Stain Removal

There are a plethora of stain remover products on the market today. At times these products promise magical stain removing results, but in reality they are very harsh chemicals not only eating away at stains, but also your vehicle’s fabric and upholstery. A lot of times they don’t do an effective job at removing the stain altogether, this leaves consumers unsatisfied.

Luckily many people call us at CarNewba Detailing to perform our professional stain removal process. We don’t use harsh chemicals to remove stains in fabric. We use a blend of biodegradable stain removers and specialized cleaners along with professional steam cleaners. The gentle stain remover loosens the bonded stain from the fabric while the cleaners and steam disinfect and kill bacteria in the given area. It’s the combination of gentle stain removers, cleaners, steam, and professional hands with years of experience that deliver satisfactory results.

People love shiny things! Shiny rocks, shiny metals, and especially shiny cars. But how do we achieve that glass look we all desire? The answer is simple, but the process is complex. The only way to gain true shine for your vehicles paint is to gain perfect clarity and a scratch free surface! The GMC to the right is a perfect example of shine and clarity gained through proper paint correction. Check out our in depth article on how to polish your car, and learn how to do it yourself! 

Thank you so much for reading! If you enjoy reading about how to protect your investments stay tuned! 

The notorious automatic car wash! You can find them at almost every gas station nowadays, but should you be using them to wash your vehicle?

As a detailer, and one who really cares for his clients and there vehicles, I believe that there is no good reason to use and automatic car wash. In fact, I myself and my customers stay away from them at all cost! Lets go over the main reasons why detailers and professionals alike avoid automatic car washes and recommend their clients to do so as well.

1) Harmful Acidic Cleaners-

Automatic car washes use very very VERY harmful acidic cleaners, such as Hydrofluoric Acidand many others. Hydrofluoric acid is one of the strongest and most harmful inorganic acids. When used full strength it can corrode glass, paint, plastics, and a plethora of other materials on a your vehicle. To give you an even better idea of how strong and dangerous this acid is, its the same acid used in the popular hit TV show Breaking Bad in order to dissolve bodies. This type of acidic cleaner is mainly found in touch-less washes. There is no physical contact between the wash and your vehicle in order to agitate dirt, salt, and other types of contaminants. So in attempt to remove and break down such contaminants, touch-less automatic washes use harsh cleaners like Hydrofluoric acid. The results are weakened waxes, sealants, clear coats, plastics, and many other surfaces. The use of this acid became so popular in the automatic car wash industry that the Center for Disease Control issued a written warning to all car washes.

2) Scratches, and lots of them-

We all remember the old automatic car washes that used hard bristle brushes, well for the most part those are a thing of the past. They have been replaced with ether touch-less car washes or mitter curtain car washes. Mitter curtains are produced using a “softer”cloth like material. They drag off the surface of your vehicle in order to remove dirt. That sounds good and all... but hundreds of vehicles are being serviced 24/7. So unless your the first one on a fresh set of mitter curtains, you can be assured that you are driving through wet sand paper.

3) Water Spots & Hand Drying-

And the damage does not stop during the washing process, your car is being damaged while being dried as well. At the end of your automatic car wash you vehicle receives a cool, but useless, breeze from industrial blowers. All this does is move water from one spot of your vehicle to another, and that is why vehicles come out looking like the one above. Water spots are not easy to remove once dried, they sometimes need to be removed by polishing the effected area. To solve this problem automatic car washes started implementing free hand drying. Sound like a great idea until you figure out that low quality towels are being used and the cleanliness of the towels is very questionable.

4) Profit is Main Priority

Another thing you have to remember is that an automatic car washes main priority is profit and speed. These two characteristics never result in quality at the end of the day. Automatic washes use, cheap products, tools, and even water. Yes even the water used in automatic car washes is typically low quality, and full of mineral deposits. All of this combined gives you end result that less then desired and a waste of money.

5) Water Waste & Bad For Our Environment-

A typical automatic car wash uses repulsive amounts of water, upwards of 100 gallons! You only need 10 to 15 gallons of water to properly wash a vehicle like a midsize SUV. When you put the hundreds of gallons wasted along side the harmful chemicals, you start to understand why automatic car washes are not only bad for your vehicle but also bad to our environment. 

 In the world of detailing there are many options for automotive protection. The three most popular are waxes, sealants, and coatings. In this article we will be going over what each consists of, the benefits, and negatives associated with each, and application of each type of protection. 

What Are Car Waxes Made Of ?

• Car wax usually consists of natural waxes such as beeswax and carnauba wax. The wax is mixed with solvents, solutions, and oils in order to change the consistency of the wax and make it easier to apply. Quality wax goes on smooth and provides the vehicle UV protection and rich gloss.

What Are Automotive Sealants Made Of?

