Bass Mech

chemical guys mr pink and honeydew with the foam cannon

Rsnic

This couldn't be any more true. Things can get expensive quickly and you can easily spend hundreds of dollars buying stuff. If you get involved in detailing its best to just build up an inventory over time as you see what works best and what doesn't. Its costly but if you buy quality equipment and products in bulk they will last a long time.

I personally use Optimum Car Wash with an ounce of Optimum No-Rinse added to it to soften the water because my water comes from a well and at times has high levels of minerals (aka hard water) which can leave water spots if you don't wash fast enough. I buy everything buy the gallon so its last a long time and is cheaper in the long run.

AdvanSLF

rsnic-- do you do a waterless wash or QD with your ONR? do you find it staining your MF towels as some people of reported?

JDR76

I also use ONR on both my cars, followed by Wolfgang QD.

To me, what soap you use is important, but not nearly as important as your method. Multiple buckets, grit gards, clean mits/towels, etc... This point cannot be emphasized enough.

Rsnic

Because its the winter i've only been doing full traditional washes. For right now i just use it as an additive to my wash bucket along with OCW to break up the hard water because my water comes from a well. Once its the spring/summer i'm gonna start to use ONR straight as a touch up in between washes to deal with the pollen.

As a quick detailer i use Optimum Instant Detailer or Chemical Guys Hybrid V7 both work/look great, but the Hybrid V7 stained the crap out of my white microfiber towels.

Hupperware

Adam's crushes all and I've used Zaino, Mother's, Chem Bros.. The rinse-less car wash is friggin' awesome. Detail spray is where it's at.

http://www.adamspolishes.com/ - 15% off with SPRING14 code

Just dropped $750 on the complete kit.

AdvanSLF

Totally agree with you. however, placing one item more important over the other takes the importance away from the entire detailing process. I mean you're gonna need good MF towels so it doesn't scratch/mar. you're gonna need good technique because again you don't want to scratch/mar. you're gonna need good soap/cleaners in order to clean the car.. so i think all of those things, respective to itself are important, but more importantly, its to have the combination thereof.

wow, you must have a tree that grows cash...V7 as a QD? quite expensive for something so small and as a everyday QD (even when it's on sale). i'm assuming you use it as a top-off every time you do a rinseless, waterless, or full wash on your car.

that's quite the statement! what makes adams so good? seriously, tell me the technology, your experiences, like/dislike, compared against?, etc. don't just say its good and better than anything else.. great advertising for them, but not enough context for me.

JDR76

Fair enough, point taken re: the importance of the whole package. I consider those other items more important than the soap because those are the items that are more likely to damage your paint than the soap you choose, at least in my experience. If you are using cheap or dirty towels, dirty water, etc., it won't matter what kind of soap you use. Damage is done. That was my point. YMMV

AdvanSLF

Agreed. cheers!

Rsnic

Haha, yeah i guess i should of clarified that. For touch ups i use OID and as a LSP/drying aid after a wash i use V7 which seems to work really well with cars that are opti-coated.

As for price if you spend $500 a year at detailed image you qualify for a wholesale account and everything is cheaper. and hitting that amount isn't hard if you start buying polishers or you do some weekend detailing jobs.

phungy

I'll look into that! Thanks for that tip.

dojoman

iTrader: (5)

It looks like I'm gonna need to buy more of no rinse washer. Can't wash cars in CA anymore.

AndyL

Could you explain? Tried to find the law related to this online but don't quite understand what is going on.

zabone

iTrader: (2)

I live in NYC we have soft water here but spotting is still a problem.

If my car is dirty, I will pull out the pressure washer to give a foam bath and rinse prior to a hand wash.

If the car is dusty, I use a one bucket method with ONR.

1 bucket, grit guard, 4 gallons distilled water, 2.5 oz ONR, and quality edge less microfibers.

I wash a panel at a time with drying by waffle weave towels

Sounds crazy, but an average automatic car wash charges 14 bucks here. They also damage your paint. My one bucket onr method costs like 6 dollars total.

It also only takes about an hour!

magne

I'm using several different soaps.
The favorite is optimum car soap. It smells good, does the job of cleaning without any problems, gives a good glide and leaves no residue.

I've used chemical guys a lot to, but some of their soaps leaves residue and streaks.
Worst of them is honeydew soap. It smells like heaven, but the car looks like you've just left the soap on wafter washing, even if you use a high preassure washer for 15 minutes on the car.

CG makes a lot of different soaps. The citrus wash works great, but still my favorite is optimum, because of the things I stated earlier about the soap.

In the foam gun cannon I use surfex HD degreaser in about 1:20, and some chemical guys maxi suds soap to add extra foam that sticks to the car for while.