My first ever detail with some product reviews

BFEHB

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Alright, so I completed my first detail, on my wife’s 17 year old daily driver, with all the new toys/products that I have recently purchased at AG. Here are some thoughts on some of the products, this is not a complete review necessarily but just some observations.

I am going to post some pictures that I took with my cruddy cellphone camera but it really does not do it justice. There are some spots on the pictures that I think are from the camera lense being dusty. A neighbor came over and could not believe how good the car looked. It did take 2 days and probably 15 hours to do the inside and outside.
  • Speed Master Wheel Brush – this thing is great, everyone should have one!
  • Iron X – we must be iron deficient in SoCal, there really was very little purple gunk to be seen. This product also completely reeks. I had it stored with my other car detailing supplies, that just did not work. It smells really badly, I moved it in with the house cleaning supplies, even that might not work. It is in a zip lock bag. I will not repurchase this product when it is gone. Did I mention that this stuff really, really smells?
  • Riccardo Yellow Clay and Lube – ummm, I was not that impressed with this product. The car had quite a bit of contaminants and little rust spots and Riccardo’s was not up to the task. I ended up using my Meguiar’s off the shelf product with the Meguiar’s Ultimate Quik detailer and it was better at clearing the contaminants and rust. I would then follow up with Riccardo’s clay and lube. Then I would switch off and use the Riccardo’s first and follow up with the Meguiar’s. Meguiar’s performed better for me. I would not purchase this product again but I will definitely use it, perhaps it would be better on a car with fewer contaminants?
  • Porter Cable 7424XP – I was initially afraid I was going to destroy the car with a polisher, so was my wife. Turns out there was no need to worry at all. This thing seemed pretty idiot proof to me. I watched every video and read every article about using the PC that I could find, including the CD that came with the purchase – which was a great CD by the way – and I had no problems at all. The threads on the handle that you insert into either the left or right side were a little jacked up upon arrival, but I should be able to work around that.
  • Lake Country 5” Backing Plate and 5½” CSS Pads – these worked perfectly. I used the orange and white pads. I can tell I will need more pads, I only had 2 of each; I could have used more. I did clean them with the foam conditioning brush which helped.
  • The Klasse Twins – I really liked both of these products, they were very easy to work with and really make the car shine. With the 1st coat of the Klasse SG I let sit on the car for about 10 to 15 minutes before wiping off and the 2nd coat (the following day) I let sit at least 30 minutes. After the 2nd coat the car paint was just brilliant and deep, I highly recommend at least 2 coats. I didn’t have a problem removing it in either application. I applied it thin, thin, thin with an Ultra Autospa Microfiber Applicator – turned out great.
  • Sonus Acrylic Spritz – anytime there was a little spot of Klasse SG that was a challenge to remove the spritz loosened it right up, this is good stuff.
  • Pinnacle Leather and Vinyl Cleaner – I used the Natural Horse Hair Interior Upholstery Brush to apply this and what a difference it made. The leather had turned dark brown and had sunscreen and body oil stains and now the leather is back to being light tan and soft. Looks fantastic!
  • Pinnacle Leather Conditioner – maybe leather conditioners are not necessary, I don’t know but I liked the finish and the smell that the conditioner left behind. Good stuff, not sticky, or slippery just smooth and soft.
  • Various Cobra Microfiber Towels – they were great, but I will pick up some chinchillas when I have the funds. I have about 20 towels now for various jobs. Not sure the waffle weave glass towels are anything special, but I have them so I will keep on using them. The 16 x 24 Guzzler Gold Waffle Weave Drying Towels were a tad unwieldy, they were almost too big in my opinion.
  • Pinnacle Micro Rejuvenator Detergent – seems fine!
Lessons learned - I will need some sort of correction product, I am thinking the Menzerna FG 400. There were/are some light scratches in the paint, not something you can feel with your fingernail and an occasional swirl or two. I will get those next time, they are very hard to see and the light has to be just right - the wife will never see them.

Anyhow, thank you to all the folks on these forums who have shared their knowledge and expertise on these boards it has been an excellent learning tool.
 
Nice work keep it up, and yes iron x is sticky but why don't you try it on the wheel's it's sure to turn purple there
 
Nice work keep it up, and yes iron x is sticky but why don't you try it on the wheel's it's sure to turn purple there
No, I used it on the wheels too. There was very little purple to be found.
 
