CG confusion

soarinsirg

soarinsirg

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I see there are a lot of threads about speculation on what CG black light is (polish?/glaze?/sealant?). Upon emailing CG customer service I was told it is a hybrid gloss and sealant. Also I asked what the difference was between their "NEW" signature series glass cleaner vs. glassworkz. They customer service rep said and I quote " the new of the two have no alcohol just ammonia". Which is strange because the website description claims its Ammonia Free about 3x. Disappointing customer service.
 
Blacklight is an AIO.

Some of their products overlap, advice I give is find what you like from them and get a gallon!
 
The screwball world of CG.

They make some good stuff, but their marketing confuses a lot people.
 
Blacklight is an amazing product imo. You can use it as a light polish or even an LSP. Ive found it works great for restoring clarity after using a compound. But that just depends on the paintwork.

Anyways, buy youself some Blacklight, you wont regret it. I cant comment on their glass cleaners since ive never used them, but they do not have ammonia, trust me.
 
Circa40 said:
The screwball world of CG.

They make some good stuff, but their marketing confuses a lot people.
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I agree. They make some great products but way too many one one kind. The items I do like I will buy in bulk which is mainly soaps.

I have seen lots of post about the customer service being an issue there.
 
The sheer number of products they offer for one purpose perplexes my simple mind. Because of that I have simply bailed out on chemical Guys entirely. I don't need nine choices of tire cleaners from one vendor or forty-leven polishes. No doubt they do have some good products but I'll be damned if I can figure out which ones they are. I gave up on them some time ago.
They REALLY need to re-establish their entire line up with a few simple offerings rather than offering the same, or similar, product under multiple names. No one can keep up with it including Chemical Guys.
 
RTexasF said:
The sheer number of products they offer for one purpose perplexes my simple mind. Because of that I have simply bailed out on chemical Guys entirely. I don't need nine choices of tire cleaners from one vendor or forty-leven polishes. No doubt they do have some good products but I'll be damned if I can figure out which ones they are. I gave up on them some time ago.
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Ditto.
 
I think a lot of people agree when I say they need to discontinue a good 1/3 of their products to ease customer frustration. I don't even want to look at their stuff because of all what they have to offer for each area.I

do however trust a lot of opinions on this site and will buy their products based on that. If it wasn't for that I would carry their fabric cleaner and that's it.
 
Pretty sure blacklight is mostly glaze with a bit of sealant added thus why they say using V7 over it is a good combo so it boosts the sealant and longevity of it. I do know blacklight looks amazing when used on my black wheels and helps hide some of the real fine marks that are inevitable on a black wheel.

I don't mind the variety since I'm bound to find something I like from them in each category or something to fill a certain need. Just like I rather have 31 flavors of ice cream instead of just chocolate and vanilla to pick from. That crazy CG variety got me to buy every detail spray they sell (aside from the matte finish one) along with Ecosmart RU to test out and they all really do differ quite a bit in terms of how well they clean, shine, slickness, resist streaking, require extra buffing etc.

Although their marketing has loads of fluff to it since their Extreme Slick Synthetic detailer isn't as slick as Speed Wipe or V7 IMO.
 
XSSIVE said:
Pretty sure blacklight is mostly glaze with a bit of sealant added thus why they say using V7 over it is a good combo so it boosts the sealant and longevity of it. I do know blacklight looks amazing when used on my black wheels and helps hide some of the real fine marks that are inevitable on a black wheel.

I don't mind the variety since I'm bound to find something I like from them in each category or something to fill a certain need. Just like I rather have 31 flavors of ice cream instead of just chocolate and vanilla to pick from. That crazy CG variety got me to buy every detail spray they sell (aside from the matte finish one) along with Ecosmart RU to test out and they all really do differ quite a bit in terms of how well they clean, shine, slickness, resist streaking, require extra buffing etc.

Although their marketing has loads of fluff to it since their Extreme Slick Synthetic detailer isn't as slick as Speed Wipe or V7 IMO.
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I've used Blacklight as a light polish before and it works well. Of course I went over with Eraser to make sure it's not hiding anything, and it didn't. Just gotta use the right pad and speed combo
 
Put me down as another person who avoids CG products simply because there are too many choices. I'm sure they make good products. It's just that the seemingly endless supply of products they have for sale doesn't appeal to me at all.

I just watched CG's YouTube video for factory sealant the other day. The whole time I was thinking, "why can't you just make one or two sealants that work well in a variety of situations?! Why do you need one sealant for new cars, one for dark paint, etc.?"

