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How long will kits last and what do I really need?


Pyrophor2011

Question

I am thinking about buying one of the kits but interested in knowing how long the products, including non chemical products, last.

 

My car is a 2011 Genesis Coupe with Bathurst Black paint and I just purchased it about two weeks ago. I am interested in the Junkman kit or any other similar kit because I have swirls that need to be removed.

 

Since purchasing the car, the Hyundai dealership has been washing it for me because of some hard water spots that were there before purchase. Turns out, they were making swirls on the car so I have since stopped letting them wash it. However, even when they would wash the car it would be dirty again literally 1-2days later even though I park it in a garage, don't drive it often and when at work I park it in the open, not under a tree or anything. It's like the products they use are attracting pollen and dirt like a magnet.

 

So really, I am wondering if Adams will help with the frequency which I need to wash my car and how long their polish and wax last. I have read about antistatic products and didn't know if they were a gimmick or if Adams has similar features.

 

Honestly, I am trying to figure out how long all this stuff will last because of the initial sticker shock of the kits. Even refills are kind of expensive and I was considering products from the Meguiars Pro or Zaino lines because of that.

 

As far as what I need, I was thinking of just going with the Junkman kit as said above. The seating is leather in my car though and it would probably be a good idea to also get leather cleaner. I am just trying to be conservative here because money is tight right now but I dont want to sacrifice the beauty of my new car for a few dollars.

 

Any help that can be provided would be appreciated, thanks!

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I was in your shoes!!! and after trying some of Adams products I fell in love that's right In love with the products!!! I wish I'd bought the Ultimate Kit. But now I have everything I need and want and just took advantage of the Father's days sale and bought a bunch of gallon refills!!!

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...I'm still new and know that I have a lot of ground to cover, but I'm glad I landed here, and am grateful for the welcome and help that I have received so far. I'm looking forward to the relationships and help that I can hopefully provide to others in the future.

 

You appear to be doing a mighty fine job already. :thumbsup:

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Lots of good advice in this thread. Here is my 2 cents.

 

These people are just trying to save you from doing something we have ALL done. We have all tried to save some money and used every product you could imagine. And we all ended up here. And we have all wasted hundreds of dollars on inferior products that sit on a shelf gathering dust or we give away to friends, not good friends but friends none the less :D:D:D

 

Bottom line, these products do what they say they will do and they are easy to use. But don't take my word for it, buy a small kit and find out for yourself. You have nothing to lose, read the 110% guarantee.

 

Then buy products as you need them. Keep an eye on the daily specials and wait for the sales. In the long run these products will cost you less and you will love the results.

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I know a ton of people have already posted a response, but I'll be honest and say that I'm fairly new here and also a fairly new Adam's customer. To further the honesty, I'll say that I was just like you in being skeptical of Adam's performance for the price. DISCLAIMER MODE ON - now, there are LOTS of other manufacturers out there that are LOADS more expensive than Adam's products. Swissvax has waxes that are in the 4-figure range (no kidding). However as many will tell you (and what you may eventually see yourself), for performance at this price level NO ONE can touch Adam's. DISLAIMER MODE OFF

 

I worked in body shops while in high school and college, and dealt with the obligatory brands - M's Pro line, 3M, PPG, Sherwin Williams, and such. As a consumer, I pretty much stuck with the M line. It wasn't until last year, that I decided to get more serious in caring for my own cars' paint. I started doing some research on product-independent sites and found that a Porter Cable polisher would be best to get back into polishing, since my rotary skills would be rusty enough to be considered non-existent. I ended up going with another polish line - Menzerna, and did my first paint correction on one of my DD's. While the results were good, they were NOWHERE near what I got with Adam's - and that was just testing one side of a panel.

