What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[skinnyb]

Ok, first time using the Rupes yellow waffle pad. I think it’s my new favorite.

ADS ceramic coating is super easy to apply, their directions are spot on. Will top with Amplify in 4 hours per their directions, to help protect the coating while it cures.

Will get better pics later, we’ve got thunderstorms rolling in and wanted to get the car back in the garage before any rain drops start falling.

I will deal with the wheels and tires later this week, will be using Ghost on the tires. Can’t wait to give that a try,

Looks fantastic. I did my daily driver a couple weekends ago. I already had a bottle of Gyeon MOHS otherwise the ADS would have been the one I wanted to try. I did use the wheel coating, it is VERY nice... And Ghost is now my favorite tire dressing. It lasts and lasts and lasts...

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[MAGS1]

Looks fantastic. I did my daily driver a couple weekends ago. I already had a bottle of Gyeon MOHS otherwise the ADS would have been the one I wanted to try. I did use the wheel coating, it is VERY nice... And Ghost is now my favorite tire dressing. It lasts and lasts and lasts...

Great to hear on Ghost!

ADS says you can do two layers of the ceramic (but not needed), which I thought I was going to do. However, the bottle they send only covers one car, including glass. Would definitely need 2 bottles. Their ceramic spray can be used as a topper which I may do in the fall before winter hits.

 

[skinnyb]

Great to hear on Ghost!

ADS says you can do two layers of the ceramic (but not needed), which I thought I was going to do. However, the bottle they send only covers one car, including glass. Would definitely need 2 bottles. Their ceramic spray can be used as a topper which I may do in the fall before winter hits.

Yes the Amplify gives a nice boost, but the ceramic spray is a bit more robust. Both are fantastic. And yes, a 30 mil bottle doesn't go far. I only had a bit left of my MOHS doing my Mazda (30 mil bottle) if I wanted 2 coats I would have gotten a 50 mil bottle. I plan on topping with Cancoat in the fall for extra protection. You can do the same with ADS (Phobic) to boost even more than the ceramic spray can...

 

[DFB5.0]

For this week's wash on the Ranger, I decided to go a little deeper than usual.

To start, I removed the neoprene seat covers and put them into the wash with Rags to Riches.

For the washing, I wanted to do a bit of a reset in preparation for a topper. This vehicle has had Gyeon Pure EVO on it since December 2023 and its holding up very well. In this case, I washed with KCx Active Foam, which isn't as aggressive as some, but stronger than a normal pH neutral soap. Normally, you'd use Active Foam as a pre-wash, but I used it for a contact wash today. On the rinse off, I noticed the Active Foam smartened up the water behavior, so clearly it did its thing.

Once blow dried, Carpro Reload went down on the paint, glass and black plastics. I think Reload 2.0 lives in the shadow of its predecessors' poor reputation, many overlooking it because they may have struggled with the original. But 2.0 is so easy to use and is one of the glossiest spray sealants on the market. I also LOVE it on black plastic, it really adds a lovely richness to the finish.

After finishing the rest of the car, it was time to clean out 5-years worth of dirt and junk out of the tool drawer. I last did this in April 2025, and it showed..................

You could have sowed seeds in this and grown a mobile garden...................
/

With the drawer emptied, I removed the rubber mat and foamed it with the remainder of Bilt Hamber Touch-less from Sunday. While that was soaking, I vacuumed the dirt, leaves, gravel and twigs out of the drawer, soaked it with Green Star, then wiped up with a couple of Rip-n-Rags. The drawer was soaked down with ONR to neutralize the Green Star, then dried with another towel.

From here, I rinsed off the mat and then blow dried with the EGO. This section of mat was originally in the tray, so its pretty brittle and sun aged, but that doesn't matter here as it still does the job of suppressing vibration.

Tools then went back, a little more organized than before. I actually threw out a roll of 10-year old trimmer line that I was keeping in there for no valid reason.

This also reminds me to look into buying a new set of hedge shears and branch loppers, both of those are pure junk...............and they weren't cheap either. Typical of the rubbish sold at Bunnings (think Home Depot), even when you buy the "premium" product on the shelf, that premium-ness is relative. Because of the "lowest prices are just the beginning" tagline, every product on the shelf has to live up to that. So, instead of offering a true premium product to serve the professional, they cost control everything to meet a price point. And this mentality flows through to other retailers as they try to compete. So, its a race to the bottom and the ones who lose out the most are those who rely on tools to make a living.

Off to Forestry Tools I go....................
Forestry Tools - Professional tree planting, pruning and measuring

 

[kilobravo]

Going to do a quick rinse less wash with ONR, then a good polish with Sonax Perfect Finish and Rupes yellow pads, and then the ADS ceramic coating.

Mark: Did you really detail the car, polish it, AND give it a coat of ceramic in SIX HOURS?! That would take me at least three days. <smile>

 

[MAGS1]

Mark: Did you really detail the car, polish it, AND give it a coat of ceramic in SIX HOURS?! That would take me at least three days. <smile>

I did! I had just done a full decon wash about a week ago and actually haven’t driven much since then so the car wasn’t that dirty. The rinse less took me about 30 minutes.

