Do you ever notice your vents are really dusty, or certain parts of your car interior are difficult to clean?
Or, do you notice build-up around your ride’s badging, grille or wheel lug nuts?
There are two great options here - we’ll share with you the least expensive one in this post.
One of the very best, and most simple, tools every detailer and car enthusiast should have is a set of boars hair detail brushes. Here’s a reasonably priced set to consider.
Here are six ways you can use these to more easily and effectively clean your car:
In general, have a seperate set of detail brushes for interior and exterior. You can use a sharpie to label them so you remember.
Detail brushes clean pretty easily with soap/water. Rinse thoroughly, of course.
Remember to always spray the product on the brush - never touch a dry brush to a surface.
If you are looking for an easy way to carry detail products and your brushes, this belt is one of my favorite detail accessories. You can put a couple cleaners, your brushes, and a few microfiber towels. You’ll spend less time running around for things and be able to complete the job in less time.
If you have fun detailing your own vehicles, consider checking out our detail side hustle course. We show you a proven way to easily make $900-$2k a month, and still have time for friends, family and your full-time career.
So, your sunroof or trunk seals leaked a bit and now you have a bit of mold in your car. Or, perhaps a water bottle leaked and went un-noticed for a few weeks. Or, maybe you bought a car for your kids (or to flip) and it has some green stuff inside.
Never fear, you can get the mold and smell gone - safely. You may even have everything you need to do this.
We’ll walk you through an inexpensive and practical way to safely eliminate mold - and future mold spores - in your vehicle. While there are a number of steps here, the process is pretty quick and easy.
If your car is inundated with mold, please know that your procedure to remedy this may need to be more intense. This is geared towards mild to moderate cases. If the interior is 100% coated, you may want to consider replacing some things as the mold may be hard to eliminate. We recommend talking with a professional detailer for this.
Wear a mask (ideally with a filter), nitrile gloves, eye protection, long pants and long sleeve shirt (to wash immediately after).
Put your safety gear on, then park your vehicle in a sunny spot and open all the windows and doors. Remove any items from the car – floor mats, and all the loose stuff in your doors and console.
Follow directions for your vehicle and remove your cabin filter. Don’t replace it yet, just remove it.
With your vinegar spray bottle, soak the areas where it is moldy. Also spray a few inches around them to address any spores you may not see. Allow to set for at least 10 minutes. Keep the area wet if it’s very hot outside. Vinegar is safe for leather, fabric, vinyl and other materials. Be careful if using it on alcantara or suede. For leather, you’ll want to condition it afterwards so it doesn’t dry out (step 16).
Thoroughly vacuum the entire car, as well as your floor mats that you removed.
Allow 10 minutes or more to dry.
Sprinkle borax over the previous mold spots, and let sit for 5 minutes. Then vacuum it up thoroughly.
Spray vinegar on your microfiber towel or detail brush, then apply to all of your car vents.
Using a 10:1 APC mixture, spray on your microfiber and clean your upholstery, dash, console and doors. Wipe away with another microfiber. Use detail brushes for hard to reach spots.
Your carpet floors and mats could use a good super cleaning right now. Liberally spray 4:1 APC (or your favorite carpet cleaner) on the floors and mats (one at a time). Use your drill brush to thoroughly and carefully agitate the carpets. Wipe clean and dry with a microfiber.
If you have access to a dry steam cleaner, now is a great time to use it. Steam every surface and wipe clean with a microfiber. Also, steam your vents thoroughly – this will sanitize your HVAC system. We love the Chief Steamers. If you don't want to buy one yet, you can likely rent one at your local hardware store.
Put the new cabin filter in now that your car is clean.
Lightly sprinkle baking soda on the upholstery and carpets. Place a dyer sheet on each seat and carpet area too. Let this sit overnight, ideally with the windows down in a garaged area. If you have to close the windows and leave outside – it will be okay too. Work with what you have.
Do one more vacuum of the car. If you have a leather interior you can condition it now . You may also want to use a UV-protectant interior detail spray (optional). Now, replace your belongings and floor mats.
After this process, monitor these areas to make sure the mold doesn’t come back. If it has gone to the seat cushions, you will have to have them replaced. Many auto shops can do this, without the need to replace your entire seat.
Congratulations on making your car safe, clean and refreshed!
