Griot's Ultimate Car Wash Bucket

in

This is the Griot’s Garage Ultimate Car Wash Bucket and it costs $50. Technically, the bucket costs $34.99 but if you buy it in this configuration with the castor wheels and lid, it costs $50. In either case, it seems to be insanely priced for what it is. So, why does it cost so much?

Well, first off it’s pretty obvious that this thing doesn’t look like the typical bucket, it’s rectangular. The Ultimate Wash Bucket comes in at 19” in length, 9” wide, and 9” deep. These dimensions allow you to hold 6 gallons of water. To help carry this bucket, there is a handle on the side. If you also pick up the wheels, they quickly slip into the bottom of the bucket. Then the lid, of course, sits on top of the bucket. The lid just snaps into place and doesn’t have any seels so it’s not meant to keep the bucket watertight. Speaking of the lid, it doesn’t seem to be very well sized for the bucket. The corner tabs actually stick out a bit too much and when I try to lift the handle, the handle catches the lid and wants to lift it up. I have to actively push the handle through to make things work.

Moving to the inside of the bucket, we see where this bucket differentiates itself from others. Up top, we have a grill that’s meant to be a shelf that holds various items. Say you’re washing a car and it’s time to put the mitt back into the bucket but you don’t want to put the mitt in the water, you can put it on the top grill. This is something that I actually find useful because I often drape my mitt or sponge on the top lip of my circular buckets and they do periodically fall over. One thing that I’m worried about with this feature is that it really just pressure fits around some small tabs. From the reviews that I’ve seen for this product, the tabs easily snap off at the top where it isn’t connected to anything. I can completely see this happening because if you don’t lift the grill straight up and if it’s at the slightest angle, the grill will catch the tabs. I guess I’ll just have to see how things hold up over time.

At the bottom of the bucket is another grill, but this one is more so suppose to act as a grit guard. It helps to keep dirt and debris at the bottom of the bucket and separate from the clean water. At the center of the bottom grill is a molded-in measuring cup. I really like this feature because if you’ve seen any of my car soap review videos, you’d know that I always measure out my soaps with a measuring cup. This just makes the process a little easier. The only problem that I see with this measuring cup is its limited scale. The cup is sized so that filling to the first line equates to 2 ounces and filling to the top measures to 3 ounces. Because there are only two increments, you’re kind of limited in your mixing ratios. It’s also a problem if you need more than 3 ounces of car soap. What do you do then? I guess you can fill the cup up, clear it out with water, then fill it up again. This is just something that should’ve been thought out better. Most problems would’ve been solved if Griot’s simply added another one of these measuring cups in the grill. Again, I think this is an extremely useful feature but I currently mix soap at 1 ounce to one gallon of water and only use 3 gallons of water in total. So, this system is perfect for me.

At this point, I’ve had the opportunity to use this bucket for a few car washes. Overall, I think it’s a nice tool to have. No doubt it’s the best car wash bucket that I’ve used, but is it worth it? For me personally, no bucket is worth $50. The only reason that I purchased this one is because I had $50 credit to a store that had nothing that I wanted to buy. This product just randomly got recommended to me. I didn’t even know that it existed so I bought it on a whim. Even after getting it and seeing how much better it performs than a regular 5-gallon bucket, I would still say that I would personally not buy it with my own money. It just costs too much.

However, this is not me telling you not to buy the Ultimate Car Wash Bucket. If you have the money and find value in this type of thing, then go for it! It works pretty well. The pricing isn’t even all that bad when you consider the price of a bucket, rolling base, grit guard, and measuring cup. A rolling base for a standard 5-gallon bucket alone is around $40. Thinking about it this way, the price of the Ultimate Car Wash Bucket isn’t all that bad, especially for something that gives you everything in one place. But just remember, if you’re using the two bucket method, it would only make sense to have two of these buckets. Then, you’re looking at $100 worth of buckets. That’s a pretty steep price for two buckets that hold water.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.

Griot's Ultimate Wash Bucket https://amzn.to/3ncuj6k

The Rag Company (2-Pack Premium Cyclone Korean Microfiber Wash Mitt and 6" x 8" Cyclone Wash Pad Combo Kit https://amzn.to/36lcHiO

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

Want to support my work?

Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing

or

Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran

or

PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran

or

Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG

Golden Wrench Supply Toyota Supra Blackline Performance Engine Start Button

in

Today, we have a quick mod for the A90 Supra and that is to replace the engine start/stop button.

