What's In DFB's Cabinet?

[DFB5.0]

Would you recommend ceramic coating over the Mach 1 vinyl striping?

I have never dealt with vinyl stripes so would have to open that question up to the wider brains trust.

Have a read here -

Ceramic coating and vinyl stripes (autogeekonline.net)

" You can absolutely apply CQuartz Classic over matte stripes. It slightly enhances them and protects them. Just ensure that you prep them properly and level the coating properly. You don't want to have to polish down high spots on them. "

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[PKs]

Would you recommend ceramic coating over the Mach 1 vinyl striping?

I am a novice and I applied Gyeon Pure Ceramic over my stripes and it came out excellent with no dramas along the way. You may not want to use this coating if you have matt stripes.

 

[DFB5.0]

With the help of my old man, we installed my new air hose reel today.

I still need to figure out how to flip the mouthpiece around, but overall, I'm happy with it. The hose quality is light years better than the non-pliable plastic hose it replaces.

I even managed to shoot a little video of the Prevost S1 coupler in action.

(6) Prevost S1 Coupler - YouTube

Just so elegantly simple in its action, I could play with it all afternoon...............well I sort of did really.

 

[GT 550]

I even managed to shoot a little video of the Prevost S1 coupler in action.

Very nice!

the mouthpiece

On a compressed air hose?

@DFB5.0 nooooooooooooo!

So many possibilities...all bad...



I trust you shared the purpose built tug of war machine with your buddy?

 

[DFB5.0]

P&S Absolute – A New Rinse-less Wash Solution.

P&S Absolute is a ground up new rinse-less wash designed in conjunction with The Rag Company. Absolute is a polymer cleaning solution that encapsulates and then emulsifies dirt “beyond what soap is capable of”. This product can also soften hard water, reducing the chance of water spotting in warmer weather. Absolute can be used to clean paint, plastics, trim, leather, upholstery and glass. It’s safe to use on ceramic coatings, PPF and vinyl wraps.

While its primary role is for rinse-less washing at a 256:1 dilution ratio, Absolute can also be used as a clay lubricant at 128:1 or as quick detailer at 64:1. For interiors or glass cleaning, P&S recommend the 256:1 dilution.

I have covered rinse-less washing technique in previous posts, so here are a couple of key product usage points –

-For rinse-less washing, measure out 7.5 liters of water in a bucket before adding 30ml of Absolute. (1oz to 2 Gallons of water)

-For the pre-soak solution, P&S recommend the same 256:1 dilution. Either mix this up in a bottle or fill up a bottle from your bucket solution. For a 1-liter bottle, add about 4 ml of Absolute. A syringe makes measuring such a small amount easier.

- Absolute has one of the better scents in this category, a subtle Coconut aroma.

-While Absolute produces a slick surface by itself, combined with other P&S products like Paint Gloss, Dream Maker and Bead Maker as a drying aid will make the paint super slick and glossy.

-While Absolute can be used in direct sun, like most detailing products, it’s best used on cool surfaces out of the direct sunlight. The water softening effect does however reduce the risk of hard water spotting.

-Once you have finished washing the exterior, you can soak another towel from the bucket solution to wipe over your interior surfaces.

P&S and The Rag Company have hyped this product quite a bit, promoting it as a “game changer”. Personally, I wouldn’t go that far. It is a very good product, think of it as a new generation of Optimum No Rinse. I can say though that Absolute is better than McKee’s N-914, the current benchmark in this class for many. I certainly feels slicker and doesn’t exhibit the slight “stickiness” that N-914 possesses. I wouldn’t rush out to replace your current rinse-less products with the release of Absolute, but I would certainly recommend giving it a try at some stage.

 

[StigyAus]

Would you recommend ceramic coating over the Mach 1 vinyl striping?

My professional detailed applied Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra over my stripes.

 

[2022 Mach 1]

My professional detailed applied Gtechniq Crystal Serum Ultra over my stripes.
[/QU

Did it leave the matte with a abnormal shine to them?

 

[StigyAus]

Did it leave the matte with a abnormal shine to them?

Sorry, I’m not like everyone else I went with gloss stripes. Should have mentioned that.
Good point though, doubt it would work well with matte stripes/paint, it would fill in all of the roughness and leave a gloss look.
But if you get a matte specific ceramic coat it should work fine.