If you have fun detailing your own vehicles, check out our detail side hustle course. We show you a proven way to easily make $900-$2k a month, and still have time for friends, family and your full-time career.
In a word - air.
As we’ve shared in some other articles, most of the damage to your car’s paint is due to improper washing or drying techniques. These produce swirls and scratches that require compound and polish to remove.
The good news is that there are a few tweaks you can make to your wash routine to enjoy more glow, and avoid this damage.
Check out the steps and options below to up your vehicle drying game!
Use a proper wash technique and be sure to rinse your car well.
If possible, get your vehicle out of direct sun.
Use a blower to dry your car (look for three options below).
If you need to use a towel, make use of a drying agent or detail spray, with a good drying towel. Always use straight lines – no wax on wax off.
Enjoy the glow!
$20-45
Low Chance of Damage
Some Additional Drying Required
There are several options here that meet most budgets and make a great difference in drying vehicles. You can use these to blow dry wheels, blow water out of difficult, and remove the bulk of water from your vehicle. You will need some additional microfiber towel drying, ideally with a drying agent or detail spray. This is not a bad way to go, as you can easily cover the tiny missed spots that can occur and inspect your paint. I recommend Chemical Guys JetSpeed or Cyclone Blower for drying, Woolly Mammoth and Microfiber Tech for towels and Griot's Speed Shine for detail spray. You only need a very light spray as you do this.
$390-450
Low Chance of Damage
No Additional Drying Required
There’s really one industry standard here, and that’s the Master Blaster. This meaty machine can completely blow dry your car. However, plan on wearing hearing protection as the air noise on your vehicle is significant. This powerful tool removes every ounce of water from your vehicle, avoiding any physical contact. It is very well built and will last a lifetime. There are two sizes, and the model with the two 4hp engines is worth it.
However, it does take about the same amount of time as the other techniques here. If you are just starting off, or looking to save time, this may not be the perfect tool for you. If you are a pro detailer and have ear protection, you may love this tool.
$35-$55
Medium Chance of Damage
No Additional Drying Required
If you are looking for similar results from the purpose-built machines, for a lot less money, you may want to consider an electric blower.
Warning – the tip of this device will scratch your paint easily, and you need to be very careful when using this. That said, with the right technique (top to bottom, and preferably blowing the garage/driveway area before washing) – this is a great way to go. You can also use this blower to quickly remove debris from “trashed” vehicle's interiors or truck beds.
This is one of those detail secrets that many shops may not admit to, but use on a regular basis. They are inexpensive enough to use for car drying only (recommended). Here are our recommended cordless and wired models. Given a choice on these two, go wired!
With one of these tools, and the simple five-step approach, you are now set-up to best dry your vehicle.
If you have fun detailing your own vehicles, consider checking out our detail side hustle course. We show you a proven way to easily make $900-$2000 a month, and still have time for friends, family and your full-time career. Get started now here!
Excellent car care does not have to be expensive. We’ll share two inexpensive products that make an amazing difference in keeping your vehicle’s paint looking great.
You may want to also check out our post on straight lines, as well as our upcoming article on drying your vehicle.
Improper washing and drying technique are the cause for 95%+ of the swirls and scratches you see on vehicle paint. The good news is that you can easily prevent this, extending the life of your paint and glow of your car or truck.
First, we’ll tell you about the two items, and then will tell you how to use them. Your total spend on all of these items will be under $35!
Item 1 – Buckets (3):
You can buy 5 gallon buckets at most hardware stores for $4 or under. We’ll explain the technique in the next section, and yes, you want to buy three. These will likely last your lifetime.
Item 2 – Grit Guards (3):
Grit guards are available at a variety of car specialty shops and online at places like Amazon. Any of them that are sized for 5-gallon buckets are perfect for you. You’ll also need three, and they will last you an incredibly long time.
Buckets – Use each bucket for a specific purpose when washing. You can fill them about half full. Here’s how to use each one:
Wash Bucket – Have car soap and water, and your grit guard, in this bucket. Soak your wash mitt in here as you get started.
Rinse Bucket – Have clear water and a grit guard in this bucket.
Wheel Bucket – Have some car soap and water in this bucket. You’ll also have your grit guard, and all of your wheel washing tools (detail brushes, wheel worm, etc.). Have a separate wheel mitt in this bucket as well. Do not use any of these tools on your car’s paint.
