RayS

Welcome to the forum Joe. I read enough of the forum and recommendations that I started with the Detail Spray Kit which included MicroFiber Towels and DS. Once you've used the DS and Adam's MF towels, you'll see the difference they make and really appreciate the products.

Great job on the clean and the engine bay really looks great. I appreciate you adding the details on how you accomplished it.

The Adam's Customer Service team has again proven what the word "Exceptional" means. How many companies can you send a email to with a picture and your order number, get a quick response and then have a replacement show up a few days later - not many, but Adam's is one of them. Regardless of the reason that I've contacted anyone at Adam's, I've received Exceptional Customer Service and it is one of the reasons why I have such high regards for the entire team. While most companies try to blame someone else or do the minimum required, the Adam's teams continually proves through their actions that their Customer Service is Superior to all others. Thank you to all the Adam's team members from Support, bottling, packaging and shipping - it really does take a team to make this truly exceptional customer service experience happen and it is appreciated.

Knife sharpener

There is an older thread that gets referenced every once in a while. I keep all my products in a climate controlled room and go by a 2 year product lifecycle and so far I haven't had any problems. I do this by keeping track of my usage and ordering in a reasonable time so I don't run out. I buy gallons where it makes sense, but if I only go through a bottle or so a year of a product, then I buy the individual bottles. As an example, one bottle of Undercarriage Spray is plenty since I might go through a bottle every year or two, whereas Detail Spray, Glass Cleaner, APC and Ultra Shampoo are bought by the gallon and they might last a year. Inventory control for a professional or in my case an amateur not only ensures you have fresh products, but it also saves you money from spoilage and the expense of having excessive quantities of a product. Finally, products are updated on a regular basis and do you really want a 5 year supply of a product that has had a major makeover - I'm thinking of Ceramic Boost 1.0 compared to 2.0. I'm glad that I didn't buy the gallon of 1.0, because 2.0 is so much better, in my opinion.

Since my Wash + Coat and few other items from the new Ceramic line came in over the last week, we decided to wash all family vehicles that had Ceramic Paste Wax. Based on recommendations from @falcaineer and @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin, I used Wash + Coat and following my normal method, I used the Foam Gun. The vehicles are not ceramic coated, they only have Ceramic Paste Wax them. The first thing I noticed is that Wash + Coat did not produce the amount foam that I normally get from Ultra Shampoo, yet the lubrication on all the vehicles was equal to what I got with Ultra Shampoo, so I'll call it an appearance characteristic. Following a normal two bucket wash, everything cleaned up as expected, although I also noticed that the water ran off the vehicle at what seemed like a higher speed - especially on my truck, which I've wash many time over the last 2 years. The windows almost looked like they were streaking or going to streak, yet when I rinsed the vehicle everything came out spotless and had a good effect of the sheeting. Next up was the drying, two of the vehicles have had CPW on them for a while, the longest being since January 19th and the other since April 14th, they both were dried with Ceramic Boost. The other two were dried with Ceramic Waterless Wash. We started this morning at 7:00 AM trying to beat the heat, so the lighting is at a few odd angles. If you look at the front of the Mustang, you can see the reflective properties, overall I'd say we easily got 6+ months of longevity from the CPW. I'm pretty confident that the CPW will hold until it cools down, October/November and I'll strip it down and rewax it. The Fiesta was waxed with CPW on April 14th, so it also got the Ceramic Boost drying treatment. This is my son-in-law's car and yes I washed my hands after touching a non-red car. Overall, the CPW is holding up very well since this is the daily driver and sits outside. Truck was done on June 9th and it also sits outside. While it is my daily driver, in reality it only gets driven about 4 days a week with some weeks not driven at all. It does get washed at least every other week. I used Ceramic Waterless Wash as the drying agent. Finally, we have the wife's new garage queen, which was done about 3 weeks ago right before embarking on a 2,200 mile trip. The Terrain was dried with Ceramic Waterless Wash. The lighting doesn't do it justice, but it looks fantastic. Observations: Getting the bugs off upfront is easier than doing it as part of the wash. The truck was first and I washed it expecting the bugs to come off as part of the wash. I'm sure some did, but others not so much. The Wash + Coat puts what felt like a layer over the bugs making it a bit more work to get them off. It is possible, they may have just been a bit more embedded or dried on, but I didn't take any chances with the Terrain and made sure it was bug free before I did the general wash. I used regular Waterless Wash as the presoak for the bugs. It took even less Ceramic Boost for the two vehicles that I dried with it than I usually would use after Ultra Shampoo over CPW. I did not have any streaking or problems with the product, it worked exceptionally well. I'm impressed with how well it cleans, how good it smells and how it works with CB or Ceramic Waterless Wash for a drying agent. For anyone that has a vehicle done with CPW, I absolutely recommend washing with Wash + Coat. Fire Ants: For those of us living in the south, we know that Fire Ants are a pain, not just when you get bit either... The Fire Ants are drawn to Wash + Coat. While shifting some things around I had sat my Foam Gun on the ground, along with Wheel Cleaner, Eco Wheel Cleaner, APC and Ceramic Boost. The Fire Ants were on the Foam Gun, then I noticed they were also on the wash bucket with Wash + Coat in it, but not the clean bucket. I'm don't know if it is the scent or what, but the favored it and I tested that by putting a couple of drops on the concrete away from everything else and they went after it. Word of caution, don't hang your hose on the wash bucket, they crawled up it.

