What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[DFB5.0]

Well, I got carried away...........................................

It’s hard to know exactly why I love chainsaws so much. The sound? The smell? The look? The teetering on the edge of danger? All of the above? But since I was 12 or 13, I've been obsessed with these noisy, dangerous and oh so addictive machines.

In 2022 I bought a brand-new 50cc MS 271, my first proper saw. Then three months later, I inherited a 1986 Stihl 028 AV Super, which is also a 50cc saw. Suddenly, I had two 50cc chainsaws. About a month ago, I decided to move one of them on, and with my attachment to that particular 028, the 3-year old 271 was moved on. In truth, I didn’t really need to replace the 271, in the same way I don’t need 4 cars, 5 polishers, 12 lawn mowers, instead, I just wanted one…………………………………….

I didn’t consider any other brand, it was always going to be another Stihl. In my formative years I was a Stihl boy, and I’ve turned into a Stihl man. The same applies to those who have a passion for Ford’s, maybe a certain brand of camera, maybe a clothing line or shoe brand. We want what our hearts want.

With that in mind, I narrowed the choices down to a MS 462 and MS 500i, both pro-grade saws with magnesium case. The 462 is a weapon, producing 4.4 kW from a 72.2cc engine. But, the 500i takes things to another level, be that engine size or power, but crucially, technology as well. With the current Stihl winter sale, both models are currently priced within $100 of each other, with the 500i being cheaper, well, it was pretty clear which would be the winner.

The MS 500i is the first and only fuel injected chainsaw in the world. Launched in October 2019, it’s still in a class of its own. In addition to the fuel injection, the 500i uses M-Tronic to automatically adjust the fuel mixture on the fly, which can help compensate for ambient temperature, hot or cold starting, fuel quality, elevation, and air filter condition. It also means rapid throttle response, Stihl claiming it can go from 0-100 km/h in 0.25 seconds.



With injection, the starting procedure is vastly improved over a traditional Stihl chainsaw, no more multi-staged choke settings, no more flooding. The simplified starting procedure involves pressing the primer bulb a few times, then pull the rope and the injection and M-Tronic will adjust to conditions. A single push of a button then stops the saw.

The specs speak for themselves -

I actually had to order this saw as demand for them is high, especially in winter and when on heavy discount. I was told to expect delivery in mid July, but in fact it turned up yesterday just before close of business. After explaining what I do in my spare time, the dealer kindly kept the saw boxed up and unassembled for me to photograph and film. Despite being Stihl policy to fuel, oil and test fire tools before they leave, I was kindly given the option to take it as is, but I got them to do the pre-sale process to be safe. Being a Saturday, if something was wrong, I didn’t want to wait until Monday to sort it out.

After I had done my thing, it was time to fire it up, fire it up, fire it up! With the decompressor pushed in, the primer pressed 13 times (as per instruction), one firm pull and the big girl fired. One pull! Like, I’ve NEVER used a chainsaw that has started from dead cold in one pull. And because it doesn’t have the multi-stage choke that is standard fare for all Stihl saws, you don’t have to listen for the “pop” on full choke, nor do you have the saw screaming to life on part choke, it just starts and idles. I’d say that is a safety feature in itself.

And OH MY GOD! I’ve never used a two-stroke engine with this much throttle response before. Like, instantaneous! And the sound, FARK! Yep, I now have that big badass sounding chainsaw I had always dreamt of.

Also, I was expecting the 500i to be heavy, but its much lighter than I thought and is surprisingly well balanced.

I know, waaay off topic. Stay tuned though, there will be some detailing involved before I go and chop down anything in my path.....................

Sponsored

 

[skinnyb]

I always forget how much extra work it is to maintain a car in winter. Wet or damp roads, and the road film and mud the comes from that, well it generally takes more time and more chemical aggression to deal with. In the Wildtrak's case, transporting a dog with wet and muddy paws every day, off roading and pulling a boat out of the river doesn't help the situation.

I actually pre-treated the wheels, tyres and wheel arches with Bilt Hamber Touch-less, followed by contact washing with P&S Brake Buster and Undressed. For the paint, I tried P&S Frostbite, which apart from the unique Eucalyptus-Green Tea scent, it's thoroughly unremarkable. Just shows you that even with benchmark products in their lineup, they can still make a dud.

