Firebuff17

Appreciate the compliment, and I know Adam's appreciates the business. 

Lol. I read your post and that was my reasoning for trying it.

Lol. I read your post and that was my reasoning for trying it.

So you want to start mixing and diluting products for various uses, but you're not sure how to decode the ratios? Not to worry - the Shine Doc has got you covered! Dilution and mixing can be a very important part of a good detailing regimen, whether its to reduce the strength of a cleaner for more delicate needs or reduce the shine of a dressing, its key to know how to properly read dilution recommendations.
 
WHAT PRODUCTS CAN BE DILUTED?
Virtually any chemical can be diluted in one way or another, but things like wax for example won't be diluted often. Other products like Super VRT, Leather & Interior Cleaner, or Rinseless Wash will be things you dilute all the time.
 
CAN I USE TAP WATER TO DILUTE THINGS?
Yes and no, it really depends on the product you're mixing and what its purpose will be. Typically any product that has an 'optical implication' should only be mixed with distilled water. By optical implication we're talking about products with a visual impact on reflection, clarity, etc. So for example Super VRT can be mixed with regular tap water as the clarity of your tires or trim isn't an issue. On the other hand Rinseless should (ideally) be diluted with distilled water to reduce the chance for streaking when its used as a waterless spray.
 
DEFINING 'PARTS' IN A DILUTION
The term 'parts' are used in simplified dilution ratios that allow the user to calculate a dilution ratio regardless of the size of the bottle or batch you are mixing. Simply put 'parts' are a basic way to break down a mix and scale it to whatever amount you need or want.
 
In a dilution ratio your first number is always the water and the second number is your chemical, so for example:
 
If you were trying to create a dilution of Car Wash at 4:1 it would read 4 PARTS water and 1 PART car wash. Because the ratio is a simplified dilution you can apply it to something as small as a 16oz bottle or as large as a 5 gallon bucket. As long as you know the parts you can create any batch you need at the identical dilution ratio.
 
HOW PARTS MAKE UP A TOTAL YIELD
With the parts understood we can discuss how those parts add up to create your total yield. The total yield is the amount of the finished mixture you will create with your dilution. Simply put, the sum of the parts equals the yield. Sticking with our 4:1 mixture for Car Wash from earlier -
 
4 parts water and 1 part car wash equals a total yield of 5 (the sum of the parts)
 
If you were using a dilution of 20:1 your total yield would be 21. If working with a dilution of 10:1 your total yield is 11, etc, etc.
 
DETERMINING YOUR BATCH SIZE
Your batch will be dictated mostly by the container you intend to mix in. Keep in mind that most bottles are not defined by 'full to the top' as almost every bottle manufacture leaves an air gap at the top to reduce spillage. If your bottle doesn't have markers or a gauge to indicate sizes use a measuring cup to determine where the fill lines should be and mark them with a sharpie.
 
CONVERTING YOUR RATIO TO OUNCES
So now we know what parts are and how they add up to the total yield. You also know that your batch size will be dictated by your container, but how do we break the formula down into ounces and start mixing? We need to convert our parts to ounces. Lets say we're going to mix 32oz of our Car Wash solution at 4:1 to clean a set of delicate aluminum wheels:
 
 
BATCH / YIELD = OUNCES PER PART
 

Remember BATCH is the size of your container, or the amount you wish to make in ounces and YIELD is the total number of parts in your dilution ratio so in our example:
 
32oz  /  5  =  6.4 ounces per part
 
Now that we've determined our ounces per part we can plug that number back into the original ratio and determine exactly what we need to create our mixture in the correct batch size
 
4 PARTS WATER       x     6.4oz   =     25.6oz
1 PART CAR WASH   x     6.4oz   =     6.4oz
 
Double checking our math by adding it together you can see we have a total of 32oz of mixture being created at our desired dilution.
 
TIP: PRE-MIX LARGER BATCHES
Armed with all this new found knowledge of dilution how can you make it even more effective? Try pre-mixing larger quantities of your most commonly used ratios for refill purposes. Diluting directly into the bottle, while convenient and easy does present a challenge - if you are almost done with your mixture and need to refill it how can you accurately measure when there is already liquid in the bottle to contend with? By mixing gallon or larger batches to then refill your spray bottles you can eliminate the guess work and the need to mix for 128oz of use.

So the next time you exhaust a gallon container don't toss it out! Mix up a batch of your most commonly used dilution and have it ready to go whenever you need it!

