mc2hill

Nope, no fillers.  It works great as a paint cleaner before applying wax or sealant.

First off, Welcome Matt!
 
Glad to hear to enjoyed your day with the 'boss'.  I have worked several shows for Adam's, and always enjoy working with team and teaching the customers.

Why would you risk leaving the house at all on delivery day?

You ALWAYS need more towels!  The upside is you only have to detailing laundry a few times a year.

A true leader (Adam / CEO) does everything in their power to enable and help the members of their team grow, even if that means losing them at some point.

New for me, anyway: I still had older stuff (Americana, Buttery, etc).
 
So I stripped down, did a paint correction, applied Liquid Sealant by hand. Following week I washed the car and used the HGG.
 
Holy ****!!!! Not only is my car the shiniest its ever been, but nothing (NOTHING!) is sticking to it: no bugs, no dirt, no brid crap, no unidentifiable little boogers - NOTHING.
 
Its amazing how shiny a white Camaro can be with Adams!

Rinseless wash is your friend here.  Wash and dry panel a at a time and you should be fine.  When required (not the optimal thing, but...) I can wash a black truck in the middle of a parking lot/driveway with no water spots.  As with any detailing in hot temps, work smaller than usual areas, not allowing the Rinseless solution to dry, and use plenty of DS before drying.  
 
An example of your work areas:
half the roof (includes rear window) other half of the roof drivers front door (includes windows) drivers rear door (includes windows) driver rear quarter pass. front door (includes windows) pass. rear door (includes windows) pass. rear quarter trunk/tailgate front window half hood front quarter other half hood other front quarter front bumper

Rinseless wash is your friend here.  Wash and dry panel a at a time and you should be fine.  When required (not the optimal thing, but...) I can wash a black truck in the middle of a parking lot/driveway with no water spots.  As with any detailing in hot temps, work smaller than usual areas, not allowing the Rinseless solution to dry, and use plenty of DS before drying.  
 
An example of your work areas:
half the roof (includes rear window) other half of the roof drivers front door (includes windows) drivers rear door (includes windows) driver rear quarter pass. front door (includes windows) pass. rear door (includes windows) pass. rear quarter trunk/tailgate front window half hood front quarter other half hood other front quarter front bumper

I personally never was a fan of the wash pads myself always preferred  a sponge.  But I love the wedge as that is my go to wash media at this time. As far as gloves . I always wear a pair of those long chemical resistant ones. Due just using so many types of chemicals does build up overtime.

this one is from an ice storm that hit us back in 08. I think i still was using my D70 for these, 

 

Spent the day stand up paddleboarding and chilling on the beach at Island Beach State Park in NJ.  The weather was great - mid 80's with low humidity.  Heading back to the sauna of central Florida soon.

Yes, it is very thin.  Shake it up often as you do the whole car. The carnuba chunks in BG will clog a sprayer, so use the pump or the pop top. Enjoy! And yes great weather in NJ today!  We went to Island Beach State Park, did a little stand-up paddle boading, and then chilled on the beach.

Sportin' my summer beard & do at the office.

OCD? Get a label maker for those bottles! 
 

 

 

 

That's the name of the game for any landscape photographer.  
 
Multi is what I use on most landscape work.  Spot or Average for the rest.  
 
And I do take shots for my kids (my daughter & my dog) and other things for fun too.  
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
^^ NOT a photoshop'ed image.  Tried numerous time to capture the perfect splash from the lens mug.

This is Portage Lake Alaska. I used full auto on my Canon xsi.
This is probably one of the best I've taken and one of my favorite scenery pics I've done.

 
I took this pic of a Dall Sheep with my new long range lens.

Excellent post . Thanks for sharing.

We have learned proper lighting is important when chasing swirls. I have been using a pair of 500w halogen lamps on a stand for several years. These work great, and are nice to be around in the winter, but they are brutal in the warmer months. I have seen the LED work lights (pic below) with a similar setup. They are much cooler to work around, but the light is not as bright as the halogens and do not show imperfections as well.

 
I have seen a few different DIY LED light stand builds on other forums, and after seeing Sizzle Chest’s setup I decided to give it a try. Most of the parts are fairly inexpensive, using lightweight photography equipment, but the bulbs are pricey!
 
