JohnnyDev

I am thinking very hard about buying the Adam's 15mm swirl killer and the mini. My questions are -

Is the heavy correcting compound only recommended for paint that's downright BAD? My 2013 black Ram 1500 does have some swirls in it, mainly from me being not very smart in washing and drying techniques after I first purchased it, but I wouldn't say it's BAD. Would the medium correcting polish, then the finishing polish be the better way to go? Or maybe I should just buy this?http://adamspolishes.com/shop/exterior/polishing/paint-correcting-paint-finishing-polish-combo.html

Also, how many pads and towels would I need to do a correction/polish job on a vehicle the size of a Ram? Basically, I would like someone to point me in the right direction

And are these machines novice friendly?

It can be used weekly but that might be a bit overkill. I've been using it about every third wash on my vehicles, alternating with our regular blue Car Shampoo.

Thank you!

Sorry if this question has been answered already, but can this shampoo be used as a go to, weekly car shampoo, like the blue Adam's shampoo?

Today was "Service B" for my wife's Mercedes. Pull into the dealership, greeter confirms the appointment, then inside to meet the service advisor. Our dealer offers a pretty decent free car wash (for the uninitiated) with interior vacuum and tire dressing too, whenever you want one, to include when you take it in for service of course. Naturally, I have to make it a point to ask the service advisor to not, repeat not, wash the car after the service. He looks at me like I'm out of my mind, and tells me: "...sir, our automatic car wash is state of the art. We wash S600 sedans and G-Wagons with it, and the owners are delighted. Why wouldn't you want us to wash your car for you?" I reply: "...the free car wash is a terrific thing you guys do, and I appreciate the offer. However, that car has never seen the inside of an automatic car wash in it's four year life. For me, detailing is therapy, and I use premium products from an outfit called Adams."

 

Service advisor says okay no problem, and puts "NO CAR WASH" on the service ticket. When we walk out to the car together so he can put the service ticket on the dash, he stops ten feet short of the car, looks at it, says "oh", does a five-Mississippi, and says "oh" again. Then, "...okay sir, now I understand. The last thing that car needs is a wash."

 

So, my wife and neighbors think I'm OCD, and we can never let the church youth group wash either of our vehicles at their fund raisers (we just give them the money and tell them to stay back). On days I'm expecting an Adams delivery, I hang out near the front door like my dog does when he's waiting for me to come home. The best part is, every bit of it is 100% worth it.

 

Thank you Adams -- if you didn't do what you do, I would probably be a golfer, addicted to romantic comedies, or spend my time clipping coupons or something. Instead, I get to hang out in the garage and see tangible results of my hard work.

Was the car wash offered one of those touchless, laser washes? I like washing my own vehicles, weather permitting of course, but I have run my vehicles through our local touchless laser wash during our brutal PA winters, basically because they get the undercarriage fairly well and to remove road salt from the panels. Are they that bad for your vehicles? If so, is it because the soaps they use are harsh?

Wow what a great looking truck!

It's indoors in a conditioned garage. I used detail spray on the hood and it seemed to help. I'll probably just drive it a day or so and then wash it again unless someone with adam's tells me otherwise. I think a lot of the problem was the sprayer. It would be a fine mist and then a blob almost every time I sprayed. I shook the bottle up every time I sprayed but it ended up putting a lot of product down. I only did one section at a time but I probably loaded it up too heavily. I had put on a coat of Adam's sealant a couple of months ago so I just used this as a touch up. I think for me I may just be better off sticking with the sealant. I'm going to try it once more with the dry application method and see if that works better for me. Thanks for your help.

I also had issues over the weekend with it "blobbing" out of the sprayer. Nice product though and no hazing as far as I could tell.

OK - I have a headache now after reviewing all prior posts on what to use after claying.

 

I have a '15 Grand Cherokee SRT.  During my last washing, I noticed that I have some type of overspray on side window and panel.  It did not come off during my washing.  I need to buy a clay bar.  After claying it, can I just use the H20 Guard and Gloss.  Is this okay or should I not use the Guard and Gloss and just apply the liquid paint sealant, then the buttery wax?  Right now, the jeep sits in the garage gets driven on the weekends to soccer games/tournaments, etc.  It may get washed once every 2-3 weeks.

 

I need to place an order and want to make sure I purchase the right items.

 

Please don't flame me if I missed a post. 

