Detail done: Lessons learned + questions about towels + pad damage

[Coderedpl]

Well last weekend I finally did it after having the products for over a year, my brother and I did some paint correction on his 2002 Audi A4. We only went up to the Swirl & Haze Remover as the swirls and scratches weren't THAT bad.

 

First things first is the lessons I learned:

- Although I had a canopy that had the sides open and we were on a new concrete driveway, doing this in the rain is NOT suggested. We couldn't fit the entire car under so its covered without rain falling so we had to do half of the car completely, and then go on to the other half.

- Rain also makes it a pain for the extension cords to stay clean, for the pads to not get wet

- TAPE OFF THE RUBBER PARTS and seals around windows and such, including sunroof. Pads got dirty extremely quick

- Have a spare set of pads incase the situation above arises and you need to wash the pad. It will NOT dry off very quickly =/

 

 

Questions:

I made the mistake of not having setting up a separate bucket to put the dirty towels in and since I didn't tape off the seals and such, towels also got dirty quickly.

 

So now, at least one of each of my towels has dark marks/spotting on it. I also washed the great white with some other blue drying towels I had and they got colored =/

 

Towels affected: Glass cleaner, drying, single/double soft, waterless

 

1. Will my towels ever be 100% white again?

2. I already soaked them apc the microfiber restorer thing I have (the one adams sells is going to be ordered on next batch!!) washed them twice in the machine, and they've gotten slightly better, if i was to use them again, will i screw up my paint and cause swirls or is this just different coloring and I shouldn't be worried?

3. One of my focus pads disintegrated when I was doing the door handle, the rest of them are completely fine and I used them the same way. Has this happened to anyone (pictures below)

4. Anything I can do to bring them back to their clean state?

 

 

Pictures:

 

Not sure what else I can ask, so that's it for now!

[THE Mook]

Towels-

Those stains are in the fiber. Some of my GWT have them, I still use them. I think you are okay to use the towel as long as you didn't use fabric softener.

 

Pads-

That little Focus guy is dead. That's a lesson that only takes one time to learn.

 

__________________________________

Advice going forward:

 

In an effort to keep the detail pace brisk, and to the point, maybe next time focus on two or three panels of the vehicle for that day, if you are going to continue to detail in the setting like that. Then the next day, two or three more, then the next weekend, so on and so fourth, until the car is complete.

 

Mook

[ginger]

did you clean and claybar the car before?

 

they shouldnt get that dirty

[Blazer15]

I learned to tape of the trim too. The pads get black really fast if they touch them.

[Coderedpl]

Towels-

Those stains are in the fiber. Some of my GWT have them, I still use them. I think you are okay to use the towel as long as you didn't use fabric softener.

 

Pads-

That little Focus guy is dead. That's a lesson that only takes one time to learn.

 

__________________________________

Advice going forward:

 

In an effort to keep the detail pace brisk, and to the point, maybe next time focus on two or three panels of the vehicle for that day, if you are going to continue to detail in the setting like that. Then the next day, two or three more, then the next weekend, so on and so fourth, until the car is complete.

 

Mook

 

I'll last with the heat but the rain was a mistake. Next time I do a car it will be during good weather unless I clean up my garage by that time.

 

 

did you clean and claybar the car before?

 

they shouldnt get that dirty

Yes I did. It was very smooth, so smooth to the point I couldn't put a bottle on the car because it would slide off.

 

I have a feeling they got dirty from the trim and i might of even touched the tires when I was drying.

 

 

I learned to tape of the trim too. The pads get black really fast if they touch them.

No kidding. Not making the same mistake twice especially if I don't have backup pads

[Redvenm]

Well last weekend I finally did it after having the products for over a year, my brother and I did some paint correction on his 2002 Audi A4. We only went up to the Swirl & Haze Remover as the swirls and scratches weren't THAT bad.

 

First things first is the lessons I learned:

- Although I had a canopy that had the sides open and we were on a new concrete driveway, doing this in the rain is NOT suggested. We couldn't fit the entire car under so its covered without rain falling so we had to do half of the car completely, and then go on to the other half.

- Rain also makes it a pain for the extension cords to stay clean, for the pads to not get wet

- TAPE OFF THE RUBBER PARTS and seals around windows and such, including sunroof. Pads got dirty extremely quick

- Have a spare set of pads incase the situation above arises and you need to wash the pad. It will NOT dry off very quickly =/

 

 

Questions:

I made the mistake of not having setting up a separate bucket to put the dirty towels in and since I didn't tape off the seals and such, towels also got dirty quickly.

 

So now, at least one of each of my towels has dark marks/spotting on it. I also washed the great white with some other blue drying towels I had and they got colored =/

 

Towels affected: Glass cleaner, drying, single/double soft, waterless

 

1. Will my towels ever be 100% white again? Probably not

2. I already soaked them apc the microfiber restorer thing I have (the one adams sells is going to be ordered on next batch!!) washed them twice in the machine, and they've gotten slightly better, if i was to use them again, will i screw up my paint and cause swirls or is this just different coloring and I shouldn't be worried? You should be fine, hopefully you did not use softner

3. One of my focus pads disintegrated when I was doing the door handle, the rest of them are completely fine and I used them the same way. Has this happened to anyone (pictures below) Been there done that

4. Anything I can do to bring them back to their clean state? Unfortunately probably not.

 

 

Pictures:

 

Not sure what else I can ask, so that's it for now!

 

See above and come back when you have more questions and need !!!

