually need special cleaners and careful wiping to keep it looking right.
“Paint correction” means fixing visible paint flaws like swirl marks and light scratches. Detailers usually do it by polishing the paint until it looks smooth and clear again.
Water spots are the hard mineral marks that show up after water dries. They can be tough to remove, so detailers use specific products to get rid of them without damaging the surface.
Ceramic coatings are protective layers you apply to paint. They help the car resist dirt and grime and can make the finish easier to clean, but you have to prep the paint well first.
They’re saying you don’t need a huge collection of products. Instead, use a simple step-by-step routine you can repeat so you get consistent results every time.
Decontamination is the extra cleaning step that gets rid of stubborn stuff stuck to the paint. Regular washing helps, but decontamination targets particles that cling on even after you wash.
Paint enhancement is about making the car’s paint look better. Usually it means polishing to remove light scratches and haze so the color looks richer.
A dressing is a finishing product you apply to things like tires or exterior trim. It helps them look better and can add protection so they don’t fade as fast.
Concept
remove that redundancy
They’re saying don’t buy or use several products that all do the same thing. If two products basically overlap, you’ll spend more time deciding and doing steps that don’t add much.
Glass cleaners are special cleaners made to wipe windows and windshields without leaving streaks. They’re meant to cut through oils and residue so the glass looks clear.
“Tuft of Shell” is the name of a car-care product the host uses during their cleaning routine. They’re using it to make interior surfaces look nicer and add some protection.
The “dry foam method” means you put foam on the car before it’s fully wet, so the foam can loosen dirt first. That way, you scrub less and are less likely to scratch the paint.
Term
shine the tires
“Shining the tires” means putting a product on the tires so they look clean and dark. It’s mainly for looks, and it can also help protect the rubber a bit.
Pre-soak means you spray soap on the car first before you start washing. It helps loosen the dirt so you don’t have to rub as hard, which lowers the chance of scratching the paint.
PPF is a clear protective film that you put on the paint to help prevent chips and scratches. Like ceramic coatings, it can be harmed by harsh cleaners.
A paint sealant is a protective coating you apply to your car’s paint. It helps water bead up and makes the car easier to clean, but harsh soaps can make it wear off sooner.
A foam cannon is a tool you attach to your pressure washer to spray lots of soapy foam. The foam clings to the car and helps loosen dirt so you can rinse it off more safely.
Road film is the grime that collects on your car as you drive. It’s not just dust—there are residues too—and loosening it first helps you wash without rubbing it into the paint.
A decon wash is an extra-cleaning step meant to remove stubborn stuff that normal car soap doesn’t get. It’s usually for contaminants stuck to the paint or wheels, not just surface dirt.
A water spot remover is for those hard-water marks caused by minerals. Regular car wash soap usually won’t remove them, so you need a cleaner made to dissolve the mineral deposits.
Pure Magic Cleaner is a specific car-cleaning product the host uses for tough contamination. They recommend using it only on the areas it’s meant for (like wheels and mineral stains), not everywhere.
Iron contamination is basically tiny metal particles that can get stuck to your car’s paint or wheels. They can leave ugly stains, and you usually need a special cleaner to break them down.
Iron removers are special cleaners that target metal particles stuck on the car. They often change color while working, so you can tell the product is reacting to the contamination.
Here, “acid” means the active chemical in the cleaner that reacts with stuck-on metal contamination. It helps dissolve the grime so it can be rinsed away.
“Etch” means something acidic can damage the surface so it looks dull or cloudy. If acid etches glass, you often have to polish it to make it clear again.
A clay bar is a tool you rub on paint to pull off stubborn grime that normal washing misses. It helps the paint feel smooth and makes wax or sealant stick better.
Bonding contamination is dirt or fallout that sticks to the paint and can’t be washed off easily. If the paint still feels rough after washing, it’s often because this stuff is still there.
Mechanical decontamination means you physically scrub or rub the paint to remove stuck-on contaminants. It’s different from just washing, because washing can’t always lift what’s bonded to the paint.
A micro-emulsion is a type of liquid coating where the protective stuff is made into very tiny particles. Because they’re so small, they can get into the paint’s surface texture better and last longer.
Tuffa Shell is a coating product meant to protect your car’s paint. The host says it uses a special “micro-emulsion” style so it can get into the paint’s surface better and last longer.
“Ceramic sprays” are spray coatings that are supposed to protect your paint. The host says some of them are basically normal emulsions, and the particle size affects how well they fill the paint’s surface texture.