 

Everyone knows that opinions are relative and subjective. You've got a new car, and obviously you care enough about it to be proactive in keeping it as nice as you can. Granted, nice is subjective to each of us. What is "nice" to a guy like Junkman, and what is "nice" to you are going to be 2 different things. Junkman washes his car on average 2 - 3 times a week (taken from one of his posts). However, if you're already uncomfortable with the initial swirls in the paint, then it sounds like you want to go the route of maintaining a near/perfect paint condition. If that's the case, then I cannot recommend ANYTHING above Adam's product line - even for the other detailing products. I've dropped a TON of money on other products, and have gotten rid of all of them (or not using them).

 

For me, there were also several other factors that really stood out to me. When professional detailers that make their bread and butter switch to Adam's product line-only or even end up leaving/quitting their business to join Adam's team, that says a lot. Second, I don't think you'll find any other company out there where the OWNER of the company gives a personal touch or support on a daily basis to everyday consumers like you or me. You want to speak with him directly - it is possible. Third, where several people have raved about this company's outstanding customer service, they are not exaggerating in the slightest sense. If you go through the older posts in a lot of the threads, you will see example after example of this.

 

Bottom line - are there cheaper products out there that will yield decent results? Yes. Are there cheaper products that can yield the results that Adam's products do with a 110% no question/hassle guarantee AND the ability to correspond directly with the owner? Nope - this is it. I haven't even mentioned the support of everyone else that's here yet.

 

I know it's been said by a lot of people before, but this is really a family, and that's what you're getting into when you become a customer of Adam's. I'm still new and know that I have a lot of ground to cover, but I'm glad I landed here, and am grateful for the welcome and help that I have received so far. I'm looking forward to the relationships and help that I can hopefully provide to others in the future.

 

Good luck, and Welcome from another newbie if you decide to go with Adam's!

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And there lies the whole problem with why you can't really grasp how much of an investment this really is. You're putting the cart before the horse. Everything that you're being told to buy has no meaning to you because you don't know what each product does in the scheme of detailing and thus, you can't put a finger on why it cost what it does, and why it is worth what it cost.

 

Allow me to give you an example. Let's say that you wanted to take up skydiving. Let's say that 90% of all the parachutes you saw on the market cost $50. There were some $500 parachutes out there but you couldn't justify that cost because you couldn't see $450 worth of an advantage in them. You were anxious to get your equipment so you started placing your orders.

 

Then you sat down and started doing some research and after watching some videos on the sport, you found out that those $50 parachutes had a nasty problem of not opening sometimes. However, the $500 parachutes never had this problem. All of a sudden, you found 450 more reasons why you needed to spend more money. Ain't nothing like jumping out of a perfectly good plane and halfway back to earth, realizing that your landing will be your last. :help:

 

This is the kind of information that I put in my videos. I don't just tell you about a product. I show you how to use it, why to use it and when to use it. Once you have an in-depth understanding of each product, you will understand why you need it, what it does and how much of it you may need in the future. You can't get that understanding without watching the videos, doing more research and reading the threads. After watching my videos, you should have a thorough understanding of what you need and why. Ask anyone who has watched them and paid attention.

 

Although I have sent this to you over at the GenCoupe Forum, I'll post it here too. This is my breakdown of my kit, which you are looking at buying. This is a gauge you can look at as to what will need replacing, and the frequency that you may have to do so with each product.

 

 

* (1) Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Car Polisher - One time purchase. Built like an ox and works forever as long as you don't burn it up by running it with too small gauge of an extension cord.

 

* (1) Adam's Premium PC Backing Plate 5.875" - One time purchase.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Swirl & Haze Remover Polishing Pad - One time purchase as long as you clean the pads after you are completely done using them for the day. VERY IMPORTANT. Buy 2 so that you will have one to use if the other is still wet from washing.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Fine Machine Polishing Pad - Same as above, but this is the pad that you will want to have more than one of. Reason one, it takes two days to dry after you wash it unless you have some blazing hot weather to set it out in. Reason two, after your paint is fixed, this is the pad that you will end up using the most to stay on top of your paint damage.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Waxing Pad - One time purchase as long as you wash it after every use, which won't be that often because of how long the wax last.

