Redbeard

Two other things I miss from when Adam was running things:
They only made enough products to meet customers' needs, and there was not any unnecessary flair nor multiple variations of products.
If something could be made in the USA, Adam had it made in the USA.

Thanks. Polishing did the trick, and I made sure to keep the drill moving rather than sit on any one spot.

First, welcome to the forums! 
 
Here's a video that will best explain most towels. If you have any more questions, please ask...
 
 

This weekend I did two different methods of Headlight Restoration. 
  One was a 10 Step Restoration on a really yellow really badly oxidized set of lights. (Beat up 2004 White Honda Odyssey)   The other was a 5 Step restoration on a not as badly oxidized set of lights. (2001 Toyota Rav4)   My goal with these headlights were not to make them perfect (although I tried, but just to cut away the oxidation and improve visibility for night time driving. To start with on both, I wiped down the headlights with diluted Rinseless Wash to remove any dirt or dust. Then taped off the paint, the grill and the rubber pieces surrounding the headlight. On each I did a test section to figure out what process I wanted to do.   10 Step Restoration: Step 1: Wet Sand with 600 grit Sand Paper by hand Step 2: Wet Sand with 800 grit Sand Paper by hand Step 3: Wet Sand with 1200 grit Sand Paper by hand Step 4: Wet Sand with 2000 grit Sand Paper by machine with soft foam interface, (after machine use by hand to get into the corners and areas where polisher wouldn't reach. Step 5: Wet Sand with 3000 grit Sand Paper by machine with soft foam interface. Step 6: Heavy Correcting Compound and Microfiber Pad by machine (multiple passes and stops to use conditioning brush and spritz DS or add more HCC)  Step 7: Sprayable Compound and Microfiber Pad by Machine  (multiple passes and stops to use conditioning brush and spritz DS or add more SC)   Step 8: Sprayable Compound and Blue Foam Pad by Machine  (multiple passes and stops to use conditioning brush and spritz DS or add more SC) Step 9: Finishing Polish with White Pad Step 10: Revive Hand Polish with Blue Hex Grip Applicator     (Forgive the Loud Background Noise, I wasn't able to figure out how to turn the audio down)   (Forgive the Loud Background Noise, I wasn't able to figure out how to turn the audio down)   I found this very effective for really cutting away the nastiness and revealing a fully new layer of plastic. Wet sanding is a bit of a scary process. Seeing sanding marks is very unsettling even when you know that if you follow the process it will work.   I found that there were a good number of scratches left in the headlight plastic that I couldn't get out. Im not completely sure, but I imagine that's a matter of spending more time with the 2000 and 3000 grit and the Heavy correcting compound to make sure I properly phase out the previous sanding marks.   Anyways the plastic is very clear after this method, just has some scratches which I should have spent more time getting out.
    Picture above shows headlight on the right has not been restored vs. the one on the left which has been restored.   5 Step Restoration: Step 1: Heavy Correcting compound on a Synthetic Wool Pad by Machine (multiple passes, stopping to use conditioning brush once and spritzing DS) Step 2: Heavy Correcting Compound on One Step Pad by machine  (multiple passes, stopping to use conditioning brush once and spritzing DS) Step 3: Heavy Correcting Compound on Blue Foam Pad  (multiple passes, stopping to use conditioning brush once and spritzing DS) Step 4: Finishing Polish with White Pad Step 5: Revive Hand Polish with Blue Hex Grip Applicator   It's clear to see that this is an immense improvement and definitely will improve visibility. This way left a scratch free surface, but I'm afraid it didn't cut all the way through the oxidation. There's still a very very light haze.
      Protection: After the Revive Hand Polish on both sets of headlights, I then used a surface prep, and applied Ceramic Spray Coating.     Comparison: In conclusion, I'm going to guess that the 10 Step Method was the way to go. I think I successfully cut through all the oxidation,and onto a new layer of plastic. I believe the sanding introduced some scratches along the way and I'll have to get some more practice to figure out how effectively get those scratches out during the process.   With the 5 Step Method, I think It will work for a little while, but I think the clarity will start to disappear. I say that because I don't think I got to a new layer of plastic. I think I just cut away some of the nastiness.   