“Picture-perfect polish” is a product used to improve the look of your car’s paint. The host says it helps remove visible blemishes like fine scratches and haze, which show up a lot on dark paint.
Spider webbing is a bunch of tiny swirl marks that look like a web when light hits the paint. It’s common on dark colors because the defects stand out more.
A one-step enhancement is when you use one polishing step to improve the paint’s look. The host says you usually don’t need several different polish stages to get good results.
A rotary is a machine polisher that spins the pad to clean and polish paint. It can cut faster than gentler polishers, so you have to match the pad and polish to avoid damaging the finish.
This means the polish’s “strength” depends on the pad you use with it. With a more aggressive pad it cuts more, and with a softer pad it finishes more gently.
“Tough as Shell” is the name of a spray-on product the host uses to protect car paint. It’s meant to make the paint look better, feel slick, and resist water so future washes are easier.
This is a spray that adds a protective coating to your paint. It helps the paint look glossier, feel slicker, and makes water bead up so washing is easier.
Water beating means water forms little droplets on the paint. If the protection is working well, the water won’t spread out as easily and washing tends to be easier.
A drying aid is something you use while drying the car to help water come off more easily. That can reduce streaks and water spots and make the process quicker.
DirectSun means the car is sitting in strong sunlight. Some cleaning or protection products can dry fast in the sun, which can make them harder to apply cleanly.
The “complete cabin cleaner” is a cleaner made specifically for the inside of the car. The host says you can dilute it and use it on many different interior materials.
Piano black is that very shiny black trim you see inside some cars. It can scratch or dull easily, so you need to be careful with what you use to clean it.
Some car seat materials are vinyl covered with a clear protective layer. Strong cleaners can damage that layer and make the seats look worse or change color.
A pH neutral cleaner is gentler on interior materials. The idea is that it’s less likely to stain, strip dyes, or damage finishes compared with stronger cleaners.
An all-purpose cleaner is a “one bottle for everything” spray. The problem is it can be too strong for delicate car surfaces, so it may leave damage or haze—especially on screens and some interior materials.
Infotainment screens are the car’s built-in display for navigation, media, and settings. They often have special anti-glare or protective coatings, so harsh chemicals (like all-purpose cleaners) can degrade the surface and cause permanent damage.
An air freshener is something you use to make a space smell better. The host is saying some people use this interior cleaner mostly because it smells great.
“All dressed up” means the interior looks “finished” after you apply a dressing product. It’s usually a diluted product that gives the surfaces a nice, clean look.
Chemical Guys is a company that makes car cleaning and detailing products. In this segment, the host mentions their tire shine and how it can change the tire’s color after you apply it.
Decontamination is the step where you remove stubborn stuff on your car’s paint that regular washing can’t lift. It helps the paint look smoother and cleaner before you polish or protect it.
A tar remover is a product made to break down sticky road tar that can stick to your car’s paint. The host is saying tar is a special problem—if you don’t have it, you don’t need a tar-specific product.
This is a cleaner meant for carpets and fabric seats, usually used with a machine that scrubs and then sucks the dirty water back out. The point is you only need it when the interior is truly dirty.
A ceramic coating is a protective layer you apply to paint so it repels water and stays cleaner longer. “Wipe-on” means you spread it on by hand, and the host is saying you don’t need it unless you want that specific protection.
Foaming is when you cover the car with a thick soap layer before you scrub. It helps loosen dirt so you do less rubbing on the paint.
LIVE
The detailing industry has convinced people that they need a separate product for just
about every single part of the car.
One for wheels, one for tires, one for bugs, two or three just to wash your car because
you need a low pH soap, you need a high pH soap, and then you need a pH neutral soap,
and then you might need a contact wash soap, and then you need something for drying, a
dry-nade, you need a separate glass cleaner, one for trim, a couple for the interior, one
for leather, one for carpets, one for Alcantara, one for wood grain, one for paint protection,
one for water spots, maybe three for paint correction, one, you know, eight different
ceramic coatings, and before you know it, you have hundreds and hundreds of bottles
on your shelf, and then you don't even know what to use because it's like, okay, I got
all this stuff, but now what do I use?
And then just before that happens, or just while that's happening, a new product comes
out that is getting all hyped up and talked about by every person, and then you feel like
you need to get that new one, right?