Grit Guards – At the bottom of each bucket, you’ll place a grit guard. These magically little items do an amazingly simple and useful job. Dirt and particles sink to the bottom of the bucket, underneath the guard. When you rinse or soap up your mitt or detail brush – none of this stuff sticks. This helps keep your wash materials debris-free – and scratch-free!
As a reminder, never scrub hard – gentle and even pressure is good. Pushing and scrubbing is too much effort, and is an indicator that you need another product (like APC) to help loosen the debris.
If you have two vehicles to wash, you can re-use these buckets as-is. The grit guards will keep the junk away from your mitts and paint. After you are done, empty them out and rinse thoroughly.
That’s it – it’s really that simple to get great results and avoid scratches and swirls.
Interested in making your nearly-learned skill profitable as a side hustle? Check out our detail side hustle course. It's a proven path to generate $900-$2000 every month. Keep your full-time job and still have time for family and friends.
Many of us remember the scene in the now classic original “Karate Kid” move. Danielsan learns to build his strength and skills by waxing Mr. Miagi’s classic cars. He has him use circles, which may be great for Karate, but are awful for your paint.
Let’s walk you through a little car paint education and then explain the best way to wash and dry your car.
Modern car paint is made-up of a very thin layer of primer, another very thin layer of color, and then a thicker layer of clear coat. To give you an idea of how thin, all three layers are just under the depth of two human hairs (60-80 microns). This approach is used on most cars post 1995.
Your car’s clear coat layer is porous – meaning it has tiny little holes in it (that we cannot see with our eyes).
Over time, little pieces of debris can get lodged in these holes. While there are techniques like clay bar and products like IronX that remove this debris, most paint surfaces still have some small debris that remains. For noting, this will even remain after washing.
Now, imagine a towel “grabbing” this debris and then scratching your paint with it. This is exactly what happens with circle motions are used when washing or drying. You’ll notice in bright light, at an angle, a pattern of circular scratches. Your paint overall will look duller, and water will appear to “stick” to it a bit more. Over time, this does damage this tiny layer of clear coat on your vehicle.
In fact, poor washing and drying techniques are known to be the cause for 90+% of scratches in your vehicles’ paint.
Want to know how to avoid this?
Here are seven pro tips to maintain a great paint finish:
If you apply this approach to your washing regimen, your paint will have less scratches and more shine.
If you need a new mantra or song, instead of “wax on wax off”, maybe change the lyrics of “blurred lines” to straight lines (hey, hey, hey, hey). It’s important to have fun.
Smile and enjoy your ride!
Interested in making your nearly-learned skill profitable as a side hustle? Check out our detail side hustle course. It's a proven path to generate $900-$2000 every month. Keep your full-time job and still have time for family and friends.
Looking for some detailer's secrets on how to make your car look great? Are the number of cleaning products a big overwhelming and not sure where to start? Or, are you on a tight budget and want to be smart with your spend?
Whatever your perspective, we have you covered.
In this article we’re going to share a detailer’s secret about cleaning products.
When detailing, cleaning is the first phase of the regimen (clean – correct – protect). It’s also what people are most familiar with from washing cars and detailing interiors.
Detail product companies do an exceptional job of producing products that get our interest, and often fill our garages, half full. The good news for you is that you can use a single product, with different dilution ratios, to meet the majority of your car cleaning needs.
The product we are talking about here is a good all-purpose cleaner (APC). With a variety of dilution levels, you can meet nearly all of your vehicle cleaning needs.
While can certainly use your favorite carpet cleaner here, APC works great on carpet. This is also one of the few vehicle surfaces you can spray the chemical directly on, agitate with a brush, then wipe up with a microfiber. You can also use this with cloth upholstery. In this case, we recommend spraying on one microfiber, then scrubbing the seats with it. Wipe up with another microfiber. Please note – if you have an alcantara interior, do not use this approach. It’s not cloth.
