aworkman

Welcome! Great truck bro. This is a great forum, you'll love it. [i grew up in South Jersey (went to Highland High). Live in York County, PA now.]

Thanks Paul! That's the shape I found the truck in when I bought it about a month ago. I'm hoping to never let the paint get like that again!

Thanks man! It was a lot of fun. I only finished half of it though I showed a friend these pictures today and he couldn't believe the difference.

First time attempting "before" and "after" pics. 2008 FJ Cruiser (Black Diamond) Before (Every part of the paint looked like this or worse) After Wash/Clay/SHR/FMP/MSW/BG

That's all good news to me. I was afraid I was working to slow. I am going to go back and do it again. The results are not exactly where I want them, and I know I can make it better. I will work slower and more methodically. One thing that I am learning in this is that I ain't going to get the car done in one day! And that's okay; the process is fun. I have a garage, but don't always park in it. I can no problem. The waterless wash is the answer. I will go back and watch your video on that again. I actually have the Adam's Waterless Wash and Towel. I got it free from Adam's when I ordered the Wash Trio a couple of weeks back. I definitely didn't use a quarter of the product, but I did use more than I should have. That's evident since the pad was gumming up. I thought the SHR was drying out on the car, so I would wipe the car off and add more to the pad. What you are saying makes good sense. I will use less when I do it again and work on making my technique better. (I definitely used much less FMP than I did SHR) I will also watch your slow cut video again. LOL. I learned my lesson. Makes sense. Thanks again man! Talk to with you later:)

Just wanted to you give an update AJ. I went ahead and worked on the hood of my car 2 nights ago. I figured there's no way I am going to remove enough paint to do damage, so I went for it! I spent about 30 minutes on the first section trying to get my technique down. (I still need a lot of practice, but I eventually got to the place where I could tell I was getting better at it.) The big swirls were removed, but I still had some really small swirls, although you had to look for them. It wasn't as perfect as I would like, but I didn't want to push my luck with the paint. I was wondering how long I would need to do work it before they were completely gone. As a side note, the hazing was gone almost immediately. When I got to the place where I thought it look as good as I could get it (at least for now as I am learning) I moved to the next section. After I completely finished I moved to the FMP. It shined up quickly, though I still think I could get even more shine out of it. I was hesitant because I read on the back that if you let it dry it would haze. I probably didn't work it long enough...a couple of minutes per section, although that's a complete guess. To do the hood probably took me 2 1/2 hours. That seems like a lot, but it was my first time and I really wanted to take my time. I actually did it from like 9pm to almost midnight in my garage. I am glad I don't have neighbors very close by! I ran out of time, so I didn't get to apply the wax yet. I don't have a car cover so I think I will need to rewash the car before wiping it down again 12 hours after the application. Here are several take-aways for me as a first timer. 1. I had to consciously resist the urge to rush. There was something in me that wanted to move the PC faster than I should and I needed to intentionally slow down. 2. My paint was pretty bad so I had to use more SHR than I thought I would. 3. Confession: I was trying to save a few bucks, so I purchased a inferior microfiber towel from another site. It had silk edges or something. After I wiped the SHR I saw brand new large swirls. I don't have any Adam's microfiber towels, so I switched back to an edgeless microfiber towel and saw no more swirls. The next ones I buy will be from Adam's. I wasted money on these other ones. 3 Questions if you don't mind. 1. Is it a good idea to clean the pads periodically when detailing--kind of like cleaning a paint brush when painting? My got gunked up with product and I wonder if it reduced the effectiveness of the pads. 2. Will the wax add a shine to the paint in the final step? The paint is a lot more shiny than it was, but I would like an even deeper shine. Or should I go back and hit it with the FMP again? 3. Is it okay to wax and then rewash the car 12 hours later and then buff the hood again to remove any additional residue. I don't have a car cover. I noticed in a previous post you asked if I had my pads yet...sorry I missed that post. Yup, I got them. Thanks again for your coaching and, Happy Easter to you and your family.

