ronmart

I was reading the Your most significant detailing product? thread on Autopia and noticed that some people were listing one or two items and others were using a bunch of acronyms or abbreviations I never heard of before. As a result, I thought it would be great to have a single thread where people throw down what products that you MUST have when detailing a car so I created a new thread where I listed out my favorites and got some interesting feedback. However, I'm seeing that the audience there is a lot different than the audience on rennlist, so I'd be interested in seeing what people here say to see how it compares. To keep things together, I've decided to repost my massive list here and see how it goes...

Towels, car shampoos, mitts, etc... are all fair game so list what you have.

BONUS POINTS for those who provide links to what they use and REMEMBER NO ABBREVIATIONS (i.e., SSS, CG, GG, BHB, etc... are all BS (abbreviation pun intended). LIST OUT WHAT YOU MEAN).

I'll start with my top products in order.

Ron's Top 20 Must Have Detail Items

1. Griots Garage Car Wash with the Gallon Pump Head - excellent lubricant, great suds, smells good, and two squirts are enough for your 5 gallon bucket

2. Sonus Der Wunder Wash Mitt (short pile microfiber) - easy to be sure your mitt is clean between dips

3. Sonus Der Wunder Drying Towel - these are wonderful! I have 8 because I'm OCD, but two are sufficent for normal people.

4. Griots Wheel Cleaner - I'm also a fan of P21s Gel Wheel Cleaner, but it is way too expensive (although I keep some around for stubborn cases)

5. Meguiars Versa-Angle Wheel Face Brush - Awesome brush safe for all wheel types and cleans up the wheels in a hurry.

6. Sonus Leather Care Bundle with extra Sonus SFX Professional Applicators - This stuff will make your leather soft as a baby bottom. It is AMAZING like nothing I've ever seen for any price. It stinks a bit when you put it on, but the smell goes away within a few hours leaving you with clean wonderfully soft seats.

7. Sonus Der Wunder Polishing Towel The are FANTASTIC lint-free towels for interior wipe downs, use with ANY interior product, as well as the final touches on glass.

8. Klasse Complete Kit OR just Klasse All-In-One &Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze with 2 Sonus Der Wunder Applicators and Sonus Der Wunder Buffing Towel - Want your paint to look like glass and be protected for a 6 months plus? Look no further - PERIOD.

9. Griots Garage Machine Polish & Wax Kit with Monkey Tail Cord Cover - Porter Cables are good too and arguably more versatile, but I like this one because it vibrates less AND has a much better handle. It also uses a different mount which disapates heat better, so it is truely the idiot proof polisher. The stuff in this kit is enough to get you started for the perfect finish.

10. Griots Garage Six Piece Microfiber Polish & Wax Removal Cloth Set - You've gotta get that polish and wax off, and these do the job nicely. However, the equivalents at Autopia and Poorboys are just as good.

11. P21s Carnauba Wax - Zymol shymol, Zanio schmanio. I LOVE this stuff and you only need to look at my avitar to see the results of using ONE coat of this stuff on a car that had only been washed.

12. Stoner Invisible Glass Cleaner - Im still looking for someting better, but until I find it, this is IT. However, I only use it on the exterior as it is too messy for the interior. I use whatever I have laying around (currently Sonus) for the interior.

13. Quick Detailer. There are TONS of products and people are religous about there choices, so pick your favorite. For my garage queen I use Griots Garage Speed Shine and for everything else I use Meguiars Quik Detailer

14. Autoglym Engine Cleaner - this stuff will get your engine bay perfect with minimal effort.

15. 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover - If it is welded to your paint, this is how you remove it safely. Always re-wax or re-seal the area after applying this product.

16. Griots Garage Vinyl & Rubber Dressing - A nice matte finish for your interior and tires. Its like Armor All without the greasy feeling or dust collecting shine.

17. Griots Garage Chrome Polish & Wipes Kit - This stuff will amaze you at how nice your chrome can really look (it is easy to take for granted that cleaning is enough). The wipes are expensive, but a scratch free solution.

18. Griots Garage Glass Polish - When used with an orbital on windsheilds WITHOUT exterior film (usually found on Japanese vehicles) it can bring your glass back to a new car luster.