 
COMMON DILUTIONS
Below you'll find just a few suggestions on various dilutions to use your Adam's products at. If you have a dilution ratio you like for a product reply here and we'll add it to the list. The beauty of diluting products is you can find a variety of needs and new solutions for products you may not have thought of before.
 
All Purpose Cleaner 8:1 - Delicate aluminum wheels or trim 4:1 - Bug or tar pre-treater, door sills, kick panels 1:1 - Ceramic coated wheels, gloss or matte black painted wheels, delicate engine bay Car Shampoo 128:1 - Soap Bucket 8:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun Leather & Interior Cleaner 8:1 - Delicate surface interior cleaning 3:1 - Moderate soiling 1:1 - General coated leather cleaning (when no stains are present) Mega Foam 256:1 - Soap Bucket 16:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun Rinseless Wash 16:1 - Waterless washing spray 64:1 - Clay lubricant 6:1 - Pre-Wash/Pre-Soak solution Strip Wash 128:1 - Soap Bucket 8:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun Tire & Rubber Cleaner 1:1 - Maintenance cleaning of lightly dirty tires, delicate engine bay Ultra Foam Shampoo 128:1 - Soap Bucket 10:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun VRT Tire & Trim Dressing 1:1 - Spray on low gloss tire dressing 2:1 - Spray on detailer for vinyl soft tops/tonneau covers and engine bay plastics/hoses (sometimes referred to as "VRT Milk") 3:1 - Quick detail spray dressing for matte vinyl wraps Wash & Wax 128:1 - Soap Bucket 10:1 - Foam Cannon or Foam Gun Wheel Cleaner 1:1 - Paint decontamination/removal of ferrous metal (Iron Remover is preferred and more effective for full body panels) Wheel & Tire Cleaner 2:1 - Fender wells and engine bay 1:1 - Maintenance cleaning of lightly dirty wheels and tires 

9 day old LPS, HGG and SVRT

Welcome.

Welcome to the addiction.

A way around filling up the storage with pictures or photos on an IPhone is to periodically download them from the phone to a PC.
 
Works using either a MAC or Microsoft based system, and in my opinion better than storing "on a cloud."
 
I will agree that an SD card for storage makes it convenient, but there always seems to be "pros and cons" to any phone.

Welcome.

Hope everyone has a good time at the party. Happy Holidays and stay safe.

I was able to wash, clay, dry, VRT trim and tires, glass seal, liquid paint seal, and H2GG. 5 hours later I am done.
2014 Ram 1500 Crew Cab. True blue Pearlcoat. No pictures as of now. Got dark out before I was completely done.

Welcome to the forums, a lot of great help on here and very willing to answer questions so you can get the result that these products can deliver. 

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

Yea. I have been noticing everyone's positive responses about them.
They truly are a family orientated and customer driven company.
And they are in the USA.
All hard to find nowadays.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

I spoke with Ben via Adams website chat. Awesome guy. Answered all my questions. Very knowledgable about the whole process. He is a good asset to the rest of the Adams team.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

I spoke with Ben via Adams website chat. Awesome guy. Answered all my questions. Very knowledgable about the whole process. He is a good asset to the rest of the Adams team.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

Just wanted to give a shout out to this amazing business. Have been buying a few things from them. I have been impressed the entire way. I spoke with Ben via chat on the Adams website. He answered all my questions and got me straightened out. I have been reading a lot on this forum and learning a lot. Everyone is so helpful.
I had been watching a few items I was going to buy. Waited till the black Friday deal came out. I ended up placing my order late Wednesday night. After I placed it I realized they would be off for Thanksgiving and thought they would get the order out probably Saturday. Alittle bummed but it was my own fault for waiting.
I was shocked that I got an email with a tracking number this am.
These guys and gals at Adams are awesome. They must be working their tails off to get orders processed.
I know I am not the only one when I say
THANK YOU!! You guys Rock.
Keep up the good work.

I am no expert as I have not used one myself. But I am curious myself as sometime in the future I may invest in one for myself.
I am sure someone with more experience will ask some of these questions and I am sure there will be more. But some more info on your end will help people provide proper response.
Budget?
Daily driver or garaged vehicle?
How many vehicles will you be polishing?
How damaged is the paint you want corrected?

Thanks Chris!! Looks like I have a good plan. Thanks to everyone's thoughts and additions.
Side note: waiting on my mystery box to arrive on Tuesday. Depending on what I receive I will be ordering the glass sealant and cleaner kit. After that I believe that will fill my current needs.....lol. We shall see about that.