 

* (1) Adam's Swirl & Haze Remover Polish 16 oz. - If you fix your paint with this product and from that point forward, wash dirt or remove dust from your paint as I direct in my videos, this product should be a one time event in the life of your paint job. If you are constantly using this product, you are doing something wrong. If you watch my videos and use the technique that I use, you will quickly figure out that 16 ounces of this stuff will do quite a few cars depending on how bad their swirls are. Quite a few.

 

* (1) Adam's Fine Machine Polish 16 oz - This is the one polish that you will eventually end up replacing, depending on how much maintenance that you have to do to your paint. If you are not constantly scratching it up, you won't use that much of this polish, but this will be your main maintenance polish. This polish is very light on your clear coat with the the PC. You could use it a thousand times and not have to worry about damaging or eating away all of your clear coat.

 

* (1) Adam's Machine SuperWax 16 oz OR Upgrade to Adam's Americana Premium Carnauba Paste Wax 10 oz for just $30 - Both of these will last a REALLY long time. The sealant is applied in very thin coats and the Americana will last for years unless you go crazy and use it every week. Very unnecessary..

 

* (1) Adam's Detail Spray, 16 oz - You'll be going through gallons of this stuff. That's why I included a gallon in my kit. You will gladly spend money buying this stuff cause you will fall in love with it.

 

* (1) Adam's Detail Spray Refill, 1 Gallon - See above.

 

* (1) Adam's All-Purpose Cleaner 16oz - You'll eventually get more of this, probably gallons. It is great for cleaning a ton of stuff and is strong as hell.

 

* (4) Adam's Single Soft Microfiber Towels - These towels are unreal. As long as you care for them properly and wash for them correctly, you won't need to replace them. You will, however, want to buy more once you feel them. You can never have too many microfiber towels like these.

 

* (1) Adam's Detailing Clay Bar, 200 gram - Depending on how bad your car needs claying, you may or may not need to replace this. If you car stays garaged, you definitely won't be going through a lot of this stuff. Proper preparation of your car BEFORE you clay is key to making your clay last the longest. Also, you only clay when necessary. That will be determined by where you store your car and what the baggie test tells you.

 

* (2) Adam’s Car Wash Bucket with Grit Guard Insert & Lid - One time purchase.

 

* (1) Adam’s Car Wash Shampoo 16 oz - If you wash your car as much as I do, you'll go through plenty of this.

 

* (1) Adam’s JUMBO Professional Car Wash Pad 11" by 11" - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam's Professional Car Wash Pad 9" by 9" - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam’s Great White Microfiber Drying Towel - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam’s Waterless Car Wash 16 oz - You'll end up buying this by the gallon too. Just make sure that you don't use Detail Spray when you should be using this. It is CHEAPER than Detail Spray.

 

* (2) Adam’s Waterless Wash Microfiber Waffle Towels - These are great and you'll want more but they don't wear out.

 

 

 

You have a bunch of videos to watch and your learning curve starts here. :thumbsup:

 

Yeah, that is great info.

 

Who wouldn't be tempted by a $50 parachute vs a $500? I am doing my research which is why I haven't purchased anything yet. It appears to me there are several other brands out there that will accomplish the same thing but require more of a learning curve in exchange for a lower price. Of course, if it is a choice between something that works sometimes vs something that always works then I will choose what always works but that's what I am trying to determine at this point... what do I need? That said, I am already sold on the Junkman kit and everything included with it as well as some other items. It is because of the simplicity of the products, the help here and the videos I've watched so far that I have made that choice. (All of the videos here and 9 of the Junkman)

 

So, the only things I am on the fence about right now are detailed below. I am just not sure if I should go with the Junkman or skip right to an all inclusive kit.

 

Glass cleaner (What about just Windex or something?)

 

Glass sealant (Interested in this but wonder if there are cheaper alternatives. At $20 for a 4oz bottle it wouldn't seem like it would go a long way. Not sure about RainX but it's substantially cheaper.)

 

Americana Wax, Brilliant Glaze, Butter Wax and SuperWax (Wondering which if these can and or should be used together and what their results would be.)

