cammyfive

???? Do you have your own detailing business, Suke?

Just sent you an email, Tim!!!

So I've been living here for about a week or so now and obviously one of the first orders of business is finding a top notch detailer to befriend/have do some polishing for me!  I live in South Durham but would be willing to drive a reasonable distance.

Thanks for all of the warm wishes again!  I'm pretty excited about this new chapter!

Oh yeah, any great Adams detailers in the Raleigh/Durham/Cary area?

Thanks for all of the kind words everyone!  I'm looking forward to staring this new chapter!

It's actually smaller than my Camry but a noticeable bit and the rear seat is well......more for looks than anything else.  Yeah, I'm also interested in the SS especially since you can now get it in a manual transmission!

I had a career in the car business (sales and finance) from 2002-2013 and then left it to take a job in marketing of a high end custom clothing business.  Well, as it turns out, I'll be starting a new career (again) in the car business as the social and digital media director for Hendrick Auto Group in Durham, NC.  It's a brand new auto mall and I'll be based, initially, on the GM side (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac) so I'm spending a lot of time learning the ins and outs of GM history.  My late father was a UAW engineer with Chrysler for 36 years so it seems that the domestic car business runs in our veins!  

The detailing twist of it, I'll get GM employee pricing and a $300 car allowance on a new GM vehicle.  While I'm tempted to go crazy and get a new Corvette I think the more prudent move will be to sell my Camry I just bought 3 months ago, put that money back in the bank, and get something very nice but sensible - Impala LTZ (very impressed with the new current gen), Regal GS, or maybe an ATS.  So, how is the paint/clearcoat on those choices?

Thanks for all the great replies.  Let me elaborate more about what I'm thinking/looking for.....

I bought a 2015 Camry two months ago that is well equipped so I have a nice daily driver for road trips and normal every day driving.  I'm really just looking for a fun toy for nice days/the weekend.  However, I'm not a very hardcore race car type guy.  Obviously I would like something pretty powerful and fun to drive.  To me, the Alfa wins the looks department hands down but based on the reviews I've read it would be the most hardcore car I would want for this purpose (no power steering, minimal creature comforts, etc).  If I went the Corvette route I'm interested in a very specific color scheme (Crystal Red Tintcoat over the peanut butter leather interior) and wouldn't want to go for more performance than I can see myself using (the Z51 package....let alone a Z06).  As for the Porsche, there is literally a $30+ spread in options you can add to that model.  

I thought briefly about trading my car in for a new Chevy SS which gives you plenty of power plus the room of a family car but, and I NEVER thought I'd say this, I'm completely satisfied with my Camry in that regard!  This would be a car 'just for fun' and to apply a fresh layer of Patriot was after almost every weekend driver.  lol

I'm a huge fan of the BMW M3 too, I forgot to list that initially.  Basically, with a lease the overall price isn't terribly important for my purposes, I'm just trying to stay in the sub $800 a month range with zero to very little upfront since, again, this will be 100% a toy.

Another way of "diluting out of the bottle" without diluting the product and using less is to wipe down the seats with a damp MF first, then just use about half the spray amount on the panel/seat.

 

Having the seat damp with water first will dilute the product on its own and then agitate as usual, and wipe dry with a second dry MF all purpose towel.  Easy.

 

 

Wow, I didn't think to do that.....spray with distilled water prior to LIC to cut it down that way.  Thanks!

I've been fortunate enough to buy a nice mainstream well equipped car right before this past Christmas outright so I'm kicking around the idea of leasing a fun/sunny day only fun car.  I mention leasing because 1) It's something I would put very few miles on every year (6-7K a year) and 2) Considering my age and stage of relationship with my gf, it may be the last chance I get to have a nice toy for the foreseeable future so I'm thinking a 2-3 year lease.  While I can understand some peoples confusion or hostility to leasing, Ive been in the car sales/finance profession for about 13 years now so I'm pretty set on it.    Here are some options I'm thinking about...

Chevrolet Corvette 1LT/2LT manual transmission targa top - around the high 50's/low 60's

Porsche Boxster S manual transmission - lightly optioned to stay (or try to) within that price range

Alfa Romeo 4C - this is one I don't know much on but it seems to get rave reviews and would be within that price range

Any others I'm missing?

I watched a YouTube clip of a comparison between the 918 Spyder and the new McLaren P1....very cool.  Nice to see manufacturers utilizing the potential of hybrid motors to increase performance AND efficiency.

Here's my routine and it woks phenomenally well in my front load HE machine!

Sometimes I'm amazed at how clean my wheel only towels get after washing.

I do have a water softener.

 

1. After use, all towels are hung to dry then placed in an open air bin/box once dry.

2. Start with a decent amount of towels, too few towels don't clean very well. They sit in the bin/box for weeks sometimes.

3. I'll pre-treat every spot and stain on the towel by spraying a mixture of 25% MFRB and 75% distilled water onto the towel, front and rear. I'll either clothes pin the towels to a clothes line, or have my wife hold them up while I spray.

4. Allow the towel to sit, pre-treated for 30 minutes inside a five gallon bucket.

   a. During this 30 minute pre-sit, I pull the dispenser from the machine and rinse out the fabric softener tray, soap tray and bleach tray and re-install.

5. 1 ounce of MFRB into the Soap Dispenser, and run the machine on it's 30 minute soak cycle; warm water setting.

6. Let them sit in the machine for another 30 minutes to soak after the cycle has completed.

7. Another 1 ounce of MFRB into the soap dispenser, this time run the machine on the Normal wash setting; hot water setting.

