JLKoupe

still makes me think of pick-a-nick baskets... then that makes me hungry... terrible food-related Mobius loop

Continuing the fall harvest. Last weekend was wrapping up the chile peppers. This weekend, it's tomatillos. Strip the rest of the good ones, roast, package, and freeze. After that, it's off to swap the summer wheels and tires for the practical wheels and all-seasons. Getting a bit too cold for those Super Sports but I will miss them.

Looking forward to pics of the SRT! Jealous of your weather...first frost here in northeast PA

^^What they said...WOW. Stay safe. We're all thinking good thoughts your way.

I've seen references in various threads to using distilled water for dilutions. How do you use it in the spray bottle?

Liquid Paint Sealant topped with a bit of Americana Wax...we laugh at the rain!

^^^^1+

Ahh...didn't think of that one. Actually, an excellent name for a minivan...or a MINI! Speaking of which: Finishing up the big fall polish & seal on the coupe. Not my best effort on the polishing but it's reasonably shiny and has 2 coats of Liquid Paint Sealant in anticipation of the winter. Sealed on Friday, did glaze and wax yesterday, and today is all the clean-up stuff - windows, wipe down the trim, vacuum, etc.

I have an xpel clear bra on my coupe and have had good luck with Revive for cleaning up all sorts of problems.

Booboo van: 1. Van has or had a booboo? 2. Used primarily to carry pick-a-nick baskets on trips to Jellystone Park? 3. Other?

Welcome, Kourtney! It's great to have another female detailing addict in the group, as well as a fellow Euro fan. Nice ride - enjoy that tune!

Revive works well to clean up the finish in between machine polishes. If I find areas that have really stubborn, stuck-on gunk while I'm washing, I'll spot-clay just those areas using the wash water suds, then treat/dry with H2O Gloss & Guard to refresh the sealant.

Great video, Dylan. Answers many of my questions. Here's how I dry wash pads: I use a clip-style hanger, attach one clip in the middle of the pad, separate the layers to make a sort of "diamond" shape, and hang over a bucket to catch the drips. Separating the layers seems to be the key - I find the pads dry in a day or less, depending on the air temp.

I'll give that a try. Thanks!

Wow...you were reading my mind (yes, scary...)! The hubby and I were just talking about how to find the best light for polishing and you go and post this excellent thread. Thanks, guy!

Any advice on cleaning the underside of the hood? I used full-strength APC, washed with an old microfiber and rinses but still have spots of sticky gunk that won't come off easily and I don't want to scrub too hard for fear of taking the paint off.

Probably not the most common problem in interior cleaning but rates pretty high on the nuisance scale when it happens. Hopefully others will share any tips they may have from similar experiences.

Took the coupe to a track day at Pocono a couple of weeks ago, which meant taking out all the loose stuff inside, including the rubber floor mats. Cleaning up the interior the next day, what I thought was a bit of dried grass stuck to the passenger side carpet turned out to be a patch of dried grass stuck to chewing gum stuck to the carpet (instructor ride-along - who thought to check his shoes!). I searched the forum for advice on getting gum out of carpet and came up with one old reference to Leather Conditioner. I tried it and by gum, it worked great! I scraped off as much as I could first then saturated the spot with the Leather Conditioner and let it sit for several hours. The remaining gum came off with vigorous scrubbing with a dry utility towel and a little surface scraping with a plastic razor blade. If you look closely, you can see a small divot in the carpet where the fibers were worn away but for the most part, there's nothing noticeable. Note to self: implement a no-shoe policy for all passengers when floor mats are not in place...

Welcome to the forum. The car looks great! I know one of my frustrations in detailing is not being able to get everything done that I want to do (or that needs doing), usually because I'm trying to squeeze it into an already busy weekend. I'm learning to relax and count what I do finish as a victory. The rest can wait until next time.

Maybe the towel was too wet the first time over? From your description, it sounds like there was quite a bit of water left on the car after rinsing. As others said, go a little easy on misting the HGG over the vehicle then try wiping with a plush microfiber that's been wrung out so it's damp but not dripping wet. You want your wet towel to both spread the HGG and absorb the excess water. If you're still having trouble with smearing and difficulty removing, try the dry application and see if that works better.

Thanks, Phil! Yes, I have to admit, I'm really hooked on detailing. It's a lot of work sometimes but SO satisfying when you see that shine in the end! now, if only I could apply that to ordinary housework...

I love road trips and this one sounds like a real winner. And what could be better than a parking lot full of Porsches???

because this stuff is fabulous and rightfully should be taking over the world, as the Shine Doc noted previously. Just got back from a week-long trip to NJ. a 3-hour drive each way then parked outside all week in full sun, a day of rain, gusty winds, and more sun. When I got back, the first thing the hubby said was "How come that car looks so clean??" It was true - having used the HGG in the previous two washes, there was hardly more than a thin coating of dust and some road splatters. These aren't great photos but believe me, you wouldn't have guessed how much weather that car had been through just to look at it. Repeat: HGG is fabulous!

and match my car! hey, this stuff is important...