SgtLip

Okay, thanks. I'll let my sister-in-law know your response above. I believe she went ahead and purchased a $50 Amazon Gift Card and told me to buy Adam's products with it for my birthday. But Christmas is coming and I want to make sure she can get me one for Christmas. Ha Ha

My thoughts on the Barrel Vacuum:
 
PROS
- Lightweight 
- Nice Design
- Long, Durable Hose
- Changeable Tips
- Long power cord
- Cleanable filter
- Not too loud
- Enough capacity to vacuum several cars without needing to be cleaned out
 
CONS
- Not enough suction 
- Perfect for a DIY, but not for a professional detailer
- No wheels (bottom scrapes from being sat on the ground)
 
I too agree that it would have been better if it had those missing features. Adam's is all about premium products and most people including myself have no problem paying a few more bucks for a more premium item. Unfortunately, this China made accessory fell short of "Premium". I get they want to offer better pricing for items manufactured in China, but I'd like to see more US made accessories, especially if the quality is better.

I was excited when I first read your suggestion, I even have a spare BC.   But I checked the diameters, and it doesn't work.   The vacuum is about an inch to big to fit.
 
I was hoping that they would offer something along the lines of their turbo blower.   Those look like they are built to a much higher standard, and are fitted with motors of a higher horsepower.
 
I'm not concerned about wet/dry, I don't typically vacuum wet areas.  I was just hoping for an "Adams" level product.  I choose to buy from them, because they seem to be making high quality products.  The vacuum is just a bit of a let down.  Even the polisher I purchased, is a bit suspect.  With very few hours on the machine, the plug lost continuity.  It wasn't hard to fix, just slapped on a new end.  But the point is, I shouldn't have  had too.  I even wrote them, explaining that situation, never heard back.
 
Then again, I'm not aggressive about pursuing those things.  It was easy to fix, and I hate the phone.  But is their business model to offer high quality products?  Or cheap products?  Pick a path and stick to it.  So we're not left wondering, what are we going to get, something cheap?  Or something good?  Their is an audience for both.  And the vacuum, compared to what is available at other stores, was not cheap.  I can buy a similar size, locally, for much less money.  If cheap was what I was after.  It wasn't.
 

No wheels on a barrel vacuum?  Wow.
 
Guess those will be added in version 2.0 next month.

I was glad to see Adams add a vacuum, I'd even requested one, since I think vacuuming is always a part of detailing.
I like the general design and industrial look.  Mine arrived with a fair sized dent on the rim, that had to be bent back to allow for a seal between the lid and the base.  I was also disappointed there were no wheels, since the hose is not large enough to cover my entire truck without moving the vacuum around.
It's a cute vacuum, less suction then the others in my shop.  I really wish that Adams would concentrate on US made products, even if they are a bit more pricey.  I for one, would be willing to pay.  
Adams customer base is already built by people willing to pay a premium, for quality products.  I'm not sure why that was not considered when it came time to offer a vacuum.
But I use it for one side, and my old vacuum for the other.  I'm still an Adams fan, but they could have done better on this shipment.

Hello Adam's Family. Now, I love Adam's products and I have only used Adam's products for the last 10 years. But, the last two orders I have placed have been screwed up. I email customer service and hear nothing and when I call all they say is sorry your item is backordered. No help no resolution. 
 
My backing plate is old and I need another one, so I ordered $100 in pads alone and a new backing plate for my 3 details this past weekend.  I made sure I ordered it with plenty of time for my details. When I opened my box I got the famous paper slip saying the backing plate has been backordered... Now, I have to cancel my 3 full details for this past weekend. My question to Adam's customer service is with a company the size of Adam's, how in the hell is there no process of letting the customers know when there is a backorder? Instead having the customer open their package and see a paper slip... All the customer service said was well nothing they could do. It seems they are on backordered for another week +. I am loosing customers because no one or no process lets the customer know, hey your item is B/O. That away we can look else where for the item. I get items get sold out due to lack of product on the shelf. But, waiting for 3 weeks for a key item is unacceptable. 
 
