BLOG (2014-2021)
FOLLOW ALONG WITH WHAT I GOT GOING ON
To express my genuine thanks to my supporters who have discovered and used my "RADGARAGE" discount on their Carzilla orders, I have arranged for the next 100 orders to include a free RAD GARAGE decal. I had these made up by my friends over at customdecalsyyc.com. In addition to a a free decal, the next 100 orders are atomically entered to win a random draw for a 3'x2' RAD GARAGE banner like the one I recently raffled off on Instagram. I sincerely want to thank all my viewers for their continued support of me and my favourite detailing supply company. Be sure to visit the Carzilla.ca website or visit the retail location if you are in the Calgary or surrounding area.
The addition of the channel drain and catch basin enables me to conduct proper washes whenever I feel the need. I felt the need last weekend: I have spent ten years developing my garage into a car care paradise. With the recent installation of a drainage system, I can now perform proper washes no matter the weather. In this video, I dedicate four hours divided up over a quiet Sunday evening and Monday morning spoiling my 2018 Audi SQ5 winter warwagon. Join me for a relaxing 20+ minutes as I demonstrate the steps I follow to return my trusty daily driver to pristine condition. I am fortunate to have made a connection with the team at Lithium Auto Care. I just received a surprise package in the mail containing a 32 oz bottle of their new Car Wash called, "Double Tap". Lithium claims the soap lubricates, moisturizes and hydrates while it cleans. I am hoping to try it out very soon on my own vehicle. I can't get over the cool packaging they use. Check out my gift pack including the US-theme banner.
I have to admit I have been pretty lazy over the last month or so with keeping the interior of my car clean and tidy. Winter is rough where I live and the interiors of cars get filthy quickly. I took a few hours this past weekend to tidy up the interior using a few products I have been meaning to try out. I have had Gyeon Leather Cleaner in my cabinet for a long time, but I think this marks the second occasion I have actually used it. I love it. I also had my first opportunity to give Lithium's "Inner Space" a genuine try. It was equally impressive. Strong cleaning power but also leaves a factory fresh finish on interior surfaces. The SQ5 was in dire need of attention and I will tackle the exterior in short order so stay tuned! 🧽 P R O D U C T L I S T
➤ Lithium Inner Space ➤ 1Z Einszett Plastic Deep Cleaner ➤ Gyeon Q2M Leather Cleaner ➤ Adam's Rubber Mat & Liner Cleaner I consider myself very fortunate because companies are starting to take notice of what I do and I have had a number of them reach out to me. Recently, the team at Lithium Auto Care sent me a promo package containing their yet-to-be-released interior cleaning spray called "Inner Space". I used it only briefly on the Misano Red RS5 and it was awesome. I look forward to playing with it very soon when I find the time to tackle my own car. I was shocked by how amazing the packaging and presentation was for the launch of this product. The personalized letter was a very class touch! I have to send my thanks to Josh, Bill and the rest of the team over there at Lithium.
I stopped in for a new wheel brush and left with two boxes of stuff. I can't thank Chris and his team at Carzilla enough for the support over the years. I picked up a few things while I was there a few weeks ago but he wouldn't let me leave without a few more goodies. I now have a comprehensive collection of TAC SYSTEM and Fireball products that I'm really looking forward to trying out once the "busy season" of teaching settles down a bit. I also picked up some polishes and compounds from Rupes and CarPro. I think I'm pretty set for the winter detailing season!
As my social media reach expands, I am finding more and more detailing companies are reaching out to me. It is gratifying to know my humble channel is now attracting the attention of established detailing product manufacturers from all over the world. One such company; Lithium Auto Care contacted me during the summer to see if I would be interested in trying out a few of their new products. Of course, I said, "Yes". Yesterday, a package arrived on my doorstep containing two of their "elixirs". I will be giving them a try on upcoming projects and I look forward to seeing how they perform. I must thank the team at Lithium for sending me these products for free and with no strings attached. For a guy who details for the fun of it, it really means a lot that companies would care enough to reach out to and send me complimentary samples of their products.
