good car detailing stuff?
 

I've never really taken good care of my cars paint out of the 13 cars i've owned. I would like to change that with my new mustang though...specially with the black paint.

I'm looking at quality products to maintain the cars paint. Not really sure what to look for though. I know i will need soap, clay bar, wax/polish.

suggestions?

If you want a store bought soap, I usually use Meguiars. I sort of get the feeling detailing products get extremely gimicky sometimes so I stick with a simple soap. One you can order online that is awesome though is Optimum No Rinse (ONR), which is supposed to be for washing when you don't have the option of rinsing. I got a bottle for Christmas, and it's so lubey and slippery I use it pretty much every wash now. It's not cheap but it only takes a capful or two so the bottle really lasts.

For a claybar I use Meguiars, only thing I've ever used so I can't comment on anything else

For wax and polishes I also use Meguiars. The professional line stuff in the yellowish bottles works great. The #26 wax is awesome on dark colors. If you want to do some polishing the "105/205" combo is extremely popular among detailers if you ever get into machine polishing. It's the heavy cut to remove deep scratches/swirls followed by the fine cut to remove any remnants left by the heavy cut. All of the products in purple bottles are decent too from my experience.

For tire shine I got a free bottle of Wolfgang that's great, but too pricey for me to buy so I have to find something new. I'm not really happy with armor all's durability. I like a black that's not too glossy and lasts.

For wheel cleaners, you guessed it, Meguiars. They're the only people I've found who make an "aluminum safe" wheel cleaner designed for bare polished aluminum that actually doesn't stain the crap out of it. If you have painted wheels you have tons more options from the store.

make sure you use decent applicators/microfibers too, and washing with one rinse and one soap bucket really helps keep swirls away


...I hope no one sees my car any time soon after posting this, I own more products than I know what to do with, but two years after buying my PC I've never really given it a real detail. It's been years since I clayed it also. Maybe this summer...

zaino, its worth the effort you put into it

Griots, not cheap, but you know what they say.....

I use spay detailer. It's call 200mph Detailer. Name sounds goofy but it makes your paint/surface so smooth and clean. You can touch it and feel the difference between another car. I almost never wax any vehicle i have anymore.

I have used Zaino for a long time. My dad has known Sal for 40+ years. He is a good guy and when you call the number for help you can speak directly to him...

Depends how far you want to take it, really. In most cases factory paint is not that great so a high buck product isn't worth it.

On regular cars with some age I'll use Mother's 3 step. On nicer stuff, P21s.

OP- read this whole post again. For someone that doesn't know how to detail, his factory paint is in awesome condition after he's done with it.


Another good person to ask is BlackbirdsWS6, and hopefully Rich189 will chime in here as well for you.

surf city products, and ive used so many different meguiars and mothers products on various cars, but the surf city stuff is fantastic.

I don't think it has so much to do with the condition of the paint as your secret fascination with the natural depths of navy blue metallic!!

but honestly a good coat of wax hides a lot hahah :nod:

Look up Adam's products, quality product, fairly priced, website has tons of vids on how to properly wash/wax etc.. using their products

thanks guys, is mothers products any good?

For daily drivers I always liked their stuff.

It all depends on your budget and how much you want to research before buying... I use about 15 different brands of product. But If you just want to buy a nice kit that everything works well you can't go wrong with griots. Everything they make works well and is decently priced except I think there are better waxes/ sealants out there for the money (pinnacle and Wolfgang concours for example).

Also I see someone mentioned Adams... I'm sure they have a few proprietary products that work really well but I haven't bought from them in a few years after a fellow detailer and I noticed that a few of their offerings seemed to be rebranded chemical guys products with a jacked up price.

I use Black Majic soap and Mcguires liquid wax. either the "cleaner wax" or the regular wax and they both work great. its good if you don't have a lot of money to spend on this stuff

Dip**** pin stripe guy scratched my wife's new Tahoe. Used some Mother's scratch n wax that i've had for years and it worked awesome!

I tried meguirs professional the other day. Very nice shine. Hid some imperfections and came off very easily in black which is a huge plus

Zaino.

Rich, can you comment on this stuff? I've mainly used Meguirs Hot Rims for a long time with pretty good success, but after seeing some detailers use this, I'm considering making the switch. Your input would be appreciated...

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg

The sonax is actually what I use for coated/painted rims if they are polished with no clear then I prefer griots

Thanks for the input, Rich! They're polished and clear coated, so I'll give the Sonax Full-Effect a try soon!

Rich, do you have any experience with Collinite 845?

Started using it now that Advance Auto stocks some of their stuff - very happy with it...

I use Mcguires wax but when I dont have an hour or so to put into it I give it a good wash and use Mcguires quick detail spray. Comes out glowing and only takes a few minutes. It's 7 bucks and you can find it anywhere. I personally don't by into the high priced Zaino, etc.

For a budget wax it's great if you want something long lasting and looks good it isn't the easiest to use though ( takes some elbow grease to remove it)