DFB's Garage

DFB said:
I'm not entirely sure if I have done the right thing here, and I don't want to jinx things, but say hello to baby Olly..................







In my toddler days, I grew up with a tri-colour Cocker, who Mum and Dad had before I was born. We were inseparable, he was like my big brother. When Faych came along, the roles were reversed, I was big brother. I've had a few people suggest getting a Golden Retriever or Labrador, but my heart is with Cocker's, they just suit my nature. It was never really a choice here.



Having said all of that, I feel somewhat guilty, as if I'm replacing my Faychie all too soon. It breaks my heart over and over again every time I think of him as I go about things we would do together, like I'm leaving him behind. I know this is not a rational thing, but I just can't help it. But if he is watching over me, I know he wouldn't want me to be sad, or that no other dog would experience the same love and treatment he got from me.

Over the past week, I've had so many people reach out, something I will never forget. Everyone goes through a loss differently, and those who provided advice gave me something to think about. One in particular explained how he mourned a loss for several years before finding a new companion, which to me sounds like hell. As it stands, I'm so lost without my shadow. While Faych can never be replaced, I know I need that presence in my life, someone to love, someone to follow me around, someone to make me smile, someone to comfort me, someone to care for.

Right here, right now, I'm not ready. But then I don't want to wait indefinitely for the "right" time to come up, progressively getting more and more lost and depressed. I'm a week in and feeling more settled, more accepting of what happened. There is peace in knowing Faych will never leave my heart and mind. By the end of January when Olly will be able to come home, I know I'll be in a different frame of mind. As I type, I have a mixture of nerves and excitement, but still a sense of sadness and guilt.

Olly was born in late November to Mumma Lola and Pappa Ernie. He will develop into a blue roan or white-black bi-colour. I've seen both parents in action, and the way each pup is being treated and prepared for their forever homes.





As mentioned earlier, I had so many people reach out, provide advice, tell their stories. Please know each and every word helped. I always knew I'd be crushed the day Faych left me, but I never knew how hard it was going to be or how I'd deal with it. So a big thankyou to all that helped me over the last week, the spectrum of stories and advice got me through and got me thinking about the future.
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Deyon,

Your a great dog owner and I’m absolutely sure Faych had a wonderful life. Just as if you had left him early you’d want him to find an amazing friend to love and take care of…. He wishes the same for you.

And as for how he feels about replacing him… not only would he want you happy he would love that another gets to experience the life he had…. Be sad… but know you are doing nothing wrong as you said..,


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First wash post detail, which is always super satisfying in how easily everything comes together.

Don't let the Brake Buster bottle fool you, that's Griot's Wheel-Tire-Mat Cleaner. This product has a mild scent to mask that acrid chemical aroma of most rubber cleaners such as Brake Buster, Wise Guy and ReTyre. As per yesterday, it seemed to work extremely well, which is surprising because these tyres are resistant to everything but Tarminator.



Mixing things up today, I decided to roll out the K1152 (K1122) to give it a run. The K1152 and KHD-10 have the same advertised flow rates, 10-litres per minute (2.64 GPM), but the K1152 certainly feels leaner. I ran this with the same gun and 4.5 orifice nozzles I use with the wall mount system, so perhaps it's the result of the 10-amp (1152) vs 15-amp (KHD-10) situation? Having said that, the K1152 is soooo much quieter than the KHD-10, to the point where the water or foam flow is noisier than the machine itself. And the 1/4-inch hose is much easier to manage than the 3/8-inch Cobra Jet. But then the wall mount comes back into its own when setting up and packing away.



Who needs a ceramic coating when you get this from a humble synthetic sealant?





Cleaned, the old girl has swapped place with the Mustang for a little rest.
 
DFB said:
First wash post detail, which is always super satisfying in how easily everything comes together.

Don't let the Brake Buster bottle fool you, that's Griot's Wheel-Tire-Mat Cleaner. This product has a mild scent to mask that acrid chemical aroma of most rubber cleaners such as Brake Buster, Wise Guy and ReTyre. As per yesterday, it seemed to work extremely well, which is surprising because these tyres are resistant to everything but Tarminator.



