CHEMICAL GUYS

[07TrailyLS]

hey guys. Before spending 100 dollars from the chemical guys website, I was curious as to wether any of you use their products. Specifically interior shampoo and the 90.00 foam gun and the snow foam they offer for it. They claim both these products are god like. Especially the “all natural” carpet shampoo. I have the light grey cloth interior that 3 little ones and a wife sit in every day. It’s Getting pretty damn destroyed (lol) and I’m hoping to bring it back to former glory. No rips or tears just tons of little red stains on everything. My TB is still in excellent shape for a 2007 with little to no rust. Exceptions to that are bubbles around the inside rear doors just under the door trim. And the bottom inside lip of my lift gate. None on any body panels of the truck. I’m doing everything I can to hold back the road salt damage for the next few years. Thanks for the read. Hope someone has real world experience with this stuff.

 

[littleblazer]

I believe my cousin used the foam cannon. Not bad if I remember correctly. Only one I have experience with is the one called black light. It's a wax. That covered up every single swirl mark on the paint on the vette and made the metallic flake pinstripe pop in the sun. Looked as good as when it was done professionally 10 years ago. Stuff is expensive but the little I've seen does work. I think the foam cannon is for ease of use tbh. Doesn't do a better job in my opinion anyway. Then again I wash all my cars with zip wax so... I'll let others chime in.

 

[Reprise]

I haven't used their products, but I did look them up after reading your post.

IMHO, their prices aren't warranted. I would just get a can or two of auto carpet cleaner to start with, especially on OEM rat fur. If that doesn't work well enough, you can always come back for this again.

Two reasons to spring for this system that I can think of, given your situation...
- You mentioned 'all natural shampoo, etc. If your little ones suffer from allergies, etc. - then you do what you think is best for them, and don't worry about our opinions.

- A far lesser concern is that their products appear to be 30% off due to black Friday.

If you do the shampoo, take a hair dryer or heat gun (on LOW) and dry the carpet well; the temps are colder now, and it will take longer for the carpet to dry.

And finally, it occurred to me just now...for $90 & up, you could probably get it professionally done - that's an option (they'll have better cleaners than you can get, as well.)

 

[mrrsm]

This link offers GM OEM replacement Seat Covers that start around $180.00 per Front or Back that might be worth getting in the Basic Sets if all of that cleaning expense begins to pile up and still leaves them badly worn in the end:

http://www.gtcovers.com/seat-covers/c6850-2007-Chevrolet-Trailblazer-seat-covers.html

 

[07TrailyLS]

Thanks guys. Kids got no allergies. I was just trying to state that they made a big deal that their carpet shampoo was all natural haha. After hearing how well that black light works though I’ll also be investing in that. I’ve got a fair bit of swirl marks to take care of as well. If I just get the interior shampoo and some wax and stuff I’ll only be in about 50 dollars. I may stay away from the 90 dollar spray cannon as of right now and just try the polishing and cleaning products. Thanks boys

 

[hockeyman]

I actually have a foam blaster from chemical guys. Works okay, but the foam gun I bought at HarborFreight does the same exact thing and is much cheaper. I got the one from CG from a different website, when I purchased a collection of detailing sealants/wax's and a porter cable buffer. The guy threw in the CG foam blaster into the mix, too.

The claim is that the heavy layer of foam loosens up dirt on the surface, as you're working your way to each panel with the wash mitt. Some even claim that you do not need a wash mitt when using a foam cannon or foam blaster, but I think otherwise. I personally believe that spraying the whole body of the vehicle with water does just as good as a soap gun, then I go over each panel with a hefty amount of soap and gently wipe the dirt away, thus eliminating the need for a foam gun altogether. Many will disagree though and treat the surface of their vehicles like they were wiping down fine porcelain! Not me. Rock chips, small scratches, dings, etc. are a part of any daily driver's exterior surface and it's very difficult to avoid them.

