Washed and Waxed the 370Z today! (Monterey Blue + pics inside :) )
 

Well, last few days, the weather has been GREAT here in Jersey. Today, I had few hours of FREE time. So, I decided to wash and wax the Z. Please note, I wax EVERY TIME I wash meaning, I will do this (wash+wash) sometime next month again.

As I'm saving up for the nice adam's kit, I'm using NXT 2.0 (+ Meguiars microfiber cloth) for the time being. It's pretty good. Does a good job. But I eventually want to get the Adams Detailing kit as well as perfect interior kit (I actually tried to place order for the int kit last week but their website was acting up that night :(. I'll probably order it next week).

I always use two bucket to wash the car. Thanks to alefcole who taught me this trick. It's amazing how much dirt you'll see in that clear water bucket after the wash. Take a look

TWO BUCKET SYSTEM
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03274.jpg


Dirty water in bucket 1 after wash
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03279.jpg


Well, here are some BEFORE pictures. Oh btw, did I mention I HATE pollen! :shakes head:

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03269.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03266.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03264.jpg


During the WASH
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03275.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03278.jpg



Post wash+wax picture

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03291.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03292.jpg

Glossy :)
http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03295.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03298.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03299.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03309.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03313.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03318.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03328.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03333.jpg

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03338.jpg

I also put RAINX on the windshield. I love RAINX :tup: .

Outstanding!!

I always found NXT to leave an oily sheen the next day on my paint, and I quit using it. That was on a Black car. Don't know why it would do that.

She looks GREAT!

S13 :D

Dude pollen ftl. My Z looks green :ugh:

Car looks really good.

AK, you seriously need a garage to store that baby. I'm spoiled...or at least my Z is spoiled. I usually wash mine inside the garage.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a13...all2009017.jpg

Looking good! I'm gonna have to do the same this weekend if the weather holds up.

i saw all the videos of the adam detailing video. I really want that 500$ kit. Looks sooooo sweet but yet soo expensive. With that kit I can do a detail service for my are for sure haha!

I just want to let you guys know, as a professional detailer, the Adam's kit is great but it's a rape on the price. There are products out there that literally does the same if not better job then Adam's but for a lot cheaper.

Looks great! I love Monty Blue! :)

Amazing job! I'm doing the same this weekend - my babies first bath and wax. I plan to do the 2 bucket wash, then a Meguire's claybar treatment, then the NXT 2.0 finish. The Adam's stuff looks nice.

The Body Shop at the dealer actually gave me a large bottle of 3M Perfect-It Ultrafine Swirl Remover - said it was slighly more abbrasive than clay but works really well for fine touch up - watched him use it right in front of my eyes and it was pretty impressive.

Looks great! And this photo:

http://i576.photobucket.com/albums/s...0/DSC03298.jpg

Looks like a cool place....at the end of the street and water for a view....nice! :tup:

And go figure, there's a Mustang in the background - can't drive a mile without seeing one on the road these days and this picture proves it. :rofl2:

AK, how does it look today?

u said u use NXT 2.0? what about the wax? or does it go "wash+wax in one"? BTW, nice clean wash :)

Ak, the Adams Detailing kit looks like a great set up, how did you learn of it? Or in other words, what made you choose Adams over another? I always felt that an overall reliable fall-back was the Meguires products, but know there are better out there, just have to find them.

Isnt the Clay bar for older paint jobs? not for a brand new car since the clay bar kinda hides some old blemishes.

very purdy! :D

Bye the way, the Z looks great, but those wheels came out amazing!!! Real sharp!

The NXT 2.0 that I have is the polymer wax - only used it once on another car but man it is awesome.

That's not my understanding - the claybar basically removes contaminants that won't wash off - if you skipped this step, I would think you are just waxing over them and depending on the wax you are using it that could be detrimental. I'm no expert though - anyone else done a claybar treatment on their fairly new 370Z?

Yea, my car was built 1/09 by the time I got it a year later it had 350 miles on it and needed the clay bar. I bought a new polishing pad last week, will use some perfect-it 2 followed by several coats of synthetic wax.

Oily sheen? :confused: I don't think I have seen that.

Thanks


dude, i hate pollen. It's so annoying.

thanks. You Z is def spoiled! I like that.


I saw all 18 of them too :). I hope there are more in the DVD they sent in with the order. Can't wait.

What you suggest? I'm open to other stuff too ;).