 

Green Wheel Cleaner vs All Purpose Cleaner (Do I really need specialty wheel cleaners or will the All Purpose cleaner do fine?)

 

Leather & Interior Cleaner (Not that it is expensive but I could see myself going through quite a bit depending on how often I clean the inside of the car. Anything that you would recommend more than this product for cleaning the interior? Because I have so much leather it might just be the way to go.) (As far as leather cleaner I have been using these on my leather couch: Weiman)

 

Carper and Upholstery Cleaner (This is one I cannot see myself using and for two reasons. First, I have stock all-weather flood mats in the entire car including the trunk. Second, the carpet I have is black. Although, $11 isn't much considering I would hardly be using this product.)

 

Leather Conditioner (I get the concept but Adams website suggest 3-4 applications per season which seems excessive. My interior is leather, according to the manufacturers website, although it could be faux. With window tinting and a front visor plus being parked in a garage, I wouldn't see a need for this product.)

 

In & Out Spray vs Super VRT (The Genesis Coupe I have has quite a few exterior plastic spots, the largest being the grill (think it is plastic anyways). I could possibly see using either of these products but do I really need both or am I misunderstanding their individual purpose?)

 

Undercarriage Spray (I really cant see needing this product vs the all-purpose cleaner.)

 

Metal Polishes (Atm, I see no need for these products as the Genesis Coupe really has no exposed metal aside from under the hood. Maybe if I were to get machined tires or something.)

 

Blaster Sidekick vs Vac N Blo 500 vs Air Force Master Blaster vs California Duster (I would assume only by it's name that the Vac N Blo can also has a feature to blow air, is that correct? The only reason I am interested in the Sidekick and Air Force Master Blaster is so that I can remove dust easier. I believe the Sidekick would be too cumbersome for that kind of task so I would leave it to the Air Force Master Blaster vs the California Duster, the duster beating solely based on price alone.)

 

Some info about my car if it helps:

 

My car is, a Genesis Coupe. It has brown leather seating (possibly faux). I believe the doors are leather wrapped as well as the steering wheel. I believe the dash is plastic, I am not at the car though so would have to double check. I have stock all weather floor mats. The exterior is painted black and I have 30%/15% window tinting. I have stock wheels which are gray and I believe they are just painted. I am thinking about having the wheels professionally painted gloss black or changing the rims altogether to maybe an XXR 518.

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Great choice! Some of us got our "ultimate kit' kind of setup a few pieces at a time, and paid more for it that way. In retrospect, I should have gotten a big kit, but I was nervous and had to try some of the stuff out and see.

 

Plus with the sale on, great savings for these excellent products. I hate to waste my free time with sub standard products, so that's why I am using Adams. I think you will find (like the rest of us) that this stuff just WORKS and works well.

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Wow, AJ excellent post!

 

Florida Dealer close by??

 

From where he is Steve in Atlanta is as close as Sam down in Naples - both about 6 hours away.

 

edit:

Oops, just saw that XQIZT is now a dealer, so he is only 4 hours away from one!

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I can just say Junkman knows what he is talking about! You cannot lose with Adams as opposed to other products-Adam stands behind his products and if you are ever unhappy-he will make it right! CUSTOMER SERVICE is awesome and I don't think you can put a price on that. Everyone here is so helpful and friendly. It is worth the price for the products in my opinion because they work so well especially together. I ended up not using other products after I bought Adams .

In detail school we used a local company's products......I ended up packing my Adams bag and bringing it to class. Needless to say, students were converted to Adams fans just by doing the demo cars half and half.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk

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...I am about to start watching all the videos I can fit in tonight so I can make a decision and possibly buy something tomorrow.

 

And there lies the whole problem with why you can't really grasp how much of an investment this really is. You're putting the cart before the horse. Everything that you're being told to buy has no meaning to you because you don't know what each product does in the scheme of detailing and thus, you can't put a finger on why it cost what it does, and why it is worth what it cost.