I wanted to show you and tell you a quick story about this detail I did for a friend of mine that's in the SEMA show out in Vegas this week. A good friend of mine had a lifelong dream to purchase his dream car, and so the story begins. My friend Chuck has been looking for the ultimate 1978 Trans Am, and after many years of looking, has found it, and had it built by the Wormak brothers in Florida. The story of this build was shown on the Discovery Channel called "Trans Am", the story of two brothers out to bring back the modern muscle car. It can be seen on the Discovery Channel last month, don't know if anyone had a chance to see it but it has aired many times and can be recalled on that channel pretty easily. The build on the car and the time it took to get it to this level is amazing, over two years. The car is straight as an arrow, has all the modern amenities of a 2018 car, but the nostalgia of the 70's ! How could you not love a black T Top Trans Am ! Long story short, car gets built, shipped up here, and needless to say the car is over the top beautiful, BUT, not all is perfect. Chuck is very picky and was thrilled with the build but the paint needed a little love, here's where me and Adams come in. Not exactly sure what products were used previously but I can tell you it wasn't Adams ! The car didn't have the desired "POP" in the paint Chuck was looking for and some minor touch ups were needed to make this car everything Chuck was looking for. So after some careful time on the car with the machine and a boot load of Adams products at my disposal, the end results are amazing. Chuck is over the top happy now with the results, drives the car when its nice out, and gets the call from the Discovery Channel that they want it to go to Las Vegas for the SEMA Show, and then "IT" happened ! Chuck brings the car down to a dyno shop up here to have it fine tuned, and yes they were told to not leave or drive the car in the rain, and Yes they did both, and to make it worse, they wiped it down to get the rain off with some type of nasty towels and scratched the entire car ! He was beside himself, called me, and brought it back to have it perfected again. I ended up perfecting it again and off on the trailer it went to Vegas. There is a lot more to this story than I can write for you and will respect all parties involved in this build, but the end result is perfection in his life long dream car. Not in the story, is Chucks recent diagnosis with ALS. He is also a retired veteran and one of the greatest guys you will meet. Enjoy the pics and if your in Vegas at the SEMA show ( no I'm not there) check out the car in the booth and just know it was all ADAMS PRODUCTS that made this baby shine !! 

Shine Doc did a good video of this last year:
 
https://youtu.be/s5rQFQWXUoI

It's official. Placed my order. Got the adams essential kito, paint correction and polish combo, paint sealant, 3 cans of in and out, black white and orange foam pads and some of the car strip. Ready to get the truck right!

I would also recommend some kind of blower to get water out of all the nooks and crannies around mirrors and trim pieces. The blower won't totally dry your vehicle, but like the sheet rinse it will get the excess water off, so you'll be able to dry with one Great White towel.

Good point. When I did my first detail on my new 4Runner this year, I applied Revive Hand Polish in place of machine polishing. That removes oxidation, and can be used in substitute of polishing if the paint is in good shape and doesn't need correction.
 
Brilliant glaze doesn't last very long at all, and offers no protection. You'd be better off applying it over Buttery and getting the best of both worlds

The typical regiment most people follow is Strip Wash, Clay, Polish, (I like to strip wash again to remove polishing oils), then seal with LPS. After it cures, top with HGG or wax.

The Chevy SS is such a great car for Chevy's lineup; it's too bad they don't promote it at all.

Sorry about that. As I said in the other thread, I was away on travel for work from Wednesday afternoon to Sunday night. We set up the canopy for our display trailer until around 1030pm in Carlisle PA Wednesday night, then I passed out since I was still not 100% from an awful flu. Thursday we continued display setup from 730am-630pm (it's a lot of work) and were exhausted by the time we sat down for dinner at 8. Friday and Saturday were full-tilt show mode, tons of customers, thank you! Sunday was tear-down and travel home. Then Monday and Tuesday were spent catching up on hundreds of emails from over the weekend and taking lots of phone calls. I need more hours in the day
 
 
 
I do apologize, in the future I will make sure I'm informed of new product announcements and get them posted to the forum as well.
 
 
The white vehicle Kourtney was cleaning in the video was quite dirty. We do have to do considerable editing of the videos to keep them short and keep people's attention. Longer videos get ignored and get less views.
 
 
The new Waterless Wash is all new from the ground up. We took what we learned from our Waterless and Rinseless formulas and improved on them to make an even better, ready to use Waterless Wash - new formula, more slick, less streaks, and new scent!
  We changed the color to a richer blue to keep all of our wash products in the blue color scheme, and so that it's easier to differentiate from our new formula Wheel Cleaner, which had a close hue to the Waterless Wash.