 

[DFB5.0]

Did it leave the matte with a abnormal shine to them?

I posted this earlier about ceramic on matte stripes -

Ceramic coating and vinyl stripes (autogeekonline.net)

" You can absolutely apply CQuartz Classic (or similar) over matte stripes. It slightly enhances them and protects them. Just ensure that you prep them properly and level the coating properly. You don't want to have to polish down high spots on them. "

When I applied a ceramic coating to my matte black wheels, the coating didn't add any gloss, it simply added some depth to the finish.

Sorry, I’m not like everyone else I went with gloss stripes. Should have mentioned that.
Good point though, doubt it would work well with matte stripes/paint, it would fill in all of the roughness and leave a gloss look.
But if you get a matte specific ceramic coat it should work fine.

See above, but you are correct that you can use specific coatings for matte finishes.

 

[DFB5.0]

Meguiars D170 Hyper Dressing – Old Faithful.

Meguiars D170 Hyper Dressing is one of those products that has been around for years, and yet it’s one of those products that just does its job without the fanfare of glossy labels and social media hype. I’m not sure how popular this product is in Australia, certainly less so than in the USA. When the raw materials for these sort of products became scarce last year, Hyper Dressing went on back order across most of the US, while in Australia, it remained available. To me, that means it just doesn’t have the reach it does elsewhere, and I think it should!

Hyper Dressing is a water-based dressing that can be used across all non-painted rubber, vinyl and plastic surfaces. Think tyres, engine bay plastics, wheel arch liners, black exterior trims and interior plastics. Hyper Dressing is from Meguiars Detailer Range, meaning it has traditionally come in gallon size bottles, however it has recently been added to their RTU Detailer line in a more manageable 946ml form. While these are the same product, there is a key difference between the two.

The Detailer size gallon of Hyper Dressing is the product in undiluted form. This allows a detailer to tailor the product to cover a wide variety of uses. For a pro, this means they can cover a lot of ground with the one product mixed into use for tyres, exterior trim, engines bays and interior dressing. Value for money in other words.

The RTU form of Hyper Dressing is just that, pre-diluted and ready to go. Meguiars nominated a 1:1 ratio for the RTU form and is probably best suited to hobbyists, as a gallon of the product will likely go bad before you would get a chance to use it all.

As mentioned, the beauty of D170 is its ability to be tailored to specific areas or taste. In undiluted form and even at 1:1, Hyper Dressing is very glossy. But when watered down, the finish left behind is a very natural, OE look. These are the recommended dilution ratios from Meguiars –

High Gloss – 1:1
Medium Gloss – 2:1
Satin Finish – 3:1
Natural Finish – 4:1

So, where and when to use Hyper Dressing? Firstly, while it can be used on interiors, I think there are more suitable products on the market for that. Although, the scent of D170 would be quite pleasing in an interior, think very old-school cherry scented detailing products.

My key role for Hyper Dressing is for use on engine bay plastics, and when diluted down to 3 or 4:1, D170 leaves such a nice finish. I have described this process a few times, but all you have to do is clean the engine bay and while still wet, mist the engine bay with Hyper Dressing, drop the bonnet and you are done. As the product dries, it self-levels down and generally requires little to no follow up wiping, making it the easiest way to make an engine bay look like new. I actually prefer Hyper Dressing over the newer and heavily marketed Koch Chemie Motorplast.

I also use Hyper Dressing for refreshing plastic wheel arch liners, using the same 4:1 dilution that I use on engine bays. For this job, D170 again just adds a layer of richness to the plastic rather than making it glossy and slick. Once again, the self-leveling aspect comes in handy here, simply spray and walk away.

For tyres, it’s probably best diluted to at least 1:1 otherwise the finish will be very glossy. Nothing wrong with that if that’s what you like, and I occasionally have a bit of fun using D170 undiluted on my Ranger’s tyres. Again, when diluted down to 3 or 4:1, the finish is much more natural and enhances the rubber rather than making it shine.

This is before and after when diluted at 4:1 -

This is at full strength/undiluted, as you can see it's very glossy in this form -

You can of course also use Hyper Dressing to revive faded black exterior trims, although being water based, the effect will not last very long. Again, I think there are better trim dressings/restorers on the market.