I'm a Operations Manager and I would love to work for Adam's. This would be the first process that needs to be fixed. Just frustrated that I expected more from a major company. I wish there was a second distribution center on the East of the country to help solving these problems. 
 
Sorry for the rant it just screwed my weekend and money out of my pocket.
 
Jason 

Thanks for the info @tlbullet
Ha Ha, good Dream to have. I think I had that one too until I saw how much one cost. I was stationed in Germany for 7 years and became really good friends with my landlords son. He had one and let me drive it flat open on the Autobahn. What an experience that was. 
 

I wondered about that, too (I usually trim them down a bit).

I usually just jam them in. This usually makes sure that I get every last drop. I was trimming them but it's just as easy to smash them in and go

As @Bscott94 said, by leaving them longer and jamming them in, it will ensure you get every last drop. There's also no harm in trimming, unless you cut too short 😬. My preference is to leave them longer and just squeeze them on.

Yep, we just insert them down into the bottle and allow the stem to curl into the bottom of the bottle to get every last drop. You can obviously cut them to length if you prefer, but it's not 100% necessary.

The smaller sprayer triggers are all the same length, which allows us to have one size of sprayer for 4oz, 8oz, and 12oz ceramic line products, so this saves on warehouse space and confusion when packing orders. I do usually trim those sprayers a bit for my 4oz and 8oz bottles though. The 16oz sprayers have a longer stem now too from previous years, which I like because I can use them on my older 32oz bottles now too

Sweet. I think you need to send that RAM down here to Florida and let me help keep it warm for you. It's way too cold in North Dakota. Ha Ha.
 
Thats a GREAT looking shiny truck. Like I told @stalebreadjr  on his Detailing Write-Ups thread labeled "Full Exterior Detail and Ceramic Spray Coating / RAM 1500", it being a RAM helped.
 

I would like to see a Compare Products feature on the website. Or a list of strength and aggressiveness for certain products.

For instance, is one step polish on an MF or orange pad more aggressive than correcting polish on an orange pad? 

Or, is Wash and Wax or H20 G&G  stronger than using Spray Wax or Detail Spray in between waxes?

There are just so many products now compared to just a few yers ago, It's really difficult to decide, and the website descriptions don't detail much in comparing their own products. 

Thanks man! I seen Adam demonstrate it in a video and that is one of the things that convinced me claying was a necessary step.  But i did not use it during my claying of each panel 😶 I'll "level up"my game when I do the wife's compass.  😁

Matt, by the way, that one shot of the truck while in the garage looking at it from the back to the front with the reflection is a REALLY GREAT shot. The reflection looks so cool. Again, great job.

Ha! I know! I wish i could just keep it in there, but alas it must be presented to the world.  😜Thanks for the compliment though.  I think it turned out nice and I am a Dodge/FCA guy so I agree that it being a RAM puts it over the top! 🐏

PLEASE don't take it out of the garage. It is way too pretty to chance it getting smudged or something.
 
It REALLY looks nice. One of the best looking black vehicles I've ever seen. It being a RAM helped put it in that category as well. 
 
Good Work. Looks NICE.

Update... all polished and CSC... I am very  happy with the results... hope it holds up strong

Alright, let me set the stage for this one.  First off, I am by no means a professional detailer.  Prior to the last 5 months or so, I did not know anything about Adams products nor did I have any "arsenal" of products or materials.  I got started with Adams off of a post that a friend of mine liked on Instagram.  The videos intrigued me.  So I started lurking on the forums and watching videos and dipped my toe in with a mystery bucket.  That was all it took.  Now here I am, showing you what this stuff can do, and if I can do it, anyone can do it.  I don't have any polishers or any special machines, I just took a great deal of time and enjoyed working this project with my truck.  So here we go.  Oh and here is a before picture of my truck just before I started to work on it.

