968rz

Couple days ago I went over to Hawk911's and we used his Griots system on my 968 and I must say I was impressed (even wife and my brother said "WOW!"). All we did was clay bar, Griots #3, Griots wax. So I would say it's a nice system. Do you need to use there polish? Probably not; but I would use a quality compound. The buffer never once got hot and I was giving it pretty good (vent system worked nice). The price for the kit was about $200, I’ve seen guys spend that much on a buffer alone and never got the look I did.

Anthony Orosco

Let me tell you guys & gals a few things about products and prices that I have learned in the last few years now that I am more involved with product development. Let's take your average window cleaner. You're paying $4 for 98% water and 2% surfactant. You can do the same thing with a homemade brew of distilled water, a little alcohol and a drop of dishwashing soap.

I personally have not bought any window cleaner in over 2 years now. I use only water, one wet microfiber towel and one dry one to dry and buff.

I won't name any brand names but I have 3 "high end" paste waxes with 3 different names but all 3 are the SAME paste wax. Only the colors and scents have changed. They also have 3 different prices, the cheapest starting out at around $30.00.

One car manufacturer sells a "plastic polish" and it is used by alot of detailers and car enthusiasts. It's claimed to be specially formulated for automotive plastics but in reality it's a furniture polish that was found to work well on plastic lenses. So they re-bottled it and jacked up the price. When I was told this I just bought the furniture polish and saved alot of money.

The truth is there are only a handful of chemical warehouses in the USA, like ValuGard, and they make one wax but may sell it to 12 different re-sellers. They can then customize it by adding their own colors, smells, etc. It's very expensive to research, create and market your own products, I know this because of my relationship with Dr. "G" of Optimum Technologies. He designs all of his own products from the ground up and it is a tough financial strain to say the least....not to mention the failed products we have gone through in the last year alone. You, the end user, only see the ones that are successful and not the 30 different variations of "wax" that failed before we got it right. So most of these ma and pa operations do not make their own products. Most of the high end sellers are not making their own products no matter what their advertisments tell you.

One interior dressing sells for $95.00 a gallon and people think right away,

"Boy! That must be the shizzle!! It must be made with special ingredients and outlast, out protect all others for sure!"

They buy it and brag about how much it costs them. They don't brag so much when I tell them I have the very same product with the very same ingredients and I paid $13.95 for my gallon. This happened at a car show once and after I explained some things to him he was pretty upset. I went through his whole "detailing box" and showed him that many of his products are redundant. He could get the same results in half the time with half the products if he knew the right products to get. So be cautious out there people and don't be sold on razzle dazzle marketing and fancy packaging alone.

End Rant.
Anthony

Jay H

This is very true.

Just a cheap bottle of white vinegar will also do in place of the alcohol.

I've got a $15 bottle of "One Grand" window cleaner that I wanted to try to see how good it was. The One Grand stuff is darn nice (it better be for $15!!), but my home brew is just as effective, if not better. I've also had good results with el'cheapo "The Works" brand window cleaner that I can get for $1.29 at the grocery store. I'm never spending $15 on window cleaner ever again...

Buford

Water isn’t a problem. It’s one of those things where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. My body is 65% water, and I feel significantly superior to a glass of iced tea.

I’m not afraid to mention brand names. I’m a professionally trained mechanic. Back when I was in training, we used Pledge on plastic body parts. It accomplished the same result as the car-care products, for a tiny fraction of the price. Of course, the down side of that is that it made everything smell like a lemon.

So, are you going to tell us what interior dressing you use (for $13.95 a gallon)? Is it better than my Richard Petty bottle?

iman11348

Anthony

Without naming the higher priced items that are identical, could you at least give us the names of the lower priced alternative products you discussed?

I certainly value your advice and opinion! I tried the Optimum products you have been recommending and have been very pleased with them and they are reasonably priced!

Anthony Orosco

The products I now use most are Optimum. From the car shampoo and clay (which at present is no longer available) to all interior and exterior products plus a few beta products in production.

For interior dressings you'll want one that offers UV absorbers, low sheen, non-greasy and water-based. Low sheen is best to reduce sun glare and one that dries with no remaining top oils to attract more dust. I have found these qualities in the Optimum Protectant Plus and it runs around $25.00 a gallon. The interior protectant I used previously was a highly concentrated product that cost around $36.00 a gallon but when reduced with water it equaled to about $13.00 a gallon.

