What is your secret weapon

statusdetailing

statusdetailing

New member
Joined
May 15, 2012
Messages
1,325
Reaction score
0
Out of all the tools and products in your detailing arsenal, what is your #1 secret weapon?

My secret weapon is enamel reducer. If I come across some weird tar, melted plastic, mystery substance, etc that is impossible to remove with "safer" products, enamel reducer will do it. It has never failed me. It will remove trim and body molding adhesive better than anything.

Enamel reducer will also remove horrible melted plastic, tar-like substances, glue, etc out of carpet--no problem! I suggest using an extractor to remove any residual enamel reducer, as it would be crazy to leave it in the carpet. I have never damaged carpet with this product.

I normally do not have to polish the paint after using this product, but a couple times it left a very light haze on the paint that needed to be lightly polished out.

That's my secret weapon! I can't wait to hear some more from everybody else!
 
My secret weapon is my helper. Anything I don't feel like doing he takes care of.
 
rustytruck said:
My secret weapon is my helper. Anything I don't feel like doing he takes care of.
Click to expand...
LOLOLOL I have an army of helpers that why I opened a shop and don't do mobile. Interior detailing kills my soul, seriously....
 
Jsmooth said:
LOLOLOL I have an army of helpers that why I opened a shop and don't do mobile. Interior detailing kills my soul, seriously....
Click to expand...

:laughing::laughing: I hear you there, man! I felt like I was cleaning up a crime scene in a Prius today. God, I don't know how people do such awful, horrible, atrocities to their cars.
 
statusdetailing said:
enamel reducer.
Click to expand...

+1

Being a painter I've known just how valuable having a gallon of enamel reducer on the shelf is. Like you said it dose great for removing adhesives. Back in the 70's when a lot of cars had dried and cracked vinyl tops they would come in the shop for an all over paint job. After stripping off the vinyl you had this thick hard adhesive bonded to the roof. In order to remove it, I'd lay shop rags saturated with enamel reduce on the top for a couple hours to loosen the glue before it could be scraped off... only thing that would work!
 
I keep jackie chan in a suitcase and let him out every time I need a detail
 
RedXray said:
+1

Being a painter ... Back in the 70's ... vinyl tops ... all over paint job. ... shop rags saturated ... only thing that would work!
Click to expand...

WARNING :offtopic:Being as you mentioned the 70's...
Do you remember *fake* vinyl tops? The local PD chief lived across the street, and, they were seriously into hotrod cars, like not just chasing them, but they had a LOT of um', all big blocks including a dual quad 429 Torino, 351 Mustang and a pair of Dodge/Plymouth's one HEMI the other a 2Dr Fury 440 in gray metallic, unmarked of course.

The little speed trap was quite an enterprise. With just over a mile of city limit on I-75, the speed limit being 70 at the time, NO RADAR only a stopwatch, and they'd catch everyone they ever wanted to stop. Ya' shoulda' seen the expressway ramp that they came down!!! Looked like a drag strip with all the rubber on it. :)

It was bad enough that the newly elected governer (Lester Maddox) had a hit list out for them as the #1 speed trap in the state.

Any-who.... My dad bought the Pllymouth 440 from the chief and had it painted black with a FAKE white vinyl top! It was complete with bands that ran front to back to simulate the seams (I'm guessing). From a distance you thought it might be real, but up close it was a sprayed substance almost like shooting fiberglass into a boat hull. Weirdest thing I had ever seen and come to think of it, still is. LOL

You may now rejoin the thread previously in progress..........
 
Brake fluid. Paint thinner. cyanide. botulinum. 7.62×51mm NATO. grenades. nukes. The synchrotron. AC-130.








:D
 
cardaddy said:
but up close it was a sprayed substance almost like shooting fiberglass into a boat hull. Weirdest thing I had ever seen and come to think of it, still is. LOL
Click to expand...