Contact wash was via Reset, drying aid Megs HCD, windows via Invisible Glass. Tyres dressed with Carpro Perl.

The interior was filthy. I started by foaming and scrubbing the floor mats with Touch-less. After a vacuum, the plastics got wiped down with Nextzett Cockpit Premium, such an obscure product that is well worth tracking down. The leather was wiped with Bowden's Leather Love, although I had to break out the ColourLock Strong cleaner for the drivers seat, steering wheel, gear shifter and central armrest. I followed that with ColourLock Leather Protector.

Clean again.....................for now.

Well I must say that Frostbite is lightyears ahead of Pearl.... I did buy a bottle out of sheer morbid curiosity end of last year, and I bought a second just the other day when I used it up. I don't use it often, but find the slightly higher PH is nice for a pre foam and it is excellent in the bucket for wheels... Its decently slick, for me anyway, and foams brilliantly. Although at the same PH, I do like KCx Active foam better...

I do agree, P&S is WAY behind the 8 ball on their products. They do have several stellar products (Express, Rags to Riches, Brake Buster) and quite a few ancient and outdated ones (Beadmaker, Pearl, etc)... I know people still to this day rave about Beadmaker, but I detest it, the dusting is horrific and it doesn't actually "bead" anything LOL...

 

[DFB5.0]

Well I must say that Frostbite is lightyears ahead of Pearl.... I did buy a bottle out of sheer morbid curiosity end of last year, and I bought a second just the other day when I used it up. I don't use it often, but find the slightly higher PH is nice for a pre foam and it is excellent in the bucket for wheels... Its decently slick, for me anyway, and foams brilliantly. Although at the same PH, I do like KCx Active foam better...

I do agree, P&S is WAY behind the 8 ball on their products. They do have several stellar products (Express, Rags to Riches, Brake Buster) and quite a few ancient and outdated ones (Beadmaker, Pearl, etc)... I know people still to this day rave about Beadmaker, but I detest it, the dusting is horrific and it doesn't actually "bead" anything LOL...

Prior to the Rag Company influence, P&S were always aimed at the professional in a high-volume environment, which favors price and performance rather than a fancy scent or color. For the most part, those older products were rebranded and sold under the Pro-Series or Chem-Trol lines.

ChemTrol Dilution Done Right! – P & S Detail Products
Pro Series – P & S Detail Products

With the Double Black line, P&S were aiming at the professional and enthusiast market. Some of those were new products, while others were rebranded. As much as anything, what this did was highlight how old some P&S products are. You will find the majority of online detailing suppliers will only stock the Double Black products.

Personally, I think they need to do something about Pearl, the only reason they sell so much is the low price, everything about it sucks. Other than Pearl, their other soaps are alkaline.

 

[skinnyb]

Prior to the Rag Company influence, P&S were always aimed at the professional in a high-volume environment, which favors price and performance rather than a fancy scent or color. For the most part, those older products were rebranded and sold under the Pro-Series or Chem-Trol lines.

ChemTrol Dilution Done Right! – P & S Detail Products
Pro Series – P & S Detail Products

With the Double Black line, P&S were aiming at the professional and enthusiast market. Some of those were new products, while others were rebranded. As much as anything, what this did was highlight how old some P&S products are. You will find the majority of online detailing suppliers will only stock the Double Black products.

Personally, I think they need to do something about Pearl, the only reason they sell so much is the low price, everything about it sucks. Other than Pearl, their other soaps are alkaline.

Yes I agree. I made the mistake of buying a gallon of pearl... And Bead maker . Their interior products are on point though.

 

[Free Spirit]

First a little backstory. I have been detailing since I was about 15, washing my parent's cars............. not for pocket money, but for fun! When I got my own car, I really started to get into it as a hobby. I would ration products because I was poor, at 18 I could only dream of some of the stuff I have today. It took until my late 20’s to realize the benefits detailing had on my mental health. When the pandemic hit in early 2020, I suddenly had a lot more time on my hands and I doubled down on expanding my skills and product knowledge, it ended up being my savior during those uncertain times. I guess like a lot of people during the height of the pandemic, my online ordering skills became a precisely tuned machine! I also started to detail other people’s cars to make some extra cash.