I may have also used Hyper Dressing to make my spare wheel look a little more presentable........................

While there are countless plastic and rubber dressings on the market, Meguiar's D170 Hyper Dressing would be right up there with the very best, if not the best for engine bays. Worth having in the cabinet for sure.

I may have also used Hyper Dressing to make my spare wheel look a little more presentable........................

While there are countless plastic and rubber dressings on the market, Meguiar's D170 Hyper Dressing would be right up there with the very best, if not the best for engine bays. Worth having in the cabinet for sure.

 

[FKE SNK]

I picked up some Hyper Dressing per DFB - it really is the best product for dressing an engine and it goes a long way. Being a Meguiars product, you can also pick it up anywhere.

 

[DFB5.0]

I picked up some Hyper Dressing per DFB - it really is the best product for dressing an engine and it goes a long way. Being a Meguiars product, you can also pick it up anywhere.

Did you buy the undiluted gallon or the RTU version?

 

[DFB5.0]

Last week, one of my suppliers was offering a free gift on every fourth order, of course I chose to play along.

Having not ordered the Economax Brush Set, I assume I won the lucky dip. Or maybe they recognized my name?

In fact, the 500ml bottle of Eraser was a loyalty points redemption, and the sample size of NV Boost v2 was a freebie too, so I did quite well with this order.

This is the first time I have managed to get a 3.8lt size of Shine Supply Wise Guy, it's always been either sold out or their website had a glitch that prevented placing the order for the larger size. Wise Guy is a very strong tire cleaner, so strong it burns through sprayer heads quite frequently. My solution has been to use a high alkaline resistant Marolex sprayer -

Another order, another new tire dressing. Auto Finesse Satin is a water-based dressing that produces a natural satin-matte finish that can be layered for more gloss. It's also heavily cherry scented.

NV Purge is a powerful iron remover wheel cleaner which is almost touchless in its cleaning ability.

This result is from only using the chemical by itself, no agitation -

Lastly, a Carpro Measure dilution aid for my bottle of P&S Absolute.

 

[DFB5.0]

Have I mentioned how much I love microfiber towels?

A couple of weeks ago I did a purge on a variety of towels that were either one offs, getting old or I simply didn't like.

The goal from here was to fill out my range and make it more uniform, the mismatch of towels screwed with my need to always have a matching set.

After trying so many different towel styles over the years, I now have a clear picture of what I like, and what I like for specific detailing tasks. I made up a list of what I needed to add, all being items I already have and love using.

This is what $165 of towels looks like...............

- Starting at the front, the grey towels are what I use on wheels. These small 30x30 Gauntlet's are just perfectly sized for wheels.

https://detailingshed.com.au/products/the-gauntlet-drying-towel?_pos=1&_sid=974d1f4ad&_ss=r

-The blue waffle weave Dry Me A River towels are for glass. These are the medium 40x60 size.

https://detailingshed.com.au/produc...1&_sid=dc70ee115&_ss=r&variant=18519595155513

-The pink, orange and blue FTW's are my small drying towels. I mostly use these on my own cars with a drying aid. I now have three of each colour.

https://detailingshed.com.au/produc...lmicrofiber-towel?_pos=1&_sid=ed46b1e3d&_ss=r

-The bright green towels I use for delicate interior surfaces (think gloss trims). These Creature Edgeless towels are a favorite of mine, I have them for polish and wax removal in grey, and in blue for door jambs.

https://detailingshed.com.au/products/rag-company-edgeless-creature?_pos=1&_sid=cbc4b11eb&_ss=r

-The wash pads are replacing some very old wash mitts. I don't like wash mitts as I prefer the use of pads instead. Here, I am adding a Cyclone 10X (large) and Cyclone Premium (medium) wash pads in grey.

https://detailingshed.com.au/produc...ailingshed-sydney?_pos=5&_sid=b841bbd1e&_ss=r
https://detailingshed.com.au/products/trc-10x-premium-wash-pad?_pos=2&_sid=b841bbd1e&_ss=r

As mentioned, these additions flesh out existing towels and mitts in my collection and represent what I like to grab the most. As a precaution, all of these will be pre-washed in Rag's to Riches before being used.

 

[FKE SNK]

Did you buy the undiluted gallon or the RTU version?

RTU bottle of D170

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