PHOKUS

The answer to your question is, "It depends." 

Too many variables to provide an answer with any finality, but almost any removal of orange peel will require wet sanding. Removal of orange peel is usually limited to show cars because it's laborious, time-consuming, and reduces the thickness of your clear coat or single-stage paint. How much, you ask? There is no way to definitively answer this without a paint gauge.

Adams sells the products to restore the shine to the paint once properly wet-sanded. But the sandpaper and elbow grease are up to you. 

If you're interested in learning, go buy a hood from a junk yard and practice. It's the best way to learn.

The key to using Detail Spray in the direct sun is moving fast and several fresh towels. Though I haven't tried the newest drying towel yet.

Please don't tell me they caught you with your pants down lol!?!?

 

 

It was only the one time, and I had permission.   

Some coin-op car wash owners have set up video cameras and alert law enforcement if you hand wash in their bay without letting the timer run. Whether they have an actual case depends on the municipal code. 

Fair warning. Ask me how I know.   

The correct answer would come from the shop. It totally depends on the methods and materials used. 

Brilliant Glaze on vinyl stripes is a thing??

Solvent + vinyl don't sound like very good bedfellows to me. But if it works and doesn't accelerate polymer decay, to each their own!

Next time you wax, put BG down first, then Patroit Wax.  The wax will 'lock in' the glaze.  I do this with Americana on the garage queens and show cars I work on and the results are fantastic!

This is where it's at.

Brilliant Glaze + Patriot/Americana is pure shine porn. Not exaggerating. 

Stellar!!! Nice write-up, too. Hats off to the Mrs. for catalogueing such auspicious occasion!   

I've encountered the owner of the wash not long after he sunk major $$ renovating his wash facilities. New LED lighting, all new sprayers and control panels, filtered air blowers, heated bays, all new chemicals... He really went all out. I spent an average of $10 per visit and about 20 minutes total. Always made sure that no one was waiting for a bay if I used his wash. He walked in, saw my buckets, and told me to dump them, and start up the payment panel or I had to leave. "No bucket washing allowed. I'm not in the business of giving my wash bay time for free. If your car is in here, that meter better be running or I'll consider it stealing."

I've never gone back. Never will. 

I hope i dont sound like an idiot, but im not sure what ss rims are. I will say that on both of my tahoe's that i have had, the chrome looking wheels are clear coated. So you would use clay bar, paint polish and whatever style paint protection works for you(wax is not good on wheels, doesnt last because of the heat). You def dont want to use metal polish if they are clear coated.

 

If they are true aluminum or what not, spend a lot of time polishing them, make them perfect and i would coat them, because true aluminum needs constant upkeep. I do the fire truck's wheels at work, and it takes about an hour per wheel, and thats if they are in good shape, but they come out looking like mirrors!

SS = Stainless Steel?

It almost appears embedded into the corners.

What I am about to suggest may get shouted down, and rightly so. But I would get yourself a cheap wax carver's set and GENTLY go after those corners. Use the spoon shapes first and move to more aggressive shapes until the contaminant releases. Keep the area lubricated with heavy suds so as to avoid scratching. 

On a side note, these types of tools are GREAT for cleaning lots of tight places. 

If my link is not allowed, please feel free to remove it.

I still have a full gallon of the old glass cleaner and love it.

I don't think it smells like green apple though. More like Sweet Tarts? Maybe that IS green apple? Lol.

The magic for me has been 4:1 warm water:white vinegar soak for 30 minutes immediately after using G&G or Paint Sealant. Then I wash them in their own cycle on double-rinse. 

I wouldn't go to a machine just yet. Clay the wheels. That may get the job done. If not, try some Revive Hand Polish. If some elbow grease doesn't get it done, then go to a DA polisher. 

Polishing powder coating is a tricky needle to thread. Without a paint gauge, you have no idea how thick or thinly it's been applied. Proceed with caution!

Thanks for the warning. 

Mixing chemicals is a lot like playing the lottery. You'll lose most of the time.

It's important to note that chemicals today are designed with VERY specific tolerances and purposes. Devaition from these tolerances usually results in poorer performance. 

I wouldn't give up on mixing chemicals for experimentation purposes. But I also wouldn't use experimental chemicals on my pride and joy, either. Good luck!

It's important to note that you should be scrubbing all your plastic, vinyl, and rubber trim PRIOR to attempting to tape it off. Tape does not stick well to things recently treated with VRT.   

Uh oh never tried that, how did you get it off? Was it stuck on the glass?

Yes. It came off with some APC and selective cursing.

My favorite detailing story is of a (then) 12-year old Honda Civic, owned by a grandfather and bequeathed to his 30-year old granddaughter. The car was solid. But was stored outside and often used to catch exterior paint drippings. I would go so far as to say the car was never washed in its life. 

She brought the car to me and her order stated, "Just clean it up." You got it, Ma'am. 

After putting 5 glorious hours into the car, I went to close the gas fill cover and decided to dress the fill port and surrounding plastic up a little with some VRT. 

She picked up the car with little fan faire. The next day she texted me about how clean her "gas tank" was. Oh, the things customers in general decide to care about....

Never use Interior Detailer to clean glass. Ever.

There's really no good alternative to a high quality extractor. Anything else is only going to hit the top 30% of the carpet fibers and that's it. You might see about cost-sharing with your detailing buddies to purchase your own extractor. That's what I did. 

My favorite bug treatment is Waterless Wash. It works best when the product is warm/hot but the paint is cool to the touch. For this reason I leave a bottle in the car and let the sun warm it up.

Buttery is a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to add some gloss. I find Buttery on top of G&G looks almost as good as a couple layers of Americana. 

But honestly, if you're going to the trouble of using Buttery, you might as well do Brilliant Glaze instead. You want shine?  Brilliant Glaze + Americana will make your paint look like liquid.

I am replying a bit late in the thread, but heavy dusting could imply one or more of the following:

• Pad overuse - product has dried in the pad and is now aerosolizing. Clean the pad with compressed air or swap it out.
• Pad overheating - too many causes to tackle here
• Incorrect pad/product combination - you aren't cutting fast enough to get the results you desire
• Very warm/dry climate - move to cooler place out of sunlight

Lots and lots of information to convey here and a response could fill many hours worth of video. Sorry to be direct here, but heavy dusting means you're doing something wrong. Without being there, it's tough to nail down what that something is.

Interior Detailer - stainless steel appliances, sinks, wood furniture

Brilliant Glaze - household windows and 'naked' cell phone screens

Green Wheel Cleaner (discontinued) - cleaning K&N Green Air Filter, porcelain tub

Tire & Rubber Cleaner - cleaning glosscoated fiberglass (bathtub, boat, etc), front load washer seal

Glass Cleaner - LED, LCD, OLED TV, computer monitor, glasses, sunglasses

Detail spray - tables, countertops

To name a few...

Would that not just clog up the pad? I usually spread it on the paint and start at a slow speed setting to move I around then turn It up

Clog it with what? The product is what does the polishing, not the pad. There is a point where you can put too much product in the pad and it begins to sling, but this is not at all what I am advocating.

Think of it like this. You are painting your wall with a roller. Is the best method to apply a few dots of paint to the roller and begin painting? Or do you want to give the roller a healthy coat (priming) of paint?