chops1sc

I'm sure it has been tested and tested and tested though. Adam wouldn't put his name on just anything.

Kudos to you all who detail as a business! Back-breaking work for relatively little pay vs time. Also I think I would be frustrated knowing that 99 percent will just swirl up your work anyway, but I guess that is just extra business in the long run.
 
I get tired enough maintaining our family cars, and I'm 30! :-)

I should clarify, you shouldn't be picky about your customers when you are just starting out. I think it is unrealistic to think you will be detailing Corvettes, Porsches, etc just starting out.

I'm sure it has been tested and tested and tested though. Adam wouldn't put his name on just anything.

Don't wash them with your MF towels. I just throw them in with my regular wash and comb them out with a dog brush every other wash.
 

These are by far my favorite wash mitts because they're so easy to care for. I normally just toss mine in the washing machine on a delicate cycle and wash them by themselves. They come out great and seem to be holding up well. For $7 or $8 a piece, I'll get well more than my money's worth out of them and can just order some new ones when these start looking bad. 

Don't wash them with your MF towels. I just throw them in with my regular wash and comb them out with a dog brush every other wash.
 

Don't wash them with your MF towels. I just throw them in with my regular wash and comb them out with a dog brush every other wash.
 

I feel like I need to post this here since it might save one of you someday.
 
I've been battling 2 kidney stones all last week and while I have had them before these just don't want to pass. This past Friday my family and I took a short trip to celebrate the birthday of a family member and I had no idea I could have lost my life.
 
I debated whether or not to go since the stones were causing so much pain but I decided to load up on pain meds and go. We make the 2 hour trip and as soon as I get to the room I use the restroom hoping to pass the stones but instead I get hit with a dizzy spell along with the right side of my face and arm going numb. I try to speak and I just cannot get the words out. My immediate thought is I'm having a stroke.
 
My wife comes in the room and I'm trying to tell her something isn't right. She finally sees that I'm talking about more than just kidney stones and we head to the nearest ER. Call it luck, fate, whatever but we are 3 miles from the closest one. They start the protocol for stroke and it sets in that I have indeed had one. Although the CT scans were inconclusive the "clotbuster" meds have completely reversed my symptoms and I have suffered zero side effects from what they are calling a mini-stroke.
 
I know a lot of the members of this group have OCD tendencies and Matt himself knows what it's like to hold stuff in. Please try to take it easy and don't let this stuff put undue stress in your life. I was truly scared for my life. I turned 38 last Monday and I had no clue what was about to happen to me.
 
Take care of yourselves because life can change so fast. I thank God I was in the right place at the right time and the staff at the hospital were able to act quickly to treat me. I'm happy to say we're back home and I'm looking forward to some much needed rest (even though I STILL have the 2 kidney stones lol).
 
Thank you for reading this and please check out this life saving info on strokes.
 
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/WarningSigns/Stroke-Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms_UCM_308528_SubHomePage.jsp#mainContent

This is a little tip I came up with (until someone else claims it, lol) for cleaning and dressing the whole sidewall of your tires without having to roll up a few feet to clean and then back again to dress.
 
I had some 2X4s laying around the shop, so I cut a 45 degree angle on one end and place one in front of each tire.
 
Untitled by Chris Dunlap, on Flickr
 
The plank is set in about 1-2" from the top of the sidewall. Then I drive up onto them. I usually get a little bit of a rolling start.
You wont believe how hard it can be to just roll up them LOL! Oh, and don't forget to set your parking brake...
 
Untitled by Chris Dunlap, on Flickr
 
Here you can see how they are set back from the sidewall.
 
Untitled by Chris Dunlap, on Flickr
 
Now, I can clean & dress all the way under the tire!

I feel like I need to post this here since it might save one of you someday.
 
I've been battling 2 kidney stones all last week and while I have had them before these just don't want to pass. This past Friday my family and I took a short trip to celebrate the birthday of a family member and I had no idea I could have lost my life.
 
I debated whether or not to go since the stones were causing so much pain but I decided to load up on pain meds and go. We make the 2 hour trip and as soon as I get to the room I use the restroom hoping to pass the stones but instead I get hit with a dizzy spell along with the right side of my face and arm going numb. I try to speak and I just cannot get the words out. My immediate thought is I'm having a stroke.
 
My wife comes in the room and I'm trying to tell her something isn't right. She finally sees that I'm talking about more than just kidney stones and we head to the nearest ER. Call it luck, fate, whatever but we are 3 miles from the closest one. They start the protocol for stroke and it sets in that I have indeed had one. Although the CT scans were inconclusive the "clotbuster" meds have completely reversed my symptoms and I have suffered zero side effects from what they are calling a mini-stroke.
 
I know a lot of the members of this group have OCD tendencies and Matt himself knows what it's like to hold stuff in. Please try to take it easy and don't let this stuff put undue stress in your life. I was truly scared for my life. I turned 38 last Monday and I had no clue what was about to happen to me.
 
Take care of yourselves because life can change so fast. I thank God I was in the right place at the right time and the staff at the hospital were able to act quickly to treat me. I'm happy to say we're back home and I'm looking forward to some much needed rest (even though I STILL have the 2 kidney stones lol).
 
Thank you for reading this and please check out this life saving info on strokes.
 
http://www.strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/WarningSigns/Stroke-Warning-Signs-and-Symptoms_UCM_308528_SubHomePage.jsp#mainContent

I would stick with APC. It's a lot cheaper and you probably wouldn't see much difference. I don't think it would hurt by any means though.

