Newb Help - Product / Company

[rickd972]

I've searched and searched; found many interesting articles and forum posts; but still find myself confused purely by the dizzying number of choices within a product/brand, let alone across companies.

I'm no professional, just looking to get "good" (great even better) results in cleaning and maintaining my daily drivers and a 64 Chevelle which is a little more important. Generally looking for syn wax for all; probably topping the chevelle with a trad wax.

That said, I'm desiring to move up the food chain from the local parts store (i.e. Turtle, Mothers, or Megs generally); who would you recommend as a single company/brand you would look to for all you detailing needs (thinking 845 here)?

I use a GG DA so would prefer application by DA vs hand. Even within the Megs line; there is a dizzying array of product options; many of which I would not think there is a great amount of difference?

Understanding there are some on these boards who will detail more cars in a week than I do in a year; should I expect to see great improvement moving to a better brand? Is there any hope/value in looking for a single brand (primarily to make it easier for me to properly select complimentary product vs similar/same across companies)?

Confused by soooo many choices.

Rick

 

[RegalOne]

Wow. Not sure how many members there are on this forum but that may be how many different responses you get.

That being said I am new as well, and NOT a pro, and as I read the forum I looked for products that kept coming up, which there are several. I too wanted to take my cars to the next level and after doing the research settled on Blackfire products. This was based upon several factors:

1. Ease of use
2. Desired result I was looking for (this varies person to person) high/low gloss, etc
3. Durability
4. Colors of the cars I have in the garage (black, red, and silver)
5. What is the snap of my paint, trim, tires, etc
6. Do I need to remove swirls/scratches
7. Do I use clay/Nanoskin
8. Do I need Iron-X or some other type similar products

This is a partial list of what I was looking for but from my research and actually putting them on cars I am satisfied with my choice.

One of the other things I liked about Blackfire was the fact that it came from AG. They were helpful in explaining how to use the products and the guys/gals here in the forum provide some excellent reviews, tips, and advice.

I have products from other brands most bought at AG but some not. Everything from wax, glass cleansers, APC, tire dressings, sealants, etc. I have put them on, taken them off and at the end of the day my go to products to put on my paint are Blackfire.

As another newb my advice is determine the "look" YOU are shooting for and then get some product and try it, AG does have products in sample sizes that might help you out and be a cost effective way to find what you are looking for.

I hope this helps a little.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

First of all, congratulations on participating in the forum, and "moving up the food chain", as you put it.

The good news is, there aren't many bad products, so if you learn and understand good technique, you'll do well. The bad news is, as RegalOne noted, you're going to get a lot of opinions and there are a lot of products that have specific purposes.

I don't know if you've seen this: Auto Detailing Facts, auto detailing Tips, How to detailing Guides, how to polish, how to wax, DIY detailing, do it yourself guides which may help you from a flowchart standpoint.

You can just pick a brand you like the philosophy of and stick with that brand, whether it be Meguiar's or Blackfire or Duragloss or Optimum, etc. etc.

 

[rickd972]

Yes....I'm sure there are as many opinions of Brands vs individual products. I should have said that I found my way to AGO a while back by looking for polishers. Having gone through the process of having the Chevelle painted, I was amazed even with new paint (base/clear) what an experience individual with a polisher (rotary which I won't touch) can do with a finish. Amazing.

anyway; I did find the DIY guides (thanks SA) and ended up buying the GG 6" and GG pads (orange/red). I then headed to the local store and got some Megs MG #2 and practiced on my daughters 9 yr old Civic; topped with some Mothers Syn Wax. I was amazed at the difference so took on the other daughters car...then feeling somewhat comfortable did just clay and syn wax on my fairly new truck. probably could have used some polish; but was not sure the #2 was appropriate as it has a fairly good cut...for me anyway.

So now I'm looking to get some more intense depth/shine for the 64 and can probably continue with the Megs CG carnuba I already had; but considering something different...perhaps Collinite 845 as it seems to have a good rep and I don't really want to wax it monthly as it is just an occasional driver.

anyway. Thanks you RegalOne as you got to what I was trying to ask...if one wanted to pick a single product line; Blackfire, GG, Pinnacle, etc... what would that choice be. I guess the more I think about it; probably asking too much. Maybe I just need to purchase some product(s) with the understanding if I don't really like it...well; there are others to try!

 

[Setec Astronomy]

If you use a beauty wax on your Chevelle, and it stays in the garage, it should last a lot longer than a month. 845 probably wouldn't be most people's first choice for a show car, people like it because it's easy to use and lasts a long time, and it's inexpensive.

I haven't used the latest version of #2, but it's pretty "old school" and I'd say you could do a lot better with polishes. You can pick a PBMG line (Pinnacle, Blackfire, Wolfgang) and have a pretty complete selection and can't really go wrong. Wolfgang has some really nice sealants for interior and exterior (Cockpit Trim Sealant and Exterior Trim Sealant). Some other products in that class would be Ultima Interior Guard Plus and Tire and Trim Guard and Blackfire Total Tire and Trim Sealant.

You might want to also look at a WOWA (Wipe On, Walk Away) sealant, many brands have one now--Optimum Opti-Seal, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Liquid Seal, Blackfire Crystal Seal, Ultima Paint Guard Plus.

Optimum has some nice polishes that are available in 8oz sizes so you don't have such a big commitment (I believe the Menzerna polishes are available in 8oz now, at least some of them).