Detailing

[turbopete]

Seems like whatever pads I use on my Griot's Boss 21mm don't last very long either. The paint surface doesn't get too hot with an orbital but the pads sure do!

Do you rotate out the pads during the process? I typically use 3 or 4 pads when doing a job. When one pad starts to warm up I'll pull it for another fresh one. Are you priming the pad or applying the polish to the surface?

 

[BigGar]

It depends. I'm getting better pads that seem to hold up better and don't separate from the velcro. I'll also use my rotary in the concave areas that the orbital will have a hard time being effective in as well. They seem to do o.k. on flat and convex surfaces, but the rotary is better to get inside those curves.

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

It depends. I'm getting better pads that seem to hold up better and don't separate from the velcro. I'll also use my rotary in the concave areas that the orbital will have a hard time being effective in as well. They seem to do o.k. on flat and convex surfaces, but the rotary is better to get inside those curves.

This is a pic I took of some of my equipment when I was putting up the pads and the micro fiber towels after cleaning. The Little Rupes works pretty good. in tight spaces. Yes this stuff is not cheap but I have not ever regretted it. It saves me time as well now that is not important for me as it is you. Time is money!

 

[Rhino]

On foam pads is it one and done or can you wash and reuse them. Being I'm only doing my own cars I've been doing one and done but that can't be cost effective on doing a lot of vehicles.

I've been using the decent bjs micro towels on a one to one basis too .. I keep a rag bag for whipe up duty after they get used once.

I have a few better micro towels the I do final whips with and those get washed.

After a few rains and two washes the Jeep which is parked on the street shines pretty damn nice after the Turtle wax ceramic spray.. I just ordered another bottle to keep in the mix of things.

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

On foam pads is it one and done or can you wash and reuse them. Being I'm only doing my own cars I've been doing one and done but that can't be cost effective on doing a lot of vehicles.

I've been using the decent bjs micro towels on a one to one basis too .. I keep a rag bag for whipe up duty after they get used once.

I have a few better micro towels the I do final whips with and those get washed.

After a few rains and two washes the Jeep which is parked on the street shines pretty damn nice after the Turtle wax ceramic spray.. I just ordered another bottle to keep in the mix of things.

Yes the pads can be washed. Usually soak in the sink for a hour in a solution in a bucket of sink of this - Don’t drown your microfibers, clean and restore them with Pinnacle Micro Rejuvenator! (autogeek.net) Been using it for years also wash my to microfiber towels in this and set the washer to soak then a double rinse. It is much better than laundry soap! Yes it will dry your hands out after washing out the pads by hand using this stuff...

 

[Rhino]

Thanks.. I'll pick some up

 

[Rhino]

Got a friend that is Friends with a HS Automotive shop teacher of in L.I.. the teacher is putting on a car show to show the kids where shop has taken people that took shop in HS. Being I was a shop kid in hs how could I say no..

So I put a quick 5 hour detail on the car today.

Just your ordinary 4 door old man Cadillac



I have gone out of my way to keep things as stock looking ..... as possible.. well mostly.

 

[BIggerDanno]

What a phucing car!

 

[Terry_Schiavo]

you should get those kids looking under the hood of the Caddy... with a decal that says "look here" then blast them with the horn & ask them "what did you touch?"

 

[Rhino]

Something a bit different in the land of steel cars



Brought home a best in class

 

[BIggerDanno]

Your throttle body is dirty.

 

[Rhino]

Your throttle body is dirty.

When I ported it they asked me if I wanted it polished I declined .. the 112 nick Williams is powdered coated black which I didn't like so I sent it out to get polished.

 

[Vegas12]

Something a bit different in the land of steel cars
View attachment 65373

View attachment 65374
Brought home a best in class

View attachment 65375

This came to mine when I saw the engraving:

 

[Rhino]

I've been using the phuct line for 15 years.. briefly had a partner that did some t shirts under the name Phuct. The venture was more trouble then it was worth.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

I am starting to become a believer in the Griot's Ceramic 3-in-1 wax. I also have become a huge fan of Meguiar's Waterless Wash and Wax.
Hit the Bravada with the Meguiar's followed by the Griot's, and she looks as nice as she's ever gonna look.


.

 

[Your Car Is Slow]

ive never understood how the waterless car wash sprays avoid dirt scratching your paint...or am i just retarded and you really should hose the car off before applying "waterless" wash?