For this project, I’ve decided to replace the stock button with Golden Wrench Supply’s Blackline Performance Engine Start Button. I decided on this one because it’s very different than what many other manufacturers are producing. This particular option is wrapped in a red casing which is nice because it matches my Supra’s color scheme but for me, the big appeal of this button is the glass that makes up the section that is actually pressed. In the middle of the button is the engine start/stop indication and around that is a specially cut bezel that actually refracts the lettering when viewed at the right angle. I think this looks insane and is why I purchased this button. Also, if you’re wondering, this button does still retain the OEM illumination. The illumination actually makes the lettering’s refraction look even crazier.

When it comes to installation, there are two common approaches. You can either remove the various trim pieces around the button and center console to get to the button’s housing or you can simply rip the stock button out and replace it with the new one. I’ll be doing the latter.

For this, you’ll need something very tacky. I’m personally using a small chunk of detailing clay that I’ve shaped to be able to both grab the stock button and give myself something to hold on to. All we have to do is attach the clay to the stock button and once it’s firmly in place, just give it a quick pull and the OEM button should come right out. At least in theory. To be honest, it took me a couple of tries because I was doing the install in a colder climate. If you didn’t know, detailing clay is stickier when it heats up. So keep that in mind if you’re going with a similar approach. Once the stock button is out, it’s just a matter of taking the new button and pushing it into place.

And just like that, we have a minor mod that can really add to the general appeal of the interior. I have to say, of all the minor cosmetic changes that I’ve made to the Supra, this has got to be my favorite. It’s one of those things that likely no one will notice but I know about it and think that it pushes the minor details over the top. I really like this mod and can definitely recommend it to anyone interested.

I’ll leave a link to this product down below and if you use the code HT10, you’ll get 10% off of your order from Golden Wrench Supply.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.

Use code HT10 for 10% off your order at https://goldenwrenchsupply.com

GWS Supra store https://goldenwrenchsupply.com/collections/a90-supra-collection

Meguiar’s C2000 Mirror Glaze Professional Detailing Clay https://amzn.to/3isPa2p

Other Detailing Clay https://amzn.to/36aShsP

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

Want to support my work?

Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing

or

Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran

or

PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran

or

Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG

How to Remove Water Spots from Matte Plastics

in

As you can see, the Supra’s various trim pieces have quite a bit of water spots on them. These have been etched on over the last few months and cannot simply be cleaned off. Normally, my approach would be to use a polisher and hit the surface with some compound and polish but I felt that this surface was a bit too difficult for that. It just seemed like these plastics scratch very easily and I didn’t want to possibly introduce some unnecessary damage. So the only real solution in my mind was to approach the situation with a chemical.

After a lot of research, I just could not find anything. There is a lot of tutorials on removing water spots but it didn’t seem like anyone was addressing matte plastics. Glossy or clear plastics get a lot of love but nothing for the matte stuff. I just had to experiment for myself and take one for the team in case any damage occurred.

After some trial and error, I found this product, Barkeepers Friend. This is a multipurpose multi-surface cleaner. In relation to this video, Barkeepers Friend happens to be very effective at removing water spots and the directions do state that it can be used on plastics.

Before we get started, I want to make it clear that Barkeepers Friend is an acidic cleaner. That’s why it’s so effective. It essentially eats away the minerals that form water spots. Being that it’s acidic, it’s very important that you follow the directions for use and have a way to neutralize the acid. If you don’t do this, there is a possibility that the product will etch into whatever surface you get it on. This may sound scary but, realistically, all you need is water to neutralize the acid. However, this can work against you because if you use plain tap water to rinse the product off, there is a chance that the water that you’re using can itself leave water spots if you’re not careful. So, if you can, pick up some distilled water, use a waterless wash, a spray detailer, something that doesn’t contain the minerals that we’re trying to get rid of, or just make sure that you thoroughly dry the surface after rinsing with tap water.

Now that you understand that, let’s see what this product can do. Like with any new product, always test it in a small possibly inconspicuous location. I decided to go at it on this front lip because if it gets damaged, it just gives me the reason I’ve been looking for to buy something aftermarket. The directions say to apply Barkeepers Friend on and rub it in but don’t leave it on for more than a minute. This can be different with plastics as they may require some more dwell time. I always played it safe and tried to remove the product before 1 minute. To my surprise, there was an immediate reduction in the water spots so I knew that I was good go for a bigger test spot.