That actually sounds great. Thanks for your help. I may purchase a simple gauge. I saw one for like 50 bucks online. My neighbor works at an auto body shop, so I might check to see if he has one of his own. I was looking at the small section I did yesterday, and I only did it for 15-20 seconds. The difference between that spot and the rest of the hood is incredible. It's night and day. One other quick question, and an observation/question: First, would I be on the safe side if I were to use the white product (sorry I don't have all the names down yet), instead of the SHR? I know that might be an unanswerable question since we don't know how much paint is on the car at this point. I just thought it might remove some damage without going as aggressive as the SHR. I guess I am worried about using two products that will remove some paint. That question leads to my observation...something I hadn't thought until now. When using the SHR on a car with clear coat, some of the clear coat is actually being removed, isn't it? We can't see it because it's clear. So, just as I am seeing some paint on the pads because of no clear coat, if clear coat wasn't clear, you'd see that on the pad too. Is that correct? Okay, thanks for taking the time man. I appreciate you coaching me through this. You're a big help. I actually got into this as a result of watching your vids.

Hey AJ, Received my order a couple of days ago. Got to work today with a 2 bucket wash. (The wash pad, shampoo, drying towel, all were awesome. It made it so much easier to wash my car.) Anyway, I used clay bar on the hood (it needed it). I then began with the PC and SHR with the orange pad on a small section to test it. I did several passes and looked at the pad. To my disappointment I saw red on the pad. (My car is red. 2000 Celica GTS.) I buffed the SHR off, and moved to the white pad and white product. I checked and there was red on this pad too. I wasn't pressing hard and I had the PC on like 3500 or 4000. I was pretty bummed, I didn't even try the gray pad with gray product. I couldn't take one more red pad at that point. Any words of wisdom here? The car has swirls. Will I kill the paint if I continue? I can't believe this car wouldn't have any clear coat on it. The paint is shiny. If I can't use it on that car it's not a total loss. I have an 08 xB that I am sure I can use it on. I am just at a loss now regarding my red car.

That's funny! PC 7424XP came today. I also picked up a quick connect set and shutoff valve from Sears and Ace Hardware online. I found them at a good price there. Now I just have to grab some pads and polishes, etc. from Adam's. I'll be sure to use the "Junkman" code if that's still available. After that I'd like to get a foam gun. Then all I need is a free day and nice weather! Talk to you soon!

Makes sense, makes sense. I wasn't considering the wet ground. That would do away with dust, dirt, etc. I might try it. Well, 14 years ago I began dating the girl who would become my wife (who by the way could hold her own in talking hoops with anyone--she even coached girls b-ball at the high school level for a few years--I am one of the lucky guys whose wife loves sports. Anyway, her dad's side of the family hails from Ohio/Kentucky and are big time, out of control UK fans. I didn't have a strong rooting interest in NCAA at the time, outside of local Philly teams...so I jumped on the bandwagon and haven't looked back. I actually wonder if they would have welcomed me into the family if I didn't wear blue! The past several years have been rough, but this season speaks for itself. What a turn around, and what a fun team to watch. As much as I love football, there's nothing like March Madness!!

Hi Junkman, Just ordered my PC, and will be ordering products from Adam's soon. Quick question, more of an observation I guess. I thought it was interesting that you use a leaf blower to dry your car. I read of someone else doing that on another site a few days ago. It seems counterintuitive to me; though I'm sure it works. I would think it would stir up sand/dust/dirt that would land on your paint. Obviously that's not the case or you wouldn't do it. Thanks again for your time and for helping those of us who are new to the detail world. I live just south of Carlisle...I'll have to head up there sometime in the future when you're there and shake your hand. Great stuff. Just wondering...you a UK fan or a Louisville fan...I won't say which way I roll until I hear from you...you might cut me off!!

Thanks so much for the quick response and for the welcome! Your explanation makes perfect sense and I am really grateful to you for pointing that out. I can see that I kind of went through the back door in watching the videos. It's nice to have the full picture now. Have a great weekend man.

Hi Junkman, I love your videos and writing. I've learned a lot since stumbling across them on YouTube. I am ready to begin taking my car care to the next level. I actually found a PCXP for $119--that's the best price I've been able to find. As I prepare to purchase it, I want to be clear about what I need. (That kind of sounds funny since you laid it out so plainly in this video set.) My question actually came about because of a previous video series you did. In that one, you were detailing your daily driver...the car that hadn't been washed for 2 years. In those videos, you mentioned that you used the Haze and Swirl remover instead of the Fine Machine Car Polish because the the Fine Car Polish was more aggressive. You wanted to be able to step it up if you needed to. But, in this set of videos you say to use both Haze and Swirl remover and Fine Car Polish...so that's why I'm a bit confused. Is the Fine Car Polish shining the paint or fixing it? I realize I am rook at this and probably missed something along the way. If you could straighten me out, I would appreciate it. Thanks man!