 
I have already posted another thread on my Interior detail and engine bay cleaning.  I started by completing those first. 
For the exterior cleaning I started with the Wheels, Tires, Wheel wells and Exhaust Tips.  Products and Materials Used:
Wheel Cleaner Tire and Rubber Cleaner ECO APC Car Shampoo Tire Brush Fender Brush Wheel Woolie Wheel Brush Lug Nut Brush Bucket of Clean Water w/ Grit Guard Tote of microfiber towels (I used the edgeless utility for any wipedown)
I started by getting my bucket half full of clean water and I added a bit of CS to it.  Here is where I kept all my brushes to be used.  I worked each wheel entirely before moving on to the next wheel.  On each wheel I would start by completely hosing down the wheel and well, removing as much dirt and grime as I could with water alone.  Then I started with the Wheel well, spraying it down with the ECO APC and using my Fender Brush that was soaking in the sudsy CS water, I would shake the excess in the bucket, then spray the brush with ECO APC and work the whole Wheel Well.  I then moved on to the tire and sprayed it down with the TRC and repeated the same steps with the Tire brush by shaking off the excess CS water and spraying the brush with a plug or 2 of TRC and working that tire.  Then lastly I used what I considered to be the most agressive product in the Wheel Cleaner and sprayed the barrels of the wheel and face really well, using the wheel woolie I scrubbed the barrels, man this is a tool that I would definitely suggest having, NO SCRAPED UP KNUCKLES!  Then I used the Wheel brush to clean off the remaining face of the wheel and finally I used the lug nut brush to clean all the spots that were hard to reach.  Now, the lug nut brush also in my opinion is crucial here.  There were spots inside the rim that did not scrub clean with the woolie that I was able to get with the lug nut brush and the same on the face of the wheel.  Highly recommended to have this guy handy.  I then sprayed down each wheel completely with water and inspected.  If there was a spot to be revisited, I did that at this time.  Now, as I used each of these tools I would give them a quick spray with the hose then scrub them on the grit guard in my bucket and let them sit there until the next wheel.  After all 4 wheels were complete I cleaned the exhaust tips with a spray or 2 of ECO APC and the wheel woolie and lug nut brush.
 
After completing all the wheels and exhaust tips, I knew I was about to wash the whole exterior, so I took this time to use the TRC and Utility Microfiber towels and clean all the oxidation I could from the rubber trim and other trim around my truck.  I would just spray into a spot on the towel and work each trim piece until that part of the towel was soiled, then rotate the spot on the towel and repeat.
 
Next I moved on to the first wash in my decontamination process.  First I prepped the area by cleaning out my wheel bucket, spraying out those tools and hanging them to dry and setting all those chemicals aside.  Next I gathered all the materials and tools for the First Strip Wash:
2 clean buckets w/ 2 clean grit guards 2 wash pads 1 microfiber Wash Mitt ( in case the pad was not aggressive enough) Adams Step Ladder Bug Remover Strip Wash Foam Cannon Pressure Washer Iron Remover

I started here by prepping all my chemicals and tools.  I mixed about 4oz of Strip wash in my Foam Cannon and set it aside.  I then followed the prep for the 2 bucket wash by filling a bucket with clean water and Grit Guard and my wash bucket with Clean water, a bit of Strip Wash and my wash pads with a squirt of Strip wash on each of them and foamed them up.  Now that I'm ready I used my pressure washer on a very mild pressure and went over the whole vehicle blasting off any bugs or obvious stuck on grime and junk.  Next I followed the method Adam used in his presentation video for the bug remover and sprayed down the grill, mirrors and windshield with the bug remover and let it sit while I hooked up my foam cannon to the pressure washer. Here is the link to the product page which is the only place I have found this video.
https://adamspolishes.com/collections/car-washing-products-best-car-shampoo/products/adams-bug-remover
I started from the back and foamed the whole truck leaving the areas where I had bug remover soaking for the very last bit of foaming, this way they got the most exposure to the bug remover and now have a mix of bug remover and strip wash on them!  TAKE THAT BUGS!!!    The hardest part of washing this truck for me is reaching every spot adequately, so I used my long Adams Step ladder and started from the roof and again followed around the vehicle leaving the Grill windshield and mirrors for last.  I'm gonna tell ya, it was pretty easy removing those bugs, and there were a lot on there.  I wish I had taken a better close up shot before and after.  I'm sold on this one.  Bug Remover will stay in my Arsenal!  Plus it smells good!  Now that the washing is done I Rinse from here.  Now, I did my rinse with my regular hose that has a multi-sprayer on it so I could control and switch from a shower spray to a stream spray if necessary.  I just personally find that easier to accomplish what I'm trying to do.  After a complete rinse, I did not dry, I worked around the vehicle with the Iron Remover panel or 2 at a time, spraying the panels, letting it sit for a couple minutes and then hosing off.  I worked in smaller sections because the wind was mildly blowing and I didn't want the stuff to dry on the truck as there are multiple warnings about letting it dry.  Now, my truck is black, so it was really hard for me to see anything happening until I actually washed it off and I could see a purple haze to the water coming off.  I pretty much used the entire bottle of this stuff on my truck, there was a little left but not enough to complete another vehicle, probably a 4th of the bottle left or less.
 
