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PainterofCrap posted:
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May 31, 2019 13:35
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Coming up on 2 years with Ceramic coating now (Gtechniq Crystal Serum Light and Exo V3). After a quick wash last week:  The coating is still functioning well. I'd say 90-95% of the beading that it had when originally applied and pretty much all of the gloss. I do maintain it with a drying aid, which I'm sure is helping with the longevity. I have been using CarPro ECH2O. It's like Optimum No Rinse; you can use it as a rinseless wash, waterless wash, or quick detailer. It has silica, so it works really nicely with the ceramic coating, and it seems to be slightly thicker than ONR. I'm also using it as part of the mixture in the drying aid, which provides an incredible amount of gloss and can make a dusty car appear reasonably clean. If you have a ceramic coating, I highly recommend mixing this up: - 1 part CarPro ECH2O - 1 part Gyeon Cure (or CarPro Reload, or any silica spray sealant - 8 parts distilled water
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Jun 3, 2019 05:13
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PainterofCrap posted:It's far from a modern perfect glaze, but it's miles better than I expected I'd ever get. Thanks, guys! You're really making me wish my dad had never repainted my C10 30 years ago, because old paint like that can be shined up. The poo poo on it now isn't faded but it also doesn't stick. Question for the thread: recommendations on a quick and dirty way to get rid of hard water staining? The driver's side of my Wrangler has significant hard water spotting on the door glass, door panel, and a bit of the tub. The paint on the tub itself is not completely sunbaked to poo poo (the hood and cowl are fried) so I'd like to get rid of the hard water spots if possible. I'm not worried about getting it shining like a mirror because a) it's a Jeep and b) it's black, it will be dirty before I even finish. Also adding on the months-ago discussion, I finally tried one of those Camco water filters with my pressure washer. Seemed to help avoid spotting while drying, so definitely recommend that if you live somewhere that the water can be measured on the Rockwell scale. IOwnCalculus fucked around with this message at 17:21 on Jun 5, 2019 |
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Jun 5, 2019 17:18
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There are several deposit remover sprays, but the cheapest is a gallon of distilled vinegar. Wash as normal, spot spray with vinegar, wipe, wash area again to remove any leftover acid/vinegar.
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Jun 5, 2019 17:30
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opengl128 posted:Thinking of snagging the HF pressure washer today w/ a 25% off Memorial Day coupon. Finally got a chance to try it out. No complaints. It works great, plenty of power for car washing. Blasted all sorts of nastyness from behind body molding on my beater Vibe. Also picked up this foam cannon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WPKHFA6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 it works nicely as well. Lots of foam with regular Meguiar's soap. We'll see if the thing dies in 6 months but so far so good. e: Oh and rather than cobble together adaptors for the foam cannon, somebody found out this part is a direct fit for the HF wand: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QMKHNM0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
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Jun 5, 2019 18:27
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Here's a quick overview and a direct comparison of some wash methodologies you might find interesting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kkWysLV4CmQ
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Jun 6, 2019 17:10
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Trying to take a bit better care of my paint, but trying to keep it simple and skip the polisher for now. Looks like I could probably get by with just a clay bar and wax. Any recommendations on wax? Any thoughts on using something like this rather than a clay bar?
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Jun 9, 2019 21:51
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I have the Griots synthetic clay and its worth the $25 over the usual $20 for two clay bars meguiars kit. Without buying an orbital you can get good mileage out of a wash, clay, hand-rubbing with meguiars ultimate, and then a wax. I've generally used the Griots best of show but it can be a bitch to work with if you do the two-coat overnight show wax method. Recently picked up some chemical guys butter wax and I'm happy with it, though it doesn't seem to last as long as the griots. If you're hella lazy you can get by with some liquid synthetic wax or quick detail spray wax. Digital_Jesus fucked around with this message at 00:13 on Jun 10, 2019 |
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Jun 10, 2019 00:07
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If I'm thinking of no longer being an animal that uses whatever single bucket they can find to wash a car (I did buy a foam cannon for the pressure washer a couple weeks ago) what's a reasonable set of stackable buckets with grit guards that fit in them. Seems like going to the detailing sites is asking to get ripped off over something so simple. And i hate trying to figure out dimensions like this on amazon/internet sites in general. (ecommerce is still super broken for a lot of things)
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Jun 10, 2019 00:21
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I use 2 cheap grit guards (I can't remember if it was detailing.com or chemical guys) in two Ace hardware buckets. If the bucket is bigger than the guards, no big deal. Keeps your mitt from laying in the bottom dirt. I took the same plunge you're doing now last November since I stopped washing my own car in 2000ish with the first new car in my life. Evil SpongeBob fucked around with this message at 00:41 on Jun 10, 2019 |
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Jun 10, 2019 00:37
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Evil SpongeBob posted:I use 2 cheap grit guards (I can't remember if it was detailing.com or chemical guys) in two Ace hardware buckets. If the bucket is bigger than the guards, no big deal. Keeps your mitt from laying in the bottom dirt. So I'm probably overthinking this. I just wanted to know what to click on amazon that works. It probably doesn't matter that much.
