Am I in the right place?

Setec Astronomy said:
We never thought you were coming back, Supe!
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Heya, Setec, yeah it`s been a while. Honestly, for a while there *I* thought I wasn`t gonna be coming back, either. Had a few health hiccups there for a few years. But six spine surgeries later, I think I`m finally getting the upper hand on it. Kinda put a bit of a kink in my detailing. I`ve managed to keep my own vehicles clean, but I haven`t detailed a car for someone else for more years than I`d like to think about. Actually, I had to have Greg Nichols polish my last new car a few years back. Poor Greg had to put up with me hovering over him the whole time he`s polishing... "Dangit, Greg, you missed a spot!"

I`m still using my old CR Spotless, foam cannon, BHB, and John Deere gas PW for bi-weekly (mostly touchless, except for the BHB ) cleanings. I used to do a completely touchless wash on my cars every two days, but due to my stupid back, it`s now every two weeks if I`m lucky.

Glad to see there`s at least one of The Old Guard still around. : )

Edit: Wow, I only have 47 posts!
 
Wow, sorry about your back. How did that affect your work?

It got a little muddled here when they combined Autopia and Autopia Forums, that`s probably why your post count is off. The moderators can fix that.

As far as the "Old Guard"...that word "old" is kind of a sore point between me and Accumulator :P ...I`m sure he`ll be around shortly.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Wow, sorry about your back. How did that affect your work?

It got a little muddled here when they combined Autopia and Autopia Forums, that`s probably why your post count is off. The moderators can fix that.

As far as the "Old Guard"...that word "old" is kind of a sore point between me and Accumulator :P ...I`m sure he`ll be around shortly.
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Work has.... suffered. : / I`ve been on a medical leave of absence from flying since May 1, 2015. That was the day the chronic back pain I`d had for 30 years finally caught up with me and put me down hard. The first thing to go was the detailing in 2012, then flying in 2015. I had some pretty bad nerve damage from a poorly done lumbar spine surgery that has caused me to lose some of the use of my left leg. And just to add fuel to the fire, I`ve had cervical spine surgery, too. But I`m making good progress, finally, and hope to be back to work by the end of the year. Luckily, us pilots have pretty good disability benefits, so the family has stayed well-fed. ; )

Bad news: My wonderful old 2008 Super Bee is gone. Good news: Last week, we brought home a metallic blue Tesla Performance Model 3 "Stealth" addition. It is a limited run vehicle that has the acceleration, horse power, and torque of the regular Model 3 Performance, but doesn`t have the performance suspension, wheels, brakes, spoiler, or aluminum brake and accelerator pedals. Because of my traitorous spine, I`m very glad that it doesn`t have the hard Performance suspension.

I was able to avoid most of the dealer installed paint swirls. I had told my Sales Advisor to please deliver the car to me "in the wrap", but he was a bit late in getting the word to the acceptance team; they had washed the car, and had just started polishing it with a rotary when he stopped them. So I do have some pretty bad buffer trails on one small section, but the rest of the car is in pretty good shape considering that they did wash it.

So now I`m considering what my process is going to be with the paint... I know I`m going to polish it to perfection, but I`m unsure at this point what my LSP is going to be. I`m waaaay out of date with such things. At some point, I`m going to use xPel paint protection film on the entire vehicle, but that`s going to be an ongoing process... a panel here, a panel there, until it`s finally done. Until then, I thought I`d come back here for some guidance on a good long term LSP. Something along the lines of a modern version of the old Opti-Coat, or maybe one of the new ceramics that seem to be the latest rage. Any guidance along those lines is greatly appreciated, btw. : ) Sheesh, I don`t even know what polishes are in style nowadays.

Regardless, I`m just glad that I`m finally back to the point where I can actually think about cleaning and/or polishing my car. It`s going to be a many day, one-panel-at-a-time thing, but at least I can finally do it!

Sure glad to hear that you and Accumulator are still here to keep the new guys in line. ; ) Man, I`ve missed you guys and this forum. Very glad to see Autopia still here and spreading the detailing "love".
 
SETEC Astronomy said:
As far as the "Old Guard"...that word "old" is kind of a sore point between me and Accumulator :P ...I`m sure he`ll be around shortly.
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Heh heh, you bet that "old" is a point of contention for me! Nothing "old" about this guy as he nears 60 ;)

SuperBee364- Hey, welcome back!

I think of you often, and FWIW I took your advice to heart and will *sometimes* go straight to a RW after the BHB step instead of always doing an intermediate "Mitt pass". Working fine, and I never would`ve risked it had you not said that the..oh, how did you put it?...something like "rinseless wash voodoo".. can really be OK once you get the big stuff off.

