Detailing Chemicals

[dctv411]

I've recently started to detail cars, and up until now I used the commerical products from companies like meguiars and mothers, but because I'm turning into a business I'm starting to look at places like rightlook, and autogeek for bulk chemicals, but I don't know what each chemical does. I look on rightlook at their packages and this is what I found


Polymer Paint Sealant
Very Cherry Premium Wax
Premium Glaze
Express Detail Wax
Quick Spray Detail
Premium Polish
Clear Coat Compound
RightWash Dry Wash
All Purpose Cleaner
Glass Cleaner Concentrate 1:5
Premium Dressing
Exterior Tire and Trim Dressing
Medium Duty Detailing Clay
Light Duty Detailing Clay
Clay Lubricant
Engine Compartment Dressing
Carpet & Fabric Extractor Solution
Leather Cleaner
Leather Conditioner
Car Wash Shampoo With Wax
Engine Degreaser
Chrome & Glass Polish
Spot & Stain Remover
Odor Neutralizer
Carpet & Fabric Protectant
Strong Solvent Cleaner
Bug and Tar Remover
Aluminum Polish

I know what a couple of these products are like the wax, and glass cleaner but the main things I don't understand are

degreasers
dressings
glazes
polishes
sealants
and compounds

if someone could tell me what each of the products in the first list does and tell me what each of the things are in detail for the second list that would be fantastic.

 

[top189h]

Welcome to AGO... I am going to try and help and several others will as well, however, here we aren't supposed to talk about other companies' products ie your mention to rightlook. I am just going out on a limb here and saying that anything you could need can be found at autogeek.net. As for your questions, dressings are applied to tires and interior surfaces for protection/ shine and they do not clean. For interiors I like either chemical guys matte or vrp... for leather, I use meguiars detailers line. degreasers are basically for heavy soiling on things like an engine... just get meguiars apc+ or optimum powerclean. those will take care of just about anything you need. they are dilutable and very cost effective because they can be used on anything. Glazes, in the sense you are asking, are defect hiders. Polishes and compounds actually remove the defects. As for sealants, there are coatings and polymer sealants. Coatings are good but some can be expensive, so I recommend either a good wax or polymer sealant. As for a list, I can give you a basic idea of what you need with the products I use most frequently for my side jobs/ business.
Interior plastics and vinyl cleaning: meguiars apc+
Interior dressing: Chemical guys vrp
Leather cleaning: Meguiars leather cleaner and conditioner, or apc+
Tires: Sonax gel or eco touch tire shine
Glass: Chemical guys glassworks
Carpets: Chemical guys fabriclean adn meguiars apc+ and a carpet brush (they make one for a drill I just can't remember the name)
Car wash: Either chemical guys pink or chemical guys citrus wash and gloss
Clay bar: Pinnacle clay by the pound, its a great deal
Wax/ sealant: chemical guys xxx, meguiars nxt or poorboys sealant
Wheel cleaner: Griots heavy duty and scrub with a daytona brush and a cheap wash mit soaked in a separate bucket of car wash or dawn
Exterior plastic trim (non painted): Wolfgang trim sealant
Compound/Polish: Wolfgang twins package (simple and easy to use... only two steps) or menzerna's line

Those should be all you need outside of basic tools, like wash mits (I use meguiars microfiber), a polisher (griots 6 inch), many buffing pads (lake country ccs 6.5 inch), as many microfibers as you can afford (use cheaper ones for interiors but don't buy the cheap ones for paint) and assorted brushes.

PS, I also recommend you using a one step polish wax like xmt 360 instead of polishing the paint out until you are used to using a buffer. I also would buy a gallon of optimum no rinse because it has endless uses, and then a few drying towels.

Feel free to pm me with any questions... Again Welcome To AGO!!!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

If you get this how-to book and read it from cover to cover you'll know everything you need to know to get started as far as "what to do to the car".


Paperback




If you get my buddy Renny's book you'll know what to do to start the "business" side of the business...


Paperback

Or get both...


Detail Book Combo

You can also get a lot of learning just by clicking the below link and start reading the topics that interest you...


Articles by Mike Phillips

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

I've recently started to detail cars, and up until now I used the commerical products from companies like meguiars and mothers, but because I'm turning into a business I'm starting to look at places like rightlook, and autogeek for bulk chemicals, but I don't know what each chemical does. I look on rightlook at their packages and this is what I found


Polymer Paint Sealant - Seals the paint instead of using a car wax

Very Cherry Premium Wax - Probably a "car wax"

Premium Glaze - Probably a paint sealant as the word "glaze" is so abused.

Express Detail Wax - Probably a spray on wax or spray on paint sealant

Quick Spray Detail - A spray detailer

Premium Polish - Probably some type of abrasive polish to remove shallow defects

Clear Coat Compound - Probably some type of compound to remove deep defects

RightWash Dry Wash - A waterless wash

All Purpose Cleaner - A product you can use to clean just about anything

Glass Cleaner Concentrate 1:5 - Glass cleaner concentrate you can mix yourself with water
Premium Dressing - Probably a Rubber, Vinyl and Plastic dressing for interiors

Exterior Tire and Trim Dressing - Probably a rubber, vinyl and plastic dressing for exteriors

Medium Duty Detailing Clay - Just what it says, medium grade detailing clay

Light Duty Detailing Clay - Just what it says, light grade detailing clay

Clay Lubricant - spray lubricant for clay

Engine Compartment Dressing - dressing for engine compartment

Carpet & Fabric Extractor Solution - Fabric Cleaner
Leather Cleaner - Leather cleaner

Leather Conditioner - Leather conditioner

Car Wash Shampoo With Wax - A car wash with some type of glossing ingredient

Engine Degreaser - Just like it says, an engine degreaser

Chrome & Glass Polish - Some type of polish for removing water spots and gunk

Spot & Stain Remover - Like a fabric cleaner only these are usually stronger

Odor Neutralizer - A product that encapsulates offending odors so you cannot smell them

Carpet & Fabric Protectant - Like a scotch guard product, usually makes the surface water or liquid proof

Strong Solvent Cleaner - Tar and grease remover?

Bug and Tar Remover - Liquid that dissolves and loosens dead bugs and road tar

Aluminum Polish - abrasive polish that removes oxidation

I know what a couple of these products are like the wax, and glass cleaner but the main things I don't understand are

Lots of good questions...

 

[jvs1991]

If you are interested in bulk supplies look at the meguiars professional line or the chemical guys lines.

Many products that can be had in gallons and diluted to make many gallons of useable product.

An all purpose cleaner like Meg's apc or apc+ has many duties from wheels to tires to interior cleaning.

Hyper dressing can be diluted from High gloss to a natural look and can be used for dressing tires, wheel wells or even exterior trim.

Soaps like Meg's hyper wash or chemical guys citrus wash and gloss have a 1oz to 3-5 gallons of water dilution ratio making them a great bang
For the buck when bought by the gallon.

Meg's last touch can be diluted 1:1 for a great clay lube.

Just a few of the many versatile products out there. Others will chime in with their advice so don't worry you'll be in good hands with the info you'll get here.

 

[BrutalNoodle]

Detail Book Combo

The SF Main Library prides itself as the resource center of Nor Cal, yet neither books are in its catalog. I'm going to donate both to the main branch after I'm done reading.