noob Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Hey Guys, Noob here..... I have been seeing a lot of videos and everyone speaks about the first time you take care of your car. 2 bucket wash, clay, compound, polish and wax. Once this is done the first time, how do you continue to take care of it. The next week do I just do the 2 bucket wash and fix it up with detail spray or do I put polish and then wax it. or your not supposed to polish anymore and only wax it????? How regularly can you polish and wax the car. Is it done only after 3 or 4 months?????????? :help: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Anand! To keep your paint looking good after polishing, doing a 2 bucket wash will help prevent scratches and swirls. Depending if your car is garaged or lives outside you can polish & wax 2-4 times a year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noob Posted October 14, 2011 Author Share Posted October 14, 2011 Thanks mate. Cheers Noob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frid Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Welcome. If you need any more help this is the place to come Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 To better answer your question, you must fully understand what each product does in order to know when it is necessary to use any of the products. When it comes to detailing, every aspect of it has a gauge. Let's use hygiene as an example. Because you understand what taking a shower is and how it benefits you, there is no question in your mind as to when it is necessary or how often you should do it. One gauge that says that it is time for you to shower is, "Am I funky?" If you sit down on a bus and everyone around you gets up, hold their nose and moves away from you, then you are probably funky and thus, need a shower. If you look at yourself and see dirt all over your body after a muddy game of football, then you probably need a shower. All you have to do is look or smell yourself and those two gauges (eyes and nose), tell you that it is time for a shower. The Adam's products that you use to fix your paint have specific purposes. Some products within a given family of products will do the same thing, but on different levels. For example, SSR, SHR and FMP are all polishes that remove scratches but they vary in strength. You choose the product to use on your paint depending on what you are trying to address. For example, let's say there is a light scuff on your paint from a rubber hose that gently brushed up against the car. In the Adam's product line, the steps that are available to you on a spotlessly clean car, in order are: Clay - for removing contaminates from the clear coat. SSR - for removing extreme swirls and haze. SHR - for removing light to moderate swirls and haze. FMP - for removing extremely light swirls or scuffs. Wax of your choice. (this list applies to machine polishing and not hand polishing) So you're working with a brand new car, or a car that you have already used these products on to get your paint flawless. Are you going to break them all out and do the entire routine all over again for one little light scuff mark? Of course not! Your eyes are the gauge and as you are looking at the damage in your paint, you can see that all you will probably need is the FMP because it addresses the situation that you are staring at. You only do what is necessary to address the problem at hand. You don't continually do the entire process to your paint over and over and over again. If you have to constantly repeat the entire process, then you are doing something VERY WRONG whenever you are touching your paint. Remember, this process is slowly removing the top most layer of your clear coat and you only have so much clear coat on the car. Thus, you want to only remove what is necessary to make the paint as flawless as is acceptable to you. From that point forward, you never do the things that created damage in the first place. Now the PC-7424XP is NOT going to remove any amount of clear coat very fast, and that is why it is such a safe tool for the novice detailer. Even still, clear coat is what protects your paint and you want every micron of it to remain on the car as possible. So in the situation that I gave you above, you would only need to use the FMP and then add the wax of your choice (anytime you polish, you always follow that with wax as the polish removes any wax you may have previously applied). So as you can see, what you do to your paint at any time totally depends on what your gauge (your eyes or finger tips), tell you. In the case of clay, it is your finger tips in the plastic bag that is your gauge. So use your gauges to determine what is necessary in maintaining your paint and use the 2-bucket wash technique to minimize paint damage and the possibility of having to constantly cut clear coat off the car. As you can see, this isn't rocket science, it's simply common sense. Hell, a caveman could do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frid Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I don't think anyone could have said it better . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noob Posted October 16, 2011 Author Share Posted October 16, 2011 Thanks for the detailed explanation guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StormChaser Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Welcome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 Welcome!!! He didn't say "hot girls", just "guys". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
70'sChevyGirl Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 :hi: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAYBEN Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 welcome Anand! :worth: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjwoolw Posted October 21, 2011 Share Posted October 21, 2011 Welcome aboard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corners Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Anand!To keep your paint looking good after polishing, doing a 2 bucket wash will help prevent scratches and swirls. Depending if your car is garaged or lives outside you can polish & wax 2-4 times a year! Removing wax/polish: There is or was a post about when to "remove" or perhaps replace the wax/polish on your vehicle. I tried to find it but couldn't. So my question is this. Is there a time when one should do this and if so how often and what is the process? With my 2004 Harley, since the first day I bought it I have waxed and polished it using just about everything new product that came on the market. If I didn't like the results with one product I'd go and find another. Two months ago I spent five days detailing this Harley with Adam's products. Put them right over all the other dozens and dozens of wax/polish and the outcome as we all know was fantastic. BUT, not once have I ever removed any of the old wax/polish. This includes what I use on the chrome too. When I detailed it, I gave it the "should I clay test." Not a rough spot on the entire bike and I never have clayed it. So IF there is a time to remove the products from the wife's car and after I get a few coats of Adam's products on my new truck I'm waiting for, again, should I remove and start all over again? Tks for any information you can give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 So IF there is a time to remove the products from the wife's car and after I get a few coats of Adam's products on my new truck I'm waiting for, again, should I remove and start all over again? Tks for any information you can give me. You should ALWAYS strip any previous product off of your car or bike BEFORE moving to another product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mc2hill Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 You should ALWAYS strip any previous product off of your car or bike BEFORE moving to another