And so I think we have this misconception that more products mean a better result, or
the more products that you have, the better of a detailer you are, the more professional
you are, but I think this is the wrong approach, and I think sometimes the more products we
have, the more confusion we have, and then the less we actually detail, the less we actually
even do anything, and the honest thing is that a lot of these products overlap.
I talked about them, wheels and tires, a bunch for washing, polishing, and so
I think the problem is that we think that a product, the next product is going to make
us a better, a better detailer and get us better results, but really what we need is
a better system.
We need a simplified system so that it is repeatable and so that we could work on our
skill set as a detailer.
I see this both with beginners that are just kind of getting into the hobby of car detailing,
and then I also see it with pros that are just getting into the business side of detailing.
They think, oh, if I just get this next iron remover, I'm going to be that much better
at detailing, then I'm going to get that many more customers.
If I just get this next thing, I'll be at the next level.
What they're not realizing, from the pro side at least, is that you probably already have
the skill set to go out detail, make money detailing.
You do not need another chemical, you do not need another tool.
The tool that you really need if you're running a business is how do you get more customers,
because the chances are you already know way more than the customer does about detailing.
You already know way more of what to expect out of detailing than they do.
The skills that you need is how do you communicate with a customer?
How do you get more customers?
If you're getting to this as a hobby, what you don't need is more chemicals.
You just need more experience of doing a car, detailing a car.
The more chemicals that you have, the more confusion you're going to have about what to use,
but then also it's going to prohibit you from getting a repeatable system down
so that if you do run into errors, you have a slimmed down version of things that you can go
through to figure out where you're making that error.
If you realize that in washing your car, you start to realize some spider webbing or some
scratching, if you have 15 different soaps that you're using and five different tools that you're
using, it's going to take you a while to narrow down and figure out where your issues are.
But if you have one soap, no buckets, and maybe a couple brushes or a couple towels,
you can figure out very quickly what is wrong in your process and then correct it from there.
Then maybe you introduce a different chemical.
Hey, this pH neutral soap isn't working for me.
So let me try a different soap.
Let me try this super soap and see how much better it actually is.
So I think most people don't need more products.
You need a different or a better system, something that is repeatable,
something that you can understand, something that you can teach someone else.
And I think that's where I started to really hone this into for myself when I was running
my mobile detailing business and I was looking to hire people.
When I was looking to hire people, I was looking to systematize and teach what I was already doing.
And what I realized through that is that the less products you have, the more teachable it is.
And the easier it is to understand the things that you're trying to teach.
And then I'm even learning that now with having my own product brand and then teaching,
my kids are interested in it, teaching my siblings on how to wash their car properly,
how to maintain their car.
And so in teaching, you also learn a lot.
And so what I'm learning a lot is simple is better, foaming a dry car, letting the soap do the work,
rinsing it off, and then foaming again for a contact wash.
Much safer, better result, tough as shell, easy to use, one or two sprays per panel.
Like the things that I always, always repeat because I repeat them because I'm trying to
learn how to teach it, but also ingrain it into everyone else's brain of like, this is how you
create a safe, simple method to get maximum results, right?
And so though I'm talking about seven chemicals today, something that I just want to clarify,
it's not seven total tools.
So we'll still need microfiber towels, we'll still need brushes, maybe some
applicators, maybe a pressure washer, maybe not, maybe a foam cannon, maybe not, maybe a vacuum,
probably a vacuum, but sprayers, common sense, kind of all the things, I will talk about the
seven chemicals because tools could be a whole another video.
And I've talked about some of those before, but that could be honestly a whole another video.
And a lot of that has to do with preference as well.
I mean, geez, you could take pressure washers, for example, and then you could do a whole episode
just on pressure washers, right?
And so in a lot of that, the tools become kind of a preference.
They fall into those three different categories of like, must have, nice to have, don't really need,
right?
And so that could be a whole another podcast episode.
But yeah, we're just going to be talking about chemicals today, seven chemicals
that I think you need to detail a car.
And I also want to clarify too that I think a lot of times like when you have a minimalist setup,
people think that it's either lazy or that you're not professional.
Fewer products does not mean any of that.
I actually think the opposite.
The more the leaner you run, the more professional you are.
The simpler you run, the more professional you are and the better results that you're actually
going to get.
So I think it's the opposite of what we actually think.
We think having, you know, a wall behind me full of chemicals is a good thing.
I actually look at it as like, eh, maybe not a good thing.
Unless, of course, you're doing product testing.
Of course, another caveat, another asterisk would be like, you just enjoy trying new products,
right?
