Looking to detail my own car. I need it all...

MrOneEyedBoh

MrOneEyedBoh

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I just picked up a 2006 f250 with low mileage. The paint is slightly rough with swirls, light rubs from sticks maybe and some light a deep scratches. First off , I need everything. From car wash to wheel cleaners to brushes And wash mitts...

Im going to buy the HF 6" DA polisher as I think that's all I need for me.I dislike HF tools but for the cost, it seems to be good to go. So I would need everything associated with that too. I watched a video on here by some guy that does the AG videos.

I'd also like a nice wax too.like I said if you guys could lead me onto what I need but without spending much. The cheaper the better, but still quaility. Its pretty overwhelming to me and I would spend and waste more money before I got it right. Thanks a lot. I don't know what A budget would be, but like I said cheaper the better... Also if I could double up on a products usage then that's one less thing I would have to buy...And I would need towels etc etc.
 
Well you'll need some pads to start. Maybe the Lake country 5.5 in flat pads. 3 orange 3 white and maybe 2 blue. You can get meguiars ultimate compound and ultimate polish locally if you want. Depending on the color of your car you may want to try a carnauba wax to get some extra depth to your paint. For the wheels if you're going the OTC route pick up mothers foaming wheel cleaner. Otherwise grab an all purpose cleaner like meguiars all purpose cleaner. You can get a gallon for 15 bucks and it dilutes up to 10:1 and it'll work to clean tires, wheels, wells, and interiors. Tire dressing I like wolfgangs leaves a nice dark shine that's not too wet looking.

That's all I can think of at the moment I'm sure you'll get tons of other replies with other things to get.
 
Thanks. How many MF towels would I need? And are the towels universal in terms of what they can be used for? Also my truck is a dark blue with metal flake in it.
 
I think you gotta decontaminate the truck too. Iron x and a medium clay should be done before machine polishing. If you're going to polish you should do the job right the first time and do all the steps, especially on a truck that is going on seven years old. Whats your price range for a wax or sealant? Maybe a coating would be better for your needs.
 
Wash
- 2x 5 gallon buckets, 2 grit guards
- Some form of wash media, be it a MF chenille mitt (BOGO right now), MF towels, wool mitt, whatever suits your fancy. if cost is a concern, go with the MF mitts on BOGO.
- Meg's Gold Class shampoo and Duragloss 901 are great OTC shampoos and quite cheap.

Wheel/Tire
- Chemical Guys Sticky Gel Citrus wheel cleaner if heavily soiled, and/or TarX, CG Diablo Gel, CG Sticky Gel at lightly weaker dilution or Mother's FX for maintenance wheel washing.
- Wheel Woolies and a Daytona Jr wheel brush, Mother's wheel brush is nice for the face, Mother's fender brush for your wheel wells
- APC can be used to clean tires/wheel wells, also could look into Amazing Roll Off or Tuff Shine tire cleaner

Drying
- Electric blower/blower vac
- Waffle Weave MF towels, 20"x40" or 25"x36", doesn't really matter

Decontamination
- IronX since the car's old enough to warrant it's use
- Clay bar (or alternative SM Arnold towel, Nanoskin Autoscrub, Opti-raser, etc)
- Clay lube (ONR diluted, QD, or dedicated lube, anything with high lubricity to help decontaminate the car.

Polishing
- Cutting Compound : I don't know what's most new-user friendly, I used Meguiar's Ultimate Compound to avoid the dusting/working time of M105, Menzerna's FG400 seems to be tried & true however.
- Polishing Compound : Meguiar's M205
- IPA alcohol diluted at ~10% to remove polishing residue
- High Quality Microfiber from AG for removing polish residue, it's also on BOGO right now and they have 6 packs available of other premium towels they sell.

Other essentials
- Some sort of all-purpose cleaner, Meguiar's APC+ is a great one, so is CG All Clean+
- Spray Bottles
- Costco/Sam's grade general all-purpose MF towels for jambs/engine bay/nasty areas
- Cotton terry cloth towels for cleaning pads on the fly
- Foam/MF applicator pads, whichever suits your fancy
- Personally I use a 1" bristle paint brush to apply tire dressing, much better than gnarlying up foam pads

Waxes/Sealants/Dressings/Protectants
- Detailer's Pro Max Wax seems to be a hidden gem around here, could also look into Pinnacle's Souveran wax but that depends on what you constitute as cheap. I'd say $40-$50 is the most I'd pay for a tin of wax myself, but then you can always get a bottle of Collinite 845 for $15-20 and have some of the best protection in the market spare super-coatings
- CarPro's PERL (Plastic, Engine, Rubber, Leather) : Self-explanatory, I'm looking to pick some up myself, Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant is a good, cheap OTC dressing, but doesn't have much durability IME.

I'm sure I've managed to create some voids as to what's needed but that's all I can think of for the moment.
 