Thank you @falcaineer and @Parad0x for the additional details. I know I have a while before I will need to a Ceramic Wax again, I'll keep this info in mind. While the CPW does have a higher price point, I'm also wondering how many average sized vehicles a 12 ounce bottle of the Ceramic Liquid Wax will cover. With the CPW I've done 7 vehicles so far and it doesn't seem like I've used any from the container yet since a little goes a long way. With CPW, I'm expecting to get 25-30 per container, so how far does the Liquid variant go? With the Liquid being 5-6 months, most likely 6+ for the garage queens, so if the number of vehicles comes out the price point could be well worth getting some of the Liquid variant.

Out done

Even if the body shop tells you that you can put something on it right away, I recommend waiting about a week. You'd be surprised how often something looks close to perfect when you pick it up and after about a week you see some flaws that either need to be corrected by the body shop or by you. Brilliant Glaze and a few similar products can work wonders on hiding minor flaws on a fleshly painted vehicle and really make it pop for a few days. Minor flaws should be expected, the same as when you a buy a new vehicle from a dealer, it is up to you to decide what "minor" is along with how much and who should do the correction. Major flaws should be corrected by the body shop since some will require wet sanding or partial respraying. If you are going to do any corrections yourself, you want to be very careful and make sure they matched the layers of clear or paint. If you don't have a paint thickness gauge, the body shop does, don't be afraid to ask to see the differences or to tell them that you do detailing and need to know. In addition, while the surface may be cured in a few days it can take a while longer for everything underneath to be cured. When I had the Mustang done is was a month before I could touch it, the Malibu was a week and the SVX will be about 2 weeks once it comes back from the shop. As @falcaineer said, check with the body shop, there are a lot of variables and if you mess up the paint, the redo comes out of your pocket.

Given your location and given that you have roughly 4 months before the weather really turns, I'd recommend going with Ceramic Paste Wax for now and redoing the vehicle around the start of November. CPW will easily last 4 months and more likely 6 since that is what I get in South Carolina's sun. You can make the choice in November is another coat of CPW will get you through the winter or if you want to polish it and coat it before the salt starts getting put on the roads. If you do go with CPW, just remember to put it on thin. It does not take much wax at all and do a panel at a time or if it is cool out or high humidity you might be able to do two panels. Then get the wax off and wait a few minutes and got the panel(s) with a clean towel. If the first towel looks dirty or turns black, you applied way too much CPW.

My truck, which is not coated, has sat for a few weeks and is in desperate need of a wash. It currently has Ceramic Paste Wax on it which cleans up easily with various products. However, I just received my shipment of Coat + Wash and Ceramic Waterless Wash and I always have Ceramic Boost on hand. The truck is dirty enough that it needs a complete wash and I was thinking of using Coat + Wash on it. The first question is whether or not anyone has tried Coat + Wash over Ceramic Past Wax and if so, what were the results? For everyone else that has tried Coat + Wash, what are your thoughts and feedback for a drying agent, if one is even needed, after a wash? I'm two weeks away from being time for the next round of Ceramic Boost, but I never mind doing some experimentation or changing my habits.

Rod & reel I was fishing for a word to use with Rod.

I had no intent of buying Revive and then I received my first bottle of Revive in a mystery box and had to try it. I had tried other vendors products with similar descriptions and while they worked, I just didn’t see the point. Revive changed my mind and showed me how it should work and it is easy to use by hand. Since my original bottle, I have bought a couple of bottles and it is my go to product for the Least Aggressive method on many vehicles.

@TheWolf if you add items to your trunk and close the browser or log off and do not clear your cache or cookies, the data will show on the same machine and browser. However, if you log off and sign in from a different system, PC vs Mac vs iPad, the data will be gone. I just tested this to verify. The same holds true if you exit the browser and clear your cache and cookies, the trunk will show as empty. On my iPad where I don’t worry about the cache and cookies, the data shows in the trunk after a log off and whether I am logged in or not, which indicates it is held on the local machine and not the central server. With me working various systems requiring high security and the wife being an accountant, we tend to have higher security models than most users need to deal with, so the cache and cookies are cleared upon browser exit. The site is so much better than than old one already, once a few of these touch up items are applied, it will really Rock.