It should be noted that the directions specifically state that this product shouldn’t be used on painted surfaces. Because of this, I’d recommend that you tape up any spots that you don’t want to possibly damage. However, I will say that while applying this product, I often accidentally got it on the surrounding paint and nothing happened. I can’t say that this will be the same for you, but it’s something to think about.

From my experience, this product does a great job of removing water spots but it’s not always a miracle cure. In some places, water spots can be removed with little effort but in others where the water spots have really etched themselves into place, you're going to need more than one application. But, I think the results speak for themselves.

If you are going to attempt this for yourself, there is one suggestion that I would possibly recommend. I personally used Barkeepers Friend Soft Cleanser. This is essentially the slightly thicker liquid formula of the product but there’s a variety of other versions that you can try. Prior to attempting this, I was considering between the Soft Cleanser and the More version. These were my top choices because they are advertised as liquids and if you don’t remember, the matte plastics on the Supra are very sensitive, and to use Barkeepers Friend, we have to rub it in. If we go with something like the powder version, it may be too gritty and can cause damage. I ultimately went with the Soft Cleanser because More was out of stock. But after getting first-hand experience, I can confirm that Soft Cleanser is still gritty and can cause fine scratches if you’re not careful. To be completely honest, Barkeepers Friend left very very fine scratches in my matte plastics but again these are very fine, to the point that I can’t see them without an inspection light. Even with my face a few inches away, I have a very hard time picking anything up. At normal standing height, the surface looks flawless as if it were brand new. This is going to be fine for most people but if it’s not good enough for you, I would suggest trying the More version of Barkeepers Friend because, from my understanding, that’s straight-up liquid and shouldn’t have any of the grit seen in the other formulas. If you have to go with one of the non-liquid formulas, just scrub very lightly. You may have to apply more times but you’ll inflict less damage.

Whatever you choose, just make sure to do a test spot. Don’t just go at it and apply this product everywhere. You just don’t know how the acids will react with your plastic surfaces.

Good luck with your project!

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.

Bar Keepers Friend Soft Cleanser https://amzn.to/3iI1kVv

Bar Keepers Friend More https://amzn.to/3iH35lN

Other Bar Keepers Friend Products https://amzn.to/3c7SmhT

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

Want to support my work?

Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing

or

Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran

or

PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran

or

Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG

Adam's Graphene Ceramic Coating After 1 week

in

I recently coated all the paint protection film on the Supra with Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating. It’s been a week, the coating has had the opportunity to fully cure so I wanted to give you an update and see how things are looking.

Here we are. Adam’s customer service told me that full cure time is about a week so I wanted to wait that long before washing the car. It’s a bit difficult to see it but there is a light coat of dust on the surface. I wanted to first look at the coating’s self-cleaning properties. This looks at the coating’s ability to remove light contaminants with just water pressure. It’s a bit difficult to see this in action on camera, but watch as the water hits the surface. Watch the leading edge of the water. That's where you’ll be able to see the action. If you didn’t catch it, the coating didn’t a very good job at preventing the dust from actually attaching to the paint and moved it right off with the water.

At this point, I’m going to wash the car so we can see what the coating can do without interference from the debris.

Let’s start with the hood. As you can see, the surface is extremely hydrophobic and water is rushing off at all the slightly angled sections. In places where water is left behind, it beads very tightly.

Moving on to the headlights and front bumper where there’s more of an angle to the panels. Again, water just runs right off the surfaces.

For me, the most impressive part is the front lip. Even though there’s only a slight curve to it, that’s all that’s needed for the water to pick up speed and just roll right off. It should be noted that the lip is wrapped with XPEL Ultimate Plus Stealth whereas everything else was wrapped with regular XPEL Ultimate Plus. Maybe Graphene Ceramic Coating works better with Stealth. Who knows?

Finally, let’s move on to the vertical side panels. On the left, the rocker panel and hood have been coated and on the right, the door has been stripped in preparation for more PPF so there’s no coating there. Let’s see what the difference is between a coated surface and bare paint. As you can see, there is a night and day difference. On the right where there’s no coating, water clings together and sheets much more slowly. On the left where I’ve applied Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating, the water doesn’t even want to be on the surface.

