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zerk fitting

I got my Black Friday order last night, and I received one of the random $50 gift cards!  Thanks Adams!

Looking forward to updates, Chris.

On Saturday I detailed a 2006 Dodge Ram 1500. 
 
He loaned his daily beater out and had to use this for work. He works on pretty dirty job sites so it was filthy. Dirt caked on in every orifice and significant road tar in the front right wheel well. 
 
It was a full interior/exterior job but I didn't get after pictures of the interior because I ran out of sunlight by the time I was done (I worked with LED's to finish the job up). 
 
This took me 9 hours start to finish. The exterior was done with an all in one polish to restore shine and gloss and then that was topped with a spray sealant for some extra longevity and added depth. The wheels were cleaned with an iron activated cleaner, tires done with TRC and tires dressed with a water based dressing. Exhaust tips polished with metal polish #1 to get some gloss back and the door jambs protected with a spray wax. Here are a few pictures of the exterior. 
 

for Thanksgiving!
I know cranberry sauce is polarizing, but I like it.  Decided to dress up the presentation this year. Can’t wait to see all the tasty treats that will be posted.  Happy Thanksgiving to each of you.  I appreciate all the tips and knowledge you share. May your day and families be blessed. 
 

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Thanksgiving prime rib roast.  The family decided on Surf and turf this year.
 

 
 

Everyone have a Happy and safe Thanksgiving! If you cook something exotic, post it in the food thread.

Started winter prep on my car with SW, Iron Remover, clay mitt and Ceramic Paste Wax (as the LSP). More pictures to follow in the next couple days as it was dark when I finished. I'm anxious to see it in the sunlight!
 
Here are a few pics of the Iron Remover in action.
 

 

 

 
So I had a door ding and red paint transfer. Tried the clay mitt but had a little issue with that, for some reason it left some residue transfer. Never fear. I broke out the Revive for the first time and, well, the results are obvious. RHP is a really underated product.
 

 

Its white and most likely only visible in harsh lighting. The more aggressive you get, the more cautious you need to be. Granted what you’re using isn’t particularly aggressive, you still want to have good practice. 
 
Chasing perfection is a futile effort. At least not without a vast array of resources. For reference, most of our work is done in one to three stages of polish. People don’t usually want to pay for the true correction when you can get great results without that kind of expense. That being said, we do use different polishes and pads than are offered here. But the Adams products work well. 
 
Don’t sacrifice clear coat protection for perfection that won’t be achieved and won’t last in the end. 

Here is Huckleberry at 10 weeks!

I think it’s actually 3625, though....

I was waiting for Falcaineer to do his thing and attach the corresponding article!!     
 I have no clue how....congrats on 2,500 posts!

I'm at the HQ and asked direct from the source. This can be used with OR without water.
 
It is slicker and will last longer than the original.
 
Oh, and the new smell is Honey Dew. RIP, grape. 😭

Thank you @falcaineer !

New Vid is up included the product page link in case the vid doesnt work. 
 
 
https://adamspolishes.com/adam-s-h2o-guard-gloss.html

It's been updated since...here's the latest:
 
 

Short for H2O Guard & Gloss.

Yikes! Good to hear everyone is ok. That would have been intense. It was good of you to stop and help.  I’m sure they appreciated it.  

Yikes! Good to hear everyone is ok. That would have been intense. It was good of you to stop and help.  I’m sure they appreciated it.  

I worked on the worst set of headlights I have done yet!  These are on a fairly new Camry, and the owner mentioned some 'gypsies' had worked on her car in the past, and the work was not that great.  The paint around the headlights feels rough, and I believe there some type of overspray on it, which would explain why these lights are de-laminating.
 
After cleaning and claying the lights, I started dry sanding with 600 grit to get all the old 'clear' off.  Next was wet sanding with 800 grit (this is where I start on most lights), followed by 1000 wet and 2000 wet.  I completed the cleanup by polishing with a MF pad and CP on the RUPES Mini, then FP on a foam pad.  I protected them with a trim coating.
I have been using World Abrasive 3" hook and loop discs (purchased an assortment pack from Amazon), along with a 3" foam palm grip sanding pad.  These headlights required breaking out the KXK Dynamics R.I.D STIX to work the tight areas.  If you do any sanding work, I recommend checking out these small sanding blocks.  They work great with the 3" sanding discs.  I just reordered the sanding disc assortment, upgraded the palm grip sanding pad, and picked up a 3" interface pad too.
 
de-laminating lights

 
after dry sanding with 600 grit

 
sanded and polished - the 'mold' is inside the lenses.  You can see the wetsanding 'slurry' on the bumper.  I use Waterless Wash in a pump up sprayer to remove this.