That's a whole another thing that is a hobby within the hobby of like trying new stuff.
In fact, I saw a couple of products online today that I want to try, right?
So the hobby of product testing, the hobby of trying the latest and greatest is a hobby
within the hobby, which I'm all for, right?
But if you're just new to this, you're still kind of getting down your methods down,
you're trying to figure it out.
You're new to the hobby.
The hobby is becoming a business, something like that.
This is really what this episode is for.
And just to give you the confidence that, again, minimalist detailing does not mean
you are a subpar detailer.
It does not mean that you are less professional just because your setup doesn't look like
something that could be in a magazine does not mean you're less of a professional.
There are a whole host of other ways that you are professional, how you answer your phone,
how you interact with customers, how you get customers, what your website looks like.
There's a whole host of other things that we could discuss that also make you professional.
Having 8000000 bottles in your van is not one of those things, okay?
So when I think about a minimalist setup, what I'm thinking about, I simplify the whole process.
That's where I kind of start and then I work into it.
So I think in sections of what do I need to do to accomplish what I'm trying to accomplish.
It's the same way I develop products.
What am I trying to accomplish?
What are the goals?
What are the end results that I need?
And then work backwards from there.
So I need to wash the car.
I need to do some cleaning.
I probably need to decontaminate the car.
I might need to do some paint enhancement.
I need to do some interior cleaning.
I need to do some paint protection.
And then, of course, cherry on top stuff, like I need the final details, right?
That's where the dressing comes in.
So the way I look at it is every product needs a clear purpose
and then needs to serve multiple uses.
So if there's two similar products that can do similar things,
think wheels and tires, I'm only going to pick one.
Ask yourself, do you really need both, right?
The goal is to really remove that redundancy,
because in that redundancy is the confusion, is the wasted time.
So each product really needs to earn its place.
This is no different than how I think about launching a new product for my product line
is that I don't want redundancy.
The subject of glass cleaners has gotten brought up lately by a few of you.
And so the funny thing about that is I started to think shoot,
because I think the world's best glass cleaner is just stilled or deionized water, nothing else.
So I would never launch a glass cleaner, right?
There would never be a Jimbo's glass cleaner.
And so what I started to think is maybe I messed up a little bit.
Maybe from a profitability standpoint,
I should have just started bottling purple deionized water or something like that
and then selling it as the world's best glass cleaner.
But the problem with that is that it only serves one purpose.
And also it kind of goes against what my ethos is for my brand.
I feel like I'd be taking advantage of people, but I don't know, right?
And so again, it needs to solve a real problem in my lineup, in how I detail cars.
And again, I've just found that simplifying everything makes everything more enjoyable
because you don't feel overwhelmed.
You don't feel like you can't do the task, like you can't complete it.
And so the whole goal of my product line, the whole goal of my detailing style, I guess,
is to simplify everything.
And I think that's what makes detailing interesting and fun.
And also super competitive is that everyone has a different style.
And that's really when I'm realizing when I watch other people's YouTube videos,
when I watch talk to other people or watch their videos online.
And whereas I used to get very frustrated with like, man, that guy's doing it wrong.
Like that's not how you do it.
What I've really started to realize is like everyone just has a different style
and it doesn't make it right or wrong, though it does in my opinion, right?
But it doesn't make their process right or wrong.
That is just their style of detailing.
And though I feel like some people in doing that rip other people off,
it is at least their style, right?
And that's what I think makes this community, makes this industry so
interesting, I guess I'll say, is that everyone has a different style.
And there are little tips and tricks that we can learn from each other, right?
But mine just happens to be, how do I simplify this?
How do I get the best result possible in as few steps as possible?
How do I still enjoy my life, my time, my everything while having a clean car, right?
And so, you know, went to the real life example of this is like,
I went to the beach of the mountains all weekend, right?
With my kids and it's like my car's thrashed, at least to me.
It's like, okay, how do I reset it, get it back to how I like my car to be?
Because I like, I'm unrealistic.
I realize I'm unrealistic when it comes to my car.
I want it as clean as possible all the time.
And so after I record this podcast, I'm literally going to go out.
I'm going to use the complete cabin cleaner to wipe down the whole interior of my car.
I'm going to vacuum it.
And then I'm going to hit the whole thing with Tuft of Shell on the inside, right?
And so I'll actually probably use all dressed up and I'll talk about it later.
But I'm going off on a bit of a tangent here, but I'll use all dressed up in the cup holders
because it makes the cup holders look really good.
