Putting together a detailing list, opinions wanted!

[Kurt_s]

Updated list then:

Headlight buffing kit - 3M Headlight Lens Restoration system

Car wash for first time details (wax and bug stripper) - Dawn dish soap (original, unscented)

Car wash for regular details - Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner car wash

Clay bar - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze detailing clay (mild, blue)

No rinse wash/clay bar lube/quick detailer - Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine

Wheel well/engine bay degreaser - Purple Power cleaner/degreaser (cut to 5 parts water, 1 part PP)

Wheel cleaner - Eagle One A2Z All Wheel and Tire Cleaner

Tire dressing - Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance tire gel

Wheel/exhaust tip polish - Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish

Buffer/polisher - Porter Cable 7424

Pad conditioner - Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner

Heavy/medium swirl/scratch remover - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #105 Ultra-Cut Compound

Intermediate/light swirl/scratch remover - Meguiars Mirror Glaze #205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Paint sealant - Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

Wax - Pinnacle Souveran paste wax

Glass - Stoner Invisible Glass (aerosol can, not spray bottle)

Glass sealant - Rain-X spray bottle (at owner's digression)

Sticker/emblem/badge/etc. remover - 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover

Leather cleaner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe cleaner

Leather conditioner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe conditioner

Interior cleaner/detailer - Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer cleaner (non-greasy stuff)

Interior freshener - Febreeze Auto


If you guys have any other suggestions for products to try instead of what I have listed or if there's a chemical/fluid/whatever that I'm missing please let me know. I'd like to get this all taken care of before moving onto towels, mitts, brushes, buckets, etc.

You're doing pretty well and I can see the guys have given you some good suggestions.

I am not a fan of the Megs Gold Class leather products for some reason. Still looking...
I bought the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover to take off a wheel weight adhesive on my rim and burned a hole in the CC. Be careful.
I own Megs APC+, Opt Power Clean, LAs Totally Awesome, CG Grime Reaper for APCs and degreasers. I think that OPC is the safest with paint and may have the broadest utility. The APC+ my second go to. The Totallly Awesome is strong stuff undiluted

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

You're doing pretty well and I can see the guys have given you some good suggestions.

I am not a fan of the Megs Gold Class leather products for some reason. Still looking...
I bought the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover to take off a wheel weight adhesive on my rim and burned a hole in the CC. Be careful.
I own Megs APC+, Opt Power Clean, LAs Totally Awesome, CG Grime Reaper for APCs and degreasers. I think that OPC is the safest with paint and may have the broadest utility. The APC+ my second go to. The Totallly Awesome is strong stuff undiluted

I wasn't much of a fan of the regular leather products. Have you tried the aloe gold class stuff? I've never ever seen it in stores and had to order it but let me tell you, it's amazing stuff.

I've used the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover quite a bit on stuff. Extremely useful for removing detailer stickers and debadging a car. Never tried to use it on wheel wheel tape though so I'm not sure how well it would work.

If you haven't tried Purple Power before it might be worth a shot. It's extremely safe stuff and works awesome, even at 5:1. I just simply use it for wheel liners and engine bays. I originally used Simple Green but didn't like how it worked and decided to start using Purple Power. I've heard good stuff about Meguiar's APC though.

 

[fairlady350z]

I would switch out the leather cleaner and conditioner to lexol. It's awesome stuff! That's what I always recommend and anyone who took my suggestion has always loved it too. If you have used the megs and like it, then stick with that. To each his own. Everything else looks like a really solid list, good choices rops:

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I would switch out the leather cleaner and conditioner to lexol. It's awesome stuff! That's what I always recommend and anyone who took my suggestion has always loved it too. If you have used the megs and like it, then stick with that. To each his own. Everything else looks like a really solid list, good choices rops:

Yea, I'm willing to try out the Lexol eventually as well. I've heard good things about it. IMO detail is really trial and error, but there's just some products that you NEED to have. lol The Meguiar's has worked excellent thus far, so I'll just use it until I have it all used up. I think I have a pretty solid list, the only things I've got left to get is my sealant and my no rinse.

Anyone have any ideas on the mitts or brushes? Just curious what you guys would recommend.

 

[WRAPT C5Z06]

A quality chenille MF is my favorite. As far as brushes, I use mothers wheel and fenderwell brushes, and they work great.

 

[BobbyG]

Well, here's what I've got thus far. I've done a little reading around and asking some professional detailers what they're using. I've got some experience doing this, but would like to get a nice set of detailing supplies together so that I could start doing some detailing jobs on the weekends.

