What did you do today, in regards to detailing?

I got the chance to try Hero today, deciding to take one for the team since I haven't gotten to the rear end yet on my annual decon and freshen up project and any damage inflicted would soon be taken care of

I did a heavy prerinse and used a McKee's golden sponge, following up with a lot of super plush towels

I think I will go with a 1:128 prerinse next time instead of 1:256

I normally do 1:128 with any other rinseless so to be fair I need to make it an apples to apples comparison

I washed the entire car, I only snapped pics of the rear end because it was the worst

IMG_5468 copy 3.JPG

I was pleased with the results

IMG_5471 copy 2.JPG

The weird smudge looking stuff under the F Sport and UX badges are reflections of the yellow leaves on the driveway

As far as how the Hero "felt", I can't draw any conclusions yet, I need a lot more washes under my belt to make any meaningful observations

I had intended to do a 3 way test with Hero, ONR V5, and N914 V2, and still mean to do that when I have a bit more time

I tried Amplify and honestly I wasn't overwhelmed; however, the humidity is above 80 and it's only about 45 degrees and I had the garage standing open so the Amplify was having a hard time flashing

I will give it some more time and tests and next time I will try some favorite drying aids for comparison
 
On a side note, it seems like I am having to reduce picture file sizes more today than I did yesterday

:unsure:
 
Personally it depends on which car it was. If one of my unique cars I would get it in the garage and dry it off. As a matter of fact I have done just that with my Mustang GT.
If one of my driver's I would just let it dry as they get rained on all the time. Key is to have some protection on the surface and for that protection to be in good shape which is a lot easier these days than it used to be.
 
chilly said:
So this may seem like a basic and very amateurish question but here goes

In a situation like yesterday where I have a freshly cleaned car that is coated and was dry, and it gets hit with a light rain before you can get it into the garage, would you guys dry it again and risk love marks or would you just leave the rain to dry on it's own?

I realize that rain in some parts of the country can be laden with all kinds of garbage that you don't want drying into spots on your paint but I don't have that problem up here
Click to expand...
For me the answer is, it depends. If it's the Qashqai I want to dry it, I don't know if it's the darker paint or not, but it's very prone to waterspots, if it's very recently washed with a low chance of contaminants in the drops, I might break out the Ech2o drying aid and a fresh MF, or if it's very wet, I get the Bigboi dryer out and just blow it dry. It just has softer and more "temperamental" paint.

With FJ living outside, and rarely ever getting any waterspots, I just leave it, but I might dry the glass, because that does get bad spots, and I'm a bit more OCD when it comes to the glass.
 
BLM said:
Chilly,
So what is your honest opinion of Hero?
Click to expand...

With just 1 full wash and a bit of another completed that's a tough question but let me kind of run through the numbers here

Color: I don't get hung up on product color but in this case, with a white bucket and a black grit guard the weak pink color in the bottle turns into a very dirty looking wash solution, kind of like dirty bathwater

Smell: I don't want to sit in a car after using an overpowering interior product but I have spent years enjoying the lingering smell of ONR and N914, and the very subtle scent of Hero in the bottle is almost completely lost when mixed and I miss not having some kind of pleasant smell

Pre-rinse: Hero at 1:256 sprayed on as a pre-rinse did NOT impress me at all; however, I normally mix up a separate gallon of pre-rinse at 1:128, rather than dipping out of the RW bucket like everyone shows. Hero at 1:256 certainly wet the dirt but I saw absolutely zero dirt loosening up to the point it was running down the rear end with the drops of rinseless. I know 1:128 to 1:256 is not a fair comparison but it should have done SOMETHING. I soaked the rear end good, then wet down the roof and washed and dried it, then went back to the rear end and was surprised that not only hadn't the Hero loosened stuff up and let it run down the back end, it was actually starting to dry back up, and that was at about 45 degrees and 80% humidity. I wet it down again and it obviously came clean but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy and protected about it

Lubricity: Everyone talks about this with every new RW that comes out and I guess it is a valid point but it seems such a tough data point to be able to quantify. I am still getting used to a sponge after years of multiple plush towels and all the RW I have tried with the sponge feels super slick as long as I pre-rinse and have a wet enough sponge. Hero certainly didn't jump out at me as super slick compared to ONR V5, N914, or N914 V2

