rseward

I'm not sure what the shelf life of different products are suppose to be (I think I saw it discussed somewhere on this forum), but if you bought these 8 years ago... that seems like a long time to expect the products to hold up; especially if they weren't stored in a climate controlled environment. If they were in a garage or shed, and exposed to extreme high and low temps over that period of time, I'd think those products have exceeded their life expectancy and are now trash.

I'd trade a buttery wax with yellow applicator (both new) for the revive & applicator... but I want to hold of until I get my Mystery boxes & TOMB, in case I end up with some in those.

Hard to tell from a pic... but I'd still argue that it could be the anti-glare coating delaminating from the screen. Here's a photo of what that looks like.

I wish my little sisters boyfriend would wash my car!

It doesn't look like surface scratches. To me it looks more like some sort of delamination. Is the car still under warranty (I'm assuming it's a stock Nav.)?

I thought both the DS and IDS smell similar; maybe one was a little stronger than the other or had some subtle differences but still very similar. I haven't used them yet, just based on taking whiff's from the bottle. It's my understanding that some products sold out pretty quickly and they had to whip up another batch, so it's possible that different batches came out a little different. You also may want to try shaking up the bottle good. Not sure if settling could effect the scent, but maybe?

I was in Harbor Freight today, and just happened to come across a product called “Telescoping Car Wash Mop” Basically a microfiber mop head on a telescoping handle. It was $9.99. The HF microfiber may not be as gentle on your paint as a high quality microfiber or wash mitt, but it will definitely be more gentle than a brush. Personlly I thought the one included seemed fine.

I use a BlackMax 1700 PSI, 1.2 GPM pressure washer that I bought at Sam's Club several years back (for like $100), and it works fine for car washing, and makes great foam with my generic Amazon foam cannon, using Adams Car Shampoo. That said, I've been considering upgrading because it's not very well suited for much more than washing cars, patio furniture etc... It can get tougher jobs done, like driveways, decks, etc... but it takes a lot more time and effort than a more powerful unit, and probably not as good results. In my next pressure washer I'll be looking for the following: 1. 50 ft. hose with quick disconnects (25' hose can't even get around my car without moving the washer). Of course you can add this to any pressure washer. 2. 2800 - 3400 PSI and 2.4 GPM (+/-)

I ordered a bottle of each (DS & IDS), just to check out what all the hype is about, along with several other non pumpkin spice items. I just can't bring myself to purchase stickers, coffee, etc... Those just have that "promotional item" feel, that most premium brands include free, in some form or fashion, like when ordering certain limited edition products, or dollar amounts etc... IMO, that would make those items more special and collectible. For example, if you could only get a (free) sticker if you were one of the first 1000 Pumpkin Spice orders of $50 or more; or a free bag of coffee for the first 500 PS orders over $100.... or something like that? I think Adam's does throw stuff like that into orders from time to time, but there doesn't seem to be any real pattern to it.

update: I stand corrected, some manufactures recommend 1 oz "per gallon", others 1 oz per 3 gallons. Looks like Adams is recommending 1 oz per gallon (3-4 oz) assuming your 5 gallon bucket is filled with 3-4 gallons of water. Still feels like a lot though, especially in the foam cannon. Original post: Ya... the 3-4 oz recommendation from the manufacture "feels" like sales tactic, especially when just about every other car shampoo only recommends 1 oz. How good is a product that requires you use 3-4 times the amount to achieve essentially the same results?

What soap are you using? I've heard the better your pressure washer the better the foam, in other words, a gas pressure washer will produce better foam than most electric pressure washers. I've had good results using Adams Car Shampoo in a generic foam cannon from Amazon with a BlackMax electric pressure washer rated at 1700 PSI and 1.2 GPM. I believe I had to turn the top knob to the closed position (or almost closed), for the best results.

My (limited) experience with the car shampoo has been similar. Water turns blueish, and I get "some" suds at the top of the bucket, but very little on the car. When I use my foam cannon I get good suds that will sit for a bit on the car, but when I go at it with the wash mitt from my soap bucket, I kinda feel like I'm rinsing the suds away as I wash. Even so... the car comes out clean, and I haven't noticed any issues with the results.