One more thing. If you’ve been keeping up with this channel, you know that I’ve been testing a few different car blow dryers. This was because I was using a blow dryer that’s kind of underpower and it struggled to blow dry a car. Well, how does the same leaf blower fair now with Graphene Ceramic Coating? To be honest, this test really surprised me. Graphene Ceramic Coating has allowed the weak leaf blower to blow water clear across the hood, from one side to the other. I was not able to do this with any of the dedicated car dryers that I’ve tried. This tells me that one, with this coating you may not need to blow money on a dedicated car blow dryer and just use a leaf blower if you have one. Two, if you have a nice car blow dryer, water is going to blast off like crazy. Again, I find this impressive.

So that’s Adam’s Graphene Ceramic Coating after one week. I can confidently say this is the most hydrophobic coating that I’ve ever applied. It’s great in that regard but hopefully, the other selling points of this coating also hold true, particularly that it will give 7+ years of protection. Only time will tell.

I’ll be making periodic updates so make sure to subscribe for that. If you’ve enjoyed this video, give it a thumbs up and share it around. Comment down below with any thoughts or questions. If you’d like to support my work, check out my Patreon or the other ways of contributing down in the description blow. Thanks a lot.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.


Adam's Graphene Ceramic Coating https://amzn.to/32wHzux

Adam's Car Shampoo https://amzn.to/2RkyoGW

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

Want to support my work?

Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing

or

Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran

or

PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran

or

Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG

Griot's Fine Glass Polish & Glass Polishing Pads

in

As you can see, my Supra has a good amount of water spots on the various glass surfaces. Now that the side windows and rear windshield are tinted, the water spots just stick out and are super noticeable. I have to do something about it and have decided to approach this problem by polishing the glass.

Normally, this can just be done with regular compound but while prepping for the project, I discovered that Griot’s Garage developed a glass specific polishing products. So, I picked up the Fine Glass Polish and Glass Polishing Pads and I’m going to share with you my experiences with these products.

If you’re interested in any products used, there will be links to everything below.

To start off, I would suggest taping up the edges of the windows. I attempted to do this but the tape just would not stick to my window trim so I gave up on the idea. I would suggest to do this from the start because it’ll save you on clean up time. I went back and got things figured out later but again, it's better to tape up the edges from the start.

Prior to polishing, it’s important to do the necessary cleaning prep because if not, we may pick up contaminants while polishing, smear it around and cause even more damage.

Let’s first clean the glass to get rid of any obvious dirt and debris. To do this, I’m using Meguiar’s Perfect Clarity Glass Cleaner. Instead of spraying directly on the glass, I like to spray into a microfiber towel and then spread the glass cleaner on. This helps to prevent overspray on other surfaces. I’m just going to wipe on, then flip the towel to a dry section and wipe off any excess.

Next, we’re going to work to remove the contaminants that we can’t necessarily see by claying the glass. I’ll be using Meguiar’s Mild Professional Detailing Clay and Last Touch Spray Detailer as a lubricant. I’m going to first spray the glass down with the spray detailer. We want enough lubricant for the clay to move but still offer some tactile feel. If you put too much lubricant down, the clay will just glide over everything and won’t be too effective at picking up contaminants. When claying, only light pressure is needed. Move it back and forth, making sure to cover all surfaces. If your windows are heavily contaminated, you’ll be able to hear and feel the substance, even under the clay. Normally, once the surface is clean it’ll be smooth to the touch but water spots themselves can provide a feedback that claying won’t remove.

Now, we are ready to polish the glass. Because Griot’s advertises that their glass polishing products as being good for both hand and machine polishing, I decided to first give hand polishing a try. Griot’s manufactures the glass polishing pad in a 3 and 6-inch size. I personally picked up the 6” because it was cheaper and the all-around better deal. The 3” will likely fit in the hand more comfortably for hand polishing and will more easily fit in smaller sections of glass but I can realistically trim the 6” pad down and get more bang for the buck. These pads are intended to be used with a machine polisher but Griot’s also recommends them for hand polishing glass so we’ll see how they do. To start off, I’m just going to put a few pea-sized dots of Fine Glass Polish on the pad to test the combo out and see what it can do. If you’re trying this out for yourself, know that every case is going to be different. My water spots are not going to be the same as yours so you’ll have to do your own testing. For a project like this, hand polishing is usually going to take a lot more time and effort than using a polisher. You’re likely going to have to do a lot of scrubbing and likely over multiple attempts. When it comes to actually polishing, I’m just going at it. Up and down, side to side, circles, whatever. I’m just trying to hit everything. Luckily, glass has a very hard surface so it’s pretty difficult to mess this up. Polishing paint is different so don’t take what you’re seeing here and transfer it to paint. One advantage of hand polishing is the ability to go right up to the edge. Even if I were to use a polisher, it’s very likely that I would have to still go back and hand polish the sections that the machine can’t get. Once the polish is expended, it’ll become more transparent and at this point, we can wipe it off and check the work.

