Adamized the Raptor

[pirahnah3]

Great work! Awesome write up as well. 

 

Maybe you will have another convert after that? 

[TheWolf]

Great work! Awesome write up as well. 

 

Maybe you will have another convert after that? 

 

Thanks Jim!

 

Yes, he's on the Adam's Shine Train now!

[Ls1transam]

Beautiful truck

[Ls1transam]

Amazing work on that Porshe sir!! Well done. I love write ups like this.

[TheWolf]

Mounted two 14" Air King fans near the front corners of the garage to blow hot air out, while the 20" fan in the front of the garage door blows air in.

 

In the morning, I open both garage doors and let the fans run for about 5 minutes to cool the garage off before it gets hot out.

 

 

 

Here is an older photo of the 20" fan on a DIY mount in front of the door opening.

 

[stripesace]

I need to do something to get the hot air out of my garage. Since I've insulated my garage door I've gotten a good consistent temperature in the garage, but at times the air just kind of sits. I've been struggling with what kind of fan do I put in there to get air moving. 

[Mariner]

This makes me miss my black Raptor a little bit... but then I realize how much less time it takes to do a thorough detail on my white 4Runner and it makes me smile again!

 

Beautiful truck, Dan! This thread is what started my Adam's addiction back on the Raptor forum. 

[TheWolf]

I need to do something to get the hot air out of my garage. Since I've insulated my garage door I've gotten a good consistent temperature in the garage, but at times the air just kind of sits. I've been struggling with what kind of fan do I put in there to get air moving. 

 

The Air Kings are great fans.  The bigger ones really move a lot of air, and they are not too loud.

 

I think it helps when mounting the fans to add some vibration isolation with rubber washers.  I mounted these with a washer-sandwich, starting at the ceiling with a steel washer, then a nylon washer to make spinning the fan easier, then a rubber washer against the mounting arm.  On the other side of the mounting arm: rubber washer, nylon washer, steel washer, lock nut.

 

To make installation easier, I used 3/8" hanger bolts, which are threaded machine bolts on one end, and lag bolt on the other end.  Installing the lag portion into a wood truss first leaves the machine threaded portion exposed for mounting with the washers and nut.

 

This makes me miss my black Raptor a little bit... but then I realize how much less time it takes to do a thorough detail on my white 4Runner and it makes me smile again!

 

Beautiful truck, Dan! This thread is what started my Adam's addiction back on the Raptor forum. 

 

I miss your black Raptor, too!  

[H20burycharger]

Wow.... Wow.... Dan you are full of ideas and passion for a clean ride! You are by far a Detail King! Very nice write ups for sure!!

[TheWolf]

Wow.... Wow.... Dan you are full of ideas and passion for a clean ride! You are by far a Detail King! Very nice write ups for sure!!

 

Thank you Sam!

[Rich]

Mounted two 14" Air King fans near the front corners of the garage to blow hot air out, while the 20" fan in the front of the garage door blows air in.

 

In the morning, I open both garage doors and let the fans run for about 5 minutes to cool the garage off before it gets hot out.

 

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Here is an older photo of the 20" fan on a DIY mount in front of the door opening.

 

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It sucks to be you, doesn't it?    

 

I spent the day nailing and gluing my wood garage door back together!      Nice set up Dan.  

[TheWolf]

It sucks to be you, doesn't it?    

 

I spent the day nailing and gluing my wood garage door back together!      Nice set up Dan.  

 

It doesn't suck, it BLOWS!    As in nearly 7000 cubic feet of air moved per minute!

[Ls1transam]

..

[clg82]

It sucks to be you, doesn't it?    

 

I spent the day nailing and gluing my wood garage door back together!      Nice set up Dan.  

 

It's ok you still win...you don't own a Ford

[TheWolf]

It's ok you still win...you don't own a Ford

 

[Rich]

It's ok you still win...you don't own a Ford

 

       

[clg82]

[avimore]

Hey Dan, new to detailing and just finished reading your entire thread... WOW!

