Brewder

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Thanks for all the feedback.... and yes, the car is a darker color and you don't really see the streaks in full sun... but for sure do when it's overcast.

Need some advice.

Two years ago (so May 2022), I did a full detail of my car including a full proper prep and finished with Adam's Advanced Graphene coating.  I believe due to 1) not applying enough product and 2) resulting in drying too quickly, I now have visible "zebra" stripes when you view my car in certain lighting.  The stripes come from the applicator bar.

Clearly I did a poor job in applying the product properly.

So it's now 2 years later.  What would be the proper process (and products) to remove the coating and start over if I wanted to go down that path before it naturally wears off?

//Brew

9 minutes ago, RayS said:

Hi Troy,

I've had plenty of vehicles brought to me that were cloudy of just not shining to find out the owner used dish soap, most often dawn.  While it is great dish soap, it doesn't help the paint surface on a vehicle.  As for the Surface Prep, make sure you shake the bottle before using it and do small sections at a time.  I generally use mid-GSM microfiber towel, in the 440 range, the Adam's Borderless Gray work very well.

 

Working outside always has its risks with pollen, dust, bugs, etc., so once I wash and iron remove a vehicle it goes inside and does not come out again until the coating is complete and cured.

I can say it definitely was not the Dawn soap, but it ultimately was a self inflicted mistake.  In my haste, I  didn't buff all of the polish off prior to using Surface Prep.  After re-washing (again with Dawn), 90% of the cloudiness was gone, except on the hood where I used an exceptional amount of polish.  Again, my rookie mistake.

I re-machine-polished the hood and it came out great.  I then coated the car and it looks fantastic.  I don't have pictures as it's a miserable/rainy day but definitely turned out great after I got past MY mistakes.

//Brew

Help.  I'm getting very frustrated.  I'm prepping to re-coat my car this time with Adams Advanced ceramic coating.  I'm having trouble, believe it or not, with the Surface Prep product.  Here is where I am in the prep process:

• Dawn soap wash to strip layers detail spray and tire dressings
• Iron remover / rinse
• 2nd wash with Dawn soap used as a lubricant with the clay mitt
• Mechanical paint correction using One Step polish
• Buff residue with MF towel
• Sprayed Surface Prep and wiped down with a high gsm (very plush towel)
  • It was getting late and I was outdoors in the shade with a good breeze (probably where things went wrong).. when I pulled the car into the garage i could see the entire car was terribly smudged.  The surface prep appears to have dried on the car.  Perhaps the high GSM towel was wrong?
• The next morning (today), I re-washed the car again with Dawn soap to try and remove the Surface Prep
• Most of the surface prep appears gone, but there are some spots (hood of course) where you can see the cloudy residue

So now I don't want to coat the car since the paint prep still isn't perfect.  I'm worried about trying surface prep once again (indoors with a different towel this time?)... and I certainly don't want to re-polish the car.

Any suggestions for me?

//Brew

OK there's a ton of confusion, in my mind, about coating black plastic trim.  My experience 2+ years ago with the regular Ceramic Coating (non-advanced formula) was that is turned some of my flawless black plastic trim chalky white.

I'm about to do a full prep, one step paint correction, and coat with the Advanced formula.  

What is the ruling on the black plastic trim?  My plan is to scrub it clean with Adams trim cleaner... then is it ok to coat........or not?

//Brew

Thank you both.. I thought about the hand polish but the more I think about it, the more just re-doing it from scratch sounds like the best approach.  sigh.  

OK... So two years ago, I applied a full Adams Ceramic Graphene coating to my car.  I did the full monte of prep work including one-step paint correction.  Car turned out AMAZING.  Fast forward 2 years. My car needed minor bumper repair and the body shop ran my car through their automatic wash when they were done.  Now my paint is covered in light scratch swirl marks... I was so mad at myself for not telling them "do not wash!".

