Spent the day hand detailing the car, and thought it'd be great to ask the community what car care products you use that you find effective!

For me

Paint sealant of choice: http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-pow...k-sealant.html (can't speak highly enough of this)

For paint correction, I use a variety of these products here: http://www.autogeek.net/menzerna-of-germany.html

For clay bar and such: Meguires cleaner wax and clay bar for me

For leather care, I use Lexol cleaner/conditioner

For regular touchups, I use Meguires Instant Detailer

For rim cleaner, I use Autoglym wheel cleaner

For aluminum trim, I use Autoglym metal polish

For wheel/rim care (brake dust repallent), I use Autoglym wheel protector

I swear by the products above. What do you use?

Hope that helps the community!

 

I was planning on detailing my car during the first week of June since weather is finally getting better. Very Nice List of products.. What do you use for applying polish,compound,wax etc... Do you do it by hand or have a dedicated polisher ( if so which one ?) or do u have a drill attachment ( any recommendations for that)

Thanks in advance.

 

The Northern Americas seem to use a lot more products than here Down Under.

I must be old fashioned, I just wash then polish my car.

The polish I use is American of course , Colinite Transformer Wax. http://www.collinite.com/automotive-wax/insulator-wax/

It is hard to find a more aggressive place than in a open to the weather high voltage switchyard.

The vinyl sun protectant I use is Aerospace 303 :-
https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...ace-protectant

Non oily, non shiny & seems to do the job for the last 10 years.

 

Hmm

Regarding 303


It says it leaves treated surfaces glossy. Is that really not the case? I think I may give this a shot as the product that I'm using doesn't repel dust very well. Thanks!

 

I use a combination of different products that I have found are not only cost efficient but give great results. I have a black C300 and is my daily driver, the products below keep my car looking great. I detail my car once a year with a dual action polisher and different hex pads. I only either wash my own car or have it hand wash every couple of weeks. I have been using these products for many years and find they do a great job.


When I detail the car I first wash the car with Dawn and use a boar's hair brush. Why? Because Dawn will strip all the old wax and sealer off the car. Then I clay the car which includes doing the windshield. I then use the Wofgang Swirl remover on an orange medium pad. The Wolfgang can be used either with a polishing pad (white or green) for less aggressive polishing or a yellow pad for a more aggressive use. Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover works well because it's a unique breed of abrasives that level paint without scratching and it does it well. If your paint is not to bad then just polish the paint to remove any minor imperfections.



Once the car is polished and wiped clean I put on the Black Light glaze which seals in the shine and fills any minor imperfections. Once the glaze has bonded to the paint I put on two coats of JetSeal, this products uses a nano technology to bond and seal the paint. The products keeps things from really sticking to the paint, I also apply it to the windshield. This is the longest part of the detailing because of the time one has to wait between applications, but it is worth it. Then I top the car off with a coat of Black Luminous Glow Infusion to give it a shine that all my customer ask if it is a new car.


Claying: Griot's clay and their Speed Shine.
Polish: Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0
Glaze: Black Light: Hybrid Radiant Finish
Sealer: JetSeal it seals the paint and last 12 months.
Top Wax: Black Luminous Glow Infusion


You can find the JetSeal, Black Luminous and Black Light on Chemical Guys.com


The Wolf Gang I purchase through Auto Geek.com


The Griot's clay and Speed shine can be purchase at Griots.com


All the sites have "How To" sections and Chemical guys have a bunch of you tube videos on how their products are applied. Chemical guys is more for the professional detailer site, but they sell their products in kits and have a good selections of micro fiber towels. They also sell good leather and vinyl products to both clean and protect. Chemical Guys products are made to be used sparingly, a little goes a long way.

The best interior vinyl product cleaner I have used is the Griot's, it removed the dog drool that not even Simple Green would remove.


I started detailing cars in college to make beer money so I have been doing this for 40 plus years I have tried lots of products. I started when products like Autoglym first came on the scene and P21 for your wheels. They were good but as everything in the world the reuse of engineering time helped develop the products that are out there. Also remember a lot of these products come from other industries, and I know I don't have as much free time to care for my cars as I use to. But I still like to drive a nice shiny car.

 

...coupe remains in my garage and while in use I park away from trees.........

The nice dealer location in the high roller foothills area washes it every now and then.

Iridium Silver - MHO - really needs little attention by this sailor.

The front wheels are subject to brake dust (I do use a wheel cleaner)......Rears are mostly dust-free.

After nearly three years and 9500 miles, I've no complaints.



ez

 

Should MB-Tex be cared for like regular vinyl? I use Meguiar's G4116 Natural Shine Protectant on all vinyl and MB-Tex.

 

I personally use Lexol leather conditioner.

My understanding is that you can use leather car care products with vinyl/rubber but not the other way around

I'm not 100% sure if that is in fact true, but this strategy has worked very well for me. I use leather car care products for the dash, seats, and everything in my vehicle. It has worked well - very few creases, little dust etc.