The Chevy SS is such a great car for Chevy's lineup; it's too bad they don't promote it at all.

In the old days I either used Bleche White or SOS pads. Both do a great job but the letters will shred the SOS pads in short order.

I only hope that the forum members here like LONG stories, with a lot of photos, to see what the results of using Adam's products, and proper equipment sold by them can lead too?
 
If you check out some of my prior posts, you will see that I wrote smaller detailing articles about a 2004 Magnetic Red II C5 Corvette Coupe and a 1996 Sebring Silver C4 Corvette Collector Edition Coupe.
 
This 2007 has replaced BOTH of them, as it was too difficult to decide which one I should sell, so I sold them both!
 
That happened due to the fact that the subdivision I live in also has an homeowners association, where we are not supposed to park vehicles outside of the garage, and having (2) Corvettes in my garage, meant the daily drivers had to be parked outdoors. I didn't have an issue with the majority of the neighbors, but there was one retired person who made a major issue out of it for whatever reason he thought may be important.
 
I fond this 2007 which had 2 previous owners, the last one a collector who stored it in UNCOVERED in an old industrial warehouse, and drove it a total of 700 miles in the past 5 years.
 
The car had 6520 miles on it when I went to look at it, and after driving it and sealing the deal, and driving it home, it now has 6700 miles. Spent the last month or so, in my garage, being made "whole" and into a show car. The reason I choose to show it is because my 96 Collector Edition was a Concours Show Car here in the Detroit, MI area, and award winning. Had to replace that, that was my thought and goal.
 
OK, on to the photos of the "as started condition" and I will say that I spend between 2 to 4 hours per panel, to correct, and finish polish over a 15 day or night time period, as I do have a "day job" and other responsibilities to attend too.
 

Left Fender Start

Left Door Front Area Start

Left Door Area Start 2

Left Halo Start

Left Quarter Start

Left Quarter Start 2

Left Quarter Start 3

Decklid Hatch Area Start

Decklid Hatch Area Start 2

Right Quarter Start

Right Door Start
 
 
 
By looking at the pictures above, you can see this car was pretty scratched, swirled, and abused during whatever method they used to wipe it down. The hood and fenders were in similar condition, and to limit the length of this post, I didn't add those before shots here.
 
Now, here is the GOOD NEWS part, corrected using a Cyclo, Adam's Paint Correcting Polish, and the Adam's White Finishing Polish. Only the final photos show the results after Liquid Paint Sealant and Americana were applied.
 

Left Fender 2 passes Adam's Correcting Polish w/ Cyclo

Left Door Corrected

Left Halo Corrected

Left Quarter Corrected

Decklid Hatch Area Corrected

Rear Fascia Area Corrected

Right Quarter Corrected

Right Quarter Corrected 2

Right Door Corrected

Right Door Corrected 2
 
 
 
Now for the final photos, taken outdoors last evening.
Notice the license plate frame.
 
 

Right Front Side View

Right Rear Side View

Left Rear Side View

Left Front Side View

License Plate Frame

Rear View
 
 
Car will be going to it's first show this weekend in Canada, and then next weekend at a show where the Corvette club I belong is putting on. Those who saw it last night were amazed to say the least.
 
The interior and underhood engine area were also cleaned and detailed using Adam's products, and look just as good as the exterior.
 
Thank you to the Adam's team for their products and support!
 
 

During the week of August 2nd, my son and I flew to Maryland to pick up our newly acquired 1966 Impala.  Appears to be garage kept as the original interior is in excellent condition for being 49 years old.  The package shelf and the carpet are the week areas.  The 283 / Powerglide combo run like a top!
 
We took five days to drive it cross-country to Arizona.   It did well, averaging 17 - 19 MPG.  Except for a mechanical issue in OKC that was quickly repaired, it performed excellent. 
 
It was repainted some years back.  It is a single stage repaint.  My guess it's a Centari Enamel repaint.   My preference is to leave the car as is and only repair some minor mechanical issues. 
 
The Adam's air freshener took care of the "old car smell" in the interior.   But after the road trip, I had 2410 miles of bugs and road dirt to remove.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I started by jacking the car up and placing it on jack stands.  Made it easier to clean the undercarriage and engine compartment with APC and various brushes.  I will soon remove the wheels to adjust the drum brakes and will hit the fender wells and backsides of the wheels at that time.
 
Followed up with a three bucket strip car wash.  I think the previous owners used turtle was on it, as I has lots of it to remove from under moldings and emblems.  I also scrubbed the jambs.
 
