Why do you use the brands you do, & not others??

72Malibu

72Malibu

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Different brands for wash. Different brands interior dressing. Different brands of wax. Different brands for.....oh, you get it

With all the various brands AG carries, I would venture to say, none of them are really a bad product.

Some of these products we choose due to the preferred finished result. Such as "clean" tire look vs satin vs high gloss tire shines. But, regardless of this, there are still multiple brands that meets that preference.

Of the products you use on a regular basis, what is your go to brand(s), and why do you prefer that brand over the others offered?

Or, to ask the question in another way, why do you not use the other product brands that are available?

To keep it simple, hopefully, brands used specifically for.....
Tire coating/dressing
Paint protection
Vinyl and/or leather products for interior

Tires I prefer Meguairs. I'm of the dreaded gloss tire shine crowd. Sorry.
Paint I use Wolfgang as well as the Jescar Collonite combo. Haven't had a reason to use a different brand.
interior is Mothers for the hard stuff, Leathique for leather. Smell, satin look of Mothers, and Leatherique just flatout works
The one brand you will not find in my garage is Armour All. I've tried their products and never have been happy with it.

If you wish to list brands of products used elsewhere, feel free to do so.

Looking forward to your comments. Thank you.
 
Trial and error, brand rep and reviews by respected forum members

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It's not possible for one brand to have a winner in every category.

I use a lot of 3D products because most of them work well and are good value for the money. But I also use products from others as well.
 
dwaleke said:
It's not possible for one brand to have a winner in every category.

I use a lot of 3D products because most of them work well and are good value for the money. But I also use products from others as well.
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This is SOOO spot on and makes me wonder how people could be exclusive to O N E brand for everything

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I usually use what Klasse Act uses

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dieselfan1 said:
I usually use what Klasse Act uses

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Wow, I'm an indluencer Have you tried either of my screen names namesakes

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I haven't been part of the hobbyist detailing community for too long, but have been putting in a lot of research and have recently began detailing and using a PC 7424 on my car and friends' cars.

Use: As it stands right now, I really like Meguiars Ultimate products. I know that each product is designed to be followed with the next product in the line up and that they will compliment each other well. The Ultimate Compound/Polish/Wax/QuikWax line up is also nice and forgiving for a novice to machine polishing like me. They are also all available at the end of my street and for a decent price. From what I can tell, even a lot of the autogeek veterans don't really have many negatives to say about the Ultimate lineup and use them from time to time as well.

Use: Similar to my sentiments regarding Meg's Ultimate product line, I also like Griot's for many of the same reasons. Their products are readily available to me and I like how they differentiate their "Best of Show" line up from their core line up. I keep the BOS Spray Detailer in my trunk with a few mf towels for quick touch ups since that product in particular performs well in full sun and on a hot car (important for me with a Jet Black BMW). I also like to use Speed Shine as clay lube and general in-garage detailing where I'd rather have the detailer flash off quickly (BOS Spray Detailer doesn't flash quickly by design, allowing for the use in full sun).

Don't use: I recently had the opportunity to visit a Chemical Guys store that is only a few minutes drive from me in SE Michigan. Prior to visiting I had heard the notions that they are kind of a "throw everything at the wall and see what sticks" kind of company. After my visit I left agreeing with that notion. Seems to be more of a marketing company that happens to create car detailing supplies. I did purchase a few "shop supplies" such as empty spray bottles, tire swipes, and a few 4" Hex Logic pads. In addition, I purchased Silk Shine (asked employee what he recommended for satin tire shine) which I'm not impressed with at all -- I have yet to try it as an interior detailer though which I hear is its main use. I also purchased their Max Coat Wheel Guard since it's about to be sloppy fall/winter months... too soon to say how I like this product, but I can say that application was easy. Last item I bought was interior vanilla scented mist. It lasted a whole 24 hours maybe and only smelled like vanilla for the first couple hours and then seemed to break down into a weird chemical scent. I think I will keep using this store if I just need a couple supplies, but will plan to buy my chemicals/liquids from other companies who take more pride in their R&D.

Want to try: Down the line I would like to try out some of the more "boutique" brands that autogeek sells such as Wolfgang and Blackfire. For now, as someone who is just building his arsenal, they are a little too expensive for my tastes.
 
Often for me its VALUE. How much performance can I get out of the product for the money? And sometimes its just how the product ranks over others.

For 2021, I decided to experiment with the "synergy" theory of using products solely from 1 brand/company. So I splurged and went with everything GYEON. Towels, car shampoo, tire brush, wash mitt, tire dressing, wax, spray detailer, APC, etc. Mostly everything under their brand *except coatings*.

While most of their products do exactly what they were designed to do, and I enjoyed using them, some just weren't economical and others I would rather use something else instead.

Tire Cleaner worked great and I liked it but there are other more affordable tire cleaners/APCs that also do the job exactly the same way. I can buy a equally as efficient tire cleaner for HALF the cost of what a 1 gallon container of GYEON Tire Cleaner costs. Same goes for GYEON Iron Wheel Cleaner! I loved this product but its just too costly especially since I use it often.

GYEON Tire was one that I didn't like using. It actually performed really good. Tires were protected and beaded for weeks even after a few washes. But I just hate gels. Their messy and for some reason this gel didn't always soak into the rubber evenly and consistently (even on a fully cleaned tire). So I find myself choosing something else for the tires now. And this one sits on the shelf.

GYEON Ceramic Detailer performed good but I wasn't blown away. It left the paint feeling slick-ish and left a decent gloss. It just didn't give me the wow factor that other QDs do. Actually there is only one and that is Duragloss 931 in QD ratio. No other QD gives me the gloss and slickness that DG does. So my empty GYEON bottle is now filled with DG 931.


