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Car Detailing Thread

Beautiful.
Nothing wrong with a good wax/polish, especially from a personal satisfaction POV. I love doing it to my truck.

I will say, the paint protection film / ceramic combo on my other car is night and day for ease of use. Washing only requires the odd dab with a microfibre cloth to take any really stubborn bugs off, but mostly I can rely on hot pressure water to clean the car, followed by a good towel dry.
 
Just to show what the new stuff can do. This is my weekend car. It’s an ‘05 and was done with Adams Graphene back in December of 2021. It’s been washed maybe 6-7 times and just do a quick spray wax when it’s lightly driven and covered up. Took her out for Top Golf date lunch the other day with Mrs.Motopilot. Incredible shine and gloss for 18 years old.

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Motopilot said:
Just to show what the new stuff can do. This is my weekend car. It’s an ‘05 and was done with Adams Graphene back in December of 2021. It’s been washed maybe 6-7 times and just do a quick spray wax when it’s lightly driven and covered up. Took her out for Top Golf date lunch the other day with Mrs.Motopilot. Incredible shine and gloss for 18 years old.

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Very nice.
Do you need to do a full paint correction pre-graphene? Or does it deliver results either way?
 
Motopilot said:
Just to show what the new stuff can do. This is my weekend car. It’s an ‘05 and was done with Adams Graphene back in December of 2021. It’s been washed maybe 6-7 times and just do a quick spray wax when it’s lightly driven and covered up. Took her out for Top Golf date lunch the other day with Mrs.Motopilot. Incredible shine and gloss for 18 years old.

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Love the Adam's Graphene coating! Easy to apply and maintain. Your car looks great!
 
Picking up my new car tomorrow and looking to do ceramic coating .. got quoted 850 to have it done at a shop, but I'll get some more quotes in case too

I have 0 car detailing gear, 0 experience, and a garage that isn't conducive to cleaning a car in it or keeping it in to let it really dry and cure

What you guys think? Pay the pro the first time then maintain it from there, or something a mechanically challenged person like me can even do?
 
Motopilot said:
Just to show what the new stuff can do. This is my weekend car. It’s an ‘05 and was done with Adams Graphene back in December of 2021. It’s been washed maybe 6-7 times and just do a quick spray wax when it’s lightly driven and covered up. Took her out for Top Golf date lunch the other day with Mrs.Motopilot. Incredible shine and gloss for 18 years old.

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Stunning!!!!
 
Gyro25 said:
Picking up my new car tomorrow and looking to do ceramic coating .. got quoted 850 to have it done at a shop, but I'll get some more quotes in case too

I have 0 car detailing gear, 0 experience, and a garage that isn't conducive to cleaning a car in it or keeping it in to let it really dry and cure

What you guys think? Pay the pro the first time then maintain it from there, or something a mechanically challenged person like me can even do?
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For sure let a pro do it. Will look amazing when it’s done. I know my limits of what I can and cannot do. I wanted to replaced the stone guards on my car as they were starting to yellow and almost 18 years old. Had a professional do it. Took him 2 hours and watching him do it I’m glad he did that work. You cannot even see where he applied the new Xpel.

Same for ceramic. It’s the prep that takes all the time. Let someone with the experience and the shop do it correctly. And yes the price seems high but again it’s all the prep time.
 
Someone on here asked about scratch repair? Well I got this GMC SUV from an eight the other day. The scratch went across all four panels. Yes was almost 7’ long. They think another neighbor kids bike handle scratched the car as he was riding between the two parked cars. This was my first time using these RUPES products and the results are amazing. Shot a video for the owner but these are some screen shots of before and after. Finished it afterwards with the usual Adams advance Graphene coating.

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Trying something new. Yes some may think this is a little over the top but saw it online and thought about trying it. Got a C6 vette this week with carpeted floor mats so think will try on them too.

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Ok did a ceramic coating on this vette tonight. Wow this car came out amazing. The photos don’t do it justice. 2017 that the guy bought a month ago. He’s going to be blown away tomorrow at pickup. Done with GYEON evo. Very easy to apply and wipe off.

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One more. Client was so stoked this am.
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I know it's not actual detailing but I picked up a basic car wash kit to start my journey into this.. I read in here that chemical guys isn't too bad, got this kit for I think 80 bucks.. or can I find something a bit better out there?