 

[Terry_Schiavo]

It would look pretty sweet hung up in the air at the end of the mini ex boom, near the road with a For Sale sign on it!!

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

ive never understood how the waterless car wash sprays avoid dirt scratching your paint...or am i just retarded and you really should hose the car off before applying "waterless" wash?

I use it more for dust, pollen, fine stuff like that. And on more valuable vehicles, I am inclined to use a bunch more of the waterless wash.
If the car is filthy, I'll go to the quarter car wash and / or drive it through the local automatic wash first.
.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

Hey BigGar Do you ever have trouble with (spray on, buff off) products when humidity is high?
I'm struggling this evening (or I was, before I gave up) with all my usual stuff, and I'm not sure if it's the humidity or if it's because of some leftover snot on my paint... or something else.

The Griot's 3-in-1 left a streaky mess, as did the Bead Maker. I cleaned it off with Meguiar's 205, which worked fine because it dries all the way. But after the 205 I tried the Griot's again, and the Bead Maker again, and had the same shitty results.

I haven't been using these spray-on products all that long, but I don't recall ever seeing a shit show like this.
.

 

[BigGar]

Hey BigGar Do you ever have trouble with (spray on, buff off) products when humidity is high?
I'm struggling this evening (or I was, before I gave up) with all my usual stuff, and I'm not sure if it's the humidity or if it's because of some leftover snot on my paint... or something else.

The Griot's 3-in-1 left a streaky mess, as did the Bead Maker. I cleaned it off with Meguiar's 205, which worked fine because it dries all the way. But after the 205 I tried the Griot's again, and the Bead Maker again, and had the same shitty results.

I haven't been using these spray-on products all that long, but I don't recall ever seeing a shit show like this.
.

More or less, yes.
It's pretty dry here north of San Diego, but if I'm trying to beat the dewpoint and get moisture wanting to settle on a car as I finish it up near sunset or something, it can be a problem. Rapidly wiping with one microfiber until it's just a fog or less, then attacking right after with a perfectly dry microfiber will sometimes even everything up. I don't know about the Griot's as I haven't tried it yet, but you don't want to leave Beadmaker wet or un-wiped for a super long time as it does bond to the paint and if it's not evenly distributed, you'll see it. I've had the Beadmaker kind of "build up" on glass surfaces and it does become a shit show where you are NOT going to just wipe it off. I will usually have to remove it with a heavy all purpose (alkali "soap") cleaner or a polish of some sort. Long-lasting stuff that bonds to your paint is great, but it's definitely a more substantial product for better and sometimes for worse than a lightweight quick detailer spray.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

Thanks BigGar, I was trying to spray, spread evenly, and then get it the fuck off as quickly as possible using different microfiber towels in the process, and it did not help. I'll see if I have any better luck today. Humidity was over 70% last night when I was fighting with it.
.

 

[Rhino]

Did a bit of a test today on Turtle wax solutions ...

Last week I did a foam cannon with Chemical Guys watermelon soap and a hose off.. no whiping other then a cotton towel dry.. truck was heavily covered in pollen and dust ... truck came out decently clean

it rained a few times and the truck was left to dry naturally.. today the truck had a heavy layer of pollen and dirt and rain spots..

Washed the truck with Polmolive dish soap straight on a micro fiber. Then dried with a cotton towel..

Two things I noticed. Dried dog drool on the door had left stains that rubbed out with the moist towel

And the rain spots hood and on the roof as well as on any part that was straight and facing the sky.. they all came out with a bit of Towel buffing followed by a dry micro wipe down..

My take on the product is truck beaded well even after the dish soap .. shined pretty good on the dry ... but there was definily less sickness to the paint.



It's going to rain the next few days so I'll wash it again.. and do a machine polish and wax with a final hand glaze and see how I like that result.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

You have so much good stuff on that truck, you probably could wash it with a bucket of sand and it would still look great!
.

 

[TR3B]

Zymol Concours once a year. Zymol auto wash and spray detailer in between. In 30 years of detailing I have literally tried every other product there is from ceramics all the way down to NXT - those 3 Zymol products are all I use now.

 

[Terry_Schiavo]

Did a bit of a test today on Turtle wax solutions ...

