LSX Maestro

I'm going to try to go to CAC this year. I'm assuming it's more than sold out spot wise so just bring the truck? Might bring the car hauler behind me in case...

For regular bucket washes: 2 Buckets and grit guards (Gamma Seals are nice too) Wash pad (Probably will want two of these, but one can do) Car Shampoo (16oz will probably serve you for a quite a while especially if you're mixing in Rinseless Washes) Great White Drying Towel(s) (One will dry my whole 2500 Duramax, but two may be nice if you're cycling them) Detail Spray (Drying aid, shine adder, leaves the paint slick, and many more uses) For Rinseless Washes: 16oz Rinseless Wash (This can make 12-16 buckets worth of RW solution, watch the videos, which can keep for 2 weeks or more if stored correctly ) 6-8 Double Soft Towels (Yes they're expensive, but you'll want them. Fold them in 1/4s and use a new surface ever 1-2 swipes, depending on the dirt level, your mileage may vary) I think that's all you'll need for keeping a car clean. Other members can chime in. Yes there are a lot of products, I remember (Not too long ago) when I was overwhelmed by what gets used how and the like but spending time on these forums, asking questions, and watching the videos answered all my questions where now I have a strong knowledge of what product is used for what and how to use it in the Adam's line. If you have questions, just keep asking them, we have nothing better to do on here than answer them .

Is this clear coated paint or is it a vinyl graphic or similar? If it's serious and deep into the clear coat, then Adam's has a video on it: If it's mostly swirling then it may just need a correction, in which case a stepped process of Heavy Correcting Compound + Microfiber Cutting Pad/Blue Foam Pad and going up from there would be best.

Going to be hard to do a complete detail on $100-$150...If you want to go in order, then you'd be buying Stripping, Decontamination, and Polishing but that would mean you'd have left your now perfect/close to perfect paint naked. Instead of trying to price out stuff I'll just lay out the steps: Paint: Strip Wash (But you'll need to do regular washes after this first detail) Iron Decon (Can be done with Wheel Cleaner) Clay (With Rinseless Wash because this will keep the waxes of Detail Spray off the paint) Re-wash (With Strip is fine) Polish (Depending on condition of car, you may be able to start at Correcting + Orange Foam pad but if that's not enough, then you'll need more, so a complete kit should be ordered.) Protectant (In your case, LPS by hand or with a Gray Foam pad unless you're going to do a Ceramic Coating (Which that kit alone is $150)) If LPS: Apply H2O GG or you can do the proven Brilliant Glaze + Paste Wax combo, personally, I think that's more catered to a garage or weekend vehicle. Wheels: Thorough cleaning with Wheel Cleaner Coat with LPS or just a standalone coating of H2O GG Trim/Tires: VRT on plastics; keeps them dark, protected, and shedding water/other substances Tire Shine on tires or VRT can be used too (Diluting VRT is an option as well) Glass: If you want to save some time and money, you can just go with H2O GGing them regularly and/or Detail Spray. But if you want, you can use: Glass Sealant Glass Boost Which will keep your glass crazy hydrophobic for a long period of time (4-6 months + more if you go with boost) I would save out and not buy any interior things unless you need them. I find that Detail Spray can handle most of the things in the interior as well as the exterior. This is just some of my thought process. I'd buy as much of those processes as you can. Obviously, if you're going to be doing a paint correction, it doesn't make sense to put LPS or even H2O GG/Wax on top of a contaminated/uncorrected paint, only to then order paint correction tools a few months later. So it would be nice to go in order, but you can't stop at any step before Protectant really which leaves you with either spending more or less ideally you could just: Strip Wash Clay Seal (LPS preferably topped with something like H2O GG) and work with that until you can correct it. JMO.

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In fact I can and do. GM has some of the best brakes in the business, they're good on every model and especially on their performance cars. BUT they make a lot of dust. My 5th Gen ZL1 is terrible with brake dust, and I haven't driven my '18 ZL1 (Still being built) or my C7 Z yet (Still waiting for summer) but I'm assuming they'll be the same way. Putting any kind of a repellent sacrificial layer such as Wax, Sealant, or Ceramic on your wheels will greatly aid in cleaning them. The dust will still accumulate...drive it to the car show and expect people to think you never clean your wheels, lol! What's worked for me in the past and what will work even better with the Adam's stuff is... Give them a thorough chemical cleaning (Wheel Cleaner) and use all the brushes, get every nook and cranny and if you can do it easily, take them off and really get them good. Typically at the beginning of the year. Then, while they're clean, coat them with something. I'm going to go LPS + H2O when summer comes, but before I just used a basic spay sealant which worked. Once they're coated in something (Be it Wax, Sealant or Silica/Ceramic), the surface will be slicker and will repel the stuff. So when you go to wash them, you don't have to use the harsh chemicals like Wheel Cleaner. All it usually needs is the Car Shampoo and a brush and they'll be nice and clean. Every month or two you may need to reset and clean them with wheel cleaner and then re-apply H2O GG. Also, when you pull up to the car show and your wheels need a little touchup, a towel and Waterless Wash/Rinseless Wash dilution will clean them up really nice. Drying them with Detail Spray after washes in between H2O coatings will help as well. When all else fails, Brake Pad swaps are VERY popular with these cars. PowerStop and Hawk come to mind, they're a lot lighter on the dust, to the point of hardly noticeable until several drives, but they do sacrifice some braking performance and you'd want to change them out if you're doing any track days. Will update on how LPS + H2O works on the wheels...

