shane@detailedreflections

You can use the other products over a ceramic coating. It won’t hurt them. It simply may not be the ideal matchup. In my opinion (and opinions vary), ceramic coatings play best with other ceramic based products to maintain their function as designed.

Its white and most likely only visible in harsh lighting. The more aggressive you get, the more cautious you need to be. Granted what you’re using isn’t particularly aggressive, you still want to have good practice. Chasing perfection is a futile effort. At least not without a vast array of resources. For reference, most of our work is done in one to three stages of polish. People don’t usually want to pay for the true correction when you can get great results without that kind of expense. That being said, we do use different polishes and pads than are offered here. But the Adams products work well. Don’t sacrifice clear coat protection for perfection that won’t be achieved and won’t last in the end.

You ask a loaded question as far as what’s acceptable on a daily driver. We aim for what I would call “eye clean.” This means in the sunlight, you don’t see any/many scratches. Under the lighting we use, you may still see some imperfections. It’s part of why softer light or rolling a vehicle into the sun if it’s available is part of our process. As far as what’s acceptable as a professional, that comes down to what the client paid for. If you paid for a single stage polish, it is what it is. Most of our polishing is sold in stages. This means that you get one, two or three steps of polish and what comes out...comes out. People go for those options because it has a defined price. If you want total paint correction, it’s hourly and the bill can add up fast at $85/hour for just polishing. For a pro, the question is did we provide what we said we’d deliver? And did we manage expectations? With all of that out of the way, don’t get carried away chasing imperfections. Particularly in a daily driver. It’s not worth it. Keep in mind that every time you polish, you’re removing clear coat. You don’t want to remove more than 1/3 of the clear in the life of the vehicle before you lose UV protection and accelerate clear coat failure. That’s the reason we advocate the use of some kind of paint thickness gauge. Particularly if it’s someone taking money to detail.

Paint sealant should last about six months. Give or take. One step products last far less since they’re nothing more than compromises. If we seal, we use wax over if. And we wax every 4-8 weeks depending on wax and environment. I’m not sure I understand exactly what you’re asking?

You’re welcome.

It will remove the protection you have on. Polishes are abrasive and function by removing the surface of the paint. The sealant will not hold up and you’ll be left with just the limited protection of the one step product which is not as durable as the sealant.

Congrats Ray. Paying off college is no small task. That’s for sure! More importantly is your son in laws safe return again from another deployment. Hopefully he gets some time off and a break before being sent out again if he’s needed. It sounds like you and your family are enjoying quite a bit of success! Enjoy the ups while they last! And that wine...yes please!

Sending you a private message.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner from us, and I remember last year taking a few moments and writing a post about what I was thankful for! I figured I'd start it again where people can share what they're thankful for. Something positive! The last year has brought about a ton of changes for us, both a business and me personally. On a personal level, it seems my family grew significantly and unexpectedly. We are now a foster home for my wife's cousin's four children. The challenges are endless, but I can say we are doing a good thing. Despite the battles we have with DCF and occasionally the children themselves, I know they're in a better place because we've opened our home to them. They are now safe, cared for, healthy and fed properly. We still haven't wrapped our heads around all that they've been through and know the road will be long and full of questions but it's a journey that will shape who we are as individuals and as a family. Thankfully my wife and I have a strong relationship and can weather the many storms this whole situation can and has brought about. My daughter finished out her senior year of high school soccer and is going to be going to Elmira College in NY on a partial soccer scholarship to play goalkeeper for them. She's excited, and I'm glad we were able to end the college search when we did and before our family situation changed. Business wise...man, we've grown so much. A little less than two years ago, I wouldn't have imagined us being where we are now. We were just a couple of guys in a garage trying to keep some cars clean and make a few dollars. This year we've added a new member to the team who's still learning, but killing it and putting in full effort when we give him the task. I made a comment in our "latest work thread" as I looked back through and can see how we've grown so much. We've been accredited by a leader in the detailing field, we've installed another bay and have it set up in a fashion that allows us to really expand our product. So far this year we've already grown more than four times in terms of sales numbers. The number still isn't a huge one by comparison, but I'm happy with the growth and that we've been able to keep up. We still haven't even put money into advertising. Everything we do is word of mouth and social media so to be able to keep work coming in is pretty awesome. Looking back at photos, the quality of our finished products is improving. We still have much growth to achieve and so much to learn still. But we are making it happen! Oh yeah, and in the spring we had our first detailing clinic which was a lot of fun for us. It was even attended by some forum members. We already have the next one planned and it sounds like it's going to be bigger and better. I'm thankful for online communities such as this one. We can learn from other members here, and have the opportunity to give back and help encourage people's enthusiasm for what they do. When people see what they can achieve, it pushes them to do more. We are happy to be a part of that growth and experience for members here. I plan to stick around and answer as many questions as we can on the forum or that are sent to us! And most of all, I'm thankful that I actually get Thanksgiving off this year and get to spend it with my family. I can't say the same for Christmas, but it comes with the territory of my career. I'll take what I can get and be happy. Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy the time with your families and take a moment to take it all in. We are lucky to be here.