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Jun 10, 2019 01:03
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Yeah man, just whatever keeps an inch or so height from the bottom of the bucket for you to rub your mitt on in the rinse bucket and keep your mitt off the bottom in the wash bucket when you toss it in there after the rinse. I have 1 Lowe's and 2 Ace buckets. The Lowe's is for tire scrubbing stuff. E: IIRC, you're in NorVA, you may want to ensure you can spray that salt poo poo off your undercarriage. If I was still in Maryland, I'd probably trade you and wash your car so you can teach me to be a man and fix one. E2:. Oh yeah, chemical guys usually does a Father's day special with their starter kits. Usually has everything you need for about 60 or 70 to include mf towels. Evil SpongeBob fucked around with this message at 04:53 on Jun 10, 2019 |
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Jun 10, 2019 04:44
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The Chemical Guys sale is legit. I got set up with everything I should need to take decent care of my car—clay, wax, applicators, wash bucket, et cetera. Kind of looking forward to claying my car finally. It might not ever have been in its ten years. :-/
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Jun 13, 2019 03:15
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I loaned out a OMP champ-r race bucket and a schroth profi 2 harness that came back soaked in some kind of oil. I tried squeezing the foam butt pad full of water and dawn dish detergent and wringing it out a bunch of times and it didn’t do much for the smell or greasy feeling. I’ve never detailed a car or paid for detailing. Any suggestions?
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Jun 14, 2019 01:18
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nitsuga posted:Kind of looking forward to claying my car finally. It might not ever have been in its ten years. :-/ That's when you can really feel the deposits come out and it feels oh so good when it goes from scratchy to smooth.
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Jun 17, 2019 00:32
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I wasnt happy with my last batch of hex-logic pads, is there another set that my fellow thread-go'ers would recommend? Going to compound and polish an 80's jet-boat next week, so its got some type of gel coat.
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Jun 18, 2019 06:24
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Couple of quickies for you folks. Dawn dish soap, yes or no? I see it frequently mentioned as a good method to strip/remove old wax, so it seems a good place to start before taking out the clay bar. Similarly: Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax, yes or no? I’ve used a couple of bottles now, but I can’t tell if it’s doing any better of a job than any other spray wax.
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Jun 18, 2019 06:36
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Dish soap is a yes in my book. If I'm applying a new wax anyways why would I not want to strip everything off. If you wash the car every month or keep it in a garage everyday then ok grab your ph neutral and just maintain. I've seen Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax tested on youtube and didn't seem anything special compared to BeadMaker which I have a gallon of. Here's a list of all the stuff I've seen pro's recommending amongst themselves. I haven't priced any of these myself: Collinite 845 SB3 SOLO NOVA JET Swisswax WaxedShine AquaBead Opti-Coat Hyper Seal DPC Shine Sonax Netshield Flyover Lustre Pico2 Guard & gloss Most comprehensive wax comparison video I've come across: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtAmyq3v5_k&t=902s
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Jun 18, 2019 13:38
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I’ve never used dish soap, but if I’m going to strip the paint I’ve used RV wash from Walmart. I can’t remember the science behind it, but basically it’s slightly acidic to eat away tougher grime like on an RV. For wax I’ve used Collinite and P and S Beadmaker, both have served me well over the last year or so.
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Jun 18, 2019 14:31
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Warbird posted:Couple of quickies for you folks. Dawn dish soap, yes or no? I see it frequently mentioned as a good method to strip/remove old wax, so it seems a good place to start before taking out the clay bar. Similarly: Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Wax, yes or no? I’ve used a couple of bottles now, but I can’t tell if it’s doing any better of a job than any other spray wax. Dish soap does not strip wax, that myth has been thoroughly busted on a number on detail forums / YouTube. Probably does even less against sealants/coatings/Si02-based products.
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Jun 18, 2019 16:09
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So what I’m hearing is “use a dedicated wax removal product” and “just use regular wax”. One more for you all: For lack of a better way to describe it, is ceramic coating a meme or does it present legitimate benefits for joe daily driver? Not trying to start anything here, I don’t have much context and opinions seem to differ. For the record, my GTI is my daily and is parked outside on our driveway. Not looking to show or anything, just want it to look nice.
