The Auto Detailing Podcast

Your car shouldn't need constant washing, waxing, and maintenance to look incredible. I recently received an email from a customer who told me he'd gained 10 pounds since switching to my detailing products because he spends so much less time maintaining his car! He'd gone six weeks without washing his car, and it still looked great. That got me thinking about something I've believed for years: car...

A tow truck owner was spending around 4.5 hours every week maintaining his truck. After changing his detailing process, he cut that time down to just over an hour — and says the truck looks better than before. I break down what changed, why traditional detailing can become unnecessarily complicated, how modern protection can simplify maintenance, and why the best detailing products should save you...

I've been detailing cars since 2008, and over the years my process has changed a lot. When I first started, I thought becoming a better detailer meant adding more steps, using more products, polishing more often, and chasing perfection. Almost 20 years later, I've learned the opposite. In this video, I'm breaking down the things I used to do that I either don't do anymore or do completely differen...

I basically don't use traditional detail spray anymore. It's not because detail sprays are bad. I just prefer using products that can do more than one job. Instead of keeping a separate bottle around just for fingerprints, gloss, drying, and quick touch-ups, I use Tough As Shell diluted 1:1 with distilled water. It gives me the slickness and gloss I want, works great as a drying aid, and helps mai...

Ceramic coatings get talked about like they're complicated, intimidating, and only meant for professional detailers. I don't think they need to be. In this video I talk about the real reason I think most people should ceramic coat their car: it simply makes the car easier to keep looking good. Long before I got into detailing, I had a neighbor whose truck and car always looked incredible. I finall...

Does the pH of a car soap actually matter as much as people think? I've been getting questions about this for a couple years now because Super Soaper has been tested straight out of the bottle at a much higher pH than what people expect from the product in actual use. In this video I break down the difference between testing a concentrated product in the bottle versus what is actually hitting the...

Should you use a traditional ceramic coating, a ceramic spray coating or a wax? The correct choice depends on how long you want the protection to last, how much preparation you're willing to do and how you plan to maintain your vehicle. In this video, I break down the real differences between The Gloss Boss, Tough As Shell and Wax 'N Relax. I'll also explain which option I would recommend for a le...

In this video, I'm answering 10 of the most common detailing questions I get from customers, YouTube viewers, podcast listeners, and people using Jimbo's Detailing products. We're talking about things like: Does thick foam actually clean better? Do you have to polish before applying a ceramic coating? Do you really need a ceramic coating at all? Can a beginner safely apply a ceramic coating? What...

Ceramic spray protection should be easy to apply, but small mistakes can cause streaking, uneven coverage, poor water behavior, and disappointing durability. In this video, I demonstrate the five most common mistakes people make when applying ceramic spray protection and show you exactly how to correct them. I cover: Why using too much ceramic spray causes streaking How hot paint affects applicati...

What are the best detailing tools to buy if you're starting from scratch? If I had to rebuild my detailing business today, these are the six tools I'd purchase before anything else. After more than 20 years in the auto detailing industry, I've learned that having the right tools matters far more than having the most tools. In this video, I break down the essential detailing equipment that has had...

The detailing industry has a directions problem. A lot of products are not actually that hard to use, but the directions, product names, dilution ratios, and marketing make them way more confusing than they need to be. In this episode, I talk about why simple products like spray waxes, ceramic sprays, drying aids, rinse-off protection products, coatings, and polishes can become confusing for the a...

Wax is not dead. The detailing industry just got it wrong. For years, brands tried to evolve car wax by making it last longer, act more like a ceramic coating, or compete with ceramic sprays. But I think they missed the real point. People still love waxing their cars. They love the gloss. They love the slickness. They love the water beading. They love the feeling of protecting their car after a wa...

Most people think you can't wash a car in direct sunlight without causing water spots, streaks, or frustration. That used to be true. In this video, I show you how to wash, clay, and protect your vehicle outside in direct sun using a modern process that takes about 20 minutes from start to finish. We'll foam a dry vehicle, perform a pre-soak, clay the paint using a clay towel, apply protection usi...

Detailing has gotten way too complicated. 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 pod...

Recently, acid-alkaline wash systems (sometimes called "exothermic washes") have become one of the hottest topics in the detailing industry. These systems can deliver incredible cleaning power by combining acidic and alkaline chemistry, but are they really the best solution for long-term vehicle maintenance? In this video, I break down: ✅ What acid-alkaline wash systems are ✅ Why they work so we...

A customer recently asked me a great question: "Is Tough As Shell still worth using if I take my car through a soft-touch automatic car wash?" He had just bought a brand new dark jade green Kia Telluride, parks outside, does not have a garage or carport, and uses a commercial soft-touch car wash two or three times a month. So in this video, I'm answering that question honestly. Does a car wash rem...

Most beginner detailers buy way too many tools because the detailing industry makes everything feel more complicated than it needs to be. In this video, I'm breaking down the car detailing tools you actually need, the tools that are nice to have, and the ones I think most people waste money on. We'll cover exterior washing, wheels and tires, interior cleaning, paint correction, ceramic protection,...

Most swirl marks and scratches don't come from bad products… they come from outdated detailing habits. In this video, I break down 9 common car detailing mistakes that are slowly ruining your paint — and what modern detailing methods you should use instead. We'll cover mistakes like: Pre-rinsing instead of pre-soaking Using the outdated 2 bucket wash method Washing in direct sunlight incorrectly U...

Most people make paint polishing way harder than it needs to be. In this video, I break down why polishing your car takes too long, what mistakes slow people down, and how to get better results with a simpler system. We'll talk about test spots, pad choice, product amount, cleaning your pad, realistic expectations, and why a one-step polish can be the smarter option for most daily drivers. The goa...

I keep getting asked why I don't offer a dedicated glass cleaner… or what my favorite glass cleaner is. The truth is simple: most of the time, the best glass cleaner is not a glass cleaner at all. In this episode, I'm breaking down my simple method for getting streak-free car glass using DI water or distilled water in a spray bottle. No foaming glass cleaner. No overcomplicated system. No heavy re...

Can you detail a car in direct sun? Years ago, the answer was almost always no. Soaps would dry too fast, waxes would streak, polishes would dust, and water spots could bake into the paint before you even had a chance to wipe them off. But detailing products have changed. In this video, I break down why detailing in direct sunlight used to be such a problem, what has changed with modern car detail...

What if you could only use 3 detailing products for every car you work on? No shelves full of chemicals. No 20-step process. Just 3 products to handle almost everything . In this video, I break down the exact 3 products I would choose—and more importantly, WHY —based on versatility, efficiency, and real-world results. This isn't about the "perfect" setup… it's about the smartest setup . Because th...

Most detailers think they're doing things the "right" way… but what if the industry has been teaching it wrong this whole time? In this episode, I break down 8 common detailing mistakes that are holding people back—from outdated wash methods to overcomplicated systems that take the fun out of detailing. This isn't about calling people out… it's about showing you a better, simpler, more effective w...

Want a ceramic coating that's actually EASY to use… and actually LASTS? In this episode, I break down why most ceramic coatings fail—and why so many detailers get blamed for it when it's really the product that's the problem. The truth is… if a ceramic coating requires perfect conditions, crazy prep, and zero margin for error, that's not on you—that's on the brand. Today, I'm talking about a diffe...

In this episode, I share a real email from a customer that perfectly captures something most detailers go through. He left my products. Tried other brands. Then came back. And what he said about foam, cleaning power, and product performance says a lot about where the detailing industry is today. We talk about: Using interior cleaners beyond the car Why most soaps focus too much on foam What actual...