I applied wood conditioner and wax to my butcher block top.  
That counts here right? 🤪

I washed the wife’s Beast as I’d neglected it for almost three weeks. Adam’s original red Car Shampoo in my IK sprayer treated the finish to shaving cream like foam. Wheels cleaned with same using old wash mitt and boars hair lug nut brush. Barrels cleaned with Turbo Stick. Rinsed the Beast then washed it. After drying the interior got a quick wipe down and a couple of sprays of Pumpkin Spice Detail Spray for seasonal ambience.

Thanksgiving is right around the corner from us, and I remember last year taking a few moments and writing a post about what I was thankful for!  I figured I'd start it again where people can share what they're thankful for.  Something positive!
 
The last year has brought about a ton of changes for us, both a business and me personally.  On a personal level, it seems my family grew significantly and unexpectedly.  We are now a foster home for my wife's cousin's four children.  The challenges are endless, but I can say we are doing a good thing.  Despite the battles we have with DCF and occasionally the children themselves, I know they're in a better place because we've opened our home to them.  They are now safe, cared for, healthy and fed properly.  We still haven't wrapped our heads around all that they've been through and know the road will be long and full of questions but it's a journey that will shape who we are as individuals and as a family.  Thankfully my wife and I have a strong relationship and can weather the many storms this whole situation can and has brought about.
 
My daughter finished out her senior year of high school soccer and is going to be going to Elmira College in NY on a partial soccer scholarship to play goalkeeper for them.  She's excited, and I'm glad we were able to end the college search when we did and before our family situation changed.
 
Business wise...man, we've grown so much.  A little less than two years ago, I wouldn't have imagined us being where we are now.  We were just a couple of guys in a garage trying to keep some cars clean and make a few dollars.  This year we've added a new member to the team who's still learning, but killing it and putting in full effort when we give him the task.  I made a comment in our "latest work thread" as I looked back through and can see how we've grown so much.  We've been accredited by a leader in the detailing field, we've installed another bay and have it set up in a fashion that allows us to really expand our product.  So far this year we've already grown more than four times in terms of sales numbers.  The number still isn't a huge one by comparison, but I'm happy with the growth and that we've been able to keep up.  We still haven't even put money into advertising.  Everything we do is word of mouth and social media so to be able to keep work coming in is pretty awesome.  Looking back at photos, the quality of our finished products is improving.  We still have much growth to achieve and so much to learn still.  But we are making it happen!
 
Oh yeah, and in the spring we had our first detailing clinic which was a lot of fun for us.  It was even attended by some forum members.  We already have the next one planned and it sounds like it's going to be bigger and better.
 
I'm thankful for online communities such as this one.  We can learn from other members here, and have the opportunity to give back and help encourage people's enthusiasm for what they do.  When people see what they can achieve, it pushes them to do more.  We are happy to be a part of that growth and experience for members here.  I plan to stick around and answer as many questions as we can on the forum or that are sent to us!
 
And most of all, I'm thankful that I actually get Thanksgiving off this year and get to spend it with my family.  I can't say the same for Christmas, but it comes with the territory of my career.  I'll take what I can get and be happy.
 
Happy Thanksgiving.  Enjoy the time with your families and take a moment to take it all in.  We are lucky to be here.
 
 
 

@shane@detailedreflections Congratulations to your daughter for receiving the scholarship for Elmira College.  I was born and raised about 10 miles west of Elmira in Corning, NY.   I wish her the best in her educational pursuit.   I'm thankful that we have all our systems online and mostly stable after a 2 year effort and ~32 million in cost.   Now, the real sweating starts, with ensuring we have a return on investment...  I am also thankful that my son-in-law will be returning before Thanksgiving from his 4th deployment in 5 years, my oldest this very happy we'll have all her school loans paid off by the end of the year.
 
I'm thankful for the success my youngest daughter is having at the restaurant since she is now the operating director, we have a few more years of loans for her since she did 6 years of school.  I'm thankful that the wife's accounting business is doing well.   I'm also thankful that the 2015 Bordeaux's that I picked out turned out to be an exceptional year and a worthwhile investment.
 
 Finally, I'm thankful for my family and friends including the multiple new friends met through this forum.