products you can't live without?

wow that's a loaded question.

Do MF towels cound as a product? If so, that's gotta be #1. Lol. Can you guys imagine life withOUT MF's anymore? yikes. Scares me.

Main product wise, there's a lot... just to name a few:

Pinnacle Poly Clay
ONR
FK425
Pinnacle Body Shampoo
DP Xtreme Foam
Grit Guards
V7
BlackLight
Fuzion
Jetseal
PC/Flex
LC CCS pads
Menz PF and SF

hmmmm a lot more...

short answer, I can't live with out ANY of my products in my garage.
 
My can't "live without" products are:

OPC
Dodo Juice BTBM w/Dodo Juice Wookies Fist
Pressure Washer
Foam Cannon!!!!! With my new favorite shampoo for it-CG Maxi Suds II
XMT 360 Spray Wax
 
Speedy Prep Towel - I don't think I am going to touch my clay bar again!
Menzerna SF4500 - A must for finishing down black paint
Meguiars M101 - Cuts and finishes down better then any of the aggressive compounds I have used.
Collinite waxes - Decent looks, and most important to me, it's durable. Being cheap doesn't hurt it either.
Black Fire Wet Diamond and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant - great gloss and great durability.
 
NFA said:
Speedy Prep Towel - I don't think I am going to touch my clay bar again!
Menzerna SF4500 - A must for finishing down black paint
Meguiars M101 - Cuts and finishes down better then any of the aggressive compounds I have used.
Collinite waxes - Decent looks, and most important to me, it's durable. Being cheap doesn't hurt it either.
Black Fire Wet Diamond and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant - great gloss and great durability.
Click to expand...

More and more I'm hearing about that prep towel. Gonna have to pick one up to try out.

Sent via Tapatalk
 
I've always tried to take care of my vehicles over the years, but with my recent first new car purchase I'm going to be more serious this time around. That's why I joined this forum.

Optimum No Rinse blew me away when I first bought it about 2 years ago. When I'm done cleaning my car it looks like I know what I'm doing. It's very easy to use as a rinse less wash and it looks great. :xyxthumbs: The smell from it does seem to attract small insects though. That's my only complaint.

I'm excited to try out some of these suggestions in this thread.
 
Not a product....more like a place...

[SIZE=+2]Dollar Stores :xyxthumbs:...[/SIZE]or whatever the generic name.

Not for the product, it gets mixed into the better half's cleaning supplies.
dollar_store.jpg


but for the spray bottle.

dollar_stores.jpg
 
ONR. I built my mobile business around it. No Onr no Afterglow detailing. Simple as that.
 
Lost Highway said:
Some hybrid waxes rival or exceed sealants for durability and offer a slightly different look. Application and removal, however, is a bit more work. I would recommend starting with sealants.
Click to expand...

Hi Lost Highway, please tell me about the hybrid wax/sealants... very interesting, news to me, thanks.

BobbyG said:
Sealant - Ultima Paint Guard Plus

Spray Wax -Optimum Spray Car Wax

Trim - Ultima Tire and Trim Guard

Glass Cleaner - Meguiar's Glass Cleaner
Click to expand...

GREAT product list Bobby, I'd like to ask some questions please :)

1. The Optimum Spray Wax, I still have some of my gallon left, I like it... but is it a spray wax ONLY, or is it a sealant as well, I am just looking for a spray wax ONLY that will add gloss and depth on top of the already applied sealant, glaze, and top coat carnauba.

2. With Meg's Glass cleaner, what dilution ratio do you find best? If I leave it too strong, I actually feel like it's so powerful it can be abrasive to glass... please let me know, I have a gallon left and have a hard time finding the sweet spot for dilution and results.

THANKS!

PS: Ultima Paint Gaurd Plus is on it way right now in the mail, I'm very excited. How do you apply it, and how long do you wait to buff it off, and how long do you let it cure before applying either a second coating, or going for your top-coat carnauba wax?

alko said:
My can't "live without" products are:
Foam Cannon!!!!! With my new favorite shampoo for it-CG Maxi Suds II
XMT 360 Spray Wax
Click to expand...

I just bought two gallons of the DP Xtreme Foam, have you used this to compare to Maxi Suds II (it's so much cheaper). Also, what dilution ratio do you find works best for Maxi Suds II, their claims on dilutions ratios seem pretty amazing, are they accurate!?

Oh, XMT 360 Spray Wax huh? Interesting, I have been using the XMT 360 carnauba paste wax for a while now, didn't even know about the spray wax. How would you compare it to the other well known spray waxes, like Optimum's? Is it a pure spray wax and gloss intensifier, or is it a 'hidden' spray sealant with more than carnauba? I just want a pure spray wax to top my hand applied top coats for extra shine!

beantown said:
More and more I'm hearing about that prep towel. Gonna have to pick one up to try out.
Click to expand...

Interesting... I've never even heard of it!
 
Dynamic_Detailing said:
Hi Lost Highway, please tell me about the hybrid wax/sealants... very interesting, news to me, thanks.
Click to expand...

This is slightly over simplified but when I use the term wax I'm referring to products that contain natural waxes: carnauba, candelilla, montan, beeswax, etc.. Since these waxes are solids, some quite hard solids, at normal ambient temperatures there is also a significant percentage of solvents.

Sealants are more laboratory creations that use polymers instead of waxes to form the sacrificial layer on tip of the paint surface. There are also solvents in sealants.

You can add polymers to waxes to create hybrid waxes. Examples include the Collinite waxes, especially 476S which is extremely durable, Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid Paste Sealant, Blackfire Midnight Sun and a host of others. Hybrids are probably more common than waxes without polymers these days but they vary in their durability. Car waxes without substantial polymer content also vary considerably when it comes to durability, anywhere from a week or two up to four months or more.