Anyway.. I assume I need to re-polish my car to remove the swirl marks.  I have plenty of Adam's One Step polish left but I'm wondering if perhaps that's too aggressive?  What do the experts recommend?   Also, AFTER whatever polish steps I do.... does that imply it's time to re-coat the car?

//Brew

I would definitely re-do the entire bumper.. What would you, or anyone, suggest about about the specific polishing compounds to use?  I don't know which components to start with..

Hello Forum,

In October of 2020, I ceramic coated my car with Adam's Graphene coating product.... Fast forward to almost exactly 1 year later, and there was a car accident that happened in front of me and one of the cars was pushed into my front bumper at a fairly low speed.

I have a slightly unique car, and it could take a year to source a new replacement bumper.. It's been 2 months and there's no ETA in a replacement bumper...  I'm considering trying to buff out the majority of the scratches myself to avoid a "ding" on future resale value.  I can see someone reading "front impact collision" on a car fax report and thinking it was much more severe that it was.

Anyway, since the car is coated, what's a recommended approach to try and get these scratches looking as best as I can?  It's tough to determine from the pictures, and in person, if the scratches go through the paint and into the plastic/fiberglass itself.

At this point, I'm just curious for ideas/suggestions.

//Brew

I look forward to you posting your results...  I have exactly the same issue after ceramic coating my car..  I'm very unhappy with the "ash" color of my window trim, cowl, and mud flaps...  all areas I either purposely coated, or bumped in the application process.  NOTHING has fixed it for me....  I know the Adams trim restorer is a "stain" so be careful with it and definitely keep us posted!

Ugh....

Thanks for sharing.  I definitely followed their first video.... but before I try the trim restorer, I'm going to try the tire and rubber cleaner..  I know the plastic under the milky messy was pristine so hopefully I didn't ruin it.  

I still haven't had some free time to get into it yet....  but will soon and post back.

Yeah I'm definitely going to try the T&R cleaner first... I have plenty of that stuff...  I know for certain the trim is (was) flawless before I hit it with the one-step polish and swirl killer...  so hopefully the T&R cleaner fixes it right up before I try any of those "dye/renewal" type products.

Is this some sort of coating or a dye?

Hello - back in the fall of 2020, I ceramic coated my car with Adams Ceramic Graphene coating.  I did all the normal prep (strip, decom, one-step polish, etc, etc.)ain't .. The one mistake I made was not to properly protect the plastic around my windshield.... Now it looks like faded/gray/white crap.  It's definitely NOT sun damage, it's from the one step polish I'm sure.  As I was polishing the paint, I didn't take enough precautions with my plastic trim.  I know, rookie mistake...  To make matters worse, I most likely "sealed it in" with the ceramic coating.

Well, it looks like crap and now I want to fix it.  Any advice to get it restored?

//Brew

Thanks everyone for all the comments.  I definitely use a two towel method and typically use about 4 towels (single soft) every time I quick details.  Having said that, maybe I allow the towels to get too damp, but I notice the streaking even on the very first panel (hood).

Anyway, I guess I'll keep tuning my process.

Ok this is going to be a tad long, and might sound crazy.  Please stick with me.

I only will mention a competitor because of my specific experience that I need help with.  I WAS a long time Zaino user…  They had two “detailer” products one called Z6 and another called Z8 Grand Finale spray.  Z8 is applied exactly like the Adam’s detailer products.  Light mist, wipe off. It was to be used infrequently and wasn’t considered a daily detailer.  Z8 would leave streaky “dark” spots on my car that drove me insane.  The daily detailer, Z6, did not do that and would wipe off perfectly.

Fast forward to my Adams conversion back when we used to be able to sit on actual bars stools (remember those times, back in 2019?)… Anyway, before ceramic coating my car, I used the Adams pink Detail Spray.  I absolutely love that stuff!  After graphene coating my car, I instinctively switched to the Graphene Detail spray (assuming it would be like the pink stuff) and now once again I’m noticing streaky “dark” spots.  Ugh.  I doesn’t matter if I spray the lightest mist… do it in the sun, the shade, the heat, the cool..   Of course, I bought a 16oz container and a full gallon refill of this stuff I haven’t yet opened.

