New to Detailing - Wash/Microfiber/Device Recommendations

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hardhitter

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Hi All,

First post and I've been wanting to get into washing/detailing. I own two black cars (2012 Mazdaspeed3 & 2007 911 Turbo) and I'd like to take care of the paint the best I can. I have a pressure washer, wash mit and foam cannon, but need help with what is the best to use for:

- Car Wash (Would like to use same for soap & foam cannon)
- Speed Detailer
- Microfiber towels (drying & speed detailing)
- Wheel cleaner
- Tire shine
- Orbital Polisher
 
You will get a hundred different answers. What someone thinks is the best product for them. May not be the same for the next person. Your best bet is to try different products and see what works best for you. Read reviews of some of the product categories you are looking at and go from there. That will be a helpful guide.
 
What works for everyone else may not end up being your preference. I switch products here and there but my 2 mainstays are my Porter Cable DA polisher with Lake Country pads and 303 Speed Detailer
 
garyg7133 said:
What works for everyone else may not end up being your preference. I switch products here and there but my 2 mainstays are my Porter Cable DA polisher with Lake Country pads and 303 Speed Detailer
Click to expand...

I ended up picking up the TORQX Random Orbital Polishing kit for $110 during the Amazon Prime day special
 
Easy,

Car soap/shampoo-
Meguiar’s Hyper wash or Optimum car wash. Both forum favorites.

Speed Detailer:
Any good quick detailer, buy a gallon after you find one you like.

Microfiber towels:
PFM by Griots for drying. All other MF’s too many good ones. You have to try them out like shoes:)

Wheel cleaner:
Meguiar’s D143 tire and wheel cleaner or Sonax wheel cleaner

Tire shine:
Poorboy’s Bold and Bright, Carpro PERL, or Meguiar’s Hyper dressing

DA:
Griot’s Garage 6in, get a 5 inch backing plate and 5-5.5 Lake Country flat pads.

Or go all in and buy a Rupes polisher or two. I love my Rupes 15 MK2 and Rupes Mini. You won’t regret buying the Rupes polishers. If you go Rupes route look at their foam pads. They are my favorite for polishing.
 
Car Wash - I like Meguiar's Gold Class. (Never used a foamer)
Detailer - Mostly using Optimum No Rinse at standard wash solution.
Towels - Meguiar's Supreme Shine are pretty good at everything, and great for paint.
Wheel Cleaner - Meguiar's new Ultimate All Wheel Cleaner is a good start.
Tire Shine - Meguiar's Endurance is a good start.
Orbital Polisher - Porter Cable 7424xp is my favorite basic polisher.

Additionally the Meguiar's Ultimate trio of Compound, Polish, and Liquid Wax is a great starting point for paint correction/enhancement/protection. If you want a basic cleaner wax, their red bottle A12 Cleaner Wax is surprisingly effective for that purpose.

Lake Country 5.5" SDO pads are a simple three pad line up to go with your liquid abrasives and waxes. Maybe add a few Lake Country microfiber cutting pad pads in the even your paint is really tough to correct. You'd want to attach them with a 5" Lake Country backing plate.
 
LEDetailing said:
Easy,

Car soap/shampoo-
Meguiar’s Hyper wash or Optimum car wash. Both forum favorites.

Speed Detailer:
Any good quick detailer, buy a gallon after you find one you like.

Microfiber towels:
PFM by Griots for drying. All other MF’s too many good ones. You have to try them out like shoes:)

Wheel cleaner:
Meguiar’s D143 tire and wheel cleaner or Sonax wheel cleaner

Tire shine:
Poorboy’s Bold and Bright, Carpro PERL, or Meguiar’s Hyper dressing

DA:
Griot’s Garage 6in, get a 5 inch backing plate and 5-5.5 Lake Country flat pads.

Or go all in and buy a Rupes polisher or two. I love my Rupes 15 MK2 and Rupes Mini. You won’t regret buying the Rupes polishers. If you go Rupes route look at their foam pads. They are my favorite for polishing.
Click to expand...

Wow, wish I got this a little earlier haha. I've done the following order. Saved about $100 due to some of the items being a Prime Day Deal

- CG Honeydew Snow Foam - 1 Gallon - $16
- CG Microfiber Waffle Weave Drying Towel - $7
- CG Premium Microfiber Towel Gold Pack of 6 - $10
- CG Clay Bar & Luber Kit - $14
- Car Guys Tire Dressing Kit - $13
- Griots Speed Shine - $15
- Adam's Wheel Cleaner - $14
- Griots Speed Shine Microfiber Cloth Pack of 3 - $17
- Torqx Random Orbital Polishing Kit - $110
 
That will give you a starting point with what you order so far. Just pick up different stuff here and there as you go along. A lot of people don’t like CG products. But Honeydew is a solid shampoo. Plus it’s a excellent pairing with the foam cannon. No one on here has a perfect list of product. No matter what they say. If that were true that would be the only detailing products available on that perfect list. Just try what you can and when you find something you like. Stick with it.
Welcome to the world of detailing.
 
Thanks guys. I received everything this week and I think I'm ready to go through my first full process. Could you review my flow chart below and make sure there isn't anything I am missing. Going to probably do this on my Mazdaspeed3 first vs my Porsche. Rather mess up on that vs the 911 Turbo haha.

Flow Chart
Step 1: Car wash
- Clean wheels/tires
- Rinse car with just water
- Foam cannon car, sit for 2-3 minutes
- Use 2 bucket method with wash mit to wipe car down top to bottom
- Rinse car off
- Bring car inside garage & begin to dry

Step 2: Claybar
Using speed detailer, claybar panel by panel to remove any additional contaminates on paint

Step 3: Polish
Using CG V36 first to evaluate results, if good, finish with V38 final polish

Step 4: Sealant
After the above, apply sealant for paint protection

Step 5: Wax
After the above, apply wax for additional protection

Anything I'm missing?
 
"Vanquish Auto" really has the best answer: "You will get a hundred different answers. What someone thinks is the best product for them. May not be the same for the next person. Your best bet is to try different products and see what works best for you. Read reviews of some of the product categories you are looking at and go from there. That will be a helpful guide."
I would only add, it depends on how much you're willing to spend. My detailing experience has taught me that some products are easier than others to work with (Meguiar's 105 can be dusty & Klasse sealant might have you expressing your feelings in 4 letter words). Your technique and attention to the "details" are what matters. Buy the smaller containers of the products so that you can try a variety.
 
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