I will spend a ton of money on claybars, car wax's and sealants, but not for the general car washing products. Basic car soap and a wash mitt. That's all I use to get the surface clean. Tar and road-paint splatter are another subject and dealt with using different products, but that's a whole other story.

 

[littleblazer]

Thanks guys. Kids got no allergies. I was just trying to state that they made a big deal that their carpet shampoo was all natural haha. After hearing how well that black light works though I’ll also be investing in that. I’ve got a fair bit of swirl marks to take care of as well. If I just get the interior shampoo and some wax and stuff I’ll only be in about 50 dollars. I may stay away from the 90 dollar spray cannon as of right now and just try the polishing and cleaning products. Thanks boys

The paint on the vette is weird though. The black light really only seems to do well on dark colors I've heard. I also hit it on top with mothers carnuba. The mothers did a decent enough job by itself. The problem with the vette is the clear is paper thin. Any compound would burn to the base coat at this point. Also I did the black light in July and it needs it again. The car is garage kept too. I don't know how it would work on a daily. They have different products for that. If you got on top of the car you could see it. But at 5 feet in direct sunlight it looked great. My thing is even though it's expensive it didn't take much to do it. Like my cousin bought it and did his whole car and I did mine and we used less than a quarter. The cars are a third gen firebird and the c4 vette. It's ultimately your money.

 

[hockeyman]

The problem with the vette is the clear is paper thin. Any compound would burn to the base coat at this point.

Is it an aftermarket paint job, or factory?

Most clearcoat sprays are paper-thin anyhow, unless you're spraying over a candy paint and want a very thick layer of it. Even then, a thick layer of clear is not good to have since it's susceptible to cracking & chipping due to outside temperature variables, along with solvents being trapped under the previous layers and getting a boatload of trapped air bubbles in the finish. You also do not need a heavy compound to remove very light scratches. An orbital with a polishing pad and some very fine (2,500-3,000) grit polish should do the job. You only want to remove a micro-fine layer of clear. For that, I like to use Menzerna polishes. There are many other brands out there too, but I prefer the Menzerna line.

If I'm seriously worried about a superthin layer of clear, I'd use either Menzerna MC2500 (med cut polish), or FF3000 (final polish) with a black polishing pad and an orbital buffer. The best all around orbital, in my opinion, is the Porter Cable 7424XP. The only way you'll burn through the clear with type of buffer is if you're really giving it everything you've got and really trying to ruin the finish. Orbitals are made for both beginners and those with experience and are very friendly to clearcoated surfaces.

Detailing exterior surfaces on vehicles is one thing that I seriously enjoy doing. Even here in SW Florida. I will not detail a car out in the hot sun, but I will do it in my garage (door open) with a few fans running... and maybe a few beers along the way

 

[littleblazer]

Is it an aftermarket paint job, or factory?

Most clearcoat sprays are paper-thin anyhow, unless you're spraying over a candy paint and want a very thick layer of it. Even then, a thick layer of clear is not good to have since it's susceptible to cracking & chipping due to outside temperature variables, along with solvents being trapped under the previous layers and getting a boatload of trapped air bubbles in the finish. You also do not need a heavy compound to remove very light scratches. An orbital with a polishing pad and some very fine (2,500-3,000) grit polish should do the job. You only want to remove a micro-fine layer of clear. For that, I like to use Menzerna polishes. There are many other brands out there too, but I prefer the Menzerna line.

If I'm seriously worried about a superthin layer of clear, I'd use either Menzerna MC2500 (med cut polish), or FF3000 (final polish) with a black polishing pad and an orbital buffer. The best all around orbital, in my opinion, is the Porter Cable 7424XP. The only way you'll burn through the clear with type of buffer is if you're really giving it everything you've got and really trying to ruin the finish. Orbitals are made for both beginners and those with experience and are very friendly to clearcoated surfaces.

