RayS

Thank you @shane@detailedreflections, I always look forward to your articles and I always a couple of new items or ways to improve what I'm doing. There is no doubt you take your profession seriously and just as important, you care about helping others. I very much appreciate you taking your time to help educate me on some of the finer details of detailing.

I used some APC on a stain in my stainless sink and with a little work it removed it. I wouldn't say it was perfect, but the sink is also 50 years old, so I don't expect it to be. I see no reason not to try APC as the first attempt. I hit it 3 times and let is sit for a couple of minutes each time before I scrubbed it.

As much as I would like to provide you detailing Matte advice, I'll leave that up to the experts. The advice that I can give you is to keep that beautiful bike under lock and key...what a sweet looking ride.

I hadn't even thought about using them, but that is great idea. I just got a package of them and with a MR2 coming in this weekend, I'll get a chance to try this method. Thanks for passing on the info.

As veteran's, my co-dependent wife and I want to thank you and your son for supporting our military and for helping keep our country safe.

Have you made sure someone didn't install a screen protector on it? I have had more phones, tablets and other types of screens brought to me that looked similar and many had screen protectors. If a screen protector gets old, too much sun of otherwise damaged it makes the whole screen look scratched. If there is no screen protector, then it is toast and needs to be replaced. According to what it is you can get a DIY screen replacement or take it to one of the screen screen repair shops, but in most cases it is less expensive to replace the unit as a whole.

It looks like a beast of car, so if hibernation is good enough for the Bears, it should be ok for the Pontiac.

I do use a brush on my toneau cover and the taller rigs. I bought the brush around 10 years or so ago for the sides of the motorhome and it is as soft as can be. The telescoping pole goes from 6 feet to 12 feet and it can be connected to the hose. The only time I have connected the hose to it is when I was doing the roof where I needed a steady stream of water with the chemicals. In looking at the Adam's brush online, it appears similar to what I have and the cost is comparable. It was way too long ago that I purchased it, but if I remember correctly there was a disclaimer about delicate surfaces. I am not going to wash my entire vehicle with it, but I have not had any problems with using it on well lubricated (soapy) surfaces with light pressure, basically the weight of the brush on the surface.

The car looks great. About your comment of the smell, the air fresheners from Adam's also smell great. My daughters favorite is the detail spray smell and I prefer the vanilla, but all of them are nice.

I'll give a +1 on liking the rims, I think they look great on the new rig, which also looks great. Congratulations on your new ride.

As @falcaineer and @pirahnah3 pointed out HGG is great stuff. I was a bit apprehensive the first time I used it even after watching the video's and doing a lot of reading on the Forum, I just wasn't sure it would do what I was reading. I never mind seeing the proof of what other advocate for myself especially when it is easy use. I prefer the wet method myself and I have found that Less is more. I go panel by panel and if I see it starting to streak, then I know my towels are saturated and I swap towels, it is also a pretty good indication that I've sprayed too much on the vehicle. I hit the car once a month with HGG and then in between I use Detail Spray as the drying agent. I also keep my towels for HGG separate and wash them immediately after use.

I started thinking about my winter prep a couple of weeks ago. I ordered one of the 8 bottle bags since my other bag was worn out. The 8 bottle bag is nice and should be able to hold everything I need, minus the number of towels, for Florida to take care of the two SUV's and more importantly the two golf carts. I am going to do something different with the golf carts this year. Once they are prepped, I am going to hit them with America and then go over them with CB 2.0. Based on the way the grass and dust falls on my riding mower, I tend to think the grass and dirt that gets kicked up on the golf cars should pretty much fall off. Normally by the time spring rolls around they are in pretty filthy shape, so this may keep them looking nice a bit longer. As far as my own winter prep, I haven't had to do that since I left upstate NY 19 years ago and I don't miss it whatsoever. As as I'm writing this, the outside temperature is a pleasant 91, with reasonable humidity.

Welcome and a word of advice. Ensure that everything you get is for her ? vehicle, then once she is a co-dependent, life gets much easier. As long as my wife's car is shiny, she doesn't complain at all and since I even started doing windows, she was thrilled.

Are you using a Tack Cloth after you hit it with the Abralon pads? If so, did you rub it or set it down and lift it up? On several of my wood projects I found the Tack Cloth pulled all the microscopic particles off that were preventing the full shine from coming through. I have a saw big difference in the appearance after using the Tack Cloth when blotting vs rubbing - with blotting being my preferred method.

I found a thread on the topic from not to long ago: There are comments down in the thread about not using heat since it will melt the candy more. My resident expert, "wife", said to use the cold method for getting it out.

I was using another product (pre-Adams) that was supposed to make the car look like glass and it needed to air cure. I was working on the hood and during the curing phase a swarm of gnats decided to land on the hood. Of course the product was a bit sticky during the curing phase so what seemed like thousands (probably a hundred or so) were stuck. The product was cured just enough that it couldn't be wiped off easily and I found out they smear nicely if you try to just use a towel. I have also had a incident where a sudden gust of wind came up and blew dust into the product. Finally, bird's are trained at an early age to use vehicles in the process of being cleaned, sealed or just completed as target practice. All have resulted in utilizing colorful adjectives and my being educated enough to know that anything that can turn sticky or you don't want messed up needs to be done inside the garage.

