Paint shine
07-01-2014, 08:05 AM
#81
Why? in pictures your gloss looked as good as his?
Ceb, 100 can lights, holy hell that's bright! Are you sure your crop will still grow using LED?
I actually used to do home energy surveys for people for the power company...fun job.
Ceb, 100 can lights, holy hell that's bright! Are you sure your crop will still grow using LED?
I actually used to do home energy surveys for people for the power company...fun job.
07-01-2014, 08:29 AM
#82
I'd say that you could get the same results with nu-finish if you prepped the car similarly.
That takes a hefty investment of at least $300 just to get started, several full weekends of hard labor and lots of "why can't my shine look like theirs"?
You can get a decent finish using common car was products and a few hours of time but a great finish requires lots of trial and error.
I started to get serious about detailing when I bought my first modern Mercedes in the mid seventies (A 300SEL 6.3 - why did I ever sell it?) and I broke out the cleaning supplies and had a nice shiny car. Turtle Wax was great.
A buddy had a 68 Charger and it looked better than my 6.3. He was using one of those two handled rotary buffer things with a big terry cloth pad, so I had to get one of those but they weren't available in 220v and needed a big transformer so I just borrowed his.
Fast forward to the mid-eighties. I'm in the UK and I have no time to detail so I got one of PermaPlate solutions. Worked OK and gave an OK shine but peeled off fairly quickly.
Mid 90's I rotate to the US and finally get my $35 WalMart buffer. Wool is good, right? So a wool pad has to be really good. Nice and soft and....
...very abrasive.
Luckily I was driving a beater while my car was ordered. I had worked a deal with the dealership where I bought one of the beaters on their lot and they'd buy it back minus a couple of hundred when my car came in. Of course it had to be in the same shape so I had to hurry and fix what the pad screwed up - luckily it was only the roof of the car and that had already looked pretty iffy (think 10 year old Buick Regal of that era).
I got a crash course in pads and products (I'm now using 3M) and fixed the Buick. I took 5 years off that car with about 4 weekends of work. It would have been one had I not used a wool pad initially).
A few years later I dumped the WalMart special and got a PorterCable and started with different products.
The moral of the story? You won't get the results that Mike is getting regardless of the products you use until you've been doing that for several years.
07-01-2014, 08:45 AM
#83
Why? in pictures your gloss looked as good as his?
His finish looks great for somebody who just started. He'll have tiny incremental improvements that he won't even notice. One day he'll walk out and say "damn, that's a nice looking finish. It looks so much better than it did when new".
Ceb, 100 can lights, holy hell that's bright! Are you sure your crop will still grow using LED?
I think you are confusing me with robpp. I don't live in Colorado anymore.
I was surprised at the number of cans too, but the place is basically a duplex as we are moving my mom in, so two kitchens and so forth. Each bedroom has 4 cans, the bathrooms each have a couple, the hallways and so forth. Any hanging lamp will be purely decorative.
I actually used to do home energy surveys for people for the power company...fun job.
His finish looks great for somebody who just started. He'll have tiny incremental improvements that he won't even notice. One day he'll walk out and say "damn, that's a nice looking finish. It looks so much better than it did when new".
Ceb, 100 can lights, holy hell that's bright! Are you sure your crop will still grow using LED?
I think you are confusing me with robpp. I don't live in Colorado anymore.
I was surprised at the number of cans too, but the place is basically a duplex as we are moving my mom in, so two kitchens and so forth. Each bedroom has 4 cans, the bathrooms each have a couple, the hallways and so forth. Any hanging lamp will be purely decorative.
I actually used to do home energy surveys for people for the power company...fun job.
07-01-2014, 08:47 AM
#85
Insulation and not abusing the AC/Heat was the number one...running pool pumps and having the water heater set low were also part of it...Lighting, if you do the math on how many kilowatts you're using when you hit a switch and 10 pot lights at 60 watts each come on and get left on for 4 hours...it adds up, not to mention the heat they generate...usually over 200 degrees!
You know what you're doing though...
What insulation did you go with? Cellulose or foam would be my choice...thinnest amount with the highest R value.
You know what you're doing though...