Luckily there’s not a ton to tape off on these cars so that helps with time. For the polishing, I started with the micro polisher for all the smaller and harder to reach areas then used the big boy for the rest. Seemed to be pretty efficient, I got around the car in about 3.5-4.0 hours. Just a one step, I contemplated doing a jeweling step but decided not to.

The ceramic coating was pretty easy. The temperature and humidity were basically perfect so I could do large sections at a time before I had to level/wipe.

Interior and tires will get done on Friday, hopefully.

 

[Mikepol2]

So first car show of the year is Saturday and I'm eager to show off the new ceramic coating and supercharger... washed it this evening and noticed tiny white spots on the windows and wheels that looks like spatter from polishing that didn't come off with the wash. Any suggestions on how to clean it? TIA gang!

 

[Evolvd]

So first car show of the year is Saturday and I'm eager to show off the new ceramic coating and supercharger... washed it this evening and noticed tiny white spots on the windows and wheels that looks like spatter from polishing that didn't come off with the wash. Any suggestions on how to clean it? TIA gang!

Panel prep spray or IPA

 

[Mikepol2]

Panel prep spray or IPA

Great thanks, lots of Eraser left over!

 

[DFB5.0]

Restocking some favorites..........................

There are two separate orders above. Most of it came from Detailing Shed, but I had to get the towels from CarCareCo. I tend to avoid buying from CarCareCo if I can help it, their website is woefully bad and contains a number of bugs and categorical errors. I've also found their customer service to be lacking. While Detailing Shed offers these particular towels, they don't carry the grey ones which I use as a "beater" towel.

Shop The Rag Company - Car Wash Microfiber Terry Towels - CarCareCo
The Rag Company "Car Wash” Microfibre Terry Towel - Detailing Shed

Car Wash Microfiber Towel | The Rag Company

The specs on this towel are pretty average, as in they are only 320 gsm, have the 80/20 and not the superior 70/30 blend, are Chinese not Korean made, and only have a basic terry weave. However, I like these Car Wash Towels because they are affordable and perfectly sized at 41cm x 69cm, making them ideal for a variety of detailing and general cleaning tasks. They also serve as my interior towel (green), engine bay towel (red) and multi-purpose towel (royal blue). I even have them as kitchen towels in orange and purple.

My current set of grey towels have been in service since September 2021, and they have been used HEAVILY in that time. Anything from bench cleaning, wiping down buckets after use, cleaning/drying tools, exhaust tips, applying exterior dressings, cleaning/protecting rubber floor mats, drying the tray of my Ranger, or any dirty job. I'm very impressed with their durability for such a cheap/basic towel.

With many miles under their belt, my trusty beater towels were starting to feel their age, hence 10 new ones. A lot of towels from TRC now come pre-packaged, but not the CWT. These are supplied to distributors in cases of 125 towels, which means they get exposed to a lot of dust while in warehouse storage. With that in mind, they really must be washed prior to use.

 

[kilobravo]

Seemed to be pretty efficient, I got around the car in about 3.5-4.0 hours.

I sure wish I had your energy, Mark.

 

[MAGS1]

I sure wish I had your energy, Mark.

My knees were definitely barking at me yesterday morning when I woke up LOL.

 

[DFB5.0]

A few weeks ago, I joined a vintage Victa Facebook group. You may remember me being hacked off at the suggestion my posts on a dedicated mower forum were too long and had too many photos. The very reason why I prefer forums over Facebook is its more conducive to long-form content that I like to make. But somehow, this Facebook group has been far more welcoming that the forum I had been posting on, and far more forthcoming with information and requests for input.

For example, the starter on my Victa 18. When I first got the mower, I was stunned by the starter rope being made of wire and not actual rope. This even stumped the seller. Well, it turns out the wire-rope starters are rare and highly collectable. I had contemplated removing/replacing the wire for rope, but it will be staying as is.

And today, I discovered some interesting patent drawings.

My particular model 5 Victa 18 Special has a ramp moulded into the chassis as a mounting point for the planned optional edger attachment.

That attachment never materialized, but Victa continued to make the chassis with the ramp and blanked it off with a plastic trim. No doubt it was expensive to remove this from the tooling, so it was cheaper to fit the plastic trim to every mower. They did eventually delete the ramp later in the model run. Most unrestored Special's have lost this trim piece, so mine is somewhat unique in that regard.

These are the patent drawings for the edger attachment, which looks to be gear driven off the crankshaft. If the mower itself wasn't dangerous enough, well another spinning blade off to the side would have increased the likely hood of chopping something other than grass. Still, it shows Victa's pursuit of innovation.

So, I'm still learning about these mowers, even after I have mine running and cutting grass.

 

[HoosierDaddy]

When I first got the mower, I was stunned by the starter rope being made of wire and not actual rope. This even stumped the seller. Well, it turns out the wire-rope starters are rare and highly collectable. I had contemplated removing/replacing the wire for rope, but it will be staying as is.

FWIW I'd switch to rope to preserve the wire pull unless there are easy to buy replacements.

