rwisejr

Not in the dysfunctional sense.  Enabling is a term with a double meaning.  As a positive term, "enabling" references patterns of interaction which allow individuals to develop and grow (Wikipedia).  Like I said before, I see no problem with having dedicated buckets to improve washing procedures with the goal of preventing damage during washing.
 
Its the 5 P's of detailing.  Proper Procedures Prevent Paint Problems.
 
Now if you start talking to your buckets or have given them names, then you may actually have a problem.

Only 4? Pffffft. Slacker.
 
Kidding. I have 4 also. To make matters worse I have 5 grit guards.

I got my new Metro Air Force Master Blaster last week and finally had a chance to use it. I dried my Grand Caravan in just a few minutes and it was amazing how well it dried. All the cracks and crevices were dried and there was no water streaks after I was finished. 
 

Finally Got my BL-5000 portable lift. The instructions sucked, but once I got it figured out it worked great!
Just need a bigger garage :-)
It is portable but it's too big for a trunk. Need a pickup or a small trailer if going to the track. Pretty easy to move around the garage though.




Stored

nice job looks great.

I used my new Master Blaster for the first time yesterday.  WOW!  What a great product, if you don't have one, put it on your needs list.

Pleasant surprise at the dealership this morning when I brought my car to get an oil change and general servicing.  I had pre-printed one of those Adam's "Do not Wash" decals to hang from the mirror, thinking that telling the service manager wouldn't be enough.  He tells me, "One step ahead of you" as, to my surprise, he whips out a large "No Wash" red placard and places it on my dashboard.  Really was a nice touch...

So, the final part of this three-post thread, is to give an apology.  Never in a million years would I have thought this 3PL would have been such a terrible program.  Never would I have thought they would have hurt our customer service, and created delays in getting your orders into your hands, complete.
 
I should have moved faster to undo the situation, but made some heavy and big decisions during that time, including promoting a great employee to a role that was not right for him.  We sublet the majority of our warehouse to one of our neighboring businesses.  And, I basically felt that moving our family back to Southern California, where I grew up, and most of my and my wife's family lives, was a good idea. (Third baby came along, no family within 1,100 miles of Colorado....etc...) 
 
I was on an airplane every other week, then every week, then all week....you get where this is going, and my wife was about to check into the looney bin!  Thank GOD we only rented a house, and were able to move back to Colorado 2 months ago.  Family visits us here again, and they LOVE it here!  (So do we, and so do our kids, truthfully.)
 
Friends, I stand humbled, corrected, and can't apologize to you, our loyal customer, enough.
 
At the same time, I cannot thank you enough for sticking with us through this painful transition, and with a smile.
 
We have apologized in emails, offered free goods, expedited shipping, and everything else to keep you coming back.
 
Well, you are coming back, thank you.  After the worst winter in a decade or more, after a major lesson in decision making, after loosing a few great team members after putting them in the wrong roles, and after a failed return to the homeland, WE ARE BACK!
 
First, and foremost, our family made it through.  Stupid stuff like this can cause a marriage and family to crumble, and we made it. Second, our team stuck with us, have grown, helped us make it through these crazy times, and our sales went from way off, to way up. 
 
Thank you.  I'm honored to have earned your business, and feel free to bring on the, "I told you so's," as many of you disapproved of some or all of these decisions.  You were right. 
 
Sincerely,
 
Adam Pitale
Founder, Chief Detailer, now with a PhD in humility. 

Almost finished with my yearly detail on the Shelby. Got the new polishes and paint sealant. All I can say is WOW!!! using my flex with orange and white foam pads. Two spots only required my to use the correcting polish because the finishing couldn't get two small scratches. The ease of this stuff coming off after being worked is effortless!!! So far before the glaze and sealant go on, the shine is almost unreal!!! These products are awesome. Professional detail shop results!!! Pics when I'm done!!!

I have used those before and they worked pretty good. But I have since cut up the Adam's foam blocks into 4 smaller squares. They have been more durable for me and fit everywhere.

