What did you do detailing wise today?

Yep, I'm back because I sorta working/helping out a friend who owns this shop and I am either in the shop or I deliver products to our partners. We are planning to do some old-school Megs Open Garage style detailing classes and hopefully we can bring back Optimum to Hungary as well.

Dunno how you feel, but I can't explain where the last 15 years go... I certainly thought that the plandemics/LDs were excellent opportunities to strengthen communities like this - except they were not. People lost the drive, the fire and the young gens don't know how to connect on a deeper level; when it is not the scratchy glass slab in their hands.
First, that's great that you are trying to both get some "open garage" engagement and bring OPT back, and second, yes, forums seem to be dead, replaced by fleeting posts on social media or YouTube vids/comments. Someone was noting on AGO that the younger generations are just not interested in cars, and you'd have to get them interested in cars before they could be interested in detailing.

And last, it's good to see you around!
 
Bence:
Thanks for the pic of the shop you are working at. And yes; it is nice to see you posting in this forum again.
That hex-shaped lighting on the ceiling looks a lot like that in Merlin's Florida shop!!
How is the car detailing business in eastern Europe these days? I ask because you are not that far from the Ukraine -Russian conflict.
We Americans have our own issues on many different fronts these days; like the economy, politics, AI and job losses, well...you get the idea..they all affect detailing these days.
 
Well, the situ is very interesting. Hungary is a very small country detailing-wise, so nothing to write home about. And we are entirely separate entities from the rest of Europe. Hungary is in a circle of slavic countries and we have absolutely no similarities with them. They can understand each other quite well, Hungarian is an entirely different animal.
Poland is the detailing authority now from the closer countries. They were listening very closely when Autopia, DC, MOL, etc. was thriving and they established dozens of brands, and similarly to for example to Sonax, Scholl, Riwax, who threw out their old lines - they all used the knowledge gained in the forums to reinvent themselves and developed absolutely up-to-date products. So we carry Polish brands and they work really well.

Luckily, no AI can physically buff a car (yet), so I think our precious hobby is quite futureproof.

Regarding the conflict in Ukraine, we don't feel anything of/from it. There was a time when lots of them arrived here, but after a couple of years most of them moved back. However, the real motive behind Putin's decision is not clear for most people. First, I'd like to recommend the following documentary for you to see where/when/why it started:

Donbas Documentary 2022

And it is important to understand that the "Special Operation" was started to obliterate child trafficking and to destroy adrenochrome labs running under the guise of Biological Threat Reduction Program. Unfortunately they are built mainly under blocks of flats, so using a bunker buster is often not possible, because of unavoidable collateral damage. The Russians always send their Z signed pickups to announce the air raids and to give time for the residents to move to a safe(r) place. A young friend of mine who fled the country to avoid the forced recruiting told me when we discussed the mentioned labs (and he finally was able to solve the puzzle), that he just understood why his parents told him NOT TO GO TO PLAY to the street, because a black car is going to come and he can/will disappear. And when he was allowed to go out in the evenings when he was older, he had to wear dark clothing to avoid the spotters who were hunting for children.

And the connection between Israel and Ukraine is also an interesting theory. As the situation is getting hot in Israel, they are trying to establish a state of New Khazaria in the Ukraine (if you are jew, you can go through the border unrestricted). Israel and Saudi Arabia is just a cuckoo's nest for the Khazarians who rule and pretend to be Israeli elites/Saudi royals. The true citizens of these countries don't know this and blindly trust their leaders, helped by their "unique" religions.

sigil-of-moloch-v0-h16khmddb69f1.webp
 
Now that was an interesting day... Lots of memories, because just for fun, I sorta "detailed" the work truck using OOOLD stuff. First I demo'ed a rinseless wash on the left side it with a 'new' bottle of ONR v2.0. and a spritz of OID (freshly made with my old gallon of concentrate). We then did a comparo; a full wash with the newest juices on the right side. Foam cannon, some agitation, etc. Surprisingly (for the others) the ONR/OID side looked crisper, clearer, and beautifully defined. Then I cracked open my tin of #26 paste just to see if my memory served me well enough... My brain catalogued the ol' faithful #26 as one of the wettest looking carnaubas among Natty's Blue and CMW. And bam! The banana scented old gun has brought out literally new reflections - on some edges it caught the light in such a beau way that above the reflection was a whitish lightline, and below a darker one. The boring just-an-edge was gone and wet, vibrant details appeared out of nowhere. I was standing there silently and smiled. Then a half an hour later I put another layer on it. Even wetter. Smile. Done. I went over it with OID just to stop the #26 being "attractive". For dust, at least...
The other side saw a couple spritzes of OOS. Everything was working exactly like 15 years ago... Then I finished my day with a small model car on my desk. A red, Citroën DS Chapron Cabriolet. It got a layer of Vic Concours. Nostalgia rules. Still smiling.
 
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Bence- Glad you posted that, showing that even "obsolete" products can deliver wonderful results. Many of my favorite products are ones I've used for decades (some are even that old, but still work fine).

What I found most interesting about your post is that you're using ONR v2.0, which I have. I quit using it for Detailing because it utterly trashed the LSPs I used it on. I'd wax with something like Collinite 476S and then use the ONR at the next wash. Doing that left a hazy film where I previously had a nice, shiny finish. I had to redo the Finish Polish step and reLSP. The ONR dilution didn't seem to matter, it simply wasn't compatible with my LSPs.

BUT..apparently you've used it with the M26, with no issues! OK, I don't have to understand it, as long as it worked!
 
I never had any issues with it.

But the truck was bare.
If you use the ONR v2.0 on it now that it wears M26, I hope you post back about how it goes. I'm just curious... I don't plan to use my v2.0 on vehicles, but would still like to know.

FWIW, I recently bought the latest version of ONR, hoping it'll be an OK replacement for the IUDJ, and I don't expect any problem with it.
 
I think they are at version 6 for ONR.
That's correct.
FWIW, I recently bought the latest version of ONR, hoping it'll be an OK replacement for the IUDJ, and I don't expect any problem with it.
I don't remember, did you stop using IUDJ for some reason? I see Garry Dean has rebranded himself as "Rapid Ride Rehab" and is selling a new-for-2026 IUDJ for $120 for 1.3 gallons (I guess that's 5 liters).
 
I don't remember, did you stop using IUDJ for some reason? I see Garry Dean has rebranded himself as "Rapid Ride Rehab" and is selling a new-for-2026 IUDJ for $120 for 1.3 gallons (I guess that's 5 liters).
They have apparently changed it significantly, even the suggested dilution ratios are different. Looks very different in their pics, much thinner. I don't really care about the supposedly better cleaning ability, and/so I decided to look into other rinseless products.
 
I'm not a fan of the new IUDJ Pure. I don't care for the scent (Fruity Pebbles maybe?) and it's not as versatile as the original. Maybe my unopened 16oz bottle of the original will be worth millions some day.
 
I'm not a fan of the new IUDJ Pure. I don't care for the scent (Fruity Pebbles maybe?) and it's not as versatile as the original. Maybe my unopened 16oz bottle of the original will be worth millions some day.
Ah, thanks for posting that! Confirms my suspicions, glad I got the Optimum.

If you ever want to part with that bottle for not-millions, let me know.

BTW, I recently opened my last jug of the EFCP, and used it on the beater-Tahoe, which is soon to get paintwork. Wow, looks great! I hadn't seen it with the carnauba-ish glow, and the different look is working for me :) That stuff was old when we moved into this house in 2000, but it still works fine.
 
I tried N914 as a clay lube when I was playing with a new clay mitt. I cannot tell since N914 never really feels super slick.
 
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