Cleaning power: It got the job done and the rear of the car was certainly dirty, but again, it didn't blow my mind as anything radically better

Rinsing Media: The sponge came clean when I hit the Grit Guard and gave it a couple of squeezes, but so do the other RW out there. This is another metric that would be hard to quantify without some good lab equipment and a microscope

Drying: I will say this, it dried and finished up VERY WELL, in fact It was smoother and easier WITHOUT the Amplify as a drying aid/topper, and the temp and humidity didn't seem to phase it. This alone might make it a best choice for winter use in my world

Gloss and Slickness: Here is where it seems to pull way ahead of the pack. Without any extra products it looked and felt as slick and glossy as if I had used 3D Bead it Up or Griot's Ceramic Speed Shine or even OCW

I am sure I am missing some talking points here but to sum it up, Hero did not rock my world or change my paradigms. I am not saying it lacked cleaning power but it didn't seem turbocharged to me. If someone only uses a RW for light cleaning of dirt or dust and is looking for something that will leave a better than average finish then this might be all they would need

I am going to keep using it and do some 50/50 tests with other rinseless washes that I have and try to see if my long term observations change

I am also going to try Amplify under some more temperature and humidity conditions as they present themselves and get a better idea about how I feel about it

On a separate note, when I washed the big car the other day I used ADS Shampoo+ as my bucket wash. I started with 2oz in 4 gallons and added an oz at a time until I got to 5oz to 4 gallons to get a soap solution that I was comfortable with as far as lubricity was concerned. The cleaning power was ok
 
Last edited:
I keep telling myself that one of these days I am going to just start tossing clean towels in the appropriate tote and quit fussing with them

Then I run across a towel with a bit of something stuck in it and I remember why I look over and fold every towel individually
IMG_5473 copy.JPGIMG_5474 copy 2.JPG
 
chilly said:
With just 1 full wash and a bit of another completed that's a tough question but let me kind of run through the numbers here

Color: I don't get hung up on product color but in this case, with a white bucket and a black grit guard the weak pink color in the bottle turns into a very dirty looking wash solution, kind of like dirty bathwater

Smell: I don't want to sit in a car after using an overpowering interior product but I have spent years enjoying the lingering smell of ONR and N914, and the very subtle scent of Hero in the bottle is almost completely lost when mixed and I miss not having some kind of pleasant smell

Pre-rinse: Hero at 1:256 sprayed on as a pre-rinse did NOT impress me at all; however, I normally mix up a separate gallon of pre-rinse at 1:128, rather than dipping out of the RW bucket like everyone shows. Hero at 1:256 certainly wet the dirt but I saw absolutely zero dirt loosening up to the point it was running down the rear end with the drops of rinseless. I know 1:128 to 1:256 is not a fair comparison but it should have done SOMETHING. I soaked the rear end good, then wet down the roof and washed and dried it, then went back to the rear end and was surprised that not only hadn't the Hero loosened stuff up and let it run down the back end, it was actually starting to dry back up, and that was at about 45 degrees and 80% humidity. I wet it down again and it obviously came clean but I didn't feel all warm and fuzzy and protected about it

Lubricity: Everyone talks about this with every new RW that comes out and I guess it is a valid point but it seems such a tough data point to be able to quantify. I am still getting used to a sponge after years of multiple plush towels and all the RW I have tried with the sponge feels super slick as long as I pre-rinse and have a wet enough sponge. Hero certainly didn't jump out at me as super slick compared to ONR V5, N914, or N914 V2

Cleaning power: It got the job done and the rear of the car was certainly dirty, but again, it didn't blow my mind as anything radically better

Rinsing Media: The sponge came clean when I hit the Grit Guard and gave it a couple of squeezes, but so do the other RW out there. This is another metric that would be hard to quantify without some good lab equipment and a microscope

Drying: I will say this, it dried and finished up VERY WELL, in fact It was smoother and easier WITHOUT the Amplify as a drying aid/topper, and the temp and humidity didn't seem to phase it. This alone might make it a best choice for winter use in my world

Gloss and Slickness: Here is where it seems to pull way ahead of the pack. Without any extra products it looked and felt as slick and glossy as if I had used 3D Bead it Up or Griot's Ceramic Speed Shine or even OCW