I hope your back/leg issues continue to improve, and that we see you around here again. You were indeed missed!
 
tom p. said:
Good to see you back! Glad things are heading in the right direction!
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Tom! Good to hear from ya. Yeah, it really is nice to be able to think that going out and working on the car is now within the realm of "things that are possible to actually do" now. :)

Accumulator said:
Heh heh, you bet that "old" is a point of contention for me! Nothing "old" about this guy as he nears 60 ;)

SuperBee364- Hey, welcome back!

I think of you often, and FWIW I took your advice to heart and will *sometimes* go straight to a RW after the BHB step instead of always doing an intermediate "Mitt pass". Working fine, and I never would`ve risked it had you not said that the..oh, how did you put it?...something like "rinseless wash voodoo".. can really be OK once you get the big stuff off.

I hope your back/leg issues continue to improve, and that we see you around here again. You were indeed missed!
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Accumulator! I`m glad to hear that! Through "the spinal years", I often could do nothing more than go out with a one quart bucket of ONR and gently wash one small panel of the car. I ended up using it on panels that were far dirtier than what I would`ve previously felt comfortable washing in this manner. And to this day, I swear it truly *is* rinseless wash voodoo. :) Just this past week, I finally ran out of my five gallon supply of ONR that I bought back in 2013. I just replaced it with a brand new gallon of ONR that I haven`t used yet. I hope the current formula of ONR is as good as the old stuff. I`ve actually kept the remains of a first generation ONR gallon, as I love that polymer smell that it had. Reminded me of "new car" scent. I`m now metering it out for interior use only for that wonderful new car smell. The current stuff smells like cheap bubble gum to me.

I really tried hard to keep the cars clean through "the spinal years", but my wife banned me from the pressure washer for quite a few years after it knocked me on my butt one time when I pulled the trigger on the pressure wand. LoL, it would`ve made a hilarious YouTube video. Ended up spending a lot of money at the touchless drive-through. I`d run it through that, then park the car in the garage and gently ONR as much of the car as my back would permit. This was an attempt at following my old "get the big stuff off first" mantra I used to chant in regards to using RW products.

But I`m finally back to my old process of: foam cannon, HP rinse, foam cannon followed up with BHB with continuous DI water flush, then very gentle ONR (pre-spraying each panel with ONR first) with the old shaggy Euro MF followed by air dry. This is for dirty cars, though. I`m looking forward to now being able to wash the cars frequently enough that I`ll be returning back to just foam cannon, rinse, then BHB/continuous DI water flush, air dry. That is, if I`m able to get the LSP up to snuff that it`ll release the dirt well enough to skip any real paint touching. I still avoid actual paint touching unless it`s truly necessary. And after all these years, I`ve finally convinced the wife that her fingers and finger nails are *not* detailing tools. ; ) My BHB is in desperate need of replacement, though, and have no idea what to replace it with. It`s starting to mar the paint a bit. : / Montana Brushes used to make pretty good BHB`s. Are they still around and any good?

I really appreciate the "welcome back"... smiling even as I type this. You guys are the greatest. :)
 
SuperBee364 said:
Heya, Setec, yeah it`s been a while. Honestly, for a while there *I* thought I wasn`t gonna be coming back, either. Had a few health hiccups there for a few years. But six spine surgeries later, I think I`m finally getting the upper hand on it. Kinda put a bit of a kink in my detailing. I`ve managed to keep my own vehicles clean, but I haven`t detailed a car for someone else for more years than I`d like to think about. Actually, I had to have Greg Nichols polish my last new car a few years back. Poor Greg had to put up with me hovering over him the whole time he`s polishing... "Dangit, Greg, you missed a spot!"

I`m still using my old CR Spotless, foam cannon, BHB, and John Deere gas PW for bi-weekly (mostly touchless, except for the BHB ) cleanings. I used to do a completely touchless wash on my cars every two days, but due to my stupid back, it`s now every two weeks if I`m lucky.

Glad to see there`s at least one of The Old Guard still around. : )

Edit: Wow, I only have 47 posts!
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well I don’t know you but we definitely share the back issues. I’ve had 6 spine surgeries as well. Three cervical and three lumbar. Unfortunately they won’t do the thoracic area. After 6 years of my life spent in a zero gravity chair, day and night, I finally got a little bit of my life back. Pain pumps are an amazing tool in fighting back pain. Good luck with the detailing. If you ever need anyone to talk to who understands what you go through send me a PM. I try to get on here every couple days or so.
 