Detailing exterior surfaces on vehicles is one thing that I seriously enjoy doing. Even here in SW Florida. I will not detail a car out in the hot sun, but I will do it in my garage (door open) with a few fans running... and maybe a few beers along the way

No, like it needs to be repainted thin. The guy who detailed it about ten years ago said he burned through the couple of test spots he did. He got out a lot of It but he said there wasn't much left to work with and advised against cutting It again. It needs paint. You see it cracking a little and finger prints through some spots. It's an awesome paint job with a crap prep job. I want to say it was resprayed in the 90s. Not entirely sure on the time line. I learned how to compound and wheel on boats with gelcoat. Everything I learned on those you never do to a car so I take it easy. And just wax.

 

[hockeyman]

No, like it needs to be repainted thin. The guy who detailed it about ten years ago said he burned through the couple of test spots he did. He got out a lot of It but he said there wasn't much left to work with and advised against cutting It again. It needs paint. You see it cracking a little and finger prints through some spots. It's an awesome paint job with a crap prep job. I want to say it was resprayed in the 90s. Not entirely sure on the time line. I learned how to compound and wheel on boats with gelcoat. Everything I learned on those you never do to a car so I take it easy. And just wax.

If that's the case, then I'd try a layer of either a good-quality paint sealant or a ceramic coating. Protect what's left and try to make it as durable as possible.
*For paint sealants, I like Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze. Fills in micro defects with an acrylic-type coating. It's a bit tough to remove, so I use a mist of detailing spray when wiping off. It helps...a LOT!
*For ceramic coatings, I've used only 2 types in my day(s), but heard good things about Opticoat. Never physically bought and used it though...

I can't imagine what that guy was using on your car when he detailed it ten years ago. My guess is that it was a heavy cutting compound with a wool pad at a high spin on the buffer. In my opinion, that's way too aggressive/overkill. That would be something I might use on certain area's of clearcoat defects such as runs, thick spots, orange peel, etc. Even then, I'd still prefer to wetsanding in stages with 1,500-2,000-2,500 to get the defects out, then go with a mild compound to buff to a mirror shine.

Sorry, don't mean to keep replying here. I'm bored though.
Any closeup pics of your paint??

 

[littleblazer]

If that's the case, then I'd try a layer of either a good-quality paint sealant or a ceramic coating. Protect what's left and try to make it as durable as possible.
*For paint sealants, I like Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze. Fills in micro defects with an acrylic-type coating. It's a bit tough to remove, so I use a mist of detailing spray when wiping off. It helps...a LOT!
*For ceramic coatings, I've used only 2 types in my day(s), but heard good things about Opticoat. Never physically bought and used it though...

I can't imagine what that guy was using on your car when he detailed it ten years ago. My guess is that it was a heavy cutting compound with a wool pad at a high spin on the buffer. In my opinion, that's way too aggressive/overkill. That would be something I might use on certain area's of clearcoat defects such as runs, thick spots, orange peel, etc. Even then, I'd still prefer to wetsanding in stages with 1,500-2,000-2,500 to get the defects out, then go with a mild compound to buff to a mirror shine.

Sorry, don't mean to keep replying here. I'm bored though.
Any closeup pics of your paint??

More than likely what he did. I asked a couple of detailers if anymore could be done and they said leave it for the little improvement I'd get it isn't worth it. There were pretty nasty scratches in it. What happened was the car sat in a gravel driveway for 6 years and had about a 1/4 inch of rock dust on it. When we went to pick it up my dad almost had a heart attack. She wanted to clean it for him even though he said not to and the car was essentially dry and she took a brush to it. The paint was more than likely still good swirl and scratch wise before that. Only somewhat close picture I have is right after I used the chemical guys. It did a good job but you can see the white fish eyes in the hood. I'll take pictures of where it's blistering this weekend if you like as well as the deeper scratches and such lol. The other problem is the paint is super soft and it chips off easy. A problem most vehicles don't have either. It looks respectable. Also I'm sorry for jacking the thread as well lol.

 

[hockeyman]

She wanted to clean it for him even though he said not to and the car was essentially dry and she took a brush to it.

Say no more...I completely understand now.

Good luck with your endeavors!