jstaples17

If you’re going to polish glass you’ll want the proper pads and polishes and a machine. The last thing you’ll need is time. Glass is crazy hard and time consuming to polish out. 

BLACK FRIDAY 2019
 
Releasing Thursday In Store In Anaheim, California At 10:00am PST On November 21st
725 N. Shepard St. Anaheim, CA 92806
 
Releasing Thursday In Store In Denver, Colorado At 9:00am MST On November 21st
8225 N. Valley Hwy. Thornton, CO 80221
 
Releasing Online Friday (Time To Be Determined) November 22nd
AdamsPolishes.com
 

 
(not all new releases are shown, there will be some additional surprises)

And the Ford GT350 is back home with it's owner and we picked up his wife's C7 Corvette Grand Sport for the same treatment!
 
It was an overcast day, and a cold one at that!  So the lighting could have been way better for the photos.  But...it's enough to get the idea in natural light.  Enjoy!

You could work a good with a mini. But I wouldn’t want to. It would take a long time to get adequate coverage. We use the mini for areas our bigger polishers don’t fit or a quick spot correction. 
 
There is something to be said for having the right tool for the job at hand. The most universal polisher is the 15. So if you’re going to have one polisher, that’s the one. 

Thank you mc2hill

You don't mean alcantara, right? Just fake leather? The new All Purpose Interior Cleaning Gel is a great option and should work just fine. It's safe for leather, plastic, vinyl, etc. They do recommend a test spot first, just to make sure, but it can be diluted if you do have an issue. Follow up with Leather Conditioner (also safe for most surfaces) and you're all set! 
 
By the way, LC has some mild cleaning agents, but I haven't seen the mark you mentioned. You may be able to get by with just that. ID is another good option, but it's not a strong cleaner.

DF24 your insight is greatly appreciated. I’ve heard the clay mitts are a lot simply to use. Thanks again! Enjoy the photo. 

NEW PRODUCT ALERT!!!
 
Adam’s Toilet Brush, you can even use it on the toilet 🤙

Thanks for the replies everyone. I have thought about modding my current brush but decided against that till i get either a second one or Adam's makes one specifically for narrow fender/wheel gaps. 
 
Toilet brush??? Never thought of that but will have to check it out. This could be a whole new world for me at Target 😀

A toilet brush is probably your best bet honestly. 
 
For my super low profile wheel arches I use an EZ detail brush. Long, soft nylon bristles reach the plastic. The wand is also able to bend so it helps me a lot. I use the ez detail jr for door jambs and such too...

Hi Jordan,
 
I can certainly pass this one along to Product Development as a suggestion!
 
Some of our Barrett-Jackson Detailing Team have modified our Fender Brushes in pretty clever ways to help make detailing faster at events. Some of them they cut the long handle off with a saw to get into tight undercarriage spots, and trimmed the bristles shorter with some scissors - just takes a little time and patience

One other option if you don't want to cut it up would be the Tire Brush - much shorter handle, shorter bristles, and still great scrubbing power for fender wells, just make sure to keep it away from delicate paint surfaces:
 
https://adamspolishes.com/shop/accessories/brushes/adam-s-deep-clean-tire-scrub-brush.html

One can always use a toilet brush. Thin handle will get in there and they’re strong enough to scrub. 

I'm sure this has been brought up before but..... it would awesome to have maybe a little bit thinner handle/head or shorter bristle brush for scrubbing fender liners. 

Well said, Adam. I truly enjoy this forum and want to see it continue at its best. And of course, thanks for the shine 😎!

Friends:  We started this shine-therapy forum over a decade ago!  Time sure does fly....doesn't it?
 
Thank you for being here, and participating in this shine-crazy community.  Thank you for your business, and for voting for products you like and don't like with your dollars.  Thank you for helping us create better solutions.  Thank you for calling attention to areas or products we can improve.  Thank you for helping us grow this business exponentially, I'm humbled beyond words!
 