Last week I did a foam cannon with Chemical Guys watermelon soap and a hose off.. no whipibg other then a cotton towel dry.. truck was heavily co when in pollen and dust ... truck came out decently clean

it rained a few times and the truck was left to dry naturally.. today the truck had a heavy layer of pollen and dirt and rain spots.

It's going to rain the next few days so I'll wash itvagain.. and do a machine polish and wax with a final hand glaze and see how I like that result.

how did the foam work? The water is so hard by me I cant get that shaving foam consistency... I may try it at my storage garage that has a water softner...
the DI rinse is bad ass though. That and an electric leaf blower seems to work great.

 

[Rhino]

I can get it to foam pretty.good but it's not like shaving creme that I seen some guys get out of the foam units. I'm using a garden house with nyc pressure.. they might be using a pressure washer.

All in all it did work.for polen. Two areas that had dirt was still.there when I dried the truck off and the dry towel picked up that dirt.

 

[Your Car Is Slow]

I tried the HF foam cannon on their electronic pressure washer, its about useless (for the soap i was using anyway)

buddies i know swear by their fancy foam cannon guns, but also say it needs to be attached to a pressure washer to work.

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

I tried the HF foam cannon on their electronic pressure washer, its about useless (for the soap i was using anyway)

buddies i know swear by their fancy foam cannon guns, but also say it needs to be attached to a pressure washer to work.

Oh hell yes they work great BUT on a pressure washer gasoline is best for volume and pressure. Going to get mine out today--first trip to the ranch last week. Got in yesterday---yep it is nasty.

 

[BIggerDanno]

Oh hell yes they work great BUT on a pressure washer gasoline is best for volume and pressure. Going to get mine out today--first trip to the ranch last week. Got in yesterday---yep it is nasty.

View attachment 66392

You call that dirty? My truck looks like that when it is clean!.

 

[Your Car Is Slow]

its black, just like the trailer posted above that was spotless when washed. this is a shot roughly 6 minutes after he pulled it out of his garage.

 

[Rhino]

Decided to step up my game and switch to Rupes..

I was using the flex buffers but man is this new Big foot is sweet.. light and very well balanced..the Rupes pads are holding up better too. the blue pad is a bit aggressive I can see that taking some serious stuff out of the paint.. but I can see me getting a bit in trouble with it on the V.. so I'll practice some on older stuff first... the yellow pad is perfect for the light scratches I had.. there buffing compounds are pretty ok.. they areva bit thin so it's easy to spray a bit... nothing crazy as the buffer has a progressive start up. .. price is up there but I so impressed I intend to add the 3 inch unit as well




On the way home I took out a fucking Rabbit of all things.. he fucked my front splitter.



Put one on order already.... guess I'll throw my spare non carbon splitter on for now

To you mister rabbit.

 

[BIggerDanno]

Get that thing together and drive it to NM

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

I have a whole fleet you can practice on. Bring that fucker over!
.

 

[Rhino]

It's ok.. but only ok.. I still have some imperfections

Like my Russian women I'm pretty particular what I call perfection.

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

I LOVE MINE! Have the big one and the small one for the hard to get areas! Yes have to make sure the polish Rupes (shake it well every time you put it on to keep it in suspension) is rubbed in and there is not too much on the pad or it will sling!! Do not ask me how I know!!!!!

You have done well! To put on the sealer/wax use the lowest setting you can so it does not sling the liquid. Now if you are using the solid pieces of carnauba just rub it on the pad lightly and get plenty on the edges so when you are applying to the uneven areas you can tilt the pad a little. Yes it will stop circulating but still vibrates and you will get the product on. I store my wax in a ziplock to keep it from drying out.

 

[Rhino]

I had a pad failure... backing won't stick in 1/4 area

Called Rupes and they are sending me a new pad and a blue backing plate that has more holding power. Now for the surprise. No charge they are picking it up as a warranty issue.


Not sure what went wrong here but luckily I didn't fuck up any paint ..

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

Never had one of their pads fail...... Interesting as hell though! Just to let you know but you probably know already---you run that bastid up on the higher speeds be careful and know what you are doing. Also might get some of this. Wolfgang Pad Werks Polishing Pad Conditioner (wolfgangcarcare.com)

 

[Rhino]

I think I did it..I might have heated the pad and melted the hook and loop. But the pad never felt hot or smell like I burnt it.

There so many angles on the car that I might change the pads up more often.

