mc2hill

After two years we were able to go back to Florida to see the wife's father and visit my aunt & uncle.  This also gave me the opportunity to take care of the golf cart and redo the headlights on the Suburban.  The golf cart was done in November 2019 with Adam's Ceramic Spray Coating, which is the first picture.   
 

 
The second picture is from November 2021 after getting washed and dried with CS3 and I must say that I'm impressed with the longevity and how good it looks.  I can tell that the black trim on the front needs to be redone and I will look at going to the Graphene Spray Coating in the spring. There is no doubt the Ceramic Spray coating held up well for 2 years given that the golf cart gets used every day since it is the way the father-in-laws gets around the park.
 

 
 
Next up is the headlights on the Suburban and I already knew they had gotten pretty bad again.  I expect that I'll need to do the headlights on at least an annual basis if not twice a year.
 
Before

 
after using the Adam's Headlight Kit that used to be on the web site with the two pads and little bottles of correcting, finishing polish and detail spray along with the Swirl Killer Mini.
 

 
 
As I was working on the Suburban I had five people stop and ask me if I did that for a living or if I had a card because they needed theirs done.  Unfortunately time did not permit me to take on additional jobs since I had more items on my list for the two houses than was possible to get done.  At least I know I won't be bored on the next Florida run
 
 

The fluffier towels will hold any dirt particles grabbed by the polymers in the Rinseless Wash solution better than the 'flat weave' Waterless Wash towels.  The WW towels are fine for drying after a RW. 
I would recommend trying the Microfiber Wash Mitt as part of a RW.  I have been using this type of mitt for 4 years (I used the dreadhead chenile mitts before), and it works great.  My process is to wash the panel with the mitt, wipe with a damp, fluffy towel (something like a Borderless Grey), spritz with Detail Spray, and dry with a 16x16 version of the Jumbo Plush drying towel. 
 

The fluffier towels will hold any dirt particles grabbed by the polymers in the Rinseless Wash solution better than the 'flat weave' Waterless Wash towels.  The WW towels are fine for drying after a RW. 
I would recommend trying the Microfiber Wash Mitt as part of a RW.  I have been using this type of mitt for 4 years (I used the dreadhead chenile mitts before), and it works great.  My process is to wash the panel with the mitt, wipe with a damp, fluffy towel (something like a Borderless Grey), spritz with Detail Spray, and dry with a 16x16 version of the Jumbo Plush drying towel. 
 

She was more upset than I was.

Home Depot has the Gorilla Ladders 20 inch Work Platform for $34.88 (regular price $74.88) as part of their Black Friday Savings.  The load capacity is 300 lb., and it folds to 3.25 in. for easy storage.
I had the Werner work platform, but now have 2 Gorilla platforms, and the Werner is in my mother-in-laws garage for use there. 

The test spot is your friend.  You could start out with the polish or one step and determine if you have to go more aggressive.  Then come back with the polishing step and finally use whichever protection you like. 

Started getting the car ready for winter today and washed the sheet cover.  Nice and soft now and perfect for putting underneath my regular winter cover.  Clean the car up and cover her up tomorrow for the long winter's nap. 🛌

Sometimes you just have to go out of your way to make someone happy and that was my purpose in life over the last 3 days.   Short story, my mothers health is not very good and with all the lock downs and travel restrictions, I have not been able to see her in a while.  
 
A few nights ago while I was enjoying a Strawberry Rhubarb pie and talking to my mother she asked me when I was going to get her one.  Friday I got in the truck and headed north with a Strawberry Rhubarb pie in hand and delivered to her on Saturday and she was pleasantly surprised.  We were able to spend about most of the day on Saturday together and this morning I made the return trip to SC.  1,468 total miles to hand deliver a pie - it was absolutely worth doing since there was no doubt it made my mothers day. 

I spent the day detailing my 2021 Red Mist C8.  Started with Adams Strip Wash, Adam’s clay mitt, then Adam’s Polish, and finally Graphene coating.  I’m very happy with the results, the pics don’t do it justice.  It was late in the day and lighting was so-so.  The UV light is a game changer!  Made it very easy for me to see what areas I needed to fix.  

Well it ended up raining Thursday, Friday and part of today…oh well
it did look great before the rain though.
 

Took Friday off. Washed the car and took a drive to the Adams store in Anaheim California. 
 

 

A little of 'detail something different' today.  My wife's niece has 'brittle bone' disease, and and was not supposed to live past about 2 years old - well she is now 32 and is getting married on Halloween! 
I have detailed her mobility van several times, but she wanted her motorized wheelchair detailed for the big day.
I was not sure how to tackle this or what I would need, so I packed the small polishers, Interior stuff, pump bottles of Rinseless and Waterless Wash, APC in several strengths, lots of brushes, and of course Detail Spray.
It ended up that is was like cleaning an engine bay - lots of grimy/greasy bits, some plastic and chrome, plus a little bit of an interior cleanup thrown in.
I took off the seat cushions (they were Alcantara) and cleaned them with Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner using the soft bristle Cockpit Brush.
Next I sprayed down the chair with Rinseless Wash to loosen up the grimey stuff, then worked a section at a time with Waterless Wash & a work MF towel.  I went thru several towels before applying Interior Detailer to the plastic fender, and Detail Spray to the plastics.
Finally I scrubbed the tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner and a small scrub brush, and applied VRT to finish.
Lots of nooks and crannies on this, and I wished I had brought all my Wheel Woolies to get to some of the hard to reach spots.  But my most used tool was a Popsicle stick wrapped around a MF cloth!  
 