Obviously, I'm going to shine the tires.
Obviously, I'm going to use my DNI's water as a glass cleaner.
I'm going to do the dry foam method where I foam a dry car, wash it.
I'm going to foam it again, do a contact wash, rinse it, use Tuft of Shell again, right?
So anyway, tangent.
But the first product that I would pick is obviously the Super Soapers.
So instead of having a low pH, high pH, pH neutral soap, I have one soap.
Because what it does, you can pre-soak the car, you could foam a dry car,
you could do a contact wash, you could do a maintenance wash without any issue.
It's not going to dry out your plastics.
It's not going to damage your ceramic coating.
It's not going to damage your PPF.
It's not going to damage your paint sealant.
It's not going to strip your car.
And because I think this is where the most amount of damage happens is in the wash process.
And so what I've tried to do is make the safest, most effective car wash soap possible, okay?
And so we need to remove the dirt safely.
And that's where pre-soaking, whether you're using a pump sprayer with the Super Soapers
or you're using a foam cannon and foaming a dry car.
This is without a doubt the safest way to wash your car, begin to remove the dirt,
remove that bond from the road film, and you're not spraying on harsh chemicals
that are going to potentially damage the soft sensitive surfaces of your car,
whether that's now or down the line.
And I think when I did a podcast episode or video recently about the high pH,
low pH or low pH, high pH wash systems, those are meant for industrial applications,
not your car, right?
And so if you want to take an industrial application to your car,
again, the materials are just much different on a car than they are in an industrial setting,
just know that you might be creating unnecessary damage.
And that is something that I want to avoid, right?
And so that's why I pick the Super Soapers.
And so yeah, the second product that I'm going to pick is Pure Magic Cleaner
because it is dual purpose.
I can actually mix a little bit in to my foam cannon with the Super Soapers
if I'm doing kind of like a decon wash.
It is the best way to do like a no touch way to clean your rims,
especially the inner barrels of your rims if you're struggling with that.
Pure Magic Cleaner is great for that.
It's also great as a water spot remover.
And so again, it has dual purpose.
It's the heavy hitter.
It's the product that it actually helps with with iron contamination
and contamination in the paint.
The active ingredient in all fallout and iron removers
that is actually removing the embedded contaminants is an acid.
Yes, you have the iron, you know, the stuff that's turning purple
and that is reacting to the iron, but it's actually the acid in the product
that is removing that contamination from the painted surface.
So I think of Pure Magic Cleaner as like the product for the nasty stuff, right?
The wheels and tires, the hard water spots, heavy road film
on the bottom panels of the car, stuff like that, right?
You don't want to let it dry.
You do not want to use Pure Magic Cleaner just blindly on all surfaces.
Please do not just spray it all over your windows.
Do not just spray it blindly.
It is not an all purpose cleaner.
It is a targeted, heavy hitting cleaner, strategic cleaner.
Okay. So yeah, don't just spray it blindly.
Please, it can etch.
Acid can etch glass specifically, and then you will need to polish that out separately.
So be very careful with that.
The third product I'm going to use is a clay bar or clay mitt, clay towel, clay disc,
just clay.
Clay that removes bonding contamination, something that, you know,
you're not going to be able to remove just by simply washing the car.
And again, I don't care, and it doesn't matter if you use a traditional clay bar,
a clay towel, clay mitt.
The point is mechanical decontamination, right?
Car washing will remove the loose dirt, but it does not remove
that bonded contamination, the stuff that's actually embedded into the paint.
So after washing your car, if the paint still feels rough,
that's bonding contamination.
The clay will remove that, the contamination that's stuck in the pores of the paint.
So this will help, obviously, make your paint feel smoother.
Some people will skip the steps, some people don't actually need this step,
but it, when you get to the applying, the protection of the car,
if you remove these bonding contaminants, it will make that protection stick better, right?
So washing cleans the surface, clay removes what's stuck in the surface,
and then you protect it, you protect the paint so that that stuff cannot come back
into those pores of the paint.
Think of it as your car surface is a porous surface.
There's stuff that goes into the pores of the paint.
The clay goes into the pores of the paint and extracts it from the pores of the paint,
and then you add your paint protection, which goes in and then fills those pores of the paint.
This is, and this is going to be another tangent,
but this is where a micro-emulsion formula like Tuffa Shell, micro-emulsion, not just emulsion,
a lot of other ceramic sprays and paint protection products are just an emulsion formula.
