DREWBUSH

I have seen this also on many vehicles with clear plastic lenses. If the glass gets a white haze to it, I have found that its usually due to someone wiping the lenses with an ammonia based glass cleaner or something that harsh. Usually they will clean the inside glass, then notice there cluster is dirty and wipe it with the same cleaner/towel. I have had good results with a plastic polish or headlight restorer wipes. 

I just started using the "other guys" clay block, which is sort of the same synthetic material as the mitt, but smaller. I would have gotten the mitt, but i literally got the block 2 weeks before the release. It saved me a huge amount of time. My daily sits outside 24/7 and gets crapped on everyday, bug guts and other junk. The synthetic material knocked it off with almost no effort. I do find if you press to hard or roll it on its edge, it will grab or leave a scuff mark as others have said. Light pressure and lube. I cant say about leaving marks, since my vehicle needs correcting already( i correct once a year, and LPS twice a year. So I wont know until winter time. Well, actually I intend on cleaning the wifes new golf in the next week or two. And I will report back then.

I started filling my foam gun with warm/hot waster. Not hot enough to burn your skin, but like a hot shower. I then add my soap and give it a little shake. I think it helps the soap mix easier. By the time I get all my other items out and buckets prepped, the water in the gun is closer to ambient temp. That way im not worried about accidently striping any protection off my vehicles. 

When I service a car at the shop and leave hand prints in the dirt thats in the engine compartment. I will usually give it the  "poor mans detail", basically mist it with WD40 and wipe down all the plastic trim. 99.5% of the customers do not open the hood and look, but I dont like leaving signs that I had been in there. The hoods are usually only opened maybe once or twice a year and the dirt is pretty heavy. 

PM sent

I don't have any Strip Wash, so I improvised by adding some APC into the foam gun.

Did you thoroughly clean out your foam gun after the first use? You might have had residual in it that may have caused some sealant removal. 

Haha. Clear!!!

Its heavy pollen season here in Socal also. By the time I am done washing and drying, you can already see it sitting on the paint. I think its an uphill battle trying to keep it clean. So I just will let it sit, until the next week when I wash it. Otherwise I would have to wash it every morning before I head into work. 

Sort of on the same topic, how would you prep raw aluminum for coating? I have an old bare aluminum bicycle that I hate to keep polishing every month. Would love to just coat it and forget about it. 

Assume the price from the dealer is the price of the part and labor? So the labor rate is probably in the mid $125 an hour range, plus the part. So they probably are quoting just over an hour per door to do it. It also depends if the seal is just a press fit on the lip of the door, or is it secured from the inside with retaining screws. 

and one more for good measure.

speaking of needing a detail. This Bentley came off the delivery truck like this. Basically they pulled the protective cover off and bam, factory installed swirls. Our detail guys hate doing them, because Bentleys are the most work to correct. There were at least 4 different sections of beautiful swirls from a rotary polisher. And thats black paint. 

Thats a good idea, my Subie blackens the tips pretty quick too. Hope someone chimes in on this. 

The other benefit of the GS is that it really helps to clean the glass during washing, so there is still a benefit

I concur. We finally got a wet winter here in Socal, and i finally got around to applying this to two of my vehicles. It does work well. But the big benefit is how smooth my wipers glide over the glass. Theres no chatter, or blades skipping. And as stated, clean up is a breeze. A little goes a long way with this stuff. I could probable due 30 windshields at least with whats in the little bottle. 

Really depends on the dealer and or manufacturer. At my shop, we are all high line German cars, and all new and used cars get detailed before being sold. But the wife bought a VW from another dealer up the road and it had zero protection on it. They just pull the protective material and wash it. 

Does it help keep the haze/off gasing from returning to the inside of the glass?

Also you could use the microfiber revitalizer. I tried it in a wash with some older work clothes(old MF beanie, sweatshirt) and it cleaned up nice with no residue in the wash basin.

Want to see pics of the Porsche RSR they are debuting this year. Should be fast with its new mid engine design.

Would I be too much of a jerk to rub it in that regardless of temperature, my heated and insulated garage (when I run it) hovers around 50-55? I built my house so got to design the garage at the time and completely designed the garage around washing indoors year round. I wash indoors in the summer as well cause washing in direct sunlight is just a big a no no as anything else. Long story short, winter has zero impact on my detailing ability since I wash indoors year round anyways; except I don't wax in winter. Hey...you asked!

Would I be to much of a jerk to tell you that I wash my cars in the driveway year round? Here in socal, only rain will prevent me from washing the rides. But I do wish I had that garage of yours. Mine is an finished special with cracked concrete and no room to even get a car in to detail. Just crap stuffed in there, I do need to clean it out one of these days. 

This is one of those things that I would compare to installing carpet in your house.  People that do it everyday make it look super easy.  You can buy the kit and do it yourself and take the chance of not getting it right the first time and have to buy it twice.  At that point it may have been cheaper to just have someone do it.  

 Thats spot on. At the dealer I work at, we have a sublet company do them. 2 guys can do the front of the vehicle up to the windshield in under 2 hours. Including mirrors, bumpers and pulling headlights and hood badges. They make it look super easy, but its a real pain your first time out. If you were just doing tail lights or headlights- you could easily tackle it, but large precut pieces that big, you might want ot leave it up to a pro. Its just like painting a car, prep and cleanliness is 90%. You can leave finger prints under the film that will show up. Even specs of dust or lint will show up as raised spots. 

 If you do try and tackle this job. You will need to first prep(clean, clay, dry and inspect the paint). You will need a spray bottle of water with a little soap in it(our guys use a few drops of baby shampoo). You will need another bottle of isopropyl alchol mixture(helps set your edge that you want to work from), not 100% needed, but just in case. Of course a squeege for applying film, probably a few different ones. Our guys you flexible rubber ones versus the hard plastic ones you see online. A heat gun for softening and relaxing the film. and a lot of time to get it right.  Patience is key. 

 Note: if you have any flaws in the paint material like chips or blems under the paint, they will show up when you wrap them. 

Just because it looks like leather and they sell it as leather, its not. A lot of manufacturers use  a "leatherette" material. Was pretty heavy in the late 90s and early 2000s. I had a '99 Mercedes and it was leatherette. If I used any type of conditioner, it didnt absorb very well, had a long set time, then was a pain to rub off the excess. The seats would have a slick feeling to them. Sometimes these types of materials are coated and resist fluids from absorbing into them. 

What size pad were you using? Also was it on the mini? or the Bigfoot? 

Nice work. The Rupes  just payed for itself.

Ive had LPS on both my cars since July, they sit in the sun all day and night here in sunny southern California. And the water is still beading up. I wash them once a week, sometimes every other week depending on weather and time allowed. I have started to use the Wash and Wax every other car wash, so maybe that is extending the life of the LPS. 

Its a synthetic fiber material that is pressed/molded into the shape. They are commonly used on under panels of vehicles also. They will absorb fluids and slowly drip out. I know, Ive done dozens of coolant leaks on cars with those under panels, the fluid just drips for days. So dont dont saturate it too much.