tpnorth Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Okay im hoping to get some good feedback on this.I wanna know what everyone is using to do those weekend detailing jobs.I see the work people like presidential does and its amazing but i see the products he and other pros use and well its not pratical to spend that money on just weekend jobs so im wondering what everyone else uses i.e car wash/wax/wheel cleaner/tire shine stuff like that my biggest problem and maybe its the way i do things but i can never get the car was very soapy like you get when you take it to a car wash or something like that and then it dries so quickly in the sun. So for such a long post haha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 i "detail" for a living. i put that in quotations because it's more paint oriented than cleaning cars. but, i can help. at my work we use a mixture of brands. Car Brite products: we use car brite products for car soap called cherry bomb and a degreaser called blue max. cherry bomb some what smells like vodka. blue max can be used on wheels as well as paint as long as it's cut correctly, we cut it to about 3/16 to a full spray bottle, it's great for bugs if you apply as you wash. for door jambs we use an acresol called all sol works amazing on that grease that comes out of the hinges. Mirror Glaze/Meguiars products: we use meguiars (or mirror glaze, either way it's a meguiars product)#40 for interior cleaning, it cleans great and doesn't leave that nasty sticky residue. you may also use it on tires, it won't make them "blinging" but it looks good. we use they're #26 for wax. for any type of adhesive, use an adhesive cleaner obviously. we prefer 3m products for that and buffing materials Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpnorth Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 Wow thanks for the advice.Can you add maybe links on where to buy the products like the best value or maybe just where you get your products from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Wow thanks for the advice.Can you add maybe links on where to buy the products like the best value or maybe just where you get your products from. i also wanted to add to beware of the commonly used "all wheel cleaners" i've used them a couple times at friends houses and i can smell a trace of acid within the product. acid will completely ruin your wheels. car brite products are generally only sold to companies but i did a quick search and found a place you can buy and ship to only iowa residents. i had no idea it was that exclusive. a friend of mine has his own detail business and directly calls a car brite salesman, so you might want to try getting ahold of the local detail/body shops and find a car brite salesman near you. you might also want to look into their "see spot go". it's a carpet stain cleaner that works like a dream. i know all 3m products can be bought at your local bumper to bumper. mirror glaze products... #26: http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+YELLOW+16 #40: http://meguiarsdirect.com/detail/MEG+RUB+16 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpnorth Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 i found a site in europe that sells it but i was hoping for something more local haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Back in the day when I detailed cars I used to do my bosses Ferrari 308 at least once a month. I always used plain old Armour-al on his interior and he loved it. Stay away from anything oil-based for the interiors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Back in the day when I detailed cars I used to do my bosses Ferrari 308 at least once a month. I always used plain old Armour-al on his interior and he loved it. Stay away from anything oil-based for the interiors. from my experiences with armor all it leaves a sticky residue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JSM Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 from my experiences with armor all it leaves a sticky residue Maybe it's changed over the years? It's been 18 years since i've detailed cars! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240zwannabe Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Maybe it's changed over the years? It's been 18 years since i've detailed cars! ah yes, i would assume it has. i don't even remember 18 years ago...i would have been 1! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LowCarbZ Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I like Meguire's NXT Generation Tech Wax. It's a little pricey. It works quickly and brings the shine up really well though. It lasts a very long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I was using Zaino "stuff" on my Black 996TT. I now use a mix... I apply Optimum Polish, to buff the car with (Portercable 7424 with various cutting and polishing pads) and I use Zaino ZAIO to give it the shine and finish it off with Z8. That said, There's a lot of different products out there to use and I'd recommend going to Autogeek.net and get on their forum... Some of these guys work their magic in crazy ways... There are 8million opinions on the proper way to detail... Find the cheapest that gives you the best results... And don't scrimp on your micro-fiber towels... They DO make a difference, the better they are. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Iv seen very nice results from Adams http://www.adamspolishes.com/t-videos.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikelly Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Yup, Adams, Klasse, Zaino... There's a bunch out there, and they're damned pricey... I'm going to get back to using something I can pick up at Pep-boys or AutoZone/ Advance Auto when I'm done with the stuff I currently have... Ease of application/ less time to detail is my ultimate goal. The one thing I hated about the Zaino product process of old was the hours and hours of time it took to detail a car... That was nuts... Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skib Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 I found Adams easy to use, and ya there all a bit pricey but it deff. gets the job done. Wouldn't buy it all the time but for special occasions (shows ect.) I would Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
junglist Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 For paint I use any combination of: Klasse sealant glaze, Blitz One Grand caranuba wax, Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket, Blackfire polish, Blackfire Ivory caranuba wax, 3M perfect-it rubbing compound, 3M or Meguiar's swirl-mark remover, 3M Imperial Hand Glaze, 3M Perfect-it II foam polishing pad glaze, 3M Finesse-it or Meguairs Machine Polish. For the interior I use Meguiars professional heavy duty vinyl & rubber cleaner for dashes and any non-seat surfaces. I then use 303 Aerospace protectant to "treat" all of the plastic surfaces...I apply liberally over all surfaces and then wipe them down again afterwards with a dry towel and it provides a very nice OEM look to all surfaces without being greasy, shiny or attracting dust. I use Lexol on cleaner & conditioner on leather seats and Vinylex on vinyl seats. To spot clean headliners or carpets/floormats I use 303 Fabric cleaner. I use Meguair's quik detailer on all door jambs, all rain drainage areas under the truck/hood, on the rockers and the painted part of the inside of doors to clean them and provide some shine without spending too much time. Stoner Invisible Shine is the best glass cleaner. For wash I usually use Meguiar's Gold Class or Mother's California Gold as they are easy to get at any auto-store. For wheels/tires I usually use Eagle-One A2Z wheel & tire cleaner as lightly as possible as its easy to find and is acid-free, I usually just use an older wash-mitt and a toothbrush to detail wheels. To treat tires I use Meguiar's hot shine as it is cheap and doesn't seem to throw off bits of itself onto the paint if you let it dry for 15-20 minutes. You can get most of this stuff from http://www.properautocare.com I just kinda use whatever I feel will work best for the surfaces I'm working with...I need to get a new buffer as I just burnt-out the motor on my current one. I have like two shelves full of car cleaning products at home with a huge variety of stuff from cheap as hell to expensive stuff. Sometimes I use cheap stuff when it gets the job done and doesn't harm anything. I spend way too much time cleaning my cars, I used to do it as a side business but I haven't done that for about 2 years now as the time I put into it usually wasn't worth the money per car. This post was too long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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