 

Allow me to give you an example. Let's say that you wanted to take up skydiving. Let's say that 90% of all the parachutes you saw on the market cost $50. There were some $500 parachutes out there but you couldn't justify that cost because you couldn't see $450 worth of an advantage in them. You were anxious to get your equipment so you started placing your orders.

 

Then you sat down and started doing some research and after watching some videos on the sport, you found out that those $50 parachutes had a nasty problem of not opening sometimes. However, the $500 parachutes never had this problem. All of a sudden, you found 450 more reasons why you needed to spend more money. Ain't nothing like jumping out of a perfectly good plane and halfway back to earth, realizing that your landing will be your last. :help:

 

This is the kind of information that I put in my videos. I don't just tell you about a product. I show you how to use it, why to use it and when to use it. Once you have an in-depth understanding of each product, you will understand why you need it, what it does and how much of it you may need in the future. You can't get that understanding without watching the videos, doing more research and reading the threads. After watching my videos, you should have a thorough understanding of what you need and why. Ask anyone who has watched them and paid attention.

 

Although I have sent this to you over at the GenCoupe Forum, I'll post it here too. This is my breakdown of my kit, which you are looking at buying. This is a gauge you can look at as to what will need replacing, and the frequency that you may have to do so with each product.

 

 

* (1) Porter Cable 7424XP Dual Action Car Polisher - One time purchase. Built like an ox and works forever as long as you don't burn it up by running it with too small gauge of an extension cord.

 

* (1) Adam's Premium PC Backing Plate 5.875" - One time purchase.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Swirl & Haze Remover Polishing Pad - One time purchase as long as you clean the pads after you are completely done using them for the day. VERY IMPORTANT. Buy 2 so that you will have one to use if the other is still wet from washing.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Fine Machine Polishing Pad - Same as above, but this is the pad that you will want to have more than one of. Reason one, it takes two days to dry after you wash it unless you have some blazing hot weather to set it out in. Reason two, after your paint is fixed, this is the pad that you will end up using the most to stay on top of your paint damage.

 

* (1) Adam's PC Waxing Pad - One time purchase as long as you wash it after every use, which won't be that often because of how long the wax last.

 

* (1) Adam's Swirl & Haze Remover Polish 16 oz. - If you fix your paint with this product and from that point forward, wash dirt or remove dust from your paint as I direct in my videos, this product should be a one time event in the life of your paint job. If you are constantly using this product, you are doing something wrong. If you watch my videos and use the technique that I use, you will quickly figure out that 16 ounces of this stuff will do quite a few cars depending on how bad their swirls are. Quite a few.

 

* (1) Adam's Fine Machine Polish 16 oz - This is the one polish that you will eventually end up replacing, depending on how much maintenance that you have to do to your paint. If you are not constantly scratching it up, you won't use that much of this polish, but this will be your main maintenance polish. This polish is very light on your clear coat with the the PC. You could use it a thousand times and not have to worry about damaging or eating away all of your clear coat.

 

* (1) Adam's Machine SuperWax 16 oz OR Upgrade to Adam's Americana Premium Carnauba Paste Wax 10 oz for just $30 - Both of these will last a REALLY long time. The sealant is applied in very thin coats and the Americana will last for years unless you go crazy and use it every week. Very unnecessary..

 

* (1) Adam's Detail Spray, 16 oz - You'll be going through gallons of this stuff. That's why I included a gallon in my kit. You will gladly spend money buying this stuff cause you will fall in love with it.

 

* (1) Adam's Detail Spray Refill, 1 Gallon - See above.

 

* (1) Adam's All-Purpose Cleaner 16oz - You'll eventually get more of this, probably gallons. It is great for cleaning a ton of stuff and is strong as hell.

 

* (4) Adam's Single Soft Microfiber Towels - These towels are unreal. As long as you care for them properly and wash for them correctly, you won't need to replace them. You will, however, want to buy more once you feel them. You can never have too many microfiber towels like these.