What insulation did you go with? Cellulose or foam would be my choice...thinnest amount with the highest R value.
07-01-2014, 09:35 AM
#86
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rockstar143 (07-01-2014)
07-01-2014, 10:34 AM
#87
Insulation and not abusing the AC/Heat was the number one...running pool pumps and having the water heater set low were also part of it...Lighting, if you do the math on how many kilowatts you're using when you hit a switch and 10 pot lights at 60 watts each come on and get left on for 4 hours...it adds up, not to mention the heat they generate...usually over 200 degrees!
You know what you're doing though...
What insulation did you go with? Cellulose or foam would be my choice...thinnest amount with the highest R value.
You know what you're doing though...
What insulation did you go with? Cellulose or foam would be my choice...thinnest amount with the highest R value.
I knew little about any of this when we started and by now I'm starting to feel like my own general contractor.
I always was pretty good about turning lights off so I figure that with 12watt LEDs in the cans I should be good.
Equally interesting is the geothermal where a steady temp is cheaper than traditional HVAC systems and the geo program on the NEST controller should help as well.
07-01-2014, 11:21 AM
#88
It took about 6 hours but I had a helper and I find it therapeutic and an excuse to be outside and drink beer.
When it starts to become a "job" I will likely go to autopia.org and search the "click and brag" section for a local detailer (enter your town or nearby towns in your search bar).
I'm in Long Island and it so happens there's a mobile detailing guy that does some pretty nice looking work at what I would consider to be reasonable prices (based on a combo of his "click and brag" detailing posts on autopia.org and his own website.
Seriously - the shine you have on your car looks fine to me. Better than 98% of what you see on the road. The new polymer sealants are pretty amazing and while I have no experience with Nufinish it's probably not terribly different from klasse or collinite 845.
When it starts to become a "job" I will likely go to autopia.org and search the "click and brag" section for a local detailer (enter your town or nearby towns in your search bar).
I'm in Long Island and it so happens there's a mobile detailing guy that does some pretty nice looking work at what I would consider to be reasonable prices (based on a combo of his "click and brag" detailing posts on autopia.org and his own website.
Seriously - the shine you have on your car looks fine to me. Better than 98% of what you see on the road. The new polymer sealants are pretty amazing and while I have no experience with Nufinish it's probably not terribly different from klasse or collinite 845.
07-01-2014, 02:32 PM
#89
lots of experience...love reading your guys' posts.
what do you guys do for a living...know so much..spend so much..haha.
When I was kid, I always used to tell myself, I wish I could just goto high end neighborhoods and just survey what people do for a living....
what do you guys do for a living...know so much..spend so much..haha.
When I was kid, I always used to tell myself, I wish I could just goto high end neighborhoods and just survey what people do for a living....
07-01-2014, 02:34 PM
#90
Yes sir...we don't see geo too much here since aquafer and limestone like 3 inches below the surface. 
Foam is awesome...yeah...people don't realize that if you don't feed that stale air back to the AC, even if you pump cold air in the room you'll just end up with clammy cold and mildew on the walls. Same with going 5 ton on a 1200 square foot house. Bigger isn't always better!
Foam is awesome...yeah...people don't realize that if you don't feed that stale air back to the AC, even if you pump cold air in the room you'll just end up with clammy cold and mildew on the walls. Same with going 5 ton on a 1200 square foot house. Bigger isn't always better!
07-01-2014, 03:39 PM
#91
Yes sir...we don't see geo too much here since aquafer and limestone like 3 inches below the surface.
Foam is awesome...yeah...people don't realize that if you don't feed that stale air back to the AC, even if you pump cold air in the room you'll just end up with clammy cold and mildew on the walls. Same with going 5 ton on a 1200 square foot house. Bigger isn't always better!
Foam is awesome...yeah...people don't realize that if you don't feed that stale air back to the AC, even if you pump cold air in the room you'll just end up with clammy cold and mildew on the walls. Same with going 5 ton on a 1200 square foot house. Bigger isn't always better!
07-01-2014, 08:23 PM
#92
This is one of the most awesome looking finishes I've seen so far. Is it really your prep or camera trick? If so I'd like to know what camera and settings / software you used. Man, that's a really cool car.Many of you talk about "glaze". Is that a paint sealant or wax you are referring to or is that a different product. Thanks.