Thank you sir :tiphat:


Tony, thank you. It's a bay side home. I get to see the sunset everyday and it's beautiful. I'll try to post a picture of the bay.


NO, it's not wash+wax thing. First you wash your car. Then you dry it. After that you apply the wax with a microfiber pad. Wait like 15-20 minutes to dry up. Then clean the haze off with a softer microfiber cloth. :tup:

One of my friend (alefcole username here) uses it and swears by Adams. So I thought why not give it a shot. CHeck out the videos here:

YouTube - Adamspolishes's Channel

Check out video 1-18. pretty cool .

Thanks

It cleans very fine dirt in the clear coat pretty much. Why put wax on top of dirt?

What I do twice a year is clay, polish, seal, glaze and then wax. :tup:
That's the right way to detail :happydance:

AK as a professional detailer I'll give you a tip, Adam's Detailing products are the EXACT same product from Chemical Guys Co. I know the owner of Chemical Guys and I can guarantee you that you'll be pleased with their products more then spending too much money on Adam's Detailing Kit.

For a regular wash I recommend their new Glossworkz shampoo, or Citrus Wash and Clear for paint prep.

For tires and wheel well I recommend Grime Reaper APC.

For rims I recommend Diablo Gel or even Citrus Sticky Gel

And as far as windshield I'd use Window Clean solutions from them

Now when it comes to wax, your MB color I recommend using JetSeal 109 from CG, A bit pricey but well worth it. Or even try the Pete's 53 paste wax. All great stuff.

lemme know if you have any questions.

I am not a professional but this is my experience so far. I started years ago with the walmart/kmart/target brands: Meguiars, armour all, simmoniz, black magic, etc. I was initially satisfied with the results, but it was because of ignorance than anything else. At the end you get what you paid for.

4 years ago I moved to Zaino and the results were spectacular, but it was a pain in the butt to apply it, specially with the multiple steps involved. When I bought my first BMW i tried Griots Garage products since they advertise in the BMW magazine Roundel. Their catalog is the best of the best in the market, they have products for every single application and at the end they ended up to confuse me instead of helping me.

Someone told me about ADAMS and I bought one bottle of detail spray (a product you can use after a car wash when you car still has wax left to make it shine again) next day my wife (who never notices anything) told me that the car had a bubble gum smell and that she loved the shine. For me it was just a 2 min job to make my X5 shine to perfection. After that I bought their clay bar. I was a BIG clay bar instead of the small one from meguiars and it was they best clay bar I have used. Slowly I have used all ADAMS products and their results are near perfection.

But ADAMS is not a matter of expensive products, ADAMS is all about customer satisfaction. If you buy his products and don't like them, call ASHLEY from adams and she will refund 110% from what you paid, plus you can keep the product. So if you dont like ADAMS make money from him. So far I have all his products and haven't seen back. I just support a product when does it job right.

Why should you pay that much if you can have cheaper products form chemical guys or mezzerna or somebody else?

I'm not a professional detailer, I love to see my products from the same company without ordering from different suppliers, I can call ADAM himself if I have a difficult question no one can solve and he gives his personal cell to people in his forum. Sign to his forum and find the 15% coupon for your next order. As far as I know he should ne a sponsor in this forum.

Alonso

Claybar strips all the contaminants off the clearcoat. It leaves you with unprotected clear. I just clayed my GTO, but when it came to the tar from the poorly repaired roads here in NY and central Jersey, I actually had to use a cleaner wax because it was more abrasive, and then clay the area again.


Another note on cleaner waxes.....they are abrasive. What you use to clean your paint should not be what you use to protect it. It beads nicely for a week or two, but then washes off. You want better protection, put a better wax over it.

I use Chemical Guys & Menzerna products and the results are amazing, really good stuff. Just need to have a Porter Cable and know how to use it. :tup:
You can buy these products in bulk and save some cash.

If you think adam's give good customer service wait til you give Paul at Chemical Guys a call. He literally will take care of you, I've only met him about 4 times and yet everytime he invites me to events, remembers my name, and always give me a banging deal on his products, 15% off isn't saving you much considering it's the EXACT same product that chemical guy's make, bubble gum smell? I suggest you try any Chemical Guy's product, they smell just like Adam's and it's the same product just different labeling. Adam's just have wayyy too overpriced items compare to Chemical Guys. Adam's car wash shampoo is about 25 bucks a gallon while you can get the same exact shampoo at CG for about 16 bucks. And Paul at CG will literally provide you such a good customer service that you literally will want to be his friend.