So they have bigger particle size, so the pores of the paint are all different sizes,
and when you have big particles, they don't fit necessarily into those smaller pores of the paint.
That is where Tuffa Shell is a micro-emulsion, so it has really micro, tiny,
protector polymers, I guess, and they fill all the pores of the paint and bond really,
really well, and so that's why Tuffa Shell lasts a lot longer than a lot of other ceramic sprays
that are just emulsion formulas. And so, again, a little bit of a tangent, but you want to clay
to remove all the contaminants out of those pores of the paint and then refill in those
pores of the paint with the best protection that you can, right? So the fourth product is going
to be the picture-perfect polish. This is not going to be, same with the clay, it's not a product
that you need all the time, but it's, you know, sometimes, and in most cases, people want to do
a paint enhancement or some sort of paint correction, and so, you know, this is where, again,
washing the car, cleans the car, claying, smooths out the car, cleans out those pores, and then
polishing can really improve the appearance of the paint by removing scratches, paint defects,
micro-marring, spider webbing, things like that, right? This is obviously especially important on
black or dark color cars where you can see a lot of that stuff, and that's why it made the lineup,
because even if you do a one-step enhancement on the car, a dark color car, it's going to make a
product, one liquid, not seventeen. I do not believe that you need three different products
for just a paint enhancement. You don't need a heavy cut compound, a medium cut, and then a
final polish, and then a one-step liquid, right? You need 11 literally the picture-perfect
polish, and that's it. So, again, I think it is one of the most useful products in my line,
because it's pad-dependent. So, if you use a heavy cut, a microfiber pad, a wool pad on a rotary,
it will work like a heavy cut compound. If you use it with a super soft foam finishing pad,
it will work like a finishing pad. It is honestly the most versatile product in my line
when it comes to paint correction, right? So, the industry standard has kind of gone down
to two liquids for paint correction, like a heavy cut, and kind of like a finish, final cut, I guess.
I'm saying I think you only need one. You need a very, very good polish that acts like a compound
when you need it to, and a polish when you need it to, depending upon your pad, hence the name
pad-dependent polish, right? But yeah, that'd be my fourth one. The fifth one is Tough as Shell.
This is the easiest to use ceramic spray. This is the paint protection.
Again, we have, once the car is clean with the wash, smooth with the paint or with the clay,
polished, if you need to, you need to protect the paint. So, this is a ceramic spray protection
that is going to give a ton of gloss, slickness, water beating. You could use it as
a drying aid if you wanted to do it that way. It's a maintenance product and a standalone
protection product, and so it's the best way to protect your paint in the easiest manner possible,
right? You did all that other work, but the paint is exposed, the pores are exposed,
and you need something to protect it. So, protection makes what you did, all the work that you did
before the protection, last much longer, and again, it's going to add slickness. It's going to give
you that nice, tight, round water beating behavior. It's going to make the next car wash even easier,
and again, it is simple, simple, simple to use. You can use it in DirectSun. You can use it again
as a maintenance product or as a standalone product. You do not need to be intimidated
by Tough as Shell. Again, and two, it's going to be, it's super, super durable. I have people claiming
that it's lasting way longer than I say, but that's my MO. Again, I under promise over delivers,
so I say three to six months. There are people that claim they're getting 12 months out of a
single application of Tough as Shell. You can check the reviews, right? But people get, I think,
obsessed over durability claims. I am in that camp. I love durability claims, but I think usability
matters just as much. So a product that can, we've seen it. We've seen it with a ton of other products.
They last a very long time, but they are incredibly difficult to use, and they're annoying to use,
especially in DirectSun on dark color cars, right? So usability and durability, that's kind of a balance
that I think I nailed with Tough as Shell. It is so easy to use. It applies like a detail spray
and lasts like a very stout sealant. So when I see people wax on, wax off, and using
colonite 845 or something like that, and it just simply does not last, I ask myself,
why are we doing that? Why are you doing that? Then I remind myself, again,
everyone has a different style. My style is I want something simple. It's easy to apply.
I will use it often, and it's super durable. That's what I want. So that's not for everyone,
but if that's for you, Tough as Shell is going to be amazing. When it comes to the interior,
I kind of teased at this earlier, but the sixth product is going to be the complete cabin cleaner,
especially if you buy it in the gallon. It could be dilutable literally 100 different ways.
And I think your interior deserves a dedicated cleaner. This is where my style is not to use
an all-purpose cleaner. I traditionally in the past have used an all-purpose cleaner
for everything on the interior, hence the name all-purpose cleaner.
