Need help with choosing best products for my situation

[John707]

Good morning everyone. I just purchased a new 2019 pearl white Chevy Tahoe and want to get this thing fully detailed inside and out. I have researched and came to conclusion Adam's is the products I want to use. Heck, even the official Chevrolet website sells/recommends them so they must be awesome!

 

My short intro---I use to work detail at a Ford dealership in my early 20s for a few years. Flash forward 15 years I know am married with a 6/5/2 year olds. Lets just say life is hectic right now! And time I will have to complete my exterior detail is limited.

 

What I am looking for is the quickest but best way to clay and wax the exterior. I was leaning on Adams medium clay mitt but the waxes I am lost. I do want to clay, polish, and then seal the paint for sure. I don't think my budget includes an electric polisher so I may be stuck doing by hand unless there are a super budget friendly polisher on the market? 

 

Any recommendations please? Thank you all! 

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

2 hours ago, John707 said:

Thanks csk for the reply and info! Yah this Tahoe is large enough I am really debating on hitting all the jams or not. Maybe I'll just ceramic coat jams call it a day lol.

I agree with @RayS he made some great suggestions.

 

Door jamba may be a good idea to protect, but I would make protecting the exterior a priority since it’s exposed to the sun and road grime

[John707]

Thank you all!

 

I am home from work and reading a ton of threads here on AF forum, just fantastic info all around. 

 

I read on a thread that either clay or mitt can cause marring and a polish is a good idea after claying regardless of what method is used. My question is what exactly is marring...is it black streaks in the paint from the clay/mitt? And will the polish I plan on using (Adam's revive hand polish by hand application) be good enough to remove any marring I cause by the clay mitt?

 

To be honest I plan on the clay mitt cause the Tahoe is huge and I want to save time as best I can. Thanks!

Edited September 20, 2019 by John707

[John707]

Morning fellas. Watched and read a ton last night I feel I am ready to tackle this big job! 

 

With the clay mitt, my plan is to wash the truck with Adams car shampoo, rinse it off, but not dry it. Then I will spray Detail Spray as I clay with the mitt like how it was shown on the youtube clay mitt video.  My question is do I dry the parts I clay with a microfiber towel as I go along or no need to?

 

After claying I will do a quick wash to remove any residue with the car shampoo again then rinse and dry off. Park it in garage and on day 2 go to town on the polish/sealant. I will do a quick wipe down with waterless wash before polishing/sealant on day 2. 

[John707]

I was just thinking, I have a water softener system at my home. The outlet bib in front of the house that I use for car washing is not hooked into the water softener system. My backyard bib is though so I am wondering if it is worth the time/effort to run a few long hoses to the backyard water bib for washing cars with soft water? Hmmm 

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

John, that looks like a great plan! Remember to take your time when polishing and do test spots with products before you go for it just to be sure you are happy with the results.

 

and about your softener. That can make a huge difference in your washes and significantly reduce the risk of getting hard water spots.

[John707]

New twist! I posted a question on Amazon about what to use for the quick wipedown prior to polish/sealant after storing in garage for a day. Adam's responded with the following:

 

"We recommend using Detail Spray because this will help your wax bond better to the surface for application. Waterless Wash should be used if you need to clean your car but since this will be stored in a garage Detail Spray will remove the fine dust particles that may have settled on your vehicle. Thanks!"

 

Looks like I'll use the DS which will save me from having to buy the waterless wash kit for now since I am buying a gallon of the DS to use for the claying process. 

Edited September 20, 2019 by John707

[John707]

"To be honest, I wouldnt put ANY product on the car after claying if you still haven't gotten around to polishing and waxing. The reason why is that unless you're gonna strip the sealant in waterless wash that day, your polish isn't going to cut through all the way so you will have an incomplete job"

 

Another response from random amazon reviewer. Hmmmm now I am thinking to wipe it down with a wet microfiber and use no product? Thoughts?

[falcaineer]

Detail Spray is perfectly fine and safe to remove any dust you want to remove. It's what many of us use to prime the polish pads before polishing anyway, myself included, and I've never had an issue on any color or style car I've done. 

 

FYI, Waterless Wash won't strip anything, let alone Sealant, so I'm not sure what the random reviewer was saying.

[falcaineer]

10 hours ago, John707 said:

your polish isn't going to cut through all the way so you will have an incomplete job"

 

I'm also really confused by this statement. Polish and compound will cut through the Detail Spray residue so quickly it's not even worth mentioning. It will also remove sealant and even Adam's coatings, then get to work on the swirls (maybe after a pad change). Don't worry. You're good to go!

[John707]

Thank you! I have $400 worth of goodies in my cart on adams website ready to go! Taking advantage of the free shipping + 15% off going on right now saving a ton verses Amazon though it will take longer to get to me that is ok.

 

My wife is not going to be happy just dropped $60k for our SUV now $400 in detailing products but my excuse is "darling we need to protect our new truck right?" Lol.

[John707]

Guys I have a pressure washer but wanted to ask if the pressure is too high to use to wash vehicles? I use it for cleaning my driveway and smoker grill grates and other uses but scared about using for the vehicle and paint. 

