Ricky Bobby

For what its worth, I have had my "O.G." Porter Cable 7424 since 2005, and it has yet to let me down. Even though its doesnt have the "oomph" of the XP model, it does what I need it to, and although prettier and more powerful random orbitals come out all the time, I can't justify going to spend another $150 on a tool that I only use a few times a year on my cars, when mine works just fine, just isn't "new" anymore. I have a 3" backing plate and pads for smaller areas, and about to spend 20 bucks on an Adam's vented backing plate (I have an old 6" Lake country velcro plate that came with the machine), and although it might take an extra few minutes per car, my original PC 7424 is probably going to run strong for years to come. Now that the machine is made in Cheeeeena, don't know if the 7424XP is as reliable and built to last as it used to be. Regarding the HF machine, we are all American made enthusiasts here, but I have had good results with some things from Harbor Freight *gasp*. For example, my 4 gallon backpack sprayer for my weed/vegetation killer was 25 bucks, you'll pay 4 times that for another brand, and since I take care of my equipment I expect a few years out of it, considering it's something I use a few times a year. Back to the HF polisher, I just looked it up, and its $64.99 on their website. IF they let you use a 25% off one item coupon, that goes down to $48. My Harbor Freight has been stingy lately, and sometimes they tell me I cant use a coupon on "something that's already showing a sale price", isn't EVERYTHING on sale there? So hypothetically you walk out with the tool for $50, that backing plate is indeed ****, so you'll need a 6" Adams plate. $25. Now you're up to $75 for the HF tool with Adam's backing plate. I'm theorizing here, but either one of the Adam's distributors posted above that he has backing plates and PC's for sale still, not sure of their pricing, but Amazon is $118 for a new PC. So perhaps you'll spend $60 more from an Adam's distributor for a PC/backing plate combo. Much better and proven machine IMO, 3 year warranty as opposed to 3 MONTHS from HF. Although if you know anything about Porter Cable's warranty process, it's basically worthless, as they have to go to authorized Black & Decker repair centers and there aren't too many around. You can get a manufacturer refurbished PC7424XP on ebay for $102 as well: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Porter-Cable-6-in-Variable-Speed-Random-Orbit-Polisher-7424XPR-/331086504177?pt=Power_Tools&hash=item4d164b20f1#ht_5626wt_1105 Add a backing plate to that and you're only $50 above the HF tool/backing plate combo. NINJA EDIT: Just saw you posted this - So for Christmas I got a Harbor Freight 7" Variable Speed polisher/sander item #60626 and I was wondering if this was ok to use on my truck or if I should go trade it in for the 6 In. Variable Speed Dual Action Polisher Item#69924........??? I just looked up the Christmas #60626 you got, don't use it for your car, its a rotary and for a newb you don't want that. Hell i've been correcting for years and I still find Random Orbitals easier to use. All my comments ABOVE are concerning the #69924 model you asked about, I didn't read you post thoroughly the first time and thought you had that model already. Either way you'll need a backing plate for the HF dual action polisher as I'm sure its ****. And basically that puts you close to the pricing of a used/refurb PC7424XP, so I'd just take that extra 3 lunch stop monies and put them towards a better orbital.

Well you sure invested in a nice machine, the Flex has a learning curve. Did you watch all the videos on Adam's website on using the Flex with their pads and polishes? Follow the directions, and you should be off to a good start A good wash and claybar session will do wonders first for you

They aren't bad, they just tend to squeal, trigger occasionally gets stuck and sometimes drip product when spraying. Good to know Mook, now of course I have to update all my bottles to have the same head LOL Damn you OCD! This is also why I never allowed myself to buy 36oz bottles, I'd drive myself crazy seeing different sizes!

Man Chewy you're just not having luck with the smells of that car, I hope you got a good deal on it.

Just PM'ed Dylan about this and no big rush, but I received an order last month with a bottle of Waterless Wash, and C&U Cleaner, both came with a solid black spray head, no rubberized trigger on it. The black plastic seemed to be more "heavy duty" than the clear ones on my old bottles in my opinion. It sprays really nice, actually probably nicer than my other bottles with the clear/rubberized trigger, but it might be placebo effect. The OCD in me is putting a cart together (since I love that January free ship special) and I was going to get new sprayers for my bottles, wonder if the all black heads are the new normal? Anyone who's ordered some 16oz bottles in the past weeks let me know if you received any with Clear/Rubberized spray heads, or if they are solid black like mine were.

