LuckyKorean

44 minutes ago, tlbullet said:

I think ur first step in ur process is what killed you (working 10-4!! U need to reduce that).  Nice work. 

  I believe you can dilute RW and make it into WW, then use that next time as ur clay lube instead of using your DS! I beleive the ratio Adams suggests is 1:64 with distilled water (i made mine 1:8 just to be safe..still cheaper than using DS). 

I’ll definitely try that next! Once this DS bottle empties I’ll clean it and fill it with blue. Now I’m thinking I should’ve bought a gallon on this 20% off sale.. next time I guess. Didn’t do tires/wheels yesterday, maybe Sunday I’ll get to them. Do you know how to use RW on wheels and tires? Or is traditional rinsing the way to go? 

So I finally got around to decontaminating and applying HGG today. Legs feel like jelly and it’s midnight as I type this on bed 😅

Important lesson learned: never start detailing after work.. especially when I gotta clay! 

So my process was like:

• Work 10-4 

• Took car to pay and spray, took picture #1 there before doing IR. Now it was quite windy, I had to use A LOT of IR because I’m pretty sure the wind blew most away. Saw some purple but not too much. My paint is gray so not too easy to see. 

• Once I got home I rinsed the car then completed RW. 

• Next I clayed the glass using the Mitt, it was easy and fun. Happy to do it again. 

• Then I opened Visco clay... I think I had a bad time, folding the Clay was tough, making the geo impression was tough, and the Clay was smaller than the Mitt. Plus the car had never been clayed. I had to clay twice for plastic bag test to come smooth! I used the Visco for everywhere except glass and lower paints, used Mitt for those. Pictures #2 and #3 is from claying. As Adam would probably say, I got a lot of crud off so I can go ahead and apply cool stuff on top now. 

• Another RW after claying. 

• Applying Glass sealant couldn’t have been easier. I wiped down glass with GC, did windshield, rooftop(glass), and rear. Sealant was applied then cleaned residue off with GC. I didn’t bother using Glass boost this time. I’ll do that after a wash next time. 

• Now to finish up, I got a pretty darn damp Borderless Gray towel and HGG 😎 started with the hood. I sprayed HGG liberally and wiped with damp towel, dried with Double Soft. Halfway through the car Double Soft was soaked so I end up drying half with a dry Borderless Gray. At this point it was almost 11 PM! My legs were jelly and throbbing. Pictures #4 and #5 show the car all finished but not much to see in the low light garage. 

• Picture #6 shows how much product is left. All bottles were Newly opened, from the left to right(HGG, GC, IR, DS) mini bottle is Glass sealant. I used so much DS, not sure if that’s normal or not. Was scared to scratch too much while claying. But dang DS is some amazing stuff, smells drinkable and it doesn’t leave any streaks, easy to wipe off! Lovely to work with. 

• I had a lot of RW mix leftover, I put lid on bucket, how long should it be good for? 

I’ll get more pictures tomorrow out in the sun if it’s sunny. 

8 hours ago, RayS said:

I don't keep them all for long term, usually about 10 years with the exception of the S-10 that I kept for 24 years and the Mustang which I gave to my oldest daughter.  The SC300 is my son-in-laws daily driver with just over 295,000 miles on it.  The Mustang currently has 201,000 on it.  In contrast my Truck, the Colorado just turned 10,000 and it is 1.5 years old.   With the exception of the Mustang, every vehicle has the original factory paint. 

Those are old cars with lot of mileage but you kept them looking so good. Hope your son in law has a party at 300k 

Porsche Boxster looks fantastic Red.

I been looking at old 2000 Lexus LS400 lately. Most people who drove one of those didn’t really beat it lol I found one in TX with only 31k miles but it was sold ☹️ 

That’s a lot of cars, red cars! Do you keep all your older cars? I always dreamed of it but nowhere to put the cars yet. 

Love the Lexus. SC300? Cleanest looking one I’ve ever seen. 

Wish I had a flatter driveway like you do. Mine is a slope... something to remind myself of on next home. 

@RayS

Do you spray and wipe on wet car or wait till car dries? 

Is your car ceramic coated? I ordered Americana to practice I guess before I touch those fancier stuff haha. Curious about Ceramic Paste wax on uncoated car though. 

I don’t have much trim on my car but my mom’s does, all 4 sides. Color hasn’t faded yet but saw Adam’s video on Ceramic trim coating it looked easy and made it black again. 