• Automotive sealants are made up of synthetic ingredients and polymers. The polymers are thousands of synthetic particles that bond together to your vehicles paint providing a barrier from its surrounding elements.

What Are Automotive Coatings Made Of?

• Most automotive coatings are acrylic resin or quartz based, this gives coatings a much harder, thicker layer of protection.

Pros Of Car Wax: 

• Ease of use: Depending on brand and quality of the wax, they are easy to apply on the surface of the paint and require a short amount of time to haze. Removal is also easy. Just buff the surface lightly until the haze is gone and your all set.
• Beautiful depth of shine: Natural waxes such as carnauba wax fills in paint scratches and defects leaving a flat surface allowing light to reflect off your paint giving it that wet glossy look.
• Water Beading: Car wax delivers some of the best water beading for vehicles. The natural oils and wax pools up the water in multiple isolated spots allowing it to fall off easily. This pooling of water is referred to as water beading. This effect is caused by the high surface tension from the wax.  

Cons Of Car Wax:

• Amount of protection: When you apply a automotive wax to the surface of your vehicle, only a thin layer attaches itself to the paint. This layer is so thin that it has minimal protection for things such as scratches.
• Length of protection: Very short for Automotive waxes, higher quality waxes such as P21’s, Pinnacle, & Meguiars can last up to 6 weeks. But in just a few weeks you can see a decrease in performance of protection, water beading, and gloss. Length of protection of your vehicle with automotive wax can also be affected by your climate and temperature.  

Pros Of Car Sealants:

• Glass like Shine: The majority of sealants have no fillers like automotive waxes. So for the most part they don’t provide rich depth and gloss. But what they lack in depth they replace in shine.
• Great Durability: Unlike automotive wax, a sealants main selling point is its durability. On average you will find sealants lasting up to 6 months but higher quality paint sealants such as Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze or Meguiars Ultimate Fast Finish can last up to 12 months. Because sealants consist of synthetic polymers, climate and temperature changes have less of a negative effect compared to natural automotive wax.  
• Ease of Use: Sealants also provide an easy user experience, sometimes even better than waxes. Sealants are found in liquid form and sometimes aerosol, and depending on the sealant some can be applied in direct sunlight.  
• Application Options: Automotive sealants can be found for multiple applications and areas on the vehicle. For example windows, tires, and even leather have dedicated sealants from multiple reputable brands in the industry. This gives your vehicle complete protection on all levels for months on end.

Cons Of Car Sealants:

• Curing Time: Because sealants mainly consist of synthetic polymers that have to bond to the paints surface, they also require a slight curing time after application. This curing time differs from brand to brand. On average we find it takes anywhere from a few hours to a day for the sealant to properly cure and provide maximum performance.
• Less Gloss & Fill: Sealants have no natural waxes to fill the small and microscopic scratches and defects found in paint, in turn they have substantially less luster and gloss. This is even more noticeable in darker colored cars. To counter this issue, many professionals and automotive enthusiasts apply a layer of wax after the sealant has finished curing.

Pros Of Car Coatings: 

• Amazing protection: Unlike waxes and even some sealants automotive paint coatings provide amazing protection because of their substantial thickness. And depending on coating type, the hardness of this layer of protection can even be measured to resist levels of scratches.
• Unmatched Durability & Length of protection: Coatings durability is not measured in months, but rather in years. Some coatings are labeled as permanent coatings because of the years of protection they provide to the vehicles paint.
• Extreme gloss & shine: Because coatings provide a layer of earth acrylic or quartz based costing it provides arguably the best shine and gloss in paint protection.
• Amazing Hydrophobic properties: Paint coatings provide even better hydrophobic properties then waxes. Water and contaminants bead off the paint with ease, this provides the vehicle self cleaning properties which also makes it easy to wash and maintain.
• Application Options: Just like automotive sealants, coatings can be found for multiple applications and areas on the vehicle. For example windows, tires, and even leather have dedicated coatings from multiple reputable brands in the industry. This gives your vehicle complete protection on all levels for months on end.

Cons Of Car Coatings

• Price: The price for coatings varies from brand to brand but quality coatings can cost hundreds of dollars for just a few ounces or even a few milliliters. But when you take into consideration the benefits of coatings the price is justified for many.
• Prep Time & Work: Unlike waxes and sealants coatings require a perfect surface in order to be applied. If the surface is not prepared correctly the coating will not be able to bond properly to the paint, this hinders the performance and durability of the coating. Applying the product is also more challenging. You have to make sure the coating is leveled properly or you risk having high spots in your coating which is very noticeable to the eye.
• Curing time: Coatings need a lot more time in order to cure to your vehicle, sometimes they require a few days to a week to properly cure. And during this time the vehicle should not encounter water or outside elements.