Can't say I remember any fake vinyl tops but that glue has that cobweb stringy pattern. I wonder if the vinyl was pulled off and the top sprayed without removing the glue. I bought an 85 Crown Vic owned by a little old lady (21,000 miles) that a tree had fallen on. It smashed 3/4's of the front end, windshield and ripped the full vinyl top. My plan of action was to replace the R fender, hood, windshield, strip the vinyl top and re-spray the whole car. After the vinyl was removed it had a fiberglass shell from the windshield to the rear glass and sail panels... riveted on all around the roof WTF!?

I drilled out the rivets, removed the shell and was shocked to see the roof seam wasn't leaded or filled in anyway! So back on with the fiberglass shell and sent the car to my upholstery guy. In the glove box was the window sticker and the "full" vinyl top option for that car in 85 was $900 :eek: I'll bet most of that cost was that full fiberglass shell. Sprayed it in a Gold Metallic BASF Dimont BC/CC and gave it to my son for graduation. That was one sweet riding low millage car! He called it his "Pimp Mobile" lol

June 1999

kelly.jpg


Back to topic

My secret weapon is a devastating RIGHT CROSS :D
 
RedXray said:
Can't say I remember any fake vinyl tops but that glue has that cobweb stringy pattern. I wonder if the vinyl was pulled off and the top sprayed without removing the glue. I bought an 85 Crown Vic owned by a little old lady (21,000 miles) that a tree had fallen on.....After the vinyl was removed it had a fiberglass shell from the windshield to the rear glass and sail panels... riveted on all around the roof WTF!?

I drilled out the rivets, removed the shell and was shocked to see the roof seam wasn't leaded or filled in anyway! So back on with the fiberglass shell and sent the car to my upholstery guy. In the glove box was the window sticker and the "full" vinyl top option for that car in 85 was $900 :eek: I'll bet most of that cost was that full fiberglass shell. Sprayed it in a Gold Metallic BASF Dimont BC/CC and gave it to my son for graduation. That was one sweet riding low millage car! He called it his "Pimp Mobile" lol


My secret weapon is a devastating RIGHT CROSS :D
Click to expand...

Nahhhh, it wasn't glue. It was a sprayed fiber type material then sprayed whatever top color, (in flat) that you wanted. The car *before* dad bought it from the popo was a gunmetal gray Fury coupe with a normal, painted roof. Then he took it to Earl Scheib (because that's who the popo used) and put that darn fake *white* roof and painted the body black. It didn't look like a police car when he bought it, but shure as heck did after he was done with it. ;)

Hey that 'Vic' was a pimp mobile indeed brother. My kid would walk before he'd drive it, and actually did around here as he refused to drive my 99 D'Ville so I didn't let him drive anything else till he turned 19. Looking at the roof line I can see where the shell gave it more of a limo look than the normal roof line.

OK, secret weapon......
My favorite "secret" without a doubt, the daily carry Kimber 3" TLE. But for fun, the Ruger 556 dressed out in Aimpoint, Troy Ind. Magpul and a few other 'goodies' is a ton-o-fun to shoot.
:Picture:
KimberTLEnewIWB2012.jpg


556GemTech_140229-640_480.jpg


556GemTech_140532-640_480.jpg
 
cardaddy said:
Nahhhh, it wasn't glue. It was a sprayed fiber type material then sprayed whatever top color, (in flat) that you wanted.

OK, secret weapon......
My favorite "secret" without a doubt, the daily carry Kimber 3" TLE. But for fun, the Ruger 556 dressed out in Aimpoint, Troy Ind. Magpul and a few other 'goodies' is a ton-o-fun to shoot.
Click to expand...

Oh I got ya... a sprayed on texture. I did very little of that in the booth except for some custom cobweb work on a 32 Ford Coupe's fenders and the same guys matching Harley tank and fenders. A black base coat in lacquer, then 3/4 cup of un-thinned red lacquer with the remaining 1/4 cup un-thinned clear. This shoots a real stringy pattern over the black base mimicking cobwebs, then its topped with clear.




You must be one of those "paranoid" people that thinks the world is a dangerous place. Heck if your ever in danger... just call the police man!

Re-OK, Secret weapon...