19. Griots Garage Plastic Polish - Get rid of those marks on your wood or plastic finish inside your car with this stuff and make your exterior head and tail lights absolutely glow.

20. Two-Way Mini Detail Brush - for nooks and crannies inside and out.

HONORABLE MENTION (like to have, but not must have - in order)

IF you have a fabric cabriolet top, then RAGGTOPP Fabric/Vinyl Cleaner with Griots Garage Horse Hair Leather & Interior Brush

Griots Garage Anti Hose Catchers - these things looked silly when I first saw them, but when I saw them in use at Griots I bought them on an impulse. After having them at home I'm in love with them because they keep the damn water hose, vaccuum hose (from my built-in house vac), and power cord (for the orbital) from getting hooked on the tires. Silly and overpriced perhaps, but I love it and am glad I have it.

The Ultimate Aluminum Hose Nozzle - this is cheaper than those found elsewhere and works fine for my purposes. It is even better with the Griots Garage Touch and Flow Valve although it does cause the water pressure to dip slightly.

Meguiars Duo-Fiber Glass Towel

Griots Garage Machine Polish 2 - This is the most abrasive product I feel comfortable using. Others will use a more abrasive products (like Griots Garage Machine Polish 1) but those types of polishes level the paint and require additional restoration which I just don't prefer to do to my paint. Many will disagree, so your mileage may vary.

Griots Garage Micro Fiber Cleaner - this stuff works MAGIC on getting stains out your microfiber

Griots Garage Rubber Cleaner with Meguiars Versa-Angle Tire Brush

Dawn Liquid - for wax build-up removal and pad cleaning

Grit Guard with any 5 gallon bucket that works with it. I prefer 2 - 1 pre-rinse and 1 rinse.

Griots Garage Wheel Scrubber Brushes

Quick Wax - There are TONS of these products, so pick your favorite. Personally I use Griots Garage Spray On Wax on my 911 and Meguiars Quik Wax on my Black Mercedes and my wife's Lexus. I'm also likely to try other products as neither of these is perfect, so feel free to choose from others list for this one.

All Natural Boars Hair Brush. I got $20 off the kind sold at Griots Garage, but ones with equal quality for less money are out there. NOTE: I ONLY use this product for heavy grit removal for the lower panels and I only use it with LIGHT single wipe strokes with a dip between each wipe (just as I'd do with a mitt). Again, this is a VERY controversial item, so your mileage may vary.

7-1/2 inch, Constant Pressure™ German Polishing Pad for use with final waxes like Griots Garage Best of Show Wax or a Carnauba Wax.

Griots Garage Machine Polish 4 - for water spot removal or MINOR surface flaws on new or recently polished paint

Griots Garage Undercarriage Spray - GREAT for SUV wheel wells (smells good too)

Meguiars Wheel Spoke Brush - this thing is USELESS for wheel spokes, but FANTASTIC for cleaning wheel wells

Concours Buffing Towel

Whew, thats' a BIG list. I'm sad to say, that is NOT every product I have nor is it everything I tried. These are just the ones that I think work well. I encourage you to take the time to add your list as well and PLEASE consider adding links and DO NOT abbreviate.

cdodkin

So in order of use - Chris's top 15 Detailing Products:

1) 2 Turtlewax Wool Wash Mitts (with 2 buckets of course) - one for Paint, one for wheels

2) Vroom Xtra large 16"x16" Microfiber Cloths for drying etc (Target)

3) Meguiars Clay (Mild)

4) Meguiars Quick Detail (as a clay lube)

5) PorterCable (essential)

6) Sonus DAS Pad Kit (great pad selection from scratch removal to waxing)

7) Sonus 'SwirlBuster' pad (Your friend if you own a black car!)