After blow drying the car, I proceeded to clay the paint.  This was probably the worse I've ever seen as I needed two clay bars.  The biggest improvement I noticed was to the glass.
 
The old paint was too far gone for Adam's Paint Correcting Polish, so I broke out some more agressive stuff I still had along with my oldschool Snap On buffer.  This Centari is hard stuff!  However, it did help a bit, and I followed with Paint Correcting Polish.  Maybe when the weather cools off, I may color sand it.  I followed with Adam's Paint Finishing Polish, but only on the roof and hood as I really noticed no benefit.  Maybe if the paint was in better condition, I might have noticed a difference. 
 
An IPA wipedown followed and then I applied some old Adam's Machine Super Sealant and allowed it to cure.  Time to hit the interior.
 
Copious amounts of Adam's Leather and Interior Cleaner were used on the seats, door panels, and dash.  Adam's Carpet and Upholstery Cleaner was used on the carpet.   I followed with Super VRT.  That stuff is awesome!  Adam's Window Cleaner cut through the "film" the previous owner could not remove with foamy stuff and paper towels.
 
I haven't figured out what to use on the 49 year old trunk mat, as I did not want to damage it.  For now, wiping it down with APC will do.  After removing all of the junk, I vacuumed the trunk and returned only items that belong in the trunk.  Another area requiring caution is the original trunk spatter paint, as liquids can damage it. 
 
Spent about 23 hours on it.  I slapped some Chevy Mag Style Hub Caps on it, dropped it back on the ground and this is the finished product.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Later that day, I drove it to a local cruise and was pleasantly surprised with all of the attention it received.  Clearly the interior is the best area of the Impala.
 
The next day, I gave it a quick two bucket wash and followed with H2O G&G.   I think it turned out very nice considering what I had to work with.
 

 
I may try some Adam's Brilliant Glaze before taking it to the next cruise. 
 
Now I have a reason to buy new Adam's Orange and White Foam Pads as I ruined my old ones. 
 
 
 

I wanted to give everyone an update on this toy drive for Toys for Tots, and it is an AWESOME one!
 
I got an email update late yesterday evening from Adam:
 
Toys For Tots asked that in lieu of choosing toys at will, we make a donation to their charity. So, we did! The total sales on Saturday December 5th were over $8,000. We are excited to have sent in $900 to help the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation!
 
Once again, thank you to everyone that helped make this drive a success!

Hi Jeff, I'm very sorry you were not satisfied with the products or results on your S4. From the picture you've attached, I see our old green Severe Swirl Remover, our orange Swirl & Haze Remover, our white Fine Machine Polish, and the gray Machine Super Sealant. All of these products have either been discontinued or reformulated for at least 3 years and sometimes longer, so I would question the shelf life of all of these 4 products, especially first they have not been in a temperature controlled environment or if they were not throughly shook up before polishing. Are the pads you used just as old and are they in good condition and cleaned of all polish residue before use? If the products were temperature controlled and the pads are ok, then the polishes themselves would not have caused these swirl marks.
 
Nearly all swirl marks come from improper washing and drying. A polish will not introduce them but the severe swirl remover or Swirl & Haze Could cause fine micro scratching that the Fine Machine Polish would take care of. Has the car ever been washed at a dealership during a maintenance checkup, or at any other automatic brush washes? Either of those would be the most likely situation for the swirl marks. If you did machine polish, did you do a test 2'x2' section and then inspect with several different light sources for a perfect finish prior to polishing the rest of the car? Are the swirl marks all over the car or only in that rear area?
 
Are you sure the microfiber towels you are removing the polish with are soft enough and not contaminated? As a test, take the microfiber towels you were using and wipe them on the blank data side of a blank CDR you do not mind ruining. If the towels scratch the CD, odds are they will scratch/swirl your clearcoat. Proper microfiber care is imperative in not reintroducing swirl marks into the finish of your vehicle. We have a writeup dedicated to proper cleaning of microfiber that I will link in my next post.
 
We want to make this up to you for being dissatisfied with the products, so I would like to replace those old outdated products for you free of charge. Please give our Customer Service number a call after 830am MST this week. 866.965.0400.
 