So 20 years of detailing as a hobby and occasional professional, I have started to loose count on what products I have. Well, I actually have a spreadsheet listing every product, tool, pads and towels I have or have had. So, you could say I have been around the block a few times. And yet, I still haven’t even scratched the surface of what’s available to detailers these days. After a lot of trial and error, this is a list of products I grab the most often. I will also state that I have no connection to any brand or supplier.

This list will exclude polishing compounds, waxes, sealants and coatings. That will perhaps come later, those categories seem to be more personal preference than the maintenance products I will detail below. Same story with towels and tools. Also, I normally provide links to each product, in this case I will let the reader do their own search due to the multi-national nature of this particular forum.

Wash Soap –

(I used all of these in both the foam cannon and in the bucket.)

CarPro Reset – My favourite soap. This is an expensive product for a reason, it’s top of the class for slickness, cleaning ability, foam quality and scent. Reset is pH neutral and was designed primarily for ceramic coatings but can also be used on other LSP’s with the caution it will speed up the degradation of waxes and sealants. Pours easily.

NV Snow – A pH neutral product that can be used in the sun safely, smells pleasant and foams exceptionally well. This is a runnier liquid that pours easily

Koch Chemie GSF – This is a brilliant pH neutral soap. Slickness and scent are it’s hallmarks.

Wildcard –

CarPro Descale – Again, a soap designed for ceramic coatings. It’s primary use is for reviving a clogged or water-spotted ceramic coating. I also use it as a strip wash in preparation for a new coating of wax or sealant. Worth having either way.

Water-less / Rinse-less Washing -

Optimum No Rinse / ONR – Just a good all-rounder. I use this mainly when cleaning door jambs, engine bays and interiors.

McKee’s N914 – I use this product for rinse-less washing, it has a more pleasant scent than ONR.

Drying Aids –

Obsessed Garage Drying Aid / Extreme Solutions Topper / Adams Slick and Slide – Save for color and scent, these are all the same products. This is very easy and forgiving to use. It’s a Si02 based product that will add to existing protection, provide lubrication and increase gloss.

P&S Bead Maker – The gloss and slickness this product adds is addictive. Some may say it’s overhyped, but it certainly does what it says on the bottle.

Meguiar’s Hybrid Ceramic Detailer – I have only recently started using this, but it impressed me immediately with its ease of use.

Wildcard –

P&S Paint Gloss – This is a traditional “detail spray”. It contains no protection but is exceptional for gloss and lubrication. I also use it for interior dusting and as a clay lubricant.

Decontamination / Bug & Tar Removers –

CarPro Bug-Out and Koch Chemie Insect and Dirt Remover – I find most of these products are quite similar in smell and their ability to soften and remove bugs. Toss a coin.

CarPro TarX and Koch Chemie TEA – Again, very similar products, both also ideal for removing adhesive.

CarPro IronX and P&S Iron Buster – Either of these would be used for iron decontamination of both bodywork, glass and wheels.

Wildcard –

Koch Chemie Eu Eulex – This something not available in Australia, but I wish it was. This is next level aggression in tar and adhesive removal. Use with caution.

Koch-Chemie - Eulex | The Rag Company

Wheel and Tire Cleaners –

(I really only use two wheel cleaners on my own cars as I tend to use soap instead in most cases.)

NV Purge – This is pH neutral wheel cleaner that reacts to iron particles. This has an impressive ability to remove as much grime as possible without agitation. While it’s scented, it still smells pretty bad like all iron-removers.

P&S Brake Buster – This is a high alkaline cleaner that can be used diluted or undiluted, foamed or un-foamed. Can be used to clean wheels as well as tyres and wheel arches. I don't bother diluting it, I want the added power if I'm reaching for a wheel cleaner.

Wildcard-
Shine Supply Wise Guy - I use this primarily for deep cleaning tires but it can be also used to clean wheels. It's pretty harsh so I tend grab this as a last resort.

