Adams Car Care Products
 

I have been looking through this section for a couple of days now, I'm very interested and enjoy detailing my z to the point where its more then a weekly habit.

My question is about Adams products. I can see they are pretty popular on here so the opinion might be a little biased. How would you rate them compared to other brands on the market? Would they be right up at the top? I know obviously they are better then the over the counter stuff.

Thanks,

I've used quite a bit of their product and find it pretty good. I especially like the waterless wash.

Yeah, how does it compare to zaino or griot's?? i may be making a purchae from Adam's soon for the pc kit :)

The same if not better results.. with tremendously less effort..

and everything smells awesome to boot.. :D

EDIT: We have a sale kicking off on 6/1 on all Adam's products.. PM me for details..

I actually sent you or someone else from Stillen about some KW Variant 1 coilovers, spacers, and rear camber kits as well... maybe there's a deal to be had with the Adam's products as well??? :excited:

Definitely.. you have a PM

Most professional-level detailing products are very similar these days. It's more technique than product (as long as you stick with top quality stuff) that produces the results we all desire, so you definitely can't go wrong with the Adam's line!

Well, I have Zaino as we speak and have been using it on my cars (black cars) for the longest time. Easy to put on etc etc., but im seriously getting tired of doing it by hand all the time. I figure the d/a pc kit Adam's offers might be easier on my arm and faster to do!

I DID have a question regarding Adam's maintenance with the pc. How often can i safely use the pc and their products without harming the clearcoat? Or, do you use a different kit/product to maintain after you've used the pc and machine product line?

Thanks!

I've looked through the Adam's videos .... but didnt really find any maintenance products/techniques/schedules? There's a video for how to use the PC and the PC/machine products and then another video for the hand products, etc. Just unsure if you use either/or or both? I figure the pc (porter cable) can't be good for your clear coat if you use it all the time (even if it is just to add another layer of wax).

The biggest difference I've seen from Zaino to Adam's is similar results with less duplicate applications.

You might have 1 or 2 products depending on the level of care it needs.. where Zaino took off after 2, 3, or more coats of the same product to get the results (and is what they describe).

So there is far less by hand in the aspect of non-repetition..

If you can master the porter cable.. then it's a whole different world. What's nice is the detail clinics they offer (we do them too here at STILLEN) where you can see them in action using the products, and ask questions, tackle a spot on your own car, etc.

Unfortunately, I live way too far to go to one of those clinics! They do offer those video's though! But none that i've seen that specifically focuses on porter cable techniqe, although I do know enough to not polish corners/edges.

If I order those Adam's products from you, can you send me that free disc with all the tips?

Absolutely..

and if I'm not mistaken, they should all be available online.. but we do include DVD's.. no problem..

I can't speak to the products yet, however The 15% off deal Adams is running this weekend (ends today IIRC) was enough to put me over the edge. I ended up with one of their PC kits and some odd and ends.

The Adams videos on youtube are pretty good, however I found that Junkmans videos were a bit better. There is one that shows him more or less beating on his vette with the PC was what I needed to take the plunge, that... and I have the wife's car to experiment on before going at the Z.

YouTube - Junkman2000's Channel

Im thinking about taking the plunge and buying the PC

I really like using my Porter Cable. The wax application goes pretty quick. By using the softest pad on wax applications (not swirl removing stuff) there is minimal impact on the clear coat.

I guess that's what I wanted to hear. I imagine the PC will be alot faster applying and wiping down the residue than by hand... anddd get it on the vehicle alot more evenly.

I wonder if that machine finishing wax makes the paint look deeper the more coats you put on like how it works with Zaino? I know Adam's has that blue color revive product, and in the videos it says it'll make the paint look deeper, but it isnt a machine (pc) product.

For those who want to take the plunge, you should spend some time on a good detailing site to gain some knowledge first. I've been a member on Autopia for many many years, great place to learn everything you need to know. Another good site is Detailing bliss. The PC is a great starter machine and is very easy to use. You only need a PC for defect removal (correction work) not for wax or sealant application. There are so many products out there now that you just spray on and wipe off, thats way easier than using a PC. As far as abrading way your clear coat with the PC, it depends on what pad and compound/polish you are using. With a mild pad and polish the amount of clear that is removed is not measurable. I have customers that have been coming to me for years and I have done some major defect removal for them, and their paint still measures nearly the same as when they first started bringing me their cars. As a rule of thumb, 0.5 mills of clear can safely be removed from new paint. That my friends is a lot of clear to work with. Most polishing jobs remove only a fraction of that. If you are using a PC you don't need to worry about thinning your paint unless you fall asleep while using it ;).

Sounds like the PC is the way to go then. I'll practice on my other car before I attempt the Z and read up on techniques for the PC or watch more video on it. :)

I don't get into much discussion of "Adam's vs. Product XYZ" just for simple virtue of the fact is there are many great choices out there. We don't pretend to be the only choice for detailing products nor would we want to be.

Where we pride ourselves is in our commitment to customer service, ease of use, and results. Our line is specifically targeted at the guy who details his own car, this isn't a product line for a detail shop to carry, we don't sell concentrates, we generally don't sell bulk. This is weekend warrior type stuff.

That being said we're still the only company in the business that offers you a 110% money back guarantee... buy anything, try it out, if you don't like it for any reason we'll refund the purchase price, plus 10% and cover your shipping!! Ask any other company to do that and see what they say.