I'm also new to Adma's Polishes and have had to contact them a few times about my first couple of orders (missing items), and although they didn't answer when I called, I did get responses to my emails within about 24-48 hrs, which is acceptable IMO. One response came in the middle of the night, and the other in the early morning hours, so they are obviously working around the clock in an effort to keep up (which is commendable). The responses were basically "sorry, we'll take care of it", and they did... no questions asked. That said, they seem to have plenty of staff in their marketing department, as they haven't skipped a beat on social media or slowed down on their video production, etc.... Maybe they just need to redirect some of their resources.

What about a blower?... I use a battery operated leaf blower when drying. It might knock off the dust.

I'm planning to embark on the same journey with my 04 Titan... I bought a SK 15mm to polish and seal the wife's new Highlander, but figured I'd practice on the old truck. On mine the clear coat starting to go in spots, so I don't think it will come out as good as yours, but I'm still excited to see how well it handles that 15yr old abused paint.

I clipped that from Amazon and that mop does come apart.... not sure if it would fit your pole. https://www.amazon.com/MAYSHINE-Microfiber-Hardwood-Floor-Dust/dp/B07B9VZ1SH/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1536332604&sr=8-2-spons&keywords=wood+floor+mop+head&psc=1

Something like this might even allow you to use the microfiber towel of your choice

Maybe try a Microfiber mop head, like what you'd use on wood floors?

As a farewell/tribute ?... I think I'll watch "Smokey and the Bandit" tonight... It just happens to be included on Amazon Prime Videos.

I've used Tuff Shed to build a shed... and they were easy to work with and I love the shed. A friend of mine used them to build a 2 car garage (on a concrete slab) and he loves his as well, and has used them to build additional building since. Locally (El Paso, TX) you can buy Tuff Shed direct or through Home Depot, but I've found direct is the way to go, as HD is limited on what buildings and options they are authorized to sell.

Seems like Adam’s might want to consider a team focused on catering to high volume customers, like profrssional detailers and resellers.

Sorry if I went to far off topic. There could be other reasons they made the decision to cut the size of the product. Maybe they received feedback from customers that didn't want to buy 16oz of product when they couldn't use it all. Also, I don't know that selling 1/2 the amount of product equates to 1/2 the cost for them to manufacture, warehouse, package, etc... Is it 1/2 the labor to fill an 8oz bottle apposed to a 16oz bottle? I don't know the answer, but I'm guessing it's not. I get that from a consumer standpoint you're getting less for your money, but it's still a savings for someone who's going to polish their car once and only use 6oz of polish letting the rest sit in their garage so long that they'd have to order a new bottle next time they polish anyway (I'm assuming it can't sit in a hot/cold garage for several years). The best thing would have probably been to offer both options.

IMO... shipping is a biggie, no one wants to pay for it, and it seems their listed prices are what you could expect to pay at a retail store with, instant availability and no additional fee's (other than sales tax), which is probably why they always offer 15% off. I think they could better serve their customers by partnering closer with Amazon, allowing them to warehouse and ship the products, offering prime shipping, etc... Customers would get products much faster and it would probably be cheaper for Adam's as I'm sure Amazon get much better shipping rates, and would save a ton on labor.

I understand, if there's always a sale, there's really never a sale, I was just trying to make the point that the price you see isn't necessarily the price you'll pay. Also... I'm new to all this, before I started ordering from Adam's (just a few weeks ago), I'd get my car care products at Walmart or Autozone etc... so I don't know all the different options available; but I do know, when I started looking for products I found their site, and this forum most helpful in finding what I needed to accomplish the my project.

I get it, Adam's products come with a premium price tag, but there's a lot of other brands priced similarly (for consumers). I won't mention them by name here, but you can search Amazon and do your own comparisons. One thing I'll note (from a amateur/weekend warrior/consumer point of view), is that Adam's provides some additional value to the novice by making there product line simple to navigate. For example, color coding polishes to pads, product specific video tutorials, and providing this forum, allowing customers to share knowledge and product experiences, etc... Also, many of their products are made in the USA (not sure where others are made), and they seem to almost always offer a sale or promo of some sort... That said, I do get that a professional wouldn't be able to sustain paying retail (even at sale prices) when they buy and use the product in large quantities. There's only so much one will pay for a car wash, no matter how good it is.