Onto the list:

Headlight buffing kit - 3M Headlight Lens Restoration system

Car wash for first time details (wax and bug stripper) - Dawn dish soap (original, unscented)

Car wash for regular details - Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner car wash

Clay bar - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze detailing clay (mild, blue)

Quick Detailer - Meguiar's Quik Detailer mist and wipe (red bottle, not the Ultimate ####)

Wheel well/engine bay degreaser - Purple Power cleaner/degreaser (cut to 5 parts water, 1 part PP)

Wheel cleaner - Eagle One A2Z All Wheel and Tire Cleaner

Tire dressing - Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance tire gel

Wheel/exhaust tip polish - Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish

Buffer/polisher - Porter Cable 7424

Pad conditioner - Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner

Heavy swirl/scratch remover - 3M Rubbing Compound

Intermediate swirl/scratch remover - Pinnacle XMT Intermediate Swirl Remover #3

Light swirl/scratch remover - Pinnacle XMT Ultra Fine Swirler Remover #1

Glaze - Pinnacle XMT Carnauba Finishing Glaze

Wax - Pinnacle Souveran paste wax

Glass - Stoner Invisible Glass (aerosol can, not spray bottle)

Glass sealant - Rain-X spray bottle (at owner's digression)

Sticker/emblem/badge/etc. remover - 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover

Leather cleaner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe cleaner

Leather conditioner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe conditioner

Interior cleaner/detailer - Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer cleaner (non-greasy stuff)

Interior freshener - Febreeze Auto


Besides something to clean interior carpets I'd say that pretty much takes care of things as far as chemicals go. If you guys have any other suggestions before I move onto pads, towels, mitts, buckets, etc. I would appreciate it.

Instead of dissecting your list this is what I use as a comparison.

Car Wash: Duragloss 901, DP Extreme Foam, Meguiar's Hyper-Wash
Interior Protectant: Meguiar's M40
Glass Cleaner: Meguiars D1200
Tires: Pinnicle Black Onyx, Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel, DP Gloss Tire Gel
APC: Meguiar's APC+
Wheel Cleaner: Meguiar's Wheel Brightener
Wheel Wax: DP Wheel Glaze, Poorboy's World Wheel Sealant
Spray Wax: Optimum Spray Wax, Pinnacle Spray Wax
Quick Detailer: Adams
Compound: Menzerna Power Gloss, Meguiar's M105
Medium Polish: Menzerna Power Finish, Meguiar's M205
Final Polish: Menzerna PO85RD
Leather Cleaner: Lexol
Leather Conditioner: Lexol
Trim: Poorboy's World Trim Restore, Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant
Chrome: Mothers
Liquid Sealant: Menzerna Power Lock, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, DP Poli-Coat
Liquid Wax: Collinite 845, Pinnacle Souveran,
Paste wax: Collinite Marque Elegance, Pinnacle Signature Series, Poorboy's Natty, DP Max Wax, Wolfgang Fusion

A good assortment of Microfiber towels

Machines

Makita 9227 rotary polisher
Flex 3401 DA polisher
Porter Cable 7424 XP DA polisher

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Instead of dissecting your list this is what I use as a comparison.

Car Wash: Duragloss 901, DP Extreme Foam, Meguiar's Hyper-Wash
Interior Protectant: Meguiar's M40
Glass Cleaner: Meguiars D1200
Tires: Pinnicle Black Onyx, Optimum Opti-Bond Tire Gel, DP Gloss Tire Gel
APC: Meguiar's APC+
Wheel Cleaner: Meguiar's Wheel Brightener
Wheel Wax: DP Wheel Glaze, Poorboy's World Wheel Sealant
Spray Wax: Optimum Spray Wax, Pinnacle Spray Wax
Quick Detailer: Adams
Compound: Menzerna Power Gloss, Meguiar's M105
Medium Polish: Menzerna Power Finish, Meguiar's M205
Final Polish: Menzerna PO85RD
Leather Cleaner: Lexol
Leather Conditioner: Lexol
Trim: Poorboy's World Trim Restore, Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant
Chrome: Mothers
Liquid Sealant: Menzerna Power Lock, Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant, DP Poli-Coat
Liquid Wax: Collinite 845, Pinnacle Souveran,
Paste wax: Collinite Marque Elegance, Pinnacle Signature Series, Poorboy's Natty, DP Max Wax, Wolfgang Fusion

A good assortment of Microfiber towels

Machines

Makita 9227 rotary polisher
Flex 3401 DA polisher
Porter Cable 7424 XP DA polisher

You quoted my earlier list if you noticed. It's been revised since then. lol

It sounds like we're on the same page with a lot of stuff though. I've never been a big fan of liquid waxes or spray waxes simply because they don't seem to last or really be worth it. I should probably pick up some of that trim detailer though as lately I've just been using the Meguiar's Tire Gel. I keep hearing good things about the Meguiar's Ultimate Protectant and was thinking about getting that.

