Starter kit.

dszx13

dszx13

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May 28, 2014
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minden, la
Looking for recommendations on what I should get to fix my horrible paint an to keep it nice. I do not have a machine but I would like to get one. Looking for the best bang for my buck. I basically have the basic cheap soap from the auto parts store and rags.

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Was reading on gmfs an a few things I have questions about.
2 bucket method?
Foam cannon. Do you scrub after its applied?
Also see a lot of recommendations for this on the fb detail pages
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I learned a LOT from watching Adam's instructional videos, The Junkman's videos, AmmoNYC, and several others on YouTube. I own that same HF polisher. It does work pretty good, just vibrates badly. I also have a foam gun (NOT a foam cannon that hooks to a pressure washer). The com gun just covers the truck in soap suds. You still have to do the two bucket method and properly hand wash it. I do find that it softens up baked on bird crap, and bugs and stuff, making them easier to come off while washing. Sometimes I even prewash those areas if I see bird shit or bugs.
The two bucket method is just that, use two clean buckets. One bucks has your soapy wash water, and the other has your rinse water. After every pass on the vehicle, rinse out your wash mitt in your rinse bucket before dipping it back into the soapy wash bucket. This will dramatically reduce the amount of dirt that gets into the wash bucket. By the time you get halfway through,both buckets will be full.of suds, so be sure and label them if they are the same type of buckets.
Also, I can't stress this enough. Invest in grit guards! You can get them on Amazon for like 7 or 8 bucks, or at least I did. If you wanna come over and use my foam gun and polisher and shit one day, you are more than welcome to if you wanna try this stuff out before you start investing in it. I have a lot of other products from Meguiars, Chemical Guys, Adams, and several other brands. I honestly like Adams stuff the best, but its also the most expensive. Its VERY expensive actually.
 
We need to get better Internet here before I can attempt to watch videos. Lol. Ok I get the the bucket thing now. So the gun just attaches to the hose?

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If you buy a polisher I'd suggest going to the junk yard and getting a hood or something to practice on. Swirls are hard to get out! I detailed cars for years through high school and college. High speed buffing takes patience and care. You can burn paint and or swirl it very easily.

As for washing I've always only used one bucket. I can see where the 2 bucket method makes sense. I use dawn dish soap. People will tell you not to do it because "dawn cuts grease (aka wax) out of your way." I wax fairly often, the truck not myself, so dawn doesn't bother me. Also remember suds carry the dirt away and always work from top to bottom.

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TwistedWrangler said:
If you buy a polisher I'd suggest going to the junk yard and getting a hood or something to practice on. Swirls are hard to get out! I detailed cars for years through high school and college. High speed buffing takes patience and care. You can burn paint and or swirl it very easily.

As for washing I've always only used one bucket. I can see where the 2 bucket method makes sense. I use dawn dish soap. People will tell you not to do it because "dawn cuts grease (aka wax) out of your way." I wax fairly often, the truck not myself, so dawn doesn't bother me. Also remember suds carry the dirt away and always work from top to bottom.

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What do you mean by the suds carry the dirt away?

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TwistedWrangler said:
Suds lift the dirt off the paint. More suds less scratching.

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Not entirely true. Suds do help, but its not the suds alone that gets the dirt off the paint. Actually washing it with a wash mitt is what gets the dirt off. But then if you dunk that dirty wash mitt into your bucket of soapy water, you now just introduced dirt and grit into those suds. So now all the wash water and suds you put onto the paint has a small amount of dirt in it that you risk grinding into the paint when you wipe it down with your wash mitt. Its almost like washing with sandpaper in a sense. That's the whole purpose of the second bucket, to keep the dirt and grit OUT of your wash bucket. Yes you can get your car clean by only using on bucket, but you might as well take the extra step of using a second bucket to tremendously reduce your chance if scratching the paint and adding more swirl marks. That's how swirl marks are made, by using a wash mitt with a very tiny amount of dirt of grit on it, and grind it into the paint in a circular motion. Most people can't even see swirl marks, but on a dark vehicle and the sun hits it at just the right angle, you can see EVERY scratch and swirl mark.
 
It's black so it shows. Lol. I found some Mcquaires spray wax an went over an jus that helped make it look better. This pic is after I attempted to dry it yesterday
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I've seen worse. Get yourself dat harbor freight da with some CarPro Flash pads and some meguiars m105. Will get it corrected right away


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I need a list of everything I'll need to get so I can start purchasing here and there. Lol.