A lighter mix of APC works great on the rest of your vehicle’s interior. Spray the product on a microfiber or detail brush first, then apply to the surface. Remove with a different microfiber. You can apply a conditioner or UV protectant as a second step. This mix can work well to de-grease dirty windows first, followed with window cleaner afterwards
On the outside of your car, as part of a wash regimen, you can absolutely use APC. Be sure that your vehicle is wet and always use a high-quality, neutral pH balance soap as well. APC does not replace car soap. Most wheels and exhausts can be cleaned with APC. After surface is rinsed and wet, spray on the cleaner directly, agitate with a microfiber or detail brush, and rinse. Bug splatter on the front of your car can be removed by first rinsing the area, then applying. Keep the area wet and let it sit a few minutes. Gently agitate with a microfiber or detail brush. You can repeat this if necessary. Let the chemical do the work – only scrub very gently to avoid scratching your paint.
Okay, now that you have three ways to use APC, how much money will you really save?
You would spend about $40-50 for the four different types of cleaners mentioned above, and they would last you about 6 months to a year.
If you buy a gallon of APC and three spray bottles, you will spend about $35-40 and it will last you 3 years or more. It’s about six times less expensive.
While there are many great brands of APC out there, we have personal experience with Chemical Guys - also Meguiars and 3D. If you pick another brand, be sure to read directions and always start with a gentle dilution and go stronger. You can quickly damage things by using too strong of a mix.
This is the first of a short series we are publishing on car detail tips. You can find out more, and check out our detail side hustle course, at Rad Dad Rules.
Enjoy the clean!
Interested in making your nearly-learned skill profitable as a side hustle? Check out our detail side hustle course. It's a proven path to generate $900-$2000 every month. Keep your full-time job and still have time for family and friends.
Ten years ago, my finances were a mess. Due to dumb mistakes, divorce, unpaid taxes, and a down economy, my balance sheet was a disaster. As a parent, this weighed even heavier, as it’s my job to provide for their future too.
While I had a great job in technology that paid well, I had over-extended myself.
Per Bankrate, I wasn’t alone, as my fellow Americans are “carrying an average personal debt of $90,460.” While personal lines of credit have decreased, auto loans, student debt, and retail card balances are increasing with double-digit percentage rates. We all need some help here.
In addition to being smarter with money, following the guidance of Dave Ramsey and Suze Orman, I started a side hustle.
What’s a side hustle? It’s a part-time job you do, working for yourself. Instead of delivering pizzas, driving for Uber or delivering for Amazon, you do your own thing.
But, as a busy parent, how can one accomplish this? We have so many responsibilities.
Here are five steps to get you there.
The first step is to realize that thousands do this successfully, and you can find a way to make it happen. Overcoming the “I can’t” or “I’m too tired” or “it’s too hard” is the first and most important step. Do get out of this mess, you are going to have to do something different.
There are many “get rich” schemes that appear enticing at first. It’s a modern-day gold rush here – so be careful. Many of these courses will you that you can make $100k your first month if you just buy their $3000 course (along with another $2000 in other tools and courses). Be very careful with these and see if the course maker is getting rich off of your class tuition or has been truly successful at what they do. Sadly, it’s usually that they are very good at taking your money - and very few of their students have real results.
Start with what you are good at or would love to learn. We recommend considering something you already know or do, that ideally is not a conflict of interest with your current employer. However small, brainstorm ideas you can start with little or no capital and test them out. For the ones that attract buyers, refine your product or services and keep going. Remember this needs to be profitable and not just a fun hobby.
This isn’t a time to let pride win. Sometimes a side hustle is cleaning a peers’ house, car, or other “grunt” work. Focus on your result – financial freedom – and not if this is “beneath” you. You can also use this if you are tempted to increase your debt load again as a reason not to do it.
Stay with free sources as much as you can when starting. There’s a lot of great content on YouTube, Facebook and Instagram – among other sites (remember to beware of pirates and their upsells here). Your local library as a great resource in the business section. You can even consider interviewing someone who does this full-time in your area or another (noncompetitive). Search on Google and Yelp for what may exist locally. If someone is already doing it – keep going with your idea – that means there is a market for your idea!
Yes, there’s a happy ending to my story. My side hustle of choice was car detailing. Even with a busy family schedule, I was able to do this a few weekends a month, along with evenings and weekends.
For me, this was an ideal hustle as it pays immediately, provides instant gratification for customers, and was even a little fun. My self-esteem rose tremendously knowing I was taking action and not being a victim of my own bad choices.
My kid’s college funds are now solid and my debts are paid. For some of the years, this side income was considerable, and I considered making it my full-time gig.
Mistakes and difficult life circumstances will happen – it’s how we respond that defines who we are in life. Along with learning from these, look at a side hustle to help get you through!