8. Run the machine one more time on the Normal setting, Hot water, with NO SOAP in the soap dispenser; I also, on this wash, select Extra Rinse and add 1 ounce of Distilled White Vinegar to the machine's Fabric Softener Tray.

9. Machine dry on warm air setting.

 

A bit over the top?

Yes, I'll admit, but;

my towels, even my oldest, still appear almost new.

All towels get boiled once every year.

I'll detail a vehicle, on average, every other week year round.

 

The last set of towels I washed last week, my wife said, "next time you need to take before and after pictures". I just might do that.

I just screenshot your write-up and saved it on my desktop for future reference when I next do a load of MF towels.  LOL!

Hmmmm, I was under the impression that LIC was already diluted for effective yet gentle leather cleaning since it was in a spray bottle ready to use.  Regardless, I've used it straight out of the bottle with the cockpit horsehair brush and never had any issue at all.  I have gotten into the safe habit of spritzing the seat with a bottle of water after I wipe the LIC off and then wiping the water off.  After it all dries I apply leather conditioner.

Looking for anything else?

I just modified my original post with an additional item and what I'm looking for.  Do you have anything specific you're thinking about trading?

I worked in the car business in sales and finance for about ten years so I can give you my 2 cents.  Each dealership has their own 'exterior paint protection' gimmick that they try to sell you in the finance office (I had to.....was part of my bonus).  They get you one of two ways.  The first is that they claim every car/truck on the lot has it and it's added to the dealer accessory part of the window sticker.  The pricing is totally up to them.  I've seen it listed at $299 up to $999 or more.  Now I can't speak for every dealership in the country but the ones that claim they all have it on them already are lying up their #(%*!  It's pure inflation to the price of the car.  The second option is for you to voluntarily purchase it in the finance office and factor it into your monthly payment.  All that happens is you make an appt to bring your car back to the dealership and the same minimum wage workers that scrubbed it with a dirty brush when you bought it will do it again and apply, via filthy cheap microfibers, some type of generic sealant.  Most usually have TONS of fillers to help hide blemishes in your paint but trust me, there is no paint correction going on with that.  LOL.  Again, if you buy this, 100% of it is pure dealer profit (referred to as back end gross).  I'd suggest you wash it with a car shampoo mixed with a few ounces of APC and watch PERMA-whatever disappear.  It's in no way even remotely close in quality to Adams or any other high end brand sealant.  

I ordered a pack of 3 in my most recent order and did a little science experiment for everyone:  5 full pumps = 1 oz, 10 pumps = 2 oz, 15 pumps = 3 oz, etc...... as measured by a cocktail drink measuring tool.  FWIW, the experiment was used measuring Rinseless Wash and the other 2 pumps are on my 16oz bottle of Car Shampoo and another brand 'Strip Wash'.  I also trimmed the straw part of each at the end by approximately 1/4 of an inch.

Haha!  I'm right there with you!  It took me a few tries to really learn to love it as I was terrified of it scratching my paint; if you use caution and the advice others give you'll be fine.

Part of my loot from a Mystery Box order was a 16oz bottle of Deep Wheel Cleaner and 16oz of Brilliant Glaze; I already have a gallon of DWC and my car is now coated so no need for the Brilliant Glaze.  Here are some products I would like to trade for:

*Adams Double Soft Towels (new or exactly like new condition)

*Adams Glass Cleaner and/or Sealant

*Adams Rinseless Wash

*Adams Leather Conditioner

Thanks!

I just realized I have 4 buckets as well!  Two Adams buckets for the traditional 2 bucket wash, another Adams bucket solely for Rinseless Wash which I keep stuffed with 12 Edgeless Blue Towels and a bottle of Rineseless and I store it separately, and a former small mop bucket which I now use just for wheels/tires!

My friend, it sounds like you are describing the ideal situation for a 'Rinseless Wash'.....especially since you have a nice heated building to do so in but no linear water supply!  There are several videos to watch in the tutorial section here but to make a long story short, here are a few tips...

1)  Like you said, spending a pocket full of quarters at the local pay n spray is mandatory if the vehicle is very dirty.  I'd bring a bottle of All Purpose Cleaner and spray liberally in the wheel wells to let the cleaner loosen up all of the gunk and debris.  Spend as much time as necessary as this will make the next few steps much simpler.

2)  I'm sure other guys will chime in here later but my preferred method of Rinseless Washing is using as many plush MF towels as possible although the tutorial videos show how to do it using just a couple with 2 buckets....just a preference thing.

3)  Since you are going to be in the heated realm of a garage I'd advise to go as slow and methodically as possible.  A Rinseless Wash on a typical car will often times take me LONGER than a traditional 2 bucket wash with a hose.  It kills me to see some folks racing around the car like it's on fire.  Slow and steady is the key here.

4)  Since you planning on claying I presume you'll love The Rinseless Wash as it has water softeners built into it allowing you to leave the panels 'wet' after you clean them and just go straight into claying after you're done.

IMO, these towels are PERFECTTTTTTTT for rinseless washes, amongst other uses such as detail spray removal and polish/compound removal.

Looking forward to seeing what AP comes out with in the next few months as far as a DIY coating!!!  I just got one of our cars polished/coated with a well known/respected brand but we do have another car in our family - that you may have had the pleasure of riding around in last Fall - that would be a prime candidate for such a theoretical Adams coating......  *HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT HINT*

Bought 3 Kwazars within the last 6 months, the last one gave out over 2 months ago.  If I would have flushed the money down the toilet at least I would have known where it went beforehand.  

I've added an unused 16oz spray bottle of distilled water to my Adams small travel bag I use for my inteior gear.....just as a precaution. With the new car I just bought I'm initiation maxiumum safety precuations to keeping it 100% So what if it takes an extra 5-10 minutes.