My wife wants a red car so I might have to ask you things later on. 😀

I’ll try the Eco APC next time. I diluted using normal tap water before. I saw some mention distilled water for this and that but it was just TOO EASY to use tap water instead ☹️

1 hour ago, falcaineer said:

 

First, get a little angry 😡. Then cry for a few 😢. Then accept it 🙄. Then, assuming it's just rain residue and not muddy, break out WW/diluted RW (16:1) to clean off the spots (DS works, too), and anxiously await the next full wash 😎.

I do have RW but I have more DS than RW, especially once the signed one arrives 😁 

Say if I pull in the garage, car is wet. Just spray DS/RW diluted on wet car and wipe right? Or wait till next day when most of car is dried? I actually took a picture today after the rain. All that’s been done was RW couple weeks ago so I’m guessing nothing on paint. Would be nice to compare after I detail soon. 

Wonder if RW has anything that helps beading? Or is this normal naked paint? 

1 hour ago, RayS said:

Isn't it nice seeing the results of a little bit of effort.  That is part of the reason why I like getting older cars that have been neglected and watching the transformation.  So far your results look good and as you continue to learn the products, the results will improve.  

So nice! Now I’m thinking about looking for an older car to play with. 

I can feel the difference in my interior but I can’t see it very much. 

It stops raining on Saturday here so hopefully I can do some exterior stuff that day.

It might rain again Monday though, what do you do when it rains couple days after detailing? Full wash or just DS? WW? Or let it just dry 

I thought it was stainless but looking at every single spot.. found some marks.

LIC diluted 3:1 plus some elbow grease helped most of them. Here’s some before and after. 

I have a beige leather interior, wiped it all down with diluted LIC. It barely changed the color of yellow microfiber towel I used even with plenty elbow grease. Car isn’t old yet and no spillage on leather.

But all the wiping left it dry so I dressed some LC on it... now this is where things went downhill for me. 

I wore a mask during this whole process because I don’t like the lifted dust during interior cleaning. 

After applying LC over the surfaces LIC touched, the smell was SO STRONG. I read and saw many videos where people comment that they loved the leather smell, it was part of the reason I bought LC instead of ID but it turns out mine didn’t smell quite like leather, more like chlorine or some other really strong chemical scent.

I had headache after 15 min drive to dinner. It has been a couple days now and the smell still hasn’t cleared anyhow. My wife and parents don’t like it either and doesn’t want their cars done with it.

Even the Red interior dressing pad that I applied it with has a strong LC scent, even after hand washing multiple times with hot water and detergent/soap. 

I bought the LC on Amazon, sold by Adam’s but fulfilled by Amazon. Tried contacting Adam’s but they couldn’t locate the order details and suggested I do return process through Amazon. 

Now I ordered the ID with Odor Neutralizer and took this chance to buy Americana wax and lot of Double Plush since 20% off and to qualify for free shipping(never like paying for shipping )

Hope it arrives soon, until then it’s driving with windows down in 35°F 

Ordering Americana raised some new questions too. Like how many cars can one 6oz tub do? I’m planning to do HGG then Americana now. Dunno if I should apply BG or just use BG for interior it smells so good. 

BG on the glossy parts. Still scratched up but definitely glossier. It was actually enjoyable to apply and wipe. I didn’t bother avoiding the cracks between buttons. Just spread on Grey microfiber pad and wiped along. Like on windshield. The display screen actually got BG treatment too! It left a nice satin smooth finish, fingerprint resistant. It isn’t a touchscreen though. 

Coconut heaven until I applied Leather conditioner...

@falcaineer

I'll be sure to add pictures as I go and do these steps, it'll be fun to look at them all once I finish.

@8675309'SS

Sounds like I need to get me some empty bottles... it'll happen as I spray and pour Adam's all over the cars But till then I should get some empty bottles..

@RayS

I found some time yesterday so I went ahead and just cleaned the glass and infotainment. Glass cleaner then BG was perfect! No streaks and everything is shining. Woke up today and my car was like coconut heaven when I started it. 

@falcaineer

That was a long but so easy to read and understand, always like some bold letters. 

LIC is starting to sound like the opposite of what I was thinking when I bought it. 

I plan to use LC in every surface the LIC touches. 

But you mentioned using ID instead of LIC? Does that you use ID as cleaner? Like just spray ID and wipe? Or do you use diluted APC before using ID? 