 

plus freaking one on the Insulator wax! that stuff is no joke. I don't use it on my jeweled garaged vehicles, but i do use it on the boat, and truck that get serious abuse from the ocean air and elements. insulator wax really holds up like no other product. it is old school, very unforgiving to plastics but this stuff works.

when it comes to the cars i treat like sugar cubes, ive found all the various products with their hyped marketing yield similar visual results. sure they all look great. i usually end up with menzerna products, or blackfire...

just this spring i used some crap made from baby unicorn tears, and the results looked the same as the insulator wax.

interior wise, ive found Zaino Z9 and Z10 leather cleaner and treatment are excellent.

 

I went to research more about the Insulator wax. Is this synthetic or natural - not sure if you know?

 

its prob natural but i dont know for sure. it is very old and 'low tech'. it's not going to give you a super shiny, jeweled or wet look. its purpose is more function over looks. it will hold up to the elements and outlast the shiny showroom waxes and sealants.

 

I've never considered that. I used Lexol cleaner and conditioner religiously on my C280 seats. Always felt Lexol was one of the best. However, Lexol does make a Vinyl cleaner/ conditioner. Wouldn't that be a better choice considering MB-Tex is not in need of rejuvinating oils and PH-balance cleaner?

 

I use the following:

Interior:

1. turtle wax ice interior cleaner and protectant - this + a microfiber really lifts up dirt and does not leave any funny residue and is not shiny. The smell is also a plus. Been using this for almost 7 years now and not a single problem.

2. Air compressor - I think every car nut guy should have one on his garage and I use it to blow the dust out of the crevices and hard to reach areas. I also find after using it dust does not cling easily maybe because the air coming out produces a static charge that repels dust for a short while.

Exterior:

3. Meguiar's G17748 Ultimate Wash and Wax
4. Car Pro Reload (use it every 3 wash to maintain the gloss and water repellant feature)
5. Meguiar's quick detailer spray (use every wash)
6. Meguiar's : Hot Shine High Gloss Tire Coating (use it every 3 wash)
7. Wipe New - for unpainted black trims, rubber (use it every 4 months)

So far I have been using these for 7 years and the car still looks new. I also do a 3 bucket system wash.

 

I am a lazy sack of s--t. I use the local car wash and have them detail my car. They do lots of high end cars. I do have at home maguiar quick wax spray and for the seats I like the Griot garage 3 in 1 leather cleaner for quick clean ups. I live in a condo with underground parking. No real good place to work on cars.

 

You're absolutely right. I just have an abundance of the Lexol leather conditioner from a previous car so have continued to use it.

Probably overkill, but I want to make sure that it's OK for Vinyl and after googling it it seems that it's OK for it.

I'm not sure if it protects the leather/vinyl from UV light but I'm fairly certain that the windows block out UV light (have ceramic tint all around) and I'm fairly certain the windshield blocks out UV too.

I'll probably switch to the Lexol rubber/vinyl product and/or the 303 product once I'm done with it!

 

The shine is nothing like Armoral . After a couple of days it leaves just a "richness"& is non sticky.

 

"Leaves behind carnauba shine and durable coating that preserves finish and shields against the elements; UV, rain, snow, salt, dust, dirt, grime, bugs, staining and more. Handcrafted and poured in the USA."

 

I have not compared with other polishes on my cars but I am always impressed on their appearance after using Colinite. The 37 year old polished paint on my 1980 Peugeot looks impressive to me

I believe the results of car polishes can be subjective. The real test is to do a blindfold application on the half the bonnet (hood)to compare two polishes.

There is, like anything today, a lot of BS in the advertising of polishes/cleaning products. I like to be skeptical & think & check for myself. Some times the old tried & true are still as good or better than the newly advertised fads. The high advertising costs can eat into the profits of companies who then compromise on the quality of their products. !

 

Polish Angel is a step above others. Pricey but worth it.

 

Do you Use Lexol cleaner/conditioner on the steering wheel? I just upgraded to 2012 wheel and man the sun is real strong here.

 

My experience leads me to these:

For clay bar: Mothers clay works best for me

For paint correction: Menzerna Rough Cut
For paint final Polish: Menzerna Super Finish - numbers seem to constantly change??

Paint Coating: Car Pro C Quartz UK
Paint Coating maintenance: Car Pro Reload

For leather care: Blue Magic Leather and Vinyl Care works great for me, Lexol too

For regular touchups, I use Meguire's or Mother's Instant Detailer or ONR (Optimum No Rinse)

For rim cleaner: any Detailer often

For wheel/rim care (brake dust repellent): Car Pro C Quartz Delux

For Interior: Sonax Dashboard cleaner

I'm also a regular user of a California Duster on a garaged car.

For Engine: Gunk Engine Cleaner FOAMY
Followed by liberal coating with original Armorall Protectant while wet and wipe down after about 20 minutes.

Best Sources: Auto Geek, Detailed Image, or Autopia - - - Only "On Sale" and only when shipping is Free.

YMMV.

 

Yes