Anyone into detailing cars?

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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    ^^One of the many things I don't let get to me, is how other people take care of their cars.

    Right i have a friend that only lets mother wash the vehicle.....

    Ooops
    That should of said
    Only lets mother nature wash the vehicle....
  • SCompRacer
    SCompRacer Posts: 8,350
    edited October 2017
    pitdogg2 wrote: »

    Ooops
    That should of said
    Only lets mother nature wash the vehicle....

    Someone once asked me if I catch any grief using my Mothers polish...
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    SCompRacer wrote: »
    pitdogg2 wrote: »

    Ooops
    That should of said
    Only lets mother nature wash the vehicle....

    Someone once asked me if I catch any grief using my Mothers polish...

    Good thing you were not wearing your sandals Rich :p

  • Emlyn
    Emlyn Posts: 4,346
    edited October 2017
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    ^^One of the many things I don't let get to me, is how other people take care of their cars.

    Right i have a friend that only lets mother wash the vehicle.....

    Ooops
    That should of said
    Only lets mother nature wash the vehicle....

    My previous vehicle was a black Jeep Grand Cherokee. As it was always parked outside and usually under a big oak tree I didn't much see the point of even washing it apart from cleaning the windows once every few months and using a leaf blower to remove leaves. I would clear off bird "droppings" so they didn't etch the paint, but otherwise I think I may have taken it through a car wash four times in four years. Still looked like new when I traded it in, after taking it through the car wash before heading to the dealer.
  • Kurt300
    Kurt300 Posts: 302
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  • miner
    miner Posts: 1,305
    Black is not a color; it is a commitment
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    I personally hate white cars, very hard to tell whether or not you are getting too little or too much wax on. Then there are the spots you find that you missed about 5 days later. Someone should invent a black wax for white cars.

    I'll take my 10% idea fee.
  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    I shall not respond to any of the last few comments in order to avoid a civil rights conflict.
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    pitdogg2 wrote: »
    I personally hate white cars, very hard to tell whether or not you are getting too little or too much wax on. Then there are the spots you find that you missed about 5 days later. Someone should invent a black wax for white cars.

    I'll take my 10% idea fee.

    Meguiar's makes a White Wax for white cars and a Black Wax for black cars in addition to the other car care products they make.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 24,481
    Yes but does the wax for white cars turn dark enough to see where it is at? You know if it turned dark when it dried you could see where you missed. Think ceiling paint that goes on pink or purple but dries white. Same principle for the wax is what I'm thinking.
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    I use Adams on my 07 vette ragtop. Some good stuff!! Shoot that reminds me, I need to take the waxes, detail spray and soap out of the garage and into the house before it freezes.
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  • Of all the product I've used throughout the years, I'm pretty happy overall with Adam's. He's a little pricey but, I think he offers a step above consumer grade product. Have you tried their Ceramic Coating yet on your 07?
  • Adams is great for my show cars, but if you want protection for your daily driver it is very inadequate as it does not last.
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  • I get a year out of his product when I do my annual paint correction. It does have to be maintained in that timeframe. I use the H20 G&G, Detail spray & Ceramic Boost. What product are you using that lasts longer?
  • motorhead43026
    motorhead43026 Posts: 3,892
    edited November 2017
    I use Collinite 476S on my daily drivers. It is impervious too the Midwest winters as well as car wash detergents. My cars get several washes during the winter to clean the undercarriage so they see a lot of detergents. There is no maintaining Collinite, just wash it. I can get a year out of it, but I do wax in the spring and late fall. A can of this is $20.00 bucks and it lasts years. I do hit it one in a while with Meguiars Ultimate detailer. Don't really need it, but makes me feel better. My daily's stay outside all year round.


    I like Adams buttery wax for my classics. Mostly because the ease of use and the deep gloss. Yet the only thing they are exposed to are garage grit and the occasional hot summer sun. I have tried it on my daily's and it just don't last during the winter. Then again, I don't think we are comparing apples to apples with the Adams products. Sounds like you use something else?

    What is annual paint correction?
    2 channel: Anthem 225 Integrated amp; Parasound Ztuner; TechnicsTT SL1350; Vincent PHO-8 phono pre; Marantz CD6005 spinner; Polk SDA2BTL's; LAT International speaker cables, ZU Mission IC's and power cables all into a PS Audio Dectet Power center.

    Other; M10 series II, M7C's, Hafler XL600 amp, RB-980BX, Parasound HCA-1500 amp , P5 preamp, all in storage. All vintage Polk have had crossover rebuilds and tweeter upgrades.

    The best way to predict the future is to invent it.

    It is imperative that we recognize that an opinion is not a fact.

    Imagine making politics your entire personality.
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    charley95 wrote: »
    Of all the product I've used throughout the years, I'm pretty happy overall with Adam's. He's a little pricey but, I think he offers a step above consumer grade product. Have you tried their Ceramic Coating yet on your 07?

    I haven’t! Guess I need to try that next. I use their detail spray, americona, brilliant glaze, soap and towels.

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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    They have a few prep and boost for ceramic. Is this what your talking about? http://adamspolishes.com/shop/exterior/coatings/adam-s-ceramic-paint-coating-50ml-bottle.html
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  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    Never mind. I saw the videos. That’s one thing I love about his stuff, videos on each of them.
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  • I haven't tried ceramic coating yet. I use the Boost as a gloss enhancer and it's supposed to give roughly 3 months of protection. Correction is machining the paint to remove swirl, scratches & minor flaws. It's mainly polishing before putting on a paint protection coat. Wax, Ceramic coat... My friend has a daily driver in which he just did the ceramic on and I'm gonna wait and see what his verdict is next fall to see if it's worth it. Ceramic coating is the latest in paint protection over waxes, glazes and anything else. I think it's supposed to last a minimum of a year. I'll wait and see since the jury is still out on that. The application process is nothing like putting a coat of wax on a finish.