Some other questions I had while reading:

It’s winter so how long should I wait to cool down before using WC? I’ll touch test but the good pay and spray is 10 mins drive away. 

About the Clay mitt, first time using it, should it be dry or a bit wet? I figure I’ll need to rinse while using it but what about the first time out of the wrap? 

Would it work to use grit guard to rinse or should I take it to the sink to rinse off? 

Good to hear HGG looks good on white. I guess I’ll try BG > HGG on one then HGG > BG on the other someday. 

But if HGG can be applied to trim, should I HGG then apply VRT? Or the other way around? 

Had as a lot of fun doing the glasses with Glass cleaner and BG. Can’t wait till weather clears up a bit so I can do exterior. 3 days of rain then snow  

29 minutes ago, RayS said:

From your list, I did not see any Interior Detailer, you will want to get some with your next purchase.

 

Since you said the interior is clean, I would not use the Leather Cleaner, I would go with APC diluted 10:1 if you have anything that needs to be truly cleaned.  Then go over the dash, seats and door panels with the Leather Conditioner.  

 

As for using VRT on the door panels, I would not even consider it.  VRT has a tendency to run rather easily and it will stain some clothing, so I would not put it anyplace that you are going to lean or rub against.  Again, go with the Leather Conditioner,  I think you'll like the results on the door panels and trunk trim.

 

Also, for the infotainment center, I use glass cleaner to get rid of all the finger prints and then Brilliant Glaze to to reduce the future finger prints.

I didn’t get any Interior detailer cause I thought I could use the Leather conditioner on everything. 

Is the Leather cleaner quite strong? I thought it was for sensitive areas is why I ordered it. 

Didn’t think of Brilliant glaze on infotainment! Mine is losing its shine and it’s pretty scratched up. I’ll definitely give it a shot. 

20 minutes ago, camaro2ssblack said:

On the interior, clean the glass before you clean the dash.  You don’t want glass cleaner overspray all over your freshly cleaned dash.  

Good call. I’ll spray interior cleaner onto towel and wipe the dash after doing glass 👍

Hi this will be my first time detailing. I ordered a Mystery Bucket before and did RW, found my windshield is dirty and before I got to do anything I got sick and ordered some more products. Everything is arriving today. 

Things I have to work with:

Ultra foam shampoo

Rinseless wash

Iron remover

Detail spray

Wheel cleaner

ECO All purpose cleaner

Glass cleaner

Leather and interior cleaner

Leather conditioner 

VRT

Tire shine

Glass sealant

Glass boost

Brilliant Glaze

H2O guard and gloss

Visco clay kit

Clay mitt

Some products look like they have similar use, like VRT and Tire shine. 

On my next day off I plan to do the whole car, the plan I have been running through my head...

Interior:

It’s clean, never spilled anything or any stains, regularly vacuumed and dusted. But never used cleaning or conditioning products yet. 

I plan to start by using Leather and interior cleaner, spray onto towel and wipe clean everything. Seats, dash, infotainment, steering wheel, doors.

Then follow up with Leather conditioner, a thin coat because I don’t want things too shiny but I’ll have to spot test to see how I like it. (Not sure if I want it on my steering wheel?) 

After that I need to take care of glass so I’ll clean with Glass cleaner then apply Brilliant Glaze on interior windshield(Haze be gone please) 

Might apply VRT to door panels but haven’t decided yet. Will test it out on trunk black plastic trim first. 

I shouldn’t need Glass sealant or boost on interior right? Sounds like a pain to do. 

Metallic Gray Exterior: 

Never clayed, never hand washed till last week. Definitely never sealed/waxed. Few rock chips. Probably some scratches. Ok more scratches. Wheels never properly cleaned. Windshield has tiny specks. 

1. Rinse at pay and spray

2. Spray Iron remover all over, Wheel cleaner on wheels then rinse using pressure washer at pay and spray, drive home. 

3. Using Glass cleaner I’ll clean the windshield then apply tons of Detail spray while cleaning with razor blade. Wipe down with Glass cleaner again then use Detail spray with Clay mitt. 

4. Clean glass one more time then apply Glass sealant, wipe down with Glass cleaner. Then top it off with Glass boost. (I really like clean glass) 

5. Rinseless wash inside garage with one bucket of towels. 

6. Open Visco clay kit, using tons of Detail spray I’ll start claying panel by panel. (Plan to use Clay mitt for glass and Visco clay for paint) 

7. I’ll skip polish, honesty too scared as this is first time detailing. I will use garden hose with spray nozzle to rinse after claying. (Should I need to do this? Or just wipe down? Or Rinseless wash again?)

