HecticEnergy & Friends: detailing LIVE!

Lol - no way, need you to watch me do it and tell me all the ways I’m doing it wrong lol

 

“The best tools” are wasted in the hands of the inexperienced

 

I see right through you TJ.

 

No, I’m mostly serious!
I’ve got a vague idea of what I’m doing, but I’m sure I’ve got lots more mistakes to make if I do it alone. Don’t worry, I bring beer

 

Ok, so “best” tools may be overstating lol

 

We can invite @ARamirez73 and have a wash day.

 

What’s in the bottles?

 

Nothing outside of what we discussed.

 

The only one of those I’ve used is the microfiber wash.

 

The greater “we” in this thread.

Sweet! We can swap some samples! I’ll try to remember to take lots of pictures, but again, I’m novice so any bad experience I have I’ll likely chalk up to user error... flip to the middle of the last page with the 303 on the mirrors.. my experience speaks for itself

Only thing I haven’t gotten is the waxaddicts tyre conditioner. Should be here in the next few days I imagine, but I don’t have tracking so hard to say. That’s not super high priority. Got the strip wash today, couldn’t really move forward with out it...

I’m really excited to try the foam cannon, but I’ll probably have to wait a few weeks on that for the truck... I’m going to give the wife’s car a good wash probably this week... maybe some bww.. we’ll see.. but not a full wax. She’s going to need some paint correction I’m almost certain... otherwise I imagine I’ll just be highlighting all the swirls in the paint, rock chips in the hood, and door digs...

 

Screw ups are gonna happen. I did a shit job with some spray sealant last week and left streaks everywhere. Had to do it again.

Do you have a Costco membership? I picked up some of their yellow microfiber towels over the weekend, and they’re damned good for the price. I think it was 15 bucks for 30 of them. Not as good as some of the more expensive options, but very good nonetheless. I’d say they are the best ones I’ve found that don’t cost at least a couple of dollars a piece.

 

I’ve got a bunch. I think they’re 80/20. Mine are all ruined from improper wash though. They felt like decent towels.. especially for the price!

 

I sorted all of my towels the other day. I have three categories, all in separate boxes:

1) Suitable for use on my truck.
2) Suitable for use on everyone else’s cars.
3) Miscellaneous household cleaning.

 

Haha love it.

Funny you mention sorting towels Jason. I'm planning on doing that today

 

I’ve got
1) suitable for cars (currently new or near new)
2) suitable for interior (currently moderately used: Costco towels that weren’t ruined by the dryer)
3) household (Costco towels ruined by the dryer)

But I don’t have a bunch packed with car products yet, so I doubt they’ll flow down the list... I don’t really want wax or selant reminence on my interior... depends on how clean I can get them I suppose.

My son dropped a bunch of my new towels on the pavement yesterday... then “fixed it” by throwing them in with the other new towels... guess I’ll be doing some laundry today... lol

I’m going to try to get wife’s car washed tonight... depending on what she has planned. (Someone has to watch the munchkins). She’s going out of town in a few weeks.. maybe I’ll see if her parents want to visit with the kids for a few hours while I improve my detailing skills by practicing on her car (paint correction and sealant).

 

I sorted mine while my son and I were watching a movie. It took a long time. I have a shitload of towels. Last year, after I’d spent the day washing all four vehicles, my wife was folding them all and counted them. She said “Did you realize you have 88 towels?” I told her “You mean I had 88 DIRTY towels. There are more in the garage.”
I’ve gotten a lot more since then. I’ve taken to just throwing them out when I use anything that won’t wash out easily.

My in laws are good for testing things out also. They’re always up for me working in their vehicles. My daughter went to get her stuff out of her car at the tow lot yesterday. I tried to get her to bring the hood back so I could use it for practice. I’ve been keeping my eye out for junk pieces I can use.

 

That is a lot of towels for 4 vehicles... or did you have some dirty from a previous time that you threw in too?

I was going to wash/polish/wax wifes vehicle while her parents washed the kids. I'd defiantly want more confidence in my ability as a detailer before I attempt on another persons car lol
The inlaws use automatic washes, so unless I got proficient with the buffer, I'd probably just make it look worse haha

 

Yeah they’re were probably quite a few that hadn’t been folded and put up yet.

My in laws have pretty old vehicles, one of which I gave them, so they don’t mind me practicing on them. I still haven’t taken the time to really go over a whole vehicle with a polisher. Just spots here and there. It does seem like you’d have to be pretty careless to mess anything up.

 

It’s essentially thinning the clear coat, right?

Seal & wax without polish and fixing chips just highlights the paint defects. That’s what I meant by make it look worse. Still need to train my eye to catch those and how to correct them before fully I detail someone else car. Again, I’m not very good in my own estimation based on my experience with bww... just need more practice

 

Yes, that’s exactly what it is. Let me know if you get good at fixing rock chips. My one attempt was a disaster.

 

Pretty interesting video. He does the Iron X and clay during the wash process. Jump to about ten minutes in.

https://youtu.be/x2uSYvuLucA

 

Nice video! I watched the whole thing... 2x for most of it lol

I thought I heard of or saw someone using a clay mitt to wipe off the foam from a foam cannon (after initial wash and rinse).
He makes a good point about ironX pre wash: sticks to the car better... but I wonder if it misses some of the deeper stuff that may be covered up by dirt on the paint... My cars dont really get that dirty.. Maybe try what you did with the clay bar after nanoskin. I'll run Adams Iron Remover first. then rinse/wash & dry, then hit it again and see what comes up.

 

I’d seen another guy suggest the same before, but the instructions say otherwise. I’ve never tried it without at least rinsing first.

 

That’s a good point.
I haven’t even opened the package yet so I wouldn’t know LOL
I will have to review the instructions before getting started.

 

I read the back of the package and they seem to want you to rinse, wash with their "Bubble Bath" (soft side of the mitt), then apply the rubber side of the mitt with more suds from the "Bubble Bath" solution.


Their website instructions are a bit different...

From their site https://www.nanoskinusa.com/collections/autoscrub-system/products/autoscrub-wash-mitt-medium-grade

DIRECTIONS:

Use ONLY on clean, cool paint and out of direct sunlight. DO NOT work on the surface below 55°F and over 144°F. Please use in an inconspicuous place for the first time in case of unexpected adverse effects on paint surface.

1. Mix 1 oz of NANOSKIN BUBBLE BATH Wash & Shine Shampoo per gallon of water.
2. Rinse surface with water to flush away loose dirt.
3. Wash and rinse in sections with AUTOSCRUB Wash Mitt using light pressure.
4. Begin with the roof, and work the suds down to the hood, trunk and sides.
5. Rinse with clean water.
6. Dry with clean and soft towels.

NOTE:

Sufficient lubrication is crucial to the AUTOSCRUB application.

Plain water is NOT an adequate lubricant.

AUTOSCRUB is not solvent resistant.

Remove tar & grease before application

 

Confirmed: I’m still an idiot.

Foam cannoned my wife’s car... I was excited to use the tool. Wasn’t as rich foam as i was hoping for, I’ll have to play with it more. The real problem is it hasn’t been washed in a few months... needed better scrubbing and not just a quick wet wipe down. Probably great for a weekly wash... not so great in this case.

 

You have to twist the knob to the negative side for more foam. It doesn’t make sense, but that’s how mine is.

 

I had it tightened down all the way and it just sprayed water out of the T connection (where it wasn’t supposed to) twisted knob 3/4 and stuff started coming out. I didn’t take any pictures. Hopefully Ill remember next time. Thanks for the tip!!

 

Yeah I was thinking mine was crap the first time I used it. That’s when I actually checked the instructions.