As far as a mitt goes, I do know that you want a separate mitt for wheels and tires and one for the body of the car itself. Is there any reason you prefer the chenille MF mitts over a sheepskin one? Would you recommend using a wheel brush over the Schmitt Mitt?

 

[Kurt_s]

I wasn't much of a fan of the regular leather products. Have you tried the aloe gold class stuff? I've never ever seen it in stores and had to order it but let me tell you, it's amazing stuff.

I've used the 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover quite a bit on stuff. Extremely useful for removing detailer stickers and debadging a car. Never tried to use it on wheel wheel tape though so I'm not sure how well it would work.

If you haven't tried Purple Power before it might be worth a shot. It's extremely safe stuff and works awesome, even at 5:1. I just simply use it for wheel liners and engine bays. I originally used Simple Green but didn't like how it worked and decided to start using Purple Power. I've heard good stuff about Meguiar's APC though.

I've used 2 Megs leather products over the years but not the Aloe. Hard to keep going back to a company after striking out twice.

Be careful with the 3M adhesive remover. Not just for you but those that read the posts. My 2 cents.

Thanks for the reco for the Purple Power. There are a few other guys that have posted good results. OPC opened my eyes to what makes a good APC, though I have not tried Purple Power. OPC is my go to APC although I still use APC+ because I have over a 1/2 gallon left.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

I've used 2 Megs leather products over the years but not the Aloe. Hard to keep going back to a company after striking out twice.

Be careful with the 3M adhesive remover. Not just for you but those that read the posts. My 2 cents.

Thanks for the reco for the Purple Power. There are a few other guys that have posted good results. OPC opened my eyes to what makes a good APC, though I have not tried Purple Power. OPC is my go to APC although I still use APC+ because I have over a 1/2 gallon left.

Yea, I think it might be worth a shot on the aloe stuff. It's like 15 dollars for both bottles and I think it works pretty good.

Yea, you CAN mess things up if you use that adhesive remover wrong but for the most part I've had excellent success with it. It works on about any surface really. Like I said, great for dealer stickers and debadging a car.

Purple Power is nice because it's readily available and very cheap. I think a gallon of it was like 12 bucks or something. You can get it at about any store that carries cleaning supplies, I usually get mine at Wal-Mart. Much safer than Simple Green and seems to work better anyways. At 5:1 I watched it melt away dirt and grime from the intake manifold on my W8. It might be worth just picking up the small spray bottle of it for like 4 dollars and giving it a try.

 

[Kurt_s]

Yea, I think it might be worth a shot on the aloe stuff. It's like 15 dollars for both bottles and I think it works pretty good.

Yea, you CAN mess things up if you use that adhesive remover wrong but for the most part I've had excellent success with it. It works on about any surface really. Like I said, great for dealer stickers and debadging a car.

Purple Power is nice because it's readily available and very cheap. I think a gallon of it was like 12 bucks or something. You can get it at about any store that carries cleaning supplies, I usually get mine at Wal-Mart. Much safer than Simple Green and seems to work better anyways. At 5:1 I watched it melt away dirt and grime from the intake manifold on my W8. It might be worth just picking up the small spray bottle of it for like 4 dollars and giving it a try.

I am setting up a new business and money has gotten a little tight. Leatherique and Leather Master's products are higher on my list for leather products at this point.

I think APC+ runs $13 for a gallon and use it at 1/10 for interior work, so at a similar price point to purple power.