Tire Dressings –

(I tend to only use water based dressings, these are less likely to sling onto the body compared to solvent based products.)

NV Onyx – This is a very nice product to use. It applies easily, smells lovely and leaves a satin sheen once dried.

CarPro Perl – So versatile as it can be used on engine bays, exterior trim and interiors. It can also be diluted to achieve the desired finish. I use it straight from the bottle as I like a little more sheen.

DuraGloss 253 – This is a runner liquid, much like Perl would be when diluted. It spreads easily, especially useful on chunky truck tires. This product also seems to last a touch longer during wet conditions.

Wildcard –

Gyeon Q2 Tire – This is a solvent based Si02 infused dressing that offers more longevity than the above products. Apply thinly and evenly as it will otherwise sling.

Exterior and Interior Plastic Dressings –

303 Aerospace Protectant – An oldie but a goody. This stuff leaves plastics with a matte finish and seems to apply easier than other similar products. I mostly use it on interior plastics, but I also use it on engine bays.

Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing – Another proven product that seems to fly under the radar. I use it to spruce up wheel arches and as an engine bay dressing. It can also be used on tires.

Koch Chemie Motorplast – Like Hyper Dressing, this can be used on wet surfaces, mostly for engines bays.

Koch-Chemie - Motorplast | The Rag Company

Leather Trim / Fabric Trim and Interior Cleaning –

Colourlock Strong/Mild Leather Cleaner & Leather Protector – Great for cleaning, then protecting automotive leather. These products leave leather with a matte, OE finish.

Koch Chemie PO Pol Star – This is used to clean carpet, cloth and Alcantara trim, leather too. Very versatile and dilutable to suit. Unlike APC's, Pol Star is pH neutral meaning it's more gentle on sensitive surfaces.

P&S Express – Great product for cleaning and dusting interior surfaces. For me, this has basically replaced APC for interior work.

Wildcard –

CarPro InnerQD – A product for quick wipe overs, dusting ect. Can also be used on info screens and gauge clusters without streaking. Smells great.

MISC -

(These are worth having on hand)

CarPro Eraser – A prep spray for new waxes/sealants/coatings. Also doubles as a glass cleaner.

Meguiar’s M39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner – You wont use this often, but it’s great for deep cleaning unpainted exterior plastics and rubber, think windshield wiper scuttle or door rubbers. Will remove polish staining on black trims.

CarPro Spotless – Water spots are always a possibility, having this in the cabinet has saved me a couple of times.

P21S Polishing Soap – You won’t use this often but as a way of cleaning and polishing exhaust tips, there is nothing like it on the market.

Glass Cleaners –

Stoners Invisible Glass – A solid performer, probably the best on the market. Tint safe.

P&S True Vue – This can be had in RTU form or as a concentrate. You can dilute this product from 4:1 out to 10:1 depending on the season or level of performance needed. Tint safe.

Gyeon Q2M Glass – A solid performer and tint safe.

Wildcard –

Angelwax Vision – This stuff not a product you want to be using every time, it’s very harsh in use and smell. This has a small percentage of ammonia in its formulation and while they state that it’s tint safe, I would use with caution. Particularly useful for cleaning neglected glass.

All-Purpose-Cleaner -

Koch Chemie GS Green Star - I rarely use APC in general but Green Star is one of the better ones. This product is dilutable depending on cleaning needs. It also foams well, as such I occasionally add some to GSF to boost it's cleaning ability on filthy customer cars.

That covers the products I use for maintaining vehicles. As mentioned, waxes/sealants/coatings in all shapes and forms are another story entirely. As would towels and correcting products.

