What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[DFB5.0]

D, I know that you like the double action heads and I think I've mentioned previously that I'm not a fan. Too many years of muscle memory with single action. I've tried Matt's V1 Pressol and have a handful of Kwazar Mercurys but neither brand has been reliable for very long. Maybe it's just my karma. <grin> To make matters worse, they are both stupid expensive for what you get, at least IMHO. I'm no tightwad and I am very good at spending money <laughing> but I'm done with these $25 and up spray bottles.

So, I'm gonna try a 12 count of Tolco 320CR's ($30 on Kamzonski) but 1) I can't find the diameter of the pickup tube connection. I'd like to buy a roll of the correct diameter silicone tubing and if possible, add someone's weighted pickup filter but haven't found those yet, either.

Anyone know what diameter tubing is required for Tolco heads? Ditto for a pickup filter source?

I plan to use any old bottles I have in my stash box. :=)

Or am I wasting my time with this goal?

Put it this way, I dare say most professional detailers are not spending that sort of money on high-end bottles and sprayers. Nice to have, but unless you have a deal with a supplier, they are using basic Tolco and Canyon spray heads on a basic plastic bottle.

On a different subject, I gave the Mustang a bath on Thursday, just a normal wash and the next day I decided it was time to give her that light polishing I mentioned. I've already started taping her off but before I get further down that rabbit hole, I thought I'd ask if I should have done a full decon wash? The CP CQuartz coating is four years old so I can't imagine that there's much left.

Do you think that not doing the decon wash will adversely affect the polishing effort? (Perfect Finish + Rupes White) I only have the glass and mirrors taped off now which I can easily pull off if you think I'd be better off going the full monte on decon to include claying? I never feel any contaminants on the paint and my brain is telling me that claying will bring on more marring to polish off? Your thoughts along with anyone else who cares to chime in.

You'll be fine. If the paint feels smooth, just wash it with a high pH soap and get started.

PS. I forgot to ask earlier, what in the world did you do to that second image of your gorgeous new ride? <smile> Some sort of "filter" on your phone perhaps? I don't do any editing on the phone so I'm not at all aware of what's out there but I sure wouldn't use that one again. <bigger grin>

Edited in Microsoft Designer photo editor. Take note of the settings, namely the maximum sharpness, a boost in saturation, high contrast and higher temperature.

Sponsored

 

[skinnyb]

Thanks for the note Alex and you were probably correct, she probably didn't really need it. HOWEVER, I was fairly sure that El Jefe would have done the decon had Sarah been his garage queen. <smiling> Decided to bite the bullet, pulled the tape and paper off, and parked her in the usual wash spot.

Since I was gonna go full tilt boogie on my girl, I decided to give the engine bay some lovin' first. Covered the few electrical connections, fuse box, etc., with Wally World bags and a few with aluminum foil then sprayed everything including the underside of the hood with heavily diluted Green Star after which I agitated the snot out of all the nooks and crannies with a detailing brush.

Let that sit for a few minutes, dialed the Kranzle down to 500psi and rinsed everything, removed the bags and foil, and fired her up then let the motor run for a couple minutes. Pulled the air compressor hose out and used the big blowgun until everything was dry. Finally, I sprayed some P&S Rinseless on all the black stuff and let that dwell for a bit while I got the foam cannon, buckets, and mit ready. Finally, laid three bath towels over the entire bay and let the hood down. I had already removed the hood vent so the towels were necessary to keep from soaking the motor again.

Decided to hit the wheels and brakes with IronX, waited a few minutes then began rinsing and holy crap there was a ton of red water on the driveway. I freaked out a bit as I was close to the grass bordering the driveway and had to hustle with the pw to push it back to the center of the driveway and away from my precious turf! <laughing> I'll bet our resident chief cook and nursery manager will understand my affection for the green stuff. I should have parked the dang car much further away and I paid the price as it took me a good ten minutes to fight the grade and get most of the IronX pushed back.

I hadn't used the iron remover on the wheels in quite awhile and despite only driving her occasionally, I was quite surprised at how much came off the wheels, pads, and rotors.

Once that was done, I gave her some thick OG decon foam, let it soak for a few then got after the washing.

​

Gave her a good rinse to remove all the suds then did the usual low pressure rinse with CR Spotless water and pulled her into the garage. Fired up the Max Blaster and dried her off then took her for a spin around the block and warmed the brakes up nice and hot to avoid the dreaded stuck pads.

