[VTEC Mini]

I have a been a car freak of nature all my life and have just about used every product available. The best stuff I have ever used was Adams car polish.

Adam's Polishes

My whole MINI club switched to this stuff from Meguiars after I introduced it. The owner is top A-1when it comes to service and I know this from personal experience. There is no better product, bar none. True life story- after using his product I entered my '04 MINI in Orange Counties largest car show, Cruisin for a Cure, and won best MINI. When I picked up my award I was hoping they wouldn't ask what products I used because the event was sponsored by Meguiars and that would have been odd.:blush:

You will not find it in any parts store because the owner believes in mass production you loose quality and he doesn't want it to be viewed as just another everyday verity car wax because it isn't- and I agree. It is a little on the expensive side but you use only a little and and it lasts a long time. Not to mention you can do it all in direct sunlight with out any damage to the paint or it leaving streaks or "baking".

 

[VTEC Mini]

I'm with VTEC Mini on the Adams stuff. The guy my brother bought his car from mentioned it. Always game to try a new product I ordered their little sample pack. I now use their products almost exclusively. Their detail spray is the best I compared it next to a couple other products and it looked and felt better and its better to use. Nothing of theirs I've tried disappointed me.

Their customer service is second to none as well..had a problem with one of the sprayers being left out of an order. They overnighted me a new one along with throwing in some free microfibers.

So, I waxed mine the week I bought it. Paint was really smooth so no clay bar this time. Besides I need a new clay bar anyway. Since then weekly washes assuming no rain and then spend about 20mins afterwards cleaning windows, headlights, and detail spray on whole car. As for interior I just vacuum and use the adams interior stuff. It doesn't make everything shiny or gooey like a lot of things I've tried. I like meguiars interior stuff too...its one of their products in the brown bottle the professional series.

The detail spray is the bomb. I also love how everything has a distinctive smell. The detail spray kind of smells like strawberries, In and Out Spray smell like baby powder, Undercarriage spray smells like grape Jolly Ranchers. My wife loves the way the garage smells after I detail the cars LOL!

My situation with the owner was on my '04 MINI I had a roof decal that was checker board with a big red "S" on it. One of there reps said I could use the vinyl protectant on it to make it shine. It turned it brown in some spots. The owner offered to have the whole top redone- no questions asked and wanted to fix it right now. I asked if he wanted picture as proof or wanted to look at it first. He said no need to and for me to get quotes and send it him and he would cut me a check. He did say that was the wrong stuff to use for it and was sorry. Fortunately, it did fade off in a couple of weeks. He also comes out once a year to do demo's for our MINI/ Mini club.

 

[VTEC Mini]

OK so i work next to a dirt warehouse and a parkway so after work everyday i use my california car duster to get the loose dirt off, then i use mothers showroom shine and wipe her down completely. This past weekend i gave her her first waxing using again mothers, made the pearl flakes pop more and darkend the paint (its black). But i do still have very slight swirl marks, i either need to wax more or tri something different. Car looks sexy though:leghump:

California Dusters are real bad for paint. Adams sell this stuff called "Swirl and Haze Remover" that works like a champ. They also have other polish and waxes. There link is on this thread.

 

[VTEC Mini]

As a blanket statement I disagree. It dependings on the use. While dragging something across your paint isn't always the best idea, I've found the use of a California Duster, lightly, on a regularly waxed car causes absolutely no damage or swirling. Of course, the car must only be dusty and not dirty, but it works. Also the greener/yellower the dust the more pollen that makes up said dust which is more abrasive. I definitely wouldn't recommend the CD on a car covered in large amounts of pollen.

Thats all fine and good. I however, it being a show car, kept my '04 MINI polished waxed and detailed and the longest it went with out a bath was two weeks. I used to use the CD on it between washes and I found after getting the paint pristine after using the CD a couple of times the swirl marks came back and the more I used it the greater the swirl marks. I contacted Adams and they told me to use there super plush Micro fiber towels with some Detail Spray. Not only would it "snap back" the shine but I never had a swirl mark ever. The CD went straight into the can. Besides, why would you want to take the chance of scratching the paint? Do you always know what is in the dust?

The best way to look for paint damage is fluorescent lighting either a hand held wand or the ones they use in parking lots at night. They can tell you a different story than you see in the sun.

