Why do you use the brands you do, & not others??

Coatingsarecrack said:
No crap but can I ask reason why. Personally for me some products have been good but been a few misses too.


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I'm not speaking for Monica here but some "cult" brands make their users kinda annoying because they either say each product from their company is best or refuse to even try something else.

Even companies like Griot's Garage and Gyeon have "average" products, hence why and how other products are found out about.

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But you can’t blame the brand. All major car companies have cult following for one car or another. Ford, Audi, Nissan….. pretty much both all major car brands have a “ cult following which can leave a bad taste in your

. I just stay away from their forum and just use the products that interest me.

I got rid of my jeep because I didn’t want to be in there cult and felt that way about mustangs before i drove one


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Coatingsarecrack said:
But you can’t blame the brand. All major car companies have cult following for one car or another. Ford, Audi, Nissan….. pretty much both all major car brands have a “ cult following which can leave a bad taste in your

. I just stay away from their forum and just use the products that interest me.

I got rid of my jeep because I didn’t want to be in there cult and felt that way about mustangs before i drove one


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There will always be those people ready and willing to drink the Koolaid


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Coatingsarecrack said:
But you can’t blame the brand. All major car companies have cult following for one car or another. Ford, Audi, Nissan….. pretty much both all major car brands have a “ cult following which can leave a bad taste in your

. I just stay away from their forum and just use the products that interest me.

I got rid of my jeep because I didn’t want to be in there cult and felt that way about mustangs before i drove one


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See "it's a Jeep thing, you wouldn't understand" (this excludes Monica, she's a trailblazer, NOT a follower!)

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As many have mentioned it is difficult if not impossible to stick to a single brand. Few brands have all-star products across their entire lineups but I must say many must be close.... There are more good choices these days than bad ones. But, I will share what I personally look for and like to see from a brand.

1)Simple packaging. I don't buy products that try to attract you with pretty colors and scents(looking at you CG). Neither of those characteristics help the end result. If you can prove to me a wax lasts longer when it smells like bananas I'm all ears. That said, brands like Carpro and Nanoskin appeal to me. No frills. No pretty scents. Just quality products.

2)A brand doesn't offer multiple products that do the same exact thing and just look/smell different.(Again, looking at you CG). Some brands have cluttered and confusing lineups. Offering multiple products for the same task. Keep your lineup clean and lean please. I and some others appreciate it.

3)The brand doesn't make inaccurate or outrageous claims of product performance and or durability. Be it either a "wax stripping wash" or a "one-year coating", some products just don't live up to what they claim. Unfortunately, the only way to avoid this is to read product reviews on forums such as this or videos on YouTube. In my years of detailing as a hobby, tar and bug gut removes tended to be the most frequently disappointing. Thankfully, both of those fields are now loaded with solid choices.

This being said, if I HAD to chose one brand to live with, I would absolutely pick Carpro. The only product of theirs I have varying degrees of success with is their glass cleaner, Clarify. But it wasn't the products fault, it was the towels I was using. What worked with Stoners Invisible Glass didn't work as well with Clarify. Simple adjustment to make. Being I don't detail for profit product cost/value isn't as critical as it is to others who have overhead to consider. With that in mind, I would probably lean more towards a brand like Meg's for some things if value was more important to me.
 
I've never tried so many brands in such a short period of time. Part of it is trial/error, fun, hobby, being a perfectionist, and part of it is also looking for the products I enjoy to use most.
 
Part of the fun of detailing for me is the discovery and trial of new products. While I don't have one single favorite brand, I do have a collection from a few key brands.



For me, I have found CarPro to very consistent across their product line up. The standouts in my opinion are Reset, Eraser, Bug-Out, Hydr02, Reflect and Perl. I also love how they look sitting in the cabinet. :D

NV are another staple of my process. Snow, Onyx, Purge and their leather treatments are in regular use for me.

I have also been using a selection of Koch Chemie product in the last year. Pol Star, Green Star and TEA are standouts.

For microfiber, most of is from The Rag Company.



The rest of the chemical cabinet is a mixture of different brands including Gyeon, Stoners, Bowden's, Meguiar's, Poorboys, Shine Supply, Autoglym, Angelwax, P21S, Collinite, P&S, Scholl and Chemical Guys.
 
Koch Chemie is on my radar for next year

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My reasoning might not be the best, but I am one of those people that if you try to shove something down my throat and basically say “everything else is crap” than I immediately get a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s happened with car manufacturers as well.

I just don’t see ANY brand having the answer to every need.
Diversity!
 
DetailKitty said:
My reasoning might not be the best, but I am one of those people that if you try to shove something down my throat and basically say “everything else is crap” than I immediately get a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s happened with car manufacturers as well.

I just don’t see ANY brand having the answer to every need.
Diversity!
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That's because no one brand does.........:props:
 
This is slightly off this topic but I think it's a related question

It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of the percentages of Pros vs Hobbyists as it pertains to their habits in "experimenting"

By that I mean what percentage of pros stick with stuff they know works and makes money and how many are willing to constantly tinker with the hopes of finding something better, cheaper, faster, etc etc

The same goes for hobbyists; what percentage sticks with tried and true and how many chase the next great thing

Neither is right or wrong and no judgment here, strictly curiosity
 
chilly said:
This is slightly off this topic but I think it's a related question

It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of the percentages of Pros vs Hobbyists as it pertains to their habits in "experimenting"

By that I mean what percentage of pros stick with stuff they know works and makes money and how many are willing to constantly tinker with the hopes of finding something better, cheaper, faster, etc etc

The same goes for hobbyists; what percentage sticks with tried and true and how many chase the next great thing

Neither is right or wrong and no judgment here, strictly curiosity
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I think this is an excellent question.