But what I started to realize is that sometimes you get weird things happening with an all-purpose
cleaner, tan carpets turning brown, cleaning, but then being dirty looking, scratching piano black
surfaces, being too aggressive and removing the dye from leather seats or clear coated vinyl seats,
breaking down materials on the inside of the car unnecessarily. That is why I developed a
pH neutral interior cleaner in the complete cabin cleaner. You can do dashboards, door panels,
steering wheels, center console, cup holder, seats, carpets, vinyl leather, alcantara, light
touch-ups if you dilute it correctly. You can use it as a maintenance cleaner every week or every
day if you wanted to, or you can clean a really nasty interior as well. And again, I just do not
want to use harsh all-purpose cleaners on everything. I've done it. I did it for a very,
very long time. I dealt with caustic cleaners on the interior where you're literally coughing as you
are trying to clean the interior. And I just think there's better technology now. There's better
chemistry now. There's better ways to do it. You don't need to do that to yourself, to the people
that are going to be in the car after you. And again, I've seen my fair share of cleaning the
steering wheel over and with something like an all-purpose cleaner, and you are
definitely breaking down the material on that car. You're definitely breaking down the material
on every surface of the car if you do that. So again, then you talk about infotainment screens
that are only getting bigger. You definitely don't want an all-purpose cleaner on an infotainment
screen. You do not want to take that risk. If you're a pro-detailer damaging the customers,
you know, infotainment screen, and if it's your own car and you're doing this as a hobby,
why take the risk? That's what I keep asking myself over and over and over. It's like,
why take the risk? Why are we rotary polishing? Why are we taking that risk? You don't need to
take the risk. The outcome is not that much significantly better for the risk, right? And
the same is true with the interior of the car. You do not need an all-purpose cleaner on the
interior of your car. It's way too aggressive. The goal is to get clean, fresh, factory looking
finish on the inside of your car. And by the way, the complete cabin cleaner, the number one compliment
I get about it is the smell. Everyone loves the scent. In fact, people love the scent so much
they are buying the complete cabin cleaner as just an air freshener on the inside of the car,
which is crazy, but they love the scent. It smells the best. I did extensive research,
extensive testing on interior scents. It's a very risky proposition because scents are so sensitive
to people. In fact, most of my products are scentless or have a very, very small scent. The
complete cabin cleaner, I felt like I nailed it with the scent and I went with my gut on that.
Turns out people absolutely love it. And so if nothing else, try the complete cabin cleaner
because the scents are very, very good. So the final product, I think the cherry on top, the
icing on top is all dressed up. I love shiny tires. Some people like matte tires. I like to use
all dressed up on the interior. Again, a highly dilutable dressing. Again, I mentioned it earlier
with doing it in the cup holders because I think if you dilute all dressed up like one-to-one
and you use it on nothing else on the interior except inside the cup holders to dress those.
And then on the plastic door seal, right when you're getting in, those are two areas of the car
that putting a dressing on just make them look so much more dialed in and finished. I've seen a few
people talking about plastic and the cup holders looking dried out, especially after you steam or
an all-purpose cleaner. And the cup holders just look kind of grimy even though they're still clean.
Putting a little bit of dressing in there and wiping it down makes them look perfect. Again,
I'm telling you, try it out. A little bit of tire dressing, a little bit of all dressed up
in the cup holders is chef's kiss, right? Dilute it down so it's not super shiny or apply it and
then after you apply it in, it soaks in, take a dry towel and kind of level it out. But I'm telling
you, it's a total game changer. It takes the detail from a level, you know, six or seven
to a level 10, right? And so do that. And of course, you could use it on the exterior of faded
trim. You could use it on your tires. If you have matte black rims that are looking dingy because
you've cleaned them, you could put all dressed up directly on the rim, spray it on, level it in
with the towel and it will look amazing. It's not going to sling down the side of your car.