 

[DFB5.0]

I mentioned the other day how I am heavily guided by my sense of smell in just about every area of my life. I have a very strong sense of smell, to the point where I can smell things others can't. Scent is also strongly tied with memories for me, both pleasant and unpleasant. This is both a blessing and a curse.

I decided to write this post after I had someone question why product reviewers put so much emphasis on scent when evaluating products. And they had a point, the scent has no bearing on how the product performs. But then that doesn't account for several key reasons why scent becomes an important part of product evaluation.

So, when it comes to me assessing a product, naturally scent is going to be part of that. If a product performs well but has an unpleasant odour, I will pretty much hate the product entirely. The Turtle Wax foaming tire cleaner is a good example of this. On a very good product, sometimes a pleasant scent is the icing, which in turn gets mentioned because it contributes to the overall user experience.

However, a scent CAN NOT mask a bad product. I've had countless nice smelling products that got used once and never again because of how badly they perform at the intended task. This gets mentioned in reviews because it shows a product that has style over substance. Hello Bilt Hamber Trace-less or Auto Finesse Lather.

In 99% of cases, the scent of a car cleaning product has no bearing on its actual performance. And yet, the majority of detailing brands add scent to their products. In theory, they could eliminate scent entirely and increase their product margins, or even charge less. But then, where do they stop with that way of thinking? Do they eliminate colours as well? Have a universal bottle rather than bottles unique to certain brands? Do they all use basic labels with no branding? And what would we end up with? Pretty much one single "brand" with very little to tell them apart. But, I can guarantee "we" would come up with another way to determine differentiating elements between each competing product.

ADS Pilot, one of my current favorite scents, which I'm told is Spiced Pear.

And yet, none of this explains the pleasure I get from foaming a nice smelling soap and taking in the perfumed air. So, naturally I'm going to mention this in a review or when talking about a product.

This leads me to two detailing scents that bring back pleasant memories, both of them soaps…………………..

First, we go back to a 17-year old DFB, circa late 2003 and into 2004. I remember the year because in October 2003, Kylie released her latest album, Body Language, which was unlike any other before or after in not being her usual syrupy pop. One could say it was "Sweet Music" So where does this relate to detailing? Well, I would be out in the driveway on a warm Friday or Saturday night washing my parents’ cars listening to that album.

And the distinctive scent? Well, that was Armor All Car Wash, you know, the cheap blue one sold everywhere. From memory, my Mum would buy it at the supermarket for me. At that age, and back then, there was NOTHING like the choice we have today. I would eventually “upgrade” to Meguiar’s NXT and Gold Class……………….but you always remember your first.

It’s hard to describe the scent of that soap, it's not the usual cherry or citrus aroma that is common for car wash soaps. But it's so distinctive, to the point where when I bought a bottle for nostalgia last year, nothing has changed. But to me, this particular scent means more than just cheap car wash soap sold at the supermarket. It reminds me of a carefree time, one that we only realise many years down the road. That soap and it sent represents me discovering the joy that detailing brings. And………………………………Kylie Minogue, of course.

The second scent takes me back to 2020. And we all know what was happening in 2020, and ultimately what would continue to happen for several years. As someone who worked in retail, I was glad to be stuck home during the lockdowns for two reasons. As a diabetic, I was terrified of catching Covid and the possible complications. And secondly, it meant time away from work and a break from the stress I was under. Being in the country with a backyard and plenty of things to tinker with, I didn’t have to endure the horrible situation my poor sister had living in a Melbourne apartment.

In January 2020, I bought my first bottle of Carpro Reset, but didn’t start using it until mid-March. I don’t know how or where I learnt about this soap, but it was clearly evident that this is a very premium product, to the point where I would ration it. Every time I used that soap, it was like a special treat. But the pleasant thing about Reset is how it does
both form and function so well. It has great free rinsing ability, a highly concentrated formula so a little goes a long way, amazing slickness, great cleaning ability and these days, brilliant foam quality.

But it was the scent that had me hooked. Again, it’s hard to put a finger on what Reset smells like, suffice to say it’s totally unique and not something you will smell from other brands. Perhaps that’s why I love it so much, that I can’t get that same intoxicating aroma elsewhere.

It was also around this time when I started to dig even deeper into the detailing rabbit hole. With bulk time on my hands, I continued to expand my detailing skills and began devoting more time to writing about it. You see, not only was I learning, but I was also keeping my mind and body active. I ended up doing a “Daily Detail” series, and when I ran out of my own cars, I started doing other peoples…………………in a “Covid Safe” manner or course.

While there was a LOT going on during that time, a LOT has changed since then. Thankfully, Reset has remained THE benchmark soap. Washing my car with this super fancy soap was such a treat and became a lovely distraction to chaos around me. And that scent, well it brings back a mixture of good and bad emotions. The bad? Well, that would be fear, frustration, uncertainty. But balancing that were feelings of relief, the discovery of something new, leaning into what makes ME happy and not the expectations of others. All from a bottle of car wash soap.

So, what car detailing scent brings back memories for you?

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