Before:

 
 
Before and Afters




 
And the full After shot:

A little of 'detail something different' today.  My wife's niece has 'brittle bone' disease, and and was not supposed to live past about 2 years old - well she is now 32 and is getting married on Halloween! 
I have detailed her mobility van several times, but she wanted her motorized wheelchair detailed for the big day.
I was not sure how to tackle this or what I would need, so I packed the small polishers, Interior stuff, pump bottles of Rinseless and Waterless Wash, APC in several strengths, lots of brushes, and of course Detail Spray.
It ended up that is was like cleaning an engine bay - lots of grimy/greasy bits, some plastic and chrome, plus a little bit of an interior cleanup thrown in.
I took off the seat cushions (they were Alcantara) and cleaned them with Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner using the soft bristle Cockpit Brush.
Next I sprayed down the chair with Rinseless Wash to loosen up the grimey stuff, then worked a section at a time with Waterless Wash & a work MF towel.  I went thru several towels before applying Interior Detailer to the plastic fender, and Detail Spray to the plastics.
Finally I scrubbed the tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner and a small scrub brush, and applied VRT to finish.
Lots of nooks and crannies on this, and I wished I had brought all my Wheel Woolies to get to some of the hard to reach spots.  But my most used tool was a Popsicle stick wrapped around a MF cloth!  
 
Before:

 
 
Before and Afters




 
And the full After shot:

A little of 'detail something different' today.  My wife's niece has 'brittle bone' disease, and and was not supposed to live past about 2 years old - well she is now 32 and is getting married on Halloween! 
I have detailed her mobility van several times, but she wanted her motorized wheelchair detailed for the big day.
I was not sure how to tackle this or what I would need, so I packed the small polishers, Interior stuff, pump bottles of Rinseless and Waterless Wash, APC in several strengths, lots of brushes, and of course Detail Spray.
It ended up that is was like cleaning an engine bay - lots of grimy/greasy bits, some plastic and chrome, plus a little bit of an interior cleanup thrown in.
I took off the seat cushions (they were Alcantara) and cleaned them with Carpet & Upholstery Cleaner using the soft bristle Cockpit Brush.
Next I sprayed down the chair with Rinseless Wash to loosen up the grimey stuff, then worked a section at a time with Waterless Wash & a work MF towel.  I went thru several towels before applying Interior Detailer to the plastic fender, and Detail Spray to the plastics.
Finally I scrubbed the tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner and a small scrub brush, and applied VRT to finish.
Lots of nooks and crannies on this, and I wished I had brought all my Wheel Woolies to get to some of the hard to reach spots.  But my most used tool was a Popsicle stick wrapped around a MF cloth!  
 
Before:

 
 
Before and Afters




 
And the full After shot:

Fairly new here, looking to apply Graphene to my 2021 C8 before I put her away for the Chicago winter.  Is there an optimal temp/ humidity range for application?  

I have mom's 2017 Corolla for the week while the SS is being made whole, don’t ask.
 
Despite winds gusting to near 50 mph yesterday I started with a foam bath with Strip Wash followed by a rinse then another Strip Wash foam bath. After the second rinse I foamed it with Wash n Wax (grabbed wrong bottle) then got to cleaning the finish.  I rinsed the car and refoamed  using the foam as a clay lubricant. Mom parks outside 24/7 and it shows. That paint, to quote Adam, “was rougher than a night in jail.” The glass was just as bad. Dried the Corolla then pulled it in the garage.
 
My garage has about a zillion lumens of LED goodness. This made all the swirls, scratches and bird dookie etchings quite visible. My PC with 3” inch orange and white pads plus the jumbo SK with 6” MF pads paired with the orange and white Adam’s chemicals made quick work of the undesirables. I used a competitor’s panel wipe then commenced to coating it with Graphene Spray Coating. That stuff went on headlights, paint, wheels and all glass except the windshield. That got a competitor’s glass coating that I’ve nearly finished off. After a dinner of chicken street tacos I headed back out to the garage to cover the vehicle with Ceramic Boost. I also wiped the interior down with Adam’s Interior Detailer with MicroBan, sweet almond scent.  I took the pic below then had Tiramisu with my lovely wife.
 
Tomorrow I’ll coat the tires with Graphene Tire Dressing before I go to the office. Tomorrow night I’ll pull the mats and give them a good scrubbing plus vacuum the floors. I’ll finish with Leather Conditioner on the seats.  Hopefully Mother Nature will leave it alone so when I return it to mom on Friday it’ll still look great.
 