Left her in the driveway out by the street and commenced to blow the leaves, cobwebs, etc., out of the garage then rinsed the floor with the Kranzle. Squeegeed (sp?) the floor dry, put all the stuff back in the garage including all three vehicles and called it a day, I was bushed.

Tomorrow I'll get back to taping and papering to get her ready for a polishing session which will probably take me a couple three days since I have multiple medical appointments starting Monday that will get in the way.

Leaning towards not giving her another coat of ceramic but may give Phobic a shot, (thanks for the reminder, Alex and please report back on your findings.) The car gets sprayed with Reload or Amplify after every wash so I'm not sure I want to go to the trouble of applying a dedicated ceramic coating, too.

Adios, muchachos, enjoy what's left of your weekend, and sorry for the long-winded post.

Man I probably would have done the same. I am severely OCD and always go overboard.

As for Phobic, it is EXTREMELY easy to apply, for Sarah being a garage queen, it would probably last you 2 years plus. And not a huge deal to reapply if needed. It literally is just a touch harder than applying Reload, used almost like a spray sealant, put on a Microfiber applicator and spread panel by panel and buffed off with a plush (Eagle 450) towel. If you top with Amplify every wash or two, it will probably last multiple years. That said I agree with @MAGS1, if you want a traditional ceramic coating, ADS Quartz is Top Notch, and I used their V1 coating, their V2 is supposed to be even better...

And on the topic of IronX, I never knew it would hurt grass I am like Franks Red Hot, I put that $#!+ on everything, my grass around my driveway gets it all, every chemical known to man Of course I could care less about my grass, if it all died I would go get drunk in celebration as I wouldn't have to mow it anymore LOL.. ;)

 

[kilobravo]

She’s looking good as always, KB. I’m going to be an ADS pimp here and highly recommend applying ADS Quartz (or Pro) coating.

Thanks for the kind words Mark and odds are I will take you and Alex up on one of the ADS coatings if for no other reason than being able to skip that last step of Reload or Amplify after every wash. Very few things in life are as satisfying to me as feeling a big wash mitt literally glide over paint. The spray coatings do deliver that same feel but saving a bit of time every wash cycle would as well. We shall see.

I dare say most professional detailers are not spending that sort of money on high-end bottles and sprayers.

You know Deyon, that thought never crossed my mind but now that you mentioned it, it makes me more inclined to go with a bulk buy of Tolco heads..thanks for that.

Edited in Microsoft Designer photo editor. Take note of the settings, namely the maximum sharpness, a boost in saturation, high contrast and higher temperature.

Well whaddaya know my friend, the tables have turned as you're delving into my area of semi-expertise, i.e., image editing and FWIW, I've never heard of Microsoft Designer but after decades dealing with Windoze and the Office suite, I'm no fan.

Getting back to the edited image of your gorgeous S650, let me just say that if it tickles your fancy, that's a wonderful thing as we all have different eyes and brains but I have to admit that it made me cringe a bit. The main culprit was the over-sharpening. You may know this already but if not, the way image editing software "sharpens" is by creating a halo around the pixels that the software perceives as "edges" and if you zoom in to the pixel level, these halos can be easily seen.

Truth be told, when I started editing photos back in the early nineties, I over-sharpened every image. <chuckling> I did it for years until I started reading a printed monthly mag dedicated to Photoshop. One of the contributors was a fella by the name of Collin Smith and he is the one who explained sharpening to me. MOF, he has a YT channel these days that he calls The Photoshop Cafe and I highly recommend checking out some of his tutorial vids. You don't have to be on the Adobe tit every month as I am to pick up general tips and tricks regarding editing images. In any event, have fun with Designer and don't hesitate to holler my way if you have questions and it would be wonderful if I could repay you for all that you've taught me about detailing. <warm smile>

Of course I could care less about my grass, if it all died I would go get drunk in celebration as I wouldn't have to mow it anymore LOL.. ;)

This comment gave me a welcome morning chuckle, Alex because I too have suffered from OCD for as long as I can remember but your affliction obviously doesn't extend to the "green stuff." <grinning> I am just the opposite and if I'm being completely honest, our lawn, trees, and shrubbery are more important to me than our vehicles.

As an example, I had three yards of white limestone delivered a year or two ago because I wanted to put it around the generator to keep the grass away from the unit (and the dogs from peeing on the corners <laughing>. I had helpers do the heavy lifting but that rock is very "dusty" by nature and when all of it had been moved to the back, there was a quarter inch of that limestone dust in a large patch on the driveway.