Mixing things up today, I decided to roll out the K1152 (K1122) to give it a run. The K1152 and KHD-10 have the same advertised flow rates, 10-litres per minute (2.64 GPM), but the K1152 certainly feels leaner. I ran this with the same gun and 4.5 orifice nozzles I use with the wall mount system, so perhaps it's the result of the 10-amp (1152) vs 15-amp (KHD-10) situation? Having said that, the K1152 is soooo much quieter than the KHD-10, to the point where the water or foam flow is noisier than the machine itself. And the 1/4-inch hose is much easier to manage than the 3/8-inch Cobra Jet. But then the wall mount comes back into its own when setting up and packing away.



Who needs a ceramic coating when you get this from a humble synthetic sealant?





Cleaned, the old girl has swapped place with the Mustang for a little rest.
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What sealant?


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Coatingsarecrack said:
Oldie but a goodie


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Exactly!

Sadly, the company that imported the brand discontinued it early this year. I've been using WDGPS since the early 2010's.

 
Deyon, glad your enjoying Griot's Garage products! I've been a loyal customer since 2005

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A little re-stock from Detailing Shed before the Christmas closures. The notable inclusion here being that spray bottle, the new Pressol Pro-Series.



I've been using v1 Pressol sprayers for a while now. From an aesthetic point of view, I love how I can fill them with a multitude of different products from different brands and have a matching label on each. Of course, that was the vision of someone else, and I can't deny or hide where that influence came from.

Functionally though, I have always felt the Kwazar Mercury 360 were vastly superior. For example, a thicker bottle that will not panel in under repeated spraying, as well the extra stabilizing piece on the base. The spray head itself has a smoother action, the trigger being longer to allow all of your fingers to wrap around it. Both are double action, spraying on both squeeze and release, but the atomization of the Kwazar was vastly superior and with a much wider range of adjustment.





These original Pressol "Household" spray bottles were never intended for use with detailing chemicals. No, the black or red "Industrial" bottles with the ergonomic bottle design were better suited to this role, but because of that odd bottle shape, labels were not possible. So, that's why Matt went with the "Household" type and persisted with fixing the issues. And there were plenty of issues....................

- Because of the lack of spray pattern adjustment, the tips had to be cranked right down to achieve fine atomization. This would often split the plastic tip. I will say, I never had one single tip split on me, so I'm not sure what others were doing with them. :conf

- Alkaline chemicals would nuke the spray head seals within a very short period. Most spray heads have a limited life span with these chemicals, but not to the extent of these Pressol items. And it would happen with both the standard "Household" and tougher "Industrial" heads. I will say, I've killed Kwazar spray heads as well with high-pH products.

- Bottle paneling under repeated use.

- Certain chemicals leaching through the bottle, mainly from solvents such as tar remover. This became an issue because the microscopic leaching would dissolve the adhesive of those fancy labels and cause them to fall off.

- Ultra-slick products would cause the suction tube to fall off the spray head. Again, I never experienced this.

The big sticking point with Pressol has been the price, $25 vs the $17 for the Kwazar. And that's before you consider a basic Tolco sprayer and bottle for $5 had none of the above issues and would last longer with alkaline chemicals. So why pay the premium and get a worse durability?

Enter the Pressol Pro-Series. The culmination of 6-years work, which I think was far too long for what is just a plastic spray head and bottle, these new Pro-Series items feature a number of changes. The spray head internals have been upgraded to better resist alkalinity, effectively replacing both Household and Industrial spray heads from v1. The spray tip is now stainless steel, not plastic. The pickup tube is now silicone, which facilitates 360-degree spraying like the Kwazar's. The tube is now held in place with wire spring clips. And finally, the bottles are treated to prevent chemical leeching, a process called fluorination. All sounds great...................