On top of that our customer service is top notch... read any number of owners forums and you'll see that time and time again people rave about the personal attention and the satisfaction at any cost mentality we take with our customers.

Add into that our products WORK. They do what they're supposed to, they do it well, they do it quickly, and we will show you the proper way to use them. If anything the biggest thing we 'sell' at Adam's is customer support and education. We'll help you in any way we can to help you figure out the process, pick the right products for you, and help you get to the results you want. In the end if you don't like our stuff you come up 10%... pretty much a zero risk proposition if you ask me!

That actually might be the thing that made my choice easier, the videos have been very helpful and the presences of you guys on this forum really shows you care about if the customer is satisfied or not.

Never tried Adam's polishes yet. I've had my go to polishes over the years which are tried and true but maybe one day I'll give them a try. Dylan, do you have a combo similar to a M105/M205?

I believe today is the last day of the sale!

Got their premium kit saved $80 dollars with the code. Good bye swirl marks!

Thanks for your order and please let us know if you need anything else!

Where do you enter the code for the 10% discount? I made an order, but I never saw a place to put it. I might be more dense than the normal Adam's customer however. :)

Check out this thread... I put up a screen cap to show where it is. For some reason certain people never think to scroll down. We're gonna move it up to prevent that from being an issue.

http://www.the370z.com/detailing-was...-discount.html

Doh! Thanks for the info.. I'll be sure to use it on Round 2. :tup:

If you placed it today I'm sure Mr. Dylan would be a cool guy and still give you the forum discount? No?

LOL... actually I was just gonna give him a credit in stillen parts :p

J/K... I am certainly willing to make up for the % missed on the order.... just give me a call 866-965-0400.

Dylan, how aggressive is the swirl and haze remover? It looks like it is an all in one polish. I assume it is not a compound and should not be used for major defect removal. Your thoughts?

Swirl and Haze is definitely not an all in one... as a matter of fact we recommend never finishing with it. It needs to be followed with our Fine Machine Polish if you're working with a machine or Revive if working by hand.

I wouldn't say its very aggressive... its not like a body shop level compound, but it will get out most average paint defects, light swirling, oxidation, etc. You can significantly up the 'cut' by going to our more aggressive yellow pad.

Its strong enough to remove wet sanding marks in the 2000-2500 grit range with the right technique.

Thanks Dylan, but thats not strong enough for what I need a lot of the time.

What are you working on that has damage worse than 2000-2500 grit sanding marks?

Some of my compounds remove 1200 grit sand marks, and that still requires a lot of work to remove deep marring especially when dealing with hard clears like Vetts. I just polished out a newly painted and wet sanded Vette the other day. It was wet sanded with Norton black ice 2500 grit and it polished out very easily actually with a medium pad and polish. A car with 2000 - 2500 sand marks is far easier to polish out than heavily marred paint. Deep marring runs deeper into the paint than 2000 grit. An average detail requires about 8 hours of work, 6 of which is machine compounding/polishing. If I were to use a polish that only removes 2000-2500 sand marks it would add hours to the process and more $$$ for the customer.

Ah... Ok... see.... I take an entirely different approach. Rather than compounding down stuff that can't be corrected at the 2000 grit level I'll spot sand.

Keep in mind our products are not "professional" products, they're geared more towards the 'do it yourself/weekend warrior' types. If you're buffing out full wet sand jobs we're definitely not the stuff for you.

Thanks for your input.

I have used Meguires for atleast 10 years now have loved it but every year they seem change their product lines and i felt like i was always playing catch up trying to figure out which would be the best combo to use.

My wife bought me a Porter Cable with an assortment of new buffing pads, and Adam's Swirl & Haze, FMP, Revive Polish, and Super Machine Wax for my birthday and I'll tell you this stuff is so much easier to use. My car has never been so easy to detail with when i used Meguires and it never had the shine it does now.

I can't wait to try out some of their other products. BTW if you have a black car Revive Polish is amazing on it.

So far i'm disappointed with Adams polishes. I ordered their deluxe kit last Tuesday and it finally shipped today. :shakes head: Maybe i will get it by the end of the week? Hopefully their products are better than their super slow shipping and handling :ugh2:

Sorry to have disappointed you Tom.

According to the order information you placed it on Tuesday 6/1 at 11:05pm... we are not a 24 hour operation so the order was technically received to begin processing on Wednesday after being closed for a busy holiday weekend.

The Premium Kit you ordered takes 2-3 business days to ship, as stated on the site, putting us at a cut off of Friday. I apologize it didn't make the truck that day and we are after-all shipping the kit to you FREE. The delay was due to the HUGE backlog of orders that came in on the 11th hour of our Memorial day sale.. many people waited to the very last moment to place their order so when we reopened for business there was a substantial backup waiting. We took in more orders in the last few hours of that sale than we did in the first few days... guess theres a lot of procrastinators out there LOL.

Again, I sincerely apologize... if there is anything I can do to make it up please let me know.

Hey! I ordered on June 1st too! But, didnt get the free shipping! Had to pay $40some odd dollars for shipping! And my ETA is end of this week!

I was thinking today I shoulda ordered more stuff :( ... specially after watching some more videos of that foaming gun and the two bucket wash system... oh well, maybe they'll have something like here in Edmonton.