For whatever reason, certain products seem to be streaky to cars I own.  So I have two questions:

1.       Am I the only one that notices this kind of streakiness?

2.       Is it OK to ditch the Graphene Detail Spray and go back to using the pink Detail Spray several times per week over a Graphene Ceramic Coated car?

\\Brew

As usual, great advice.  Thanks so much!  I'm going to check out the local spray and wash near me... 

So I admittedly have a touch of OCD..... I Graphene Coated my car this fall, and had been using the Graphene Detail Spray to maintain it... I took my time over 2 full days to ensure it was done right.  I'm using all Adam's products for all aspects of maintaining my car inside/out.  Now that the winter months are upon us, I won't be standing outside washing/detailing my car using my normal routine and products.

Would periodically running my car through a touchless car wash "damage/degrade" my coating in any way?  I know those touchless car washes use some harsh products/"waxes" in their system... 

Am I worrying about nothing?

Assuming I do use the touchless system for the next several months, is there anything I should do come spring to get back into my normal routine with the Adam's products?  Like a strip wash to remote the carwash wax, so I can restart my normal washing/Graphene Detail Spray routine.

//Brew

21 minutes ago, GXPaycheck said:

Nice Malibu’s!  😆

 

SS owners get the joke.......

 A Honda "ricer" I work with loves to call mine that just to get under my skin.  Kids...   lol.  I saw a new one online the other day that made me laugh.... Impalabu!

6 minutes ago, Dan@Adams said:

Yep! I thought about getting that color but I didn't have much choice - I got mine on the last day they offered 20% off back in 2016 and there was only one in a 50 mile radius of me

Oh wow no kidding!?  I drove, and LOVED, a blue one in South Carolina (read the story here if you're interested how I ended up with the RPGM.)....  I think I got a good deal on it... 

You're location says your in PA somewhere?  I bought my SS out in Lock Haven, but live in the Lehigh Valley where it's my DD.

//Brew

17 minutes ago, Dan@Adams said:

Glad to hear the application process went well for you - I was a little worried when I read your thread title 😅

What color SS do you have? I have a '16 Slipstream Blue - one of the best vehicles I've ever driven!

I LOVE my SS!  Mine is a '17 in Regal Peacock Green Metallic..  It's an awesome color that makes is look almost black in the shade, and brilliant green metallic in direct sun.  

51 minutes ago, Rich said:

I used it on my white Vette and the results blew me away.  Everyone who knows me knows I'm obsessive when it comes to my rides, but they've all noticed the difference since I used the Graphene DS.  Darn car looks like I dipped it in clear coat!  I did my brother's Vette too and he had to go get his wife to show her.  Good stuff for sure!

I bet the Vette looks AMAZING.

I'm past the 24 hour cure window, and drove it to work today... that means it's going to get very dusty......which implies I can hit it with the Graphene DS tonight!   wooohoo.  lol

Hello.  I just finished up a ceramic detail but have a question now, in retrospect, about my SK15...  As I was using it, it seemed like it wasn't rotating properly unless I almost lifted it off the surface of the car.  I was using one step polish and a brand new one step pad.  Even just the weight of the machine made it appear it wasn't rotating properly.  As I would lift it off the vehicle, I could see it start to spin.

Is this normal?  This was my first experience with a DA polisher...  Last orbital polisher I used was probably back in 1987. 

//Brew

16 minutes ago, RayS said:

@BrewderAll that work and no pictures?   It takes a bit of work to prepare the vehicle, but if yours turned out anything like the ones I've done, it is worth the effort. 

I thought about some pics.... but it's overcast and even photos don't do it justice!