Interesting findings with Riccardo clay. I find the same results. Its a decent clay bar for very light contaminants. I have 3 bars of Riccardo & still plan to buy more. Every product has its place IMO. Meguiars professional clay performs better for heavier contaminants.

The Menzerna FG400 works very well, with either foam or MF pads.
 
Now thats what a 17 Y/O cars supposed to look like! Nice work
 
Welcome and it sounds like a great start!

One recommendation I have is to break up your post into paragraphs. A huge wall of text is kind of a no-no around here and I've seen Mike take it upon himself to go and edit people's posts. Stay in his good graces and break it up a little :)

Again, welcome!
 
Nice review of the product you've purchased and tested.

It's always interesting to read other's views about different types of products. I'm a fan of iron removers as an insurance policy.

The big picture is products like Iron X are they types of product you want to use to insure there is no iron contamination but from a owner's point of view, you don't actually want t see any purple or red bleeding coming off anything as that means it WAS contaminated.


Thanks for taking the time to type up your review.


:dblthumb2:
 
Great job.

Just a thought for future reference. When taking pictures of a cars paint after being Detailed. It really shows off the results and the pop on the paint if there are reflection shots.

Like under a tree, I believe AG has posters on the walls to show the reflection of the paint on the car they worked on.

https://www.google.com/search?clien...1.1.297.o-wdeJpAkek#biv=i|3;d|BBv5XyH6jBBRrM:

https://www.google.com/search?clien...1.1.297.o-wdeJpAkek#biv=i|7;d|3JI6LSF9Ni7w7M:

https://www.google.com/search?clien....1c.1.35.mobile-gws-serp..1.1.297.o-wdeJpAkek

Either way nice work and just trying to help :props:
 
Welcome and it sounds like a great start!

One recommendation I have is to break up your post into paragraphs. A huge wall of text is kind of a no-no around here and I've seen Mike take it upon himself to go and edit people's posts. Stay in his good graces and break it up a little :)

Again, welcome!

Thank you for the welcome. I will make a note about the wall of text issue, I didn't actually intend for the message to be that long. I did use the list function to try to break it up.
 
Nice review of the product you've purchased and tested.

It's always interesting to read other's views about different types of products. I'm a fan of iron removers as an insurance policy.

The big picture is products like Iron X are they types of product you want to use to insure there is no iron contamination but from a owner's point of view, you don't actually want t see any purple or red bleeding coming off anything as that means it WAS contaminated.

Thanks for taking the time to type up your review.

:dblthumb2:
I am sure you are right about the Iron X, I will definitely use it before I clay any of the cars for sure. I was actually really surprised that the car didn't look like a purple haze. Perhaps iron deposits are just not a big issue here. Also, thank you so much for all of your articles and video's, they have been a terrific source of information.
 
welcome to the forum! great reviews and i like how you did your write ups. the car looks pearly white! very nice job. did you take any before shots by any chance?
 
Great job.

Just a thought for future reference. When taking pictures of a cars paint after being Detailed. It really shows off the results and the pop on the paint if there are reflection shots.

Like under a tree, I believe AG has posters on the walls to show the reflection of the paint on the car they worked on.

Either way nice work and just trying to help :props:
Thank you! I will take some better pictures next time, I appreciate the advice.
 
welcome to the forum! great reviews and i like how you did your write ups. the car looks pearly white! very nice job. did you take any before shots by any chance?
Thank you! No, I didn't get any shots before or during for that matter. It took me probably 15 hours to do both the outside and the inside. I had a good time doing it though. I am getting another order ready and then I will do my car. I will take some before, during and after pictures with a better camera on that one.
 
Thank you! No, I didn't get any shots before or during for that matter. It took me probably 15 hours to do both the outside and the inside. I had a good time doing it though. I am getting another order ready and then I will do my car. I will take some before, during and after pictures with a better camera on that one.

i hear ya! 15hrs! wow, your back must be screaming at you huh?! lol.. it was all worth it. you came out with great results and wifey must be really happy on her early valentines gift! definitely take some before and after shots next time... like that we have an idea on how much improvement you've achieved.:xyxthumbs:
 
Looks great.
It was worth the hours even though your body may be telling you otherwise:)

Thanks for posting

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using AG Online
 
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