Thanks! Looking back through this thread it’s an awesome timeline of how we consistently improve in our workflow and products. The results are evident from where we started to where we are now! I’m blown away!

The best way? Steam and hot water extraction. But that’s not an option for everyone. So in the absence the of that a shop vac, horse hair brush (or boars hair) and generous carpet and upholstery cleaner should get it up. Spills exactly like you have here are why we recommend the leather and upholstery/carpet protection packages. Think scotch gard, but stronger. Water would bead up mostly and can be taken care of promptly. Food for thought in the future.

You got it. I’ll try to remember to include the EXIF data from my shots.

No problem! I’m no expert, but you can see our images. The 85mm lens doesn’t work well inside cars unless you plan to do a lot of cropping and weird angles. A 50mm isn’t a bad compromise. So many factors. Would it be helpful if as I post photos I post the image data as well? Assuming I can remember to?

Thanks man! Save money and get the 1.8 honestly. The depth of field at 1.4 is next to useless for auto photography. More useful for portrait, and even then the 1.8 will work well. I know for Nikon the 1.8 is about $215 and the 1.4 is just under $500. Food for thought. Most of those were taken with 85mm 1.8. The interior was 50mm 1.8. Very few pics shot wide open aperature.

And the Ford GT350 is back home with it's owner and we picked up his wife's C7 Corvette Grand Sport for the same treatment! It was an overcast day, and a cold one at that! So the lighting could have been way better for the photos. But...it's enough to get the idea in natural light. Enjoy!

So let’s start at the beginning. Heat is a factor in both application of product and comfort. The heat on the product makes it flash or dry out quicker resulting in a shorter open (or working) time. The heat on the car has the same effect. Ideally 60-80 is perfect and 70ish is the best for comfort. When it’s colder it can take longer to flash. When it’s warmer, it’ll flash faster. Humidity is also a factor in the form of moisture. Heat and humidity and you’re really putting in the work! If it’s warm, any air conditioner will knock the humidity out and get you comfortable. As for the vehicle, it’s helpful if it’s not blazing hot from being in the sun all day. The products used will go much further. And as a random note, to get more open time on a humid day when installing a coating you can store the bottle in a cup of ice. The ice will help to keep the product cool and help you work with it.

Well, my name is Shane. That’s an easy one! My quest is to keep making cars as clean as we can and to share knowledge and passion for what we do. In the meantime I have to balance that quest with a full time career as a firefighter. Thanks to your question and google, I now know the speed of a swallow is about 24 miles per hour, or 11 meters per second. Or did you mean a European or African swallow? And then the microfiber and wool pad question. Wool pads are some of the most aggressive pads you can use. Even those come in degrees of cut. They will cut more aggressively than microfiber which cuts more aggressively than foam. As a rule for us, when the wool comes out so does the rotary typically. If we are in so deep we are using wool, we are using an aggressive compound (even a matting compound at times) and a rotary. We are trying to move the process along. It’s slow to remove defects sometimes with other methods, so the wool/rotary will get us there quickly. We then polish the finish back to smooth, glorious life before applying last step products. Bear in mind that it’s easy to do damage with a wool pad, rotary and compound. Be easy on the edges, very easy. And keep the machine moving. Heat will build up as wool pads work by creating friction. Heat, rotary and abrasives are a dangerous combo. If you’re thinking of playing with them, I suggest using a test panel to show what can be done. That actually reminds me I have a corvette trunk deck to play with. I should use the matting compound and wool and photo what it does and the steps to bring it back, then different coatings on it. Eventually when I have time... How’d I do??? ?

