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What have you learned?

Team Adam's

Asked by Team Adam's,

What was your big pre-Adam's goof?  

84 members have voted

  1. 1. What was your big pre-Adam's goof?

    • Trying to remove swirls by hand?
      8
    • Using too much polish?
      6
    • Washing with dish soap all the time?
      6
    • Using low quality towels?
      16
    • Not claying before detailing?
      2
    • Not using a grit guard?
      8
    • Washing bottom to top?
      0
    • Using metal polish on clear coated wheels?
      4
    • Improper care of towels or pads?
      2
    • Other (explain)
      9
    • All the Above!
      23

Question

30 answers to this question

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Dv3andrs

Dv3andrs

Posted
Posted

I used many off the shelf products trying to get the results I wanted. Never got what I was looking for with that stuff though. I made the switch to Adams and have not looked back since! I've gotten a couple of my buddies to try some of the stuff, but they don't think the price is worth it. Oh well, their loss!

I used to do the whole dish soap wash, that's what my parents taught me, then my uncle taught me to use laundry detergent, said it wasn't as bad for the clear coat. I do say that it made his semi and his pickup look nice, just a really weird thing to do with it.

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b_pappy

b_pappy

Posted
Posted

I had been watching this thread for a while, but as I learn technique and it becomes natural I forget what I was doing before. So this weekend we detailed my son's car. He moved out probably 6 tears ago, did 4 years in Navy and all that, so I haven't watched him wash a car in quite a while. Well watching him this weekend I had to un-train everything almost I had taught him in the first 18 years of his life on how to wash cars. It wasn't awful, but I certainly showed him a lot of new and better technique. From starting with the wheels first, working in linear motions, the Foam Gun (!). Then we did a full paint correction using all the latest Adam's products. It was fun working with him and his car came out absolutely fantastic. I know, where are the pictures? As soon as we were done we went to his Grandmas, and now he's gone already, busy life and all...

It was a fun day working with him and seeing how great his car (2010 Cruze in silver) came out. Man, that GM paint looks wet.

Bruce

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matts88yj

matts88yj

Posted
Posted

I did many things wrong but the biggest was not using the correct product. Adam's has shown me the light and now my customer details are turning out better than ever. They are all blown away with how amazing they look that one customer of mine actually parked his in the garage for the entire winter, bought a beater 4x4 and drove that until spring!

 

One of the better tips I picked up was spraying down the car with the detail spray before drying it off. That alone helps a ton with drying but also makes it look great if all you do is a wash.

 

Thank you Adam's and other forum members for showing me the light!!

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fortplainman

fortplainman

Posted
Posted

i cant really say that my dad and i had any goofs before i switched to adams, but ill say that i have changed my look on detailing for the better.

 

sure i didnt have a grit guard or have double soft towels, but i always had towels that were similar as well as making sure my wash pad was always clean from contaminants. maybe a goof could be using a california blade that could cause scratches, but we took care of our detailing stuff the way my dad would when he used to show his camaro.

 

i am still learning all different products as well as the techniques used to use them.

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THE Mook

THE Mook

Posted
Posted

I've learned more from the people here than I have perhaps while I was in school. Is it because this stuff is my wheelhouse? That certainly helps--but still, whether it was cleaning up my wash technique, or shining up my polishing technique (always room to improve), or simple little things like using unsolved BG on pinetar and such....

 

I am just thankful and fortunate that I am here.

 

Mook

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ChuckG

ChuckG

Posted
Posted

The most important item I learned on the forum is just how important using a polish on your paint before applying a sealant/wax. The Fine Machine Polish brought out a new richness that I never saw in my black paint before. I still look at my car and think, "man that paint is really black!"

 

I can't say enough about how important it is to polish your vehicle using a true polish.

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ktn65

ktn65

Posted
Posted

The one thing I learned is I will never have the time to get perfection on my vehicles. Currently they are daily drivers that sit out side. And with 2 kids plus one on the way, I'm lucky if I get 2 hours a week.

 

But the simplicity of Adam's products makes it easier to get pretty good results. :cheers:

 

The big change in my washing sequence that I learned from the video was to wash the tires, wheels, and wheel wells first before doing a top down wash of the shiny stuff. (Paint, Chrome and Trim)

 

And really there is a whole lot more that I did and still do wrong. But I am learning. :)

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InDepthAutoDetailing

InDepthAutoDetailing

Posted
Posted

Being honest, before Adams I had no clue on true detailing. That was only a year ago. Let me see if I can remember some of my old habits.

 

As for swirls, I thought they were just a fact of life and could be covered up with OTC products.

 

Polishing, pfft, if you can cover them up why polish. Never really kept a vehicle long enough for it to start to fade.

 

I never used dish soap. I always used Megs and thought it was the best thing in the world.

 

I never used bath towels to dry with. I had a leather chamois.

 

I did use the nasty shiny stuff on the tires.

 

I always rinsed out my sponge when I was done washing a would place it on the concrete and step on it to ring it out.

 

I always did my tires and wheels last. That way I didn't have to wash the car with the dirty water from the tires.

 

Never even heard of a grit guard or the 2 bucket wash method until Adams.

 

That's all I can think of now.

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00z71lt

00z71lt

Posted
Posted

Now that I look back on the whole picture, I can see all kinds of things I was doing wrong.

Like: using the same bucket for wheels/tires and the paint.

Using a brush on an extend-able handle cause I was too lazy to use a mitt.

Drying with a bath towel or the absorber chamois.

Never claying before waxing.

Never even thought to use a PC.

The end all be all of wrong: using the brush at DIY carwashes!:loser:

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AngryPolska

AngryPolska

Posted
Posted
Pretty much all the above. Getting a black car will make you step up your car maintenance game really quick. Plus, going to car shows and seeing REALLY beautiful black paint makes it happen.

 

For real ^

 

Purchase a black vehicle or two and it'll change your whole mindset.

 

I voted "other" in the poll.

 

I look back at my terrible wash habits, and think "omg, I can't believe I used to do that"

 

Drying your car with a regular old bath towel, after washing in the public hand car wash with a nasty, dirty, grit filled wash wand.

 

Never claying, ever. And never applying wax, ever.

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Marylander

Marylander

Posted
Posted

I tired so many auto-parts store polishes and waxes and never got the "wow" pop I'd hoped for. Honestly, back then I didn't even realize I was supposed to be preventing, looking for and correcting swirls... I figured a good wax made all those invisible. Oh, how wrong I was... :lol:

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Guest Gone & Forgotten

Guest Gone & Forgotten

Posted
Posted

I never used 'dish soap' to wash a car, always used some top-shelf stuff from the auto parts department. I think back to the 'wax as u dry' stuff and wow... was I stupid. Never liked armor all or other oily protectants, but always applied using a clean paint brush, then wiping off the excess after 5 min. or so. Never bothered waxing and was prone to using those wash brushes with telescoping handles from Costco. (still use them on the boss' work vans... who cares about swirls in those hoopties).

 

Never touched a polisher, never eyeballed one of those polishers at walmart that look like a steering wheel for a Playstation, only 'tool' I used was the magic ball or whatever it's called for my wheels.

 

Never used a claybar, detail spray, fire hose nozzle, glass sealant.

 

I did use Microfiber, if you call those bulk-packs from the big wholesale clubs Microfiber.

 

Used Back-To-Black on the faded stuff. It comes with a 5-50 warranty. 5 Minutes or 50 feet away.

 

Being an Adam's Detail Junkie has enlightened me to all that I've been doing wrong for soooo long (I'm 40 and have had 38 cars). I still learn more everyday.

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