What are your favorite detailing products?

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Please share your favorite detailing products at the moment, by category. Feel free to list chemicals, pads, towels and/or machines.

It would be interesting to see what others are finding success with!
 
spit shinning anything that bothers me is the most I have done as far as detailing my cars.

weirdly I have polished my leather shoes quiet a few times but only took any of my cars to a self wash twice before, I never understood the appeal to clean cars, I love them mechanically but exterior? as long as it looks in good condition, it is okay with me. Never cared for excellent condition, because when I start caring, any [censored] giving me a door ding or scratch will start to upset me to another level, so I say let it be!
 
Originally Posted By: 01_celica_gt
spit shinning anything that bothers me is the most I have done as far as detailing my cars.

weirdly I have polished my leather shoes quiet a few times but only took any of my cars to a self wash twice before, I never understood the appeal to clean cars, I love them mechanically but exterior? as long as it looks in good condition, it is okay with me. Never cared for excellent condition, because when I start caring, any [censored] giving me a door ding or scratch will start to upset me to another level, so I say let it be!


I agree ....especially the part about getting upset when dinged.

I usually give my cars a wax/polish job a few times a year coupled with a nice vacuum job and an Armor-All wipe down of the dash and trim.. I use regular off the shelf products like Turtle Wax, Simonize etc.

I guess some find it therapeutic to spend hours detailing their car but I find more than an hour a chore.
 
Meguiars natural shine for inside, meguairs ultimate paste wax and ultimate quik wax for touch up.

I don't have much so I try my best to take car of what I have.
 
Since I really only detail my own vehicles these days(seldom for paying jobs anymore), I have turned to the easy products. Lots of quick detail type products on the paint and just mostly clear(baby oil type/silicone) tire dressing on tires and everything else that rubber or vinyl.

Once in a while, I do like to go to town on each vehicle but, it has more to do with the time spent on each vehicle, more so than products(brand/type) used.

And I do have several products for interior/exterior that I mostly bought on sale or at closeout stores.

Should I take a paying job, I do still have some finer products on the shelf. Many mentioned & held in high regard here at Bob's and other forums.
 
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I'm of the persuasion that the less you touch your car finish, the better (micro marring).

I have been using Zaino products for the past 12 years with awesome results. I only detail my daily driver (outdoors 24/7) 2 times/year (spring/fall) and my car is still beading as I write this. I have never had to do a correction polish in over thirty years (maybe a spot correction where somebody bumped it).

- Quick and light clay (any brand) using diluted car wash soap
- Zaino AIO as a cleaner/prep.
- 2 coats Z2 with ZFX.
-Pakshak towels still going strong after 10 years (yikes).

I use 303 per the interweb sheeple mandate - do exterior parts about 4x annually.

At work I am trying out the Duragloss product line on Ag. equipment with good results. It is much cheaper.

I would try other new age products if I could buy trial amounts at low cost.
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
Meguiars natural shine for inside, meguairs ultimate paste wax and ultimate quik wax for touch up.

I don't have much so I try my best to take car of what I have.

Most of the time, since it's so *&^%** hot here, I do about the same, with a rinse and sheepskin mitt wipedown first at the DIY car wash. Then twice a year, say March and December, I'll do a claying with the ClayMagic, then a glaze (usually Mother's), then the Meguiar's wax. Tires get the Natural Shine or 303, as do the rubber and plastic exterior trim and the plastic and vinyl inside.

Now and then I'll use the car wash vacuum on the carpets. I have a local product leather cleaner that I use on the seats when I notice them starting to look a little grimy. The vinyl floor mats I take into the house, spray with a cleaner from Dollar Tree, and rinse out in the shower.

I'm proud of my car and I want to see it gleaming when I walk up to it!
 
I hate to admit but I like using Nu Finish prior to winter, for the price its durable. Maybe not the best product butits cheap and durable. I sto ked up on clay bars from kmarts and gave the Corolla a good claying all over followed by Nu Finish. I would like to maybe try a paint sealant product on top of that to provide additional protection and hopefully save me from having to clay again. Proper claying and wax took me a good 4 hours to make sure I got to the under side parts of the paint.

OP, any recommendations for an easy sealant (spray on wipe off or something easier to apply than wax) that lasts a decent amount of time and is reasonable? I d prefer not to spend 30$..under 20$ would be ideal. Thanks!!
 
Car wash soap - Optimum Car Wash. Relatively inexpensive, lots of suds, good cleaning power, and smells like blueberries. Optimum Car Wash replaced my previous favorite wash, which was 1Z Perls.

Quick Wax - CarPro Hydro2. I cannot believe how simple this is to use. Good shine and slick surface afterwards. If it were not for the cost, I'd use this after every other car wash. Also great for hard to reach areas such as wheels and wheel wells.

Sealant - CarPro Reload (original formula). Wipe on, wipe off sealant. Very slick surface. Seems to be self cleaning, as driving the car after a rain event gets almost everything off.

Tire cleaner - Tuf Shine Tire Cleaner

While CarPro Hydro2 and Reload replaced my previous favorites, I still think they are worthy to mention. Optimum Opti-Seal and Optimum Car Wax. Both products are simple to use and offer good protection from the elements.
 
Quote:
I'm of the persuasion that the less you touch your car finish, the better (micro marring).


I agree with 110% If all you did is to make sure to remove the tree sap and bird poop immediately from the paint, the paint would most likely last for the life of the car and will be still in good shape after a decade (assuming no manufacturer defects in the paint quality or application).