As a hobbyist, my "chasing" days are over. I haven't tried every single thing, but I read almost every post here, and I can draw conclusions on most things.

This isn't to say I will never try anything new, but (as far as LSP's/higher-dollar items) it had better be quite the breakthrough/game-changer. (The PFM towel comes to mind.....)

And as far as experimenting with the cheaper things, (spray waxes/cleaners/clays/synthetics/pads/QD's etc. ....) I have a ridiculous amount of all of these. So I really need to hear someone I truly respect recommend something along these lines and explain why I need to try it.

Just my two pennies........ :)
 
All I know is I have too many detailing products and yet I want to try more :D

And I have tried a lot of products from suggestions here.
 
DetailKitty said:
My reasoning might not be the best, but I am one of those people that if you try to shove something down my throat and basically say “everything else is crap” than I immediately get a bad taste in my mouth.
It’s happened with car manufacturers as well.

I just don’t see ANY brand having the answer to every need.
Diversity!
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That's right Monica and who said we don't know about diversity

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PaulMys said:
I think this is an excellent question.

As a hobbyist, my "chasing" days are over. I haven't tried every single thing, but I read almost every post here, and I can draw conclusions on most things.

This isn't to say I will never try anything new, but (as far as LSP's/higher-dollar items) it had better be quite the breakthrough/game-changer. (The PFM towel comes to mind.....)

And as far as experimenting with the cheaper things, (spray waxes/cleaners/clays/synthetics/pads/QD's etc. ....) I have a ridiculous amount of all of these. So I really need to hear someone I truly respect recommend something along these lines and explain why I need to try it.

Just my two pennies........ :)
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I know exactly what you mean and I quit most of my chasing years ago

If I run out of something non critical and need more product I will certainly look at reviews and recommendations to see if there might be something better out there before I order

but...

Between cost of product, cost to get it here, then being disappointed for whatever reason I really need an overriding reason to stray from my old favorites

Here in Hawaii I am a 2 car show so if something sucks or is mediocre I either suffer through using the product up, which can take some time, or if it's really junk I just say @#$% it and chuck it

Tire dressings and stuff like that I will suffer and use it up but I won't compromise my paint with a substandard LSP or something along those lines

Rant off
 
chilly said:
I know exactly what you mean and I quit most of my chasing years ago

If I run out of something non critical and need more product I will certainly look at reviews and recommendations to see if there might be something better out there before I order

but...

Between cost of product, cost to get it here, then being disappointed for whatever reason I really need an overriding reason to stray from my old favorites

Here in Hawaii I am a 2 car show so if something sucks or is mediocre I either suffer through using the product up, which can take some time, or if it's really junk I just say @#$% it and chuck it

Tire dressings and stuff like that I will suffer and use it up but I won't compromise my paint with a substandard LSP or something along those lines

Rant off
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Use up a tire dressing in the wheelwell if you don't like it or in and around the engine bay

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It's tough just chucking a product. They all cost a bit to get.

I do like the trade idea we have here.
 
chilly said:
This is slightly off this topic but I think it's a related question

It would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of the percentages of Pros vs Hobbyists as it pertains to their habits in "experimenting"

By that I mean what percentage of pros stick with stuff they know works and makes money and how many are willing to constantly tinker with the hopes of finding something better, cheaper, faster, etc etc

The same goes for hobbyists; what percentage sticks with tried and true and how many chase the next great thing

Neither is right or wrong and no judgment here, strictly curiosity
Click to expand...

Great question! Does make one wonder.

I consider myself a hobbyist for sure and have gotten past the point of constantly wanting to explore new products, at least not very often. I have FINALLY found plenty that work for me and work good and do not miss those frequent moments of disappointment that were all too common back in the day. I like knowing that what I am spending irreplaceable time doing is worth it in the end. Using products I am familiar with helps guarantee that. That's not to say I won't take recommendations or suggestions for new products...but I may not get anything new until what I have is used up, or maybe even discontinued. Versus back in the day, I would be ordering another shampoo/wax/APC/etc before the others I had before it were used up. Few years goes by....products start to separate or look funny. Get tossed. Money down the drain. I don't like throwing once-pricey products away, it hurts the soul and brings shame from the detailing gods.
 
PouncingPanzer said:
Great question! Does make one wonder.

I consider myself a hobbyist for sure and have gotten past the point of constantly wanting to explore new products, at least not very often. I have FINALLY found plenty that work for me and work good and do not miss those frequent moments of disappointment that were all too common back in the day. I like knowing that what I am spending irreplaceable time doing is worth it in the end. Using products I am familiar with helps guarantee that. That's not to say I won't take recommendations or suggestions for new products...but I may not get anything new until what I have is used up, or maybe even discontinued. Versus back in the day, I would be ordering another shampoo/wax/APC/etc before the others I had before it were used up. Few years goes by....products start to separate or look funny. Get tossed. Money down the drain. I don't like throwing once-pricey products away, it hurts the soul and brings shame from the detailing gods.
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Very well said, you nailed my angst perfectly

Detail Kitty mentioned trades as well and although I am not familiar with that dynamic as it pertains to this forum I can imagine

I do know that postal rates are stupidly high and will be higher shortly so thinking about sending something you already paid for, possibly paid shipping for, to someone else with more shipping, who in turn pays shipping to get it to you, etc etc etc might be fun, but unless it is a high dollar item the economics don't pencil out, sadly, because I can see it being a fun exercise

No disrespect to the idea intended
 
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