Vic Cardenas
New member
Hello,
I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Vic.
I have been detailing for about 15 years now since I owned my first car. I have not really owned a "nice" car until just recently when I bought this RL. I've owned quite a few Acura Legends in the past and I have my little baby sitting in the garage right now which I hope to restore to a full shiny luster, but she has white paint so she has never really been very fussy when it comes to paint care.
Meanwhile, while my baby is undergoing surgery, I bought this black RL, which I lovingly call "Big Bertha"...
I had a black car before Big Bertha came along but it was kind of trashed, so this is my first black car that I have to take care of the paint.
Big Bertha has a few issues with the paint that I hope to correct in the near future, like crazy swirl marks, 4 or 5 spots on the doors where someone rubbed up with their fat denim covered ass... the nail in the coffin... the PO drove through, I'm assuming, a construction site where concrete was flung up and stuck to the paint on the hood! *GASP*... I suspect the last one was one of the reasons why the PO sold the car. I did fix the concrete issue for the most part by taking a razor blade... of all things... and carefully pried off the concrete flecks off the surface of the paint. That last one was a doozy but I managed to do a pretty good job of removing it. Now, just have to fix the swirlies and the scratches and I think my new black car will really shine.
Anywho... In the past few months I had gotten very interested in making my own wax, and before that, a leather conditioner. I had done extensive research on the leather conditioner and played around with some stuff and it turned out that what I had made really did work well on my old leather seats in my '91 Legend. I was doing more reading and happened upon some home brew car wax threads on various forums. Some of the ingredients were somewhat similar between the two and before I knew it I was fully immersed in the subject. I am a chef by trade and the techniques used to make car wax and leather products were somewhat similar to the quite advanced stuff that modern chefs produce. Modern chefs are becoming more and more immersed in the chemistry and food at a molecular level. Chemistry is something I have been very, very talented at my entire career as a cook and a chef but I just hadn't realized it yet! Something clicked and I realized that nothing was stopping me from making my own products (except for expertise). After all, car care products really are mixing some "natural" (petroleum distillates are "natural", right?) ingredients together in the correct proportions and emulsifying them. Kinda like making Hollandaise!
Well... I started playing around and testing my initial batches I had made. Some were good, some were not so good, it goes without saying. But now I'm starting to get the feel and consistency that I want but it's just not perfect yet. I still have lots of work to do but I am pleased with my experiments so far.
Now, before I keep going, if I am stepping on any toes here please don't ban me! I am not advertising a product because I have nothing for sale and will not for quite some time.... if at all.
So, please don't pull out the ban hammer just yet if this is unacceptable.
Anyway, I ended up with a few batches that really had a great feel to them and great speadability and hazed somewhat. The shine and depth was mind blowing to me at first because I have never bought any high end wax before and what I am making I believe has similar ingredients and effects as some of the higher end stuff. Well, I've talked enough, onto the pictures....
I spread some of my wax on the left side of the hood right after a wash. The right side has some store bought stuff that has been on there about a month. My wax is clearly visible and discernible (even though my camera and photobucket both suck). I did not tape off a division, I just spread it to the halfway point and stopped. I was quite impressed with the clarity and depth.
B)
I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Vic.
I have been detailing for about 15 years now since I owned my first car. I have not really owned a "nice" car until just recently when I bought this RL. I've owned quite a few Acura Legends in the past and I have my little baby sitting in the garage right now which I hope to restore to a full shiny luster, but she has white paint so she has never really been very fussy when it comes to paint care.
Meanwhile, while my baby is undergoing surgery, I bought this black RL, which I lovingly call "Big Bertha"...
I had a black car before Big Bertha came along but it was kind of trashed, so this is my first black car that I have to take care of the paint.
Big Bertha has a few issues with the paint that I hope to correct in the near future, like crazy swirl marks, 4 or 5 spots on the doors where someone rubbed up with their fat denim covered ass... the nail in the coffin... the PO drove through, I'm assuming, a construction site where concrete was flung up and stuck to the paint on the hood! *GASP*... I suspect the last one was one of the reasons why the PO sold the car. I did fix the concrete issue for the most part by taking a razor blade... of all things... and carefully pried off the concrete flecks off the surface of the paint. That last one was a doozy but I managed to do a pretty good job of removing it. Now, just have to fix the swirlies and the scratches and I think my new black car will really shine.
Anywho... In the past few months I had gotten very interested in making my own wax, and before that, a leather conditioner. I had done extensive research on the leather conditioner and played around with some stuff and it turned out that what I had made really did work well on my old leather seats in my '91 Legend. I was doing more reading and happened upon some home brew car wax threads on various forums. Some of the ingredients were somewhat similar between the two and before I knew it I was fully immersed in the subject. I am a chef by trade and the techniques used to make car wax and leather products were somewhat similar to the quite advanced stuff that modern chefs produce. Modern chefs are becoming more and more immersed in the chemistry and food at a molecular level. Chemistry is something I have been very, very talented at my entire career as a cook and a chef but I just hadn't realized it yet! Something clicked and I realized that nothing was stopping me from making my own products (except for expertise). After all, car care products really are mixing some "natural" (petroleum distillates are "natural", right?) ingredients together in the correct proportions and emulsifying them. Kinda like making Hollandaise!
Well... I started playing around and testing my initial batches I had made. Some were good, some were not so good, it goes without saying. But now I'm starting to get the feel and consistency that I want but it's just not perfect yet. I still have lots of work to do but I am pleased with my experiments so far.
Now, before I keep going, if I am stepping on any toes here please don't ban me! I am not advertising a product because I have nothing for sale and will not for quite some time.... if at all.
So, please don't pull out the ban hammer just yet if this is unacceptable.
Anyway, I ended up with a few batches that really had a great feel to them and great speadability and hazed somewhat. The shine and depth was mind blowing to me at first because I have never bought any high end wax before and what I am making I believe has similar ingredients and effects as some of the higher end stuff. Well, I've talked enough, onto the pictures....
I spread some of my wax on the left side of the hood right after a wash. The right side has some store bought stuff that has been on there about a month. My wax is clearly visible and discernible (even though my camera and photobucket both suck). I did not tape off a division, I just spread it to the halfway point and stopped. I was quite impressed with the clarity and depth.
B)
