AVB-AMG

There are hundreds of different car care products and the same number of different opinions on what works best. While I am not a professional Detailer, I am as particular (read: obsessive compulsive......) about which products work best, based on my experience and choose to use on my cars, to accomplish different finish goals. After trying quite a few products over the years the following is what I have settled on to date. I hope this helps some of you who are curious what to use and will be interested to hear what others are using as well.

For my Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and my wife's BMW 335i xDrive Coupe:
Since 2007, I have been using the following Ultima products from Autopia Car Care for protecting the metallic paint finish of my Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars. The process and sequence I follow starts with washing our cars with the Chemical Guys Glossworkz, and then follow by preparing the paint, followed by applying the protective polymer. I have listed below each product in order of sequence, links to each product on their respective web site(s). Also, the noted ongoing/occasional cleaning system is great for removing tree sap, bug splats, etc. after having applied the polymer, as well as the listed Detail Spray that is formulated to be compatible with the protective polymer. The finish of this polymer is a very shiny high gloss that is sufficient for my tastes for daily driver cars, thus eliminating having to also apply a wax/polish and the time required to do that on a regular basis. If one wants to have a shine with more depth, it is suggested to use a high quality car polish on top or over the polymer, realizing it will only las 2-3 weeks with normal exposure to the environment. (I also suggest that you might want to read some of the customer reviews for each product):

Chemical Guys Glossworkz Hi-Foam Gloss Booster & pH Neutral Auto Wash
http://www.autogeek.net/chemical-guy...auto-wash.html

Ultima Paint Prep Plus Pre-wax Polish
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-4012-120.html

Ultima Paint Guard Plus
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-1004-100.html

Ultima Elastrofoam Paint Cleaning System
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-3200-3322.html

Ultima Detail Spray Plus
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-2022.html


For my 2014 BMW M6 Coupe:
My new BMW M6 with the Alpine White paint finish, is NOT a metallic paint. Therefore, I want to use a product that will work better for that type of finish, producing a glossy and protective coating over the painted surfaces, I have done some more research online and have decided to purchase some new products from the excellent online auto car care retailer AUTOGEEK.NET, specifically Wolfgang Concours-Series Car Care, listed below. I will apply them this weekend and see how they perform over the next 3-6 months:

I will continue using the Chemical Guys Glossworkz Auto Wash, described previously, since I am satisfied with its results, then will use a clay/lubricant to remove any surface contaminants, then apply a polish enhancer to further prepare the surface, followed by a new protective paint polymer sealant:

Wolfgang Elastic Poly Clay & Wolfgang Clay Lubricant
http://www.autogeek.net/woclco.html

Wolfgang Paintwork Polish Enhancer
http://www.autogeek.net/wg2000.html

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0
http://www.autogeek.net/wg5500.html

I will then use the following as necessary:

Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-ins...il-spritz.html

For the carbon fiber roof I will use the following product which is one of the few that claim to work very well on carbon fiber:

Chemical Guys JetSeal 109 Super Acrylic Sealant Formula
http://www.autogeek.net/chemical-guys-jetseal-109.html


For my 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
I enjoy top-down driving of this little roadster during fair weather weekends and taking it to selected car shows and enthusiast events, I use the following traditional carnuba wax products by P21S and Sonus, to produce a spectacular show shine polished finish over non-metallic paint finish:

P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser
http://www.autogeek.net/p2paincleanl.html

P21S Concours Carnauba Wax
http://www.autogeek.net/p2concarwax.html

Sonus Carnauba Spritz
http://www.autogeek.net/sonus-carnauba-spritz.html


For all of our cars I use the following:

Wheels & Tires
For cleaning off the continuous dreaded accumulating brake pad dust on surfaces of all of the alloy wheels of our M-B and BMW's, I use the following:

SONAX Wheel Cleaner
http://www.autogeek.net/sonax-wheel-cleaner.html

Ultima Tire & Trim Guard Plus (for a satin finish on the tire sidewalls)
http://www.autogeek.net/ultima-tire-trim-guard.html


So essentially, I wash all of the cars with the Chemical Guys Glossworkz, using a Sheepskin wool wash mitt, a 5 gallon bucket with a grit guard inside on the bottom and then dry with the Dry Blade and final drying with two large waffle weave micofiber towels. My miscellaneous cleaning and polishing items include:

California Dry Blade
http://www.autogeek.net/orcadrybl.html

CCS Red Wax/Sealant Applicator
http://www.autogeek.net/red-ccs-applicators.html

Daytona Speed Master JR Wheel Brush
http://www.autogeek.net/daytona-mini-wheel-brush.html

Stoner Tarminator Tar, Grease & Sap Remover
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/stn-91154.html

Plexus Plastic Cleaner, Polish and Protectant
http://www.plexusplasticcleaner.com/frames.html
__________________
AVB-AMG

Robbie k

I'm not a big fan of jetseal 109 have you ever tried ammonyc stuff I have a few of his products and love all of them.. Good write up

AVB-AMG

Robbie k:

Thanks.....
I have not heard of AMMO NYC products but will check out this guy's YouTube videos. One challenge for any very, very small boutique detail product supplier is to maintain consistency of their products. That would be one of my concerns....
But I am curious to learn more.
Thanks for the suggestion.

Robbie k

I really like his product called mud trust me it is the best tire dressing I have used. All of his videos are very good his rim cleaner plum works great used it on a beat up corvette rims and did a great job. I don't use all of his products but I'm going to get his sealant and try it out. After I did paint correction on my car I learned how to wash the car the safe way and I was still getting swirl marks then saw his video on how to dry a car and became a big fan..Anyways there is a great forum over at autogeek alot of good people over there try it out..