Next up was the Clay Decontamination.  For this step I had personally gone back and forth on how I wanted to complete this step.  Originally, I was going to mix up a bottle of CS diluted down and use that as my clay lube.  My thoughts were to have a lubricant that would not leave behind any protective properties since I was actively stripping that off.  Then, I had some discussion with @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin off forum about potentially just foaming each section of the vehicle that i was going to clay ensuring that I would have the lubricity there.  All in all, with the mild wind coupled with the hassle of grabbing my pressure washer each time I wanted to clay a new section, I abandoned that thought all together and just used Detail Spray.  I was able to control that and work at a steady pace and also work indoors in my garage.  Shout out to @Yo-Yo Ma's Cousin for all the great detailing conversation on and off the forum!  Much appreciated!
Here are the tools I used for the Clay Decontamination:
Visco Clay Kit 1 Refill Visco Clay in case I dropped the one I was using 2 Bottles of Detail Spray Step Ladder This part of the process was brand new to me altogether.  I have never clayed a vehicle before and let me tell you, it was easier than I anticipated and very satisfying!  It is very hard to describe the feel of the process but you can "feel" what you need to clay a little more and what is done.  I really like the visco clay bar kit.  The Geo-Impression tool not only helps to mold the clay so it will pick up the contamination better, but it acts as a handle kind of and it feels good in your hands and it is very easy to hold on to.  I worked 1 panel at a time here in the garage spraying the panel with DS and then 1 shot of DS on my clay each time I started a new section or anytime it seemed like it wasn't slick and again, you can feel that.  I honestly thought I wouldn't see much on my truck because its in pretty good shape and stays in the garage when I'm not driving it, but man, there was a good bit on there and I used up the entire clay bar on the whole vehicle.  The way I approached this was kind of how I did washing the vehicle.  I did the panels that I thought were the least soiled first and left my grill and wheels for last, that way if I was picking up big bits of bug remnants or anything I was not doing that first, but rather towards the end of the clay procedure.  I made it a point also to feel the panel with my hand before and after claying.

 
Next I did a Clean Up Wash:
2 clean buckets w/ 2 clean grit guards 2 wash pads Adams Step Ladder Strip Wash Foam Cannon Pressure Washer Great White Drying Towel Accessory Drying Towel This was pretty straight forward.  Before Starting I made sure my 2 previous wash buckets were emptied and cleaned out and sprayed out with the hose as well as the wash pads thoroughly cleaned up.  I still had about a half a bottle of the strip wash from the first wash so that is what I used to foam the vehicle.  I foamed the truck and washed it top down and then rinsed with the hose thoroughly.  Since I was not going any further at the time I chose to go ahead and dry off the vehicle.  So once it was rinsed I pulled in the garage and used my GW Drying Towel to get all the big panels and then the Accessory Drying Towel for spot checking and cleaning up drips.  I did not use any form of compressed air.  In the future I will probably invest in the sidekick and this step would have probably been way easier.

