Hot_Wheel

I getting better, really I am.... I only made one order in the last week....

....ok, so it was FOUR mystery boxes, but it was ONE order! 

At Safeway, they have a 6-pack carrier for wine bottles.  I use that and a "Men's Shoe Box" from The Container Store. I put velcro on the bottom of the box and an Adam's sticker on the lid.  It's a great combo for when I go out to Car's 'n Coffee.

Probably not a great idea to leave product in the trunk when it's really cold out.  Even when it's mildly warm the trunk can get really hot.

Wouldn't a water softener help in this situation?  I've had shampoo dry on the car with no spotting, as we have softer water in the SF Bay Area.

Sounds like they wanted to upgrade their position in the industry, so they went after one of the best, trained and supported by the best.  

Enjoy Dylan!  Do great things improving this crazy hobby/profession we all spend too much time/money on.

We're having concerns about water in the SF Bay Area.  We've had virtually no rain to speak of.  BUT, I can't have dirty cars -- it hurts my heart.

Foamed both cars (Mini Cooper S Countryman & the Hot Wheel) and washed them with the Rinse-less Wash, then Detail Sprayed & dried them.  The foam didn't take off as much as I would have expected.  

The Rinse-less did a good job, but it doesn't feel... I don't know... "slippery" enough?  I used just a little more than what it calls for on the second car, but it still felt like I was barely safe on the paint.  

The only thing making me feel better was the sealant I had put on them earlier this year.

I typically get my everyday belts at crafts fares and such, most of the time you can see the guy making the belt right there.  Works for me.

Ack!!  I second everything said so far.  I came to this forum from one of Dylan's videos and I stayed because of his professional presence on the forums.

Best of luck to you (what is the new venture?).

Oh, and I'll cover the beers in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Heck, I'd even go North to Sacramento or South to Santa Cruz or Monterey to buy you a beer (or 5).

I did my Camaro and my wife's Mini Countryman in less than two hours.  Great stuff.

You are not the only one (as it appears).  I put on my headphones and I tend to get a bit annoyed when I get interrupted.

...of course I'm getting old, so interruptions mean I may forget what I was doing...

I have a HS senior with straight A's and a college freshman at USC and a loving wife -- I have everything I could want (and can pay for) at this point.

....although I wouldn't mind a color-changing halo headlight system for my Hot Wheels Camaro....

I'm in for a large.

Awesome!!  I did my first detail this year for someone else (my dad's Vette for his birthday) and I'm also 51.

GO OLD DUDES!!

Ok.  Got it.  I'm old, so sometimes it take a bit longer.  

Would the rinseless increase the dwell time for the foam gun/cannon?

Thanks.  I'll look forward to the video.

Ok, I'll ask the stupid question: What is the difference between a rinseless wash and a waterless wash?

I think it's not a Camaro... 

Honestly, I think it's a nice progression, but it feels less aggressive.

great job, but what did you mean by using $75 worth of products? or you mean $75 worth of different products? This is part of the bday joke right? or am I thinking too hard? lol

Nope, not just part of the joke.  I went through nearly 30 oz of Deep Wheel Cleaner and I went through 36 oz of APC including clean-up, and I estimated the rest based on gallon prices (not including shipping  ).  If you use 4 oz of shampoo in the foam gun along with a couple ounces of WW, and then use APC with shampoo in the 2 buckets wash, etc., etc., etc.... it adds up.

Welcome to the Camaro family and the Adam's family!

Spent another 3 hours on it yesterday before I drove it back to him.  It was already dark, so I didn't get any finished photos.  He sent these today.

I used the PC for the brilliant glaze.  That was great and saved a bunch of time.  The Americana went on and buffed off so smoothly, I almost thought I was doing it wrong.  I used the UFO pad for the leather, as I do for my Hot Wheel, and it worked great.  I also dressed much of the engine bay as well as the wiper well and the tires.

I didn't get to seal the glass, and wanted to do more meticulous work on the interior (vents, etc), but this is MUCH better than it was.

I also mocked up an invoice for my time and materials (over $75 in Adam's products) with a notation that it was a complimentary birthday service.... "Devils In The Detailing" was the name of the "company" on the invoice...

I've been on the forums for a bit and I've done many 2 bucket washes.  I have acquired quite a bit of Adam's products, but I had yet to actually clay a car or use my Porter Cable.... Until today....

I gave my dad a detail for his 2000 Corvette for his birthday.  He bought it about a month ago, and it was looking pretty sad.  Today was the day I had scheduled.  

I started at about 7:30 this morning getting stuff out for the work.  I took just under an hour for lunch, and I took a 40 minute detour to wash/dry my wife's car, and I came in for dinner as it was getting dark around 6:40pm.  My process was:

--Got out all of my stuff.

--Set up the pop-up canopy.

--Pulled out the stuff from the interior including the dash-rug and a couple of items my dad left in the car.

--Vacuumed the interior, including the seats and the vents

--Washed the engine bay and hood liner. 

--Metro-dried the engine bay & hood liner.

--Deep cleaned the wheels (they were *nasty*)

--Deconned the paint with DWC (got some good reactions going there)

--Foamed the car with APC/Shampoo & rinsed

--Foamed the car again with straight shampoo

--2-bucket wash with APC/Shampoo

--Dried the car, with towels & the Metro-vac

--Clayed the paint & windows (first time!!)

--FMP the entire car using the Porter Cable (first time!!)

--Quick-sealed the car, including the wheels

--Carpet & Upholstery cleaned the removable floor mats

--Took down the pop-up tent

Still need to do:

--Clean the interior with Leather & Interior Cleaner

--Do the windows

--Apply Leather Conditioner

--Dress the engine bay

--Dress the plastics/rubber

--Dress the tires

--Apply Undercarriage Spray

--Apply Brilliant Glaze (Can't decide if I want to do it by and or with the PC)

--Apply Americana or Buttery Wax (will depend on time and my confidence level)

Next time I do his car, I'll seal the window glass.  I don't think I'll have time this go-around.

Did most of the detail for my dad's 2000 Corvette.

Wow!  Lots of comments while I was at work...  Thanks very much for the link to the hang-tag.  I will definitely be printing that out and using it.

Also the tip about the windshield wiper is important.

I got the free oil change, and I got to break out the Waterless Wash when I got home, so all-in-all not a horrible experience...

I took my Hot Wheel in to the dealership for its first oil change.  I went to pick it up, and when I saw my key, there was a tag that said "washed. out front."  I murmured "No, please don't tell me they washed my car."  I guess I said it a little louder than I thought.  The woman at the cashier counter blanched.  

I quickly said "Hey, no worries.  It's my fault for not saying anything."  She still rushed off towards the service counter.

One of the service guys came out an apologized, saying "sorry, you weren't listed as a no-wash customer."

"Totally my fault.  No problem.  I didn't say anything up front.  It never occurred to me that you'd wash the car for an oil change... By the way, does your car wash just use water jets?"

"No, it has brushes." (I must have reacted) "BUT, they are really soft brushes."

He apologized again, and now I felt bad.  But I was more mad at myself.  When I got home I had to deal with water spots and drips from the tail-lights, etc.  Lesson learned, I guess.  Kudos as well to the service folks for taking the time to apologize for doing something they thought was a bonus.

Cleaned up the Hot Wheel and went to the Blackhawk Auto Museum for the first-Sunday-of-the-month "Cars & Coffee".  There were 31 Gen5 Camaros there.  We drove in with the Corvette Syndicate and we had a fantastic Chevy section of the lot.

I did some touch-ups just before we drove in with Interior Detailer, Super VRT, Glass Cleaner and Detail Spray.