Ask the Detailer

Yes the powerlock took some effort to apply, and it was a somewhat cooler day so interesting how it will work during the summer. But its well worth it and holding up after multiple washes, Im leaning more toward the full decon method as you and @Pudge mention, esp since smudge/spots appeared. Not certain organic or what but certainly no longer virgin paint.

 

Also like the foam/rinse/foam. Reduced effort removing caked on mud, only 1 additional mf towel and but got by with 1 bucket wash.

 

@Squatting Pigeon once you get that spot out go buy a couple cans of scotch guard and cover your seats. You will thank me later. stuff works great and leaves you plenty of time to find something to wipe up the mess before int sits too long and its too late.

 

I hate to be that guy but that is way too much for basic cleaning supplies. Really only products in there worth a damn is the Mr.Pink, the bucket and the wash mitt. The drying towels may be good idk. I would just go to Walmart buy a wash kit and bucket, then order some foam and a drying towel from CG if you want. You will prob save about $40.

Chemical Guys does very well at advertising their products. But I have said the before as well of thousands of people who have been doing this a while that CG is a deicer at best product. They do have a few great products but for the most part I could find better stuff at Walmart. In fact CG is sold at Walmart. Think a bout it

 

Those towels are pretty good. I use them quite a bit. You can get a dozen of them for 20 bucks. They do have a handful of good products, but way too much overlap in their offerings.

 

Not a question but a recommendation for a product. I used 3D HD Speed on my black tundra and was blown away by the results. Griots 6 inch polisher with 5.5 inch orange buff and shine flat pads. Truck turned out great. Stunning product for a AIO.

 

All you guys that aren’t too lazy to polish need to come to my house.

 

Cool I’ll have to look into the towels thanks

 

Now you tell me

 

Well i bought the Dallas paint correction ceramic coating today. Grabbed some extra towels to get free shipping. Always can use more MFers. Will be trying this out asap.
I may do my brothers truck first. It's out sap collecting truck. 1995 Chevy 1500. Low miles, like 30k, but still very old paint. I will be doing a decon, wash, clay, m205 or more likely scholls s20 black with cutting pads, wipe down with eraser, then a light polishing /jeweling with carpro essence and right into the coating. Probably 2 coats of it.
Then I'll do my truck with probably the same steps. Who knows when I'll actually have time for this. I hope to get my bro to help me at least do his truck. I really hope it works out well.

 

Its all good man we all start somewhere. Just read reviews and buy products based on what you are looking to do and not by brand. This way you will find what works for you.

 

Agree the is not as bad for my mod-envy self. At least I can shell out to keep it nice and clean.

 

@Pudge I’m thinking Reload for my wife’s new ride. What do you think?

 

Wow that is one beautiful truck. I'm a huge fan of reload. It's my favorite LSP/sealant, even though I use beadmaker more and I like the gloss from beadmaker better. I think it gives great paint protection(4+ months in my experience). For me it has lasted longer than hydro2 and leaves a glossier look to the paint. You can't go wrong with reload.
If you didn't like washing and sealing your vehicles so much, I would say this would be a great time for cquartz or maybe DPC ceramic coating. I could try to bottle some of the DPC coating up and mail you enough for the sequoia if you want to coat it. I should have some next week

 

I don’t remember, but did he say it was ok to apply outside? I do still have a bottle of CQuartz at the house also.

 

So thats what the new Sequoia looks like. We have an '08 and it looks basically the same except for the headlights and door trim. Which trim level is that one? Lots of real estate there.....better eat your Wheaties the day you're detailing it!!

 

It’s a Platinum, and yes they haven’t changed much. We have a 2012 Limited. (It broke the 200k mark yesterday)

Only real changes are headlights, safety sense, and some cosmetic trim stuff. This one is 4wd, and has some things I haven’t figured out yet. For instance, I only know what the top button in this picture even does:



This one has a tv in it, but that’s a pretty useless accessory nowadays.

Yeah, it’s a big vehicle to detail, but I’ve been doing her Sequoia regularly, so I know what I’m getting into. I’m just thanking my lucky stars because she almost picked black. This is Blizzard Pearl, so it’s got a lot of sparkles in it that I hope to magnify as much as possible.

Plan for this weekend is (weather permitting), Iron X and clay, a light polish (from what I can see it doesn’t need any real correction), Optimum Tire Coating, Trim Shield, and figuring out what LSP will look the best. I’m likely going to try Reload and see how it comes out.

Reload, IMO, does a good job of giving the impression of depth in the paint. I know it’s not the general consensus, but I do feel like certain products work better on the color of the vehicle. I’ve been told that’s all in my head though. I’ve only done one white vehicle in the past. I put reload on it and the owner was very happy.

 

It will

Just out of curiosity...what polish do you plan on using? I used HD One on a white Charger that really didn't need much polishing, and the white paint came out amazing. Used a Griots yellow BOSS pad on it.

 

I haven’t gotten a lot of practice polishing, so I figured I’d try a couple of different ones. I’m planning to do half with 3M Finesse It, and half with Carpro Essence. I already have both in hand, and have done most of my practice with Finesse It. @driverdog is a big fan and turned me on to it.

 

I think essense then reload will leave that white looking great. The pearl should really pop and I agree that reload gives nice depth to the paint. Whatever you do its gonna look great.

 

Washed my truck Tuesday morning and used CarPro Reset. Pretty great stuff! Thanks for the recommendation @War Machine and @Pudge. I then added a coat of Bead Maker on top. Finally used CarPro Perl on my tires, I went 1:1 this go around. Tires look great so far but it's only been a few days.

 

Damn that looks great

 

Thanks!

Turned out good. I will give Reload a try next.

Before I apply reload do I have to use CarPro Eraser or iron x, claybar, hrdro2 type steps or just wait a month or 2 before I use Reload? I applied hydro2 and bead maker initially a month ago.

@Pudge

 

I would wait a couple months before you do the reload. You have plenty of protection right now with hydro2 , and I'm sure you'll use beadmaker a couple more times this summer to shine it up.
Maybe plan on doing a decon with IronX and clay, maybe a polishing then eraser in late summer or early fall. Followed up by reload to give you protection through the fall and winter. In my experience reload can last 6 months, I like to top it with hydro2 after a couple months if i get a warm day to do so.

 

AM waiting to get to my new home in TN to buy any products but convinced my roommate to get bead maker. Stuff is actually pretty dang good. Yet to see how it does in the rain as he drives that particular car once a week maybe and never if its going to rain but so far its great

 

I ordered a few bottles of Eraser a few days ago, should be here next week. I'll keep using bead maker throughout summer and then follow up with what you recommended In the fall. Thanks again! @Pudge

 

I should add that initially I used iron x, clayed before I applied hydro2 and beadmaker.

 

Beautiful sir! That soap is really great.

 

You won’t need to IronX and clay again. That’s only necessary once a year at most.

 

It’s crazy in the rain. Better than pretty much anything in my opinion.