GerryC

If you want to see a cool trick for yourself, take a cheap made in china costco towel and wipe one half of the bottom of a brand new CD. Then take a quality korean towel (like the one you will get in your Adam's kit) and wipe the other half. Hold the CD in the light and you'll see a bunch of micro scratches on the china side, while the korean side will be flawless. What the towels did to the CD they will also do to your paint. Save the bulk towels for dirty jobs and toss them when they are past the point of no return. Korean towels are not only softer and safer for your paint, but they are overall made better. You don't throw these puppies away, you wash them and they're back to new. Besides, your good plush korean towels should never have any visible dirt on them to begin with. Waffle pattern towels for waterless washing will inevitably get dirty, but like I said, they wash out easily and last a long time.

When I opened this topic I expected everyone to actually be giving names to their cars, like Fiona or Connie. -_______- 27 years old 1995 Ford Taurus. Mother bought it new in 1994, then gave it to me when I got my license. Never garaged, all original. Sold in 2010 with 79,000 miles. 1988 Corvette. Bought in rough shape in 2007 with 82,000 miles. Fixed it up over the course of 2 years. Currently has 96,000 and a dozen or so trophies to show for it. 2009 Pontiac G8. Bought in 2010 with 11,000 miles. Currently has 32,000 miles. Daily driver, lives outside 24/7/365; although when I tell people this at car shows they tend to call me a liar.

I used QS on my paint last year, before LPS came out. It held up excellently as expected, but didn't provide any additional aesthetic improvement, at least IMO. Plus, I found that spreading it over the entire car was tedious, and I much prefer using a machine + liquid sealant to cover large surfaces.

I use QS on wheels and exhaust, specifically due to its high heat resistance. I also use it on door jambs, under the hood...basically any painted surface that isn't the exterior of the car. Makes cleaning those areas exponentially easier.

It could possibly be an issue with the internet browser on your phone. You said you are on a Blackberry, are you using the default browser? I'd recommend giving Opera Mini a try instead. I had a BB a few years ago and there was a definite disconnect in the browsing experience in how sites functioned on the phone versus on a computer.

Polish doesn't leave a layer of anything behind when you wipe off the residue, whereas wax and sealant will. When people say "bare paint" they mean that no other wax or sealant is on the paint before you go applying your sealant. The exception here is if you want to add a second layer of the same product when you already have one existing layer. You would not seal and then polish because the polish would remove the sealant.

Orange polishing pads are the most aggressive that Adam's currently sells, those are the ones you'd want to use with SSR. The yellow hex pads have no cut and are made for BW.

Hi Rob Posting in the Garage Sale Forum is restricted to members with at least 50 posts. That would explain why topics in that forum appear locked to you.

APC/brush every time. Whatever is all over your wheels and lower third of your car is also all over your tires - you just can't see it because they're black. And just like with trim, if you put dressing on a dirty surface you're gonna have a bad time.

I only use PCP once, for major correction, followed by PFP. Then I use only PFP for maintenance once a year thereafter. This of course only works if you follow proper washing/wiping techniques to prevent adding unnecessary damage.

Happens to me too. I just got in the habit of keeping my finger on the top after spraying, rather than yanking my finger up and away. Seems to keep it on.

At 85 feet above sea level, I have had bottles deformed, but luckily nothing ever leaked. They pop right back to normal once opened. I prefer the red plugs, but the seals are tamper-proof. Each have their benefits, really it comes down to personal preference. This is something that will always be 50/50 among the community. Like most, I have saved my plugs for re-use. They're made by caplugs if anyone is looking for more. I do find the new clay to be much stickier than the old stuff. I store my clay in a relatively cool environment, so it isn't as much of a problem as it has been for others. Maybe keep your clay in the fridge? Or at least somewhere that doesn't get too warm. Take the clay out before you start, and by the time you're through with your initial wash, it should be thawed just enough that you'll be good to go. I know some people on here keep their paste wax in the fridge, so it's not as crazy as it sounds.

If they are painted and clearcoated, treat them as you would your car's finish. If you are running low-dust pads (ceramic, for example) then 9 times out of 10 simple car shampoo and water will be enough to clean them. Then follow up with sealant like Michael suggested. I would opt for QS though, since that wheel design is pretty intricate, and trying to get an even coat with LPS would time consuming.

DWC is a de-ironizer and attacks metallic particles from brake/rail dust that may have embedded into the clearcoat. APC is a degreaser and does not remove these particles. New cars may still need this treatment, just like they would need to be clayed. When in doubt, use the baggie test. Regardless, decon before clay will make claying easier and safer, as you're removing the metallic bits touchless, before dragging clay across the paint. Marcus, I use DWC to decon my G8 (ungaraged daily driver) once a year. I spray it on a wet car after washing and rinsing. I only work in a few panels at a time because you don't want to allow the cleaner to dry. Once it "bleeds out", I thoroughly rinse the sections and move on to another part of the car. No wiping.

IPA is available in strengths from 40% up to 99%. Stronger alcohol would require more dilution to be safe to use. If it is too strong, it can cause the paint to swell and become soft. Of course this also varies from car to car, as no two models are using the same paint system; some may already have naturally soft paint. Just saying that there are too many variables to just strictly say "50/50", etc. My G8 has soft paint. If I used IPA 90 I would dilute 3:1 with water. If I used IPA 40, I'd do 50/50.

The ratio to water would vary depending on the strength of the alcohol you are using. Also, when using this method to strip your protection, try to avoid contacting any rubber or plastic trim with the alcohol.

Very little Super VRT is needed to dress hard non-porous plastic. Often, the residual dressing in your sponge is enough to do a decently-sized area. If you used too much, simply wipe off the excess with a clean towel, as stated above.

Panel by panel over the course of a week is how I corrected my G8 since it is an ungaraged daily driver. Do not strip wash the entire car though, only strip each panel as you begin work on it. This way the only unprotected paint is the paint you are currently working on. Do the complete clay->polish->seal process to the entire panel before moving on to the next one.

I don't find this to be the case, at least with GWC. I've had the same coat of QS on my wheels since April, and have used GWC a few times since (I usually just use soap since I have ceramic pads, and as such, very little dust) and water still falls off of them.

Is it an actual "stain" as in discoloration? Or is it just an outline of where the bird poop was? It may be etched, which requires more force than you can apply by hand.

Not making excuses, just merely stating what I know based on experience that these factors contribute to delays. They are working to rectify these issues as explained by Adam, but it seems they are still shorthanded. I am a volunteer here and not an employee, so the most I can do is offer my opinion on the situation.

It is also worth mentioning that this is the busiest stretch of the calendar for Adam's in terms of volume of product demanded. There are quite a few multi-day events around the country this time of year - various shows at Carlisle (this weekend is Chrysler, and next month, Corvettes), Hot August Nights, etc. where selling out on day one and then overnighting for day two is typical. Add to this the fact that some of the team are out there at the shows, for up to 12 hours a day, away from their computers.

Everyone who is ordering but saying the order isn't processed: are you basing this only on the lack of confirmation emails? My last few orders I never received emails about certain things - shipping, processing, etc., but if you go to the website and click on your account -> order history, you should see the actual status and, if it's been shipped, the tracking number. Or email/call like Nick said. The website is kinda buggy, sometimes stuff happens. Not sure what's going on with that software update, but in the mean time please double-check your order status in one of the suggested manners.

+1 for LED. You don't even need anything fancy. I've found that even the LED flashlight on my smartphone works quite well, since you can easily change the angle of incidence.

I've had numerous 16oz'ers deformed due to changing air pressure during shipping, but once they're opened they regain their original shape fairly quickly. Are yours permanently warped?