WMUCarGuy

Hi All,

I've never dealved into the world of ceramic, but a buddy of mine let me borrow his Ceramic Wheel Kit.

I have 3 existing wheels for my 2017 Focus ST, which have been in storage all winter and one brand new one, all of which will go back on the car this spring with a new set of Michelins, but I thought, while they're off the car, I should ceramic coat them, and that's where I am, now.

The three existing wheels were washed, clayed and coated with buttery wax in early December and have been stacked up in my dry garage all winter. Outside of a bit of dust, they're still extremely clean.

So my big question is - will using the included "Coating Prep" be sufficient to prep these three wheels for the wheel coating? It's too cold here to wash them with a hose, so wondering if just wiping them down really well with the coating prep would be sufficient since they were cleaned REALLY well prior to being put in storage and have not been used since.

Also, is the "Coating Prep" included in this kit different from the "Surface Prep" currently listed on Adam's website?

Thanks all! 

11 hours ago, The Guz said:

Can not see your photos.  A coating would be the better option to with stand the heat.

Can you see them now?

Adam's customer support confirmed that Liquid Paint Sealant would be OK on painted calipers.

Hi all, 

I'm getting my 2008 Mustang Bullitt ready for its first Concours D'Elegance and I've got the wheels off to do the inner barrel and the wheel wells. 

While I'm here, would it be safe to use Liquid Paint Sealant or Patriot Wax on the brake calipers to give them a bit more shine and protection?

Obviously heat is a factor with brakes, so I don't want to apply either and have there be some kind of heat-induced chemical reaction that causes problems, but what are your thoughts?

Forgive the rusty rotor - I haven't driven the car since I washed in on Saturday... Nothing a quick drive won't fix!

Hi everyone... here's something different.

A buddy of mine has a cooktop that has a tempered glass top piece. Likely via some abrasive cleaner, him or his wife has managed to dig some pretty significant swirls into the tempered glass cooktop.

He's not in any way a detailer, or someone that would consider taking a wheel to his car, or his cooktop, but he's done some research and tried a few things already that did not improve the situation. So far he has tried baking soda and water, whitening toothpaste. He's also read about using pumice soap or 0000 grit sand paper to wet sand it.

Would any kind of Adam's polish or compound do anything to remove any of these swirls when used with a wheel? Might he see any improvements using product by hand?

If no automotive detailing products would be the answer, does anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks!

Hi guys,

I got a Chemical Guys Torx polisher for Christmas, and I'd like to get pads for it to apply glaze/sealant/wax.

Both Adam's and CG offer these pads, but I'm curious if you guys feel they can be used interchangeably? I currently have all Adam's Polishes products as far as glazes, sealants and waxes. Does anyone know if I'd be fine using Adam's products on a Chemical Guys pad, or vice versa? I'd like to use the CG pads, but I have a ton of Adam's products that I'd like to use, so what is my best way forward?

Would an Adam's pad attach to the Torx polisher just the same? Maybe I could just use the Adam's pads on the Torx polisher? If they both fit, realistically, can I expect much difference in how the two pads perform?

https://adamspolishes.com/collections/exterior-polishing-pads/products/adam-s-new-6-red-foam-glazing-pad

Moderator Edit: Per Group Rules, no direct-linking of competitor products. Thank you for understanding.

I will be detail a friend's Mini Cooper in the next couple of weeks. It has a couple of stripes on the hood and stripes along the rocker panels. They're a glossy stripe, so I'm guessing it should be no problem, but can I use Brilliant Brilliant Glaze and Paint Sealant on stripes? I'm doing everything by hand.

My bottle of the old school pink shampoo has finally run out and I'm curious what everyone's thoughts are on the new blue shampoo vs. the ultra foam is? I'll be continuing to use the basic two-bucket hand wash method, not planning to invest in a foam cannon at this time. Does the ultra foam offer any benefits over the standard shampoo, if you're just doing a traditional hand wash, or do you really see gains with that product if it's coming out of a cannon?

Thanks, in advance!

So I just pulled out my WeatherTech floor mats and gave them a good scrubbing using a combination of APC and Tire and Rubber Cleaner. 

They look a lot better than they did, but my question is could I slap on a coat of Super VRT to give them a little bit nicer looking finish? Or would that result in a slippery finish that I might not want for a floor mat

What kinds of places can apply these types of packages. We have a baby on the way and it might be a good idea to get something like that done before baby comes.

My wife had a vase of flowers sitting between her legs and some of the water sloshed out and got on my seats.

What will be the best way to clean this?

A friend just posed a rather interesting question regarding the Adam's Ceramic Wheel Coating. If you ceramic coat the inner drum of your wheel, would there then be any issue with being able to attach new wheel weights in the future? I could see the surface now being so slick that nothing would attach to it....

I've got a few places on my Focus ST where road salt has stained the interior carpets. I should have addressed it months ago, but as the daily, I'm just getting to it now.

Would the new Multi-Use Foaming Cleaner work on these types of stains? If not, any recommendations?

I got a set of Weathertech floor liners for Christmas, so we only went about 1/3 of the winter with the carpets exposed, but that was enough leave behind some nasty stains.

What are my options?

Thanks!

It's always said you should limit the number of coats of wax/sealant you're layering over top of each other, but what about Guard and Gloss?

Can it be used every time I wash my car, or should it only be used occasionally, since, in theory, it has a sealant in it, right?

