rounderjd

I'm in a similar boat with a Model 3. I'm looking at the Swirl Killer 12mm one step kit, and my intent is to use the scratch and swirl remover, one step polish, and buttery wax. I read somewhere that if I'm doing the entire vehicle at once that I should use two pads for each step. Is that accurate, and if so should I be getting the one step pads, white, red?

Thanks for the advice! Sadly, I impatiently tried both vehicles last night. (At least the white one first!) Some initial observations: 1. The foam blaster was underwhelming. I don’t know if it’s a water pressure issue, but with the tap on full blast the output was anemic. I figured out part way through that the suds came out with more force when I released the grip a bit, which helped. Also, depending on what seemed to be my elevation and angle, the suds would spurt out much differently. I may need to find some videos to help troubleshoot. 2. I might not have mixed the shampoo right, but my wash bucket would have tons of foam on top without much obvious soap in the water below. I got the mix a bit better on the second vehicle, but I wasn’t seeing much suds action with the mitt toward the end of the first vehicle wash. 3. I got really confused by the towels. I have the two utility cloths and plush towels that came with the Arsenal kit, but I was constantly confused about what to use at what step of each process. This was exacerbated by doing two vehicles the same night, and I worry I might have messed things up by having to reuse each as much as I did. 4. I get I was constantly re-applying swirl remover to my applicator pad. How much coverage is each pair of pea sized drops supposed to provide? 5. some scratches came out really easily. Some with a bit more force. Most not at all, but I was happy to see some movement. 6. the worst part was that by doing the white van first, it was pretty dark by the time it came to polish the black Tesla. I should have moved it into my garage after washing so I’d have better light, and I feel pretty silly having tried to do what I did with an iPhone flashlight. 7. I’ve got white sunscreen lotion stained into the rear leather seats. I know it’s possible to remove these because a professional detailed got them out last season. But the interior detailing spray didn’t do the trick. Is there a product with which I might have greater luck? 8. I need more towels. So many more towels. Despite being freaked out that I was wrecking two vehicles most of the time, they both look a lot cleaner than they did before. But I’ve got a lot of learning to do on how to properly apply, wipe and remove each product.

Thanks so much! That is super helpful! The white minivan is (and will typically be) relatively clean because we rarely use it. It also shouldn’t have too many scratches as far as I know (minus some black scuffs on the trunk door from when I accidentally opened it with a partially open garage door!) The black Tesla, however, is covered in sunscreen hand prints from my kids and has picked up some scratches (possibly from being keyed, some from a drive thru car wash.) Great to know that I don’t have to wait for a wheel and tire kit to give them a wash! I saw a video where Adam said he never tries to wash the body until the wheels and tires had been cleaned, so I was worried I might someone mess up the car by doing them at the same time. It turns out the buttery wax was missed from the shipment, so I’m going to try giving them both their first wash without it. Sounds like I’d use the Detail Spray for now, and then start the whole process again when the buttery wax arrives. Here’s hoping for some shade!

After years of resigning myself to having two really dirty vehicles (except when I run them through a drive thru car wash, usually disappointed with the results), I finally bit the bullet and bought some detailing supplies. The first package arrived yesterday, and I'm looking forward to my first wash. I came to the forums trying to figure out what order to do everything in, and what if any supplies I might still be missing. Here's what I'll be detailing: 1. Tesla Model 3, obsidian black metallic exterior; leather black interior 2. Dodge Grand Caravan, white exterior, leather black interior Here's what I have so far in terms of supplies: 2 x collapsible 5 gallon buckets Adam's arsenal kit Scratch & Swirl remover gray microfiber applicator pad Things I think I'm missing: wheel and tire brush kit and cleaner; orbital polisher (not really "missing", but I imagine this will be my next order) Watching the videos, I see I need to clean the wheels and tires first. I was going to order the wheel & tire cleaner complete kit, as I don't think I can/should be using anything from the arsenal kit to tackle the wheels and tires Once I've got the wheels done, I'm at a bit of a less as to in what order I do things, and how often. The mega foam wash (with foam gun) seems obvious, but what's next? Between the scratch and swirl remover (which I assume goes next after the wash?), the buttery wax, spray way, and detail spray, what order do folks do the exterior? And do I use a different applicator pad for the s&s remover and the buttery wax? Should I be using completely different pads or towels between the two vehicles if I'm washing them at the same time? I've scanned through videos and forum threads, but if this is all explained somewhere I'd be grateful if someone could point me to a dummy's guide for newbies. Merci!