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  1. J

    A Growing Appreciation For My Tornador

    I purchased a Tornador Black about 3-4 years ago after being impressed by some of the videos. I thought maybe this would completely change the way I do interiors, but I found it hard to get away from the way I’m used to doing interiors. More recently though, I’ve found the tool to be very...
  2. J

    De-glossing a matte decal?

    I had a customer with a new truck come in today with a shiny spot on his matte vinyl decal on his hood today. I work for a dealership, so we don’t have dedicated products for everything. I tried our APC and a microfiber on the spot and that didn’t touch it. It appears that some wax accidentally...
  3. J

    Painted Pinstripe Removal

    I use thinner to remove painted stripes at work all the time. Usually a cleaner wax and a little elbow grease will remove the residue.
  4. J

    Dealership Ceramic Coating

    Would be worth a shot, but most dealerships have an appearance protection package that they up-sell in finance & those carry a warranty. They’d be unlikely to promote anything else they make a ton of money with little expense. Most of these programs don’t even charge the dealership for the...
  5. J

    Who cares about Wheels?

    Most people use automatic car washes and most auto washes have poor or non existent wheel cleaning ability. But yeah, clean the rims and door jambs and to about 70% of people you’re the greatest detailer in the world.
  6. J

    Is it possible to remove touch up paint?

    With clear on there, it can be tricky. I’d try some lacquer thinner in hopes it hasn’t fully cured yet. White touch up always looks awful. No matter the shade, it always seems to be bright white.
  7. J

    Cleaning paint bedliner

    Sometimes paint spills don’t bond real well to plastics bedliners. I’ve had success just putting a pressure washer wand right on it.
  8. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    It’s funny an old school at my job was telling me about this the other day. He said back when he started detailing in the 80s, you’d see cars with wax caked on them for weeks around town.
  9. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    Many people absolutely don’t see swirl marks or they’re desensitized. For most people it’s not a high priority and that’s why dealerships don’t put much stock in paint correction. What’s really emphasized at dealerships (speaking mostly of used cars) is interiors. Most customers are accustomed...
  10. J

    Looking for alternative ways to clean floor matts...

    I second this. Pre-soak, agitate, pressure wash, find a place where you can hang them up to dry.
  11. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    We use spirits to remove the adhesive from old dealership decals, but the scotchbrite pad is a new one to me. We ease the stickers off with composite plastic blades and follow with spirits.
  12. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    My dad did that once! He was wrapped up in the PT Cruiser craze and used a dish sponge for his bugs. When he told me, I asked him green or yellow side, but we all know what side he used.
  13. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    Just love seeing a towel being used on all surfaces. My favorite is going from the rims to the paint.
  14. J

    Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

    Working at a dealership, I’ve seen lots of head scratchers, but I think you’d like hearing this one. One night we were close to wrapping up and a young salesman pulled up to clean his new lease. My attention was elsewhere as he was asking for help, so he decided to help himself. When I was able...
  15. J

    Drying Wet Interior

    Fortunately, I don’t work for a Caddy dealership. Have an uncle that had nothing, but problems with his Escalade and the dealership couldn’t fix them. Was able to get out of it and get a Suburban. I know; GM, same car. Lol, but he hasn’t had issues with the Suburban. As for road tests...
  16. J

    Drying Wet Interior

    Problem with an electric heater is you’re unlikely to reach all the damp areas without having to move it around. Also have to worry about the immediate areas around the heater. The heater may be too hot and singe carpet fibers. At least using the car’s heater settings you know it won’t do that...
  17. J

    Drying Wet Interior

    The biggest negative of having to run the engine is fuel consumption. There’s something wrong with the cooling system if it overheats after 10-15 minutes of idling. That being said, running (and reving) the engine isn’t preferred, but necessary in many cases. Mechanics are testing & trying to...
  18. J

    Drying Wet Interior

    If you shampoo, extract, or steam an interior and are pressed for time and/or weather conditions are too poor to dry out the interior, you can speed this up by Turning on your heat setting. If it’s just the carpet, put on the floor setting. If it’s seats and carpet, put on the dual setting. Make...
  19. J

    Bug Infestation

    Does it feel good to be viewed as less than others? No, but that is life detailing at a dealership. You have to let it roll off your shoulders at some point if you’re going to work in that setting because it is at every turn believe me. Maybe I’ve gotten too use to appeasement rather than going...
  20. J

    Bug Infestation

    I would say it’s more of an OSHA issue than EPA, but even then the products are deemed safe enough for anyone in the general public to purchase and use themselves. That being the case, I don’t think they have much to worry about there. Although, there’s plenty of other things they can get in...
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