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mattadams

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Everything posted by mattadams

  1. Just a little update on this and detailing in general. I've been pretty active on the Adam's Community page on facebook but not quite so active here (I'm always on facebook anyway LOL). I did end up buying a swirl killer mini, and then I also picked up a swirl killer 15mm at the tent sale. I've been working on my experience with these and did my first full blown graphene ceramic project a few weeks ago (a massive silver f-350 that luckily the owner was quite forgiving of the time it took me as well as some of the flaws... he mainly uses it as a hunting truck). I'm planning on doing the graphene ceramic coating on the mini next, and so I'll be doing a full polish anyway. I got it a LOT better with some of the recommendations posted here (scratch and swirl remover, hand polish) but there's still a bit there... and also a number of scratches in the hood that I think I'll be able to get out with polishing. Also have noticed water spots on the flatter part of the trunk which I plan on dealing with before I coat it as well. It's been a fun experience, I'm getting better!
  2. Hi Mike! Like others have said there is certainly a learning curve to the ceramics, but the results can be impressive. I've gone through various phases over my life with detailing cars and show trucks, etc. but I am now actually getting to the point where I'm doing detailing as a side business/charitable fundraiser thing (I do a lot of fundraisers for events like the New York Marathon, Bike MS etc. that require me to raise a certain amount of money... I often exchange detailing for donations) and certainly have grown a lot in the last year with my knowledge and equipment and the things i'm comfortable with. Wax is one of those things that has been around forever, tends to be pretty forgiving, and can be applied without having to follow nearly as specific rules, but it also doesn't last near as long. I love the buttery wax but it only lasts a few months, if that... and if you screw it up, it's not too hard to just remove it and redo it, and if you like washing and waxing then it's no probably to do it 2-3 times a year. The ceramic coatings last much longer, but also are much trickier to apply and requires much more specific steps be taken (i.e. you don't HAVE to polish the vehicle first, but if you don't you're just sealing in a cruddy looking finish, so what's the point). Once you get the hang of it, it goes much better and you won't have to overthink things quite as much. For me, the thing I still struggle with the most is when to even it out after letting it cure. The only vehicles I've done so far didn't really show the rainbow effect very well even after waiting a while, so I kind of had to guess... I went by some of the videos which mentioned removing it when it was tacky, but this is also a bit hit or miss... so I think on the first vehicle I did (a silver F-350) I ended up with some high spots, especially on the glass, that I then had to polish off and figure out. But, I'm sure it'll get better with experience.
  3. Thanks Rich! I can confirm I stopped in today and they were able to help resolve the other two issues... figured I had some really bad luck but felt like they got it taken care of well so I am pleased and my loyalty remains, LOL.
  4. Thanks to Adam's for putting on the event. I got there about 6:30 and was about 20th in line. Ended up leaving with about $600 worth of stuff which was way more than I planned, but also ended up with some good stuff I'd been watching for months or longer. Waiting in line had a good vibe... much like waiting for a new iphone back in the day, LOL. Having some issues with my two main purchases, but hoping Adam's will help me out tomorrow, we will see!
  5. I had been pretty busy so how I hadn't been able to get back to this, but I did finally yesterday... did another dose of the scratch and swirl remover and hand polish... still not 100% perfect, but got it to where I could barely see any water spot and had to really look from the right angles, even under the bright lights, to see the spots. Vinyl stripes still aren't great and a little more clearly spotted, but significantly improved from the beginning. Think it's good neough I'll call ti good, and put on a coat of wax yesterday evening as well. Thanks for all your help! Still kinda pondering getting a buffer... I got to detailing the rest of hte car and no water spots but a few swirl marks here and there and such... but, it's also a Mini and not a ferrari or anything
  6. Thanks Ray. Appreciate the help. Got nervous the S&S remover might've been doing more damage than it was benefitting because the color was pretty dark and couldn't tell if it was dark contaminate or the pretty dark gray paint... Think I should give it another go for another round of S&S/Polish? Would love to have the water spots gone entirely just so I can fully cross if off my list though it is much better.