 

Thanks for all the hard work you put into these write-ups.

 

I have a question about the Rinseless Wash/Car Wash Shampoo mixture you use in the Venus spray bottle...  I'm wondering if this mixture would also work by using Waterless Wash instead of Rinseless Wash?  Or is there a specific reason why you use Rinseless?

 

Thanks.

[TheWolf]

Hey Dan, new to detailing and just finished reading your entire thread... WOW!

 

Thanks for all the hard work you put into these write-ups.

 

I have a question about the Rinseless Wash/Car Wash Shampoo mixture you use in the Venus spray bottle... I'm wondering if this mixture would also work by using Waterless Wash instead of Rinseless Wash? Or is there a specific reason why you use Rinseless?

 

Thanks.

Thanks Ed, I'm glad you found the info here useful.

 

While you could use Waterless Wash instead of Rinseless Wash for the pre-soak, it would get really expensive. I typically use the full liter of solution for a front-end pre-soak, so using straight Waterless Wash with some Car Wash Shampoo mixed in would be costly.

 

The Rinseless Wash is a concentrate, so just a few ounces of it with a few ounces of Car Wash Shampoo mixed in with a liter of water is pretty cheap.

 

If you tried to dilute the Waterless Wash with water the same way, it would not be effective.

[avimore]

Thanks Ed, I'm glad you found the info here useful.

 

While you could use Waterless Wash instead of Rinseless Wash for the pre-soak, it would get really expensive. I typically use the full liter of solution for a front-end pre-soak, so using straight Waterless Wash with some Car Wash Shampoo mixed in would be costly.

 

The Rinseless Wash is a concentrate, so just a few ounces of it with a few ounces of Car Wash Shampoo mixed in with a liter of water is pretty cheap.

 

If you tried to dilute the Waterless Wash with water the same way, it would not be effective.

 

Ok great, I understand now.  I wasn't aware that Rinseless is a concentrate, which makes sense on why you only have to use a few ounces mixed with CWS and water.

 

Thanks for the info!

[AvsBest]

Matte Vinyl Cleaning and Protection

 

Last month, a buddy from the Ford Raptor Forum brought his very impressive Raptor over so we could work on getting his matte vinyl cleaned up and protected.

 

Started with a full wash using the pressure washer and foam cannon, then dried with the Master Blaster.

 

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After pulling it into the garage, we wiped down all the vinyl with Waterless Wash to clean off any remaining gunk, and to see what else was left behind. The wipe showed some additional bug guts and vertical streaks from some trim dressing.

 

To get all that cleaned out, we hand polished the vinyl with Revive Polish and Blue Hex Grip Applicators, then wiped off the residue with Waterless Wash.

 

To give the vinyl some protection, we applied H2O Guard & Gloss using the "Dry Application Method". In this method, the product is sprayed onto a wet towel, then wiped evenly onto the vinyl. Since matte vinyl is porous, just spraying the product directly onto the vinyl can lead to an uneven application that looks blotchy or streaky.

 

At the same time, we applied the H2O Guard & Gloss to the rest of the truck: paint, plastic and rubber trim, and glass. We then switched to some lower grade plush towels to apply to the wheels and to the Line-X on the flares, running boards, and light tower.

 

Since the matte vinyl is a little tricky with this product, there were still some streaks from the wiping. To address these, we went back over all the vinyl with a slightly damp portion of a clean towel, then wiped with a dry portion of the clean towel. Any more stubborn streaks were evened out with a damp towel that had just a few sprays of H2O Guard & Gloss. The small amount of product kind of reactivates the sealant to even it out.

 

20160521_153557c.jpg

 

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20160521_153631.jpg

 

Some additional tips for matte vinyl:

 

A neutral pH shampoo like Adam's Car Wash Shampoo is very important, since this is the product that will be used often to clean the vinyl.

 

Never wash, clean or apply products to vinyl when it is hot to the touch. Allow the vinyl to cool down and work in the shade or a garage.

 

Do not use abrasive polishes, clay bar, or machine polish matte vinyl.