So in order to help maybe get things away from Limited Editions and Mystery Boxes, I figured I’d start a “Q&A” thread since we are getting tagged in quite a few posts. This is a chance to ask questions about our process, business, products or even just about us! I’ll ask Marquis and Justin as needed since they aren’t on the forum! There’s no limit to the questions...so ask away. It just might spark the next write up idea!

My D750 is gripped actually. And I love it. It's a bit big and heavy, but it works. My buddy just got the Sony Mirrorless. I don't think I'm going to make the leap to mirrorless anytime soon. I'm okay with my mirrored full frame set up. I might have caved and ordered that 150-600 lens since I found one used with two teleconverters (a 1.4X and 2.0X)...I'm not sure I'll use the teleconverters since that's A LOT of reach and probably a lot of noise, but it'll be nice to have. So much going on these days...

If you’re going to have a single lens, or limited lenses, the 16-35 is probably too narrow. The 24-105 gives you decent range. Just make sure it’s fast enough for what you want to do with it.

You and I both! But glass is more important than the camera body. Good glass lasts a long time as long as you don’t switch body manufacturers. And you can never have a fast enough lens! So buy the fastest you can afford. The 50 1.8 is cheap and a great lens.

The GT350 was my 35, 85 and 24-120. I’m still figuring out the best uses for each one honestly.

It really depends on what your goals are, and I’m no expert so take that into consideration. I keep shooting until I think have something I think I can work with. The 35 is a great lens that sees almost what your eye sees. It works well for landscapes and general all around shooting. You just have to zoom with your feet. The 50 and 85 are great detail lenses or for portraits. The 24-120 kit lens actually works pretty well since it’s versatile. That makes it a good “walk around” lens. The others are too heavy really for a lot of things. They have their purposes and that’s that. If I had to pick two, I’d go with a general zoom like you have, or the 24-120. And then a decent 70-200 or 70-300. Good glass is expensive though. My primes are all 1.8 so they work in a variety of light and conditions and can vary the depth of field easily. There is still so much to learn. And so much I want. I have an order sitting in my B&H cart now just under $2k. Not sure I’ll place it. It’s that 150-600, ring flash, polarizers, etc. Always new gear and things to tempt me.

You ask a question that needs some backstory. So here we go. I had a Nikon D80 that was ten or twelve years old. I had a few lenses for it. I had the 18-55 kit lens, a 50 1.8 and a 70-300 4-5.6. So the only great lens in that bunch was the 50 prime. Last year I upgraded to a Nikon D750 full frame camera. That camera came with the 24-120 lens. It’s not a bad lens. I could use the old lenses on the new camera, but since they are dx lenses, it would have a crop factor to it and changes the effective focal length on the full frame camera. So I decided I wanted to start shooting again for the business and for fun. I ended up ordering the following all in full frame: 35mm 1.8 (Nikon) 50mm 1.8 (Nikon) 85mm 1.8 (Nikon) 105mm 2.8 macro (sigma) 70-200mm 2.8 (sigma) The next lens I want is a sigma 150-600mm f5-6.3 for wildlife and outdoor work. I’m on the fence on ordering it. But it also means I would have spent a ton of money in the last week on lenses! The photos you see were taken with the 35, 85 and 24-120. And if anyone is interested I still have that D80 and those lenses. The 18-55 still works, it just doesn’t auto focus. The others are in great shape.

Some do. Some don’t. Opti-coat I believe has a tie to carfax actually. And there are decals that can be applied. We typically don’t apply them since most clients don’t care for how they appear. The ones we use are for the inside of the window. A door jamb would be a way better system. I take the decal with the warranty number and staple it to the clients paperwork.