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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Jan 13, 2020 22:08:26 GMT -5
As I mentioned in a previous thread, I'm into vehicle detailing big time. I do my own vehicles and always end up getting jobs doing other peoples cars/cycles, etc. when people see my vehicles. The past few years that has led to a very profitable side job doing detailing work. Only problem that I had was finding enough time to do these jobs as I was working a regular job also and only detailed on the weekends. I took care of that problem a couple months ago when I retired from my regular job. Yes, I know I'm giving away my age with that statement but that probably puts me in the age range of a lot of the active members here.
My purpose with starting this thread here is to start a discussion on which products you guys use to keep your cycles and cars looking good? How long do these products hold up before you have to apply them again? I have a huge amount of products that I have stockpiled before realizing I had too many and stopped buying them. This year the first product that I want to try is Ethos Ceramic Wax Pro. A lot of hype about this product. I have 2 bottles of it that I received in mystery boxes. I definitely look forward to trying it.
One of the products that I found myself using in 2019 for multiple jobs was Zymol Cleaner Wax. The first car that I used it on had a nice shine but the owner was constantly going through car washes and it had light scratches on it. I actually applied the product by hand using a specialized foam pad. The result was stunning. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to top it off with something to try to extend the durability. This product is supposed to hold up for around 3 months but I wanted to add even more pop to the paint. I decided to use P&S Beadmaker. This showed a significant increase in gloss but the cool part about using this product is that if you wait overnight and make sure the car doesn't get wet, when you look at it the next day you will be blown away by the increase in gloss. Unreal!! This product combined with the Zymol holds up for about 3 months.
I also had a job where the car was lightly oxidized and had no shine whatsoever. I decided to use the Zymol with a light cut polishing pad on my buffer. The change in the paint was huge!! Amazing gloss!! I topped it off with a sealant. My customers first comment was that I brought her car back to life. It had to be the biggest change that I have ever had on a detail job. The Zymol is very watery and when I first got it I thought that it had been watered down by the seller. I contacted Zymol customer service and they told me that the product is supposed to be watery like it is. I'm sure I will continue to use this product this year on a lot of my jobs.
So, what do you guys use? Does anyone have a favorite metal polish for doing cycle motor side covers?
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Post by Jess on Jan 14, 2020 12:29:11 GMT -5
Good info on the wax/paint products. I look forward to trying some.
Metal polish.
For stubborn stuff. Mother’s mixed with corn starch.
Finish polish. Flitz. Safe to use on paint. Really great stuff.
There are a gozillion new “nano products” that many people swear by... I have heard some really incredible claims from folks that I respect, but I have no first hand experience.
My two cents. YMMV.
Best
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Post by timpa136 on Jan 14, 2020 12:36:23 GMT -5
I will add my experience with a plastic polish. People may remember the old Road Rider Magazine*, they recommended Brillianize plastics polish and I bought a gallon and split it up with Rotorious years ago. I recommend it for all plastics, plexiglass, etc. www.brillianize.com/Tim
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Post by wayne on Jan 14, 2020 17:19:26 GMT -5
Australia: CT18 truck wash as a "Stage 1" clean, particularly if you've just done the week long rally in all conditions and weather. I find it best if it's used exactly as instructed. I water it down as prescribed for a hand held spray bottle. Give all unpainted surfaces a generous coat. Don't forget the undersides. Leave it to dry completely, best overnight. Next day, high pressure wash it off. You're left with a squeaky clean starting point for your Stage 2 standard wash followed by your Stage 3 polish of choice. Re the painted surfaces. CT18 says that it's completely safe for painted surfaces. I've tested it on painted panels leaving it on for weeks and it seems to do no damage whatsoever. However, I do go lightly on the paint as it's simply not required. CT18 is great for removing the heavy grime. I buy it in 20 litre lots but it's available in smaller quantities:
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Post by wayne on Jan 14, 2020 17:27:13 GMT -5
ArmorAll Protectant, Original Love it for plastics and vinyl. Used it for 40 years. After all the washing is done, all unpainted plastics get a generous coat (blinker lens, tail light lens, seat, flip hood, don't forget the humble reflectors etc etc). Leave it at least overnight. Light wipe over the next day to remove any residual. The polishing of paint and metal parts comes after the Armor All as you'll usually get some accidental overspray.