8. Wheels got sprayed and rinsed with Wheel cleaner on step 2. But it’s pretty dirty so I’ll go again but this time use the Red wheel mitt. 

9. I forgot to order Tire and rubber cleaner and Tire brush! Sucks because I have VRT and Tire shine. I’ll try using ECO All purpose with coarse boar hair brush to scrub tires till they hopefully foam white. 

10. Apply VRT/Tire shine to my tires. (Which one first? Or only one? I’m scared of sling) 

11. Applying H2O! Since my paint will be dry I’ll use a damp Double soft to apply and dry Borderless grey to wipe down. For wheels I’ll use cheap microfiber to apply. (Should I H2O on wheels? H2O vs Glass boost on windows?)

12. Brilliant Glaze. I’m not sure if I should apply it on top of H2O. Opinions would help. I currently don’t have waxes. 

13. Show off a clean shiny car to start 2019  

Some questions and concerns:

1. The biggest concern I have is that I’ve read I should ALWAYS polish after claying. I did baggie test, my car is very grainy/sandy. Scared to polish right now, plus no equipment. Hopefully it’ll be okay? 

2. I didn’t get Paint sealant because my Mystery Bucket had H2O. I read that Paint sealant lasts longer and since I decided to clay, wondering if I should have gotten it. I’m thinking I’ll use H2O alone during this winter(South US) then later when it’s warmer I’ll use Iron remover(it’ll strip H2O off right?) then apply paint sealant without claying again. Or should I clay again? 

3. My parents are getting older and I want to wash their cars. They have 2 White SUVs. All 3 of our cars are 2015, 2016 and 2017. None of them been clayed or any detail done. I plan to do the same process for them but to be honest I’m expecting my Visco clay to be too dirty to use after my car. I have the Clay mitt I used for glass too. Parents cars are white, should I use Clay mitt or get a new Visco clay? Or skip clay altogether for now, just regularly apply H2O till it’s warmer and I’m applying Paint sealant, do all 3 cars after claying theirs? 

Sorry it’s a long post, thanks for reading. 

Just really excited to get my car clean  

Great. I ordered the things I need. 

Once they arrive I’ll try it out and get back. 

Wash > Razor > Steel wool > Clay > Seal

This order should work right? 

2 hours ago, GXPaycheck said:

Use a razor blade with a long handle (like the one mechanics use to remove stickers from the inside glass) and some glass cleaner. Hold the blade at a 45 degree angle and scrape the crud off. Like clay, use plenty of lubrication. That should get the big stuff. Follow up with 0000 steel wool and/or clay. Don’t forget the lube!

Would the detail spray work for lube on razor blade?

39 minutes ago, pirahnah3 said:

I dont usually have filling results with glass sealant. If you want to solve it today I would head down to your local hardware store and try the #0000 steel wool and see if that helps or resolves it. If it does then apply sealant and move forward. 

Kinda scared to put steel to glass. I’ll try clay first then the steel if clay didn’t help. 

15 minutes ago, pirahnah3 said:

I would try the clay on the glass first and see if that helps, if you can feel them and they are raised try a razor blade, if they are not raised, you could always try some #0000 steel wool and see if it is just something on the glass itself. 

 

I have used rain x before and have not found it to have a filling property, but since then I am sure they have changed formulas and also offer more products. So anything is possibly esspecially if it is a polymeric product. Glass is very tough so damaging it durring any of these processes is rather difficult. 

I can feel some of the specks with my fingernail. I plan to order the clay and give it a shot. 

Do you think applying Glass sealant would do anything to reduce the specks? 

I tried RW for the first time yesterday. All went well, I found it easy and definitely cleaner. 

After the wash I tried the plastic bag test on paint and glass. Both feel very bumpy! 

So now I’m going to clay to fix that, haven’t decided if I’ll use bar or those new mitt things. I will not be polishing afterwards. 

I plan to CLAY, then apply BG and H2OGG. Any suggestions and tips would help, not sure which should go on first BG or H2OGG. 

But there was a problem when I checked the windshield. It’s got all these micro specks, I always had some but now it’s a LOT. Could RW or the towels I have created more? Or is the likely culprit the Rain X 2 in 1 Cleaner and Rain repellant I been using the past year? I’m thinking maybe the Rain X filled in the specks, making it less visible but I wiped it all clean?