Again, the goal is clean, dark, rich and for me, shiny tires, right? So
I like shiny tires. I just really do. And also another thing that's important with this is
if you're doing in a wet climate or a rainy climate or just using a tire shine during the
wintertime, I've used a lot of tire shine, specifically chemical guys ones that my tires
look brown after if I apply the dressing and then say it rains and I'm going through a bunch of
water, my tires turn brown. I think the tires actually look worse after a rainstorm with all
dressed up. You're not going to have that. The the dressing is just going to slowly wear away
and your tire will look matte black factory finish, right? It will not look worse. It also
sticks really good. So if you do use all dressed up on your tires, expect a couple weeks worth of
tire shine depending upon your climate. But again, I think it's the cherry on top. I think you can
wash your car. You can deconaminate it. You could protect it. You can, you know, polish it, do all
the things. But if you have kind of dull looking tires, I think you missed the mark and that's
my style. I don't want greasy, but I want dark shiny chef's kiss tires. So I think addressing
should finish the detail. And I think if you don't do it, your car doesn't look detailed, right?
So so those are the seven that I would do. So we have the Super Soap or Pure Magic Cleaner,
all dressed up, the complete cabin cleaner and a tough shell for paint protection. But what
products did I not make the list when I was thinking about this? Obviously, I talked about it,
a dedicated glass cleaner, a tar remover. If you're dealing with heavy tar, the best cleaner is just
gasoline. Just use gasoline and forget about it. Tar removers just don't work. I talked about it too,
but I don't, I didn't mention a dedicated iron remover, a carpet extractor chemical, that's
where the stuff gets crazy, a leather coating I didn't talk about, a fabric protectant I didn't
talk about, a wipe on true ceramic coating I didn't talk about. We don't need a heavy compound.
We don't need a multi step polishing system. We don't need a dedicated bug remover. Okay.
I'm not saying that these products are useless and that you shouldn't ever use them. I'm saying
they're specialty products used for specialty problems. And until you really come across those
problems, I don't think you need it. But again, even if a car has heavy tar, you use gasoline,
you don't need a tar remover. If it has really heavy iron contamination, I guess you could use an
iron remover. Glass, you just are never going to need like a foaming glass cleaner. You just don't.
But again, specialty products for specialty problems, most cars and most people just need a very,
very smart system. And once you have your core system down, which I think these seven products
accomplish, once you have this core system down, then you can add in specialty products as you need
them, not the other way around. So these are the seven products that I personally use on a day-to-day
basis for maintenance in cars and detailing cars. And that is my personal lineup. Right. So again,
the super super, because you could use it as a pre soak of foaming, a maintenance wash,
you could even use it as a clay lube, because I like to clay as I foam the car, like on that
second foam, pure magic cleaner, your heavy hitter for cleaning, water spots, remover, clay bar,
picture perfect polish for the paint enhancement and the polishing process,
toughest shell for the paint protection, complete cabin cleaner for interior cleaning,
and all dressed up to final touch everything and make it look great. So let me know in the
comments, which one of these products you use. And if you could only pick seven products that
I miss anything, should I have extended this out to maybe 10, right? But honestly, you probably
don't need more products. You just need a better system. So picking the proper products will get
you that better system. So of course, I will link everything below. Thank you for the support for
my product line. I hope I'm doing a good job. I hope you guys are enjoying it. And I hope you
guys enjoyed that one. With that, I'll catch you on the next one. See you
About this episode
The Auto Detailing Podcast argues that the detailing industry sells “a separate product for just about every single part of the car,” but better results come from a repeatable system with fewer chemicals. The host frames the routine around “seven chemicals” (not seven tools), using a foam-first wash, mechanical decontamination, and a goal-driven workflow. They also stress product purpose, avoid redundancy and harsh all-purpose cleaners, and recommend pH-neutral interior cleaning plus simple exterior protection like Tough as Shell.
A lot of people think they need 25 or 30 different products just to properly detail one car. Wheel cleaner, tire cleaner, bug remover, foam soap, contact wash soap, drying aid, glass cleaner, trim dressing, interior cleaner, leather cleaner, polish, ceramic spray, water spot remover, and the list keeps going.
But do you really need all of that?
In this podcast-style video, I break down the 7 products I would use to fully detail most cars. This includes washing, heavy cleaning, decontamination, polishing, protection, interior cleaning, tires, trim, and final finishing.
The goal is not to say specialty products are useless. They absolutely have their place. But most people do not need every specialty product every single time. Most people need a better system.
The 7 products:
The Super Soaper — safe washing, pre-soaking, foaming, and contact washing
Pure Magic Cleaner — wheels, tires, grime, lower panels, and hard water spot help
Clay bar or clay mitt — bonded contamination removal
Picture Perfect Polish — gloss, clarity, and paint enhancement
Tough As Shell — ceramic spray protection
Complete Cabin Cleaner — interior cleaning
All Dressed Up — tires, trim, rubber, plastics, and final finish
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