OPC is slightly more expensive but I feel more comfortable using it on paint as long as I don't let it dry. My engine looks beautiful after using OPC, similar to your experience with purple power. I worry about oxidizing uncoated metal parts like aluminum housings and feel better about OPC for some reason. OPC helps remove the black grime on my tires that kept wiping off on my applicator and towels when applying tire dressings. I also use OPC to clean rubber seals around windows and doors that are oxidized without damaging them. It removes the flat black oxidized rubber that normally wipes off on your MF towels when cleaning and drying the vehicles rubber. I recently detailed a F250 with roof line rubber gutters that were filled with mud and coated with that black oxidized rubber. OPC helped me clean them out and removed the oxidized rubber. After OPC, I use one of a couple of good rubber/vinyl dressings. I also find that some APCs seem to lighten the color on mudflaps and wheel wells more than others. For me, I've found a product that can do many jobs where I feel it is both safe and powerful. I'm not sure that I want to start all over again testing with PP.

 

[BobbyG]

As far as a mitt goes, I do know that you want a separate mitt for wheels and tires and one for the body of the car itself. Is there any reason you prefer the chenille MF mitts over a sheepskin one? Would you recommend using a wheel brush over the Schmitt Mitt?

I like using wheel brushes and picked up the Daytona Speed Master wheel brush and wheel brush junior. I really like the way these brushes get into every corner and cavity no matter how small.

I also use a Microfiber sponge to give the wheel a once-over and this seems to work out very well.

Daytona Speed Master Two Brush Combo, wheel brushes, detailing brush, auto detail brush

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Yea, I think I should invest in some detailing brushes for sure, especially for wheels, engine bays, and grilles. Are those finger pocket things even worth it? Also, why a MF sponge over a wheel Schmitt or something else? I was thinking of just using the wheel brush for the whole wheel but I'm not sure how well that would work out.

One of the other detailers I know uses a chenille MF mitt as well. I've always wondered why more people don't use sheepskin ones as they seem like they would be the softest on paint. Maybe the sheepskin would trap more stuff in it whereas the fingers on the chenille MF mitt would release dirt easier?

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Just ordered a 16 oz. bottle and 2 oz. sample of the Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0. Figured that the 18 oz. will probably go bad before I can even use it all. Was debating the next size which was a 64 oz. bottle, but that's way way more than I'll ever need. Also, I ordered a gallon jug of the Optimum No Rinse. I figured that stuff I'll be able to use up much faster, especially considering it will be used for no rinse wash, clay bar lube, and instant detailer. Merry Christmas to me from my mother.

I'll just use the 1 oz. to each gallon of water on the ONR for my no rinse solution, 2 oz. to each gallon of water for my clay lube, and 8 oz. to each gallon of water for my instant detailer. What would that come down to as far as a dilution ratio?

 

[zliegen]

Also, I ordered a gallon jug of the Optimum No Rinse. I figured that stuff I'll be able to use up much faster, especially considering it will be used for no rinse wash, clay bar lube, and instant detailer. Merry Christmas to me from my mother.

I'll just use the 1 oz. to each gallon of water on the ONR for my no rinse solution, 2 oz. to each gallon of water for my clay lube, and 8 oz. to each gallon of water for my instant detailer. What would that come down to as far as a dilution ratio?

128:1 Rinseless, 64:1 Clay Lube, 16:1 QD

You won't regret the ONR for sure, a gallon will be lasting you a veryyy long time, the 32oz bottle lasted me around 4 months I think and I used it pretty much every day for QD. Going to get more ONR once I run out of DP Rinseless unless DP is on sale when I run out of ONR again.

 

[Rayaz]

I don't detail for a living but I am amazed at how many friends I have when tey see my cars.

I just used Optimum Hyper Polish on an old Benz I bought for no apparent reason (another long story). It did a great job of removing years of swirls with NO dusting. This would be good (if I was charging) because I would not have to re-wash to get all the dust off the car. It also had an unbelievably long work time compared to Menzerma and finished almost as well as Nano followed by glaze with one step and no cleanup (beyond cleansing lotion).

I'd also consider going with less expensive "premium wax" and spend the money on a Flex instead of the PC. I own both and the Flex is easily 3 times better in m humble opinion. It sure works faster and that would be a consideration (if were charging...myself for all that work).

PS I just add a little wash soap to some distilled water and use it after I rinse. I rinse the soap off and dry. Saves time and accompishes the same result.

 

[Rayaz]

By the way, I was taking about clay solution with the soap/distilled water trick although my clarity was as bad as my spellcheck...

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

128:1 Rinseless, 64:1 Clay Lube, 16:1 QD

You won't regret the ONR for sure, a gallon will be lasting you a veryyy long time, the 32oz bottle lasted me around 4 months I think and I used it pretty much every day for QD. Going to get more ONR once I run out of DP Rinseless unless DP is on sale when I run out of ONR again.

