The Detailing Thread

Started by giant_mtb, July 06, 2010, 09:58:16 PM

FoMoJo

Quote from: giant_mtb on September 28, 2017, 03:51:59 PM
Microfibers.  And/or glass-specific cloths. Use less glass cleaner. Practice makes perfect. Always do a final wipe with a clean/dry towel.
Someone suggested newspaper to me.  It works.  Scrunch it up and wipe after spraying.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

giant_mtb

Quote from: FoMoJo on September 28, 2017, 06:27:05 PM
Someone suggested newspaper to me.  It works.  Scrunch it up and wipe after spraying.

I get lots of suggestions like this.  Sure, they may work...but why bother when there are proper tools for the job?  When was the last time you saw a professional glass cleaner using newspaper? :huh:

Just have to make sure the newspaper you use doesn't leak ink when wet. 

FoMoJo

Quote from: giant_mtb on September 28, 2017, 07:22:31 PM
I get lots of suggestions like this.  Sure, they may work...but why bother when there are proper tools for the job?  When was the last time you saw a professional glass cleaner using newspaper? :huh:

Just have to make sure the newspaper you use doesn't leak ink when wet. 
It worked better than any cloth I used, even paper towel.  It was just there in the recycling bin and, after using it, I just tossed it away.  May not be up to detailing standards, but it cleaned better than anything else I'd tried.  Couldn't really see a problem with it.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

MrH

Quote from: giant_mtb on September 28, 2017, 07:22:31 PM
I get lots of suggestions like this.  Sure, they may work...but why bother when there are proper tools for the job?  When was the last time you saw a professional glass cleaner using newspaper? :huh:

Just have to make sure the newspaper you use doesn't leak ink when wet. 

The homeless guy on the corner uses newspaper.  If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for UP Detailing :thumbsup:
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12,000 RPM

Quote from: CaminoRacer on September 28, 2017, 04:33:33 PM
Is the windshield hot / in the sun?
Yes... I hear that doesn't help

I cleaned it with alcohol and then dried it with a ~350ish microfiber cloth. Naturally it's cloudy today but I haven't noticed any haze from street/head lights. Hopefully this is it.
Protecctor of the Atmospheric Engine #TheyLiedToUs

giant_mtb

Yeahhhh don't clean things in the sun. Detailing 101.

Rupert

Quote from: giant_mtb on September 25, 2017, 08:43:20 PM
Oh Jesus.  Were you being sarcastic? :lol:

That website is atrocious and his pictures are pathetic, but he seems fairly priced and appears to do acceptable work.

Well, web design and photography aren't skills I expect a detailer to have... But yes, I was serious. I emailed him about how far he'll travel and what he uses on interiors (like, no Armor All), but he never got back. So I guess that's out.
Novarolla-Miata-Trooper-Jeep-Volvo-Trooper-Ranger-MGB-Explorer-944-Fiat-Alfa-XTerra

13 cars, 60 cylinders, 52 manual forward gears and 9 automatic, 2 FWD, 42 doors, 1988 average year of manufacture, 3 convertibles, 22 average mpg, and no wheel covers.
PRO TENACIA NULLA VIA EST INVIA

giant_mtb

#487
I think basic design flow and an eye for good pictures (especially of their own work) are something anybody who's half detail-oriented should almost instinctively understand.  I mean, modern smartphone cameras almost make you have to try to take shitty pictures.  But that's beside the point :lol:


Rupert

Eh, yeah. IMO more of a yellow flag than a red one. Not responding to my communication, though...
Novarolla-Miata-Trooper-Jeep-Volvo-Trooper-Ranger-MGB-Explorer-944-Fiat-Alfa-XTerra

13 cars, 60 cylinders, 52 manual forward gears and 9 automatic, 2 FWD, 42 doors, 1988 average year of manufacture, 3 convertibles, 22 average mpg, and no wheel covers.
PRO TENACIA NULLA VIA EST INVIA

Soup DeVille

Quote from: giant_mtb on September 28, 2017, 07:22:31 PM
I get lots of suggestions like this.  Sure, they may work...but why bother when there are proper tools for the job?  When was the last time you saw a professional glass cleaner using newspaper? :huh:

Just have to make sure the newspaper you use doesn't leak ink when wet. 

You'd think, properly bought, that unprinted newsprint paper would be better and cheaper and could be marketed as such.

Who actually buys a newspaper to read anymore anyways?
Maybe we need to start off small. I mean, they don't let you fuck the glumpers at Glumpees without a level 4 FuckPass, do they?

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FoMoJo

Quote from: Soup DeVille on September 29, 2017, 08:04:09 PM
You'd think, properly bought, that unprinted newsprint paper would be better and cheaper and could be marketed as such.

Who actually buys a newspaper to read anymore anyways?
They're free these days.  Mostly advertising for the local stores.