Want to try your own detail side hustle? We're starting a class soon.
With a busy schedule, we can miss the blooms of spring and the birds singing. We often forget how fortunate we are to have this amazing planet to live on.
On the fiftieth earth day, here are 50 ideas to celebrate. We encourage you to try at least one of them.
Thank you for being on the planet with us!
Let's stay in touch -
sign up below for our newsletter!
Overwhelmed right now and not sure how you’ll make it through?
Maybe this story will help a little.
Years ago, I was flying from Hong Kong to San Francisco, returning home from a work trip.
Four hours into the nine-hour flight, the captain came on the PA system, and told us we were in for some bumps. He then ordered the flight crew to go to their seats for the remainder of the flight.
Queue the heart racing and sweaty palms!
We were then in the middle of the Pacific - no land in sight.
All of a sudden, the plane began violently bashing about in turbulence. You could hear babies crying - and some adults crying out too. Bags bounced around the overhead bins. Every so often the plane dropped altitude as it bounced around. This went on for almost two hours.
After we landed, we heard from the flight crew that this was a “9 out of 10” and that some veteran flight staff have never experienced anything like it before.
In this sort of situation, none of us (even the pilots) have complete control of the situation. Our own mortality and fragility then become painfully evident. We can either get caught up in panic and stuck in fight/flight, or do something else to respond. Either way, we will still be in the turbulence.
While I was certainly panicked, I did my best to focus on breathing slowly and saying a little mantra. This was between white knuckle grabs of my seat. Looking back, grabbing a seat at 38,000 feet for assurance is actually fairly funny. Somehow, I thought my seat would keep me safe. Of course, it was bouncing around too.
So why bring this up? This flight mirrors a lot of what we are going through in the world with coronavirus. None of us are in control and our frailty is exposed. We are all in this turbulent time together. We have to shelter at home (stay in our seats).
We can also take steps to avoid panic and stay calm.
While this pandemic will sadly take too many lives, the majority of us will make it through this (and other trials in our life).
Here are three suggestions to help you cope through this tough time:
While this current pandemic may seem like the largest thing civilization had ever faced – we have come through larger ones. To name a few – the Bubonic Plague had a 75+ million death toll, the 1889 Flu took over 1 million lives, and HIV/AIDS resulted in 36 million lives lost at its peak.
That said, it will be turbulent for sure. Many will feel fear. Many will get sick, and some will sadly lose their lives. And, all of us have to take action to shape how we respond and react.
After you have found your calm – brainstorm how you can help your loved ones and others. Now is a time to give. Just like my troubled flight many years ago, you can make it through and maybe even land better than ever before!
If you are looking for a boost to feel more vibrant, our free course may help.
Looking for some new learning material to engage your kids with, but maybe don’t know where to start?
Well, here’s a fresh idea for you – teach them neuroscience.
Wait, what? Isn’t brain science really hard, scary and difficult? Don’t I have to be a Brainiac?
Take a breath friends, it’s actually a lot of fun, and we promise to make it easy for you busy caregivers.
Actually, we’ve even found that this is fun. Parents enjoy learning about our brains too – it’s a unique way to help families connect.
Once more, you can learn this all by doing fun experiments with your kids - at home right now. No, you don’t need to read a ton or memorize things – you get to just have fun.
But first, just why should kids learn about their brains?
We asked Dr. Eric Chudler, Executive Director of the Center for Neurotechnology, for his expert opinion on this.
Based on our discussion, here are five key reasons we should teach kids brain science:
Okay, if this all makes sense to you – want to know how you can easily do this?
Dr. Chudler shares that the best way to learn neuroscience is by doing – “we are all walking, talking labs.” One of the best ways we learn is by performing the real process of science. This approach is especially useful for kids who are hands-on or visual learners. They will especially welcome this approach.
The good news is that you don’t have to make this up either. One great way to start is to make use of the resources at Neuroscience for Kids. Their email newsletter and website have practical, fun and easy experiments you can do with your kids, right now.
Doing experiments with your kids gets you all engaged in learning. Once more, many of these experiments are a break from the online-only environments we spend so much of our days in. Phew!
You may just surprise yourself and find that teaching your kids brain science may be the most fun you have this week!
You can see our full interview with Dr. Chudler below. We’d love to hear how it works out for you!