Please, SMILE while you type....
 
Thank you for not using this forum as a place to air negativity.  Thank you for always being respectful of other members, and our employees.  Thank you for  using detailing, your therapist, or exercise, or meditation to work through your issues, when you feel like life is tough.  Thank you for making AdamsForums a positive and pleasant place to hang out!
 
In 2008, when we started this forum, we had 6 employees, and a few thousand customers.  Today, we have 125 employees, and over 300,000 customers.  One thing we have learned, for absolute certain:  WE ARE NOT PERFECT!  There was exactly one person who ever walked earth, who was perfect.  We are not Him.  We are not even close.  
 
If you are feeling perfect, like your finish is 100% swirl free, and never needs cleaning or polishing, if you feel like your poop doesn't stink, like you walk on water, and are comfortable coming here to blast members or the company who pays to maintain this community, please, don't.    Need to get some negativity off your chest?  Find a dirty or swirled up car to detail.  Find a therapist, let out a primal scream, go for a run or hike, a mountain bike ride, go ski or snowboard if that's your winter kick, like it is mine! 
 
There are many ways people like to get negative energy out. Blasting other members, or this enthusiast forum sponsor probably won't help you turn your frown upside down.  Please come, hang out, be kind, give and get detailing help, and understand:  We want to earn your business, but more importantly, we want your kindness. 
 
Vote for the products you like with your dollars.  Don't buy stuff you don't like, but please, don't bash them.  If you cannot understand the marketing team's decision to bring on a particular product, you are probably not the target customer!   I have never watched TV, don't buy soda or potato chips, and don't follow sports.  Do I hang out bashing Coke, Ruffles, or slamming the Super Bowl?  Absolutely not, it's just not worth the negative energy!  (Plus, my kids, wife, and employees need me to be a positive influence.)
 
 
So friends, I've instructed our incredible  Forum Leadership Team to permanently remove AF members who regularly post negativity.  Threads that are overrun with negativity are also going to be deleted, unless they offer detailing solutions or help to members searching.
 
As the only AdamsForums sponsor, we want people to feel great about being here.  
 
Thanks for your business, and your smile, and here is my Primal Scream, after getting this off my chest!
 
 
 

I can’t stress the importance of least to most aggressive methods enough. Try a test spot. You may be surprised at what correcting polish will do. Or even just a finishing polish. You may not need to go to a compound. Maybe you do?  But if you don’t, and you use a compound you’re spending time you don’t need to spend and removing clear coat you don’t need to remove. 
 
For reference, in the line of polishes/compounds we use we have seven or eight different ones. It helps us really dial in “just the right amount of aggressive.” This is true particularly when you match it to the five or six different pad types/cut we have. We have one compound that will matte your finish and allow you to polish it back. It’s not commonly used for other than scratch removal, but we have the option. Most people don’t need that varied of a product line, but it just reminds you of the variables you can encounter when working with paint and sometimes you don’t need that super aggressive stuff. 
 
It seems the idea of a test spot is quickly forgotten. 
 
 

Sorry to tease you, but you’ll have to wait until the third week of April for the Nova...and June 2-3 for the Mustangs and truck. We are going to try to pull off coating all three in a matter of days since we have to travel to do them. But what portfolio pieces they’ll make and they’re already in great shape...
 
They just need some enhancement and prep by us, and patience in laying down the glass!
 
I don’t have pics of the truck, but he just finished building it. 
 

 

Thanks for the compliments and the follows guys!
 
We finally had the chance to do some work on my own Lotus Evora to test some new product out.  This one involved two coats of a base layer and two coats of a top layer.  It's all done with the exception of some final touches and spraying their version of Boost on it.  That will happen later this week once it's all done curing.  Along with final photos...but here's some teasers for now.
 
These first photos are after the base coats were applied.
 