No way that was gonna stand <smile> and after sweeping up as much as we could, I had the guys hose down the driveway never thinking that the now "white water" would hurt the turf at the edge. Well, it damn sure did, it killed a good sixty feet of it along the driveway and took nearly all summer to finally fill back in. Lesson learned.

Sorry for yet another long-winded post my friends but I'll let you know what I decide on the ceramic issue. Pouring rain today, which we desperately needed down this way and I probably won't get back to the paper and tape with the humidity at a hundred percent. :=)

 

[MAGS1]

odds are I will take you and Alex up on one of the ADS coatings if for no other reason than being able to skip that last step of Reload or Amplify after every wash.

FWIW, I use Amplify as a drying aid after I blow dry the car. As you know, a little goes a long way so it doesn’t take much time at all to get around the car with a towel to do some clean up drying. My water is pretty hard which is why I need to do a follow up with a towel. I’ve looked into the various deionizing and softening systems, but for now the follow up towel method works. As I age, I’ll probably move to a spotless system for the final rinse to avoid the towel follow up

 

[skinnyb]

FWIW, I use Amplify as a drying aid after I blow dry the car. As you know, a little goes a long way so it doesn’t take much time at all to get around the car with a towel to do some clean up drying. My water is pretty hard which is why I need to do a follow up with a towel. I’ve looked into the various deionizing and softening systems, but for now the follow up towel method works. As I age, I’ll probably move to a spotless system for the final rinse to avoid the towel follow up

Pretty much the same for me. Although I use a DI system. I still can't stand the drips... No matter how much blowing I do, there are inevitably little drips here and there. The rear Swing, tail lights, mirrors, side markers, they seem to drip for DAYS Amplify is excellent for this, and the little Gauntlet drying towels or the smaller Chipmunk edgeless. And if its summer and I am having to hurry, KCx FSE with the water spot remover is the GOAT to keep waterspots completely absent...

 

[skinnyb]

Sorry for yet another long-winded post my friends but I'll let you know what I decide on the ceramic issue. Pouring rain today, which we desperately needed down this way and I probably won't get back to the paper and tape with the humidity at a hundred percent. :=)

Honestly I could use a bit of heat and humidity right now. Its starting to get cold here and I used to LOVE it, but I dislike cold weather more and more every day. I was out cleaning cars yesterday and it started in the mid 30's and ended up mid 50's. I still was freezing most of the day. I can't stand terrible humidity or heat (mid 80's is my limit), but a little more heat (and daylight) is always more welcome right now...

 

[MAGS1]

Honestly I could use a bit of heat and humidity right now. Its starting to get cold here and I used to LOVE it, but I dislike cold weather more and more every day. I was out cleaning cars yesterday and it started in the mid 30's and ended up mid 50's. I still was freezing most of the day. I can't stand terrible humidity or heat (mid 80's is my limit), but a little more heat (and daylight) is always more welcome right now...

Wind chill was -18F at 8:00am this morning. Currently -11F, it’s a little chilly out

 

[skinnyb]

Wind chill was -18F at 8:00am this morning. Currently -11F, it’s a little chilly out

Dude, you're killin me Smalls Supposed to be single digits here tonight wind chill. But back up to highs of 60 by Saturday. Whiplash :(

 

[MAGS1]

Dude, you're killin me Smalls Supposed to be single digits here tonight wind chill. But back up to highs of 60 by Saturday. Whiplash :(

That’s wild. Supposed to be in the 40’s later this week, so we’ll thaw out a little bit. Actual air temp got down to -7F last night. To early for that kind of temperature here

 

[larr12]

Washed the car the other day with Reset in the foam cannon and ADS Shampoo (1st time using it) in the bucket. Fell in love with the shampoo. Amplify as a drying aid and Ghost for the tires. This was the result.

 

[skinnyb]

Washed the car the other day with Reset in the foam cannon and ADS Shampoo (1st time using it) in the bucket. Fell in love with the shampoo. Amplify as a drying aid and Ghost for the tires. This was the result.

Looks really good. Both Reset and ADS Shampoo+ are great soaps. I am partial to Reset, but ADS soap is definitely top tier, I bought a gallon of it too . And smells great using it too

 

[kilobravo]

FWIW, I use Amplify as a drying aid after I blow dry the car. As you know, a little goes a long way so it doesn’t take much time at all to get around the car with a towel to do some clean up drying.