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Jun 18, 2019 17:02
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If you are going to clay bar and then presumably do a polish step before the wax, then you don't need to strip the old wax since you are already doing that mechanically. I've used the Hybrid Ceramic stuff from Meg's and I liked it. Not sure about the longevity, but it gave a nice finish to a car that hadn't been prepped in awhile. I intend to use it as a maintenance spray over a coat of Ultimate Fast Finish when I get around to doing a full exterior detail. Not saying it's any better or worse than similar products, but the difference here at least its you can roll up to any Walmart or Advanced Auto and pick up a bottle. That's where it holds advantage. I picked up a bottle of their waterless wash for wheels and tires yesterday. I got it because both of my cars have gloss black wheels and it's really easy for them to get a dull finish from even a little bit of water, so it will hopefully be an easy way to perk up the exterior appearance between washes. As far as a full on ceramic coating, my take is they are great for garage queens but degrade much quicker for stuff that's kept outside and used every day. They are not maintenance free, I would still put a sacrifical layer on top. They also do not fully prevent light defects, so if you end up wanting to correct them you will strip off your expensive coating. So, yes to the garage kept Corvette that might see an occasional sprinkle when out for its weekend drive, but no to something that's outside all day every day and seeing all the elements. They are very durable and protect well, but the value proposition isn't really there for something that's going to see a lot of use. The prep work is difficult and they are generally more expensive. bull3964 fucked around with this message at 17:38 on Jun 18, 2019 |
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Jun 18, 2019 17:29
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Warbird posted:
Ceramic is going to lock in whatever state the paint is in, so up to you on if that’s good or not. If you are going to two step correct and have a professional level coating applied, you have to weigh out cost/benefit. I’m satisfied with my wax and Beadmaker combo for water sheeting and the level of work to apply, so I haven’t considered a ceramic.
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Jun 18, 2019 17:34
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So ceramic is best utilized by locking in a really good detailing/paint job. As the car is still pretty new and a daily I think I'll hold off on that a while and stick to conventional wax every so often and spray touchup up wax thingy. As for the polisher I think we have one lying around from when our former roommate went crazy about his '95 Miata. I'll look into that. Anything I should know about that before I destroy my paint/car? I'm only vaguely aware that polishing is a thing as my knowledge of detailing is based off of this Wirecutter article and things the old man did when washing his truck. He only used one bucket and just threw the contents of said bucket on the truck when done, so I don't think too many pages should be taken out of that book.
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Jun 18, 2019 18:01
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If it’s a polisher, that’s a different machine than a DA when it comes to paint correction. If you head over to ammonyc.com or YouTube, Larry has a ton of good videos on the topic. Better than I could type out here.
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Jun 18, 2019 18:08
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This the Larry in question?
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Jun 18, 2019 18:11
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The one and only.
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Jun 18, 2019 18:12
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Bilt Hambert auto wash report I filled 1/2 of a 5 gallon bucket with warm water from the sink and 5 ml of wash soap. I then foamed it up with a spray nozzle. It sudsed up nicely. No real smell. But the suds disappeared within seconds of me washing a section with a MF mitt. I'd say for 80% of each section, it felt like I was using a wet mitt with no soap. My truck wasn't too dirty, and I prewashed with Chem Guys watermelon in a foam gun. So I'm not sure how well it truly did. I double checked the instruction sheet to ensure I didn't mess up. I used a pharmacy medicine syringe, so I know my measurement was correct. https://www.bilthamber.com/auto-wash IDK, I'll try to use some from the second bottle next time as maybe I just got a bad batch. I realize that their whole thing is no fragrance or anything besides surfactants. Maybe I was just expecting a little more bubbles. It did rinse away very clean. E: looking at some other forum reviews, I guess it is a low suds/high surfactant wash. I was so used to slick sudsy soap, I thought it was a bad batch. Evil SpongeBob fucked around with this message at 03:32 on Jun 20, 2019 |
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Jun 20, 2019 03:28
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I've used their auto foam a couple of times now. It definitely doesn't make the thick, sticky foam you see on the detailing 'tubes, but it really does seem to carry a lot of crap off the paint. I hadn't washed the car in a month, so it was dusty, dirty, etc, and just using the foam cleaned most of it off before I ever did the touch wash. Plus you use so little in the sprayer that it'll last a reeeeeaally long time. Totally worth the eye-rolling from the wife when the overseas box showed up.