I use the Americana as a topper wax solely, and although I have 2 waxing pads for my Porter Cable, I think I have waxed one time with the PC. Waxing by hand with a nice applicator (Hex grips are wonderful), laying a thin coat is pure bliss for me. I'm probably the only person on the boards who refuses to use any glaze on my vehicles, I don't like hiding imperfections, but I do understand its uses, if you have a show car, etc. When my paint is clayed and polished, I do a coat of sealant (either Quick Sealant or Liquid Paint Sealant would be GREAT), to give my paint that 6+ months of protection and the beading action I want, then as a wow effect, a hand applied coat of Americana or other long lasting wax, that has minimal fillers if any. Also, not sure if anyone from Adam's can chime in, but if you are doing the "layering" process I do (Sealant coat, then "topper wax" on top), the past liquid sealants I have used usually recommend 24 hours cure time before an additional coat, or a top coat of wax, even after buffing residues off the car. Usually I'll spend the weekend doing everything and a coat of sealant, then the next weekend I'll wash my car as normal and do a hand applied coat of wax.

I'm fairly certain that black truck needs a serious clay bar and polish as well.

Dude at least invest in a grit guard and get a full 5 gallon bucket man. Preferably 2.

FWIW, using my dedicated Microfiber detergent (Similar to Adams MFR&B, 2 oz for large loads and thats it in the washing machine) and a double rinse and a wash in hot water, I wouldn't hesitate to use the towels I use with Rinseless for removing wax residues, they came out super clean.

Quote for Truth. The extra water in the bucket is what protects from scratching as its a ton of lubrication when "mixed" at Rinseless ratio, I use about 3 oz in 4 gallons of water, and the fact you're using a wet rag to give the wipedown with the Rinseless wash. Waterless Wash (1:16 dilution) is used as a dry product, light cleaning, etc. However, as Dylan's video showed, I really don't use Waterless Wash dry, like he did on the mirrors of that Porsche when cleaning. My Waterless wash in the spray bottle is used as a clay lube, light cleaning solution and detail spray. While Dylan's video showing the 1:16 Waterless Wash dilution was a good showcase of the versatility of the product, I really don't do any "spray and wipe" on my cars when I use Rinseless. I'll go over the top pillars, glass, etc, and the mirror with the same wet MF towel that is soaked in the Rinseless juice. Dylan also mentioned the Porsche was not terribly dirty, so you are still able to use the product Waterless. However if you're driving around in winter time, we all know how those mirrors get a nice coating of "winter road film" on them, so I prefer to go over them with my sopping wet Rinseless soaked rag in order to get a good cleaning on them as well. The product takes a huge amount of faith, but just remember, when in doubt, spray it out, pre-soak if you must, and be sure to use good technique (cleaning your wash media often in the rinse bucket) and don't wring the towel out too much before going over a panel, I like my towels with just enough water held in to not be dripping, but if i press the towel against the panel, some water will run out.

I personally like the smell! When I smell an Adam's product I know i'm using enough for it to work LOL! Nice comparison review though, I like to use some Rinseless at a Waterless dilution in a spray bottle as a pre-soak, works great!

This is unrelated to using Lemon Pledge on the paint, but it was a :banghead: moment. Our temps were warm this weekend, one of my X5 buddies texted me and said he ran out of "tire shine" so he was going to use WD-40 on his tires. LOL I basically told him i'd rather see him keep his tires undressed and stop over for an application of SVRT then knowingly see his car with WD-40 on the tires haha.

I was able to do a true 2 bucket wash on Saturday, temps were 64 degrees in Jersey, although it was still drizzling on and off I got my X5 done. Felt good to APC the wheel wells and tires really well, and clean the inside of my wheels, and as you'll see below, I even got a coat of wax in yesterday, and even polished my exhaust tips. Problem was, although 2 of my hoses are in their own caddies and I shut water to the hose bib off, getting any residual water out of the hose was tough, so both my "outdoor" hoses were still frozen from the "polar vortex" of 0F earlier this week. I had to go in my shed and get my spare 3rd hose, which I normally use for power washing the house, in order to complete my wash as that hadn't been used since april so there was no residual water from the fall in it. Probably going to be the last 2 bucket wash I get to give my car until spring, but I usually only get one or two in per winter. I laid down SVRT on all tires and trim, and a coat of Americana! So I'm good to go. Other than that, coin op for knocking big dirt off, and Rinseless Washes in the garage with the doors closed will get my cars through till spring. Killing yourself or inducing swirls by trying to force to hand wash at freezing temps is just worse for the paint in my opinion. If you get a day of mid 40s or above, go for it, if not, just coin op it. Side note, a lot of times the coin ops have heated water, take your 2 buckets with gamma seal lids and do a 2 bucket wash there! I did my wife's car last month that way, followed Adam's Winter washing video and her car came out as good as it does in the driveway!