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rockstar143 (07-06-2014)
07-02-2014, 05:39 AM
#93
This is one of the most awesome looking finishes I've seen so far. Is it really your prep or camera trick? If so I'd like to know what camera and settings / software you used. Man, that's a really cool car.Many of you talk about "glaze". Is that a paint sealant or wax you are referring to or is that a different product. Thanks.
It is a bit of both.
You'll remember how I keep harping on understanding how the brain processes light - and this is one of those examples.
In simplified terms
When you look at a scratch or swirl under magnification, you'll note that it looks like the grand canyon, with sharp edges and craggy valleys. You get rid of them in one of two ways. You either polish off the sharp edges (thereby reducing the light scatter caused by the sharp edges) or you fill them in.
Glaze is just that - it fills in all those nooks and crannies and produces a nice smooth finish that doesn't scatter light - until it wears off. Glaze is a temporary quick fix which is why dealers love it.
There is actually a third way of hiding scratches and that is by using diffused light. A clean car with swirl marks that are visible in bright sunlight will have the swirl marks disappear as the lighting get softer.
In this particular case, it is a combination of the two. The car is prepped properly (as evidenced by the sharp reflections) and minor imperfections are overlooked because of the lighting.
The camera is really immaterial in this case.
Last edited by ceb; 07-02-2014 at 05:42 AM.
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rockstar143 (07-06-2014)
07-06-2014, 08:10 PM
#94
OG
Just detailed mine today
https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/10-000-mile-detail-2014-rdx-913902/
10,000 miles and one year old, i think it looks better than it did from Stealership
https://acurazine.com/forums/wash-wax-23/10-000-mile-detail-2014-rdx-913902/
10,000 miles and one year old, i think it looks better than it did from Stealership
07-06-2014, 08:14 PM
#95
This is one of the most awesome looking finishes I've seen so far. Is it really your prep or camera trick? If so I'd like to know what camera and settings / software you used. Man, that's a really cool car.Many of you talk about "glaze". Is that a paint sealant or wax you are referring to or is that a different product. Thanks.
Yes....
It is a bit of both.
You'll remember how I keep harping on understanding how the brain processes light - and this is one of those examples.
In simplified terms
When you look at a scratch or swirl under magnification, you'll note that it looks like the grand canyon, with sharp edges and craggy valleys. You get rid of them in one of two ways. You either polish off the sharp edges (thereby reducing the light scatter caused by the sharp edges) or you fill them in.
Glaze is just that - it fills in all those nooks and crannies and produces a nice smooth finish that doesn't scatter light - until it wears off. Glaze is a temporary quick fix which is why dealers love it.
There is actually a third way of hiding scratches and that is by using diffused light. A clean car with swirl marks that are visible in bright sunlight will have the swirl marks disappear as the lighting get softer.
In this particular case, it is a combination of the two. The car is prepped properly (as evidenced by the sharp reflections) and minor imperfections are overlooked because of the lighting.
The camera is really immaterial in this case.
It is a bit of both.
You'll remember how I keep harping on understanding how the brain processes light - and this is one of those examples.
In simplified terms
When you look at a scratch or swirl under magnification, you'll note that it looks like the grand canyon, with sharp edges and craggy valleys. You get rid of them in one of two ways. You either polish off the sharp edges (thereby reducing the light scatter caused by the sharp edges) or you fill them in.
Glaze is just that - it fills in all those nooks and crannies and produces a nice smooth finish that doesn't scatter light - until it wears off. Glaze is a temporary quick fix which is why dealers love it.
There is actually a third way of hiding scratches and that is by using diffused light. A clean car with swirl marks that are visible in bright sunlight will have the swirl marks disappear as the lighting get softer.
In this particular case, it is a combination of the two. The car is prepped properly (as evidenced by the sharp reflections) and minor imperfections are overlooked because of the lighting.
The camera is really immaterial in this case.
how dare you reveal my secrets!?