 

* (1) Adam's Detailing Clay Bar, 200 gram - Depending on how bad your car needs claying, you may or may not need to replace this. If you car stays garaged, you definitely won't be going through a lot of this stuff. Proper preparation of your car BEFORE you clay is key to making your clay last the longest. Also, you only clay when necessary. That will be determined by where you store your car and what the baggie test tells you.

 

* (2) Adam’s Car Wash Bucket with Grit Guard Insert & Lid - One time purchase.

 

* (1) Adam’s Car Wash Shampoo 16 oz - If you wash your car as much as I do, you'll go through plenty of this.

 

* (1) Adam’s JUMBO Professional Car Wash Pad 11" by 11" - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam's Professional Car Wash Pad 9" by 9" - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam’s Great White Microfiber Drying Towel - Take care of this and you'll only need one.

 

* (1) Adam’s Waterless Car Wash 16 oz - You'll end up buying this by the gallon too. Just make sure that you don't use Detail Spray when you should be using this. It is CHEAPER than Detail Spray.

 

* (2) Adam’s Waterless Wash Microfiber Waffle Towels - These are great and you'll want more but they don't wear out.

 

 

 

You have a bunch of videos to watch and your learning curve starts here. :thumbsup:

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welcome! you are in the right place.. with Adam's, you cannot go wrong.. the customer service is the best! the products are top notch! and the forum, well that provides you with a lot of knowledge and how to..

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Um.... our car wash isn't $25 for 16oz.... its $9.95... where are you getting your prices?

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-31-adams-car-wash-shampoo.aspx

 

I am not sure actually... lol

 

I broke down the stuff that was in the Junkman kit and I thought it was $25. Then again, I have been at work and not had much time to devote to looking this stuff up so it appears I was mistaken.

 

Really, I am trying to get an idea of what I need (or will eventually want) and then figure a rough estimate on how much I will be spending after 1, 3, 6, or 12 months.

 

If I am washing my car every week or even twice a week then wouldn't I need to wax again a lot sooner than 3-4 months?

 

I am about to start watching all the videos I can fit in tonight so I can make a decision and possibly buy something tomorrow.

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I was trying to breakdown how often I would need to rebuy the Adams stuff. With a 16 oz bottle of wash being about $25 and using it once a week it seems like a considerable amount to spend ever 3 months just for wash. Then the detailer and everything else except the polish and wax.

 

Um.... our car wash isn't $25 for 16oz.... its $9.95... where are you getting your prices?

 

http://www.adamspolishes.com/p-31-adams-car-wash-shampoo.aspx

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I was trying to breakdown how often I would need to rebuy the Adams stuff. With a 16 oz bottle of wash being about $25 and using it once a week it seems like a considerable amount to spend ever 3 months just for wash. Then the detailer and everything else except the polish and wax.

 

25 bucks for car wash in the 16 ounce? i am assuming that is an error. anyways, i can tell you i have stopped using the brands you mentioned and just switched only to adam's. i joined one of the other website adam's is featured on (it's how i learned about it)(detailingbliss.com is the website) and read everything i could about all the brands up there. i asked around, placed an order that seemed to be the best mix of everything of what the pro detailers up there use and to be honest i was not impressed. the only stuff i was impressed by was adam's because of the ease of the use of products. also, along with the excellent products there is awesome customer service that i have never experienced with the other brands.

 

i think the kit you are looking at is really good, but if money is tight just get the basics right now and save up for the portal cable. there still is stuff for hand polishing (i know it won't fully correct it). the car will still come out amazing. it's what i did. i started out small and am starting to finally build up to the full collection. :2thumbs:

 

oh, and welcome to the forum! :hi:

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As for waxes - I used the Buttery on my DD and Americana on my two other cars. The Americana lasts at least three times, maybe four times longer than Buttery.

 

Plus Americana is on sale until Sunday night.... It never goes on sale. When add in the 15% discount on top of the sale price, the Americana is $50 and some change. Go with the Americana, if you don't like you can return it and get 110% of your money back. I have yet to meet a person that doesn't love it.

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