I can't resist a trip to Carzilla so whenever I have the time I like to drop in and see what new goodies they have to make my detailing life more convenient and rewarding. My latest haul includes some new Jescar polishes, Detail POPO 320GSM microfibre towels and other supplies. While there, Chris presented me with a little tool holder that fits on my bucket that was especially made for me by @ctarasco. It is a cool little innovation that I'm sure will make my wheel cleaning process even more convenient and effective. Reach out to him on Instagram if you would like one for yourself.
Towards the end of August, I had occasion to detail two amazing Audis. The first one is a very rare and special RS6 Avant and the other is a beautiful RS5 Coupe. Both are owned by guys I have come to know through my detailing escapades. The RS6 received a comprehensive maintenance wash while the RS5 got the full meal deal including a full paint correction and Ethos graphene coating. Both cars came out great and I am very proud of the videos I produced for each of them.
A YouTube viewer contacted me about putting my touch on his prized Golf R. I love these little rockets so I jumped at the opportunity. I performed a very thorough exterior detail and did my best to rid the paint of some tiny tar deposits. You'll have to watch the video to see how things turned out. It's a bit of a long video so I suggest grabbing a snack first! I am so pleased to offer Canadian followers a chance at one of three Gyeon prize packs valued between $200 and $50! Go to my Instagram post and check out the giveaway rules. I will be making the draw for three winners on Tuesday, July 28th. Good luck to those of you who enter.
I made the trek to the other side of city to pop in on Chris at Carzilla. The shop was buzzing and there were so many boxes ready to ship out. I'm so glad things are busy for him because his shop is my favorite place to visit. I picked up a few things: I spent the better portion of three days dialing in my brother-in-law's 2014 Audi S4. Initially, I planned on performing a pretty basic 4-6 hour interior/exterior detail with an "enhancement" polish, but the project just grew and grew until I had invested over 20 hours of my time. It was a chore, but it came out great. Here's the video: 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! A D A M ' S P O L I S H E S P R O D U C T L I S T
Mega Foam Shampoo Strip Wash All Purpose Cleaner Iron Remover Glass Cleaner Rubber Mat and Liner Cleaner Ceramic Boost Ceramic Paint Coating E Q U I P M E N T L I S T Quickjack BL-5000 SLX Portable Lift Ryobi Water Broom MTM PF22 Foam Cannon Gloves CarPro Merino Wool Wash Mitt MetroVac Master Blaster Car Dryer Detail POPO "Ocean" Microfiber Towel Adam's Polishes Detailing Stool IK Continuous Sprayer 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. If you are a Canadian detailing pro or enthusiast like me, and you're looking to expand your detailing product or equipment arsenal, be sure to apply my "RADGARAGE" discount code to your CARZILLA.CA order to receive a 5% discount! 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. Leno's Garage All Purpose Cleaner Highly Satisfying Gets the Job Done On the Fence Not a Fan 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". Leno's Garage Wheel Cleaner Highly Satisfying Gets the Job Done On the Fence Not a Fan 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. Hyde's Serum Rustopper Highly Satisfying Gets the Job Done On the Fence Not a Fan 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. Gyeon Q2M Foam Highly Satisfying Gets the Job Done On the Fence Not a Fan 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: 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: I combined footage from over two years of using foam washes in the garage. I think it makes for a therapeutic viewing experience. Enjoy: 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. One of the best ways I have to manage stress in my life is to clean my car. That's what I did yesterday: I added some graphics at the end of this video showcasing the various Adam's Polishes products I used in this maintenance wash. |
RAD GARAGE is my personal detailing theatre. I am a teacher who finds immense pleasure in completing deeply therapeutic, thorough and highly satisfying detailing projects in my residential garage. I have converted my suburban double car garage into a world class detailing environment and I enjoy caring for my own car and select cars belonging to others. The garage and the work I complete in it have allowed me to connect with other detailing enthusiasts from around the world.
I have teamed up with Teespring to offer viewers an opportunity to grab some RAD gear! Click here to see the current inventory of RAD merchandise available at my Teespring store!
Use "RAD10" to save yourself 10% until the end of March, 2021.
Carzilla is a local detailing store that caters to the North American community of professional and enthusiast detailers. I have been a longtime customer and I am fortunate to call the owner a friend. Besides stocking a vast quantity of top quality detailing products, the owner has supported various garage and detailing projects of mine over the years.
5% discount code
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