GerryC

You originally said: You could have a package of rump roast with a tag stuck onto it, one that has a tag tied onto it, and one that doesn't have a tag at all, but neither will be as tender as a fillet (so yes I did understand your meat analogy). That's my point with the tags, is that they don't matter. What matters is the towel itself. In my post I was merely clearing that up. I know you know that Adam's towels are superior, but it's important to realize that the inferior towels are inferior not because of the tag but because they use cheap made-in-china material. I was never discussing what towel Adam may or may not have been using at the show. I've been to Corvettes at Carlisle for the past 4 years and I've only seen him use his own towels on paint and glass. He has used junk towels for cleaning dirt off of tires before applying VRT, etc, as I have mentioned that is my only use for them too. There are other towels he could have been using, depending on what product he was demoing at the time. There is the blue waffle towel that is used with the Waterless Car Wash, and there are the blue (or yellow, same towel) glass towels. If he was using a different towel, I don't know, I wasn't there. If he sees this topic I'm sure he'll chime in. You're right, there is very minimal difference between the different cheap "thin" mf's that you get at costco/walmart. Tag or no tag, they're all the same, and that's why we reserve them only for areas of the car that have actual dirt or grime, or that won't scratch as easily as paint or glass. I had a package of yellow ones from Costco that had tags sewn onto them, and now I have a package of blue ones from Walmart that have no tags at all. Neither of them touch my paint or glass.

Whether or not the tag is sewn into the seam doesn't automatically dictate what is quality microfiber and what isn't. There could be some crappy brand of towel that doesn't have a tag at all, but all you have to do is feel the material to realize that it is nowhere near the quality of Adam's towels. The idea with the tag is that, a. if it is sewn into the seam it is stuck to the towel and can scratch your paint; and, b. if you remove the tag completely it will unravel the stitching of the towel. Regardless of where the tag is, the material that the towel is made of is the most important thing when it comes to the quality of the towel and whether or not it will harm your finish. Adam's towels are more expensive than others because they ARE better. They use peel-off labels because, well, you wouldn't want to unravel the stitching on one of your expensive towels.

It's the only dry thing in the picture

a few coats of machine superwax

These pads are the same as the larger pads only smaller, and will not damage your paint. A "buffer" is a rotary polisher that will burn your paint if used improperly, which is why Adam's endorses the Porter-Cable Dual Action polisher because it is safe and will not burn your paint. The wording on the site is a little misleading and should be fixed. It says "this is a buffer" because the original idea of these smaller pads was that they were to be used on a cordless drill, which imitates the movement of the rotary polisher. That's why they come with an adapter to be used on the Porter Cable as well, so you don't have to worry about causing damage with them.

No they're not, Rich C5 guys...

That material seems similar to what cars have covering their gauge cluster. I remember someone a while back tried to get the swirls out of that (I think it was Devin) but I forgot if it worked or if he just couldn't get his hands behind the steering wheel to really work at it. I've never tried to remove swirls from that type of material so I can't say for sure what will happen but I don't see how you could make it worse so it seems worth giving it a try As for the headlight, if that haziness is on the outside it looks like it should buff out. Give it a shot with the PC instead of the drill and let us know. If you can literally 'feel' something on the headlight in that area you could also try claying them before polishing.

If you apply it in the shade on a cool surface, and don't let it sit for too long (usually around 5 minutes is good when using a paste, unless it's really humid then wait a little longer) then the residue should wipe off very easily without the need for any Detail Spray

Here I am at Adam's Carlisle party after Rich got towed

It is possible that the inside faded if the seal dried up and air and moisture got inside the housing. My DD is also an oldish car and was neglected for years when it was owned by my mother, take a look what Adam's has done for it: The headlights used to be as yellow as a pencil, and now they are as clear as they could be. I was close to buying replacement lenses on ebay for $30 each but 10 minutes with some SHR solved that problem Take some photos so we can see what you're dealing with and steer you in the right direction

It's been my understanding that you cannot remove scratches from glass with a portercable. Plexiglass, maybe. What do these headlights look like? I used my PC with the 4" pads to clean my Taurus's headlights because I only have a cordless drill and found that it didn't spin fast enough to do any good (maybe the battery pack was low, idk). I used SHR on the orange 4" pad on the PC set at 5, and did 2 passes, cleared them right up.

That doesn't sound dumb, it sounds normal

Haven't you heard of the new warehouse they are building on an aircraft carrier in the Pacific?

Waterless Wash is great for the vette since it never sees dirt, just dust. I used it before the last show I went to and it did an awesome job. I used it today on my Taurus instead of Detail Spray while drying, and it helps to take off the brown sap marks that washing doesn't remove.

You needed proof?

BSG is great for an added 'pop' on paint, glass, chrome, right before a show. However keep in mine it doesn't have any protective properties, it's just a glaze, and it doesn't last very long. Shake the bottle really well before using it. Spray it onto a microfiber applicator pad, and wipe it onto the paint, glass, or chrome, let it dry for about 20 minutes, then wipe off the residue with a microfiber towel.

cheap costco mf I use for wiping down tires, wheel wells, exhaust, and engine only. adam's towels are for paint and glass, and are used for wiping off polish/wax/glaze residue and with detail spray for very light dust waterless car wash has its own towel, its a waffle-weave so it's much more absorbent (similar to the white drying towel)

By clean out, do you mean actually washing the pad? Unless you ordered more than one orange pad, I wouldn't clean it out halfway through because the foam pads take a long time to dry after you wash them. If you use the right amount of SHR then you shouldn't have to clean out the pad until you are finished. Once the pad gets to the point where there is a considerable amount of SHR on/in it, spray it once with a mist of Detail Spray and it will 'reactivate' all of the product that is inside the pad, so you don't have to keep adding more SHR. The same goes for all the colors.

SHR goes before Revive Polish like you said. If your swirls are very minimal you might be able to get away with mixing the Revive and SHR on the same pad, and if that doesn't work you can always separate them into 2 individual steps. When using SHR by hand make sure you apply pressure, work in one direction, then the perpendicular direction, repeat until the product turns almost clear, wipe off the residue with an Adam's MF towel, and inspect your work. Don't be discouraged if they don't all come out on the first pass, as many people need to do more than one pass especially if they don't have a PC. Post some before/after pictures if you can and welcome to the forum

Don't put the pads in plastic bags. If there is any residual moisture whatsoever left inside the pad, the bag will build up condensation and your pad will be musty, and possibly moldy in time. The only products I keep in ziploc bags are pads and towels that have never been used yet.

Only use your plush mf towels for removing polish and wax, so they stay clean and soft. The polish/wax residue will wash out easily, dirt not so much. Waffle weave is the way to go for using the waterless wash.

Yes

You gotta start over after the winters we have up here

BSG and Metal Polish are two completely different products. BSG is good for chrome to make it shiny, while the Metal Polish is better for stainless steel to remove oxidation, discoloring, rust, etc. You also can't compare them by "how long they last" since Polish of any type (Revive, Metal, etc) is meant for cleaning and restoring - BSG on the other hand actually creates a layer of glaze on top of what you apply it to. It's that layer that doesn't last long. Polishes don't leave a layer of anything, and what you applied it to will "last" until you get it dirty again

Has the title of this topic been spelled wrong this whole time? I don't know why I only just now realized it