It was a nice dressing and I still use it today but I now use it for mainly wheel wells and engines. It's called "Best Dressed" and is from Top Of The Line.

"303" is an excellant dressing and it, along with Optimum Protectant Plus, can be used on todays newer "coated" leather seats.

I used to carry the Hi-Temp line products along with Menzerna line. I had from Hi-Temp, "Smooth Cut", "Medium Cut", "Extreme Cut" and "Magnum". From Menzerna I carried Powergloss, Intensive Polish, Final Polish II, FMJ and their Glaze. I also had some products from 3M and Meguiars. On top of those I carried several paste waxes, Trade Secret, P21S, Victoria, Pizazz and for cream waxes I carried Pinnacle, Vanilla Moose, and a 1-step wax from Hi-Temp.

I now carry 2 polishes which are - Optimum Polish and Menzerna FPII I also carry 1 compound which is the new Optimum Hyper. That's it for my polish and correction products. I went from carrying a dozen to 3 and this is due to the unique (but now often copied) ability of Optimum to cover a wide range of correction and polish needs depending on the pad and methods used.

I carry NO paste waxes nor have I used a paste wax in a long time but I now use Optimum spray wax pretty much exclusively. It's just so darn easy to use that I can't see myself going back to a paste wax. Great shine and durability in one easy step. I, along with my fellow detailer and friend here in Texas, have been testing for Optimum a beta "one-step" cleaner/wax that is geared more for the consumer. Nice cleaning ability with some filling properties also. In our testing we get around 2 or 3 months durability.

I also have in the works my very own sealant Been testing and developing now for over a year in conjunction with David from Optimum and an updated version of it is being sent to me now and hopefully this will be the one!! It will last well over a year in its present state but the adding of some gloss enhancers and a scent may reduce that somewhat, I'll know soon. So far it works great....nothing sticks to it and the application of it is very unique

Hi-Temp is still the best "bang- for- your- buck" product line out there and whether you're a seasoned pro or a weekend warrior their products work great. They can be bought only on-line at Topoftheline.com

If you guys want a great and very cheap interior cleaner, safe for both leather and vinyl then buy some handwashable Woolite and cut it 6 parts water to 1 part Woolite. Mix it up in a spray bottle and you'll be very happy.

I use Leathermaster leather care products for all my leather care in regards to special cleaning needs, such as ink and oil stains, and for deep conditioning. Nothing I have used in my career has matched Leathermaster.

Well those are the products I use, if you have any other questions please feel free to ask.........also I will soon publish here on Rennlist my "How To" guide on basic car washing and detailing.

Anthony

500

Hey Anthony, thank you very much for that detailed overview. I really find your posts helpful and balanced. I have just recently tried Menzerna FPII as the finishing polish for the first time and really like it. Am I right to assume that when working on a typical job that needs significant paint correction you would start first with Optimum polish progressing to softer pads and then finish with FPII? After that do you then progress to the Optimum spray wax? I assume at this point the paint is "done", or do you do any additional steps? Finally, I would be interested in knowing what pad you are using with the FPII. I have only tried a Lake Country black (very soft) but am curious to know if that is the best choice...

Thanks!

Anthony Orosco

You're very welcome

You can get a Lake Country "blue" pad, which is a grade finer than the black pad and use that with your Final PolishII. If your paint is in fair condition Optimum Polish with a polish pad is a good starting point and you can then finish with FPII and a black pad -OR- you can do a 2 step Optimum first with a polish pad then again with the black pad and then use the FPII and the blue pad to finish off.

It all depends on your paint condition. Always start off with the least abrasive and work your way up the aggression scale if needed.

When satisfied with your finish Optimum spray wax would be your last step

Hope that helps,
Anthony

Luus

Anthony, I always enjoy your well considered posts Thank you for taking the time to edify us. I really appreciate your dedication to this forum.

500

Hey Anthony, those answers are very clear and exactly what I wanted to know, thanks again!

My paint is actually new paint. I used Glasurit products throughout and I did three coats of clear, wet-sanded it after curing and then added three more coats of clear, so I have lots to work with! From searching around here and Autopia, I have picked up a lot of good advice (much of it from you). It really makes a difference.