I am sure I am missing some talking points here but to sum it up, Hero did not rock my world or change my paradigms. I am not saying it lacked cleaning power but it didn't seem turbocharged to me. If someone only uses a RW for light cleaning of dirt or dust and is looking for something that will leave a better than average finish then this might be all they would need

I am going to keep using it and do some 50/50 tests with other rinseless washes that I have and try to see if my long term observations change

I am also going to try Amplify under some more temperature and humidity conditions as they present themselves and get a better idea about how I feel about it

On a separate note, when I washed the big car the other day I used ADS Shampoo+ as my bucket wash. I started with 2oz in 4 gallons and added an oz at a time until I got to 5oz to 4 gallons to get a soap solution that I was comfortable with as far as lubricity was concerned. The cleaning power was ok
Click to expand...
So I was mulling this over and something was nagging at my brain and I started thinking about the gloss and slickness left behind and I suddenly realized that it was the gloss and slickness that was already on the car and that Hero hadn't left anything behind. It felt and looked like 3D Bead it Up because it was. A quick read of the Armour website confirmed that Hero is not supposed to leave anything behind, and I guess I had missed that or forgotten it. Regardless, I applaud them for coming up with a product that doesn't alter the existing LSP
 
I did an experiment with ORIGINAL N914 and Hero, both at 128:1, which is the dilution I normally mix a RW for use as a prerinse since I felt the Hero at 256:1 had almost zero effect as a prerinse the other day
IMG_5477 copy.jpeg
The back window had a very uniform film of road dirt from a drive in the rain
IMG_5476 copy.jpeg

I sprayed both halves as evenly as possible

IMG_5478 copy.jpeg

The N914 immediately started running down the window, cutting channels through the grime and the Hero mostly just beaded up

Where the N914 ran down it obviously loosened and carried a lot of dirt with it
IMG_5484 copy.jpeg

In the places where the Hero managed to run down it carried almost zero dirt down with it
IMG_5485 copy.jpeg

I think loosening and encapsulating dirt is one of the most desirable traits of a good RW and I will let you decide which seemed to do it better
 
Last edited:
chilly said:
On a side note, it seems like I am having to reduce picture file sizes more today than I did yesterday

:unsure:
Click to expand...
I thought I'd test out one of my pictures, I reduce mine to 800 X 600, the original size is 4000 X 3000, but I also crop them to show only what I want. This one actually came out at 788 X 800, and it didn't ask me to change it. This shows the dust and dirt built up on the FJ in a week, but you can still see the reflection of the spare tyre.PSX_20240920_212305.jpg
 
Big Dave1 said:
I thought I'd test out one of my pictures, I reduce mine to 800 X 600, the original size is 4000 X 3000, but I also crop them to show only what I want. This one actually came out at 788 X 800, and it didn't ask me to change it. This shows the dust and dirt built up on the FJ in a week, but you can still see the reflection of the spare tyre.View attachment 136798
Click to expand...
I need to sit down and get more familiar with my iPhone camera

It is wayyyy smarter than I am

I was trying to do an across the board %50 reduction and it's not that simple because the phone doesn't always produce the same "size" photo, measured in MB

Some photos would work at %50 and some had to be halved again

I don't alway feel like taking pics in the middle of my washing or polishing or whatever, and sometimes I plain forget
 
The family is gathering this evening and my daughter is bringing her Outback over for some TLC. She got paint overspray on the windshield and needs that dealt with and her headlights are looking ragged. I am hoping not to need it but I have 600 through 2000 grit wet or dry if things get ugly. The Scholl Concepts S2 Black I ordered hasn't show up yet so I may have to fall back on the sandpaper.

