mc2hill

Michael is not a 'pro' in the sense that he details for a living, but he has more detailing knowledge than +95% of the detailers out there.  Help from him will be invaluable! 

It is very easy to heat up these fiber pads (vs. foam pads).  When working with fiber (wool or MF) I use 2 pads and rotate them after each section.  I use the pad, clean it, swap to the other pad, and polish the section, repeat...  I have melted a backing plate on a long throw polisher using MF pads without letting them cool...it was a little scary when the pad detached and went flying across the garage, but thankfully no damage was done to the '67 GTO convertible clone I was working on!

If you don't find anyone near you then I am willing to help you out.  I am not pro detailer in the sense that I don't detail for a living but I will on occasion do a side job.  I am in the Lawndale/Torrance area which is about an hour or so away from you.  I happen to have a bottle of the graphene coating.  

I am in complete agreement with @mc2hill and if you want a little extra pop for a show you can top the Americana with another layer of Brilliant Glaze.  Do the extra layer the night before or morning of the show for the best results.

Wow, that is a beautiful car!
 
My 'go to' for show cars is Brilliant Glaze, topped with Americana.  That combo really makes the paint pop.

Wow, that is a beautiful car!
 
My 'go to' for show cars is Brilliant Glaze, topped with Americana.  That combo really makes the paint pop.

Wow, that is a beautiful car!
 
My 'go to' for show cars is Brilliant Glaze, topped with Americana.  That combo really makes the paint pop.

The weekend brought a few vehicles to keep me occupied.   First up was a Toyota Yaris and if it wasn't for the decal on the back, I probably wouldn't not have done much with it.  Being that it came from Green Bay and is also red, I couldn't help myself.  The paint itself is not on the best shape and in places the clear coat is failing.  It got cleaned up and the important thing was the head lights which needed restoration.  As you'll be able to see in the 3rd picture the clean coat is gone on the roof of the car.  As the owner says, it is paid for, it runs good, gets good mileage and hasn't required any maintenance beyond oil changes, tires and breaks.
 
 
The second vehicle was a Can-Am - the details are below the Toyota pictures.
 
 

 
Can-AM:
While I have been able to do multiple bikes, this was the first Can-Am.  Compared to a bike with an exposed engine, this was a bit easier.  However, there are are so many body panels and of every shape and design that it takes bit to got them all.  There are multiple types of panels from painted, to gloss, matt and standard trim.  It took me a while to figure out what order to attack things, but once I got rolling, it came together rather well.
 
The first picture shows the different types of parts and materials that are on the Can-Am.  The second picture shows the entire bike.
 
The owner of the Can-Am was pleased with the way it came out and hopefully he'll bring me his Supra to do. 

here ya go..

Red, did I read that correctly that you got a Red truck?  You are absolutely welcome in this forum with your Red truck.
 
The Cherry Red is very similar to the Cajun Red that I have on my Colorado and just a bit lighter than what my wife has on her Red Quartz Terrain Denali, so if you need any tips on getting the Red to look good, just ask.
 
If you want to see various Red options you can look for Red Through the Years or 20+ year old Mustang threads and I swear, I have no idea what @mc2hillis talking about, I  am not opposed to other colors... as long as they are not mine 😁.
 
The important thing is that we have a great group of people on here, we have fun and we all help each other out.

Welcome Donald!  And post up some pics of that red truck (there are some folks on here that think that should be the only color available).

Sure you can.  I have a pressure bottle of Rinseless Wash mixed at Waterless Wash strength (1 oz Rinseless to 16 oz distilled water), and a pressure bottle of Rinseless Wash mixed at wash strength (1 oz Rinseless to 2.5 gal of tap water) that I use for pretreating - the wash strength for knocking down dust or bird bombs, and the Waterless strength for bugs.
Otherwise I load up the wash mitt and squeeze it over the panel before wiping.

My SUV was swiped at some point but thankfully it was not too bad.  Used Adam's Clay Bar and topped off with some Buttery Wax to hold me over til the next full detail.  A little more paint correction is needed but it will do for now.
 
Thanks Adam's!!!
 
The Detail Diva
 
 

Yesterday the Chef, her husband and I went to the State Farmers market and there was about 10 or different items they got.  Following that we went to a Mexican grocery store and they got Chorizo, Al Pastor, Carne Asada and Chicken and some other items that I have no idea what the name is.
 
All of the meats were cooked on the grill while the Chef made Sopes in the house and prepared all the other fixings.  Once everything was done you grab one of the Sopes and then you pile on whatever you want and top it with a little Feta and they were fantastic.
 
Even though she's running two restaurants and we've paid off all her school loans, she's still willing to cook for us on her day off.  I can assure everyone that we do appreciate and enjoy it.
 
