School me

Jellyrolls

Jellyrolls

bomb diggity
Jan 21, 2011
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I'm new to the whole upkeep of a vehicle thing. It's brand new so there really isn't anything needed yet but need some pointers. What should I do every week, every month, every year to keep it conditioned? For example, I have leather. How often does it need to be cleaned and/or conditioned. How often should I wax or clay? Shit like that. I've ordered a starter kit from Adams, but what else do I need.
 
It all goes by a judgement and by what color you have, black normally looks dirty way before say silver.

I normally wash mine once every other week. but if we get a shitty rainy day i may wash it once a week, if we get a good long dry spell i may only wipe it down with some detail spray once a week.

Do yourself a favor. have the paint 100% corrected while its still new. its much easier to maintaine perfect paint then it is to bring fucked up paint back to perfect.

Then use a sealant. I use adams quick sealant. it is a extra hard layer of protection to help keep minor swirls and shit away. i alway layer it with wax.

wax generally lasts a month-2 months, sealant lasts around 6 months. depending on weather and driving conditions.
 
X2 on ginger. Then once you have it perfected.. Invest in some maintenance supplies like 2 wash buckets, 2 wash pads, 2 grit guards, car shampoo, great white drying towel, and detail spray. Those are all Adam's of course

If you ask why two of all that...go to Adamspolishes.com, click the videos tab on the top, and watch the car wash video. That'll give the basic understanding of a safe wash. If you want to add a little more insurance of a safe wash, buy a foam gun and use the 2 buckets both as rinse buckets. You can get the Gilmour Foammaster II off amazon for around $35 and they work awesome for loosening up dirt and creating more lubricity. Which equals less chance or grinding contaminates into the finish

For the leather part. Give it a good cleaning with leather cleaner and scrub brush, followed up with the leather conditioner. From there, I recall Dylan saying re condition it about once a month.. But i think that's a little much imo, especially with a conditioner bottle being $25. I'm new to leather, but im gonna try cleaning it about 3 times a year, and conditioning it 6.


And if you haven't realized, this hobby is expensive to do it right lol

sent from your HTC Rezound
 
Also, it's recommended to actually 'detail' it at least twice a year. Usually in spring and fall. That includes strip wash, claying, light polish/correction if needed, then reapply sealant and wax. Like ginger said, they're ususlly good for up to 6 and 2 months, depending on the weather/exposure conditions. So really you only have to wax it maybe one or two times in between each 'detail' session to keep the protection at its highest.

As for wash frequently, I just do it when it's dirty and I have time to. Sometimes it's twice a week, others won't be for 2 or 3 weeks. But the longer you go without washing, the more dirt that builds up, the more precautions you have to be during that wash

Edit. Damn that's a lot of words. Have fun reading loll :crazy:

sent from your HTC Rezound
 
Generally you put 2-4oz of shampoo into the gun (more shampoo the more suds), give the truck a full spray down, let it dwell for a minute or so, then hose it all off. That will loosen, lift, and rid dirt right there. After that, you can either do a regular 2 bucket wash, or what I'm gonna do. Instead of dipping the pad into the wash bucket for suds, just use the foam gun to spray down the area your working on. You'll get much better/more suds on the truck, and then you can use the two buckets as a dual rinse for the pad.

Less dirt + more suds + cleaner pad = safe as can be wash

sent from your HTC Rezound
 
I have the old style foam gun but ill foam the truck. its it soak for a few min, then rinse it off, and refoam, then i will start the 2 bucket method.

doing the top of the truck first, then the middle, then the bottom. because shit that can ccontaminate your paint is more common on the bottom and you dont want to get it in your wash mit, and then drag it along the top.

the 2 bucket method helps to make sure there are no contaminates in the mit
 
I've ordered about 300 bones of product. Is there a nice little guide somewhere on wash/interior/wheels/ect? Such as a build thread but with detail?
 
Yup. ^ and go onto their forum and read some of the stickies when you have some time. Dylan and the team make excellent, detailed write ups

sent from your HTC Rezound
 
Pretty solid info give in here. Only do detailing-related tasks when necessary. Waxing every week isn't necessary. Claying daily would be over-kill. Polish only when you aren't happy with the amount of defects in your paint.

There is no one-size-fits-all schedule when it comes to detailing. It's all about cleaning/correcting/maintaining to the level that you're happy with.

Check out our videos. 27 Chapters on every aspect of proper vehicle care.

Adam's Polishes Instructional Videos

Take a look at some of the write-ups I've posted in the past week, they will give you a decent idea of the general process. In a nutshell, it's:

  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Polish
  • Sealant
  • Glaze
  • Wax

There are many more areas to be hit, but the above it a general outline of the process to follow. Every step need not be performed, but make sure the ones you do always happen in that order for the best results.

If you get in a pinch, I'm always available. Shooting me a PM or email will get my attention the quickest. :)
 
Thanks Nick! What would be sufficient for a brand new vehicle that looked pretty damn good off the lot? Just the regular wash/dry and interior work until things are more noticeable? Also, I have a ferd and I want my dash/interior to look new, not necessarily shiny. Any product you'd recommend?
 
it may look good, but i bet there are some minor swirls in er. if you dont have a machine, go with some Revive polish, then normal wash/dry upkeep. if your interior has other products already on it, use some upholstery cleaner to strip them off, then use the leather conditioner for your interior pieces as well. you be able to use svrt?? but that seems to be more often used on the exterior, while conditioner on the interior

and cmon, asking a worker of Adam's what products he would recommend? :lol:
 
The interior cleaner followed by the leather conditioner works great for for just about any panel including the dash. Makes it really clean and nice without the greasy mess.

Edit:what he said before me. I was slow to the punch lol
 
Bassmaster said:
it may look good, but i bet there are some minor swirls in er. if you dont have a machine, go with some Revive polish, then normal wash/dry upkeep. if your interior has other products already on it, use some upholstery cleaner to strip them off, then use the leather conditioner for your interior pieces as well. you be able to use svrt?? but that seems to be more often used on the exterior, while conditioner on the interior

and cmon, asking a worker of Adam's what products he would recommend? :lol:
Click to expand...

I was wondering what kind of product that Adam's carries that gives the natural look. Also, do I 1)wash/dry 2) polish 3) wash/dry again?
 
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