8) Sonus SFX-2 Enhance Swirl Remover (Works like a charm with the Swirlbuster pad)

9) Meguiars NXT Wax - easy on/off and candy hard shine

10) Sonus DAS Buffing Bonnet for wax removal

11) 303 Aerospace Protectant for interior/exterior black surfaces - 100% UV sunscreen for you car

12) Armor All® Leather Care for seats - cleans and feeds the leather

13) Autoglym Glass Polish - simply the BEST glass polish

14) Simple Green for cleaning alloys - easy cleaning and no issues with damaging paint or alloys

15) Dyson DC07 Vacuum Cleaner - just delivers - worth the $$$

I use Autopia Car Care for most of my products - plus the occasional Pep Boys, Target etc etc..

And the results.....



Chris.

ronmart

Can't argue with the results - looks sweet.

UDPride

My list is pretty short. In no order these are what I use and what I use them for:

Glass cleaner -- Ive yet to use one that satisfies me. All of them promise the world, none of them deliver, especially when the windows are hot. Im currently experimenting with my own homemade concoctions. As it is, I find there to be little difference in many major glass cleaners. Griots, Eagle 1 etc etc. All of them are mediocre in my opinion. Ive tried everything. Even the spray ons in the aerosol cans. This is my biggest gripe in the concours world. Getting hot windows clean. I end up using diluted vinegar in water as much as anything.

Interior -- Griots interior cleaner. Buy it by the gallon. Nothing works better on carpet. Looks mild just sitting in the bottle but it pulls up dirt all the others leave behind. Gentle on all fabrics though and it will clean pretty much anything, even vinyl and plastic.

Leather and Vinyl -- Lexol and Vinylex.

Wash -- Most of the upper end ones will pretty much do the job. Its hard to screw up car soap. Griots, P21S, etc I use. More problematic for me is fighting hard water. Im going to have to break down and get an in-line hose water softener before too much longer. Cannot put it off. Water spots are killing me and its not the soap or sun.

Polish -- 3M Hand Glaze. Pretty much all I use. I like the consistency of it and I can use it with foam pads and feel the paint while I rub. For bad spots I'll use 3M Fine Rubbing Compound. Little thicker.

Clay bars -- Have all kinds, but dont use them. Im not convinced they work better than polishing compounds, at least on my cars. And I dont like the lack of feel in the clay bars. Every now and then Ill use it, but they can leave clay marks on the car and I dont like that.

Orbital -- I have a PC but I rarely use it. I get more polish and wax dust when using it than I do just doing it by hand and it cant get into all the crevices and straight angles on the car. If I need a quick job I'll use it though. Otherwise I always do it with foam pads by hand. Maybe Im not just not a pro at using an orbital. I also dont like the fact that the cord and the orbital can come into contact with the car -- even by accident. Wielding a big metal hand tool around the car scares me. Same with a flopping cord that falls on the car.

Wax -- Secret sauce. Cant give this one away. Its my one edge at the shows.

Rubber trim -- if its oxydized, I use Black Again. No longer made, but I scored some off a buddy who bought up the remaining boxes of it. Its like a thick substance and activates in the sun. Incredible. Puts Mothers Back to Black to shame. The beauty is can be used on anything black -- even metal. I use it on my wiper arms and door handles too.

Rubber trim detail -- Griots rubber/vinyl dressing is pretty good for a finish coat. Very thin but leaves a decent non greasy shine. Expensive though.

Finish work -- Griots speedshine. At times I have a few issues with it, but compared to other stuff it does as well as any Ive used over the years.

Wheels -- I usually use Griots wheel cleaner just because its BBS approved and I have BBSs. P21S isnt bad, but I find it as expensive and no better.

Wheel tools -- I dont know what they are called, but they are the Griots brushes that are like thin loufas on a stick. They work great on mesh wheels. Just stick them in the mesh holes and start fornicating.

Tire dressing -- Not sure on this one yet. Just bought Griots new long lasting tire dressing but havent used it yet. Ive been using the Griots rubber/vinyl dressing in the past. I dont like shiny glossy tires. I want a very faint sheen that looks factory.

Metal polish -- Mothers Bullit?? Its the paste in the little glass container thing. Im not a huge Mothers fan but I have only the exhaust tips to worry over so it does the job.

There's no right or wrong. Just what works. I try to use the least amount of product to get the desired affect. More than one way to skin a cat and each car is different.

ronmart

Excellent post - thanks!

