BLOG (2014-2021)
FOLLOW ALONG WITH WHAT I GOT GOING ON
I am so happy to be introducing a new pressure washer system into the garage. I will be sharing the full story behind my AR630TSS acquisition in a forthcoming video, but I had to figure out how I was going to store it in the garage. I decided to position it in the dead centre of the garage on the house wall. Here, it will allow easy and convenient access to all corners of the garage. I sourced a 16"x24" John Boos & Company stainless steel shelf. This is a robust shelf that is specifically made for commercial kitchens so I felt it was the perfect choice to support the near-60lb AR unit. I removed the lower of my two Craftsman metal pegboard panels and affixed a 1" backer plate of wood to the wall using nails, screws and construction adhesive. This slab of wood isn't going anywhere. I used 3" wood screws to attach the shelf supports to the wall. I painted the panel with my darkest colour, "Film Noir". I am currently waiting on the MTM hose reel that will be positioned directly under the shelf. More updates coming soon!
An extended Family Day weekend presented an opportunity for me to do some serious organizing in the garage. The garage was already highly organized, but with the spare time I set my sights on each and every drawer and cabinet in the space. Each of them is now completely and utterly dialled in. Here's some pics demonstrating just how organized I have this place at the moment. The trick will now be maintaining it to this level. There's a few significant changes to the product displays coming up so stay tuned.
The team at QuickJack recently released a cool new set of black storage hooks. I reached out to them to see what it would take to procure a set of my own, and they just put a set in the mail. These will replace the steel versions I currently have. I am sending the old ones to a friend in Ottawa. The team at QuickJack has been absolutely awesome to me over the years. Be sure to check out my QuickJack page here.
I've always liked having my polishers stored above my main work bench, but I've never been in love with the look of it. Recently, I took advantage of a great deal at Auto Obsessed, and I picked up three of the Rupes polisher hangers. I revamped a portion of the wall to the right of my main work bench and mounted the three holders to the wall. I have to admit, I'm not entirely sure this gave me the result I was after. The holders are made of light plastic and don't have the quality feel or appearance I was hoping for. I don't think they will be around forever.
I am constantly making minor tweaks to the organization of my garage. Here are some recent photos that illustrate how and where I store my tools, products and equipment that enhance the efficiency of my garage.
By far, the best part of this garage hobby is having the opportunity to connect with people from all over the world. I spend a lot of time responding to comments and questions on YouTube as well as carrying on behind-the-scenes conversations via Instagram and email.
Recently, a viewer from Belgium reached out to me to share some photos of his garage space. Geoffrey admits many design and organizational elements of his Belgian garage were inspired by my garage and the similarities in layout, organization and style are clearly apparent. Even more humbling is the fact that Geoffrey attributes the creation of his detailing business to watching my YouTube detailing videos! Learning what I have done with my standard suburban garage in Calgary has inspired a fellow detailing enthusiast living 7000 kilometers away is just remarkable. You can check out Geoffrey's "Masters of Shine" website here. I am sure you will agree he has created a top notch site. I wish him all the best as he chases his dream and I truly appreciate him taking the time to share his story with me. I have posted a gallery of images showcasing the evolution of Geoffrey's professional detailing theatre. As you pursue the gallery, I am sure you will identify a number of common features of our two garages. 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! 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: 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. It's an ongoing battle keeping the garage clean, but I enjoy the process. I was able to do a full wash of the floor yesterday and then my son and I filmed a guided tour video. Check them out: My buddies at QuickJack sent me these cool wall hangers recently. I used to store my QJ frame units horizontally under my Thule roof box, but now I have them hanging vertically on the opposite side of that big wall. I took the opportunity to repaint a large portion of the wall and install some shelves I had in the basement. Things worked out great. Here's a video as well as some photos showing the progress and final result. I finally mounted my summer wheels. This is an annual process that usually happens in early to mid-May, but this year I ended up putting it off to June for the first time ever. My Quickjack makes the process quick and easy, but I inevitably spend hours detailing the winter wheels which involves prying each and every stone out of the treads. It is a painstaking process that leaves me with blisters every year, but it simply must be done.