  7. I ended up giving it a go with the scratch & swirl remover followed by the hand polish. I'd say there was a definite difference in the before and after... I can still see the spots from the right angles under the garage lights, but they aren't nearly as visible as before. The vinyl stripes are a bit better, but not as dramatic a difference as the paint itself. I did notice that when I was doing the S&S remover the pad was getting rather dark, and I couldn't tell if it was just contaminates from the surface (I did do a detail spray and basic clay mitting though I was a bit nervous with the clay mitt so maybe didn't do it as thoroughly as needed) or if I was getting paint transfer, so I didn't get too aggressive with it. I haven't waxed yet... I'm debating if I should try a second round of s&s/polish or if I should go all out and try the compound/polish with a buffer, or just leave it as is and know it's pretty good and I'm probably the only one that will notice. I'm guessing that it might be better if I go with a polisher and do the compound/polish steps, but not sure if it's worth the expense.
  8. I went down to the warehouse today and before I went in, realized something interesting - in the sun, I could barely see the spots at all... I had to look from just the right angle, or the hood looked perfectly normal. So decided I'd feel bad asking anyone for actual detailing support on something hard to show them, LOL. I picked up some of the scratch and swirl remover and the hand polish and the applicators and I'll give it a whirl in a small area and let you know how it goes.
  9. Thanks Chris, your assistance is appreciated! I wasn't sure if I could just ask if someone might be able to take a look at it and offer some tips when I got there, I've never had to before because I always knew what I was looking for. Going back and forth on whether I should just buy a polisher or not if I might end up needing it anyway. I saw Adam's was perhaps exploring a tool rental program, but not sure if they ever figured that out?
  10. Hi thanks Chris! I live up in Longmont but it's not too far to drive down to westminster to visit the shop. Is there a way to tell if they are etched? I thought that might be if you could physically feel a difference or roughness at the edge, indicating it may have eaten away at the clearcoat... but if I feel it with my fingers or with my finger nails I don't notice a difference in smoothness or any borders to the spots.
  11. Thanks Ray, that helps a lot! In general I don't mind buying tools when I need them, but I don't see myself doing enough detailing to justify the expense of the polisher, but nice to know there are some hand options. Think I'll head down to the retail shop tomorrow and pick up some of the scratch and swirl remover, polish, and some pads for it, and start from there, and hope it does the trick! I looked at taking it in to have it detailed by the shop but not sure teh spots btoher me quite enough for the price of what they charge... though I'm sure they do amazing work.
  12. Hi Adam's! I'm a long-time customer and lurker, first-time poster. I've actually been using Adam's Polishes way back to 2002 or so when Adam actually sponsored my show truck and was a member of the Ford Truck World Community, so I'm not exactly a newbie, but beyond the basics of washing and waxing, etc. I still have a lot to learn! I'm not too far from the Colorado headquarters and have picked things up here before. We picked up a new (to us) Mini a few days ago. It had snowed when we were test driving it, so didn't get a really good look at the paint, and when we picked it up it was dark so didn't really look it over that well either... it's a 2017 with only 14,000 miles so figured the paint would be fine. On closer inspection in the garage the next day, noticed the hood has spots all over it, which seem like they COULD be water spots, but are all over. I thought maybe it was just some residue that the dealer had used and since it was cold at the time, maybe it didn't get fully cleaned off... I found the Adam's FAQ on removing water spots, and short of the final polishing step, gave the steps a try... also tried searching around the forums before posting in case this had already been answered... but I'm not even positive these are water spots so not sure if I'm looking at it all wrong. I tried to see if these had an "edge" to them I could feel with my nail etc. and I couldn't feel anything. Tried to get some pics (attached) but it didn't photograph all that well. - I first tried some basic detail spray on it with a microfiber. - tried rubbing it with some distilled vinegar in a small spot just in case in case this did more damage. Didn't notice any difference. - tried using an adam's clay bar I had in my kit but I've never actually clayed before... this didn't seem to help either and could've made it worse as I noticed some swirls that weren't there before after trying this approach. To be fair, this was a pretty old clay bar, and had never been used/was still sealed, but perhaps was beyond its useful life. It wasn't easily manipulated. - next step, according to the FAQ, might be to do a polish perhaps with some compound, but this area is new to me and I don't have a polisher and I don't mind investing a little money to make it right, but I'm not a regular detailer to this level either, so not sure if it might be better just ot bring it to a real detailer who knows what they are doing and have the right equipment already.
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