 

When hand polishing with Revive, be careful along the edges to prevent build-up. Apply the product along the edges, not back-and-forth across the edges.

 

When trying to clean off visible stains or residue that are not removed by washing, start with the least aggressive method first: Waterless Wash wipe-down after a wash, Revive Hand Polish, or Brilliant Glaze. While the most stubborn stains might required diluted All Purpose Cleaner or diluted isopropyl alcohol, these two products should only be used as a last resort, since they can both cause damage if not done properly.

 

It takes some work and technique to apply the H2O Guard & Gloss. Another easier option for protection is VRT Dressing, but since it is water-based, it will only last a few washes or rains, while the H2O Guard & Gloss will provide about two months of protection.

 

20160521_165541.jpg

 

 

What is your take on VRT on such a large area. Obviously you wouldn't do that on your whole truck but let's say someone only has the entire hood wrapped. I tried on my buddy and even though it worked fine, it was next to impossible to get an even finish given the size of the area to cover.

[TheWolf]

What is your take on VRT on such a large area. Obviously you wouldn't do that on your whole truck but let's say someone only has the entire hood wrapped. I tried on my buddy and even though it worked fine, it was next to impossible to get an even finish given the size of the area to cover.

 

It can take some effort to get an even application of the VRT on matte vinyl.

 

If it looks uneven once you apply the VRT to the entire hood, try going back over the whole hood with a plush microfiber towel that is slightly damp with distilled water, then buff with a dry towel.

 

Another option you might try is to make some VRT milk by mixing 1:1 with distilled water, and apply with the applicator, then buff out with the dry towel while the surface of the vinyl is still wet with the product.

[TheWolf]

Finally got around to upgrading the lighting in the garage.

 

I started by replacing all the halogen bulbs in the 15 canister lights to LED bulbs (9W 4000K wide floods).  The light from these is whiter than the halogen bulbs, and they will not create all the heat that the old bulbs did.  These canister lights provide task lighting over the counters and above some of the stationary tools in the garage.

 

 

 

Next up was lots of lighting for detailing.  I chose the Utilitech Pro twin-tube 4-foot strip lights from Lowes.  These provide 3600 lumens using 40 watts, at a color temp of 4000K.  The selling point for me was the ability to link these together, end-to-end, with included connectors, which eliminates the need to have a ceiling junction box for each fixture.

 

Given the level of investment, and not quite sure how many I would need (even with calcs of lumens per square foot), I did a test install on the single car side of the garage with four of the fixtures.  The light output and color was good, and I ended up adding two more fixtures to this side for a total of six.

 

 

 

On the larger side of the garage, where I detail the Raptor and Explorer, I started with two rows down each side, each with five fixtures.  After installing these and evaluating the light level (for fear of having too much light and being blinded), I decided that the front and rear of the space needed more light, to give even light all the way around the vehicle.  I then added two more 4-foot fixtures, and a single 2-foot fixture to each end.  This resulted in a rectangle of light measuring 20-feet long by 10-feet wide.

 

 

 

In this area, there used to be four round surface-mount ceiling lights. In order to mount the new fistures where I wanted them, I could not use the old boxes, so I cut-in four new single-gang junction boxes for each run of lights, then pulled new wire from the old boxes to feed the new fixtures.  This is where the linkable lights saved lots of work, as it would have taken much more work to cut-in and wire 16 new junction boxes.

 

The strip lights and canister lights are on different switches, so they can be used as needed.

 

 

 

I still need to get some better junction box covers for the locations of the old ceiling lights.  The covers I bought are too flimsy and don't sit flat on the ceiling.

 

Before the conversion to LED, there was 1,815 watts of incandescent lighting providing 18,945 lumens.  After the upgrade, the total is 1,015 watts providing 89,550 lumens.  Nearly five times the light output using 44% less energy.

[rkj4243]

​Looks great Dan, and thanks for providing the details on the lights as well as the great write-up!

[pirahnah3]

nice work, that will definitely put some great light on your work