Give it a try.  It really works good.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

giant_mtb

Quote from: FoMoJo on September 29, 2017, 08:15:54 PM
They're free these days.  Mostly advertising for the local stores.

Give it a try.  It really works good.

I used to put an ad in the newspaper.  Now I don't because Facebook is more effective and free.  And I even went hard on the "green pages" overlay ad printout in the newspaper.

giant_mtb

Quote from: Rupert on September 29, 2017, 05:49:47 PM
Eh, yeah. IMO more of a yellow flag than a red one. Not responding to my communication, though...

Yeah, like I said, he seems to do acceptable work.  Lack of communication kills it.  Head this way, I'll detail your shit.

Rupert

Novarolla-Miata-Trooper-Jeep-Volvo-Trooper-Ranger-MGB-Explorer-944-Fiat-Alfa-XTerra

13 cars, 60 cylinders, 52 manual forward gears and 9 automatic, 2 FWD, 42 doors, 1988 average year of manufacture, 3 convertibles, 22 average mpg, and no wheel covers.
PRO TENACIA NULLA VIA EST INVIA

giant_mtb

Nah, Minnesota.  We can go give FBC shit for ghosting us all on his project cars. :lol:

giant_mtb

De-sapped a Chrysler 200 today.  Used isopropyl alcohol, which worked really well.  Just dumped it into an empty spray bottle for ease of use. Way cheaper than the Turtle Wax type crap from the store that doesn't work. Spray, soak for a minute or so, lightly scrub with a microfiber, rinse, repeat.  Used a plastic razor blade on the windows and on really thick globs on the paint (carefully), and a clay bar mitt to finish it off.  Added about 2 hours to my wash process, for which I charged accordingly.  She still tipped me $50 and a couple Canadian beers (she's Canadian). :ohyeah:










FoMoJo

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

Rupert

Novarolla-Miata-Trooper-Jeep-Volvo-Trooper-Ranger-MGB-Explorer-944-Fiat-Alfa-XTerra

13 cars, 60 cylinders, 52 manual forward gears and 9 automatic, 2 FWD, 42 doors, 1988 average year of manufacture, 3 convertibles, 22 average mpg, and no wheel covers.
PRO TENACIA NULLA VIA EST INVIA

giant_mtb

Quote from: Rupert on October 09, 2017, 07:19:56 PM
Wow, that's a lot of sap!

It's their first fall in their house...parked under a pine tree near the driveway.  Rest assured, they won't be making that mistake again.  They moved here from Canada, so I was kinda surprised they didn't see it coming, but perhaps where they're from isn't heavy on the trees...Saskatchewan.  I avoid parking under any tree as much as I can.

FoMoJo

I don't think they have trees in Saskatchewan :huh:, just a whole bunch of wheat.
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once." ~ Albert Einstein
"As the saying goes, when you mix science and politics, you get politics."

giant_mtb

Quote from: FoMoJo on October 09, 2017, 07:36:05 PM
I don't think they have trees in Saskatchewan :huh:, just a whole bunch of wheat.

Yeahhhh after a quick Google it sounds like a pretty plains-y area.

93JC

Most of Saskatchewan is actually lakes and boreal forest. You would love it—northern Saskatchewan is very, very sparsely populated.

The vast majority of the province's population is in the south though, which is mostly plains used for farmland.

giant_mtb

Ahhh nice. Yeah, I would like it.

Cookie Monster

Maybe Sporty creamed all over that 200. :devil:
RWD > FWD
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Quote from: 68_427 on November 27, 2016, 07:43:14 AM
Or order from fortune auto and when lyft rider asks why your car feels bumpy you can show them the dyno curve
1 3 5
├┼┤
2 4 R

giant_mtb

He wouldn't if he had driven it.  That 8spd auto is tuned soooo poorly.  It's like riding with somebody who's been driving a stick for a week.

12,000 RPM

Protecctor of the Atmospheric Engine #TheyLiedToUs

giant_mtb

Still.

Quote from: giant_mtb on October 10, 2017, 02:05:16 PM
It's like riding with somebody who's been driving a stick for a week.

Rupert

Quote from: 93JC on October 09, 2017, 09:51:52 PM
Most of Saskatchewan is actually lakes and boreal forest. You would love it—northern Saskatchewan is very, very sparsely populated.

The vast majority of the province's population is in the south though, which is mostly plains used for farmland.

Isn't that the entire country except western BC, though?
Novarolla-Miata-Trooper-Jeep-Volvo-Trooper-Ranger-MGB-Explorer-944-Fiat-Alfa-XTerra

13 cars, 60 cylinders, 52 manual forward gears and 9 automatic, 2 FWD, 42 doors, 1988 average year of manufacture, 3 convertibles, 22 average mpg, and no wheel covers.
PRO TENACIA NULLA VIA EST INVIA

93JC

#508
A lot of it, sure.


giant_mtb

#509
Gave mom's Q5 a good wash n wax treatment before winter. Paint's looking good ~62k miles in.