 

Thanks,

Ruben

Congrats on the Grand Cherokee SRT. I love those things and may consider for my wife, then I can drive it all of the time lol

Soft paint is easier to correct, but sometimes tougher to finish down. Hard paint is tougher to correct, but generally finishes down easier.

 

The best way to find out is to do a test section on your paint. If a light cutting pad (foam) / compound isn't making a dent in your defects it's hard. If your defects are removed somewhat it's medium, if most of them are removed, and/or the paint has a haze after compounding with this combo, it's soft.

 

Most Dodge paint I've done polishing on is medium/hard, but I can't honestly can't say which yours is, the only way to truly know is to do a test spot and find the correct combo with the compound to remove defects, and same with finishing polish, to bring the paint to a high gloss. Once you've achieved the desired results, complete entire car with same technique and pad/polish combo.

 

Holograms are generally caused by improper finishing using a rotary polisher, but usually are easily removed with finishing polish and a DA polisher. They can be scary to look at the first time your confronted with them, after you take them out, you'll smile when you can wow a friend or customer by easily removing them.

Thank you. I'm more than likely going to hold off on purchasing a machine until next spring, but I believe i'm ready to take that step.

Rest assured no beer went neglected.  I have multiple koozies...

 

Excellent!

Help me understand something - I see the term "soft paint" a lot. What's this mean and how would one know? I have a black 2013 Ram 1500. What would the paint be on it?

I'm thinking about diving into the world of machine polishing, but i'm unsure about a few things like above mentioned paint hardness, holograms, etc etc

Products used. Adams Car shampoo, Adams 2 Buckets w/ Grit Guards, Adams Deep Wheel Cleaner, H20 Gloss & Guard (I LOVE THIS STUFF!), and of course a little banana pudding on the tires (Adams Tire Shine)! Done in 1 hour!

 

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That looks excellent

How hot is too hot? When the water turns to steam as soon as it hits the car.

Ha, that sounds funny but being an owner of a black pickup truck that is to big to fit into my garage, I've actually seen water steam up off of my paint

Around this time of the year, I usually have to wait until around 530-6 in the late afternoon to do any washing because my house and large trees across the road starts shading the sun, so that gives me a good 2 to 3 hours of time.

But its a real battle for me in regards to wanting to do any claying/polishing and waxing. I'd love to purchase a polisher, but again, I don't have a big enough garage to do any of that type of work in

I love the 10" wash pad and wouldn't change a thing about it. Works perfect compared to my old wash media for my pickup. I even left a new review about it

I'd say toss the white microfiber.

As stated above, do a test panel to see what it'll take. It's personal preference whether you go panel by panel or each step at a time over the entire vehicle. Also, how much time you have. If you're a bit tight on time just complete one panel at a time.

Every paint is different; some I've been able to finish down with the orange microfiber using pcp, others I've had to follow up with the white foam pad and pfp.

This weekends Audi A4 S Line took the Gen 5 orange pad and Paint Correcting Polish followed up with the Gen 5 white foam pad and Paint Finishing Polish.

Hood still looks a little cloudy!

What color is that Audi? That looks great!

I've been hesitant about doing any paint correction myself for the simple fact that I don't have a garage to perform this type of work in. I take that back, we have a garage but my pickup wont fit in it. And I'm really not sure how smart it would be to do this type of thing in the blazing sun. I know people that have garages that my pickup would fit into, but then there is the time factor.

Thanks guys! 

I purchased Adam's car wash and the directions states 1 to 2 ounces of product per 5 gallons of water. How many "pumps" of the dispenser do you guys do to get your desired amount of product into your bucket? Again sounds silly, but I hate waste if I can help it lol

I also noticed in the directions that it says to apply the shampoo into your wash media. What purpose does this serve? Again, just curious!

Does it include the the new blue shampoo or the old red?

Awesomeness

All I need now is for the temp. to get above 30 degrees

Hey Johnny, be sure to come to Adam's detail clinic at Grabiak Chevrolet on Rte 22 in Blairsville/New Alexandria April 25.  Adam will be there showing everyone how it's done.  Food, drink, and good times.

https://www.gpcperformance.com/

I think I'll definitely check this out. Thanks for the info!

Thank you fellows! There sure are a bunch of us Pennsylvanians here, wow!

Looks like this foam gun is put together very well. Ahh, more things for me to buy

We're not far away brother.  Hi and welcome from Johnstown.    

Thank you, definitely not very far!

It works fantastic on white letter tires!

 

 

 

Do you dilute your APC? What type of brush do you use?

Grazie!