Are you a product wh@re?

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fredcandetail

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We recently hired a "seasoned" detailer who just talked and talked about his "arsenal" of products (mainly sold here) and he went on and on and on about how good his door jamb cleaner was, his vinyl cleaner, his leather cleaner, tire cleaner, engine cleaner etc.... I had to break it down for him that all his fancy dedicated cleaners were just a variation of an APC just diluted, re colored, smell changed and repackaged and boy did he feel like crap when i showed him the 50gal drum of APC we use at different ratios!
Don't get me wrong we do have a few specialty cleaners but for the most part we can get cars cleaned and prepped with a single APC at different dilutions.
Strip wax... One to three oz of APC ton the wash
Tires 4:1
Engine 2:1
Interior 6:1
Leather 8:1
And if at any point the product we use doesn't cleaR dirt or remove stains we just move to the next bottle ... Anyone with me on this?
I've been bitten by the hype and craze of products one to many times just to get equal results with my variations ...
Have you been sucked in by posts and raves of xxx product by "veteran detailers" only to feel shortchanged and not get the results you wanted?
 
I won't even lie to you: I'm a product w####. I've been trying all kinds of different products to see what I like best. Expensive habit.

But my all purposes are just as you've stated: Same crap, different dillution.
 
I'm a w#### to a point. But my complete detail consists of few products.

pre treat - APC 10:1
wash - ONR
clay lube -ONR
Tires - APC 10:1
Wells - APC 4:1
engine APC 4:1
Wax - 845
Trim - 845
interior - APC 10:1
leather - APC 15:1
windows - zep concentrate

So as you can see I don't need much to detail a car. Now when it comes to my personal car... That's where I tend to use a lot of stuff....
 
Been there, done that. Live and learn. The guys who I take advice from are the ones who depend on detailing as their only source of income...why..?...because they can't afford to throw money away on hype and flavor of the week, must-have baloney. They know what works consistently over and over with least cost and outstanding results everytime.
 
[QUOTE=fredcandetail;562923I had to break it down for him that all his fancy dedicated cleaners were just a variation of an APC just diluted, re colored, smell changed and repackaged and boy did he feel like crap when i showed him the 50gal drum of APC we use at different ratios!

LOL..Wish I cold have been a fly on the wall...
 
I agree. However, I feel that some APC's are safer than others. :D I won't go there. :laughing:

What APC do you use?
 
I think most of us fit in nicely at AA.............Autogeek Anonymous!!
 
What I'm using right now is Dawn and/or Hyper Wash, plus APC+ if necessary. HW is super-cheap for a pretty decent shampoo. I realized after the fact that Super Degreaser is just a more concentrated version of APC (both caustic), so the ratios are different. Wheel Brightener is a strong acid, but in the past its job was well-handled by another brand of caustic APC that may or may not be fantastic. I could just use APC+ again. Body Solvent is unlike either, so I'll continue using it where it works best -- bug guts, adhesives, tar and sap. The rest of my "arsenal" is polishing stuff. Could I trim the cleaners down to just APC and the soaps? Sure.
 
Hmmmm, could be :)

Im not as big a fan at using apc at a bunch of different dilutions but I do find many products to be similar or repetitive. For a couple things apc is awesome but for tires their is better and interiors their is often a less aggressive choice suited for the types of stains found on interiors.

If I was doing detailing as my only source of income I would probably do like you with the apc.

If I didn't do product reviews I would enjoy settling into a fixed set of products and be very happy knowing I was using the tops. I've used enough products to have a pretty good idea of what's the best in most category's and these days it takes quite a bit for a new product to replace something I already use in the same category. So I try to find where a product excels and what the worst features are as well.

As far as buying cheap products I think you have the wrong crowd :laughing: J/K of course
 
07 z-oh-6 said:
I agree. However, I feel that some APC's are safer than others. :D I won't go there. :laughing:

What APC do you use?
Click to expand...

I use Megs APC green... On tires it leaves a nice little sheen to them almost as good as ARO.. for leather it leaves it nice and soft afterwards... For vinyl/plastics it leaves them bone dry thereby leaving M40 to bond to it and last... Engines again nice and bone dry..carpets it has optical brighteners and when you agitate you can see the rainbow hologram bubbles, really cool

I used to use that other one with an O (you ,ay have heard of it) but it's to expensive by the gallon and we go through to much.. They make more money selling gallons to "enthusiasts" than they do to the shops... But that's another topic
 
fredcandetail said:
I used to use that other one with an O (you ,ay have heard of it) but it's to expensive by the gallon and we go through to much.. They make more money selling gallons to "enthusiasts" than they do to the shops... But that's another topic
Click to expand...

You make it sound like this isn't how the world goes round...like a Mercury wasn't a gussied up Ford, etc. It's called salemanship and marketing...it's fine to complain about it, but don't make it sound like it's one company or one market that this happens in....tell me, are the store-brand frozen peas really Birdseye or Green Giant? Or does the supermarket chain have their own pea farm? Are we all fools for buying Green Giant instead of the store brand? Or does Green Giant use their reject peas for the store brand? These lingering questions are why premium brands exist.
 
when you guys refer to "APC", are you talking about dedicated detailing APCs, or do you use general cleaners like Simple Green, Purple Power, etc.?
 
Well, I use it for one of the dedicated car APCs, usually Megs, but technically Fantastik, Spray 9, Formula 409 and even Lysol and Mr. Clean are APCs. Used to use Fantastik on wheels and engines, but have found Megs APC(+) has other properties more suited to car care use, and is way cheaper overall.
 
As far as general cleaning goes I have tried a lot of different APCs and have narrowed that list down to 2. I use a particular glass cleaner for glass and it doubles for the cleaner I use to inspect my finishing results while polishing on paint corrections. I have narrowed down the LSPs that I use to one very cost effective sealant and a hard carnauba wax that outperforms many boutique formulations. I get wholesale prices on all of this with exception to the sealant (UPGP).

Where I am still in the testing phases is on compounds, polishes, pads, interior protectants and tire protecting products. I have wasted a ton of money on boutique versions of these products that IMO have fallen short of the quality results that I desire so I sometimes have to try the flavor of the month on these products. I have my favorites but I think some are just too expensive to use for running a detailing business. I'm with Fred on the different cleaners though, If I had a place to drop a few 55 gallon drums I would definitely be taking that route but for now I'll just have to keep flipping out the UPS guy. (That is until he gets here and sees my cart and riding mower at the bottom of the hill.)
 
Interesting post to be inserted on an enthusiasts' forum.

Interesting to find out a few "details" of your business plan.

Interesting enough (to me) that I plan to always avoid 'detail businesses', such as yours, like the plague.

Interesting to realize and be reassured, that, IMO, you're once again playing the colon calliope.

Bob
 
My habit has gotten a little out of hand. . . I have like 4 products that all do the same thing for just about every part of the car. lol multiple APC's, tire cleaners, wheel cleaners, carpet cleaners, window cleaners, leather cleaners, ect.
 
I use chemical guys citrus wash and gloss to strip the protection and Meguiars D104 ACP+ diluted for wheels, tires, engine...etc

Sent from my DROID X2 using Tapatalk
 
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