Hard to believe that I started this thread in the Spring of 2020 and here it is Fall of 2021.  Thanks to a couple of setbacks, the first being a soil issue and the second and longer term item being the pandemic.  The building has finally been put up and now I can start working on the interior and the garage door can be ordered.  We'll get the electrician in next week to finalize the quotes.  I haven't decided if I'm going to have him do all the electrical or just the service entrance and breaker box.  We've used this electrician multiple times and they do good work for a good price.
 
The first picture is from standing inside the attached (wife's) garage, the second  is from the front yard and the third is the interior.  The garage door opening is 9' x 16' which should let me get anything in there that I desire.  The cross braces on the ceiling are 12' high  which will give plenty of head room to put any vehicle that will fit through the door in the air at least 2 feet.  I've pretty much figured out how I want the lights set up, the only question is whether I do 2, 3 or 4 zones.
 
 

Welcome to the Forum Kevin.
 
Starting with the CSC on the F-150 and Lincoln.  Since they have been on there for a year, it is probably time to strip them, clay, polish and redo.  According to what supplies you have on hand, you should consider the Graphene Spray Coating.  However, there is nothing wrong with the CSC if you still have some on hand.  Using the baggie test will determine whether or not you need to clay and for the polishing, you always want to use the least aggressive option possible.
 
For the Canary, you can go with a coating, Americana or one of the ceramic waxes.  Americana does an outstanding job and if it is garage queen it will easily last 6 weeks or so.  When you want to take it out and really make it pop, you can go over it with Brilliant Glaze.  Just note that Brilliant Glaze only lasts a couple of days, but it sure will make it pop when used on top of Americana. 
 
The ceramic waxes will last longer than the Americana and for the extra pop you'd want to use Graphene Detail Spray or CS3.  Both are good choices and can be used for kicking the dust off or the bugs while you are out.   You can also use Americana or the Ceramic Wax on PPF without any problems.

I decided to be nice to my son-in-law while he is in Kazakhstan helping the investors open a new a restaurant. He'll be over there for a few weeks and he knows that it is an honor to be asked to travel internationally to help open a new place.  At least when the daughter gets to open another one, it should help the investors in knowing the setup is going to be well managed.
 
Did the everyone else take the summer off and stop making vehicles shiny - seems like this thread hasn't been getting much attention lately.
 
Here are a couple of pictures of the son-in-laws F-150 after being being stripped polished and coated with Graphene Spray Coating.  For those wondering about the new garage, I was informed on Thursday on that the materials have arrived and I'm being schedule for the week of October 4th - weather permitting.
 
 
 
 

@JakeRogue Welcome to the Forum
 
If the vehicle is real dirty and you have a Pay & Spray nearby that is a good way to knock a lot of the dirt off.  When I lived in Falls Church, which was many years ago, there was a Pay & Spray with a heated bay that was perfect for the winter to get the salt off when it snowed.   I recommend only using the rinse at the Pay & Spray since you never know what they have for Soap.  After that follow the notes from @mc2hill provided and you'll be in great shape.  If the vehicle is not real dirty, just don't bother with the Pay & Spray.

@JakeRogue First off, Welcome to Adam's Forums!
 
I am with @ResJudicata, try the Rinseless Wash next.  It is dilutable, and you can make up your own waterless wash, clay lube, or use it in a bucket for the wash.  It only take 3.5 gallons of water to do a rinseless wash, and can be done anywhere (I did my friends 1912 race in an airplane hanger, just before it was the center piece at a DuPont Registry event).
Fill one bucket with 2.5 gallons of water and add 1 ounce of Rinseless Wash (the wash bucket), and in a 2nd bucket place the Grit Guard and the remaining gallon of water (enough to just cover the Grit Guard) to use as your rinse bucket.  Now wash away!
Another way to do it is the 'bucket of towels' method.  Just use one bucket with 2.5 gallons of water + 1 ounce of Rinseless Wash, and place 6-8 plush MF towels.  Squeeze the towels so they are soaked with RW, fold the towel into 4's and wipe the car with a clean towel section.  Just be sure to only clean a small sections, then move to a clean section of the towel.
For both methods, after cleaning a panel or 2 (e.g. both doors on one side) wipe with a towel dampened in the RW wash bucket (squeeze it out so it is slightly damp) to remove excess solution, spritz with Detail Spray, and wipe dry with you favorite drying towel.

Start with the rinseless and waterless wash. Then use some detail spray or cs3. 
I probably wouldn’t use any waxes, but that’s just me. Without a garage or car cover; I don’t think you’re going to get the best use of your time waxing versus washing more often. 
[example, it takes 1 hr to waterless wash; vs once 2 hrs to waterless plus detail spray plus wax. (You can wash it twice a week and probably be cleaner because it’s outside).]

Post 7,000!!! 😁🎉
 
You all are awesome!

I have been successful in cleaning foam pads and block with Tide Free & Gentle.  I use a small container and fill with the Tide, put in the foam applicator, and let it sit for a few days.  When I rinse it off the foam applicator is clean, and the Tide can be rinsed down the sink.  This is the ONLY way I have found to get Paint Sealant out of pads.
A client uses this stuff to clean parts on his brass cars (he has even had large stainless steel boxes made for big parts!), and it makes a great hand cleaner too.