I really do like the new site, but ran into a challenge building my next order. The first two orders I did on the new site where simple and before the accounts where online and they worked like a charm. As I previously commented, the loss of Wishlist - hopefully only temporarily - makes it a bit more difficult to track what is needed. I started putting the items I planned on ordering today, starting with the 15 mm Swirl Killer and some new pads into the Trunk. I wasn't done and the wife wanted to go to dinner, so I signed out and when I signed back in to add more items to the order, the Trunk was Empty. @Kyle@Adams My ask is to either get the Wishlist back online or can we keep from clearing the Trunk when a member signs out. The old site would let me start an order, sign out and then go back in and the data was still there. I do systems for a living, so I know it takes time to get everything setup, so don't take this as a complaint, it is a request. I can go with the pencil & paper method for now.

It isn't a dislike for any color, it is more of a preference for Red vehicles.

I have used BG under and over paint sealant and various other products with no loss in longevity. BG is good at hiding minor flaws and swirls, the keyword is minor and it does add depth and clarity. When I want the vehicle looking especially sharp for the weekend or a show, I go over with BG using a red pad, this includes going over Paint Sealant, Butter, Americana, Patriots and Ceramic Paste Wax. It is amazing how much extra Pop it gives to the vehicle, but as @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin said, it only last a couple of days. Waterless Wash followed by BG makes for a quick cleanup and is a staple in my travel kit. From the Ceramics side, I won't put BG underneath since the last thing you want to do is use Surface Prep and then coat the vehicle. Then there is the inside of windshield, which I couldn't believe how well it works on a windshield. As @falcaineer noted on the use of Wheel Cleaner for a decom, it does work, but smells pretty bad. However, I can tell you Eco Wheel Cleaner is great for sensitive wheels, it doesn't do much for a decom on the body, so check to see which version you have and don't let it sit or drop on the vehicle, it really is painful to get off - I speak from experience...

The Ceramic Paste Wax is easily in my top 5 products from Adam's that have amazed me. My oldest daughter bought a blue car and while I thought about disowning her, I didn't and I was even nice enough to polish it and put CPW on it. Here's a link to the Blue thing:

I don't know of a substitute for BG, maybe someone else can give you an alternate method. My recommendation is that if you do not have any BG, to check the web site for any local Adam's dealers or call your local Chevy dealer. There is a link on the Adam's Polishes for the dealers: https://adamspolishes.com/apps/store-locator/ My local Chevy deaerl carries the basics and BG is a must have product just like Detail Spray and they've always been nice to me and given me the same discount that is on the Adam's web site at the time just for asking.

If you hover over the item, it will provide the full name, which in this case is Brilliant Glaze. Here's a link to an older list of them all:

I'm paying for it today, old equipment and body... I'll get my replacement equipment ordered this week. I just have to decide between the battery operated and electric. Given that my old equipment was 20+ years old, it was question of when not if it would die. The only concern I have about the battery operated swirl killer is whether it will last 20 years, like a plugin model should. I always have to think how often it will be used, maybe once a month, so that is why I'm leaning toward the electric since I know batteries have a more defined life expectancy.

While I am an advocate and look for items that are North American Designed, Built by North Americans from North American Parts, it is very difficult to find them. When you want items of particular specifications, it is even more difficult. This has lead to the outsource of manufacturing, mostly to China and the continued growth of rebranding. I'm sure Adam's could have spec'd an electric pressure washer from an North American company and got it built, but how many would be sold that the price they'd have to charge? What I do appreciate about the rebranding is that it takes the guess work out of picking out a pressure washer that will work for the tasks I want to do and it is backed by a reputable company who's outstanding customer service is in the US and not outsourced to India. Research and Development is expensive and it takes steady funding to continue to improve and innovate. The non-chemical products contribute to the available funding for continued R&D to make our chemicals better and product testing. Just thinking about Ceramic Boost and the effort that had to go into getting from the 1.0 to the 2.0 version and the time, money and scientific effort that get us a significantly better product, when the first version was not bad at all. That includes when you go the grocery store and see 5 different brands of canned green beans - that came from one or two manufacturers. One of the best writeups about rebranding is written by Amazon about AmazonBasics: https://www.cpcstrategy.com/blog/2019/02/amazon-basics/

As @falcaineer VRT on the trim before you polish, just keep it thin so it doesn't run. I've found that VRT protects better than the in those areas since the tape tends to not stick to the rubber very well. If the suggestion from @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin doesn't work, then you can use Eco Wheel Cleaner on the faux chrome. Just make sure it is the Eco series as the regular wheel clean may had adverse effects. If neither of them work, then you can try Brilliant Glaze.

Thanks Shane. After you posted your video's about the steamer a few weeks back I put that on my list of items to get.