Next step I took was to Polish the Truck:
Venom Gloves Revive Hand Polish Blue Hex Grip Applicator Single Soft Microfiber Towels Step Ladder Respirator
I'll be honest.  I was not going to do this step when I first started buying the tools for Ceramic Coating.  I don't own a polisher, really didn't want to make that investment right now, and have zero experience with polishing.  However, I am so glad that I took this step.  I used the least possible aggressive method by hand polishing and using Revive, but I'm telling you, it made a great deal of difference in the shine of my Clear/Paint.  I started this step with much skepticism, and ended thinking about buying a polisher and learning how to do it better.  This step took me the better half of a day to complete.  I really took my time and really focused on what I was doing and tried not to make it a chore.  I put a couple JRE podcasts on to listen to and took many breaks throughout the process.  I made sure I had comfortable seating (That Adams Rolling Detail Chair is in my future BTW  ), I took the globes off the lights in my garage to ensure I had the maximum amount of lighting and I had several LED Flashlights at my disposal to check the paint and polishing.  It took me a good bit to get the amount of polish right, there were a couple times I put too much, and in that case I just polished a bigger section and primed the pad with DS for the next bit until the polish got thin before I put more on.  After finishing this step I went ahead and cleaned up this pad with some APC and set it aside to dry.  Just polishing made a noticeable difference.
 
And here we are folks....I did all that for this moment!  It was pretty dadgum exciting!  Now is the time for the Surface Prep and Ceramic Spray Coating:
Venom Gloves Respirator Adams Surface Prep Spray Single Soft Microfiber Towels Step Ladder Microfiber Applicators Suede Removal Towels
A couple things I want to mention.  The Gloves are a must for both polishing and coating.  There is no way not to get any of this on your hands.  I had originally purchased a pair of gloves off the Adams site, but I found these Venom Gloves at Lowe's when I got my cool flow disposable respirators and I really like them.  They are very comfortable and my hands didn't sweat in them like they normally do in gloves.  I went through about 12 pairs in this whole process because I would throw them out anytime I stopped and took a break or moved to a different process.  I also highly recommend the Adams Surface Prep Spray.  I know you can mix your own but this spray was easy to use and cleaned the area well.  I could see in the Single Soft Towels where it was blue when I prepped some panels because I had not completely removed all the polish.  To my naked eye it looked as if I had, but the prep spray saw it differently  .  
 
I only took a portion of a panel at a time to complete this process.  I wanted to make sure that I was cleaning, coating and removing all before moving on.  I would prep the entire panel first and then I would coat a section around 2 x 2, let it flash, then use the suede removal towels to buff off the oils.  These suede towels are another thing that I was NOT going to use originally but I'm so glad I did.  They really made removal and buffing of the CSC easy.  I coated the entire vehicle including the wheels.  I took the advice of @falcaineer and I did not level any of the CSC that I put on the plastic trim.  Speaking of the trim, I used the small suede applicators that come in the CSC kit to apply it to my trim and wheels, all of the other areas I used the microfiber applicators.  I used 5 of the microfiber applicators in total in the process, I found that after using them for a couple panels they would start to leave a fuzz behind, so I just threw that one away and picked up a fresh one.  When removing the excess oils, ANGLES, ANGLES, ANGLES!  Although I had great lighting at my disposal, I would look at the panel from 3 different directions and usually I would find at least 1 spot I missed somehow.  Once I was completely finished, I then let it sit about 12 to 16 hours in the garage before moving on to the final steps. 
 