Agreed. I always buy in bulk at CG my collection is going out of control LOL.

As I said before, buy something from ADAMS, if you dont like it, call them and they will refund your money NO QUESTIONS ASKED, plus you can keep the product. You have nothing to loose, make money from ADAMS. That my friend is customer satisfaction. IMO.

Not trying to offend you and I hope you don't take it offensively, but are you saying just scam Adam's and make money off of them? I mean why bother buying a product and going through all the stuff just so you can make an extra 10% and keep the product? I'd just do it right the first time and save you all the hassle.

Why not go with something cheaper price that does in fact work out nicely. Chemical Guys, Menzerna and Poorboy's are all good products.


Also, If you don't have a PC or a Flex.. just wasting time.

are you telling me that I can't buff out swirls with just a cotton terry towel??
:icon14:



JK :D seriously, Porter Cable is only 150 bucks and it'll be a good investment since it's so noobfriendly lol. a random orbital really can't mess up your finish unless you REALLY REALLY try.

looks great AK :D super duper shiny...

No offense taken, Im not encouraging anyone to act as a criminal, Im just 100% sure that if you try ADAMS you will never call them to get your money back. YES, ITS THAT GOOD. Try it once yourself. Now, if your are happy with what you use then keep using it.

This products are like GASOLINE. The supplier has to be few mayor companies in the world, now don't tell me WAWA/HESS gasoline is better than SHELL. Its all about additives and brand perception. In this case its not just about that, its about CUSTOMER SATISFACTION EQUAL TO NONE.

I dont know about you but my cars only get SHELL even if I have to pay some premium for it.

We are not even talking about expensive products here, but I agree I will never buy swiss vax since its too expensive and I am happy with ADAMS. I hope someone from adams joins this forum, since I have posted there as well.

Alright, going to put Adam's to the test - ordered some things for hand polishing and will report back how all that works out. After washing, claybar'ing, and NXT 2.0 waxing my Dark Cherry this weekend she looked really good until it poured down raining Sunday night while we were out. I'm very curious to see how the Swirl removal works because this dark car already shows some signs of that in the sun.

I suggest adding a porter cable to your collection. You will never burn or scratch your paint and the hand will never beat the machine. If you have a black car, the porter cable with some swirl remover will blow your pants off.

Look inside the adams forums for the junkman correction videos. A porter cable is the way to go if you already have some swirls. :tup:

Random orbital is the key word and LOL about the towel... :bowrofl:

Actually, that's incorrect.

Chemical Guys was formed around 5 years after Adam's. That can be easily verified with a simple Google search. Also, Adam's actually bottles all of their own product at their warehouse. I spent the night in the Adam's warehouse last year and watched the whole operation while detailing a race car and eating pizza. Yummy!

One thing to note. There are very few companies that manufacture detailing products. Thus, quite a few companies get their base supplies from the same place and add their own private additives to their products. It's just like Keebler and Famous Amos Cookies. They both sell chocolate chip cookies that consist of flour, sugar and chocolate chips. However, their cookies taste different and have a different consistency. They may get their sugar, chocolate chips and flour from the same manufacturer, but you can taste the difference in both cookies as soon as you bite into them. The reason being is that each manufacturer has their own blend that they add to their base product.

Does that make one better than the other? Maybe, maybe not but it definitely makes them different from one another.

One thing that all car care companies share at this time is clay. There is one company in America that has the patent on clay. There are various grits of clay but again, only one company makes it. Speaking strictly of consumer clay, the only difference in one company's clay compared to another is how much you get and the cost. Leaving grit out of the equation, all clay in America is the same.

Now over seas, the story is a little different.

I suggest you call CG yourself and they will tell you the truth, CG started manufacturing Adam's products, Go buy adam's detail spray and CG's Speed wipe. Same exact smell and function.

:icon17:

We'll have to agree to disagree. I already know the truth. I've seen where Adam's stuff comes from and it is NOT CG's warehouse in any shape, form or fashion. :icon17:

http://www.pc-surgeon.net/images/cfo..._vacation9.jpg

Just to the right of this beauty is where the bottling happens. You can see the rolls of Adam's labels sitting right there on the shelves. The bottling area wasn't a very interesting picture or I would have shot it instead of this '62. I think this frame off restoration makes a much more interesting picture! :tup:

Great analogy. Now I'm hungry. :icon17: