Washed my car today for the first time

OK, I've had the car for 3 years and have washed it about once a week in the summer. But today was the first REAL wash.

I always just thought washing cars was washing cars. Hell, I'll admit I even took it to the car wash place a couple of times. But last summer I started noticing swirl marks in the sun so I did some research here.

Then the Junkman made me take the red pill.

So I spent the winter buying adams products and watching videos. Today was the first day that I had a free day and the weather was nice, so i got to get started.

First, the wheel wells. Pretty easy as i had always washed those anyway.

Second, the wheels. I had always cleaned the front of the wheel but never the back. You can imagine how much crus there was in there! Got them cleaned out but I can see there are some imperfections there now because of my neglect. Not sure what I'm going to do about that yet.

Now the engine bay. Again, I haven't really cleaned it since I've owned the car so I was determined to do a complete job. Took off the air box and even cleaned the fan and hoses down under there. Looks great.

Fourth step was the foam gun. The foam gun Eric sent me is called a HydoFoamer It doesn't have an adjustment like is described in the other thread but it came with these various size tips to insert for diferent flow rates. I just left the tips off for maximum flow. Put 16 oz of car shampoo in the container and filled the rest with water, then mixed it up. Worked great. Just enought to do the whole car. I will experiment with different configurations next time.

Next step, two bucket wash. Did it just like discribed in the videos. Using the foam gum made washing a breeze.

That was enough for today. I got tired and had to quit. Next is the paint correction with the PC. I'm excited about that.

sly

slysnake said:

Then the Junkman made me take the red pill.

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The rabbit hole goes down very, VERY far doesn't it?

The Junkman's vids and tips are amazing.

slysnake said:

Put 16 oz of car shampoo in the container and filled the rest with water, then mixed it up. Worked great. Just enought to do the whole car.

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That seems like an excessive amount of shampoo for a single car wash ... 16oz?

Ditto. You don't need near 16oz of shampoo per foam gun application. You waaaay over did it there.

Don't drive the car before you swirl remove or you have to start all over with a wash.

Also consider doing a clay bar before swirl removig since you've prob never done that. Try the sammich bag test to be sure..

slysnake said:

Fourth step was the foam gun. The foam gun Eric sent me is called a HydoFoamer It doesn't have an adjustment like is described in the other thread but it came with these various size tips to insert for diferent flow rates.

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Those little devices that you are talking about ARE the adjustments for that gun. That's how you adjust the flow rates.

slysnake said:

That was enough for today. I got tired and had to quit. Next is the paint correction with the PC. I'm excited about that.

sly

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Yea baby! This is not for the faint at heart. Now you know why I don't detail cars for a living!

Got_Vnum said:

The rabbit hole goes down very, VERY far doesn't it?

The Junkman's vids and tips are amazing.

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Only a man who has taken a trip down the rabbit hole can speak from experience! I see you have taken the plunge!

viper067 said:

That seems like an excessive amount of shampoo for a single car wash ... 16oz?

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I agree. Two ounces is all I use.

RobZilla said:

Don't drive the car before you swirl remove or you have to start all over with a wash.

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I agree. The car will still be dusty when he gets to it again but hopefully, he will follow my dust removing practices.

RobZilla said:

Also consider doing a clay bar before swirl removig since you've prob never done that. Try the sammich bag test to be sure..

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He will if he has watched my paint correction series. The baggie test doesn't lie!

That seems like an excessive amount of shampoo for a single car wash ... 16oz?

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OK, I'll try 2oz next time.

Those little devices that you are talking about ARE the adjustments for that gun. That's how you adjust the flow rates.

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I understand that, but I don't know which one to use. Any recomendation?

Don't drive the car before you swirl remove or you have to start all over with a wash.

Also consider doing a clay bar before swirl removig since you've prob never done that.

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Clay bar today. Also used too much of that I believe. I used half the bar. That was way more than needed. Live and learn.

Next the PC. Taped of Vinyl stripes, lights, etc. Used PC as per vids. Hardest part was holding the thing on vertical surfices. It was an arm workout for sure. Worked great though, really took care of the swirl marks. Again, I was too tired to continue with the macine super wax though.

slysnake said:

I understand that, but I don't know which one to use. Any recomendation?

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The instructions that came with the gun has all that info. I don't have one like that so I'm inexperienced with that model.

slysnake said:

Clay bar today. Also used too much of that I believe. I used half the bar. That was way more than needed. Live and learn.

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You really can't use "too much" clay as it doesn't dissipate or get smaller as you use it. I use the entire chunk when I clay because I like how it fits in my hand. I also have plenty of extra sitting around just in case I drop it.

slysnake said:

Next the PC. Taped of Vinyl stripes, lights, etc. Used PC as per vids. Hardest part was holding the thing on vertical surfices. It was an arm workout for sure. Worked great though, really took care of the swirl marks. Again, I was too tired to continue with the macine super wax though.