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ap951
2nd Gear
Posts: 280
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Post by ap951 on Jan 14, 2020 19:17:39 GMT -5
right now I'm cleaning spokes with a shoe lace & Blue Magic metal polish. I loop the shoe lace around the spoke once & work the lace back & forth working over the entire spoke. I've had really good luck with this method
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Post by hudson on Jan 15, 2020 0:52:57 GMT -5
I saw this chrome polish product on a Jay Leno Infomercial. It was said to be an old product that is being remarketed by new owners. The reason chrome will develop rust spots is because of micro cracks through the plating. Polishing chrome with steel wool will produce quick visual results, but will impart small steel particals in these cracks and the rust will soon return after being exposed to moisture.The Quick-Glo product contains a wax to help seal these micro cracks. I can attest that it will return rusty looking chome to an amazing shine and remove all rust staining with very little effort. Also clean hard water spots from glaas. There are two grades shown in the picture and I found them on E-Bay. I used this on some RE5 fenders that had lived outdoors for years, they looked and felt like they would have to be rechromed. The results are amazing. I apologize for no before picture , but it wouldn't look believable.
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FC Zach
3rd Gear
Eagleville, TN
Posts: 335
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Post by FC Zach on Jan 15, 2020 4:17:53 GMT -5
+1 for both of these suggestions! One of the products that I found myself using in 2019 for multiple jobs was Zymol Cleaner Wax. I have also been detailing for some time now, I used to work part time at a detail shop as well as an auto parts store. . the detail shop taught me tips and tricks and the parts store kept me updated on new products. I remember when Zymol first appeared on our shelves years ago and I figured I'd give it a try, my initial impression was that the work involved was intensive compared to others that can be applied to a whole car at a time instead of small sections as Zymol suggests but I followed the directions to a T, even misting the surface for the final buff. Hands down, one of the best waxes I've ever used and it has been stocked on my shelf ever since Finish polish. Flitz. Safe to use on paint. Really great stuff. There are a gozillion new “nano products” that many people swear by... I have heard some really incredible claims from folks that I respect, but I have no first hand experience. As Jess has mentioned, there are many and I've tried a lot of them but my favorite is Flitz. I found this product through a vendor demo at an auto show and the selling point for me was not only the polishing abilities but also the protection it added (sealed the surface). My second favorite is Mother's products, specifically Incredible Billet (I think it's just called Billet now). Now this is awesome! Brilliant! right now I'm cleaning spokes with a shoe lace & Blue Magic metal polish. I've had really good luck with this method For my contribution, I recommend 303 Touchless Sealant. If you don't want to put in the work to get amazing results, it's really as simple as spraying on and hosing off. Not only results either, protection for months (yes really) too. The stuff isn't cheap but it saves calories when you want instant results and don't want to spend a lot of time applying/buffing whatever else. Follow the directions though, only small sections at a time! Don't do what I did the fist time I used it and just skimmed through the instructions thinking "This can't be that involved, I don't really need to read all this". Here's an unfiltered picture of my car after using 303, my paint really isn't that nice. This stuff is like putting lipstick on a pig! If interested, here's a link that has more info as well as a video on this product
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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Jan 15, 2020 23:49:00 GMT -5
Thanks for all the replies so far!! Every single one of them has some very interesting information and I'm going to look into every one of them. Rather than type a book with one big reply like I tend to do sometimes, I figured I would comment on each reply, one at a time starting with Jess's reply. As much as I have studied and experimented with paint, vinyl, leather, trim and wheel and tire products, I surprisingly have done very little with products that work with chrome and things like cycle motor side covers, etc. The metal polish that I have used most up till now for my cycles is the Blue Magic which was mentioned in a reply. I have 2 of the little tubs of Mothers Metal Polish that I have been using mainly for when I buff out car headlights that are severely oxidized with a buffer. Bringing up headlights, for those of you who don't have or want to use a buffer on headlights, try using Meguiars Plastx on oxidized headlights, even if they are really bad. The stuff works really well. Just make sure to protect the headlights with something, such as a sealant or wax as they only stay clear for a couple of months and you'll have to do them again. Plenty of Plastx in the bottle though so you'll have product for quite awhile with the one purchase. It works great on cycle windscreens and even helmet visors too. Using it on one of my cycle details that I did for a guy totally blew him away when he saw how clear his windscreen was. It was really bad before I used the Plastx. See what I mean about replying to one comment at a time) I tend to type quite a lot. During my discussions with others I have heard Flitz mentioned multiple times as a product to try. I will definitely try it this year. Thanks for the recommendation!! Ok, more tomorrow. Thanks for your replies. Every single one is very interesting and informative!!
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FC Zach
3rd Gear
Eagleville, TN
Posts: 335
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Post by FC Zach on Jan 16, 2020 0:25:14 GMT -5
Bringing up headlights, for those of you who don't have or want to use a buffer on headlights, try using Meguiars Plastx on oxidized headlights, even if they are really bad. The stuff works really well. Just make sure to protect the headlights with something, such as a sealant or wax as they only stay clear for a couple of months If you paint or know someone who does, have the headlights (or whatever else) clear-coated The finish will last MUCH longer! Edit: Totally random, but I learned a trick from the internet and that is to use any bug spray containing deet to buff headlights to remove the oxidation. . I tried it and it actually works
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Post by timpa136 on Jan 17, 2020 14:34:49 GMT -5
In addition to Brillianize, I use Protect All by Champions Choice. It is a great protectant for just about the whole bike. Here is the website: www.protectall.com/In fact, they have both given door prizes to our rallies in the past. Tim
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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Jan 17, 2020 19:58:54 GMT -5
I will add my experience with a plastic polish. People may remember the old Road Rider Magazine*, they recommended Brillianize plastics polish and I bought a gallon and split it up with Rotorious years ago. I recommend it for all plastics, plexiglass, etc. www.brillianize.com/Tim Interesting Tim. I like Jay's presentation on the product. A little humor goes a long way when selling. Is there an advantage on using this product over something like a cleaner wax, polish or wax on things like fairings or saddlebags? I have a few cycle detailing jobs lined up for this year. This product could be helpful.
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Post by timpa136 on Jan 18, 2020 15:16:48 GMT -5
A little humor goes a long way when selling. Is there an advantage on using this product over something like a cleaner wax, polish or wax on things like fairings or saddlebags?
My experience is mostly with the windshields and helmet visors.
I have plastic headlights from a 9 year old vehicle that still look new with ocassional use of Brillianize.
I see great methods mentioned here already for detailing.
I looked up the link you referred to as I had not seen it, thanks for the tip.
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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Jan 18, 2020 21:32:48 GMT -5
Wayne, that CT18 looked really interesting and I was thinking that I could use a product like that. I had a feeling before checking that it was probably a product that was just available in Australia. I did a search and found a website called Supercheap Auto that had the CT18. There was a spot to put in a zip code to check on shipping. I did that and got a quote of $9.50. Figured that was probably wrong for a 1 litre bottle of the product so I emailed them asking if they ship to the U.S. There reply was no. I'm not able to find this here in the U.S. I even thought about Amazon. No luck. If someone shipped it to me it would probably cost so much that it wouldn't be worth getting. During my searches I found many products that supposedly do the same thing as the CT18 but without someones recommendation I'd rather not consider any of them. Maybe they could use a U.S. distributor.
Regarding the Armor All, a few months ago I wanted to do the interior of my car and looked for a product to use from the many different ones that I have. I found some of the original Armor All that I had left over from a kit that I purchased from Walmart at least 15 years ago. I figured I'd use it to try to get rid of the bottle. It actually worked really well. I like it. Last week we had some warm weather here and I decided to use some interior detailer from Adam's Polishes. It is supposed to leave a mat finish like when the piece was new. I honestly didn't care for the result and like the Armor All better. I started using Armor All when it first came out also and always kept some on hand. It still might be my preferred product. A lot of the people that I do cars for don't like the slight gloss look that Armor All leaves which is why I got the other products for interiors. Myself, I like something that makes it look like I did something to clean the pieces. Armor All does that and in my car anyways, doesn't leave an unwanted shine. If I remember right, Armor All makes a non glossy version of this product also. I think I have some of it somewhere.
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Post by SuzukiRE5 on Jan 19, 2020 22:30:09 GMT -5
right now I'm cleaning spokes with a shoe lace & Blue Magic metal polish. I loop the shoe lace around the spoke once & work the lace back & forth working over the entire spoke. I've had really good luck with this method That is a great tip! I'm going to do a complete detail on my H2 this spring and I know that the spokes need some attention. This will be very helpful. I've been using Blue Magic for quite awhile. I might even try this tip when we get some weather above freezing during the winter. I'm very curious to see how well it works.
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