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ScottyBoy said:
Not entirely true. Suds do help, but its not the suds alone that gets the dirt off the paint. Actually washing it with a wash mitt is what gets the dirt off. But then if you dunk that dirty wash mitt into your bucket of soapy water, you now just introduced dirt and grit into those suds. So now all the wash water and suds you put onto the paint has a small amount of dirt in it that you risk grinding into the paint when you wipe it down with your wash mitt. Its almost like washing with sandpaper in a sense. That's the whole purpose of the second bucket, to keep the dirt and grit OUT of your wash bucket. Yes you can get your car clean by only using on bucket, but you might as well take the extra step of using a second bucket to tremendously reduce your chance if scratching the paint and adding more swirl marks. That's how swirl marks are made, by using a wash mitt with a very tiny amount of dirt of grit on it, and grind it into the paint in a circular motion. Most people can't even see swirl marks, but on a dark vehicle and the sun hits it at just the right angle, you can see EVERY scratch and swirl mark.
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Assumed everyone would know they needed a wash mitt and elbow grease!

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I watched this at work yesterday. I think this will help me alot. My buddy up the road has a machine I can use an said he has a few different things I can use to do it. I still want to get my own stuff tho
https://youtu.be/lvRPwcojmso

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Lol. What he says in the video makes sense tho

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i guess the question is how serious are you about it, what is your budget, and do you want to spend some more money to save time or save money and spend more time.

When it comes to the polisher, you can buy something expensive like a rupes or flex, both still make it hard to burn through the paint, but will correct faster then just a straight orbital.

If you want to be cheap, the Porter cable has been tried and true. I started out with this, and made the jump to the rupes. i did this for 2 reasons, 1) the rupes corrects faster then the PC does, 2) it actually ended up being a smoother running piece of equipment so i would feel less fatigued.

when it comes to foam,

I have had the foam cannon and the foam gun. The gun is cheaper and easier but you end up with less foam, the cannon you need a pressure washer, but the foam is thick like shaving cream almost. If you have the budget, i have an electric pressure washer with quick connect setups and it makes it no more work then pulling out the hose. My method with foam is to foam the vehicle, let it sit until most of the foam has gone away, pressure wash it off, foam it again and then go to the 2 bucket method. this way the heavy stuff soaks and softens, then the pressure washer blasts all of that off, and then the foam again give some slickness to help the wash mit.

Bucket methods. 2 bucket is the minimum to do. There is a video somewhere of Dylan showing how the bucket method truly helps. First off you want to make sure they are 5 gallon buckets. this way there is plenty of water to dilute the dirt. Secondly you want a grit guard, that way all the really nasty stuff, small rocks, sand, etc settles on the bottom, and doesn't get back into your wash mit to scratch the paint. If you want prof of the 2 bucket method working, try it, bucket one will be way darker then bucket 2. your basically getting your heavy nasty stuff off in the first bucket, but there is some small dirt still floating, the second bucket washes what out so they mit is cleaner meaning less swirls.


Lastly out of the questions dont be a brand diehard. many of us have learned, just because one brand has something you love doesnt mean its the best for everything. I love my shine supply polishes, but when it comes to car wash, i havent found anything that beats my old stock of SCG pro suds.

Get some ideas from people of what they like and then test eventually you will find a setup that you like.
 
I don't mind spending a bit. I plan on buying here and there till I have what I need. I have a electric pressure washer. What fitting are needed? What cannon do you recommend? I plan on getting the buckets with grit guards after seeing the video an few comment on here I definitely need that first. I'm not brand fan boy type. Lol. I jus want to get the stuff that will help me get my truck where I want it and not spend a arm and a leg buying a ton of stuff to try out

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dszx13 said:
I don't mind spending a bit. I plan on buying here and there till I have what I need. I have a electric pressure washer. What fitting are needed? What cannon do you recommend? I plan on getting the buckets with grit guards after seeing the video an few comment on here I definitely need that first. I'm not brand fan boy type. Lol. I jus want to get the stuff that will help me get my truck where I want it and not spend a arm and a leg buying a ton of stuff to try out

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then you have a good mentality about it.

you dont "have" to get anything to use a cannon on it. but there are fittings that will make your life easier.

I have these on the hose/washer, because i always foam the truck then fill my buckets while the foam is doing its work, and then hooking the hose back up, saves a lot of time

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Melnor-2-Piece-Metal-Starter-Set-45C/100257129


on the end of the hose i also put this.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Orbit-3-4-in-Threaded-Brass-Shut-Off-Coupling-27933/100659291

that way i dont have to go all the way back to the spicket to turn the water on and off every time i disconnect from anything.

when it comes to the cannon they are all pretty much the same.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004GNZYY4/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

is the cheapest IIRC.
 
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