I'm not going to sit here and tell you these new versions solve all of the problems with v1. Actually, they created some new ones. For example, alkaline products can react with the fluorination process and cause the bottle to turn brown. The first batch of spray tips were accidentally made with steel and not stainless steel, so they rusted out. Certain products have caused the tube to fall off, and that's despite those fancy clips. And certain IPA-type products can nuke the seals too. I've sat back watching this happen, baffled as to why all this didn't get noticed during the "extensive torture testing". They had 6 years to get it right, but the problems are still there. And as a final insult, they are now even more expensive.

And yet, here I am buying another Pressol to try, go figure. :doh

On first acquaintance, those stainless steel tips look and feel amazing. They also atomize way, way better than v1................and the Kwazar too if I'm honest.





Spring clips on both ends of the silicone pickup tube...................





As you can see, the tube is ultra flexible and permits 360-degree spraying. Of course, no one is spraying with the bottle upside down, but this feature becomes handy as the bottle empties and while spraying at an awkward angle.



The following is a comparison between the three Pressol spray heads. In the middle, the new Pro Series. On the right, the Household version with a ridged plastic tube and basic filter cap. On the left, the Industrial head with a semi-flexible pickup and weighted plastic filter. Of the older two, the Industrial was superior as the pickup point could move as the bottle was tilted, handy when the nearing empty, however it couldn't allow 360-degree movement.



The improvements to spray pattern and the flexible pickup tube are instantly noticeable and appreciated, both aspects certainly better than before. What remains to be seen is how they perform over the longer term, namely the seals and that strange bottle staining.

You may question why spend so much on a spray bottle, especially one that isn't totally sorted. Well, I question that too. But then I see them lined up in my cabinet with the fancy labels and I'm sold. I get the same satisfaction with the Kwazar's too, but the Pressol's are next level. Naturally, how they look has nothing to do with functional performance, but visual pleasure is important to me and something I always look for in just about everything in life. I also love that clicky-click sound the Pressol trigger makes, super satisfying. So, while flawed, there is much to like as well.
 
Obsessed almost got me to get 8 with the new bottle (stainless tips got me) but at the time shipping was $60 dollars. I don’t need free shipping but I know sending me those bottles didn’t cost $60 to ship.

I see he got his rates to more reasonable prices but already just went with Marolex trigger sprayers….

Must have meant to be though as I was ordering trace less at the time and that seems to be giving these bottles problems…

… but stainless tips… such a great over engineered idea!


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Coatingsarecrack said:
Obsessed almost got me to get 8 with the new bottle (stainless tips got me) but at the time shipping was $60 dollars. I don’t need free shipping but I know sending me those bottles didn’t cost $60 to ship.

I see he got his rates to more reasonable prices but already just went with Marolex trigger sprayers….

Must have meant to be though as I was ordering trace less at the time and that seems to be giving these bottles problems…

… but stainless tips… such a great over engineered idea!


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The stainless tips are cool, feel really nice, atomize very well. However, I'm not sure why they couldn't get plastic to work, you know, like every other sprayer on the market. I also don't understand what people were doing to crack the original plastic tips, I've not had single one fail like that. I guess some people are just ham fisted, then they blame it on the company. Kinda like someone doing endless burnouts in their Mustang, then wondering why the diff exploded.



It's funny, up until recently it was popular to sling mud towards OG and Matt regarding the price and poor reliability of those Pressol bottles and sprayers. And quite rightfully so, they were not ready for prime time, especially at full retail. He made it perfectly clear there were faults and that if a customer wasn't interested in being an effective beta tester, then don't buy them. Many called that arrogant, and I guess it is to a degree. Many also proudly proclaim they would "never buy anything from that man". Which is funny because some of those have gone on to buy certain products and tools that he effectively created or had a hand in developing.

And yet, now that ADS is selling the Pressol Pro Series with matching product labels, I know of people who have gone on to buy them. Suddenly these things are the best sprayer on the market, again, oblivious to where they came from. Kinda like people who say they would never buy something made in China, then whip out their Chinese-made iPhone.







At the end of the day, you are paying that price premium for the spray head, of which is one of the few that can double action spray.
 
DFB said:
The stainless tips are cool, feel really nice, atomize very well. However, I'm not sure why they couldn't get plastic to work, you know, like every other sprayer on the market. I also don't understand what people were doing to crack the original plastic tips, I've not had single one fail like that. I guess some people are just ham fisted, then they blame it on the company. Kinda like someone doing endless burnouts in their Mustang, then wondering why the diff exploded.



It's funny, up until recently it was popular to sling mud towards OG and Matt regarding the price and poor reliability of those Pressol bottles and sprayers. And quite rightfully so, they were not ready for prime time, especially at full retail. He made it perfectly clear there were faults and that if a customer wasn't interested in being an effective beta tester, then don't buy them. Many called that arrogant, and I guess it is to a degree. Many also proudly proclaim they would "never buy anything from that man". Which is funny because some of those have gone on to buy certain products and tools that he effectively created or had a hand in developing.

And yet, now that ADS is selling the Pressol Pro Series with matching product labels, I know of people who have gone on to buy them. Suddenly these things are the best sprayer on the market, again, oblivious to where they came from. Kinda like people who say they would never buy something made in China, then whip out their Chinese-made iPhone.







At the end of the day, you are paying that price premium for the spray head, of which is one of the few that can double action spray.
Click to expand...

I’ve realized I don’t need double action because where it would come in most handy I use a pump sprayer.

I just like nice bottle.

As for Matt he was very upfront he was testing bottle’s he’s only for a certain type of person. For me it’s just the best products for my needs…. I don’t care if it’s from Matt, THOR, AG… best product for least money gets my money.

I do go to Matt last as when the Apex Aire had the issues and the owner came up with a fix I liked it. Owner of Apex Aire, said he changed design.

Reason I bought into Apex is he was developing different tips for different uses. Thought that was a great idea.

That’s reason owner offered new tip under warranty. Now the loosness never bothered me as I never grabbed the tip.

But if you make changes and I can no longer use the new products you make for it then yeah replace it. Matt said on his video he would just pay for a new one as he would do the same.

He offered no discounts… so it’s OK for a vendor to not lose money and you can make money but the end user should pay for it.

Lost all respect for the dude… pretty sure he see’s us as lemmings. But in the end that’s why products are created, marketed, sold is to get our money…

I’ll know he’ll never have best price but if he makes best product he’ll still get my money…


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DFB said:
The stainless tips are cool, feel really nice, atomize very well. However, I'm not sure why they couldn't get plastic to work, you know, like every other sprayer on the market. I also don't understand what people were doing to crack the original plastic tips, I've not had single one fail like that. I guess some people are just ham fisted, then they blame it on the company. Kinda like someone doing endless burnouts in their Mustang, then wondering why the diff exploded.



It's funny, up until recently it was popular to sling mud towards OG and Matt regarding the price and poor reliability of those Pressol bottles and sprayers. And quite rightfully so, they were not ready for prime time, especially at full retail. He made it perfectly clear there were faults and that if a customer wasn't interested in being an effective beta tester, then don't buy them. Many called that arrogant, and I guess it is to a degree. Many also proudly proclaim they would "never buy anything from that man". Which is funny because some of those have gone on to buy certain products and tools that he effectively created or had a hand in developing.

And yet, now that ADS is selling the Pressol Pro Series with matching product labels, I know of people who have gone on to buy them. Suddenly these things are the best sprayer on the market, again, oblivious to where they came from. Kinda like people who say they would never buy something made in China, then whip out their Chinese-made iPhone.







At the end of the day, you are paying that price premium for the spray head, of which is one of the few that can double action spray.
Click to expand...

in total agreement with you and don’t understand why they weren’t able to come up with to a plastic solution for their tips. The thing I found interesting is that the ones who experienced this issue with faulty tips cracking or leaking (myself included) are also owners of Ik sprayers but rarely if ever had their Ik tips fail. The perfect solution would be to have Ik and Pressol somehow combine lol
When it comes to these sprayers, I think most of the negativity or mud slinging towards OG could be due to him being untruthful and making stories about certain batches of sprayer being different iterations with certain upgrades. Come to find out a never in one of the online groups had a contact with someone directly at pressol and confirmed there were no such upgrades or different “iterations” ever made.
 