I’m not sure. I attached pictures, I plan to buy Adam’s Glass sealant and trying that after claying the glass. Would it help? 

Finally arrived! 

Left Bucket is the Mystery bucket along with the bottles and towels. 

Right Bucket is the empty bucket plus RW I bought separately. 

MB: $75 end up with ~$177! I’m somehow missing bucket lid and grit guard so I calculated bucket at $11. I guess they’re not included??

Overall I’m satisfied besides lacking lids. I spent $99 on this order thanks to 15% off on RW and empty bucket.

Total value is $206

I have 2 buckets no lids now 🤔 

I did get a lot of stuff I wanted from the Mystery though! 

Next order will likely consist of Glass/Leather care and LIDS! 

I went over to the Towels threads and saw both after your earlier post  

Guess I’ll be putting an order for more microfibers when I order the stuff Mystery bucket didn’t give me haha 

19 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

 

For RW, Adam's Double Softs are the recommended ones to use. The cheap ones won't pick up dirt nearly as well, likely smearing it, and they can induce micro scratching as a result. Not recommended for paint, as you said, but they work just fine for door jams, engine bays, and wheels in my experience.

 

The non-glass towels you got are 600 and 400gsm, while the Double Softs are 920gsm. Can't vouch for how the ones you got would work, but Adam's are softer. Even the SST are 800gsm, for comparison.

 

 

Whoa I didn’t know Adam’s were that much softer. I just saw many recommend TRG for Towels so I bought towels there and chemicals at Adam’s. 

https://www.theragcompany.com/eagle-edgeless-600-16-x-16-microfiber-towel-grey/

This is the one I got for RW. 

Honestly new to all the different types of Microfibers... I always just bought the cheap Sam’s Club ones, at 40-50 cents/towel it did the trick for random household uses. Now I’m looking to pay $10+ per towel I’m not used to it  

That said, I’ve read that it’s recommended to wash microfiber before use. So I took some of the cheap Sam’s towels(new) and washed them(warm cycle with Dreft detergent) cool air dried in the dryer. But it’s linting, I can see tiny straight lints all over glass when I use it. 

Because of that I’m scared to wash the new more expensive towels I bought. Thinking about washing warm cycle then air drying it on a rack. 

1 hour ago, mc2hill said:

Welcome Jason!  That sounds like a very heavy package, maybe contains a gallon of something?  

 

@LuckyKorean You did not mention you ordered towels for you one bucket Rinseless wash, so I have you have lots of quality microfiber towels on hand for this method. 

A gallon would be a great start... of an addiction hahaha. 

I have tons of new Sam’s club microfiber but read it’s not recommended on paint. I saw most Mystery packages come with couple towels so I ordered some Edgeless 600, Pluffle and glass microfibers from The Rag Company cause they had a good sale. I’ll compare and pick which the ones I like to purchase more of. As for Sam’s towels, it was bought under $0.50 each I plan to use and toss after dirtying them. 

Thanks everyone. I’ll be sure to post my bucket once I get it. I think Friday delivery  

Hi everyone. I’m Jason. I currently drive a Mercedes Benz C300 in metallic gray. 

I love cars and like keeping them clean. But I always neglected my car... just used the pay and spray car washes, occasionally auto drive through car wash(touchless and touch) during the winter. 

Interior fared better as I always vacuumed and wiped down without any trash lingering. 

Recently I started browsing reddit and occasionally saw cars pop up from AutoDetailing section. Every time I would think “My car could look so much better like that”... fast forward to today I just got my shipping confirmation on my first Adam’s and detailing product order! 

Past few days I been creeping in all random threads on this forum, especially in the Mystery box part! I got a bunch of questions from reading this and that. 

But since it’s winter I decided to start by learning Rinseless wash with one bucket method. My hands get awful dry during the winter. 

So my first order consists of: 

Limited Edition Mystery Bucket 

Rinseless Wash 

Limited Edition Bucket(it was $1-2 cheaper I think!) 

Got the shipment tracking info today and total weight is 18.5 lbs. Wonder what it is! Says 2 packages. One is 5.4 lbs, I’m guessing that’s Rinseless + empty bucket? 

Either way I’m excited! At worst I’ll miss some things I’ll need which I can order separately. From seeing the Mystery thread, Bucket mystery seemed like a great place to start. The Trunk was tempting $99 for $200+ but I felt I could use the bucket... I have none and wanted a lid unlike Home Depot Bucket.