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I'm with you man. That's what takes me so long to do a car. Take your time, it is not a race. Do what you can and stop working once you are no longer fresh and feeling it. Working when fatigued is what affects your results in a negative way.

You actually brought your Viper to the car wash!? Glad to see your washing it yourself now! Your car will look stunning after the paint correction! Like AJ said, its not a race, this is your pride and joy! Now... Lets see some pictures!!!!!

I agree Slysnake that it takes alot out of you when detailing your car. I have spent the entire winter working on mine. I am now working on the paint using an Adams kit I purchased online from their site. My only advice is that the video makes it look quick and easy, and believe me it is far from that. This process takes hours upon hours for a small section of your car to be corrected. The good news is that the rusults are what they claim...gone are the swirl marks and minor scratches. Good luck!

Sly, do yourself a favor and get a good light before you invest a bunch of hours into waxing, make sure you have it right first. It'll be the best $30.00 you'll spend, and don't think your garage lights are bright enough. Mine weren't and I ended up having to go back to the drawing board, panel by panel.

Link to Light:
Sears: Online department store featuring appliances, tools, fitness equipment and more

Light in use, you'll see things that you didn't see before A PC won't get everything out, but it does a great job

When your paint's correct, 2 lights become several.





I'm sure The Junkman's seen this before, but I've never seen my fluorescent garage lights get lost in one of my cars before, it was pretty cool.

I would have to agree with 99% of what you've posted Slithr, with one small correction. A PC may or may not be able to remove every paint imperfection you have depending on the severity of the damage. Everyone's case is different so you have to take that into consideration. That's probably what you meant to say. Other than that, you're dead on.

2easy said:

I agree Slysnake that it takes alot out of you when detailing your car. I have spent the entire winter working on mine. I am now working on the paint using an Adams kit I purchased online from their site. My only advice is that the video makes it look quick and easy, and believe me it is far from that. This process takes hours upon hours for a small section of your car to be corrected. The good news is that the rusults are what they claim...gone are the swirl marks and minor scratches. Good luck!

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Bingo, you've nailed it Easy. I hope that I stress this in my videos. Adam hates that I say this at the shows because he thinks that it discourages people from ever trying (and maybe it does). However, I don't want anyone to think that this is some miracle polish in a bottle, rub three times and your paint is fixed. That is definitely not the case. Once you become a pro with the PC, you can move up to a more aggressive polisher. Of course the danger level goes up with this but if you have mastered the PC, you won't have any major issues. I will be showing how to do this more aggressively at the clinic I'm doing at Thompson Racing.

For me, this is therapeutic so I could care less about how long it takes. Hopefully, you guys find spending time with your Vipers just as much fun as I do with my ride and time is just a side product of those good times.

Thanks for the correction Junkman, I did think of that when typing. I corrected my paint at 3.5k on the clock of a 7 year old garage queen, and found maybe 2-4 scratches deeper than the PC could get (with my skills). Well, after 4 passes with SHR I thew in the towel thinking I met the PC's match.

Too skeeered to try a Flex yet, and plenty satisfied with my results.

You'll get there. Then you'll be dragging other folks out of the Matrix kicking and screaming.

Sly, do yourself a favor and get a good light before you invest a bunch of hours into waxing

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Good advice I will do that before I'm done. Couldn't work on it today but I'll try for tomorrow.

Good to hear you're getting a workout! It'll teach ya to take care of the car!

I originally ran the Adam's Gun open, then put the black tip in. There wasn't much difference, so I left it. You'll get the most foam with it open, black or gray tips.

Also, once your clay gets dirty, fold it and stretch it til it's clean again. Remember to use small pieces as it is junk if it hits the ground or pics up any large dirt. Detail Spray helps to lubricate and keep it soft. I hit the clay with a light spritz of DS before putting it away, just to prevent it from drying out.

I would like to make a motion that if anyone takes their Viper through a car wash, ownership should be forfeited to me so that I can have my very own Viper. Can I get a second?

Amen!

I'll second that motion And, once the Junkman has restored the paint, ownership should then default too me

He got you there AJ!!!

Synergy said:

He got you there AJ!!!

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Had to be out of town for a while.

I would like to make a motion that if anyone takes their Viper through a car wash, ownership should be forfeited to me so that I can have my very own Viper. Can I get a second?

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Hey Man!! I'm pushing the "Donate to buy Junkman a Viper" cause, but you can't have MINE!! lol

Can't blame me for trying!