 
 
 

That's a great match! Good for your wife.

Go for a Sport/ST. The power is awesome. 315HP/350TQ. First boosted car, twins are awesome lol. It hurts the mpg but I wanna go fast lol.
 
I had only driven Ford work trucks and the quality in those is crap. This car is so nice though. We love it. The size and looks were huge selling points for us as well. 

Nice color!  I have been researching at these lately - like the size and look.

Wash with soap and water and hit it with the spray of your choice whether it is something like Ceramic boost, CS3, Graphene Detail Spray etc.  I do the occasional iron remover a couple times a year.  

Using Wheel & Tire cleaner should be fine, but if you washing them often, shampoo should be enough to get them clean.  I keep some Car Wash Shampoo pre-mixed in a foaming sprayer and use that to clean my wheels.  Or even try cleaning with Graphene Shampoo to add a little protection with each wash.

This will be Post 2,001 thanks to @Captain Slowasking a question.    I'm still a puppy compared to many of the others on here.
 
I had forgotten about this topic until @falcaineer reminded me - Thanks Chris.

Installed the Workshop flooring.  Same LVP as the house, durable and 100% waterproof.
 

 
Next up is cabinets and benchtops, then get the woodworking tools set up.
 
Interior is finished.
 

 

 
Exterior almost done, just waiting on the asphalt driveway.  Will be doing all the landscaping myself this summer, since the builder charges $6k for very basic front yard landscaping.

This was one wild and frustrating winter. I was rear ended in mid-December by a guy who was inattentive, and completely missed the turquoise coupe stopped at the light (read: me). I knew that it was going to be a battle when he attempted to offer me $1000 to repair the bumper. That was not going to fly, and then he told me that there was a "problem with [his] insurance," on that specific vehicle (late 1980's GMC panel truck). I figured that this was going to be an uninsured motorist claim, so I advised my own insurance company, and forwarded them the dash cam footage that has be stopped at the red light, and even the camera recorded the impact from the the truck. 
 
However, it turns out that the guy *does* have insurance, but they are debating whether to cover it as apparently the truck failed smog inspection, so it did not have a valid registration. Weeks turn into months, as the other insurance company continues to slow walk their 'investigation.' The estimate from the collision center was between $4100 and $5000 (using all OEM parts), and a few days after getting that done, the other driver calls me to once again offer me $1000. I then tell him that the $1000 would be insufficient, as the estimate dwarfs that. 
 
Fast forward to late-March, when my insurance company calls me to let me know that the person who was handling the file at the other driver's insurance (Infinity) "was no longer with the company," and apparently had done nothing. 😡 
 
Finally, on the last week of March, I was cleared to have the repairs completed as it was going to be filed as an uninsured motorist claim. The final total for repairs was $4490, plus an additional supplement of $900 for extra paint shop time. 
 
So finally, I have my car back, and even though it was detailed at the collision center, I needed to go over it again. And of course, I've ordered a ceramic coating kit since the paint is fresh. 😁
 

 
One thing that I was impressed with was that after 7 months since the last time I cleaned the engine bay, there was just a little bit of dust, which was taken care of with some DS and then I used VRT on the plastic bits, as well as the rubber gasket that runs around the engine compartment. 

I have used Revive Hand Polish on an interior piece and it worked well to fix some marks - maybe too well.  Once the one piece was done I end up going over several others to make them all look the same.  Revive Hand Polish will bring a shine out of the plastic pieces.  I would highly recommend finding a piece that is somewhat hidden and doing a test spot to make sure you like the results.

The life of a pad is dependent on many factors.  I've had them last so long that I have no idea how old they are.  I have also shredded one within minutes of putting it on - there was a sharp object that I didn't notice.
 
If you don't over heat the pad, change them often when working on a vehicle, clean and store them properly, you should get 100+ vehicles from each one.  I know I have some that have gone well beyond that and some have been less.  More often than a pad being worn out is catching it on body part and cutting it that way. The ultra soft waxing pads are the ones I go through the most of, they so soft and tear rather easily.
 
The one way to ruin a good pad is to set it down and forget to clean it for a couple of weeks.  
 
Even the pad is not longer viable for the Swirl Killer, don't throw it in trash just yet.  Cut it apart into strips.  Those strips can be used to get into the places where a machine won't go.  Between the weather stripping and body panel around the trunk, under the door handles, the end of the hood, hood ornaments, fog lights.  I find places all the time to use a cut up pad where the machine just won't get there.  

After putting up a plank accent wall in the house, I decided that it would be a good product to use in the garage where the sink and pressure washer equipment will be mounted.  It is vinyl plank, so impervious to water.
 

 
And the house wall where the Home Theater will be: