Do yourself a favor, make a big black and white sign that says "do not wash" and place it on the dash facing out. Your request at with the service desk will get written down but not notice by the guy who moves your car from the repair section to the wash the car section

I had asked that my BMW not be washed at the dealer, they washed it, scratches and swirls all over it, they cant understand why I'm upset when they washed it for me even thought I asked them not to. All I got was a "sorry about that"

 

LOL I like this idea.

 

Awesome Choice! on the Flex. Well, I hope you like it. You'll be able to help out a friend detail his or her car in the future with that nice pro level machine.

Let us know what you think about the Flex after you're done with your project. You're input would help people on the fence trying to decide between a Griots or Porter Cable.

 

Investigate Adam's polishes. He has a system of like colored pads and polishes.
The most aggressive polish is orange, and you use an orange pad. The more aggressive a polish, the more open the pad needs to be. This is where foam pads have an advantage. To carry on, the next less abrasive polish from Adam's is green, and has a green pad. The finest, white, and you guessed it, white pad. This insures you're using the correct pad with the correct polish.
I'm sure there are other systems out there just as good or better, but I've used a few, and found this works the best for me.
Adam's is based in Denver, and has an overt program to use USA sourced products whenever possible.
No affiliation.
Congrats on the Flex. I've never been disappointed when I purchased the best of anything. You'll be looking for neighbors cars to polish before you know it!

 

I've had to tell that to dealers that in the past because of a bad experience.

I once had a 97 supra turbo and the rear hips was really scratched up and the huge stock spoiler broke and became loose. I complained and they got me a new spoiler and detail, but it took time out from my schedule to fix up their screwup. Big rear hips on cars seems to be areas that get scratched up the most when the dealer gives you the complimentary wash.

 

I've seen many people at my office do the mobile detail thing at the office and I thnk they are nuts. If I did do a detail I would do it at a facility and not in the parking lot in vegas where theres a ton of dust and the sun beeating down on the car.

 

Oh boy....that would have spoiled my day for sure. I'm sure the dealer felt bad but the damage was done.

 

I've been a big fan of the Griott's products (albeit unnecessarily pricey.) I’ve restored the paint on a number of my vehicles and have found that the use of a good 3”/6” random orbital and working up through their product line (from paint cleaner, polish, wax) to yield fantastic results. I make quarterly “updates” to the wax using an orbital and either a paste or stick wax (less coats needed), and their speed shine between washes.

Hell, I even steam clean my fender wells and wax them annually (sick I know, but it makes working on the pcar so much less messy.)

 

Well done!

 

Sick like Jesus.....I'm going to do this next weekend. Beautiful man!!!

How did you steam it. What sort of tool do you have for this project. I wonder if I could use Simple Green and some old fashion elbow grease.

 

I tried it a couple of ways - first with the steamer ( , about $100) only which took around 3 hours. The second time around I soaked everything with an engine degreaser (brake cleaner evaporated too quickly) and steamed everything off in a little over an hour (careful with the runoff though.)

Steam cleaners are clearly dangerous for those who are obsessively **** about cleaning.. I pretty much steam anything and everything that won't melt.

 

What size pads and what brand of pads do you guys with the flex like to use? I got a kit with 6.5" lake country ccs pads and it seems really big. Should I get the adapter and get smaller pads?

 

I'm going with the adaptor...not sure what pads. According to PHX 911 it sounds like Adams is one way to go with color specific pads and polishes. White car = use white pads and polishes. You may even want to buy the pad washer to complete the package. As far as product I like the Meguiars pro stuff but it's the only polish and wax I've ever used. I'm sure any pro level product will work.

 

If you have the Flex, a 6" pad with Velcro attachment is what you need.
As to the pad washer, and as much as I like spending money frivolously on car care, I didn't opt for that. Griots machine was fairly expensive ($289?), IIRC.
I have a utility sink in my garage, fill it with a few inches of really hot, soapy water (Dawn), put the pad face down for a good soak, then rinse it out. Knead it aggressively to get the polish or wax out and let dry leaning up vertically. Probably not quite as good as a formal pad washer, but works good enough for me.
I've had my set of pads well over a year, used them several times, and they still look new.

 

Just to clarify, Adams system of pads and polish colors don't have anything to do with the color of the car. The color of the pad and corresponding polish is according to "grit".
Orange is the most aggressive, and the orange pad is more "open", or "course", if you will. I've only used the orange pad/polish on deep scratches, and headlight lenses that are foggy.
The white pad/polish is for fine work like swirls, and the pad is less open. Unless the paint is really bad, or you have a few deep scratches in the clear coat, white pad/polish is all you need.
I'll try white first anyway to see how well it works, as you're taking off less of the clear coat with the finest polish, and you can always go over an area twice if needed.