I'll start with this:



Not long ago, a good friend of mine mentioned his mother had been washing her car with "old t-shirts and dirty sponges."  I immediately shed a few tears, and told him I wanted to get it into my garage for a little TLC.

Enter the previously mentioned blue SLK.

From 20' away, it's a cute little car.  Upon closer inspection, this had some of the worst clear coat damage I've come across in quite some time.  Swirls, marring, washing scratches, and RIDS galore, and they were EVERYWHERE:














Since it had been recently washed and they don't live far away, I did a quick Waterless Wash wipedown to get the driving dust off, and broke out the Clay Bar.  Only going to post one picture here, but I think you'll get the point:



Post clay inspection, pretty much the same everywhere:



Time for some taping to see what it was going to take to take make an improvement.  She didn't want perfection as I only had a few hours to work with, but I wanted to to get close. 



This was the roof after one pass of Paint Correcting Polish and Orange Microfiber Cutting Pads on the Cyclo.  I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least:





All of the horizontal surfaces had quite a bit of solvent pop in them, which are the tiny dots you can see:







Deck lid 50/50:



This was the passenger side corner of the hood, near the windshield cowl after one pass as well.  You can still see some deep stuff here as well that still remained after one pass of the Correcting Polish:




We are getting ready for a cookout (hence my limited time frame to do this one) so the garage was a busy place!  My Mom and my little man James supervising:



My sister and daughter Azlyn "cooking" in her garage kitchen:



I went around everything with a quick pass of Revive Polish on Grey Sealant and Wax Pads to clear up any polishing oils, then laid down a coat of Liquid Paint Sealant, Super VRT on the tires, and away she went!













The Cyclo, combined with our Paint Correcting Polish and Microfiber Cutting Pads, correct very quickly and finish down great!

Thanks for looking, and if you have any questions, fire away!!

Sweet !!!! Congrats on the hot ride !! Best of luck with it. Enjoy.

Here's my new 2014 Dodge Challenger. I custom ordered it and made sure they didn't wash it when it came off the truck. Wash, Clay, Revive, Glaze, Buttery, Americana, VRT. I really like all the Adam's products I used; very happy!

So I picked up a used '13 VW Golf R a month or so ago. I just finally got the time and weather to line up and give her a detail. It really cleaned up great!! Had a pretty good scuff on the rear wheel well that almost completely came out. Of course I didn't take any before and after pics. Other than that it was in pretty good shape.
 
A couple questions for you guys. I have noticed the brake dust on this car is TERRIBLE. Any tips on battling that? I normally keep a good layer of QS on them, any thing else I can do?
 
Also it is normal for these cars to get a lot of buildup on the exhaust pipes. It cleans up well with deep wheel cleaner but still feel like I could be preventing it better.
 
I tinted the windows almost as soon as I got it and last weekend I went and got it tuned so I should be at 310hp in a ~3200 lb car. It's a blast. The most fun car I have ever owned.
 
On with the terrible cell phone pics, sorry I am NOT a photographer.

I made my own.  (Well, actually, my wife made it on her vinyl cutter.)
 

 
 

How many times do I have to say it and why do you fight me on it Kingsford?
 
I told you that this was at Detailers Domain clinic 2 years ago and Adam himself said waterless wash was perfectly acceptable as clay lube, it just won't leave the gloss behind that detail spray does.
 
Just because you found an old post from Dylan (now Nick) when we were debating doesn't mean it's the end all be all. If you want to be the only guy around here who thinks that detail spray is the only liquid in Adams line that can be used as clay lubricant, be my guest and enjoy wasting it at 45 bucks a gallon.
 
Guess what? If Dylan said back in the day that Waterless is slicker than detail spray when it comes to claying, common sense would say to use LESS product when claying to counteract the added lubricity and SAVE PRODUCT AND MONEY and accomplish the same result.
 
