Realized something comparing Adam's pads today to another kind:

[AudiOx]

I have a set of pads made by Uber and also the Adam's pads. Both work well, however, be aware if you have both:

 

Adam's pad color order:

Green for SSR, Orange for SHR, White for FMP

Adam's made it all very easy since they match the color of the polish.

This is a FAR superior design for the amateur user. Well done Adam's!

 

Here's the Uber pad color order:

Orange for SSR equiv., Green for SHR equiv., Blue for FMP equiv.

 

Notice the Green and Orange colors are 'reversed'.

In addition, the orange Uber pad is firmer than the green just like Adam's.

Thus it's very easy to mixup, especially by a new Flex user like me.

 

Now that I know, I shouldn't mess it up again, but I did one pass of each with the Ubers mixed up today. Oops. Everything turned out ok, but it gave me a bit of a scare when I realized it.

[70'sChevyGirl]

Throw those crappy pads away.

 

Like you said...Adam's is far superior!

[Chewy]

Yep, I just keep it simple and use all Adams... I don't like to think too much... lol

[AudiOx]

Throw those crappy pads away.

 

Like you said...Adam's is far superior!

 

That's a bit overkill I think.

I considered it, but I'm not going to throw out $150 or so worth of new pads and polish just to get 100% Adams.

As with many on here I'm sure, I wish I found Adam's sooner so I didn't have such a mix of products. If it was all cheap stuff I would throw it all out (I did get rid of my cheap stuff), but my nicer stuff is still good. Like Junkman says, many of the other products work fine. It's all about the process.

It's easier to master the Adam's process when all the products are Adam's. Otherwise you have to research the functional differences to make the correct substitution....if there is one.

 

The Uber pads functionally are fine; they just don't agree with Adam's pad/polish matched colorscheme which is so simple, yet brilliant IMO.

That's going to happen when there are multiple pad manufacturers and multiple polish manufacturers.

In this case however it's easy to make a mistake since the Adams' firm, orange pad is the 'middle' one and Uber's firm, orange pad is the first one. (excluding the really aggressive yellow one for compounding).

Thus my caution.

 

In researching the polishes I wanted (again prior to finding Adam's ), I hate the numbering schemes of some of the other polish manufacturers. They seem to follow no pattern so it's confusing. Once you have the product in hand, it's not so bad, because you can line the bottles up and compare the polishing aggressiveness chart. However, prior to purchase, it's difficult to compare. (M105, P083, P085RD......wtf?)

 

If I had one nit on the Adam's polishes, it's that there is no reference to 'grit' size, ex SSR is what, 1500-2000? How about SHR, 2000-2500? Not having that makes it hard to compare to other vendors.

Perhaps this is by design, but it's very "Applish".

 

If you've never even washed a car before and find Adam's, then you are in great shape....well not your wallet, because you are starting from scratch.

However, if you are like most of us, you've been dabbling in some level of car detailing for years. As a result you have some products already. Some of these products cost big $$$, are high quality, and thus don't need to be thrown out.

 

I'll throw out a $6 bottle of Turtle wax any day, but coming from a more 'European vehicle-centric' detailing forum, many of the preferred brands are different and also high quality like the Adam's products.

What drew me to Adam's was 1: the education, 2: the forum, and 3: the simplicity. I wasn't drawn to Adam's because my other products didn't function properly.

 

 

By the way....I know you were just joking ChevyGirl.

There I go pontificating again.

[Chewy]

If you've never even washed a car before and find Adam's, then you are in great shape...

 

This is basically what Adam and the team are going for. They aren't out to get all the professional detail shops and what not. They target the home hobbyists albeit the HH's that crave a quality product, but there are pros that use Adams as well.

 

I wouldn't toss the pads that you have... That'd make no sense... When it came to chemicals, I dumped what I had or gave it away, and use nothing but Adams.

 

Chris

[Chris@Adams]

All of the testing has been done for you, the Adam's pads and Adam's products are designed to work together, don't second guess!

[AudiOx]

This is basically what Adam and the team are going for. They aren't out to get all the professional detail shops and what not. They target the home hobbyists albeit the HH's that crave a quality product, but there are pros that use Adams as well.

 

I wouldn't toss the pads that you have... That'd make no sense... When it came to chemicals, I dumped what I had or gave it away, and use nothing but Adams.

 

Chris

 

I understand. I hesitated for a second, and then dumped almost all my 'cheap' stuff right in the trash 2 weeks ago. I kept an unopened clay bar and Gold Class Shampoo, but can't wait 'til that's gone.

The polishes and pads were bought literally a week before finding Adam's (where's the kicking myself smilie), otherwise I'd be full Adam's.

 

I want to accentuate how happy I am with ALL the Adam's products, and make sure nothing comes across negatively.

But a large draw of Adam's is the education they offer, and the larger pool of people here go a long way towards that. It's effectively all a big customer support pool.

Love it!

[70'sChevyGirl]

 

By the way....I know you were just joking ChevyGirl.

There I go pontificating again.

:jester:

[Chewy]

I had gold class before moving to Adams shampoo... WOW!!!! you're missing the boat...

 

I'm not even kidding... GC is not anywhere near as good as the Adams shampoo. The sudsing of Adams is at least twice what GC is IMO.

 

Chris

[AudiOx]

I had gold class before moving to Adams shampoo... WOW!!!! you're missing the boat...

 

I'm not even kidding... GC is not anywhere near as good as the Adams shampoo. The sudsing of Adams is at least twice what GC is IMO.

 

Chris

 

Yeah, I already have a gallon of the Adam's Car Shampoo and Green Wheel Cleaner in transit.

I have a gallon of the Detail Spray plus 16oz bottles of Detail Spray, Waterless Wash, Undercarriage Cleaner, and Leather n Upholstery Cleaner.

I still have some P21S all-purpose cleaner which works well. Once that's gone, I'll go to the Adam's product.

 

I'm in transition now so it takes a bit.

At the rate I'm washing the cars now to keep them perfect during my initial paint correction work, I'm going through washing-related products quickly. It won't take long.