Went out to the garage today, since Jersey was in the "polar vortex" earlier this week, my garage got down to the mid 20's or so, outside was 0F or lower. Did a little winter inventory of my detail shelf and found the following: -Rinseless Wash 16oz with some "slushie" in the bottle as it must have frozen -APC gallon with slushie freeze, 16oz bottle ok -Detail spray gallon bottle with slushie, I only have about 20 oz left in the gallon -"Waterless Wash Refill" which is basically 8 oz of Rinseless with 1 gal of distilled water, froze up pretty good, I suspected it would because its mostly water Invisible Undercarriage spray was fine, Car shampoo was fine, SVRT was fine, Glass cleaner fine, Carpet and Upholstery cleaner fine, and Waterless Wash (original formula) in 16 oz bottles all fine. My gallons are on the bottom shelf where I presume its coldest, so that might explain some of why the liquids did freeze. However, my bottle of Rinseless was on top shelf, and that was the only other thing that looks like it froze. Granted its 62F today in the Jerz, but I still took the bottles that froze, inside to thaw out. Not suspecting any problems, but I may start wrapping my bottles up in a blanket to keep them warm if we ever get that kind of low temps again! NOTE: On an average temp variance in Jersey my garage never gets below freezing temps, when its in the teens outside its usually still above freezing in my garage. But at 0F ambient outside made my garage temp dip below freezing. Just wanted to share my observations, your chemicals should be fine!

If the vented backing plate is the newer Adam's one, and is meant for use with 6.5" pads, I'll take it if that's 15 shipped to Jersey. Let me know!

You could probably use a mitt, but you just have to rub it in the rinse bucket/grit guards more often, mitts catch a ton of stuff in them. I wouldnt use wool wash pads or wash mitts though. FWIW, I saw a guy on Youtube using a Home Depot $1 sponge from the painting aisle, with some "cube slits" cut into it so that dirt would get sucked into the sponge instead of staying on the surface. It seemed to work for him, but would make me a bit nervous. My method using the equivalent of 4 Double soft towels in alternating fashion and dipping them in the rinse bucket as I go, works well enough for me that I don't need to try anything else. Make sure you rinse the towels out good afterwards though, and like mc2hill said, throw the towels and stuff in the wash when you're done, to get rid of any product residues.

Glad to see the local PO's in your neighborhood actually correcting their duty vehicles! Here in Jersey most of the local depts get new Chargers, Tauruses, etc, drive them through the car washes for a couple years and they look all swirled up! Glad to see you guys take some pride in the vehicles, do you also have to wipedown the "perp backseat" with Total Interior Detailer?

Yeah, don't get it twisted, V2 Detail spray is not a spray wax, but it just has some polymers as far as i know that just aid in gloss and protection, thats all. Dylan feel free to correct me otherwise. And to the guy above that doesn't want to prime his pad with Detail Spray, you could always do the Kevin Brown Method and prime the entire face of the pad with product before starting. It's what I do, and although you use more product up front making sure there is an entire face of the pad lubricated with product, worked in with your fingers, you use substantially less product over the rest of the compounding/polishing session.

If Adam's can come up with their own aerosol glycol-ized spray freshener similar to what I mentioned I've used in the past, I'd definitely buy it and use it. The key is the glycol based aerosol I think allows for a finer mist and really eliminates odors. I tried another popular brand's fresh car freshener, and after a slight spill of vinegar on the carpet, nearly used the whole bottle and I hate to say it but I wouldn't buy it again. It came in a 16 oz spray bottle, similar to the Adam's bottles, and since that type of bottle and liquid is only able to be sprayed so fine, you are confined to spraying on carpet mats and rugs of the car only. You can't just "spray it in the air" of the car as you'll be spraying everything and getting it wet, so needless to say a liquid product freshener has no use for me. However if they do come up with an aerosol, I'm all for it. Call it "Adam's All American Fresh" spray or something. TID will probably be a huge help if you're going over all the plastics on the car with it, not only the odor neutralizers but the cleaning properties will help with any buildup on the dash plastics, door panels, etc.