SuperBee364:
Thanks for checking in with this Autopia forum again. Yes, you are in the right place! (I`d say "again" again, but that would be redundant)

Sorry to hear about all your back/spine/nerve issues. For some reason, that seems to be a re-occurring medical malady within this detailing fraternity and if misery loves company, then you do, indeed, have fellow Autopians who can sympathize and relate to what you have (and are) going through.
Not sure how you feel about loosing your 2008 SuperBee, but I guess there are many reasons why you are going to the Tesla electric-powered vehicle. Much like those who clung to the horse-and-buggy days when the "horseless carriages" first came, so are those of us who (ardently) "prefer" combustion engine-powered vehicles, but those days are numbered, and history repeats itself.

Anyway, keep us informed about how the Tesla works out for you and what you do detailing-wise to it.
 
SuperBee364- Heh heh, I had to chuckle over your liking the older version of ONR; I have their v2.0 (polymer scent, sounds like yours and AFAIK they`re on v3.0 now, the v1.0 being ancient history even my my standards) and I utterly *hate* it for Detailing use! Hey, seems to be just me, but FWIW I`m LOVING Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice...just sayin` in case you ever want to try something else.

Yikes, I can`t imagine washing without the pressure washer now that I`ve had one (again) for a while, but yours is obviously a *LOT* more potent than mine! Glad you`re able to use it again. And like you, I can occasionally (almost typed "often") get away with a Home-Touchless even though I don`t use my FoamCannon thing (never have, doubt I ever will). I credit my current fave LSP for that, it sheds everything great and prevents etching from bugs/birds so well I no longer even think about them.

SO, FWIW#2 (so easy to try spending your money :D), if you ever want to try a diff LSP, I can heartily endorse FK1000P. Though it might not have quite the El Perfecto Autopian LSP Look to your eyes, hard to predict such subjective stuff. But I do like it fine on my blue Audi, a color (and crappy-paint-condition) that I didn`t think would look right to me with that LSP on it.


Ever try spraying the RW at pressure? Guess that`s my version of the foamer/etc. attachments for the pw. Now if I could just get you using a (hose-end) foamgun with that BHB we`d be on *exactly* the same page! Speaking of BHBs...

I`d get the "Blonde"/premium one from Universal Brush. They make the Montana; this is their "better" one. I had worried that it`d be too gentle for a real-world-dirty vehicle, but it`s fine after all the preliminary steps that guys like us do. A little pricey, but it`s holding up very well and is my current recommendation.

Oh, and if you need one for wheels, go with the Wheel Woolies one. It`s *SO MUCH* better than the ones from [others] that I could hardly believe it! (Credit where credit is due: a fellow Autopian, whose name eludes me at present, compared the various BHBs for Wheels, prompting my giving the Wheel Wooly one a try, and he was right, it`s All That).
 
Accumulator said:
Heh heh, you bet that "old" is a point of contention for me! Nothing "old" about this guy as he nears 60 ;)

SuperBee364- Hey, welcome back!

I think of you often, and FWIW I took your advice to heart and will *sometimes* go straight to a RW after the BHB step instead of always doing an intermediate "Mitt pass". Working fine, and I never would`ve risked it had you not said that the..oh, how did you put it?...something like "rinseless wash voodoo".. can really be OK once you get the big stuff off.

I hope your back/leg issues continue to improve, and that we see you around here again. You were indeed missed!
Click to expand...

BHB?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Oops, sorry, didn`t mean to be inscrutable :o

BHB = Boar`s Hair Brush, which I use in conjunction with a (hose-end) foamgun, and credit for my (virtually) marring-free washes. Note that it`s a *LOT* easier to use BHBs incorrectly than it is to use them right...but like the foamgun I won`t wash without `em.
 
Welcome back SuperBee364 from a new guy!

I too have big problems with the spine. Have done 2 lumbar surgerys and 1 double fusion surgery in the neck. Sadly the years that has gone on the lumbar spine is in very bad shape. For getting it fixed the doctors says it would be fusion from the L2-S1. But they won`t do that surgery as it`s too big to be doing according to them. So I live with active nerve damage that gets me a lot of pain. Will see if they do something when I don`t get out of the bed LOL. It`s 17 years now since the lower back was putting me out of being able to work. And it`s only getting worse as it`s a born defect and bad quality of the discs. Hope I can get a surgeon that`s are willing and confident to fix me when I take a run with the doctors again LOL. Did a wash today and it was 6 weeks when I last did one. So now it`s resting in the bed for a couple of days until the pain levels goes down to where they are useally. Hope you get as good as possible when you have come back fully.

Sounds like an awesome car the Tesla you got now. The Opti-Coat seemed to be too great for the consumer and is only offered by certified installers now days in the Opti-Coat Pro version. A safe and tested coating would be Carpro CQUK 3.0. The newer version is more user friendly than the later one. Some go with a top coating over it to excell the water behavior and self cleaning ability and slickness from it even more. It`s Carpro Gliss v2 and many seems to be very satisfied with the results from this combo. Forum member Budgetplan has been doing a lot of different ceramic coatings application on the fleet vehicals on his workplace. It`s awesome to read his thoughts about them from the application to looks. A rare thing he has done and worth a reading on his threads. And see if you find a coating that you get interested in. There are so many options out there now days. Then all the toppers and sealants with the SiO2 as it`s base. And hybrid waxes with SiO2 is also an option where you can get the little more carnuaba glow look and the glassy coating look combined. Angelwax has a line called Enigma which is ceramic infused products. I like the looks from the products I have tested so far in that line. But also even if the hype of coating products. Many of the old and tried great sealants still is going strong. So throw those in the mix and it gets even more huge of options. And then you throw in the carnuaba wax for it`s awesome looks. You don`t have enough of vehicals to apply all of the products you want to try out LOL. I have the Polish Angel Esclate Lotion and Master Sealant combo at home waiting to be applyied. Like the looks very much from the PA products. They are pricey unfortuneally but is made for very user friendly and the looks from it is top notch.

So it`s much of what you are after from the LSP you want to use. Then you can dial it down to a few products to chose from. Will be interesting to see which way you go with your LSP.

/ Tony
 
Pats300zx said:
Welcome back !!!! Good to see you posting again :)
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Pat! OMG, I think about the SEMA when we met often. That was such a fun year for SEMA... met so many Autopians, it was just a blast. And I still have the shirt that you sent me! I don`t wear it very often, as it`s getting a bit worn out. I keep it in the "keep sake" section of my closet now. Man, it would be great to meet up again... are you planning on SEMA this year, by chance?

DaveT435 said:
well I don’t know you but we definitely share the back issues. I’ve had 6 spine surgeries as well. Three cervical and three lumbar. Unfortunately they won’t do the thoracic area. After 6 years of my life spent in a zero gravity chair, day and night, I finally got a little bit of my life back. Pain pumps are an amazing tool in fighting back pain. Good luck with the detailing. If you ever need anyone to talk to who understands what you go through send me a PM. I try to get on here every couple days or so.
Click to expand...

Dave, man, I`m so sorry to hear that you`re a "spiney", too. I wouldn`t wish spine problems on my worst enemy. It`s so incredibly debilitating... people that don`t have spine issues just have no common frame of reference as to the suffering it causes. I have a total of 8 levels fused now... three cervical and five lumbar. In my case, it was caused by Ankylosing Spondolitis. Rheumatologist has me on one of the new magic biologics that will hopefully stop the progression of it in its tracks. We`ll see. : /

Lonnie said:
SuperBee364:
Thanks for checking in with this Autopia forum again. Yes, you are in the right place! (I`d say "again" again, but that would be redundant)

Sorry to hear about all your back/spine/nerve issues. For some reason, that seems to be a re-occurring medical malady within this detailing fraternity and if misery loves company, then you do, indeed, have fellow Autopians who can sympathize and relate to what you have (and are) going through.
Not sure how you feel about loosing your 2008 SuperBee, but I guess there are many reasons why you are going to the Tesla electric-powered vehicle. Much like those who clung to the horse-and-buggy days when the "horseless carriages" first came, so are those of us who (ardently) "prefer" combustion engine-powered vehicles, but those days are numbered, and history repeats itself.

Anyway, keep us informed about how the Tesla works out for you and what you do detailing-wise to it.
Click to expand...

Hey Lonnie, thanks for the welcome!

I`d been keeping an eye on Tesla for years. With the Model 3, they finally hit the "sweet spot" for me with range and over all performance. I can`t believe I got an 11.6 quarter mile car for a bit over 60k! Zero to sixty in 3.4 is pretty nice, too. : ) It`ll also make a great work commute car for me once I get back to work, too. I drive 138 miles to work, take off on a three or four day trip, then drive 138 miles back home. All interstate. Electricity is so cheap where I live that I pay $0.01 per mile in electrons. So round trip, under three bucks in "gas". The car sits in the Las Vegas sun while I`m at work, so having a really good LSP is important to me.