My favorite EDC is the Kimber 3" Ultra Raptor 1911. Carrying her everyday was starting to get a little wear on the Kimpro finish at the trigger guard. I now favor my Smith & Wesson M&P 9c. I'm not worried about the M&P getting banged up with me rolling around on the garage floor or the repeated holstering, un-holstering process we CCW guys do on a daily basis.

Kimber in a CBST, 3 years ago when I was a nice rotund 210lbs

Carry.jpg


M&P in a CBST, 1 year ago 175lbs (now 165) (cardio cardio cardio lift lift lift)

100_8960-1.jpg
 
RedXray said:
You must be one of those "paranoid" people that thinks the world is a dangerous place. Heck if your ever in danger... just call the police man!

Re-OK, Secret weapon...

My favorite EDC is the Kimber 3" Ultra Raptor 1911. ... I'm not worried about the M&P getting banged up with me rolling around on the garage floor or the repeated holstering, un-holstering process we CCW guys do on a daily basis.

Kimber in a CBST ...

M&P in a CBST, 1 year ago 175lbs (now 165) (cardio cardio cardio lift lift lift)
Click to expand...

WoW, we might should change from "what is your secret weapon" to "what is your favorite weapon". :poke:

On the spray, All I remember is it was really weird. It had strings in it like ¼" to ½" almost like glass fibers. Was the dumbest thing my Dad ever did btw. ;)

Dude, I'm diggin' your Ultra Raptor. Was going to buy a full size one from my local range that they had pulled out of inventory to let a guy shoot and he didn't buy it. Full deal, CT grip and all. My wife woulda' freaking killed me at the time so I let it go.

Lesseeee..... "Call the police" uh..... sure I'll get right to that, right after I thin the heard a bit. ;) Reminds me of something my daughter said when someone asked her what she was afraid of, (because she is a CCW holder). She replied "What do I have to be afraid of, I'm the one with a weapon, and know how to use it". They didn't know how to respond.....:D.


Do wanna' show you this one and I promise we'll either get back to the point around here, (or) start a "favorite weapon" thread. :bat:
:offtopic:
See you're a fan of CBST's. I hear ya' on a gun that can roll around. I've got a XDm that I could do that with perhaps but really like the lil' black Kimber for weight and comfort.

Was thinking about a CBST and ended getting the IWB my Kimber TLE is in. Had it built by a local guy that lives in N. Georgia, RGrizzle Leather. He calls it the CS2 "City Slicker 2". Then while I was at it we added the one below. This is a design I'd been thinking about for a while. He hadn't done a paddle like this before (Kydex is all the rage) but I wanted a suede lined, flexible paddle. We ended up collaborating for 5 weeks, swapping drawings and photos before we had the design nailed down.

It's Havana Elephant with Quill Ostrich trim. Lined with smooth calf skin and the back of the paddle (that you can't see) is gray suede. There is some engraving on the paddle as well. Also the cant is adjustable from 0° to 25° via loosening the T-nuts. Ryan actually remade it when I told him the KimPro finish seemed a bit slick with the lining and didn't quite have the 'snap' that perhaps it could. (It wasn't loose, but he insisted he needed to make it again.) GREAT GUY!!!

Had it built for my 24 y/o daughter as a Christmas gift. Her EDC is a SR9C. The Kimber is hers as well, something she picked up earlier in the year and I just needed to do something for her that she wouldn't do for herself.

Come to think of it, that's why we are here at AG. We are doing something for ourselves that OTHERS won't do for us. :D:righton: In other words, I coulda' recently bought a nice green laser and light for the AR, or that carbon fiber 12Ga I been eyeing, but decided to spend MORE here on AG. :) Funny that the wife didn't get mad at all. (Quite unlike if I'd spent it on gun stuff.)

Baby girls new rig.
PAV-resized-IMG_9523-A.jpg


PAV-resized-IMG_9538-A.jpg



OK, promise, no more off topic. ;):nomore:
 
Redxray, that 1911 is sweet! I've thought about going the small 1911 route for carry. . .man, they are accurate. My edc, is a bersa .380. Not nearly as cool, but it's cheap and I'm not worried about banging it around or getting it a little dirty.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top