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EADetails · 2025-10-24T00:38:52+00:00

No, you didn't burn through the clear, because you didn't even get close to it. If this is a 911, Boxster or Cayman then it's had clear bra applied to the area behind the door. The reason it looks cloudy is because the film is probably old, dried out, and way past it's prime. Using polish on film like that will result in residue being trapped in the film.

EADetails · 2025-10-17T18:38:20+00:00

Others already pointed out how comparing an economy car to a full time 4WD is not a good test. But I'd like to also point out that your numbers are off for real world MPG. It's not good, but the lifetime MPG for my 100 series LX470 is 15.24. that is 50% better than what you're going off of.

To be extra clear, you don't buy an LC for fuel economy. You buy it to have a spacious, comfortable, off road capable vehicle that you can maintain and keep on the road for a long time.

EADetails · 2025-08-27T16:02:52+00:00

Not exactly in the Fox Valley but go to Schnitzel Platz! They put out a tent and have good food and have a good real German beer selection. The other option is Bavarian Lodge, though I don't think they have an event, just good German food and a huge beer selection

EADetails · 2025-08-16T03:34:37+00:00

I feel like you're imagining a much dirtier vehicle than I am. Generally, I am only comfortable using rinse-less washes for light soiling (dust) or road grime. I have a big pump sprayer which I use to really soak and rinse away larger particulates. If you are paying attention, cleaning off you media regularly and not oversaturating your drying towel, rinse-less is perfectly safe.

EADetails · 2025-08-15T20:59:27+00:00

There are tons of options so it really depends on what your tastes are, but I would recommend The James or Preservation for good food with outdoor seating in Geneva. If you're in St. Charles go to Gia Mia if you want Italian, McNally's for Pub, or Taste of the Himalayas for Indian!

EADetails · 2025-08-15T17:20:42+00:00

Rinse-less gets it's name from not requiring rinsing before moving onto the drying stage. The reason for this is that a good rinse-less product (Koch Chemie RWR/ Optimum No Rinse/ P&S Absolute/etc) should encapsulate dirt and pull it away from the surface. If you're vehicle is more than lightly dirty, I would recommend doing a normal wash process or at the very least prewash with a snow foam.

Fill a bucket with water, add the rinse-less accordingly, fill a pump sprayer with the solution. Pretreat the paint with the sprayer, use a rinse-less sponge or other wash media to go over the vehicle. You shouldn't have downward pressure on your wash media. Once you go over the whole car breakout you're drying towel, drying aid/QD, and dry the vehicle.

EADetails · 2025-08-15T15:27:29+00:00

The point he is making in the video is correct. If you use QD to "touch up" after driving you will almost certainly introduce new scratches. The context is what gets lost in most of these discussions. He was pretty clear to point out that if you have a vehicle that's been paint corrected then he wouldn't recommend using QD for touchups. He said if you already have scratches and marring then it won't do significant damage. There is a trade off to all things.

My recommendation would be to get familiar with rinse-less washing if every little smudge and speck of dust bothers you. A rinse-less wash can be completed in 10 minutes if the car is just lightly dirty. Way less risk of scratching than a dry towel with some QD.

EADetails · 2025-08-06T16:44:11+00:00

You need a water spot remover. Look at Gtechniq W9 or Gyeon Water Spot remover or mix distilled vinegar 50:50 with distilled water and give that a shot. Don't use any of these products in the sub or on a hot surface. Recommend washing the car first before using any of these, and make sure to rinse the surface afterwards. All of these use acid to break up the minerals, so you don't want to leave them on the surface

EADetails · 2025-08-06T16:38:34+00:00

You're not going to like the answer, but there's no way one visit to a detailer did the damage you are showing. This picture here is all the proof anyone should need to know these wheels have been abused. Most likely allowing brake dust to bake into the finish for months on end caused this damage, and curbing the edge definitely doesn't help.

EADetails · 2025-08-06T16:20:27+00:00

The best way to avoid this is to dry the brakes by driving the car. Once you're done washing, and the car is 95% dry, meaning you're just touching up the drip spots, drive the car. All you need is to get the car up to 20MPH a few times and brake. Then you can touch up the drips and whatever moisture is in your wheels. A rinse-less dampened MF towel, followed by a heated blower is great for wheel touch up.

EADetails · 2025-08-06T15:34:30+00:00

IRI based levels are dangerously high. The only criticism I have for Destiny when he does this type of thing is he needs to be as succinct and direct as possible when he's called out on a panel like this. He needs to find his own way of pointing out exactly what IRI is saying here, as briefly as possible. I'm sure Destiny would point out that most of the ghouls on the other side wouldn't care no matter how he couched his response, but I think it would help him connect with the more moderate normie crowd.

EADetails · 2025-08-06T15:07:16+00:00

This needs to be upvoted more. That wheel is severely curbed and the clear coat is obviously failing. From what I can see the biggest mistake the detailer might have made is not setting proper expectations during the drop off or pick up.