Yep, hard water is the enemy of car washing/detailing, Mark but you might wanna check out the blower I use that I mentioned to Alex below.

I still can't stand the drips... No matter how much blowing I do, there are inevitably little drips here and there.

What do you use to blow dry the car, Alex? I ask because I use a Max Blaster from Metro Vac and it's rare to have any drips plus the air is warmed. Then again, it might just be my OCD affliction that makes me spend more time drying.

I was out cleaning cars yesterday and it started in the mid 30's and ended up mid 50's.

You reminded me of my teenage youth, out washing my car in a snowy driveway with temps well below freezing, amigo. Hopefully, never again. We had a cold front blow through last night and the temp went from the high sixties to 43 daquiris at 0815.

was the result.

Lookin' good Llar but the bright lights in front of the car along with those bright street lights tricked the camera into the wrong exposure which is a common issue with mobile cameras. Took the liberty of massaging the image to even out some of those highlights and bring back some shadowed areas like the side of the car. BTW, it's printable at 10"x8".

 

[HoosierDaddy]

What do you use to blow dry the car, Alex? I ask because I use a Max Blaster from Metro Vac and it's rare to have any drips plus the air is warmed.

That's my experience. Heated air pushed by 8 HP gets it done.

So, glad dog groomers are a thing. These were originally just for drying dogs faster. Then someone said, lets add some hoses and tips so we can dry cars bigger than dogs without lugging this thing around (and wheels for good measure). And since they were made to be run for many hours per day grooming dogs, they are over built and made to be rebuilt rather than replaced.

 

[skinnyb]

What do you use to blow dry the car, Alex? I ask because I use a Max Blaster from Metro Vac and it's rare to have any drips plus the air is warmed. Then again, it might just be my OCD affliction that makes me spend more time drying.

I've got a 760 CFM battery powered blower (Ryobi), it has hurricane force winds, portable, and one battery (4aH) gets the car as dry as I need it most of the time. I have considered other options, but if its plugged in, I am not interested... Too cumbersome as I don't have room inside the garage for blowing, too narrow, and I am too damn clumsy to deal with cords, I almost kill myself with the pressure washer hose as it is ;)

Plus I love to go around with a towel and Amplify and give a final look see and really inspect the paint. My OCD makes that necessary, I know every single nook, cranny, pimple, dimple, and defect probably too well... My laundry is out of control most times after just one car, much less when I do more than one at a time. I usually have 4-5 wash mits, 4-5 drying towels, multiple towels for interior, glass, what not. Yeah, its an affliction

 

[kilobravo]

Holy CRAP, Alex..760 CFM is a chidtload of air! Hell, my 5hp double pumper air compressor maxes out at 175 CFM at 100psi which is probably the difference. Even so, my air compressor is fricking big and, 220v! <chuckling> Yeah, I'd say that's enough air to dry a tractor trailer or two. <grin>

I almost kill myself with the pressure washer hose as it is ;)

Yep, my Max Blaster is corded but I have a bit more room in the garage to move around, the cord has never been a problem. I'm guessing that the heating element in the blower is what draws the current and requires a 20 amp circuit.

But I'm moving toward battery power..I have a Milwaukee trimmer/edger that I or my helper use every week in the growing season. The edger attachment ain't quite there yet though compared to the Echo equivalent. But I do like that trimmer even though I hate trimming. I have a three or four 5A batts and 2 8A's so we never run out of power.

I usually have 4-5 wash mits, 4-5 drying towels, multiple towels for interior, glass, what not. Yeah, its an affliction

I'll apologize right now amigo because I burst out laughing when I read that sentence. Geeze, I thought I had a serious case of OCD but you make me look like a rookie. <really laughing now>

BTW gents, I went ahead and ordered the ADS Pro Coating, pretty sure 30ml will easily cover the Mustang. If I really like it AND I can find the En Er Gee to polish the other two vehicles, they may get some too. Well, maybe just hers cuz the thought of washing, taping, polishing, washing, and coating my Super Duty makes me tired just thinking about it. :=)

And now, a wee bit of humor from the peanut gallery. (Hint: Adobe recently added multiple AI models to Photoshop including Google's Gemini 3 Pro aka Nano Banana.) I have been having a frickin' blast ginning up images and here's one of 'em..

Sponsored