Glass is a particularly interesting topic of detailing to me. As such, I spend a lot of time researching the 'whys' and 'hows' of glass cleaning and optic clarity.
 
The number one and two questions friends and customers ask me is, "How do you get my windows so CLEAN?" and "Why did my windows get so dirty so quickly??"
 
I've stated before that the real issue is not on the outside, but on the inside. Of course some people just have sticky (dirty) outer glass and the contaminants are incredibly deep in the pores of the glass and difficult to remove. But most of the complaints of dirty and streaky glass come from what's on the inside glass.
 
Adam's glass towels are sticky on dirty glass for a reason. The thousands of microfibers on the piled side of the new Glass Towels are slipping in and out of the pores of the glass, grabbing contaminants as you move the towel. For the detailer, this should be an immediate clue that the glass needs decontaminated and the glass pores sealed.
 
For outside glass, the process required to decontaminate depends on the type of decontamination. On new cars, the culprit is almost always rail dust/industrial fallout. I would start with a wheel cleaner to dissolve any iron, rinse, strip wash, rinse, then clay, wash and rinse, then glass polish, wash and rinse, dry, then seal. The sealant will last for MUCH longer as well, provided you follow standard paint protection maintenance (don't use harsh chemicals to wash). I have had glass sealant last for as long as 2 months on freshly decontaminated glass.
 
Inside glass can usually be decontaminated using any organic-based soap. Dish soap is commonly used. I have also had very good luck using diluted Adam's Car Shampoo in distilled water. Inside glass can be sealed and I recommend it after decontamination as it makes subsequent cleaning that much faster and easier.
 
As to the question about why inside glass gets so dirty so quickly...well it's a dirty topic. Off-gassing, environmental factors such as sunlight and ambient temperatures, poor HVAC filtering, rolling down windows, and most notably, the occupants, all contribute to dirty automobile interiors and glass.
 
Human beings, as it turns out, are filthy creatures. We shed skin, we perspire, we breathe and cough, and we sneeze. All normal functions, but each of these functions plays a role in how quickly your inside glass (and every other surface) gets contaminated. The oils and moisture we expel from our bodies adhere to the interior surfaces and glass very well. These contaminants build up until we notice them and try to clean the glass. In my daily driver, it takes about a week before I notice the cloudiness in my interior glass. Yeah, like I said. FILTHY, we are!
 
The new Adams Glass Towels are certainly effective. But they are most effective when the same mentality is applied to glass maintenance as is taken with paint maintenance. Right tool, right chemical, right process, and your glass will come out perfect every time.
 
Edited for clarity.

You can skip the drying process altogether if you are claying. Just use DS as your lube after you rinse the car off.

Should I even bother using my "new" can of the old Americana? Or should I not worry about it and use it, lol.

For debadging I heat the letters with a heat gun (on LOW) followed by fishing line using a sawing motion. Wear gloves. Then I pull the residue off by hand as much as possible before using an adhesive remover. Clay the area and polish.
 
The decal is the same process except no fishing line is needed. The heat will soften the glue and the decal enough to pull off by hand.

For debadging I heat the letters with a heat gun (on LOW) followed by fishing line using a sawing motion. Wear gloves. Then I pull the residue off by hand as much as possible before using an adhesive remover. Clay the area and polish.
 
The decal is the same process except no fishing line is needed. The heat will soften the glue and the decal enough to pull off by hand.

Do you plan on claying after every wash? This seems very excessive. And the H2O G&G only needs to be used every 2 months or so on top of PS (that's how I use it).

Not for use while claying but you spray it on beforehand. Let sit a few minutes (do not let it dry, I also leave the vehicle wet when doing this step) and agitate with a throwaway sponge. Rinse off then proceed with claying.

I skip drying if I'm claying. Nor do I wash after claying. If you have Adam's wheel Cleaner you should apply it before claying to help decontaminate. Don't forget to test your polishing before going right to full correction. You might not need it.

Here's a response from last year:
 
 
From this thread:
 
http://www.adamsforums.com/topic/27940-windshield-washer-fluid/?p=439148

They did. I'm on low doses of both blood pressure and cholesterol medicine. My levels are at the high end of normal, which they said probably helped tremendously since I have no effects from the stroke. Sadly, I'm on a cardiac diet which means nothing but grilled chicken and cardboard for at least a while, lol! Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers!
 
Now we just gotta survive ol Matthew!

Thanks everyone. I wouldn't say I drink a lot of soda but I do have some. I'll most likely stick to water now maybe some tea. My wife thinks the stress and strain from the stones played a roll in the stroke but who knows. I'm trying to take it as easy as I can and letting the pain meds do their job. Looks like I'm going to have to rethink everything I do from now on. I definitely don't want to go through that ever again.

Thanks everyone. I wouldn't say I drink a lot of soda but I do have some. I'll most likely stick to water now maybe some tea. My wife thinks the stress and strain from the stones played a roll in the stroke but who knows. I'm trying to take it as easy as I can and letting the pain meds do their job. Looks like I'm going to have to rethink everything I do from now on. I definitely don't want to go through that ever again.

Thanks everyone. I wouldn't say I drink a lot of soda but I do have some. I'll most likely stick to water now maybe some tea. My wife thinks the stress and strain from the stones played a roll in the stroke but who knows. I'm trying to take it as easy as I can and letting the pain meds do their job. Looks like I'm going to have to rethink everything I do from now on. I definitely don't want to go through that ever again.