I started with a stand that included a carrying bag - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008DYHRH4?
psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00

 
This stand has a minimum height of 53”, and a maximum of 100”. It works great for hoods, roofs, and trunks, but just OK for sides. For that reason I am looking at 2 other stands:
 
This one that has a minimum of 33”, max of 80” - http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003PEUA30/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=I2S0K4VP91Z62V&psc=1

 
 
Or this one that is much shorter – Min 17”, max 40”
http://www.amazon.com/Neewer-Collapsible-Aluminium-Photography-Portrait/dp/B00X5GCG12/ref=sr_1_5?s=photo&ie=UTF8&qid=1433004584&sr=1-5

 
 
The second stand includes a ‘stud’ that is attached to the lower leg to allow a second light head to be attached. The downside is the stud must be removed to collapse the stand. There are clamps available to allow you to mount a light head almost anywhere and if I go with the first stand I would add one of these – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00355GFMO/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=IB3IMSHH6UKOR

 
 
The light ‘head’ is the simple part. It is a double mount bracket, with an on/off switch for each lamp, and a short 9’ cord. This just slides over the top of the stand and is tightened down. There are other fiddly bits on the bracket, but as I am not a photographer, I have no idea what they are for.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HZUVX8G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2W8PMFWAIX1V2&coliid=I1UB3VZ74Z4A4V

 
 
So far so good, less than $30 (light head $10.99 + stand $15.99).
 
Now about the light bulbs: There are lots and lots of different types of LED light bulbs out there but to replicate the sun you need a daylight bulb – somewhere around 5000 kelvin on the color temp scale.
 

 
I was able to find my bulb at Lowe’s, but it seems to be an item they are discontinuing –
http://www.lowes.com/pd_150661-75774-LPAR3814005KLEDG5___?productId=50107550&pl=1&Ntt=led+par38+daylight
 

 
It is a size PAR38, 23W (120W equivalent), 5000K, Daylight, Dimmable floodlight bulb. The only store in my area that carried them was the near my house and I picked up 4. Even on ‘closeout’ they were $25.99 EACH! The upside to these bulbs is they have a life of 25,000 hours, so unless you break them, they should last a long, long time.
 
Speaking of breaking them, this setup is very top heavy. The first time I used it I had the stand set at about 6’, bumped into it, and it fell on to the trunk of the A8 I was polishing! After a few choice words, my stomach dropped when I saw white marks on the paint! The heat fins from the bulb had marked the paint. Luckily it was just paint transfer and was quickly removed with the polisher, with no further damage to the car or the lights. After that I decided to look for a simple fix and found it at a local thrift store:
Discarded ankle weights!
 

 
I paid $3 for one at the thrift store, but they are about $17 new (I bought a pair when I got tired of driving around to the Goodwill’s).  This is one I found (they only had one), and it easily fits over the upright part of the stand, and provides just enough weight to offset the bulbs. I removed 2 of the weight packs, so it is probably at 4 pounds. The plus with these is they wrap around the light stand when it is folded. 

 
 
So now we are up to $80
Stand          $15.99
Light head    10.99
2 LED bulbs  50.00
Weights           3.00
Not too bad and much cheaper than a pair of the LED work lights with a stand.
Here is what you get:

 
 
So how well do they work?
A shot of both lights on full: The halogen mounting bracket puts them farther apart than the LED bracket, but that is not really an issue:

 
LED:


 
Halogen:


 
 
Why are they better then Halogens?
Front of lights

 
vs.

 
Now the temp at the back:

 
vs.

 
Other options:
You could add a boom to put the light over a flat surface (hood, roof, etc.)  
 

 
 
Conclusions:
I really enjoy working with the LED lights. They are more comfortable to work around, and I prefer the whiter light they produce.  I think they show more defects too.
They also draw less power, so no more worry about tripping a fuse when using the lights and the polisher.
 
 
Please feel free to ask questions or suggest improvements. I am not a photographer, nor an electrical engineer, so there are probably better ways to do this!
 

What color is it?  A darker color (black, dark blue, etc.)  will probably need 2 steps, but lighter colors (especially light metallic colors) can be done with PCP with a MF pad and finish down without a 2nd step.  Do some test spots to know for certain.  For this guy, maybe try PFP on an orange pad to see what results you get.

Your spending too much time in the house, and not enough time outside detailing.  

If there's seals exposed make sure to tape them off or they could get stained. Also if you do use a polish do not assume you'd have to use a lot of pressure cause you are doing it by hand, that material is usually softer than regular clear coat

How about if you could wash and dry you car in 15 minutes, use only 3.5 gallons of water, and do it in the garage?  I have been using rinseless washes on my cars for about 5 years, and rarely use a regular 2 bucket wash (only time is for a 'strip' wash with APC).

Damn Phil!!!  When I saw your pictures I swear I heard a chorus of angels singing "aaaahhhh".  That looks fantastic!  

200mm f/2.8, 1/800th

With all of the hype over waxes, sealers, the new HGG, and other exterior cleaners, let us not forget our interior friends:  Carpet and Upholstery, Leather and Interior, and the others.  I always tell customers when they come into the shop and are browsing the vast wall of products that they should give the interior products a look.  Here's some proof......this is a 2003 Infinity G35.  I don't know if the interior of this thing has ever been cleaned.