Hi, I know this is an older post but I couldn't quite find what I was looking for but I probably also missed it as I still don't have navigating the forum mastered yet. I have a 2017 mustang gt and my wash used to consist of a pressure washer and cheap blue frilly handmit thing. Never quite worked and I scratched the crap out of my black paint removing caked on bird poop. Then I did the automatic car wash (by accident) it worked great but swirls although my paint was already trashed. Then it was and is, touch less car wash. Never removed the dirty and looks dirty right away (more so than it should for a. Black car). And I had the front end (fenders hood and bumper) repainted and the painted is chipping pretty bad in the passenger door edge so I haven't used the pressure washer since I noticed it. My question is, can you recommend a setup of cleaning. That's wallet friendly but efficient. Not overkill just the basics like soap rag and rinse. Off the top of my head some things Id love recommendation for would be

Trim restorer/protector/ make it look new again and last longer than 2 days

Car wash soap (or prewash or both I'm not quite sure if both are needed). Something that can really get dirt off the car and not require as much scrubbing like bird poop.

Ways to dry it so I don't get a lot of water spots, maybe some kind of ceramic spray on protector to make it look nice and shiny and help it stay cleaner.

Anything else you think I might need for basic car cleaning because what Ive been doing just flat out doesn't work.

 

[Evolvd]

Hi, I know this is an older post but I couldn't quite find what I was looking for but I probably also missed it as I still don't have navigating the forum mastered yet. I have a 2017 mustang gt and my wash used to consist of a pressure washer and cheap blue frilly handmit thing. Never quite worked and I scratched the crap out of my black paint removing caked on bird poop. Then I did the automatic car wash (by accident) it worked great but swirls although my paint was already trashed. Then it was and is, touch less car wash. Never removed the dirty and looks dirty right away (more so than it should for a. Black car). And I had the front end (fenders hood and bumper) repainted and the painted is chipping pretty bad in the passenger door edge so I haven't used the pressure washer since I noticed it. My question is, can you recommend a setup of cleaning. That's wallet friendly but efficient. Not overkill just the basics like soap rag and rinse. Off the top of my head some things Id love recommendation for would be

Trim restorer/protector/ make it look new again and last longer than 2 days

Car wash soap (or prewash or both I'm not quite sure if both are needed). Something that can really get dirt off the car and not require as much scrubbing like bird poop.

Ways to dry it so I don't get a lot of water spots, maybe some kind of ceramic spray on protector to make it look nice and shiny and help it stay cleaner.

Anything else you think I might need for basic car cleaning because what Ive been doing just flat out doesn't work.

Check out this pinned post and have a read. He covers most of what you’re asking about.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...book-of-detailing-updated-august-2024.178215/

Keeping it clean involves diligence. If you’re having to scrub off bird bombs you’ve already waited to long to wash the car.

For trim restoration I’d suggest Solution Finish topped off with their Over The Top sealer.

That being said, the best thing you can do for your car is to have it professionally paint corrected and then ceramic coated. That’ll run you anywhere from $1-2K depending on the experience and labor time in your area.

 

[Free Spirit]

Check out this pinned post and have a read. He covers most of what you’re asking about.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...book-of-detailing-updated-august-2024.178215/

Keeping it clean involves diligence. If you’re having to scrub off bird bombs you’ve already waited to long to wash the car.

For trim restoration I’d suggest Solution Finish topped off with their Over The Top sealer.

That being said, the best thing you can do for your car is to have it professionally paint corrected and then ceramic coated. That’ll run you anywhere from $1-2K depending on the experience and labor time in your area.

Not round here in Pa. A basic paint correction and 1 year ceramic coating is 2-3k. 3-5year coatings are edging on 4-5k. It's just not worth it.

 

[Evolvd]

Not round here in Pa. A basic paint correction and 1 year ceramic coating is 2-3k. 3-5year coatings are edging on 4-5k. It's just not worth it.

That’s highway robbery!

 

[Free Spirit]

That’s highway robbery!

Yep. Only reason I haven't had it done. Hell I'd have it costed over the pretty severe clearcoat chipping on the door because atleast then it would seal it but I'm not paying that much money for it.

 

[Free Spirit]

Check out this pinned post and have a read. He covers most of what you’re asking about.

https://www.mustang6g.com/forums/th...book-of-detailing-updated-august-2024.178215/

Keeping it clean involves diligence. If you’re having to scrub off bird bombs you’ve already waited to long to wash the car.

For trim restoration I’d suggest Solution Finish topped off with their Over The Top sealer.

That being said, the best thing you can do for your car is to have it professionally paint corrected and then ceramic coated. That’ll run you anywhere from $1-2K depending on the experience and labor time in your area.