I stand corrected then.

Disregard. 2012srt8 is correct.

Yep HGG is a great product. Detail Spray has many more uses than just your paint, in addition to wheels, glass, interior surfaces, plastics/vinyls and chrome, but you can use it on household items like windows, appliances, faucets, and computer screens/phone screens/TVs, sunglasses and more. Endless really.

Yes. You would not want to use ANY product with a Wax in it on a Ceramic Coated vehicle for best results. That means you do not want to use Detail Spray, H2O Guard and Gloss, and obviously Patriot/Americana/Buttery Wax. All of those products contain wax even if it's small amounts of it. You'll want to use Car Shampoo, Rinseless Wash (Either as a Garry Dean method or in diluted form as a quick detailer) Wash & Wax (Which is silica and therefore plays well with Ceramic Coatings) and Ceramic Boost in place of Detail Spray.

If your pollen build up is no more than something like a little road dust, then RW or WW is definitely a great option for it. I'd prefer WW or a diluted Rinseless Wash instead of Detail Spray as they have more lubricity and agents for cleaning purposes. I bought a bottle of WW originally and then when I ran out I made my own dilution from RW and it works pretty much the same, it just doesn't smell as good or have any shine enhancers like WW does. So to sum things up, either use WW or you could use a diluted RW solution in a similar fashion (And you could wipe down with Detail Spray after it's clean for shine, gloss, and slickness, which will aid in removal of such pollen/dust the next time you go to clean it).

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I'll attach some photos of my GMC's running boards. They have this odd oxidization or something at the edges as well as pock marks and swirling all over. Scrubbing it doesn't touch it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking a metal polish and a power tool of some kind but want to see if anyone has any suggestions before I go to town in the wrong direction.

With a solid paste wax like Americana or Patriot, it probably doesn't matter if you do H2O or the wax first. BUT I would not say the same for a weaker liquid wax (From any brand) or Adam's Buttery even. I've seen it kind of burn off/no more beading in 2 weeks or so. Which means anything that's on top of it would most likely be gone too. Personally I would choose to put down Liquid Paint Sealant first for the longest/strongest protection, then top that with a Glaze and your choice of a topper, either H2O GG (More function based, but still adds good aesthetics) or Patriot/Americana (More aesthetic based, but still very functional of course).

I think I've decided I'm going to skip the Ceramic Coating at least this time around. Perhaps next year I'll coat it but the $500+ you'd pay someone else to do it is twice what it would take to do it yourself multiple times. After watching some more videos, I could handle it on a dedicated weekend. I like how my detailing system is right now. I have quite a few cars + my daily drivers and right now I can use the same process on all of them; all cars get LPS + H2O or BG/Americana if they're garage queens, everything gets the same wheel treatment, tire and trim, glass treatment, washing habits etc. And most of them only get to be out 4-6 months out of the year so well inside of the time that LPS + toppers could handle.

Just a thought...I know Adam's is pretty big with Corvettes and specifically Corvettes at Carlisle. Lots of Adam's employees and customers go there and afterwards go to some kind of a meet up I've heard. If you could coordinate a time that's around there, perhaps you could draw a few more customers that would be closer than average? It's still around 5 hours but if someone is already coming from Colorado or Florida etc. they're closer than they'll ever be.

Take your time with the proper tools and correct it properly and you'll be fine. Nobody cares about your car more than you do. Perfect paint and the prep it takes to get there is everything with a ceramic coating. A Ceramic Coating is essentially saying "Ok my paint is perfect and exactly how I want it for the next few years, lets cover it in glass."

True. Waterless Wash is a great touch up product. It does have some shine additives whereas a diluted RW will not. It’s in between Detail spray and RW I think.

Mine sit in a bucket and hang on the rim of a card board box. When I clean out my garage space of the "winter storage" I'll have a whole shelf system for the detailing products...which means I'll have to fill the gaps .