Let us know how you do, 10 years of pits on your windshield will not come away though, I know, my X5 is 10 years old too. But a good claying session and polishing of the windshield should clear it up optically to where there isn't visible water spots, etc in the glass. Since its so cold out, I'm taking the next couple weeks to really clean and polish/correct my glass well, as in the spring its all about the paint, and since its easier to clean my glass with glass cleaner, then hook up the 4" pads to my PC and start polishing (as opposed to actually having the whole car clean to get the paint shined up!) My wifes car is 2.5 years old so hers has been clayed regularly since new and barely needs anything, but mine could use a good polishing. Before and after shots would be great!

When you change the cabin filter, I would put the A/C on, leave the filter out, and spray probably a whole can of Lysol disinfectant as well through the A/C system, obviously slowly, give a few bursts, let it run, few more bursts, etc, you don't want to saturate the system all at one time. Make sure the A/C is directed through all vents, face and feet, etc, so the Lysol really flows through the whole system. Have the doors and windows open initially when doing this. After a few mins and using most of the can, close the windows, then close all the doors, and spray a few more bursts of Lysol. Then turn the vents on a lower setting for speed (in the middle is fine), and hit the RECIRCULATE button. This will do two things, recycle the "Lysol-infused" fresh air you just sucked into the cabin, so it goes through all the rest of the vents, and will really tell you if you got the smoke smell out. The smoke smell may not be there in the cabin with the fan off, the problem is the smell is lingering in the vents and through the A/C system. I used to smoke cigarettes in rental cars when I was a younger lad, as long as the HVAC system is off, and your windows are rolled down, you barely get any lingering smell that can't be taken care of with a detail and an Ozium spray. HOWEVER, once you turn on the HVAC system, be it the heat, or the A/C, or the recirculation (which is the worst because its recycling the smoky air through the system), then it becomes almost impossible to get rid of completely, which is why you need the Ozone machine. My Lysol tricks will definitely improve your interior that much more, trust me. I like to pick a can of "crisp linen" as that is pretty fresh smelling, and clean. Let me know if you do it and if it helps further. For maintenance interior spraying, I use Vanilla Ozium. I don't smoke cigarettes anymore (and even when I did I would NEVER smoke in my cars), but I like to freshen the air with some Vanilla Ozium when I do an interior cleaning.

Thanks Dylan for chiming in. My suggestions which basically echoed yours are for basically water spots and other imperfections of the like, polishing/compounding using foam pads should get most taken care of for you. If you have actual deep scratches in the glass that need actual correction, you need to actually abrade the glass with Cerium Oxide (I think its sold as Ceriglass) and the proper rayon polishing pads, they look nothing like foam pads. And it takes a ton of time to correct scratches out of glass even with the ceriglass and pads noted, its not a quick job since glass is so friggin hard.

x3, always keep a couple cheapy MFs in the car with some detail spray and waterless, and glass cleaner, ready to go in case of bird bombs! FWIW, you can go to Target and pick up some empty travel spray bottles, should be in the beauty section cuz I think women use them for bringing hairspray or **** like that on trips. I think they are 4 oz size, someone posted a thread called "emergency kit" and showed them a few months back I think. Get a few and fill up with your favorite liquids, pop in a zip bag and keep in your trunk with some MFs!

For what its worth, I always notice the MF pads of all brands have a much shorter life than the Foam counterparts. Something about the heat, pressure etc always makes the material delaminate from the pad after a couple corrections. I used a MF pad set from another vendor on my X5 and my wifes car (2 pack of 6.5" MF cutting pads), and they were coming apart after completing. And this was from using with a PC 7424 (non XP), compounding on speed 5-6.

x2 on the above, I do the same as CM. Go over it with my drying towels to get it dry, then give a spritz and wipedown of detail spray for any streaks and to boost my sealant/wax a bit. Now that I mention it, I can't wait for my V1 gallon of detail spray so I can get some V2 and really be streak free!