Respectfully,
Dan

Friends, I failed to test the red dispenser pumps on the Brilliant Glaze, Paint Correcting Polish, and Metal Polishes.  We started sending bottles out with them installed anyway.  Fact is, they work terribly.  Awfully. Bad.  And I'm not overstating this performance failure.  These caps are a BAD fit for several products, and I owe you an apology for sending out a product without testing the method that dispenses it.
 
The pumps work okay with some products, like VRT, Leather Conditioner, Shampoo,  Buttery Wax, Liquid Paint Sealant, and Rinseless Wash.  (Some hate the pumps altogether, and I can understand that.)
 
I apologize for not spending more time testing these pumps.   We don't often have failures of this level, and this was a big one. I blew it, and I'm sorry to have made your detailing experience less awesome.
 
So, now it's time to make it right.  Here is a link to the dispenser caps, which have an official price of $0.99 for 3 caps, which includes shipping. 
 
http://adamspolishes.com/adam-s-new-dispensar-pull-cap.html?___SID=U
 
HOWEVER:  If you have any product with a pump, and don't like the way it performs, we will send you replacement push-pull dispenser caps, FREE! 
 
Kindly use the code, "CAPS" which will make the purchase free. 
 
Have thoughts on this?  Post away!   Care to email me personally on this?  Adam@AdamsPolishes.com
 
Thanks, I again apologize, and appreciate your loyalty.
 
Sincerely,
 
Adam Pitale
Detailer.  Founder.

Yesterday evening I returned home from work to find a package from Adam's that I ordered as part of the Black Friday sale.  It wasn't a large order by any means (just under $150 after my black Friday discounts), but imagine my surprise when I saw bottles, towels, and applicators that I had not ordered.  
 
Several years ago I mistakenly received someone else's order and thought this may have happened again...  until when I went through the box and noticed things were marked "free product" and were actually listed on my invoice at $0.00.  
 
It sounds funny, but the items don't even appear random.  It's like whoever put them in there looked at my order history and said, "Hmm, he's probably low on this.  Let's throw that in there too."  The way my luck normally is I will order gallon refills and a few days after placing my order they show up on the daily special.    This was a very pleasant surprise.
 
I just wanted to say "thank you" to the Adam's crew and a belated Happy Thanksgiving.  Keep up the outstanding work.
 
Shawn (Adam's loyal since 2008)
 

Really not a market we've got much interest in playing in as its more a commodity. A trip down the auto supply aisle at any store will show you the "Premium" gallons around $5 and the cheap ones under $2. Even looking around online its a space occupied by a ton of products that get the job done and at a price I doubt we could even manufacture and package something to compete.
 
Thats not to say I haven't tested a concentrate product, but wiper fluid is one of those things that works or doesn't. Its hard to create a premium solution and we're not much in the business of creating 'so so' products just to have a presence in the category. If we can ever come up with a solution that justifies a spot in the line b/c it does something better than the existing options we will, but so far not really a priority.
 
On a personal note - wiper fluid is one of those thing that I just pick up something reasonably priced and offers the right level of freeze protection for my climate. I've never noticed a dramatic performance benefit from one product vs. another.

Up next was this 56 Chevy. The car had been in storage for about 10 years. The paint wasn't terrible but was very dull. I did a few test spots and the orange foam pad and PCP did the trick once again. I tried the orange microfiber. Due to the single stage paint after about half the hood pad got so clogged up that I could not duplicate the results.
 
I finished this one with Liquid paint Sealant.
 

 

 

 

 

 

She's back together for now. Still needs a tune. Definitely more coming in the near future.
 

I'll use this thread to post pictures and progress if my CTS-V Wagon.
 
So far the car had only been lowered and windows tinted. I started getting the itch to change a few things.
 
As always I start with a wash.
 
 

 
 
 
I started with pulling the bumper to get access to the headlights.
 

 
The headlights went to the oven to be separated. After disassembly I had access to the orange marker which was painted black. I will also be upgrading to LED daytime running lights.
 


 
While the bumper was off I was lucky to get a smoking deal on some ho fast parts.
Upper pulley, larger heat exchanger and dual oil catch cans.
 

 
The install is all still in work. I also picked up a ZL1 supercharger lid to replace the stock ugly one. It will add better cooling for the supercharger as well.
 

 
I had it milled to clear my hood the powder coated a matte textured red.
 

 
I'm still waiting on parts and should it mostly wrapped up next week.

Matt was up working the Portland Roadster Show last weekend with our Dealer Gary Parham, and someone shared this with us - a little Adam's Detail Spray action featured on the local evening news.