Ceramic Boost, Undercarriage Spray and Tire Dressing:
Ceramic Boost Double soft Microfiber towels Single Soft Microfiber Towels Microfiber Utility Towel Undercarriage Spray Tire Shine Black Hex Grip Applicator Block Applicator Cardboard cut to fit around wheels Venom Gloves This was the final steps in the whole process for me.  I addressed the undercarriage and Tires first so that I could clean up any overspray or dripping before boosting the wheels.  I took old Adams boxes (I saved them for this purpose) and deconstructed them to fit all the way around each tire.  I then worked each tire and wheel well like I would on the cleaning process one at a time, outside in.  I sprayed the undercarriage spray in the wheel well, then I used a piece of cardboard flexed into an arc (pic below) and sprayed the tire shine into the tread block all the way around the tire.  I used the hex grip applicator to level out the shine all around the tire.  My tires have the small grooves all the way around the tire and the hex grip applicator does good at helping to get the TS in all of those grooves.  Instead of wiping in a circle I would wipe from the rim outward to the tread block, then last wipe would be circular around the tire.  I let all of this set while I moved on to the ceramic boosting.  I changed my gloves and started from the top again and applied the Ceramic Boost sprayed directly on the panel and wiped down with a Double Soft Towel.  This is actually the only time that I use the premium towel during the Ceramic stages.  All other applicators/removal tools were the suede towels or microfiber applicators that got tossed away after use.  I'm not sure how to tell if the Boost I have is the 2.0 or not but it sure did seem to wipe up well.  I tried to find any indication on the bottle and I couldn't, but it is in the new Grey label style bottle so I'm assuming it is the 2.0.  I boosted the entire vehicle top to bottom.  I then addressed the wheels and tires again.  I changed my gloves and using a block applicator knocked down any streaking on the undercarriage spray, using Edgeless utility towel I cleaned up any overspray or dripping on the wheel itself.  I changed my gloves again and applied Ceramic boost to the rims. 


 
At this point I stepped back and really admired how far this truck had come from what it was.  I really thought it looked good before, but now it looks outstanding!  I would encourage anyone even thinking about doing this to try it.  Don't be stingy though and don't cut corners and listen to the advice of the professionals that are on this forum and those who have done it over and over.  They certainly helped me and that advice modified what I ended up doing by about 10 or 12 times!  I wouldn't omit anything that I did at this point, only add steps.  I hope this was enjoyable to read and I hope this helps someone else and I can give back to this community the way it has given to me!  Thanks for reading!

 
 

Actually, Wash & Wax is a silica-based product, not carnauba. It's a misnomer, but I'm told Adam's did it because "Wash & Seal" doesn't resonate with the average person. Wash & Coat can be thought of as Wash & Wax on steroids, and both are safe to use on coatings. Hope that helps!

I still think it is closer to Red than Orange, but the important thing is that it looks great.

Strip Wash > Visco Clay > Coating Prep > Ceramic Spray Coating
 

So what does one do detail wise on an October Friday you have off with warm temperatures but it’s pouring rain outside?  
 
I know!  
 
You get your car ready for winter with an Adam’s winter prep detail.
 
 
I started with a rinseless wash using Adams rinseless wash. I then followed up with Visco clay bar using Adams Pumpkin Spice Detail Spray as a clay lube. It’s a couple years old and I figured I’d use it before it went bad on me plus my wife loved the smell of the garage while grabbing fire wood and checking on my progress.
 
After clay bar I used the Swirl Killer 21 and Adam‘s Finishing Polish making the SS paint clean and swirl free.  I did however find a couple of spots where I had to use the PC with a 3 inch MF compounding pad followed by a 3 inch MF finishing pad to remove some junk left behind careless passers by to the SS.  I love that PC and will probably never get rid of it.
 
I then used Adams Surface Prep to get the paint squeaky clean and ready for coating.  The paint was then coated using Adams Paint Coating and allowed to sit overnight before i applied Adam’s Ceramic Boost to the paint coating today.   I found the coating very easy to use.  My garage was in the low to mid 60’s. Flashing was easy to see as my garage is well lit and wipe down was a breeze.  The Surface Prep  while easy to use does not have a pleasant smell.  Additionally,  I applied Paint Coating to the exhaust tips. I did this when I first got the car two years ago. It makes clean up a breeze, as in wipe down with rinseless wash or car shampoo and I’m back to CLEAN.
 
Today,  the tires got Adams Tire Shine and all glass, inside and out,  was cleaned with Adams glass cleaner. Interior got a quick wipe down with Adam’s Interior Detailer. The trunk was emptied of my fishing gear (6 rods, tackle box, tackle backpack, fanny pack plus assorted odds and ends.) I gave it a quick vacuum then three good sprays of Adam’s Pineapple Orchid Odor Neutralizer. All four mud flaps got Adam’s Tire Shine as well then out in the sun for some pics.

 
Like a mirror...but squiggly.