Sounds like a plan. Have fun and welcome to the addiction. You'll start picking up more things every order..."Eh, maybe I'll try some Tire and Rubber Cleaner....All Purpose Cleaner looks good...Glass Sealant? Throw it in there...Do I nee --Yes I do..." etc.

I just detailed my truck today. It's already coated in LPS + H2O. I sprayed it off and then did the "Garry Dean" Rinseless method (About 2.5 gallons of water, 2 oz of Adam's Rinseless Wash, 6 Double Softs) and cleaned it all up. Wheels I do with a clean but lesser quality towel, no need to wreck a double soft with mud/break dust. As long as you never put a towel back into the Rinseless wash solution, you can use it multiple times which I plan to do. RW (Rinseless wash) is definitely THE best way to clean your car in the winter. Spray it off if the build up is heavy at the car wash, drive it home and RW or spray it off at home and RW. It goes without saying that having your paint layered with LPS/H2O/Wax/Detail Spray/Ceramic Coating etc. makes RW way easier. Almost everything will power wash right off, the only thing the RW towels pick up is light stuff and cleansing the fine stuff off to get it really sparkly. Drying it off with Detail Spray works great for me when it doesn't need another layer of H2O. DS helps to give it a little more protection, shine and that "glow" that you get in the sun.

It will vastly depend on how dirty the car is. A majority of my cars are Summit White which is a flakeless stark white like what you're talking about. If all they have is a little road dirt on them and brake dust/rubber etc. then a Rinseless Wash may be all you need. Adam's has videos on it and a google for rinseless washing will bring up lots of results. Now, if your car is a little dirtier than just that, say mud or slush from the winter roads and dried on junk, then I will pressure wash the whole vehicle down either at home or at the local quarter car wash or "pay and spray" as Adam says. Once I power wash all of the big stuff, hanging gunk and whatever else I can get off, I'll park it in the garage (But you could do it in the driveway right after the spray off) and give it a Rinseless wash like the above. At first I was extremely skeptical of a Rinseless wash. I thought for sure it wouldn't work very good or it would damage the paint and burn through rags but it actually works really good and doesn't do any of those things, couldn't recommend it more. Or instead of doing a Spray off + rinseless, you could just do your typical bucket wash. Now the proper way is with 2 buckets and grit guards and of course proper products and technique. Again, lots of videos on that and Adam's makes their own series on it. And many many more videos on how to make those washes easier with Waxes, Sealants, and Coatings as well as cleaning products. I would highly recommend giving it a good detail. Get it really really clean, strip it down and see if it needs polishing/paint correct (Swirl marks? Light scratches? Rough to the touch? All of these point to a Clay + Paint Correction). If it does, take it to a qualified detailer for a Strip, Decontaminate, Clay, and polish OR you could buy the products, learn how and do it yourself, it's not that hard but it could be time consuming and maybe frustrating your first time around. Once your paint is clean, decontaminated, and polished, it's ready for a Sealant or a Wax. The strongest layer should go down first, in Adam's case, that is Liquid Paint Sealant. This should give you 6ish months of protection. It will aid in keeping the car clean, beading, and protection against fall out, bird droppings, and the like. Topping Liquid Paint Sealant (LPS) with a H2O Guard and Gloss application regularly or a Wax regularly is even better and will keep that protection going (Say once ever 2-5 washes). There's loads more information but I figure this may get you started. Adam's Forums and Adam's Polishes videos are your friends. Welcome aboard!

Yep that would be the plan. I can't wait to see how it looks on a perfect black finish. This does kind of raise a question for me...I use H2O GG on my truck right now as it's the only vehicle that's been out since I've started using Adam's and I love how it looks on the black wheels and white paint, it even darkens black plastic, and the beading has been great. I don't find H2O particularly easy to apply, but it's not difficult either. Where would it fit in when you could use Americana or similar? H2O might take a bit less time but does Americana out perform it in gloss, beading, and protection against the elements?

Probably going to do the same process to my ZL1 when it comes in. Glaze + Americana in the cart, will try Patriot next. Now how often should I do the Americana? Every month or so? I'm aware there are tons of great LSPs out there. I was considering adding a few different brands and products but I'm kind of a continuity guy so I'm going to try to keep it mostly Adam's. Other forums highly praise certain LSPs but out of respect for Adam's we can have that talk elsewhere.

Here’s a shot as she sits right now. It's a Z07 car so it sits too high for my tastes and not a fan of the "gray" wheels it has. Going to be doing all sorts of little things to it. More carbon pieces, lower it with LG drop spindles, dark LED sidemarkers, different wheels (Thinking GM Cup wheels or going aftermarket forged), tints, intake, exhaust, etc.