I just checked out that post. I'm still not sure what each chemical is or does or is required. Im mostly looking for one that you spray on, loosens all the dirt and you rinse off and then maybe on top of that a soap and bucket to wipe the car down with to remove any remaining dirt. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on basic car wash supplies I just want to keep it clean. The touch less car wash does like 70% job cleaning it but won't remove the bird poop. Brand new paint and the bird poops been sitting for a couple weeks and won't come off. Haven't tried removing it since I have nothing that works and I scratched the paint BAD the last time I tried removing it. It gets hard and crusty within hours and it usually happens overnight, every single night most of the car gets covered in poop

 

[WD Pro]

Works for me, but others may not approve …

My spot touch up for bird poop is the Ryobi power washer (the better one of the two they offer in the U.K.) :

https://uk.ryobitools.eu/cleaning-t....ds&gbraid=0AAAAADlyCtWRXlwuat53JFjdYBcvYsR_h

I feed it from a 2 litre soda bottle, so it’s real quick to get it out / put it away (it almost takes more time to unlock the garage lol). I feed it with warm water (I have a hot tap outside).

I’ve shortened the nozzle on mine to completely remove the stainless wand - makes it much more manageable.

My car wears turtle wax hybrid ceramic. One bottle of water through the Ryobi will clear about three bombs.

If a bomb has baked onto a horizontal surface, I just let a completely soaked MF sit on it for five mins, then remove it (no scrubbing or wiping), before hitting it with the Ryobi.

For what I bought that Ryobi for (random bird bombs and clearing debris out of the front door window seals), it’s been invaluable

WD

 

[DFB5.0]

My question is, can you recommend a setup of cleaning. That's wallet friendly but efficient. Not overkill just the basics like soap rag and rinse. Off the top of my head some things Id love recommendation for would be

Trim restorer/protector/ make it look new again and last longer than 2 days

Car wash soap (or prewash or both I'm not quite sure if both are needed). Something that can really get dirt off the car and not require as much scrubbing like bird poop.

Ways to dry it so I don't get a lot of water spots, maybe some kind of ceramic spray on protector to make it look nice and shiny and help it stay cleaner.

Anything else you think I might need for basic car cleaning because what Ive been doing just flat out doesn't work.

I could suggest many different products and tools here, but lets keep this simple. I'm also going to focus purely on safe bucket washing, no foam cannon or pressure washer for simplicity and cost. The Megs stuff you can get virtually anywhere, the rest is via The Rag Company, which also have an Amazon store.

SETUP - Get yourself 3 buckets, one dedicated for wheels, two for washing (1 with soapy water, one with water only). Ideally, fit each with grit guards. Look for buckets with at least 15-litres or 4-gallon capacity.

SOAP - For wash soap, I would go for something intermediate to offer better cleaning ability. There are countless options, but for bucket washing, get yourself a gallon of Meguiar's Hyper Wash. I've found this offers higher cleaning ability than others. If you do want to foam, this can do that as well.

Use a microfiber wash pad such as these -
The Cyclone Ultra Wash Pad | The Rag Company
The Cyclone Ultra 10X Microfiber Wash Pad | The Rag Company

DRYING - If you have a leaf blower or compressed air, I use this right after washing to blast as much water from the surface prior to towel drying. (You need some form of water beading for this to work, so if you don't have a wax/sealant/coating on the car, keep reading..........................)

Next, working panel to panel, apply two or three sprays of Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer, then start wiping with a drying towel, you may need a second towel to remove any residue. This is called using a "drying aid". Using the drying aid does three things, provides lubrication for your towel, increases gloss and slickness, and makes the blow drying quicker for next time. Do this method each time.

Use these drying towels, I'd order two or three medium 15x24 size -
The Gauntlet Microfiber Drying Towel | The Rag Company

Trim Restoration - As others noted, try Solution Finish. This will last about a year depending on vehicle usage. You just need to make sure the trim is very clean before use, so wipe it down with IPA or Panel Prep first. If you get this stuff on the paint or glass, just wipe it off. Check out the below video for more -
What Should Solution Finish Be Used On? | The Rag Company FAQ
Fix Your FADED TRIM Properly & Permanently Using Solution Finish!