[Coderedpl]

See above and come back when you have more questions and need !!!

 

No fabric softener used. I read the microfiber care topic before washing. It was a mistake of use rather than washing.

 

Next time I'll have a pre-soak bucket ready with APC + Revitalizer

 

As long as the discoloration won't have an effect on their effectiveness then ill live with it its kind of misleading since you want to think they're not ok when they are.

[Bunky]

You always need to have extra pads -- stuff happens.

[Team Adam's]

You always need to have extra pads -- stuff happens.

 

 

The towels may come back PARTIALLY... the dye transfer from the blue towel probably wont' come out, but it'll fade over time. The dark spots from rubbing the towel on your trim... thats a maybe. I've seen MFR&B take out darker stains than that, but it comes down to what the stain actually is.

 

If it came from your trim theres a good chance its a combo of oxidized rubber and old dressings. That can be a stubborn combo.

[Coderedpl]

 

The towels may come back PARTIALLY... the dye transfer from the blue towel probably wont' come out, but it'll fade over time. The dark spots from rubbing the towel on your trim... thats a maybe. I've seen MFR&B take out darker stains than that, but it comes down to what the stain actually is.

 

If it came from your trim theres a good chance its a combo of oxidized rubber and old dressings. That can be a stubborn combo.

 

But in the end it won't really affect the effectiveness of the towel correct? So i didnt destroy them...

[Team Adam's]

Not really... the dye transfer won't hurt anything other than making them look funky... the dark stains aren't a problem assuming theres no large particulate mixed in with it.

[Coderedpl]

Not really... the dye transfer won't hurt anything other than making them look funky... the dark stains aren't a problem assuming theres no large particulate mixed in with it.

 

I rinsed them out a few times and then threw them in the wash. I'll probably run them through the wash again just to be safe considering they sat around for 2 days =/

[MAYBEN]

When you wash, you should make sure you wash the trim more, the stains look a little excessive..

 

overall, live and learn

[Doug123]

You might try soaking those towels in a couple ounces of APC in a bucket for a day or so and see if that helps. Since they have been dried, I am guessing that it may not have a lot of effect on them.

 

I have also found that (yeah, in retrospect) keeping them wet after they get stained helps, so if they get black marks, I toss them into a bucket of water with a couple ounces of APC, let them soak, and then wash them the next day. (For the record, I haven't used the Adams microfiber cleaner yet.)

 

Also had very good luck (before washing them) in doing spot treating with straight APC. (you use what you have). I would bet that those will come out eventually. It's tough getting those towels near a tire. I usually use my Blaster sidekick do dry the sidewalls, or an old Tshirt that I can toss afterwards. That tire and rubber molding carbon really hangs on.

[Coderedpl]

I did shoot some apc on the spots, actually enough for me to need a refill soon lol and they sat in a bucket with apc and the revilatizer for a few hours before being washed.

 

Tomorrow I'm just going to give all my towels a proper wash again, separately off course

[DaveVY]

Also had very good luck (before washing them) in doing spot treating with straight APC. (you use what you have). I would bet that those will come out eventually. It's tough getting those towels near a tire. I usually use my Blaster sidekick do dry the sidewalls, or an old Tshirt that I can toss afterwards. That tire and rubber molding carbon really hangs on.

 

I do this also, spraying with straight APC, and then I do NOT put it in a bucket but let it dry until it is ready to be washed. I do have a few stains but nothing quite as dark as what you show in your pics. I would expect that if you treat those spots with straight APC each time you use the towels and let it sit without dilution (not putting them in a bucket of water), that the stains will lighten over time.

 

Also a great idea to keep the tires away from the tires!

 

[BlueGenCoupe]

Having an extra set of pads is the best plan. My question is, how did the door handle do that to the pad? wow!

 

The towels changing colors b/c you mixed them is not a big deal. It wont do any hard to the paint. to get those nasty stains out from the trim, try this:

 

1)Spray the area Liberally with APC And with a scrub brush(similar to the carpet brush) scub the stain...

2)fill up a bucket with warm water throw the towels in, and put 2 ounces of APC and 2 Ounces of MF revitalizer.

3)Spray the water and let the water suds up a bit.

 

If there is only WHITE TOWELS in the bucket...throw a little bleach, if not just do what I mentioned above.

 

4)Let them sit in the bucket for a couple days

5)wash them by hand and they should be stain free!

 

My towels get black like that all the time..this is what I do to wash them and they are still soft and don't cause any harm to my paint!

Edited July 28, 2012 by BlueGenCoupe

[Coderedpl]

Having an extra set of pads is the best plan. My question is, how did the door handle do that to the pad? wow!

 

The towels changing colors b/c you mixed them is not a big deal. It wont do any hard to the paint. to get those nasty stains out from the trim, try this:

 

1)Spray the area Liberally with APC And with a scrub brush(similar to the carpet brush) scub the stain...

2)fill up a bucket with warm water throw the towels in, and put 2 ounces of APC and 2 Ounces of MF revitalizer.

3)Spray the water and let the water suds up a bit.

 

If there is only WHITE TOWELS in the bucket...throw a little bleach, if not just do what I mentioned above.

 

4)Let them sit in the bucket for a couple days

5)wash them by hand and they should be stain free!

 

My towels get black like that all the time..this is what I do to wash them and they are still soft and don't cause any harm to my paint!

I will try this at a later time when I stock up on extra pads and get a few more towels.

 

I honestly have no idea how that happened to the pad as I wasn't even pushing it hard or anything. This is just weird =O