Ha, ha, ha!

Those are the Griots Garage Wheel Scrubber Brushes that I refer to in my post. They do work well, and who can argue with fornicating!

SilverSteel

If you're buying your towels at Target, you better be careful. Most cheepie towels are sewn with nylon cording on the end, which can cause scratching. I, unfortunately, can prove it on my wife's brand new car. I switched to Viper towels that are sewn with silk thread. Small detail, but it can cause hairline problems. Griots baseball card bubble gum smelling spray is good (I have a gallon), but 3m's is better as it is more concentrated and leaves a smoother glassier finish. I know this stuff is all taste, but check it out. There's no arguing with your results. Very nice looking car.

IcemanG17

Hmm

My favorite item I recently (two years ago when I bought the 928) switched too was microfiber towels....a huge improvement!!

Rejex is great stuff too.....

www.adamspolishes.com makes some great tire dressing, VRT & engine-trim spray, In & Out spray...and their detail spray is the best I have ever used!! (previously Mequiars, Mothers, Griots)

Simple green cleans just about anything and doesn't streak rims.....

Lexol for leather

Dustbuster works great for most vacuuming...mostly since its cordless

Deanski

1: Makita 9227 Rotary polisher and pads from cutting to finishing.

2: Polishes: Menzerna Intensive Polish, Final Polish, P085RD, Glaze. Other polishes: Meguiars Dual Action Cleaner/polish (83), Machine Polish (3). Assortment of glazes from 3M, Menzerna, Meguiars, Clearkote.

3: Last Step Products: Zaino, Souveran Paste, Poorboys EX-P, Natty Blue, Klasse All In One and SG. Wolfgang Sealant, assortment of Zymol waxes and glaze.

4: Quick Detailer: Zaino Z-8, Z-6. 1Z Lackfinish, Meguiars Final Detail, Poorboys Spray & Wash, Poorboys Quick Shine

5: Interior: Zaino Z-10, Woolite (6to1), 1Z Cockpit Premium, 303, carpet extractor. wet/dry vac

6: Metal/chrome: Flitz

7: Tires: Zaino or Stoner More Shine Less Time.

8: Wheels: Wash with soap.

9: Wash: Zaino Z7, 1Z Perls, Poorboys Super Slick Suds, Foam gun Many sheepskin mitts and buckets. hand Held leaf blower

10: Clay: Sonus Ultra FIne, Claymagic Blue

11: Towels: Pakshak, Poorboys, Autopia all MF towels, DF Towels.

12: Glass: Stoner Invisible Glass

13: Undercar/wheel wells: Meguiars Engine Detailer, Poorboys Bold & Bright, Meguiars APC Plus.

14: Engine: 303 spray protectant. Poorboys Bold & Bright, Meguiars Engine Detailer, Meguiars APC Plus

15: Brushes: Fine squirrel, mink, boars hair, for interior. Assorted wheel brushes.

16: Lighting: Halogen 1000W work lights on stands, Metal Halide 1000W on stands. ( used for finding paint defects)

17: Paint gauges: two paint thickness Fender Splendor and Promotorcar

And more odds and ends such as tool carry totes, totes for polishes, roll-arounds etc.

I have more, but this is what I use normally depending on finish.

Deanski

Jay H

I won't get to 20, but here is what I've been using.