 

 

 
And the final one was after all four coats were applied.  Keep in mind lighting is NOT ideal when these pics were taken.  The lighting in the shop is harsh to show as much defect as we possibly can.  The car still has some light scratches in it but it becomes a dangerous game chasing perfection that most people will never even notice or that won't be visible in all but the harshest light.  It wasn't worth sacrificing that much clear coat to chase something you may not achieve.  These cars are assembled by hand in the UK, so they have their little quirks.  The paint is one of them since I believe they're even sprayed by hand as opposed to machine.
 

 
And that's when she shows you her butt!
 
Enjoy!

And here we go...that Indian motorcycle we were working on?  We didn’t forget!  Finally got it all coated before reassembly. One base coat of ceramic and two coats of the top coat ceramic for long durability and superb gloss. 
 
No special lighting was used for these photos. Standard home lighting and the camera flash for some. 
 
We will get this back together this week and ready for delivery...but not until final photos in the sun. So this won’t be the last you’ll see. 
 
If there’s anything we learned from this bike project, it’s that cars are way harder than bikes to work with from every point of view. Only thing smaller is the product used isn’t as much in terms of quantity. Time, resources, patience...all way more needed than a car. Live and learn. 
 
 

So instead of making some different threads every time we post work, I figured I'd make one thread that will be a living thread (at least as far as we are concerned) where our latest work will be posted.  I saw a thread similar to this a long time ago here and it was a great idea and seemed popular.  I don't recall who's it was, so if you're still here...thanks for the idea and hope you don't mind me stealing it!
 
 
Audi S5 - This thing was pretty hammered when it came in.  So it didn't come back to perfect to keep within the budget for the client.  But from where we started to where we ended up was a huge improvement and the client was happy.  Car was finished in another LSP.
 
This thread will be very photo intensive.  You guys are all welcome to ask questions based on anything you see here and I'll be happy to help out.  So to kick this off I'm going to post some of our previous work and what we did for LSP on each (to the best of my recollection off the top of my head).  Anything finished in other products other than Adam's will be referred to as "other brands" out of respect for who hosts this fine forum for us.  If you want to inquire more, please do so privately.
 
We do have some upcoming work scheduled and some fun projects...so this thread should grow nicely.  We are wrapping that Indian MC this week, we have a few coatings coming up next month so I'll finally be able to do the write up on how to airbrush wheel coating...and some other fun stuff going on!!!
 
Anyway, hopefully y'all enjoy this thread.
 
Audi S5 - This thing was pretty hammered when it came in.  So it didn't come back to perfect to keep within the budget for the client.  But from where we started to where we ended up was a huge improvement and the client was happy.  Car was finished in another LSP.
 

 
Dodge Ram MegaCab finished in full ceramic from another manufacturer.  This was a huge truck and took quite a few hours despite being brand new when it came to us.
 

 

 
Dodge Charge SCAT Pack coated in another ceramic coating.  
 

 
Ford F-150 finished in another ceramic coating while brand new for a client.
 

 

 
Ford F-250 finished in ceramic from another manufacturer (I promise I have some Adam's ones in here)...
 

 

 

 
Honda Accord that we aren't sure was ever washed...but turned around.  Finally a before and after.
 

 

 

 
Honda HR-V finished with some Adam's Paint Sealant and topped with another brand of spray.
 

 

 
Jeep Wrangler Sahara that we removed some graphics from and ceramic coated with Adam's...finally!
 

 

 
Subaru Forester finished in Adam's Sealant and Americana
 

 

 
Subaru WRX finished in ceramic from another company.
 

 

 

 
Volvo S60 R-Design that's coated in Adam's and maintained by us.
 

 

 

 
That's what we have for now.  We have some old, old work I could post.  But that's current stuff going on.  We are redoing a Lotus Evora we stripped the ceramic off of to guinea-pig a new product...so that will be done and up soon.  And we have some other cool stuff going on!  
 
Hopefully you guys enjoy this thread!  
 