He's right though...it's mostly smoke and mirrors. Know something funny, ceb, last meet, after doing a few coats of the wolfgang deep paint gloss (polymer, not glaze) I had a few people ask me if I'd repainted the car after the last meet they saw me at...this was in full sun...I looked back at it and thought...wow, it does look pretty good.
Either way, you're right...the wax is hiding it and the camera trickery is helping too.
07-07-2014, 08:37 AM
#96
In which case I clearly don't know what the fuck I'm talking about!
No, I think you're right about FL not being a good place for geo (who really needs it there?) but it is odd that both companies are there.
I am still learning most settings, man...but basically...it's a Nikon D7000 and then I play with it in Lightroom after. Thank you though!
how dare you reveal my secrets!?
He's right though...it's mostly smoke and mirrors. Know something funny, ceb, last meet, after doing a few coats of the wolfgang deep paint gloss (polymer, not glaze) I had a few people ask me if I'd repainted the car after the last meet they saw me at...this was in full sun...I looked back at it and thought...wow, it does look pretty good.
Either way, you're right...the wax is hiding it and the camera trickery is helping too.
No, I think you're right about FL not being a good place for geo (who really needs it there?) but it is odd that both companies are there.
I am still learning most settings, man...but basically...it's a Nikon D7000 and then I play with it in Lightroom after. Thank you though!
how dare you reveal my secrets!?
He's right though...it's mostly smoke and mirrors. Know something funny, ceb, last meet, after doing a few coats of the wolfgang deep paint gloss (polymer, not glaze) I had a few people ask me if I'd repainted the car after the last meet they saw me at...this was in full sun...I looked back at it and thought...wow, it does look pretty good.
Either way, you're right...the wax is hiding it and the camera trickery is helping too.
Photography and cars have always been my passion and (back when I was at the university) I taught two intro photography courses - basics of lighting and B&W darkroom (yeah, this dates me) where we had to concentrate on proper lighting because it wasn't as easy as firing up Lightroom to fix mistakes.
07-07-2014, 08:45 AM
#97
Don't worry, although I'm slightly less old than you, I had photography with real darkrooms in high school too. Great place to make out and feel bewbs.
with a google source, found this...
15 Sep 2008 09:37 AM
It can be done in Florida. The economics are weaker here - much of the rest of the country has a long and expensive heating season during which geo can really shine. Our heating season is overshadowed by our cooling season - deep ground temps run 70-75. Using closed loop it is difficult to get entering water temps much below ambient air temps, so from an efficiency point of view it is tough to compete with good air source equipment.
Geo has a niche in high end systems as well as ocean / beach front where salt air eats up outdoor equipment.
with a google source, found this...
15 Sep 2008 09:37 AM
It can be done in Florida. The economics are weaker here - much of the rest of the country has a long and expensive heating season during which geo can really shine. Our heating season is overshadowed by our cooling season - deep ground temps run 70-75. Using closed loop it is difficult to get entering water temps much below ambient air temps, so from an efficiency point of view it is tough to compete with good air source equipment.
Geo has a niche in high end systems as well as ocean / beach front where salt air eats up outdoor equipment.
07-07-2014, 08:58 AM
#98
Don't worry, although I'm slightly less old than you, I had photography with real darkrooms in high school too. Great place to make out and feel bewbs.
By accident of course...
with a google source, found this...
15 Sep 2008 09:37 AM
It can be done in Florida. The economics are weaker here - much of the rest of the country has a long and expensive heating season during which geo can really shine. Our heating season is overshadowed by our cooling season - deep ground temps run 70-75. Using closed loop it is difficult to get entering water temps much below ambient air temps, so from an efficiency point of view it is tough to compete with good air source equipment.
Geo has a niche in high end systems as well as ocean / beach front where salt air eats up outdoor equipment.
By accident of course...
with a google source, found this...
15 Sep 2008 09:37 AM
It can be done in Florida. The economics are weaker here - much of the rest of the country has a long and expensive heating season during which geo can really shine. Our heating season is overshadowed by our cooling season - deep ground temps run 70-75. Using closed loop it is difficult to get entering water temps much below ambient air temps, so from an efficiency point of view it is tough to compete with good air source equipment.
Geo has a niche in high end systems as well as ocean / beach front where salt air eats up outdoor equipment.
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