Here's a project I have been anticipating for a long time and finally got around to tackling. I ordered two slabs of Kaizen foam made by Fastway. I don't have an extensive collection of exotic tools, but the tools I have are now super organized. Here's a breakdown of the three drawers I customized using this innovative and easy-to-work-with layered foam. Drawer one This is the big drawer in my 56" Craftsman rolling chest. There is an awkward channel that runs along the middle of the base to strengthens the structure, so I was able to carve out a niche so the slab of foam sits flush on the base of the shelf. I burrowed out cavities for all my main tools. Because Kaizen comes in 48" lengths, I had to add a portion on the left side to fill the entire space. It came out great. Drawer two This drawer houses my collection of drivers. The most fun part of this project is laying out your tools in a pattern prior to tracing. I am looking forward to having much more organized tool drawers now. Drawer three This drawer houses a variety of useful tools including my sockets. This gallery illustrates the process you use to trace, cut, and burrow out the cavities for each of the tools. I found the entire process very satisfying and the results are highly pleasing.
I'm excited to be featured on the second in a series of videos produced by YouTube sensation, Pan the Organizer! His "Pan & the Organizers" series features viewers touring people through their detailing themed garage spaces. I am enjoying reading through the comments left by Pan's viewers and feel very proud that people seem to dig what I have created. The best part of being featured on Pan's channel is the amount of feedback from his viewers. I will admit to reading each and every comment and I am so impressed with the amount of positive feedback my garage has received. Here's a sampling. Click image to enlarge.
Our friend came by last weekend to photograph my garage. Heather is super talented and I am very pleased with the final results of her work. Here's a little gallery highlighting her talent and the beauty of my place! Last weekend, a good friend came by to snap some photographs. She is quite talented so I am very eager to see how they turned out. She sent a few teaser pics and they look great. I even convinced my family to pose for a few. My plan is to use her shots to update my website. Since I had the garage tidied up, I did a new tour video because the last tour video is a couple of years old and things have changed a bit since then.
I am happy to announce an exciting partnership with Adam's Polishes. I am amassing a full arsenal of Adam's products and have already been putting them to the test. I am loving their performance so far, and I really love the way they look on display in my garage. I can see why this company has such a strong and dedicated following. The products are top notch and the marketing team really knows what it is doing in terms of cooking up excitement. Here's a collection of photos that represent the current state of my garage. No major changes, just little tweaks here and there. I'm pretty much satisfied with how I have things laid out. Time to just use and enjoy it.
For years, I contemplated the purchase of a roof box for my car. I resisted the urge to purchase one because the need wasn't strong since our family of three doesn't haul huge amounts of cargo. But, now that my son is getting bigger and we are traveling to various hockey tournaments, I decided to splurge. I picked up a Thule Convoy box at Canadian Tire back in November. I removed the crooked Thule decals and applied some "Vorsprung Durch Technik" decals down the side and a along Quattro gecko on the back. I am considering having a friend do a full vinyl wrap, but all in good time. I am enjoying the appearance and functionality of my new roof jewelry. Storing a big roof box had always been a concern of mine. I purchased some wall mounts from Rhino Rack and they are perfect. I had to do some re-engineering of the wall, but I am happy with how things turned out.
I was tired of having my polisher arsenal stored away and out of sight, so I mounted them on the Craftsman pegboard above my workbench. I want to add one more polisher to my collection, but that will have to wait until Father's Day. I also moved my pad collection from my 56" Craftsman to two of the drawers beneath my workbench. Here's a few pics:
A recent spat of mild weather enabled me to do a thorough spring clean of the garage. The floor wasn't too bad, but a lot of grime and debris was lurking in the vents of the Free Flow tiles and it was time to get rid of it. The entire process took a few hours. I put a video together that demonstrates each step of the process. Enjoy. It is amazing how long it takes to prepare four wheels for storage. The entire process of putting my third wheel setup right was an onerous one, but they look great. I made a video that highlights the various stages of the process. I hope you enjoy. Since purchasing my BL-5000SLX QuickJack lift, I have been putting it to the test quite regularly. I have taken the wheels off a number of times to gain access to the wheel wells and I have been able to perform some touch ups on the paint around the rotor hats. It has been a helpful tool as well as a cool one. My friend, Geoff popped by a little while ago with his camera gear to snap some shots of the QuickJack in action and here's a little slideshow that demonstrates how it has helped me raise my detailing game. The photos give you an idea of how I have the system set up. Like I have said before, it works great for my needs and it is a purchase I am very happy with. I recently removed a shelf I was using to store jack stands. I relocated the shelves to the top of my tire racks. I plan on adding a raised aluminum "Trek" sign to this wall space. Here's a few shots that illustrate the evolution of this part of the garage. |
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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