As well, ask any detailer who runs a shop, Phil @ DD, Larry Kosilla @ AMMO NYC, Garry Dean, probably even Kevin Brown himself and they will tell you that when done washing the car, a fresh bucket of soapy water and a soaped up panel is just as effective for claying than spraying lubricant on a dry surface. This would tell us that you could clay your vehicle with just Adam's Car Shampoo and fresh water after done washing.
 
Guess what? Car Shampoo is slicker than both products, so are you going to call all those detailers who run their own shops and tell them that they are all dead wrong and can only clay a vehicle properly with a dedicated quick detail spray?
 
Think outside the box a little man, it doesn't say on the SVRT bottle that you can make 70/30 VRT milk as a spray able product but people do it, are they wrong to do so since it can be used in lieu of Invisible Undercarriage Spray?
 
You almost defend Detail Spray as clay lube as if people using Rinseless 1:16 are going to eat away sales from Adam's. THEY DESIGNED IT and even explain in the video how it is a multi use product designed to be diluted.
 
Trust me, detail spray sells a ton and we aren't eating into sales of it, and as long as Waterless V1 sells just as good as always they will still carry it. If it's not selling well and they decide to push Rinseless diluted in place of it, then we might see it discontinued eventually, but it's all about how the current product sells which dictates its future, not whether we can make a comparable product out of Rinseless.
 
I just don't see why you are so quick to strike down Waterless or Rinseless 1:16 as an alternative to Detail Spray if you don't want the added gloss. It does all the exact things and does them well, that Detail Spray does, without the gloss.
 
If you wanted less slickness out of waterless wash, and that's your argument, did you know you can dilute Rinseless according to ONR dilutions?
 
8 oz per gallon as quick detailer
2 oz per gallon as clay lubricant
1 oz in wash bucket as water softener
2 oz per 5 gallon as a rinseless wash
 
 
So if you want an even cheaper, less lubrication, and effective clay lube, use even LESS rinseless and put 2 oz in a gallon of distilled water and you'll have enough clay lubricant for a year. I'll keep using it in QD dilution just because I have a gallon mixed and I just spray a little less, but it works great.
 
Mind = blown

would like to see it after a long winter and tons of road salt

Mine last forever  ever since I purchased a master Blaster !!!!   Very little left to dry >

The reel is called rapid reel by eley corp.   No it hasn't on me .You can get the 4 wheel setup if needed. Well worth the price paid .I got tired of replacing those cheap ones from HD and Wally world.

I have been using that combo since I recieved the Adam's nozzle. Love it.
 

Just picked up one of these last night in anticipation for my Dramm (the one Adam's used to sell, I ordered from Amazon) brass shut off valve, and my incoming USA made fire hose nozzle, still waiting on a message back from Nick on the ETA of the new version from Adam's, or I might just pick one of the old style LDM nozzles from one of the Adam's distributors, have not decided yet.
 
$28.97, Made in USA by Goodyear and believe it or not available at your local Home Depot (which has been stocking a decent amount of American made products in the past couple years I've noticed, you just have to look)
 
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Goodyear-Engineered-Products-5-8-in-x-50-ft-Premium-Commercial-Grade-Black-Rubber-Water-Hose-20258074/100676339
 

 
I have a 50 foot gray "commercial duty" hose from Costco which served me ok for 2 years but will be relegated to the shed as a spare, it does like to kink up and isn't as flexible as this Goodyear hose, looking forward to using it as it should be a breeze to roll up in my hose caddy I keep outside.
 
Thought I'd throw up a link in case anyone was in the market for a new hose as spring is here! 

I have two of those and two of the Goodyear hoses that Sears sells.  They have been outside for 3 years and still work fantastic!  Granted we don't get the freezing temps that many of you do but they do get 90 degree heat for 6 months of the year.

Yeah, buy it from Phil!  I've heard nothing but good about him.  

Mine last forever  ever since I purchased a master Blaster !!!!   Very little left to dry >