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I've done my research online and reddit, CG doesn't have super reviews on Reddit but I again just wanted something to do washes at home and maintain the new car look
 

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Gyro25 said:
I know it's not actual detailing but I picked up a basic car wash kit to start my journey into this.. I read in here that chemical guys isn't too bad, got this kit for I think 80 bucks.. or can I find something a bit better out there?

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I've done my research online and reddit, CG doesn't have super reviews on Reddit but I again just wanted something to do washes at home and maintain the new car look
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I've never used CG stuff before, but from what I've read they make decent stuff. For $80 that seems like a pretty decent starter kit: a foam cannon alone is $40 minimum. Just double check the specs on the wheel cleaner - if you have chrome wheels most manufacturers advise against using chemical cleaners as it damages the "chrome".

One item I would strongly recommend to anyone, even if they're only doing a basic wash/dry is a dedicated drying towel. I use the Griots Garage "PFM" towel to dry my supercrew F150. I typically use two, but in a pinch I can dry the entire truck with only one - that's how much water it can absorb.
 
Junkyard said:
I've never used CG stuff before, but from what I've read they make decent stuff. For $80 that seems like a pretty decent starter kit: a foam cannon alone is $40 minimum. Just double check the specs on the wheel cleaner - if you have chrome wheels most manufacturers advise against using chemical cleaners as it damages the "chrome".

One item I would strongly recommend to anyone, even if they're only doing a basic wash/dry is a dedicated drying towel. I use the Griots Garage "PFM" towel to dry my supercrew F150. I typically use two, but in a pinch I can dry the entire truck with only one - that's how much water it can absorb.
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Thanks for the suggestion.. my wheels are not chrome, they're listed as "bright aluminum" unless that's just the color, but I am considering hyperdipping them in the spring to either black or a bronze

And thanks for the suggestion on the towel, I'll keep that in mind for a spring pick up 👊
 
It’s a great start and good price for that. The soap and butter wax are great. I use two things from CG still. The undercarriage spray and their leather conditioner. Both work great. Most of the products I use are RUPES, Griots, Adams and CG. Been also using GYEON stuff as well. To me the most important thing is how well the product works for your situation. I started with CG as well. Let me know if you have any questions. It gets addicting.

I also recommend the Griots PFM towel. I have two of them I use. I also use an air dryer which is great especially In smaller areas.
 
Just did another car with the GYEON evo. This truck doesn’t fit in my garage so it’s done outside. In the shade and a cloudy day this stuff worked great. It’s a neighbor who I detail lots of cars for. He’s selling this so I got it ready for him. It’s a ‘87 btw.

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First wash and wax done with the CG kit, looks pretty good.

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I hate that the paint chips so easily on the Ford, is it a clay bar I need?

Anything else I should be doing after the wax?


Time to take the deep dive on some more videos.. may do the wife's SUV tomorrow
 
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Gyro25 said:
First wash and wax done with the CG kit, looks pretty good.

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I hate that the paint chips so easily on the Ford, is it a clay bar I need?

Anything else I should be doing after the wax?


Time to take the deep dive on some more videos.. may do the wife's SUV tomorrow
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Looks good, sir.

CG's stuff is decent. I use their stuff pretty much exclusively as there's a Chemical Guys store like 5 miles from me.
 
Gyro25 said:
First wash and wax done with the CG kit, looks pretty good.

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I hate that the paint chips so easily on the Ford, is it a clay bar I need?

Anything else I should be doing after the wax?


Time to take the deep dive on some more videos.. may do the wife's SUV tomorrow
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Ford paint is beyond shite! The good news is, black paint is super easy look showroom, and despite what Reddit says, the CG stuff is decent for readily available stuff. The bad news is, black paint magnifies every imperfection. There’s no hiding place for scratches and swirls. The most important thing with black paint is to have a good cleaning regime. That’s going to involve 2 buckets, a decent mitt and a decent drying towel
 
Looks awesome! Well done.
 
Did this Dodge today. Some kind of limited edition Army edition. Beautiful non metallic green. So hard to work with these but the results are amazing. Another finished with the Adams Advanced Graphene Spray. And a lot of Adams Graphene VRT. This truck had zero chrome as everything was black. Also it never goes in a garage.

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I cannot take credit for the work but my car needed a good cleaning. We have had a ton of rain lately.
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