 

[VTEC Mini]

Obviously wiping down the vehicle with a detailing spray is even better, and of course someone at Adams is going to push their own product, but that doesn't mean the CD is without its place. I'm not always able to take the time to wipe my car down with a spray. In those instances, and between wipe-downs/details, the CD is perfect and leaves no visible swirling/scratches.

I have used real life experience in both- Spray and wipe doesn't take that much longer- maybe two minutes at the most, does a better job, no sweep marks, no scratches or swirls and restores shine.

To each his own But I will never let a CD touch any of my cars.

 

[VTEC Mini]

With how much my co-workers already tease me for the quick dusting of my car when leaving the office, I don't even want to know what they'd put me through for a 2 minute detail spray wipe-down. :blush:

Just tell them the voices in your head are telling you it's not clean enough- works for me:iough:.:blink::spaz::spinning:.

 

[VTEC Mini]

I used to use a car duster and didn't have any trouble. However since then my duster has gotten dirty and all and it fell on the floor a couple times so it has become a toolbox / garage duster for the most part. Usually wash my car every other week. Used to be weekly but at that time it spent 100% of the time outside now its in the garage whenever I'm home.

I will say the #1 thing I've learned over the years of detailing cars is to keep your rags clean. That's really my #1 concern. If I drop it on the ground its in the bucket to be washed before it goes back on the car.

I noticed some very very light swirls on my car I think either the factory or the dealer did it. They are too big (radially) for something I would have done as I do 100% of my work by hand and I'm pretty confident it wasn't me. If they get any worse I'll have to spring for a porter cable..I've always avoided it afraid I'd mess up my paint. That and whenever I had a car I didn't care as much about I was always too broke at the time to buy one. I really need a guinea pig car.

I know I keep talking about Adams but there porter cables are amazing and are idiot proof. During his Demo he took a porter cable pushed down so hard on the hood it was bowing the sheet metal and he held it in place with it turned on and then proceeded to move it while exerting this extra force as he polished the hood- there was no burning or damage to the paint. Of coarse you don't need that much force but he was trying to show with his products you really can't screw anything up unless of coarse you dipped your buffing pads in a sand box before use.

BMW was really bad about adding swirl marks which really surprised me. On the many times I had to take the MINI in for repair I would explicitly tell them not to wash it..... It didn't always work out that way:cursing:.

Just a helpful tip; When you wash your Micro fiber towels use liquid detergent not powder and do not use dryer sheets or any type of fabric softener in the dryer.

 

[VTEC Mini]

good tip but i'd like to add DO NOT DRY THEM IN A MACHINE!!! Just let them air dry... using a dryer does something to the fibers where eventually if done enough WILL add swirls to your car...

I found that can happen with Costco Micro fiber towels but I have not had any issue with Adams towels or other high end towels- like the $20 a towel type:scared::eek2:. But like I preach, "why take the chance....." I will not dry them in the dryer anymore- thanks Bizzy.

 

[VTEC Mini]

Bizzy :hyper:... movement causes air flow... air flow causes evaporation... dries much faster for those of us in need of that emergency microfiber wipe....

Plus it is a lot better than running around in your front yard waving it in the air like you just don't care and having your neighbors call the cops and the men in white suits showing up carrying a straight jacket:spaz:.

 

[VTEC Mini]

Hey man.. did that.. like.. happen to you too.... whoa...... bummer!

:rotfl:

Not yet........:rotfl:

 

[VTEC Mini]

Ah the penalties for owning a black car, but I still love the color.
Anyone have a preferred brand/product for removing light scratches?

-Hoi

I have merged these two threads together. I hope you can find the answer you are looking for!:thumbsup::hi5:

 

[VTEC Mini]

Just ordered some more Adams stuff.. I can't wait!

 

[VTEC Mini]

A thick, plush Microfiber towel and Adams Detail Spray.

 

[VTEC Mini]

I've started using opti-clean on my glass shower doors. I used to have to get an abrasive sponge and commit cleaner and scrub those things to get all the soap and hard water stains off. W/ opti-clean I spray them, wipe them down w/ a microfiber a second later, and I'm done! (that's almost more impressive than the car cleaning, as glass shower doors are a b17ch to clean.

I will have to try it!