Whatever the dust and dirt that is accumulated over the paint will get washed off during a good rainstorm. I am the guy who remembers to park my vehicles outside when a strong rain is in the forecast.
 
I'm a fan of Meguiars spray waxes and liquid wax.

But it doesn't last long, I drive a black car. It gets dirty within 2 days.
 
Interior / trim / weather seals:
1Z cockpit premium
1Z Plastic deep cleaner
1Z gummi pflege (rubber care)

Main wash/detail:

Optimum No Rinse. (for wash / QD / clay lube)
Nanoskin fine grade clay SPONGE.
Blackfire Crystal Seal sealant.
Optimum Car Wax.
Sonax wheel cleaner.
Poorboy's wheel wax

QD stuff:
DG Aquaqax.
Meg's Ult Quick wax.
Meg's Ult QD
Sonax Brilliant Shine QD

Pooprboys' Bug Squash.
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I hate to admit but I like using Nu Finish prior to winter, for the price its durable. Maybe not the best product butits cheap and durable. I sto ked up on clay bars from kmarts and gave the Corolla a good claying all over followed by Nu Finish. I would like to maybe try a paint sealant product on top of that to provide additional protection and hopefully save me from having to clay again. Proper claying and wax took me a good 4 hours to make sure I got to the under side parts of the paint.

OP, any recommendations for an easy sealant (spray on wipe off or something easier to apply than wax) that lasts a decent amount of time and is reasonable? I d prefer not to spend 30$..under 20$ would be ideal. Thanks!!

Sealants and other forms of protection will make clean-up easier, but it does not stop contaminants from bonding to the paint. In fact, frequent washing and parking indoors will be your best defense against this issue.

Durability of sealants, waxes and coatings will vary significant depending on your environment and the user. I do not know what will hold up for a long time in your area, but most decent products will last for a few months out here if they are properly applied to a completely de-contaminated surface. I’ve yet to see any product (other than a coating) truly last for more than a few months, so I am quite skeptical of the claims that I see on here.

Originally Posted By: Vikas
Quote:
I'm of the persuasion that the less you touch your car finish, the better (micro marring).


I agree with 110% If all you did is to make sure to remove the tree sap and bird poop immediately from the paint, the paint would most likely last for the life of the car and will be still in good shape after a decade (assuming no manufacturer defects in the paint quality or application).

Whatever the dust and dirt that is accumulated over the paint will get washed off during a good rainstorm. I am the guy who remembers to park my vehicles outside when a strong rain is in the forecast.


This isn’t exactly true – the rain will not wash off the road film and the heavy layers of dirt off the vehicle. As dirt and contaminants stay on the vehicle, contaminants and fallout will bond to the finish… overtime. This is why infrequently washed cars will still feel rough after a wash – it’s because a heavy layer of contaminants have built-up – and you will need to clay. Frequent, proper washing is key to a good maintenance program.
 
Originally Posted By: Rolla07
I hate to admit but I like using Nu Finish prior to winter, for the price its durable. Maybe not the best product butits cheap and durable. I sto ked up on clay bars from kmarts and gave the Corolla a good claying all over followed by Nu Finish. I would like to maybe try a paint sealant product on top of that to provide additional protection and hopefully save me from having to clay again.


Will a good sealant adhere to Nu Finish? Or would it be better to clay bar, apply the sealant and then top coat it with Nu Finish? I'm thinking clay, sealant, then Nu Finish would be the better way to go? Thanks..
 
Shampoo- CarPro Reset/ Meg's Hyper Wash (Reset is an awesome shampoo... just not cost effective for non-coating type details)

Decon/Clay- CG clay, all grades (Not a huge fan of Nanoskin type products...although I do use them).
Body Solvent- Tar removal/ Tree Sap removal (I like Tarminator but aerosol is too inaccurate near trim items and this product will stain trim. CarPro Trix/ TarX are simply not strong enough, in my experience, to really address gobs of bonded tar.)
CarPro IronX- iron removal

Clay lube- ONR diluted to QD strength (I like Meg's Final Touch better but cost is not there.)

QD- HD Touch... NEVER streaks on any base colors. Two wipes and the product is gone... super slick. (I don't use it a lot or any QD's for that matter... but when I have to wipe down a car because the customer couldn't pick it up 'on time'... then it is a blessing to have.)

Rinseless Wash- Meg's D114 Rinse Free Express Wash. (Wipes off quite a bit easier than ONR and leaves nothing behind.)

Compound- M100

Mid-range polish- HD Adapt

Fine polish- HD Polish

Beauty LSP- HD Poxy (bad part is the recommended 45 minute cure time prior to wipe off but you can usually change up the workflow to allocate things to do to the car while this hybrid sealant is curing. This LSP also fills quite a bit... can be a good thing in the right situation.)

Quick Wax- Meg's D156 (Maybe not the longest lasting or best looking but it doesn't streak and it buffs off easy.)

Towels- just about any offering from the Rag Co. in the detailing line.
 
Even though its cheap and seems silly - I drive an old explorer and I like Back to black to keep my weather worn/graying plastic trim pieces looking nice.
I also like using Tuff Stuff.
Its in a yellow can and keeps interior bits grime free and clean.
If your car sees a lot of activity I recommend this. We use it at the dealership in all of our brand lines:Mercedes,Mazda,Mistzu, Chrysler, Jeep,and Dodge when we send them through our detail dept.
Additionally safelight glass cleaner is what we use on interior windows for smoked in cars to get that icky residue off.
We sell a 3m sealant product many people swear by when buying new; but I've seen mixed reviews from our Mercedes customers. (Spotting after rain,etc)
 
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