I hope that helps, feel free to reach out if you need.

 

[skinnyb]

That’s highway robbery!

Agreed. About 1500 for a decent correction and at least a 3 year "rated" coating. Hell, as a weekend warrior amateur, I do it for less than that for my friends....

 

[skinnyb]

Hi, I know this is an older post but I couldn't quite find what I was looking for but I probably also missed it as I still don't have navigating the forum mastered yet. I have a 2017 mustang gt and my wash used to consist of a pressure washer and cheap blue frilly handmit thing. Never quite worked and I scratched the crap out of my black paint removing caked on bird poop. Then I did the automatic car wash (by accident) it worked great but swirls although my paint was already trashed. Then it was and is, touch less car wash. Never removed the dirty and looks dirty right away (more so than it should for a. Black car). And I had the front end (fenders hood and bumper) repainted and the painted is chipping pretty bad in the passenger door edge so I haven't used the pressure washer since I noticed it. My question is, can you recommend a setup of cleaning. That's wallet friendly but efficient. Not overkill just the basics like soap rag and rinse. Off the top of my head some things Id love recommendation for would be

Trim restorer/protector/ make it look new again and last longer than 2 days

Car wash soap (or prewash or both I'm not quite sure if both are needed). Something that can really get dirt off the car and not require as much scrubbing like bird poop.

Ways to dry it so I don't get a lot of water spots, maybe some kind of ceramic spray on protector to make it look nice and shiny and help it stay cleaner.

Anything else you think I might need for basic car cleaning because what Ive been doing just flat out doesn't work.

Already some good points, but I will add my 2 cents... I agree with @DFB5.0, 3 buckets (1 for wheels, 2 for paint) with grit guards, a decent wash mit from the Rag company, a decent soap (my favorite off the shelf from a store locally is the Adams standard soap that is blue), a "drying aid" that will help the water bead and have ceramic protection (Meguiars Hybrid Ceramic or even the Turtle Wax is good too from Wally world), and a few really good drying towels (Rag Company again, the gauntlet is probably the best, but their new Slim dryer is my current favorite)...

https://www.amazon.com/Adams-Car-Wa...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

https://www.amazon.com/Turtle-Wax-5...8-1-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9hdGY&th=1

https://theragcompany.com/collections/wash-mitts-pads/products/the-cyclone-ultra-wash-pad

https://theragcompany.com/collections/new-products/products/slim-dryer

 

[DFB5.0]

Ceramic Coating –

Yeah yeah, I know, but I'm sure you expected this would happen.

On a machine that will spend its life covered in oil and fuel, the coating is probably not going to last very long. But……………………it makes me happy, so I’m going with it.

For something like this, you would probably use a high-temperature wheel coating. However, I didn’t have any leftover wheel coating for this task, and I wasn’t dipping into a fresh bottle either. I did have an open bottle of Gyeon Can Coat EVO, so here we go.............................

First step, a wipe down with Koch Chemie Panel Prep Spray. Any prep spray would work, but I had this left over from another project and I thought I would stay with the German theme. In tandem with TRC Rip-n-Rag towels, the entire power head was cleaned, followed by the freshly unboxed 20-inch bar.

From here, it was time for the coating. Can Coat EVO is a sprayable coating, but for this task I used it like a traditional ceramic coating by applying a small amount to a Gtechniq finger mitt, then applied to the saw in sections. From there, more TRC Rip-n-Rags were used to level the coating. Can Coat was applied to the pretty much everything, from the top plastics to the chain brake, the recoil cover and name badge, the wrap handle and clutch cover, the rear handle and throttle, the stop switch and the front case. I even applied it to bar and fluid caps. The muffler, dogs and bottom of the saw missed out. Four hours later, I went over it again with a layer of Gyeon Cure.

You can see I also mounted the bar and chain.

In the past, I've done something similar to other new equipment purchases. Does it make a difference to how the tool performs? Absolutely not. Will it last for forever? Highly unlikely. Does it make me feel better? You betcha!

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