@shane@detailedreflections Thank you for the write up and I'll echo what @pirahnah3 stated about Customer vs Client - well done. I did notice one thing that you left out of the pricing that falls between supplies and employee's, but has to be accounted for. Every business has paperwork, financials, taxes, human resources if you have employee's, they all add up in time and costs. If you do not feel comfortable doing the books and such, make sure you hire a reputable company to do it for you. The government does not care whether or not you are good at tracking things, they will take what they believe you owe. My wife is an accountant and I can't tell you how many business owners come to her with a box full of stuff that they never had time for or they planned to get to later. I can tell you it is much more expensive both from a tax liability and accountant aspect to fix things once they have gotten out of hand. Make sure you are prepared from day one on the books to cover your start up expenses and set your processes.

@mc2hill notd Brilliant Glaze and then provided a picture of a beautiful Chevelle, plus two more Red cars in the background... Thanks. With Buttery, I applied Brilliant Glaze under it and then two days later added BG on top as an experiment and it was beyond Wow since it was a driveway car. I would imagine with a garage queen, BG under America and then maybe BG on top would look amazing and last more than a few days. The question becomes maintenance since the extra pop would not last very long, but you could sell them a bottle of BG or DS for maintenance until it is ready for a full detail again.

Welcome. I see white stuff on the ground behind that beautiful Red truck - I sure hope that is from last winter.

Honestly, if there were enough motorcycles that needed cover to warrant putting the wife's car in the driveway, we'd both agree to it. We believe in giving back and helping others as we know there are good people out there that would help us if needed. 35 years ago when we met, we were both in US Coast Guard and we've never wavered from our desire to help others which at the time was the primary missions of the USCG. Edit: FYI: Just to be clear, my bike would remain in the garage, so I do have limits...?

To all my coastal friends, I wish you and your property safety during the storm. For anyone who is evacuating the coast and coming to Columbia, SC - I have space for multiple cars and/or an RV or two at my house. If you are coming to Columbia, SC for your evacuation location and want to have your vehicle parked someplace other than a hotel or shelter (school) parking lot, please send me a PM. Be safe.

For all the members around Austin, I want to point out that I think you are being mean. I have had many trips to Austin and could pretty count on being there for at least one week per quarter, but it has been close to a year since my last trip. Between the Tex-Mex and BBQ I never had to worry about going hungry and the best French Toast I ever had was in Austin and the hotel used Bread Pudding to make it with. Now for my actual contribution to the thread. My favorite cook books are: Texas Home Cooking: https://www.amazon.com/Texas-Home-Cooking-Comforting-Down-Home/dp/1558320598/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr= Next is: The Border Cookbook: https://www.amazon.com/Border-Cookbook-Authentic-American-Southwest/dp/1558321039/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1536497633&sr=1-1&keywords=The+Border+Cookbook The first picture was taken for my Chef daughter, it is the French Toast from the Driskill in Austin. The second picture of the Alaskan Sockeye Salmon that my daughter made with a Honey-Lemon glaze. While we don't get fresh Alaskan fish very often, it sure worth it when we do. After living in Kodiak, Alaska for multiple years, there is nothing that compares - you just need to time it right and be willing to pay for the transport.

@shane@detailedreflections I am always impressed by your work and willingness to share with the members of this forum. When it comes to black vehicles, I did some years ago (pre-Adam's) and they were Ok and it frustrated me when I saw what others could achieve on a black vehicle. Seeing what you have done with this truck, it reaffirms my believe as an amateur to know when to send things to a professional.

If you search Amazon for Sunco LED shop lights, you will get a lot of size options and some different models. If you prefer something other than Sunco, there are plenty of other manufacturers. I personally like the linkable ones and for a 1.5 car garage getting the 6 pack works well with having 2 lights going length-wise and 1 light going sideways. Different brands offer different hanging options, some are hung by chains and others can be directly mounted. For the ceiling you can go either way, but you need to make sure they can be directly mounted if you are going to hang them on the wall. You can purchase the lights from singles up to a 16 pack with Sunco and I see similar quantities from other vendors. The more you purchase the lower the price per light, but you should plan on between $20 and $30 per light according to which brand, model and quantity you are going with. I suspect your local big box hardware store (Lowes, HD, Menards), Costco , etc., may have them also. I will recommend that you select the 5000k as @shane@detailedreflections recommended. I currently have the 4000k and my son-in-law has the 5000k and there is a substantial difference. On the electrical, I recommend you have a way to turn them on or off in sections or individually, I have nothing to close to what Shane does and they can still be overwhelming at times. Here is the model that I plan on putting in my shop on the ceiling before winter. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078T3LL7W/?coliid=I2IR8MD61OEFZN&colid=1H9IU21L8JAFN&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

The saddle bags get a two stage treatment. The first stage is the conditioner and the second stage is the sealant, both by the same company. While I would think you could use the product on the vehicle, I never considered it due to the cost and effort involved. It is a purpose made product and no it does not come from the bike store. The leather jackets range from about 40 years old to a year old and I have used the same product on them all since the original purchases. The leather is as soft as a baby's bottom and there are no cracks or marks of any sort on them. The product is a conditioner and works as a water repellent. The ~30 year old custom made for me Australian Lamb Skin jacket is my prized possession. Even though I don't wear it very often, it gets conditioned twice a year, in the fall and in the spring along with the other jackets and still looks as good as the day it was handed to me. The product is only used on the leather jackets. I do appreciate the feedback on the leather recliner, leather desk chair, wife's purses and I'm sure my wallet and few other leather or leather like items will be well served with Adam's Leather Conditioner. I hadn't even thought about using it on them and have been using an off the shelf product when we clean them. Now, I've got more work to do this weekend.?