1) Vacuum. Pick one. Doesn't matter what brand it is.
2) Car Soap. Pick one. Doesn't matter what brand it is.
3) Cotton or wool for washing, synthetics for drying
3) 3M Hand Glaze. A must have product that's proven itself for concours uses and in paint shops.
4) Wax - Pick one. Many products are exceptional now days. I use Blitz Wax and P21S.
5) One Grand Exterior and Rubber Treatment for exterior rubber and tires. Honorable mention: DuPont Teflon tire dressing. Has been discontinued, but never slops on the body after driving and leaves a lower gloss sheen if so desired.
5A) I still have a bottle of original Black Again from 1996. Like UDPride says, it's an insane product that will make anything black. Too bad this was discontinued. I only use this on special problems and never use it on customer cars in order to keep saving it for my own cars. Nothing really has come close to this stuff. It must be toxic to wildlife or cause cancer or someone would still be making this stuff. I'd pay insane amounts for another bottle of this stuff.
6) Turtle Wax Tar Remover. Cheap bottle of "over the counter" crap that will remove anything from paint.
7) Vinylex by Lexol for interior trim. A must have. It'll hide a lot of sins. Perfect tire dressing too for concours cars.
8) Lexol leather cleaner and conditioner. There are better products, but this does the trick for most leather I clean. I ruined an older seat with Armor All leather cleaner/conditioner back in 1996...
9) Box of Johnson & Sons brand Q-Tips
10) Box of cheap tooth pics
11) Tooth brush
12) Shout!, Carpet Science (Johnson Wax brand) or Woolite stain remover for carpets.
13) The Works window cleaner. Again, original formula would clean anything, now the new stuff is not as good. However, it's cheap and this company has a pretty good formula for window cleaner. Buff windows with crumpled newspaper or paper towels for a streak free finish.
14) My two hands. Man, they are pounded up, cut up and I suffer from eczema on my hands from years of chemicals, but they sure do a good job after all these years... I do everything by hand and nothing by machine. I've cut back on detailing a lot since my hands can't take it anymore... I agree with UDPride on the orbital polisher... Not sure I like a machine around paint and having a cord grind in dirt into paint...
15) Dawn dish soap and water. You'd be amazed at what you can clean with just these two things. Griots interior cleaner is a close second. That stuff is f'n good.
16) Talent and experience. I don't have much of either, but it really takes an eye for detail (pun intended) to be a good, top quality detailer that can get paid a good wage. I've seen guys with thousands of dollars of detailing products laying next to their cars as they furiously buff away at their paint, but their cars look just average. I've seen pro concours winners use just minimal stuff to get exceptional results. Just gotta know what you are doing.

Jay
90 964

UDPride

Jay mentioned one I forgot to add on my own list -- toothbrushes.

I go to the dollar store and buy the cheap 10 pack for $2. Work great when cleaning carpet in tight areas.

A couple other tools:

- razor blade for digging out dried wax along trim and stuff (be gentle!)

- those tiny winy brushes on a toothpick Griots sells or that you can get at a hobby store. I use those to touch up chips.

- those slightly largers detail brushes (double-ended) Griots sells. I used those to apply rubber dressing to, then clean the accordian rubber bumper parts on the car. They get into the accordian grooves nicely. They make quick work of dash vents too for dusting.

ronmart

Have you tried Griots Speed Shine, and if so how would you compare it to these? I ask because I notice that other QD's I've used tend to streak more and take more effort to remove than Griots, which is why it is my current favorite. However, I've never tried any of the products you have so I'm open to new products if there is a good reason to try it out.
Have you tried Autoglym? I'd just be curious as I thought that stuff was simply amazing yet it didn't seem toxic.
Squirrel and Mink? That's a new one for me, but I can see the benefit of such a soft fur. Where do you even get those products?

Jay H

I use those extra cheap foam paint brushes you can get for $.69 at any hardware store, Menards, Sears, etc. Works great for applying an even coat of vinyl dressing on 911 window trim and bumper bellows...

tetzlafh

1. Meguiars Gold Class shampoo
2. Lamb's wool wash mit
3. 2 wash buckets(1 soap, 1 rinse)
4. Klasse All-in-one
5. P21S wax
6. Sponge and wheel brush
7. Sonus microfiber wax applicator pads
8. Sonus microfiber buffing towels(2)
9. Sonus microfiber polishing towels(2)
10.Sonus waffle weave mf drying towels(2)
11.Microfiber towels for interior (3)
12.Make up brushes of various shapes for interior detailing

And that is it for now as the car is only 3 weeks old and slowly expanding my cleaning product/supply range. Will give credit to Autopia though for detailed techniques and recommendations by Autopia and Rennlist for products to purchase.

Dale Gribble

1) Soap

2) Pressure Washer

3) Meguires

4-20) 16 Hot chick is bikini's to do the work while i drink beer and watch.

ronmart

Where do you buy those? I think that is the only thing I don't have in my detail arsenal yet!