I just don't buy into that sort of marketing.
 
BlackHawk said:
I've used Blacklight as a light polish before and it works well. Of course I went over with Eraser to make sure it's not hiding anything, and it didn't. Just gotta use the right pad and speed combo
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Could it be the pad doing more of the cutting than the blacklight? I put it on my black wheels by hand with a typical yellow foam applicator and it hid some very faint marks nearly as well as CG Glossworkz glaze does. I haven't used it in any other way other than by hand and never removed it with an IPA or Eraser though so perhaps its abilities vary based on method of application?
 
For a detailing company, CG needs to learn "the details" of their own products. The thing is, some of their products are very good and cheap. They are ideal if your on a budget or need to buy in gallons. Some products, like wheel cleaners and soaps, I will always buy from them because they work well at a great price.

I also like some of their stuff is diluteable. Supposedly Black Light is an AIO: light polish, glaze, and sealant. I'm guessing the "sealant" component of it is the same or similar to V7 - that is why they recommend the two.

But, its hard to digest information from them. I can tell you first hand they will not publish negative reviews on their website. Its a fact. I've submitted them for LAVA.

Its pretty hard to trust a company that does that. But I still buy some of their stuff. I wouldn't buy anything too costly from them on their info, simply because it may not be correct.

Somehow they remain successful in spite of themselves.
 
I do like CG products but unlike AG, their customer service means well and tries to help but they don't know their products. I asked why they offered so many sealants (JetSeal, M Seal, BlackLight, Reflections, etc) and couldn't explain the differences or benefits of any of them. I then asked if there was a system to their product numbers such as WAC, GAP, CLD, TVD, etc., which may help break it down but he didn't know. Their new V series- V32,34,36,38 seems to make sense but I don't know how they perform.

They do have great deals on microfiber, and some of their products like their shampoo and detailers are excellent. You need to know what you want or their site will confuse the heck out of you!
 
Unfortunately it is inevitable that a big company like CG will employ CS people who are not experts. They will have short product briefs and it is highly unlikely they will understand the terminology (much less the product) better than an average autogeeker.

The large range is clearly an annoyance for many and it does strike as odd that CG would buy in so many similar products. However... they do big business and make good money so it is hard to say too much against their business practices!
 
Unless you know the chemists that formulate their products, you are wasting your time calling them with questions about their products in so far as what is "in them ".

I always use outside sources like Todd Cooperider and others who take the time to research exactly what's in the products they review.

In the case of Blacklight, he tested it for a year on every car that came through his shop, and talked with the chemists that formulated the product and yes...it is an AIO ( it has abrasives, and yes, it is a sealant, and yes, it also is decent finishing polish and even could be considered a glaze in some respect. )

As others have said...just get some and be pleasantly surprised.

As far as all their other stuff, all you need is their citrus wash and gloss soap, Pete's 53 wax, Eco wash rinseless wash, and V7 detail spray-sealant.
 
I love their wooly mammoth towel. Have thought about buying a 2nd one (Don't know why, just to have it) lol

I have also been wanting to check out the guzzler to see the difference.

Their Wooly Mammoth towel is a beast. It dries your car in a second.

When I went to Detailing in Irvine, CA. Their drying towel didn't' look as proficient as CG's so didn't get one.
 
I did purchase black light but have been hesitant to use it. Just put on wg sealant 3.0 and finished with CG V07. Agree with CG shampoos and detailers they are great. Wanted to test glass cleaner but not after that customer service response.
 
cleanmycorolla said:
Blacklight is an AIO.
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YUP, however its not a 100% finishing product because it has light cutting power to it.. i think its been said somewhere around 2500-3000 range. So if you have spent time polishing your vehicle out to a mirror shine id stay away and use a sealant with no abrasives in it.

XSSIVE said:
Pretty sure blacklight is mostly glaze with a bit of sealant added YUP, almost exactly what it is

thus why they say using V7 over it is a good combo so it boosts the sealant and longevity of it. Actually, im almost 100% positive they say to use V7 for the eye popping shine it provides and the dust resistence qualities. Because it is knon to fade around a week or a little more when garaging

I do know blacklight looks amazing when used on my black wheels and helps hide some of the real fine marks that are inevitable on a black wheel. YUP, this means its has some filling properties that wont give you a true indication of what he product is doing.
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I have found that CG black light is a great AIO to a very light one step swirl job, on a vehicle that has been maintained well.
 
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