 

[Vicious_Cycle]

I just bought a 2000 LeSabre from a 94 year-old woman today. She accidentally voided the title by writing her name on the wrong line... turned into a 4-hour fiasco!
Anyway, I think it's gonna look pretty nice with a buff even though it's white. Beautiful job on the paint, Rhino !!
.

 

[BigGar]

What Flex do you have Paul? I'm probably going to buy a 3401 or possibly the battery powered 3401 to add to the mix. The BigFoot seems similar to my Griot's Boss 21mm. I really want to try a forced rotation orbital like the 3401 or the Rupees equivalent. I think the BigFoot is orbital only like Griot's. If your Flex is the 3401, wanna sell it?

 

[Rhino]

Gregg it's the FLEX XFE 7-15 which isn't a bad unit.. but not as nice as the Rupes.. my neighbor bought it from me last night we thinks it's easy to get paint to shine with a machine.. HE WILL SEE... THIS SHIT AINT EASY.

 

[Busa 1 Dave]

Gregg it's the FLEX XFE 7-15 which isn't a bad unit.. but not as nice as the Rupes.. my neighbor bought it from me last night we thinks it's easy to get paint to shine with a machine.. HE WILL SEE... THIS SHIT AINT EASY.

You hit the nail on the head! It is shall we say a learned skill that takes a lot of work. Almost everyone save a very good detailer do not really even know how to use the equipment and chemicals correctly. Takes time and practice to be able to exercise good judgment from what machine, pad, chemicals, does it need to have the clay bar used, etc. Hell knowing what to use is a Huge part of being successful.

 

[Rhino]

Exactly. I still haveva few light scratches I can see.. my neighbor thinks I'm nuts but in the right (or wrong lighting conditions) I can see a few scratches. I won't tackle it more then I did until I master the blue bad better.

 

[BIggerDanno]

The front of my car is covered in rock chips.
It seriously needs some paint remediation. Then ppf. Too much like work!!

 

[Rhino]

The front of my car is covered in rock chips.
It seriously needs some paint remediation. Then ppf. Too much like work!!

I fucked upped not doing the ppf .. I got a few chips in the front and one on the hood.

But what pisses me off I found either a rock chip or TOOL chip on the header os the rear door. Didn't notice it until I was buffing it. Now I'm fixated on it. It will need a dentless guy to get it out and a repaint.. I'll live with it for now but lisses me off because I can't figure out where it came from..

Oh confirmed bad motor mount on the jeep.. I'll get that done when I get back from my trip to the Dragon.

 

[CZLoco]

Is this already a thing and I'm just late to the game?
I have had two motorcycles with white wheels that I can remember.
And one motorcycle with a yellow front wheel and a purple rear wheel (kudos if you can guess what bike that was).
So I've struggled with the whole cleaning chain grease from the rear wheel thing.
There is a reason most people want black wheels! And no Terry it's not because they are bigger.

I finally stumbled onto a cleaning liquid that absolutely destroys the chain grease with one wipe.
Need you guys to tell me if it's also destroying my paint? I don't think so.
I'm pretty sure it's destroying my wax that I apply to the wheel and that's okay.

I spray this on. Let it sit for 30 seconds.
And then wipe the grease off with one single wipe of my towel.

Then I apply a quick layer of new wax, let it dry, then wipe off.



Just in case it chemically matters, this is my chain lube.

 

[Rhino]

I use their orange citrus energy on my rims.. it straps a lot off .. but my rims are ceramic coated and I just do a spray of nex gen on them after I was them with the citrus stuff

 

[CZLoco]

I don't know what the previous owner put on the wheels.
I hope that has nothing to do with it and I simply found a cleaner that works for me.

 

[CZLoco]

I am not crazy about the chain wax I use, btw.
It's highly rated.
But I don't like how the chain looks "dry" after just a couple days.

I liked the wet look I got when I used to use every couple weeks.
But I hated the wet wheels I got and had to clean 200% more often.

 

[Terry_Schiavo]

first off Id ask why are you using chain wax?? That stuff is hideous.
2nd... its called chain maintenance for a reason. Its not a set it & forget it component.

Also please stop using Amazon "reviews" as R&D because its clear the audience on there is completely fucking clueless.
Its been proven over and over that a clean, properly adjusted chain doesnt need any lube sprayed on it. Id wager most
bikes with chains dont have the rear axle aligned properly to start. Simple test... how many revolutions does your rear wheel spin
on a stand?