+1 on the leaf blower. Something to add about clay bar. I've read they r all made exactly the same so get the cheapest brand. I have had 1 that was $9 and it was just fine

Sent from my SCH-L710 using AG Online
 
Thanks guys! More stuff for me to look up. More opinions please.

Btw. I do plan on claying it... I'm hoping I can get this all done in a weekend on week. I'm not in a rush now but come spring, I'd like to get her clean.
 
MrOneEyedBoh said:
Thanks. How many MF towels would I need? And are the towels universal in terms of what they can be used for? Also my truck is a dark blue with metal flake in it.
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A good amount and a varying amount. If I were you, I'd pick up the 36 pack from Costco for the general duty/dirty work and use the nice towels for the quality work. As stated previously, MF is on BOGO and so are the cleaners, which is a great bang-for-your-buck.

Buy One, Get One Free!

With all the stuff you need, you can easily get up to and past the $95 on your 1st order to get your free shipping from AGO. :props:

The basics you'll likely be able to get at your local stores, but the tools and nicer products will be available thru AG.

Don't forget to sign up for the VIP newsletter. This week they have a nice Pinnacle Souveran Shine Kit.
 
Will do. Are the 36 packers the Rubbermaid brand? And which bogo MFs should I get?I see there are tons of different ones.. Can/do they all do the same thing or are they geared towards a certain task?
 
MrOneEyedBoh said:
Will do. Are the 36 packers the Rubbermaid brand? And which bogo MFs should I get?I see there are tons of different ones.. Can/do they all do the same thing or are they geared towards a certain task?
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I think they are; they're bright yellow and not as thick as the ones shown on this site. Since they're cheap, they end up being sacrificial. I suggest you bone up on the varying uses: Learn About Microfiber. Microfiber towels & tools are the future of car care detailing!.

For you, I'd suggest the chenille mitts and the Guzzler Waffle Weaves. The guzzlers are great for drying. The general sized 16 x 16 towels will be good for multiple applications such as buffing off waxes, polishes and quick detailers. Can't hurt to pick up the applicator pads for when you're putting a sealant on. The Scrubber Pads are pretty good for safe scrubbing.
 
Drying towel - The Supreme Guzzler Waffle Weave Microfiber Drying Towel by Cobra is a medium size drying towel for cars, compact trucks and SUVs.
Those at BOGO is fantastic, I'd go for 2 (4) just for the deal's sake.

Special Purchase Light Blue Microfiber Towel
You could use those as described, polish/wax removal, or possibly for rinseless washes.

Arctic White Microfiber Towel, microfiber cloth, detailing towel
Microfiber Clean & Buff Towel, micro fiber towels, all purpose towels
Between these two, I would make my choice pending on what I wanted their job to be. I think trying out the other 3 for 12.99 and I think 4 is the maximum of any BOGO item per household, but if they're as quality as advertised then I'd definitely use those for rinseless washes and get a few of the other 2/8.99 towels for removal purpose.

Waffle Weave nap is supposed to be more absorbent, though I read somewhere that MF in itself is adsorbent, but I really couldn't care to tell you either which way. Longer naps are good for cleaning purpose where as shorter naps have more 'bite' and are good for stubborn polish removal especially with the aid of CarPro's Eraser or an IPA solution.

Another thing about MF towels is that according to some manufacturers, color dye can alter the 'softness' of the towel, which is why identically produced MF (though differently colored) will feel lighter than another. I could be crazy, but I could swear that my witch green MF's feel softer than the pumpkin orange's that were both on BOGO when they were introduced last Halloween. Basically, lighter colors will feel softer, although whether or not it actually induces/reduces marring I think is a moot point.
 
High quality towels for paint, basically any plush towel you get that doesn't cost under $2 a towel at any price point. Plenty of places to get them, AG sells many a great MF towel at very good prices but it's not the only MF in the market.

MF towels are graded by GSM (grams/square meter) and range from 200 to 1200+. IMO, depending on the quality of the towel itself, not just the weight, 360 gsm is generally as low as I'd go. 500+ is great. anything over 600 seems like overkill to me, but I've never purchased anything beyond that mark. Not all distributors categorize their MF by GSM, so you kinda have to eye it out. Generally, the plusher, the better, but that's not always the case.

Basically:
Cheap Home Depot/Costco/Sam's MF that's usually sold by the dozen - Use for door shuts/jambs, engine bays, dirtier areas that you don't want expensive towels getting exposed to and stained/contaminated.

Waffle weave towels are good for glass cleaning and drying.

Nicer quality towels are the only towels you want touching your paint, especially after spending all that time correcting it! The only 'quality' MF towel I've been able to find OTC was Griot's Garage towels at a local Autozone.
 
Whats the difference in the colors on the wash mitts that are BOGO?
 
Is there any coupons to use with my order? Ive seen people mention coupons, but unsure on what or where they received them.
 
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