Spending money on a set of new wheels, suspension, or body kit can help make you car look good, but there’s a cheaper and probably better solution to produce instant results that you can appreciate. Sure a little elbow grease is involved but there’s nothing better then working on your own car. What’s the solution? Detailing using Adam’s Essential Kit.
This may sound like a typical product commercial but this kit really does work. One thing that makes this kit really nice is the fact that they include a DVD instructional video along with a one page laminated guide to teach you how to use their products. I’m a total stranger when it comes to detailing and usually end up quitting right after the car is dried. This time it was all about commitment.
Before anything happens the first step was to watch the entire DVD that came with the kit. It wasn’t too long and it gave me a good foundation for how to get started. The single page instructions that came with kit was a good cheat sheet that was used frequently. Once the briefing session was over it was time to get started.
The car choice was our neglected AudiSportForums.com project car, a 2006 Audi A3. The car gets used and abused on a daily basis and very rarely gets to see enough love to get washed of it’s grime build up. The A3 is completely stock so the best way to make this car look better is to get it all cleaned up. The first step was to get started on the wheels, tires, and fender well. Using the All Purpose Cleaner and our 2 brushes, I got to work scrubbing.
The next step was to rinse the All Purpose Cleaner off and then rinse the rest of the car
Using a small amount of the Car Wash (applying it to the wash pad) and filling the bucket ¾ of the way with water produces a very sudsy solution. The wash pad included was easy to use and has a two-sided system that allows for one side to be used to wash most of the car and the other side is used to scrub out the stubborn dirt. After giving the car a good scrub, it was time to rinse all the soap off.
Once the rinse cycle was done, the car immediately went into the garage to start its next process. Applying the Clay bar to the car is recommended after every oil change. Having never done it before, it was probably a good idea to do it this time around. Using the Detail Spray and Clay Bar, I began claying the car by applying a small amount of the Detail Spray as a lubricant for the Clay Bar. Having never done something like this before it was great having the cheat sheet nearby to make sure the process was done correctly.
With the Clay Bar process done, the next step was to apply the TRV. The TRV really provided a great matte finish to the rubber pieces on the car and the tires. A glossy shine isn’t something too appealing to me and this stuff works pretty nicely. After the TRV process came the Swirl and Haze Remover mixed with Polish.
One thing that was nice about this step was the ability to mix two steps into one. Adam’s offers the detailer the ability to mix the Swirl Remover and mix it with the Polish in order to save time. Basically apply some Polish (generous amount) and apply a 1/3 of that amount with Swirl Remover. Keep in mind this is a judgment call because if the finish of your car has a ton of swirls then splitting this step and applying only the Swirl Remover would solve the issue.
With the Swirl Remover and Polish removed, the car immediately started taki163ng on a different look all together. The paint looked deeper and more full. After taking a break, I wanted to finish the car up with the last and final step, applying the buttery wax.
Being the last step, I wanted to take the time to apply and remove the wax to make sure the car would look its best. Spending a few extra minutes to make sure every part of the car is perfect really made the difference. Words can only go so far, so instead here are some more pics:
Conclusion
Being detailing challenged, I really found the Adam’s Essential Kit to be a great packaged product simply because it provided everything needed to complete the job. The instructional DVD along with the cheat sheet was a great addition for someone clueless about detailing a car. This package isn’t the cheapest out there but it does offer almost everything you need to get the job done.
Two-Month Follow Recap
This is a first but I figured if you are going to put all the effort into detailing your car, it would be nice to know how long the car will remain clean. So far after two months our test car looks like this:
Pretty good especially for a car that sits outside and NOT in a garage. This kit is well worth it and with results like these, you can’t go wrong.