If durability is what you are after Collinite 476 is something of a benchmark. Collinite 915 and 845 are also extremely durable. Durability with any wax will depend on many variables: the use of the vehicle (more miles = shorter life), garaged or not garaged, weather conditions (extremely high heat and high UV light are longevity enemies as are cold winters where the roads are salted and sanded), wash products and methods that are used to wash the car and how often it is washed, surface prep prior to waxing and the number of wax layers. It is not at all unreasonable to expect four to six month durability or more from Collinite 476 for a daily driver car. Very few sealants can equal or exceed that in real world conditions as opposed to advertising copy.

To further muddy the waters there is little uniformity in naming products. Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid Sealant does contain natural waxes so I would call it a hybrid wax. Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Paste Wax on the other hand contains no natural waxes to the best of my knowledge so I consider it to be a paste sealant rather than a hybrid wax.
 
alko said:
My can't "live without" products are:

OPC
Dodo Juice BTBM w/Dodo Juice Wookies Fist
Pressure Washer
Foam Cannon!!!!! With my new favorite shampoo for it-CG Maxi Suds II
XMT 360 Spray Wax
Click to expand...

beantown said:
More and more I'm hearing about that prep towel. Gonna have to pick one up to try out.

Sent via Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Lost Highway said:
This is slightly over simplified but when I use the term wax I'm referring to products that contain natural waxes: carnauba, candelilla, montan, beeswax, etc.. Since these waxes are solids, some quite hard solids, at normal ambient temperatures there is also a significant percentage of solvents.

Sealants are more laboratory creations that use polymers instead of waxes to form the sacrificial layer on tip of the paint surface. There are also solvents in sealants.

You can add polymers to waxes to create hybrid waxes. Examples include the Collinite waxes, especially 476S which is extremely durable, Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid Paste Sealant, Blackfire Midnight Sun and a host of others. Hybrids are probably more common than waxes without polymers these days but they vary in their durability. Car waxes without substantial polymer content also vary considerably when it comes to durability, anywhere from a week or two up to four months or more.

If durability is what you are after Collinite 476 is something of a benchmark. Collinite 915 and 845 are also extremely durable. Durability with any wax will depend on many variables: the use of the vehicle (more miles = shorter life), garaged or not garaged, weather conditions (extremely high heat and high UV light are longevity enemies as are cold winters where the roads are salted and sanded), wash products and methods that are used to wash the car and how often it is washed, surface prep prior to waxing and the number of wax layers. It is not at all unreasonable to expect four to six month durability or more from Collinite 476 for a daily driver car. Very few sealants can equal or exceed that in real world conditions as opposed to advertising copy.

To further muddy the waters there is little uniformity in naming products. Dodo Juice Supernatural Hybrid Sealant does contain natural waxes so I would call it a hybrid wax. Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Paste Wax on the other hand contains no natural waxes to the best of my knowledge so I consider it to be a paste sealant rather than a hybrid wax.
Click to expand...

VERY helpful, thank you! As odd as this will surely sound to most people, I'm not that concerned with longevity of waxes, it helps SURE, but it isn't the reason I use them overall. If I find a wax that looks AMAZING, and turns the car into a drivable mirror with depth and warmth, if it washes off after one or two rains, or even a couple car-washes, I'm not overly disappointed by any means. Now... the idea is to of course find the BEST OF BOTH WORLDS - but so far, for economical use and shine, the Meg's Yellow Canauba Wax is the best I've used so far. I don't want to spend over $100 for any wax, although I'm sure on some scale under a microscope waxes like Fuzion or JetSeal ($2,000?) may look slightly more lustrous.
 
Dynamic_Detailing said:
GREAT product list Bobby, I'd like to ask some questions please :)

1. The Optimum Spray Wax, I still have some of my gallon left, I like it... but is it a spray wax ONLY, or is it a sealant as well, I am just looking for the BEST spray wax ONLY that will add gloss and depth on top of the already applied sealant, glaze, and top coat PASTE carnauba.

2. With Meg's Glass cleaner, what dilution ratio do you find best? If I leave it too strong, I actually feel like it's so powerful it can be abrasive to glass... please let me know, I have a gallon left and have a hard time finding the sweet spot for dilution and results.

THANKS!

PS: Ultima Paint Gaurd Plus is on it way right now in the mail, I'm very excited. How do you apply it, and how long do you wait to buff it off, and how long do you let it cure before applying either a second coating, or going for your top-coat carnauba wax?

I just bought two gallons of the DP Xtreme Foam, have you used this to compare to Maxi Suds II (it's so much cheaper). Also, what dilution ratio do you find works best for Maxi Suds II, their claims on dilutions ratios seem pretty amazing, are they accurate!?

Oh, XMT 360 Spray Wax huh? Interesting, I have been using the XMT 360 carnauba paste wax for a while now, didn't even know about the spray wax. How would you compare it to the other well known spray waxes, like Optimum's? Is it a pure spray wax and gloss intensifier, or is it a 'hidden' spray sealant with more than carnauba? I just want a pure spray wax to top my hand applied top coats for extra shine!

Interesting... I've never even heard of it!
Click to expand...

BUMP on the above.

Also, I researched the "Clay Towel" and it looks awesome - might pick one up eventually.
 
s500 said:
which products are your favorite that you would recommend for a newbie.
Click to expand...

  1. Porter Cable or equivalent
  2. Clay or IronX
  3. Opt Power Clean
  4. Cutting, Polishing & Finishing pads
  5. Compound, Polish & Finishing Polish
  6. Quality Microfibers
  7. Quality Wash Mitt
  8. ONR
  9. 4oz UPGP
  10. UIGP or PERL
 
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