For me, there was still a good amount of water spots around the edges but once we move towards the middle, where most of the scrubbing was done, the glass looks clear and spot-free, at least on camera. In-person, the glass still has some very minor lines from the edges of the water spots.

After a few passes, I would say that the water spots are greatly reduced but I wasn’t able to get rid of everything. I could’ve but at this point, I just decided that it would take too long to remove all my water spots by hand. I’ve been at it for about half an hour and I’m not even done with one window so you can only imagine how long it would take to do all the glass surfaces by hand.

At this point, it’s time to pull out the polisher. If there’s one thing that hand polishing has shown, it’s that the water spots can definitely be removed. If hand polishing can do it, the machine should clear things up in no time.

Flat out, the polisher is going to take care of the water spots. There was never really a doubt in my mind about that. It’s a great and fast way to approach water spots but there are two negatives in my mind. First, is of course the cost. If you don’t have a polisher then you’ll have to buy one or get one somehow. Second, the polisher is most helpful when you’re able to use multiple sized pads. For this project, I only used a 6” pad on a dual action polisher. This worked well on the rear windshield where there was a lot of space to cover, but I struggled on the side windows. For these smaller sections, a 3” pad would’ve been nice. I would’ve been able to get closer to the edges and get a lot more done with the polisher. Because I didn’t have the smaller pads, I ended up having to go back and hand polish the edges and small corners.

So, what do I think about Griot’s Fine Glass Polish and Glass Polishing Pads? At the end of the day, I was able to significantly reduce my water spot problem. I got rid of them in the main center sections of the glass and just have to go back and hand polish out some edges. Do these products work? Yes, but I don’t think they are the most efficient. When Griot’s advertises the polish as fine, they really mean it. It just doesn’t have a lot of cutting power and I feel the same about the glass polishing pads. It just doesn’t cut very well. The label of the polish says “removes mild water marks” but what does that mean? I would guess that it’s only for water spots that are fairly new. Those that have been sitting just long enough that all the chemical water spots removers can’t remove. For the average person, I would assume that this type of water spot is going to be uncommon. People who have water spots are likely those who didn’t care before and are going to have spots that have been baked on for months or years. The Supra shown in this video was only 4 months old at the time and I would say that the glass polish and pads struggled a bit. Both can be more aggressive. When it comes to the Glass Polishing Pads, I realized that it didn’t provide enough cut when I went back and hand polished the corners. I switched it up and used a felt applicator pad that I had lying around. This thing cuts the water spots so much faster than the glass polishing pads. This tells me that with a proper pad, the glass polish will be even more effective with a polisher.

To summarize, the Griot’s glass polishing products are more so intended for light water spots. They can remove heavily baked-on water spots but it’s going to take more effort and more attempts. If you’re willing to put in the work then I can definitely recommend these products.

If you're considering buying any of the products mentioned, please support my work by using the links below.


Griot's Fine Glass Polish https://amzn.to/3iCYrFf

Griot's Glass Polishing Pads 6" https://amzn.to/3mqQy8h

Griot's Glass Polishing Pads 3" https://amzn.to/35Gjxiw

Meguiar's Perfect Clarity Glass Cleaner https://amzn.to/2RvfMnK

Meguiar’s C2000 Mirror Glaze Professional Detailing Clay https://amzn.to/3isPa2p

Meguiar’s Last Touch Spray Detailer https://amzn.to/2E1g7vo

All the Auto Detailing Equipment I Use: https://www.amazon.com/ideas/amzn1.account.AF43XRPGVOUH2E5CJXQY4FIOGVAQ/3AI3XVAQEMORX?type=explore&ref=idea_cp_vl_ov_d

Want to support my work?

Consider visiting the shop and buying "Absolutely Nothing" https://www.HaiHoangTran.com/shop/absolutely-nothing

or

Become a Patron!
https://www.patreon.com/HaiHoangTran

or

PayPal
https://www.PayPal.me/HaiHoangTran

or

Just shop on Amazon via this link!
https://amzn.to/2FgsDnG