product. And in your case probably with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (or IPA). Mix the IPA about 50/50 with water. Spray on an area and wipe with a microfiber cloth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 And in your case probably with isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol (or IPA). Mix the IPA about 50/50 with water. Spray on an area and wipe with a microfiber cloth. He can achieve the results he needs with a good ol' Dawn wash. Wiping on an entire car doing it the way you're describing is inviting swirl production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corners Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 You should ALWAYS strip any previous product off of your car or bike BEFORE moving to another product. Tks AJ and others who gave me information. I guess I didn't make myself clear. I'm not talking about having "other" products put on the wife's car and then replacing that with Adam's. What I'm curious about is this: "Does there come a time, after USING Adam's products for quite awhile, on a vehicle, that you should strip it and then again, using Adam's products, start all over again. Maybe I should use the term "wax build-up." How many times do you continue to wax/polish with Adam's products before you might? have to strip it? I can honestly say, with the Harley motorcycle, it has NEVER had any soap or running water applied to it. I simply use the hotest water I can, use a M/Fiber towel and wipe all the dust/bugs off of it. NO, there isn't and never has been any type of swirl marks left on the paint by doing this. When I first received my big order from Adam's, I tried some of the products out on the Harley. The shine I currently have may not be as shiny as most of the vehicles on this form but it would be close. That includes the chrome too. Everything on this bike has been on it since I bought it new in 2004. And as I said, I've used every wax/polish from A - Z on it without removing any of it. To me, that just proves how great Adam's products are. So with all of that in mind, and having detailed the Mercedes twice since the middle of Sept, 2011 and will be detailing my new truck when it arrives many times, is there a point when one needs to take off the old wax/polish? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 First off, wax does wear off. If you are only applying wax after it wears quite a while, you should not see any adverse affects from doing so. The only reason that I would strip off a product if I am not changing brands is if I see some type of adverse affect. For example, if I had a white bike and it had painted saddle bags that I didn't use too often. I waxed the biked and skirts using a carnuba paste type product. Since I hardly used the skirts, I didn't always wax them every time that I waxed the bike. When I finally did go to use the skirts, I noticed that they were whiter than the bike and that the bike had a slight yellow change of color to it. This is a characteristic of some carnuba waxes (I haven't seen this with Americana). In that case, I would strip the bike and start over again. If you are not seeing any adverse characteristics, don't worry about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corners Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 First off, wax does wear off. If you are only applying wax after it wears quite a while, you should not see any adverse affects from doing so. The only reason that I would strip off a product if I am not changing brands is if I see some type of adverse affect. For example, if I had a white bike and it had painted saddle bags that I didn't use too often. I waxed the biked and skirts using a carnuba paste type product. Since I hardly used the skirts, I didn't always wax them every time that I waxed the skirts. When I finally did go to use the skirts, I noticed that they were whiter than the bike and that the bike had a slight yellow change of color to it. This is a characteristic of some carnuba waxes (I haven't seen this with Americana). In that case, I would strip the bike and start over again. If you are not seeing any adverse characteristics, don't worry about it. Many Tks AJ! With the bike I've used wax and also sealants. Many times in the past I've detailed the bike (before I started using Adam's products) and when done, didn't like the outcome. I then drove to an auto parts store, bought a different type of wax/polish, came right back home and applied that right over what I previously did. No, I've never had any type of adverse problems with this bike/procedures. So based on your usual fantastic information, I am not going to worry about the Mercedes or the new truck for a long time - unless I mess something up. BTW, with the water spotting problems I had with the Mercedes awhile back, I watched one of your video's last night that dealt with that problem. Well that video and a dozen others. Between Adam's and your video's, a guy can get brain overload but all of them contain so much wonderful information. Tks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 When it comes to brain overload, here's what I tell people. Pick a product and master it. Chasing a shine is like a dog chasing his tail. You'll never catch it if you never master one brand of product. You can never achieve expert results with a product the first time you use it because you are not an expert with that product. Always keep that in mind when you hear a negative critique about a product. Ask yourself, "Is that person an expert, an expert with that line or just a poor Joe like me?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corners Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 When it comes to brain overload, here's what I tell people. Pick a product and master it. Chasing a shine is like a dog chasing his tail. You'll never catch it if you never master one brand of product. You can never achieve expert results with a product the first time you use it because you are not an expert with that product. Always keep that in mind when you hear a negative critique about a product. Ask yourself, "Is that person an expert, an expert with that line or just a poor Joe like me?" AJ: Ya just keep amazing me with knowledge - useful knowledge that is greatly appreciated. And to think at one time you were a "Marine." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GXPaycheck Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Hey Guys, Noob here..... I have been seeing a lot of videos and everyone speaks about the first time you take care of your car. 2 bucket wash, clay, compound, polish and wax. Once this is done the first time, how do you continue to take care of it. The next week do I just do the 2 bucket wash and fix it up with detail spray or do I put polish and then wax it. or your not supposed to polish anymore and only wax it????? How regularly can you polish and wax the car. Is it done only after 3 or 4 months?????????? :help: So, Holden or Ford? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junkman2008 Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 ... And to think at one time you were a "Marine." Just to think... 30 years ago, you would have gotten a beatin' over that one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueGenCoupe Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Anand. Junkman nailed it.. he made everyone elses post irrelevant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corners Posted January 28, 2012 Share Posted January 28, 2012 Just to think... 30 years ago, you would have gotten a beatin' over that one! Thirty years ago I was "still" throwing Marines out of bars, through windows or doors. You Marines were taught all that hand to hand fighting. Us Sailors were self taught to use beer bottles and chairs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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