I`d like to apply one of the professional versions of Optimum`s ceramics, but I have a feeling I`m going to have a hard time getting a hold of some, as I`m (obviously) not an Optimum approved installer. : /

Accumulator said:
SuperBee364- Heh heh, I had to chuckle over your liking the older version of ONR; I have their v2.0 (polymer scent, sounds like yours and AFAIK they`re on v3.0 now, the v1.0 being ancient history even my my standards) and I utterly *hate* it for Detailing use! Hey, seems to be just me, but FWIW I`m LOVING Garry Dean`s Infinite Use Detail Juice...just sayin` in case you ever want to try something else.

Yikes, I can`t imagine washing without the pressure washer now that I`ve had one (again) for a while, but yours is obviously a *LOT* more potent than mine! Glad you`re able to use it again. And like you, I can occasionally (almost typed "often") get away with a Home-Touchless even though I don`t use my FoamCannon thing (never have, doubt I ever will). I credit my current fave LSP for that, it sheds everything great and prevents etching from bugs/birds so well I no longer even think about them.

SO, FWIW#2 (so easy to try spending your money :D), if you ever want to try a diff LSP, I can heartily endorse FK1000P. Though it might not have quite the El Perfecto Autopian LSP Look to your eyes, hard to predict such subjective stuff. But I do like it fine on my blue Audi, a color (and crappy-paint-condition) that I didn`t think would look right to me with that LSP on it.


Ever try spraying the RW at pressure? Guess that`s my version of the foamer/etc. attachments for the pw. Now if I could just get you using a (hose-end) foamgun with that BHB we`d be on *exactly* the same page! Speaking of BHBs...

I`d get the "Blonde"/premium one from Universal Brush. They make the Montana; this is their "better" one. I had worried that it`d be too gentle for a real-world-dirty vehicle, but it`s fine after all the preliminary steps that guys like us do. A little pricey, but it`s holding up very well and is my current recommendation.

Oh, and if you need one for wheels, go with the Wheel Woolies one. It`s *SO MUCH* better than the ones from [others] that I could hardly believe it! (Credit where credit is due: a fellow Autopian, whose name eludes me at present, compared the various BHBs for Wheels, prompting my giving the Wheel Wooly one a try, and he was right, it`s All That).
Click to expand...
So much good information there... and I`d rather that *you* spend my money than my wife. ; )

Man, I used to put FK1000P on my Cheerios I loved it so much. I still have an old can of it. Did they change the formula recently, or am I OK to just go ahead and use my old stuff? I ended up putting 1000p over my Opti-Coat 2.0 for better dirt releasing during the wash. Loved it. The Opti-Coat didn`t really negatively effect the durability of the 1000p, either. `Course I had to give up on maintaining it (the 1000p). Back when I was testing such things, FK1000P was the best dirt-releasing LSP I ever tried. Just a good firm stare was about all it took to get the dirt off. ;) Seriously, though, I`d never seen the BHB more capable of releasing dirt than when used when washing a 1000P`d car.

LoL, I still have a fresh tub of Vintage, too. I`ve been thinking of going out and giving the car a good rub down with it while I wait on deciding what LSP I`m going to go with before ultimately putting paint protection film on the whole car. The PPF is going to be a years long project, though, so paint maintenance is going to be an issue for the foreseeable future.

But I`m *really* glad to hear that FK1000P is still a good LSP choice. Right now, I`m leaning toward (as mentioned above) one of Optimum`s professional ceramic coatings, with an FK1000P topper. Tesla clear coat is notoriously thin, and I like the idea of there being a sacrificial layer of the Optimum product over the top of the clear coat, even if it is whisper thin. Certainly better than nothing at all...

I also really enjoyed Opti-SEAL over the top of Opti-COAT back then, too. I`d use an air brush to spray on a good thick layer of Opti-SEAL after air brushing on the Opti-COAT. Made my clear coat look an inch deep.

Thanks so much for the info, Accumulator... man, I`m glad I just got paid... ;)
 
SuperBee364 said:
Sure glad to hear that you and Accumulator are still here to keep the new guys in line. ; ) Man, I`ve missed you guys and this forum. Very glad to see Autopia still here and spreading the detailing "love".
Click to expand...


Aah... Yep, they are certainly keeping us in line. :)

Sorry to hear of the severe back problems.

Am excited to get some advice from an "Original Autopian " .
(to be totally honest, some of what you have posted, sounded like another language. I may need some translation)

:jawdrop:
 
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