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Coatingsarecrack said:
As for Matt he was very upfront he was testing bottle’s he’s only for a certain type of person. For me it’s just the best products for my needs…. I don’t care if it’s from Matt, THOR, AG… best product for least money gets my money.

I’ll know he’ll never have best price but if he makes best product he’ll still get my money…
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That's something I've always said about OG. Say what you will about his personality and the pricing, but you can't deny he (mostly) sells excellent stuff. The OG approach is very different to companies like Autogeek, TRC, Clean Garage, Carzilla ect. Instead of carrying every single product from any given brand, OG is selective. So instead of carrying 10 products in one category, they have one or two of each which he thinks is the best. That approach is one of the reasons why he can't get the prices down, he just isn't buying enough from each brand to get a better price, same with shipping. He knows that achieving more volume is the key to slashing the shipping charges (in the US at least).

For me, I've only ever bought stuff from OG when I couldn't get it anywhere else within Australia. Put it this way, I'm not buying soap or towels from him, I can get that locally and not pay $300+ shipping.

I also like how they have diversified by offering garage design services, from what I've seen, he was one of the first to do something like that. Which when you are spending tens of thousands of dollars to fit out a high-end garage, I guess having some guidance behind those purchases is a valuable service to lean on.

As you say, OG is for a specific buyer. At the end of the day, most of what he offers is way out of my purchasing power. I also can't just order stuff at the drop of the hat because the shipping is prohibitive now (at one point pre-Covid it was reasonable). I also have a problem with some of his bullish comments, especially considering his own personal faults, people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones and all that. But, I've learnt a lot from him, I can see and empathize with his mental struggles, and I respect what he has achieved.
 
The Ranger has been earning its keep over the last week. The first job was spread across two days, a garden clean-up for a neighbour. This included two full loads of green waste going to the tip, most of it from several Cocas Palm's (hideous things, never plant them!). The second job being my own garden, which I'm trying to green up before a certain someone arrives late January. Again, two large loads of green waste after giving two established camellia's a heavy reformative prune, and removal of more bloody Privet.



The rubber mat I have in the tray is great for keeping rattles down, but the open chambers allow every leaf, twig and blade of grass to get stuck in each perforation. A very tedious task to remove it all, be that using the leaf blower or pressure washer, often it's easier to just vacuum it..............which gives the nosey neighbours something to laugh at.

After washing with NV Snow, I continued to sample the Griot's products I bought a few weeks ago. Drying Aid was Speed Shine, tray and door jambs with Ceramic Speed Shine, and the inside got a wipe down with Interior Detailer. The tyres had been cleaned 3-in-1 Wheel-Tire-Mat, then a layer of Ceramic Tire Dressing.

On that 3-in-1 Wheel-Tire-Mat Cleaner, I wanted to see how it performed on the Ranger's 3D rubber floor liners.









I love this product! The way it lathers up is so satisfying, which gives the feeling you're actually achieving something, missing from some rubber cleaners. After cleaning, I soaked it down with P&S Swift, which is the sweet spot for dressing floor mats, vastly better than the Koch Chemie Guf.





You can still see what appears to be a dirty patch on the left, but that's where my heel pivots for the clutch pedal, which has worn down and discoloured the material.

Ranger is clean again, but not for long, early next week is the all-important "Christmas Mow".
 
Tasmania said:
What's the "Christmas Mow" ?
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Basically, everyone wants their lawns mown right before Christmas. That means rejigging my schedule to accommodate, pretty much jobs that were due this week have been pushed to next week. And now that we have full summer heat, the grass will be even taller, which means a harder job for me and the machinery. I dread it, just another reason why I hate Christmas, far too much fuss over one single day, at least I don't have to fake a smile and say merry Christmas to every single customer now. I'll probably get flamed for that, but it all just meaningless toddle to extract more money out of people.
 
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