    When you wipe off the ceramic it feels like trying to remove tape residue. The Ceramic Boost removes the rough feel of the coating. It's really weird stuff to work with.
  • To me, the Adam's H20 G&G is the best bang for the buck. I've never used a product that gives more instant results. The only bad thing about is it trashes towels that you use. You just can't get the product to wash out and it makes the towel have a course feel to it. I just throw the towel away after using it. The paint has to be in good condition to see results from it.
  • erniejade wrote: »
    charley95 wrote: »
    Of all the product I've used throughout the years, I'm pretty happy overall with Adam's. He's a little pricey but, I think he offers a step above consumer grade product. Have you tried their Ceramic Coating yet on your 07?

    I haven’t! Guess I need to try that next. I use their detail spray, americona, brilliant glaze, soap and towels.

    You should check out theragcompany.com for your towels. I think Adam's is way over priced on his towels. I've only ordered from the rag co. once but they are the best micro's I've ever used. They are super soft and a must for me to use on black paint.
  • erniejade
    erniejade Posts: 6,288
    Awesome I will check them out. Thanks!!
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  • billbillw
    billbillw Posts: 6,163
    edited November 2017
    I wouldn't say I am "into detailing," but I did have to learn a bunch about paint care when I had a black Mercedes about 6-7 years ago. If you looked at it the wrong way, it would develop swirls and fine scratches. After considerable research, I bought a whole bunch of Meguiar's products and a Porter Cable random orbital polisher. It did the job. I had that sucker shining with a deep black, no swirl finish in no time. I still have most of that stuff, including much of the Meguiar's products after all these years, because 6 months later, I traded out the black Merc for a silver E55!

    Silver...my favorite car color. Wash it a few times a year, never wax it and it still looks good. Not great, but I can live with it. Ok, maybe exaggerating, but I tell you for sure, I will never buy another black car.
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  • Legender
    Legender Posts: 478
    edited November 2017
    While I would not say 'in to', I do enjoy detailing my vehicles. Within the past few years, through the club Lexus site, I've picked up a few tips, namely clay barring. The number one thing that has made a huge difference in my cars. When you do the clay bar correctly and finish up with a good polish and wax, it's hard to tell if you're touching the paint or the glass. It just gets that smooth.
    Favorite color is Diamond Pearl White and you're right, the wrong color was makes the task a bit more difficult, but with proper lighting it can still be done.
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  • I used to be one who said I would never own a black car too. Anytime in the past when I would attend a car show 9 out of the 10 black cars never looked pristine. Paint care products have come a long way in the past several years and I love my metallic black. Regardless, it takes a little more effort to maintain but, it's not as labor intensive as it used to be. Of course you have to enjoy detailing which isn't everyones cup of tea but, I need a cheap hobby and this one works for me with not a lot of $$ invested. And I have my garage all tricked out with a decent stereo which is my smoking parlor anyway.
  • halo
    halo Posts: 5,616
    edited August 2018
    Since I'm an apartment dweller, I've been looking into waterless / rinseless car wash soaps. I found several that are well reviewed and I narrowed it down to 3 different brands: Ultima - Clearly Different, Drive Auto Appearance, and Wolfgang Car Care. Based on the ratings on Amazon.com and the how-to videos on YouTube, I decided to go with the Wolfgang Über. It also appears to be very versatile as you can alter its application based on your dilution ratio.

    While I was watching videos on YouTube, I came across a very different perspective to car washing that goes against a lot of what I've been doing ever since I started to detail cars. Oddly enough, it makes a lot of sense to me and I'm wondering what you all think about his perspective and his methods: Dallas Paint Correction & Auto Detailing

    I'm in agreement with the idea of using a pH soap that acts more like an alkaline so it will strip off the built-up road grime sitting on the paint which a pH neutral soap won't even disturb. Yes, I will have to reapply wax to protect the paint but, with a waterless car wash, I'm planning to reapply a spray wax as a drying agent anyway. So, on the few occasions I'm able to visit a self-service car wash I can use the alkaline soap to get all the gunk off the car. I'm actually planning to use an abrasive car wash the next time we go to the self-service car wash as it will be beneficial to our car's finish.

    Since our car is a daily driver and, it was not taken care of perfectly its whole life, it has a lot of scratches and swirls on the clearcoat from repeated trips to the automatic car washes by the previous owners. I am not looking for perfection here but I do want it to look good for a minimal financial investment and minimal time investment.

    It's interesting that anything that comes in contact with your paint is an abrasive. So, if you wash, wax, clay bar, polish, or compond your new car, you may be creating the scratches and swirls. If you always use a foam cannon or some other "touchless" method without applying wax, your clearcoat will remain "scratch free" but you won't have any protection on the paint (except for the clear coat). This is all my understanding from watching the videos on YouTube by Scott at Dallas Paint Correction & Auto Detailing and my regurgitation of what I'm understanding as he's explained it.

    His views are controversial in some areas and he doesn't specifically endorse or condemn any one brand of car care products so I don't feel that he has a horse in this race.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    We live on a dirt road, so it's prety much a non-issue here. :|
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 32,926
    edited August 2018
    I had 2 black cars in the 80's. By the time you were done detailing them you would need to start over

    Like paintin' a bridge ;)

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  • Viking64
    Viking64 Posts: 6,646
    ^^^^ There's that confounded bridge.....right there. ^^^^