I am getting stuff staged so I can get her sorted out after we eat

IMG_5501.jpeg
IMG_5503.jpeg
IMG_5505.jpeg

I will report back later
 
So the daughter's 15 year old headlights were a bit more yellowed than I remember and pretty much useless

IMG_5508.jpeg

I washed them and tried synthetic clay and it didn't phase them so I used some Mother's yellow clay with N914 and I got a lot of garbage off them

I set up for a 50/50 and used Shinemate T140 Heavy Striped Wool pads with NV Precision Cutting Compound on my Shinemate Mini in low speed rotary mode

First cut 50/50

IMG_5511.jpeg

Second 50/50 with Shinemate Orange foam pad and NV Finesse Polish

IMG_5512.jpeg

Drivers side polished out

IMG_5514.jpeg

There is still some pitting but for a 2 step its not bad. She didn't have time for me to keep the car and sand them out so I did what I could

I started on the other side with the same process and was struggling to get the same results so I backed up, started over, and still hit a brick wall. The passenger side lens is as smooth or possibly smoother than the first side because I hit it twice but it has this weird hazing

IMG_5518.jpeg

The hazing has to be inside the lens. This side has blown out multiple bulbs over the years for no apparent reason and my daughter remembers at least twice when the bulb was literally blown out when it was changed. I am thinking it must have deposited some kind of residue on the inside of the headlight housing when it got smoked

Anyone got any other ideas?

I REALLY wish I had the time to sand these out and get to the bottom of it but they are way better than when I started and I am not so worried about night driving
 
chilly said:
So the daughter's 15 year old headlights were a bit more yellowed than I remember and pretty much useless

View attachment 136809

I washed them and tried synthetic clay and it didn't phase them so I used some Mother's yellow clay with N914 and I got a lot of garbage off them

I set up for a 50/50 and used Shinemate T140 Heavy Striped Wool pads with NV Precision Cutting Compound on my Shinemate Mini in low speed rotary mode

First cut 50/50

View attachment 136810

Second 50/50 with Shinemate Orange foam pad and NV Finesse Polish

View attachment 136811

Drivers side polished out

View attachment 136812

There is still some pitting but for a 2 step its not bad. She didn't have time for me to keep the car and sand them out so I did what I could

I started on the other side with the same process and was struggling to get the same results so I backed up, started over, and still hit a brick wall. The passenger side lens is as smooth or possibly smoother than the first side because I hit it twice but it has this weird hazing

View attachment 136813

The hazing has to be inside the lens. This side has blown out multiple bulbs over the years for no apparent reason and my daughter remembers at least twice when the bulb was literally blown out when it was changed. I am thinking it must have deposited some kind of residue on the inside of the headlight housing when it got smoked

Anyone got any other ideas?

I REALLY wish I had the time to sand these out and get to the bottom of it but they are way better than when I started and I am not so worried about night driving
Click to expand...
Nice job Chilly, the first one cleaned up great, not much you can do about the hazing inside the assembly. I've never seen that before, I have seen it inside a blown globe, so I guess if the glass globe breaks you would get the smoke spreading and causing hazing, even more so if some of the broken super hot filament dropped onto the plastic inside reflector, lucky it didn't catch fire, possibly.

There's so many hazy yellow headlights in my area, I see them when I'm walking my dogs at night. Most of them drive with their high beams on, and there still not bright enough to make me turn away.

Do we miss the days of the glass headlight lens yet?

**Edited to change names, sorry Chilly, that's what I get for reading multiple threads at the same time**
 
Last edited:
All I did this morning was to think about when I will do a wash on my primary vehicle - maybe tomorrow. Plan is to hose it especially wheels then do rinseless.
 
chilly said:
I did an experiment with ORIGINAL N914 and Hero, both at 128:1, which is the dilution I normally mix a RW for use as a prerinse since I felt the Hero at 256:1 had almost zero effect as a prerinse the other day

I think loosening and encapsulating dirt is one of the most desirable traits of a good RW and I will let you decide which seemed to do it better
Click to expand...

I have never been a big pre-rinser with rinseless, I think mostly because I used to do rinseless only during the winter, and the salt film would just laugh at a pre-rinse (it probably was washing off some grit, but if you let the pre-rinse dry, it would look like you hadn't done anything). Anyway, now I'm more likely to do a pre-rinse, because hey, all the cool kids are doing it. But because you did this, I paid extra attention yesterday as I pre-rinsed with ONRWW 256:1 and....the dirt just ran right off. Granted, I have a pretty fresh coat of sealant on there.

Then I was amused this morning when I found out YouTuber EC Details has started his own store and product line, and sprayed down his car with his own rinseless...which seemed less effective than my ONRWW.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top