Yea, I'm sure I'll really like the stuff, especially since it takes care of 3 major things for you.

Later today I'm going to get a permanent marker and a few more of those mixing spray bottles that I got at Wal-Mart for cheap and make up the bottles for the different stuff. Also, while I'm there I'm going to pick up some 70% IPA for my wipe-downs. That should take care of the last of my chemicals that I need.

Is there any other products I should pick up? About the only thing I see that I don't have would be to go with either liquid wax or a spray wax of some sort, but just don't see a use for either of those.

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Headlight buffing kit - 3M Headlight Lens Restoration system

Car wash for first time details (wax and bug stripper) - Dawn dish soap (original, unscented)

Car wash for regular details - Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner car wash

Clay bar - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze detailing clay (mild, blue)

No rinse wash/clay bar lube/quick detailer - Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine (128:1 no rinse wash, 64:1 clay bar lube, 16:1 quick detailer)

Wheel well/engine bay degreaser - Purple Power cleaner/degreaser (5:1 cleaner/degreaser)

Wheel cleaner - Eagle One A2Z All Wheel and Tire Cleaner

Tire dressing - Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance tire gel

Wheel/exhaust tip polish - Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish

Buffer/polisher - Porter Cable 7424

Pad conditioner - Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner

Heavy/medium swirl/scratch remover - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #105 Ultra-Cut Compound

Intermediate/light swirl/scratch remover - Meguiars Mirror Glaze #205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Paint sealant - Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

Wal-Mart 70% isopropyl alcohol (1:1 for wipedowns)

Wax - Pinnacle Souveran paste wax

Glass - Stoner Invisible Glass (aerosol can, not spray bottle)

Glass sealant - Rain-X spray bottle (at owner's digression)

Sticker/emblem/badge/etc. remover - 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover

Leather cleaner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe cleaner

Leather conditioner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe conditioner

Interior cleaner/detailer - Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer cleaner (non-greasy stuff)

Interior freshener - Febreeze Auto

I think that should cover it for my chemicals and fluids. I got all my spray bottles made up to dilute all the products so I'm ready there. Any other suggestions before going onto more stuff?

 

[The_Auto_Tech]

Anyone else?

 

[Kurt_s]

Headlight buffing kit - 3M Headlight Lens Restoration system

Car wash for first time details (wax and bug stripper) - Dawn dish soap (original, unscented)

Car wash for regular details - Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo and Conditioner car wash

Clay bar - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze detailing clay (mild, blue)

No rinse wash/clay bar lube/quick detailer - Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine (128:1 no rinse wash, 64:1 clay bar lube, 16:1 quick detailer)

Wheel well/engine bay degreaser - Purple Power cleaner/degreaser (5:1 cleaner/degreaser)

Wheel cleaner - Eagle One A2Z All Wheel and Tire Cleaner

Tire dressing - Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance tire gel

Wheel/exhaust tip polish - Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish

Buffer/polisher - Porter Cable 7424

Pad conditioner - Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Conditioner

Heavy/medium swirl/scratch remover - Meguiar's Mirror Glaze #105 Ultra-Cut Compound

Intermediate/light swirl/scratch remover - Meguiars Mirror Glaze #205 Ultra Finishing Polish

Paint sealant - Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0

Wal-Mart 70% isopropyl alcohol (1:1 for wipedowns)

Wax - Pinnacle Souveran paste wax

Glass - Stoner Invisible Glass (aerosol can, not spray bottle)

Glass sealant - Rain-X spray bottle (at owner's digression)

Sticker/emblem/badge/etc. remover - 3M General Purpose Adhesive Remover

Leather cleaner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe cleaner

Leather conditioner - Meguiar's Gold Class rich leather aloe conditioner

Interior cleaner/detailer - Meguiar's Quik Interior Detailer cleaner (non-greasy stuff)

Interior freshener - Febreeze Auto

I think that should cover it for my chemicals and fluids. I got all my spray bottles made up to dilute all the products so I'm ready there. Any other suggestions before going onto more stuff?

I would get a can of Mineral Spirits (not the environmentally friendly!) as IPA may not always be the best item to remove waxes and sealants. You might also want a prewax paint cleaner. How about an APC other than Purple Power? I use APC+ and 303 carpet/fabric cleaner for carpets and light interior cleaning, and OPC for just about everything else. I use OPC for cleaning rubber moldings to good effect. Which pads will you use. Pad cleaner? Bug and tar remover? Exterior plastic trim dressing?