Edited September 21, 2019 by John707

[GXPaycheck]

3 hours ago, John707 said:

Guys I have a pressure washer but wanted to ask if the pressure is too high to use to wash vehicles? I use it for cleaning my driveway and smoker grill grates and other uses but scared about using for the vehicle and paint. 

Details? What kind and what pressure?

[falcaineer]

9 hours ago, John707 said:

Guys I have a pressure washer but wanted to ask if the pressure is too high to use to wash vehicles? I use it for cleaning my driveway and smoker grill grates and other uses but scared about using for the vehicle and paint. 

 

The pressure isn't necessarily what matters, it's the tip. Don't use the 0', obviously, but what other sizes do you have?

[tlbullet]

10 hours ago, John707 said:

Thank you! I have $400 worth of goodies in my cart on adams website ready to go! Taking advantage of the free shipping + 15% off going on right now saving a ton verses Amazon though it will take longer to get to me that is ok.

 

My wife is not going to be happy just dropped $60k for our SUV now $400 in detailing products but my excuse is "darling we need to protect our new truck right?" Lol.

Tell the wife You have to protect your. “Investment” !!😜 

[John707]

Good evening guys. I have an electric Sunjoe got off amazon nothing fancy. It has 0/15/25/40 nozzles. Maybe the 40° will be safe for car washing?

[John707]

2 hours ago, tlbullet said:

Tell the wife You have to protect your. “Investment” !!😜 

 

Lol I initially put "protect our investment" in my post you quoted but changed it out as the minute I drove off the lot the darn thing depreciated so much I can't consider it an investment lol. 

[Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin]

1 hour ago, John707 said:

Good evening guys. I have an electric Sunjoe got off amazon nothing fancy. It has 0/15/25/40 nozzles. Maybe the 40° will be safe for car washing?

Yes that should be fine. I put my hand in the stream of the pressure washer before I put it on my paint to get a feel for it.

 

you should look into getting a foam cannon and some mega foam. It makes the experience so much more enjoyable and it’s safer on your paint by adding lubrication and allowing the initial foaming to remove dirt from the surface

[falcaineer]

2 hours ago, John707 said:

Good evening guys. I have an electric Sunjoe got off amazon nothing fancy. It has 0/15/25/40 nozzles. Maybe the 40° will be safe for car washing?

 

25 will work, too. 

[John707]

12 hours ago, Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin said:

Yes that should be fine. I put my hand in the stream of the pressure washer before I put it on my paint to get a feel for it.

 

you should look into getting a foam cannon and some mega foam. It makes the experience so much more enjoyable and it’s safer on your paint by adding lubrication and allowing the initial foaming to remove dirt from the surface

 

Yo yo your messing my budget up...I am about to buy the foam cannon! Lol

 

I saw so many ways to use this on youtube....but can I use the foam can like this:

 

1. Pressure wash truck rinsing it well

2. Foam cannon the whole vehicle let sit a few minutes

3. Hand wash truck

4. Spray off with pressure washer - Done

 

 

I've seen videos where people foam cannon the vehicle and then rinse the suds off completely then start hand washing. My thought is to foam cannon the truck then instead of rinsing off just start hand washing. 

Edited September 22, 2019 by John707

[John707]

Guys if I do the foam cannon can I get away with just a rinse bucket? Or would I still use wash and rinse buckets?

[John707]

I bought 2 grit guards, 1 for wash bucket and 1 for tire bucket. Does the tire bucket even need a grit guard? I never used a wash/rinse 2 bucket system but maybe I need to start hmmmm

[falcaineer]

54 minutes ago, John707 said:

Guys if I do the foam cannon can I get away with just a rinse bucket? Or would I still use wash and rinse buckets?

 

The Foam Canon can essentially eliminate a 2-bucket method, but it's your call on it you want to do that or not. 

 

48 minutes ago, John707 said:

I bought 2 grit guards, 1 for wash bucket and 1 for tire bucket. Does the tire bucket even need a grit guard? I never used a wash/rinse 2 bucket system but maybe I need to start hmmmm

 

No, the tire bucket doesn't need a grit guard. Those are used to clean your wash pads by scrubbing them against the guard at the bottom of the bucket.

[GXPaycheck]

I use the cannon and the 2 bucket method. Depends on how dirty the car is. Sometimes just a foam and a rinse will work.

You can use one bucket (for dirty wash media) if you use multiple wash pads. Just foam and wipe. Sometimes you have to foam/rinse/foam before grabbing the wash mit. All depends on the car and your mood. 

I use grit guards in ALL my buckets, even the wheel/tire one. It’s cheap insurance and it helps the brushes dry after emptying. 

You can always use a foam gun instead of the cannon if you want to save money, and there are newer foaming pump sprayers on the market that may one day replace the cannon. 

And blow drying the car afterwards will get you some strange looks from your neighbors 😆, so get a Master Blaster!

[John707]

Ok for a semi dirty truck:

 

1. Hose down truck.

2. Foam cannon

3. Hand wash with only 1 bucket for wash mit occasional rinsing

4. Spray truck and done

 

Would this method work? My thinking is the foam cannon eliminates my need for a wash bucket is that correct?

Edited September 22, 2019 by John707

[John707]

Well gx...I need to look at this master blaster I guess! SOLD! Lol

 

Or maybe my leaf blower would suffice hmmmm