 

That is very true @shane@detailedreflections I typically try and strip road film so I keep my pads in the best shape possible. But like you said, if I have a pad that is on it's way out I will use that one to clean the road film from the paint and save the chemical process of removing it. I skip the APC step and use my dedicated shampoo; its like a 2-in-1. 
 
As I continue to progress as an automotive detailer I will write more as they come to me. Writing was something I always wanted to pursue but I could never quite wrap my head around it. It sounds great in my head, but doesn't flow when I write it. There are many topics floating in my head and I will surely have time to write some longer articles when winter is finally upon us. 
 
Thank you for the compliment. It's something not everyone may be aware of and since I encountered it the other day I figured I would pass along the information. 

And to further clarify, the microfiber pads are the most aggressive, and the grey and red ones have no cut at all (for Paint Sealant, waxes, etc). Note you can mix and match polishes on the various pads, too, for added versatility.

I’m not sure if all of you saw the raffle that was posted on Instagram. But it was for a limited bottle for a couple who is getting married. Looks like 3 bottles were made and they raffled one of them off. I woke up this morning to find out I was chosen ? pretty excited because I never win anything lol 

This is a discussion/statement rather than a question.
 
Just yesterday I detailed a 2010 Camaro SS that was actually relatively clean. The owner neglected the wheels but he touches the body up with a detail spray whenever he gets a bird bomb, piece of dirt etc. 
 
After I washed the paint (I will go over my process in a bit) I ran my hand across the paint to feel for embedded contaminants and surprisingly the paint was smooth! No need to clay bar for most of the vehicle. The areas I did have to touch are the higher traffic areas for contamination such as behind the tires, rear bumper and some spots on the roof. 
 
Now, for my washing process I did a rinseless wash. 2.5 gallons of water with 1.25 ounces of my favorite rinseless wash concentrate and 6-8 microfiber towels soaking in the bucket. Before I wipe the panel down, I will spray it with a degreaser that is diluted 4:1 to give myself the best chance of removing traffic/road film off the paint. I let it dwell for approximately 30 seconds, wipe, dry and move onto the next panel. For this experiment I did the driver side door with the rinseless solution ONLY, no degreaser treatment before hand. 
 
After the vehicle was washed I showed the customer how there were very few spots that needed to be clayed and I also showed him what traffic film looks like. I clayed a section of the vehicle that I did with the degreaser and the clay came up clean. I then went over to his driver side door, clayed and there was black/brown residue that came off the clear coat.
 
Road/Traffic film is the contamination on the road after it rains. There are a lot of vehicles on the road that leak engine oil, transmission fluid, differential fluid, antifreeze, brake fluid etc ALL over the road. Those fluids will then seep into the asphalt/concrete and reappear when it rains. It then "mixes" with the rain and sprays onto your vehicle, coating it with a nasty residue. Being that most of the fluid that got sprayed onto your car is not water soluble (nor will a PH neutral soap break it down) you should give your car a thorough wash with a strong soap once in a while to truly "clean" it. 
 
What does this mean in the grand scheme of things? It means that traffic film can and will build up on your paint if you don't strip it once in a while. There are many methods to removing it and my favorite one is the one I mentioned previously (degreaser/rinseless wash) and a close second would be to use a soap that has a PH of 10 to help strip it. Simply re-apply your wax/sealant afterwards and you're ready to go. What you should also take note of is that after it rains & you wash your car with a PH neutral soap and then follow that up with your favorite protection, you are not allowing the product to truly bond with your paint to the best of it's abilities. 
 
I want to add that removing road film is a great way to keep up on your ceramic coatings too. Just because they are "self cleaning" in a way doesn't mean they are impervious to this. You still need to decontaminate your paint once in a while to keep the coating doing it's best. 
 
I am fully aware this is a controversial topic to some people out there on other forums but I wanted to bring it to light here because this is where I frequent and I just had this scenario come up yesterday. I am also aware my writing is pretty terrible as I was horrible in English class in School, lol. It is hard for me to translate my thoughts into a well written post for some reason so bare with me.