I admit I am cheap when it comes to pressure washers. I'm on my third or fourth portable big box brand electric pressure washer. Currently, I am using a Kobalt pressure washer I picked up at Lowe's about three years ago. It gets the job done but it doesn't enhance the detailing process in the way the majority of my tools do. I have been eyeing a more professional setup and my research leads me to the Comet Static 1700. It would be awesome to put a system together that is mounted to my wall and remains hooked up to the water system so I don't have to set up the portable unit every time I want to do some washing. If you are interested, you can see the package I am saving up for here.

As an affiliate member of the Obsessed Garage community, I encourage you to click here to learn more about all the pressure washer systems that have been created by Matt and his team at Obsessed Garage.

I am so glad the weather has turned Spring-like. Not because I want to tiptoe through the tulips, but because I want to finally give my SQ5 the spring cleaning it so richly deserves. The outside and inside are immaculate, but the undercarriage and wheel wells are still coated with a thick layer of winter muck. I spent the better part of two days giving the neglected regions of my car some attention. With the QuickJack, I was able to pull the wheels off and perform over twelve hours of care to the car with it safely perched in the air. This makes getting to the undercarriage and wheel wells incredibly easy and satisfying. I put a lot of work into capturing the art of this process and I hope you will find the video as satisfying as I do. I will include links to most of the products and tools I used for this project below. Happy spring everyone! 

I have a lot of microfiber towels. Too many to be honest. So, today I tackled the big job of paring my collection down. I did this to streamline and bring consistency to my collection, but also to make room for almost 80 new towels. I made a big purchase of Detail POPO towels from Carzilla on the recommendation of someone who I respect. I think these new towels will breath life into my towel collection and come in very handy as summer approaches. Here's a video of the process along with a list of the specific towels I picked up. 

With the isolation comes the need to tidy. Here's a look at the tidiest garage in Western Canada. 

Hopefully, you had an opportunity to view my most recent YouTube upload titled, "Friday Night Wash" in which I busted out some products I hadn't used in a while. I thought I would share my impressions of these products and I welcome your input. I'll go in the order the products were used and remember that these were products I kept after purging my collection, so they were already high on my list. 

I only have Adam's rubber cleaning sprays, so when I went hunting for an alternative, the pickings were slim. I used the APC by Leno's and I don't think it is an ideal option for addressing tires, but it got the job done. I prefer more lather from my rubber cleaners and the Leno's just didn't provide the satisfying suds I was after. I see Leno's now offers a dedicated "Rubber and Whitewall Cleaner". 

I am a fan of this wheel cleaner. It has a decent amount of bite needed to break down the brake dust and other aggressive road grime that comes with winter driving. It contains the chemicals that turn iron deposits purple which I find satisfying. It lathers well once activated by the water in the tire brush and always leaves my wheels clean, and it didn't disappoint this time. 

The name of this product along with the bottle's appearance reminds me of the products hawked by snake oil salesman in the olden days. It touts itself as a preventative remedy for rusty rotors that occur during the wash process. I sprayed the "serum" on the rotors at the conclusion of the wheel cleaning process. To say this product "stopped" the rusting would be disingenuous. I'd rather drive the car back and forth a couple of times and dust of the rusty fallout than waste my time and money with this product. 

This was a lovely product to work with. It isn't the thickest foam I have ever had the pleasure of using, but it had strong cling and seemed to have the power necessary to lift the dirty layer of grime coating my car. Pressure washing the foam off the paint left the finish virtually clean. I think I could have probably ended the wash at this stage, but I always finish with a traditional bucket wash. I highly recommend Q2M foam for those that like the foam process. 

In an effort to mix things up a bit, I preformed a very thorough exterior detail of my SQ5 using some products I haven't used in a very long time. I dug deep into the cabinets and pulled out some great stuff. Here' the video: 

The weather conspired to keep me indoors all weekend, and I had nothing to detail or organize. So, I pulled out a few external hard drives and began reviewing photos of my garage spanning all the way back to when our home was under construction. I put a video together that demonstrates the evolutionary process that occurred in order for RAD Garage to become what it has become. Behold: 

Shaun, is a friend of mine that I met through the garage/detailing world. For years, I have been encouraging him to share more of his garage and process with the world, because he is an impeccable detailer and master organizer. I was so pleased to see his first ever video go live tonight. I enjoyed watching the man in action, and I trust you will too. Check it out! 

I can pretty much guarantee no car in this city received the level of pampering my car enjoyed over the past two weeks. The engine compartment and undercarriage notwithstanding, the rest of the car is absolutely pristine. Here's so pics of her current condition. 

On the final Saturday of my 2-week Spring Break, I took a few hours to address the interior of my SQ5. It wasn't filthy by any means since it hasn't been seeing much use as of late, but it needed a little refresh.

In this video, I use the Interior Scrubbing Mitt from Adam's and it does a fantastic job of refreshing the leather on my seats and steering wheel. 

​Here's the video: 

A viewer of my videos, Ryan reached out to me the other day to let me know that my name came up during a video/podcast hosted by Matt Moreman over at Obsessed Garage. Matt and I have known each other since the early days on the garagejournal.com forums. Since those early days, Matt has gone on to build himself an empire called "Obsessed Garage". He's a heavy hitter in the detailing world so to have him speak so highly of me on his channel was definitely encouraging and inspiring.

I've embedded the YouTube video below and timestamped it to the part of the video where Matt offers me some encouragement and advice to "chase it harder". It meant a lot coming from him. 

For years, I have been scouring the deep dark reaches of the Internet trying to source the kind of music that enhances the detailing experience for me. Recently, I have been hit with a spat of "third party match" claims on YouTube so I decided enough is enough. I reached out to the two artists that I have long admired the most. I am happy to report that they both agreed to allow the usage of their music in RAD Garage videos. You can look forward to the musical talents of Ambient Light and Aurora B. Polaris being featured in upcoming video projects. I will post links to the various platforms you can use to hear the music from each of these two incredibly talented artists. 

I combined footage from over two years of using foam washes in the garage. I think it makes for a therapeutic viewing experience. Enjoy: 

Due to some dubious "third party match" claims on Youtube, I decided to take down the original version of my Allroad project and rearrange it. The music I originally added was marketed as "copyright free", but the artists have since gone ahead and copyrighted the material leaving me in a bind. The never version is cleaner, crisper and features the sounds of Silencyde who is an amazing copyright-free producer. I hope you will take minute to revisit this reworked version of one of my all-time favorite projects. 

My two-week spring break is quickly winding down and the weather did everything it possibly could to add to the misery brought about by the Covid-19 crisis. To say I'm not impressed is an understatement. I really should be used to it by now, but I'm not. I parked the car outside on the driveway for an hour so my son could work on his stick handling, and this is what I returned to. I title this photograph, "Isolation". I hope the weather is treating you better wherever you are. 

I've posted four episodes of my new series called, "Wash & Chat". It's a fun way to connect with viewers. I will still produce artsy videos with chill music, but this is another way for me to enjoy sharing my garage and the projects I complete with viewers. Feel free to check them out when you have the time. I will warn you, they are around the thirty-minute mark in length. 

I have been upping my game in the A/V department with a few new purchases. Recently, I purchased a Song A6100 camera along with a few little toys including a motorized dolly. Here's a look at my current equipment that I use for videos. I am contemplating a long slider, but haven't pulled the trigger yet because the dolly seems to accomplish most of what a slider can.