I just detailed my wife's Subaru Crosstrek and used Liquid Paint Sealant for the first time. So far, I'm amazed by the results of actually using the product, and the shine upon completion. I've yet to see how well it will hold up over time, but I'm expecting good things. This car looks really neat with the baby blue paint and the chunky black cladding.

For the car's next couple of washes, I was aiming to just do a simple wash and then use Guard & Gloss to dry & finish things off. I just purchased G&G, but have not used it yet. Are there any issues with repeated applications of G&G on top of paint sealant over time? I won't be washing the car all the time, maybe every couple of weeks, but I want to make sure piling layers of G&G on top of each other, on top of paint sealant isn't eventually going to make things look wonky, how having too many coats of wax on top of each other could.

Thanks!

5 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

Yup. My wife’s car is not coated. It’s always maintained with traditional waxes and sealants. Paint sealant works well, as does guard and gloss. We have a small amount of quick sealant around that we still use from time to time. It’s just a spray sealant. Personally, I’d either go guard and gloss on it or paint sealant. Sealant being the more durable choice. 

Awesome. I'll use paint sealant, then, as that's what I'm using on the paint.

1 minute ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

You can try it out, but I’m sure that sealant and VRT will give you the appearance you’re looking for. I actually own a Crosstrek that’s been ceramic coated and my wife has one that hasn’t been. They’re common guinea pigs for us to try different processes. 

Have you done anything specifically on the roof racks that worked, or didn't? I don't have any of the ceramic stuff, that's more of an investment than I'm aiming to make.

But have you used wax/sealant/etc. on the roof racks?

13 minutes ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

We have used VRT on them and we have coated them. Guard & Gloss would work just fine on that application. 

 

Guard & Gloss can be applied wet or dry. There’s two methods. So you could carefully apply it to just the roof rack and protect them without affecting anything else. 

 

Short of a coating, my preferred method would be to just use paint sealant on them

for the longest protection. 

That's a good point. Perhaps I'll try a bit of paint sealant on the inside were it isn't as noticeable, to make sure the finish still look OK.

The finish isn't perfectly smooth, like car paint. It's also not a very rough "crinkle" powder coat. Should paint sealant still work on a finish that isn't "smooth"?

11 hours ago, ZMAN024 said:

No harm from using H2O G&G if you are applying it to the rest of the car.  

I wasn't planning on using Garden gloss this time, since it is the very first ever detail for the car. Planning on a strip wash clay bar, brilliant glaze and paint sealant. 

If I use guard and gloss while drying the car after washing won't I be just wasting product since I plan to do all those other steps afterwards?

My wife just bought a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek and this weekend I will be giving it its first detail. One thing I haven't encountered before are roof racks.

This car has one. I believe it is Powder coated aluminum but I don't know for sure. It's definitely not finished with normal automotive paint or the same plastic material that you see used for trim.

That said what kind of products should I consider using to protect the Finish on these bars?

13 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Nick brings up a great point. Even though It's new, you never know what happened during shipment and/or at the dealer. So for perfect paint to start, it's highly recommended to strip wash (removes any products that may have been applied along the way, like waxes or glazes), clay or iron decon (for any contaminants clinging to the paint), polish (for any detailer installed swirls), and finally seal. The iron decon that I think Nick's referring to is an alternative to clay and can be done with Wheel Cleaner (do a Google search for "Adams iron decontamination" for the video).

 

Be sure to post some pics when you're done!

That was my plan! I was definitely under no impression that the car would be anything close to actually clean when we picked it up.

She's getting a 2018 Subaru Crosstrek.

I've been using Americana Paste Wax for years, but now everyone seems to be all about paint sealant.

What are the Pros & Cons of Adam's Paint Sealant vs. Americana.

My wife is picking up a new car tomorrow and I'd like to get her set up with some spectacular looking paint right away!

17 hours ago, 8675309'SS said:

@WMUCarGuy you definitely want to spray that bad boy before you perform a rinseless.  The weather here just sucks right now. Not much you can do without some heat.  Over here we might get a day above freezing in about a week.  So maybe you'll have one too. 

Looks like we might get one day of 34 next Monday before it plunges back down for as far as my weather app will look. Guess I know what I'm doing next Monday evening...

9 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Use a local coin op to spray it (with water only) to get the excess crud off, then do a rinsless or waterless at home. You can also follow Adam's lead in his latest winter wash video if coin op place will allow it (off peak hours?) and it's semi warm outside.

 

 

 

Once it's semi-warm out, I'l just wash it, but until the temperatures come up above freezing, I don't think I have many options.

Our HIGH will be in the single digits several days this week...

Right now, we have an arctic blast coming through Michigan and the temperatures haven't been above freezing for the last 10 days and it's looking like it will probably be another week or so before it breaks.

As such, you can't really wash your car since spraying it down with water when it's 10 degrees out will just result in everything freezing.

My Focus ST is now completely filthy, but I don't know if there's much I can do until the cold breaks. Do you guys have any suggestions on what to do when it's too cold to wash your car outside (and don't have access to a heated garage)?

I feel horrible, I never let my cars get like this, but unless I had a heated wash bay to use, I'm not sure what other options I have....

So I am re-doing a guitar to match my car. Can any of you tell me if Adam's products (I was thinking things like Brilliant Glaze and Buttery Wax) will be safe to use on a guitar finish? Obviously it will never see many of the conditions a car does, but I want it to shine and stay shiny. Would it be advisable to use Adam's products on the guitar body?