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Jun 20, 2019 18:26
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Yeah Auto Foam isn't a sudsy snow foam that you use to contact wash like Adam's Snow Foam, but a pre-wash that gets a ton of crap off so that you can contact wash using whatever shampoo with as little poo poo on the car as possible. The foam part of snow foam does nothing really to remove dirt. Looks nice and gives some lubrication if it's made for it (like Adam's). If you want to go further down the Bilt Hamber route, Surfex HD is probably the best, or one of the best, APCs out there. The iron removers are great as well but jesus they do smell.
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Jun 20, 2019 20:10
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I had the idea the other night to ceramic coat my wheels as they get covered in brake dust very quickly (the fronts within a day or two of washing). Does anyone have any recommended products? I've never ceramics coated before and do plan to do the rest of the car but only once I'm better at polishing etc. Also my wheels have tiny little black spots which I think are tar deposits, I can remove them with an old clay bar but it takes ages. Any recommended tar remover? I assume this can also be used on the car as well? Behind the wheels seems to get a little too. I was planning on also getting some Chemical Guys decon pro as part of the process.
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Jun 21, 2019 22:15
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Red_Fred posted:I had the idea the other night to ceramic coat my wheels as they get covered in brake dust very quickly (the fronts within a day or two of washing). Does anyone have any recommended products? I've never ceramics coated before and do plan to do the rest of the car but only once I'm better at polishing etc. I'm using Gyeon Wet Coat on my wheels. Just spray it on and rinse it off. I'm sure an actual coating would work better, but for the amount of time and money invested I'm very pleased with it.
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Jun 22, 2019 16:45
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Red_Fred posted:I had the idea the other night to ceramic coat my wheels as they get covered in brake dust very quickly (the fronts within a day or two of washing). Does anyone have any recommended products? I've never ceramics coated before and do plan to do the rest of the car but only once I'm better at polishing etc. My friend just picked up a Model 3 performance and immediately got a some PFP installed along with ceramic on the 20" wheels. He told me he was billed $275, in Austin, for the wheel off treatment. I'm trying to convince my gf to go ahead and do that with her TTS 20" wheels to try and make them raiser to clean. However. Really not clear how ceramic coatings prevent brake dust from sticking or make brake dust easier to clean off-- and with Regen braking set to max on the Model 3 I kind of question if he will even have that much brake dust to worry about.
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Jun 23, 2019 01:11
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I got my GTI ceramic coated when I bought it (proper polish / paint correction, applied by a detailer, because I have no patience for detailing) and they did the wheels as well. Jet nozzle on my regular garden hose takes off the majority of the brake dust, and a quick wipe with a microfiber in optimum no rinse solution takes off the rest. No scrubbing, no real pressure with the microfiber, just a quick wipe and they're spotless. The next set of track wheels I get for the miata are absolutely getting coated immediately, and I would have done my current track wheels if the brake dust wasn't embedded in the finish at this point.
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Jun 23, 2019 16:46
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Had my (stock) rims sand blasted and Powder coated at some place a couple months back. They're getting a bit dirty and I wan to clean them bitches. I emailed the place that did the powder coating and haven't gotten a reply. I don't know much about powder coating, except its like "dry paint" they spray on ad then bake in an oven or some poo poo. Other than that, I don't know what methods, materials are used, how they may or may not differ etc. Anyone got recommendations for cleaning products? Or barring that, is there poo poo that I should make sure to NOT use?
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Jun 23, 2019 21:15
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wesleywillis posted:Had my (stock) rims sand blasted and Powder coated at some place a couple months back. They're getting a bit dirty and I wan to clean them bitches. Power coating is basically a plastic covering. It's fairly chemically resistant, so any product intended for car use should be fine. I'd just use a mild cleaning agent sprayed on, wash off and call it good. Slap a coating of wax on there or ceramic coat them and call it good.
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Jun 23, 2019 22:35
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EVERYWHERE 
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What's are the hot ceramic coatings these days? Seems like a billion options compared to the last time I had it done.
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Jun 24, 2019 22:00
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fknlo posted:What's are the hot ceramic coatings these days? Seems like a billion options compared to the last time I had it done. I think it's still the cheap off ali-express ones are what we all have. Pretty sure i have this stuff: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Car...2841429919.html
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Jun 24, 2019 22:19
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toplitzin posted:I think it's still the cheap off ali-express ones are what we all have. Still my go-to. AliExpress also has some 10H stuff, but this 9H stuff has worked really well for me.
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Jun 24, 2019 22:54
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toplitzin posted:I think it's still the cheap off ali-express ones are what we all have. How are you guys applying htis? does it go on like a liquid wax? Ive been spinning a thin coat of 845 on with a red or black pad for years.
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Jun 25, 2019 01:25
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