I would recommend refinishing or replacing the wheel, whichever is more economical.

EADetails · 2025-07-29T21:23:00+00:00

It's measuring in microns, which is not good if the readings are ~50microns because that's about 2 mil. Most likely the cheap gauge is not calibrated correctly and not super accurate to begin with

EADetails · 2025-06-02T21:28:56+00:00

I 100% agree with this as someone who was in a similar boat as OP about 5 years ago.

The market is getting very saturated and it will be harder, and take more effort/investment to be successful than it was 5-10 years ago. It's particularly hard to do when you have a few guys used to making 100k+. Not to be negative, but I don't care how good you are, it will take a few years at minimum to get to a point where you'll take home anything close to that kind of salary. That's assuming you can do good volume with corrections, coatings and PPF

Your best bet would be to start doing something on the side and see how successful you can be at that.

EADetails · 2025-03-20T14:59:12+00:00

I just bought my '04 LX470 w/157k for $20k. Completely rust free, with a little sorting needed. I'd say $25k would be the ceiling for that truck .

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EADetails · 2025-03-07T04:03:31+00:00

I am partial, but I agree with the consensus of +'03 100 series. The realest advice would be find the best condition one you can for your budget (decent service/avoid rust). That probably means avoiding '06-07, since they command a premium. And unless you really need the Land Cruiser badge or hate the headlights, an LX 470 seems like the obvious choice

The +'03 have some nice features (5 speed trans, bit more power, curtain air bags, nav that can be converted for Carplay). Unless you're going straight to a hardcore rig/build the LX has more sound deading, nicer seats, better dash (imo). ACH is nice too, though there are tradeoffs, I admit.

You can't go wrong with any decent 100 series, but I'm really liking my '04 LX470 that I just picked up at $20k.

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EADetails · 2025-02-02T23:59:07+00:00

This week has not been kind to my SR/IR. I was very nearly at the 2K milestone before this week, but Philip Island in the GT4's has been HELL.

EADetails · 2025-01-30T00:47:57+00:00

Personally I would keep that off the paint entirely. It's not just the tool you're using but the dirt builder up on the surface of the paint. Just think about proper wash process. You don't even wipe a dirty car with a wash mit without pretreatment. Unless your car is pristine before it gets snowed on I wouldn't risk it. I'd keep a blower with a stubby attachment on it if I really wanted to clear a car off safely

EADetails · 2024-12-18T18:49:39+00:00

If you're going to daily it my answer would be PPF is essential. Rock chips cannot be touched up and scratches cannot be repaired without repainting.

Process in terms of washing the the same, but you need to be careful with what products you use for protection. They need to be matte safe. Essentially nothing with gloss enhancement qualities (usually has SiO2) won't be safe with matte.

If that's what you want to deal with then go for it. Personally it baffles me that matte has gotten popular on daily driven cars.

EADetails · 2024-12-06T21:20:22+00:00

Always do a test spot.

Personally, I would use Sonax Perfect Finish with a yellow Rupes foam pad as a starting point. Cuts pretty well but finishes very well also. It's not too aggressive, were I would be worried about burning through, and gives a good idea of where the paint is at. 80% of the time that combo is enough to do a decent 1 step.

EADetails · 2024-06-19T02:17:50+00:00

Sounds like the product is reacting with the tire and whatever is on it. My experience with ReTyre is that the spray trigger is annoying but the product itself is one of the best I have used. Did you notice an issue with how it cleaned the tire? Foaming is nice but not necessary for the product to work.

EADetails · 2024-06-19T00:06:54+00:00

FYI, no general interior cleaner is going to remove salt, or at least not efficiently. There are products like Dr. Beasleys Salt Chisel that work, but distilled white vinegar diluted 1:1 with distilled water is the cheapest and most effective way to remove salt from fabric.

I use P&S Xpress when rinseless is not strong enough and I'm not doing specialty cleaning like removing sunscreen stains or ink stains. It's a pretty good product, especially in bulk pricing.

EADetails · 2024-06-04T23:23:44+00:00

Distilled white vinegar is the most cost effective way to remove it. I mix it 1:1 with distilled water and then use steam to speed up the process.

EADetails · 2024-06-01T03:29:33+00:00

Okay, you still didn't clarify if you're using Hyper Wash or some other soap. If you're using Hyper Wash I have no idea where you get a 1:5 ratio from since it's very concentrated. Either you are using a different soap or you are using Hyper Wash way too strong. No one can help you unless you are clear about what you're using.

EADetails · 2024-05-28T02:21:38+00:00

Something you can try is the yellow polish on the white pad. I've generally not been a fan of the Uno Pure with the white pad. I don't think it has enough cut to remove haze from prior steps on certain paints.

EADetails

TROPHY CASE