TheBurninator

Adding that to my notebook of detailing information. VERY useful info to keep on hand Dylan. Also a reminder that I should go buy a paint gauge.

I've been working on getting my collection to 1 pad per body panel to help with residue control and consistent results. 3 pads per vehicle doesn't seem like enough. Were you using a DA with the pad washer or a rotary? I feel like that makes a huge difference in results depending on which you use. I also think the pads need to dry before use again, you can't just go jumping in with a pad right out of the washer, no matter how dry you think you got it by spinning it. I did find another product that works well for cleaning pads in place of APC. Seems to work better for me at getting polish out of the pads for next use and is much cheaper in the long run. For me the pad scrubbing brush works well for cleaning with APC as well as thumb agitation.

Sometimes I find the waterless wash towels a bit easier to use and requiring less effort (read: strength) to use on glass. It may not completely make things easier, but it might help.

I thought it was normal to detail shoes too... Clean transportation no matter what it is

You could always get a pad washer. They are a bit expensive, but they work. You'd still need another pad or two in rotation though while waiting for the one you just washed to dry. A rotary polisher is pretty useful with a pad washer because you can spin up the pad to help dry it out quicker. Compressed air is the best way to clean out a pad and continue working with it, be it foam or microfiber. If you don't have a compressor with 75-90 psi and a blow gun for it I would brush it out similar to how you would a microfiber pad.

I've found the mag chloride out here will take off the LPS pretty easily. I always end up with the lower part of my doors needing constant reapplication after almost every snow.

If it is too cold for a real wash for a week or two I just hit the coin op when it warms up just enough to not have my door jambs freeze shut. Just hit the car with high pressure rinse and knock off as much as you can. Other option is a touch free drive through wash, but those tend to strip LSPs. When it warms up enough do a rinseless or even a full two bucket wash. Something else to consider is everytime you touch the car you are inducing swirls. So you if you wash it everyday vs once a week trying to keep it spotless you'll end up with more love marks quicker. Will you get it all off? No. But less salt sitting on your paint is going to do less damage in the long run. Keeping a clean car all winter long is impossible short of a garage queen that doesn't see the winter roads.

I picked some up yesterday when I stopped by the warehouse, but I won't get a chance to use it until the snow at least melts off my car and driveway. Pretty excited to try it out though.

Whatever happened to the DI water system that Adam's had teased us with?

This is the same method I use as well. If the wheels are extra grimy, but not warranting deep wheel cleaner I will throw an ounce or two of green wheel cleaner in the bucket as well. I also find it easier to walk a bucket with all of my wheel tools around the car than to carry spray bottles, wheel woolies, and various brushes, and a wash mitt designated for wheel use.

This is like companies saying transmission fluid is a lifetime fluid and doesn't need to be changed, or timing chains are lifetime too.

This thread gave me some ideas for some bottle storage in the garage. I like the labeling idea as well. I think I have a bit of a project once the GTI is back on the ground.

Took a screen shot of it, but the posts that have been marked as "best answer" end up with a white background but keep the light text of the dark theme. Not a huge deal as I can highlight the text to read it, but something to be aware of.

Generally after I have the tires cleaned up the first time I will just use car wash soap for my weekly washes even on the tires. I mix Car Shampoo in a spray bottle at 16:1 for handling wheels and tires week to week. I keep the wheels sealed so it doesn't take much effort at all. For prepping for the tire coating I would treat it like I was cleaning a tire normally. Apply APC and scrub, then rinse. Repeat until the foam from the APC and scrubbing isn't turning brown any more (you want white foam). This would indicate clean surface for the coating to bond to.

I have the one in the first link as well. Works great! Especially with the triangle attachment and a towel around it. At some point I want to upgrade to the one in the second link. Seems like nicer packaging for storage and transport.

Snowed 8 inches a couple weeks ago here... Then melted completely 2 days later. It was 70's last week and been pretty steady 60's all this week for the most part. Colorado isn't as snowy as people make it out to be

Thanks for dropping some knowledge with this Dylan!

I also think it heavily depends on if it is a solvent based paint or a water based paint. The dupont spec sheet I was looking at for my buddy's car was 1 hour bake time + 90 day full cure. This was a water borne paint, which seems to take forever to dry in the first place. Obviously he was erring on the side of caution with that.

I guess I am going off of what most spec sheets for clear coats refer to as cure time. Over the summer I buffed out a buddy's car. He didn't let anyone/thing touch it until after the 90 day mark (What the dupont spec sheet claimed was cure time). He works at a body shop and was very concerned about the cure time before anything that wasn't rated body shop safe touching the car. Side note, I should do a mini writeup on that car and the other I did at the same time.

Since detail spray contains wax I doubt that it is body shop safe. The Car Wash Shampoo should be though. Technically the initial cut buff on paint is done within the first 72 hours of the car being painted (refinish work only, not factory paint) This levels some of the orange peel and improves clarity. This is also when the paint is the softest. You can really polish whenever you want, just be aware the paint is softer until fully cured.

I've found out the hard way that rodents enjoy spark plug wire insulation...

For full cure time, yes 90 days is what most clear coats call for. A bit longer for water based paints. And use body shop safe chemicals when washing, etc. Things containing silicone can cause issues with uncured paint. I wouldn't tape off fresh paint either. It can cause outgassing issues and you'll end up with really cloudy clear coat that buffing won't fix. Generally the first week or two the paint is really soft. This time frame will depend on the specific paint and if it was baked or not and how thick it was laid down. Side note: It would be cool to know which Adam's products are body shop safe.

I was about to say this. I bet if you polish the glass a bit there is some road film that claying didn't pull off. Also on brand new windshields I have seen a film layer on them that prevents glass sealant from bonding. Had to polish the glass first to be able to seal it.

Just a heads up HRE won't sell you individual parts. Tried to buy just a set of larger lips from them at one point and they basically told me off.

I guess sniffing detail spray is a little better than sniffing glue