sprzout

Agreed. We were in a car wreck...2 years ago, I think it was now; a lady was driving in the rain and (we think) blew a tire. She came across 5 lanes of traffic on the freeway, smacked into our front end, spun us around, and put us into a concrete barrier on the side of the freeway at about 45 mph. All of the airbags in the car deployed, including the ones in the seats. We walked away from it with nothing more than bruises from the seat belts and a few scraped knuckles. But after that event, my wife had a really hard time driving on the freeway through that section, for the next 2-3 months. I had to be behind the wheel, driving. It's rough, physically and mentally. I hope that they come out of it with no more than a few scrapes and bruises.

Well, I will probably catch some flak for this, but... I ran my car through the automatic car wash on Friday. 😲 I needed to knock the dirt off (my dark grey was becoming a muddy brown with polka dots from the drizzle/light rain we'd gotten earlier in the week, just enough to make the car look nasty), and I figured I'd give it a quick touch up after. The main reason for this is that I live in an apartment, and the complex specifically forbids us from washing our vehicles in our carports. Also, the city requires that we catch all runoff and redirect it to the grass or filter it, so it is free of oils/grease/pollutants that can go out into the ocean, since it all drains straight out. I can get away with doing some detail spray and claying, because I don't have tons of liquid going all over the place, but short of driving 30 mi. to my parents' house to wash on their front lawn, it's not really possible for me to do a 2 bucket wash/rinse or foam gun type of wash. So, after the wash, I used up some of my Meg's Ceramic detailer (I don't have any Adam's Detail Spray yet) and a MF to clean off the little bits of tree sap and bug guts that the wash didn't get off, and then it it with the Adam's Spray Wax over it. The dealership claims to have put a Cilajet ceramic sealant on it and have warned me NOT to clay it at all or else it will void the 5 year warranty on the paint protection. 🙄😒 The car looks pretty good, all things considered; the car wash left a big dirt streak down the middle of my car, though, right where the antenna mounts on the roof of the car. I'm not sure why it would have done that, but I'll probably seek out a do-it-yourself car wash from here on out where I can spray it down with soap and then pull off somewhere to finish detailing it out...I'll probably end up putting a layer of Buttery Wax on it next time I wash it (I've got a trip planned in a few weeks back up to the Anaheim store, so I'll pick some up then) for some sort of protection over the ceramic sealant... My wife thinks I'm nuts to want to take care of the car as much as I am (she only washes her car when it goes from forest green to brown, and doesn't know why you should wax the car). I'm glad I can get her to do that much, at least...

Welcome, sir!

I had a great experience today! I drove up from San Diego - it took an hour to get there, but it was worth it; I was kinda going stir crazy from being home, and wanted to get away for a bit. I came in, started looking around, and was asked if I needed some help; the first thing I asked was, "Do you by chance have any mystery buckets?" They had apparently sold the last one earlier, but because I had asked, they offered to make one up for me, which I was ABSOLUTELY grateful for. I know they didn't have to do that, and had they not, I would've probably done some sort of kit anyway...I got pretty much everything to do a wash for my wife's car - tire shine, spray wax, ultra wash shampoo, interior detailer, VRT, and a few other things! I ended up getting the bucket and a clay mitt, and unfortunately on the way back realized I'd forgotten to pick up some glass cleaner, interior goo, and iron remover, so I'll probably make a trip up there again in the near future; however, I've got plenty to work with right now. The guys working the counter today (I unfortunately didn't get their names) deserve kudos for their help.

Thanks Julian. I look forward to checking out the shop and having a spin up the freeway, see what Adam's has to offer, and according to the wife, "spend some money on stuff I don't need", even if it means she'll benefit from it with a nice, clean car.

Funny you should say that...The dealership did a "ceramic sealant" on the car (I know it was some smoke and mirrors stuff, but it was basically the cost of a pro detailing, and the car needed some care anyway to get the sealant on. It's helping to keep my car clean, and easier to maintain. I'm definitely going to need to do a good wash, clay, and try a coating on my wife's car. Hers is filthy - we had a weird light rain recently, and it was JUST enough to turn whatever dust was in the air and on the car into that really thin muddy complexion instead of washing it off. Her car was never really treated with a good ceramic coating or even a really good wax; I just haven't had good product to use on it. The last stuff I used on it was some Meguiar's Mirror Glaze, but it wasn't very good - it had separated out a bit and I couldn't really get it shaken up. The stuff was old and probably should have been tossed. So, that's part of why I'm here - to look at what else is out there that might do the job for me. :)

I know that everyone's been keeping safe (and more power to you!) with the whole pandemic. That said, I know that California has been slowly opening up, and many retail stores are opening their doors again with distancing and cleaning requirements. With that in mind, are the retail locations open? I was hoping to come in to the Anaheim location next weekend to pick up some product, but wanted to make sure it was open before I drove up from Oceanside. If not, no biggie. I don't mind ordering online - I was just hoping to actually talk to someone in person who knows the products, get some suggestions for products for my interior of my car, save the $8 shipping, and get it all that same day.

Hi all! I'm a SoCal car owner out of North County San Diego who has gone through multiple cars and some hobby level car detailing, and thanks to the Autopia forums, found out about Adam's products. I've just recently purchased a new to me dark grey 2016 Mini Countryman S, and my wife has a forest green 2016 Fiat 500X that I'm trying to keep cleaned and maintained properly. I've been pointed to a few detailing tools with Adam's products, and figure I'll give it a shot and see how things work! I've done the two bucket method before, own a Porter Cable DA polisher that's around 15 years old (and still works fine for the limited use I have nowadays - my apartment complex frowns on me using it in our carport, so I have to visit my senior citizen parents and utilize their garage to do a good DA polish until I can afford a Flex cordless), and I'm just looking for something else to try since I've gone the Meguiar's route and found it...I dunno, just not as good on my newer cars as it was on my previous cars. I dunno if it's due to paint formulas changing, or environmental changes (I've moved from a dusty, dry, inland area to the coast, with lots of salt air and a bit more humidity than before), but I'm looking for something new to try. The other big thing that's led me to look at Adam's products is that they have a retail store in Anaheim, which is about an hour north of me and in my old stomping grounds - I used to work in Tustin, CA, so getting around on the 5, 55, 57, 91, and 22 freeways are all pretty much a known factor for me. I figure I can come up and do my shopping, and then the wife can go to the antique mall in Orange and look around once things open back up from COVID. Nice little road trip for the two of us, right?