These are just a few examples to illustrate why I choose other brands over others. Hope this helped!
 
evo77 said:
GYEON Ceramic Detailer performed good but I wasn't blown away. It left the paint feeling slick-ish and left a decent gloss. It just didn't give me the wow factor that other QDs do. Actually there is only one and that is Duragloss 931 in QD ratio. No other QD gives me the gloss and slickness that DG does. So my empty GYEON bottle is now filled with DG 931.
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I’m in the market for picking up my first rinseless wash to be used during the winter months. Would you recommend DG-931 over ONR or N914?
 
BlackCarBlues said:
I’m in the market for picking up my first rinseless wash to be used during the winter months. Would you recommend DG-931 over ONR or N914?
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Check out Griot's Garage Brillant Shine rinseless wash

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Why do you use the brands you do, & not others??

Klasse Act said:
Check out Griot's Garage Brillant Shine rinseless wash

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You already know I like Griot’s haha! Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out.

Any spray waxes you recommend that work okay in low temps? Currently I use Meg’s Ultimate Spray Wax on top of my Ultimate Liquid Wax, but not sure how the spray would perform in cold weather. Mostly concerned with getting a streak free wipe off.

Apologies for thread-jacking!
 
Re: Why do you use the brands you do, & not others??

BlackCarBlues said:
You already know I like Griot’s haha! Thanks for the suggestion, I’ll check it out.

Any spray waxes you recommend that work okay in low temps? Currently I use Meg’s Ultimate Spray Wax on top of my Ultimate Liquid Wax, but not sure how the spray would perform in cold weather. Mostly concerned with getting a streak free wipe off.

Apologies for thread-jacking!
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Not sure about low temps because 60 degrees is the base temp.

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Klasse Act said:
Trial and error, brand rep and reviews by respected forum members

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You nailed this one, Rog.

When I was a newbie, I would read TONS of descriptions, reviews etc. Even then, It was mostly trial & error. (I mean what product description doesn't say it's the best??) I would say my success rate was around 50-60% finding products that truly worked well.

After I gained a bit more experience, and made some contacts here on the forum, it was mostly recommendations I went by. I would say my success rate shot up to about 75-85% then.

Today, I have a pretty well-stocked arsenal of products that are my favorites/mainstays, and I am less prone to try new things mostly because of the many (hundreds??) of products I have now. But I will always listen to the respected members' experience/opinions with new products before I would even think of pulling the trigger.
 
I've spent years finding what I like and then I usually stick to it! I would say the only manufacturer I use multiple things from right now is DuraGloss (111, 601 and 253). But I love Gyeon leather coat on leather, I love Blackfire APC, I love Meg's D110, ONR, etc. I'm brand loyal within a given category but not to one brand! I agree with previous posters that Armorall and Turtle Wax stuff isn't super impressive.
 
For a long time it was nostalgia. I started on Meguiar's in 1996, and using their excellent products opened a door to the intense joy memories from those days, and brought them to present day.

From there it was curiousity. My first real departure was with Menzerna and Duragloss. I found them to be a departure in user experience, but similar in result. The two exceptions - 1. Menzerna always finished out with PF2500, and SF4000 (now 3500). Duragloss 111 out performed M21 in durability. So I felt I needed to add them.

From there it was Rupes. Again, mostly curiousity. What I was using worked well for me, but I wanted to try their system. I did, and it did work very well. Some of the polishes exhibited characteristics that I'm not a fan of, which is dusting. It also took a bit to get past the learning curve.

When 3D ONE was introduced I explored some of their line. Their polishes were really nice, and no dust. I still have a selection of their polishes, and they work well in place of the old and new Rupes polishes (I think I prefer the original Rupes polishes to the new ones).

ONR was a huge asset when I picked it up a few years back. I want to say 2014/5 was when I got my first gallon. I also tried their Opti-Seal and Car Wax. I didn't get how to apply Opti-Seal, and don't think I ever did back then, but I liked Car Wax.

Today's preference is Optimum and Jescar. A couple summers ago I sealed my car with Opti-Seal. When I did my first ONR wash with it, the dirt release was different. It was immediately apparent that those two products complimented one another. Fast forward to spring of 2021 I remembered that wash, and decided to get more into the line and see how it worked. That included the pads, LC 4000 pad washer and their line of polishes. While I'm still learning Hyper Compound and Intensive Polish to a degree, Hyper Polish and GPS are excellent. Car Wax, Opti-Seal and Gloss Coat all benefit from using their polishes and Paint Prep. So today, Optimum is "home base" for me.

For a more universal polishing set up, i use Jescar' s line of abrasives. They just perform beautifully, no dust, easy to wipe off, and no intense odors. I also use their Ultra Lock Plus, Ceramic Spray Wax, and because they have no coating, I use CarPro coatings in conjunction with them. I may also substitute Jescar Ultra Lock with Duragloss 111, and if asked, Zymol wax.

Almost none of my work entails interior detailing. I give every customer a courtesy vacuum and dash wipe down. But for interiors It's just ONR, Power Clean, and Leather Protectant Plus from Optimum. I also use Optiimum Opti Bond and Tire Coating for tires. I love both of them because they're not greasy.

Now.. The most difficult part of this is getting rid of the excess product I'm never going to use again. I'm giving some to the other detailer's at work, and selling some off on EBay.

I'm conclusion it is probably curiousity that drove my decision making process more than anything else. I could probably go back to what I was using in 2013 and be just fine.
 
CopperMtnGuy said:
I've spent years finding what I like and then I usually stick to it! I would say the only manufacturer I use multiple things from right now is DuraGloss (111, 601 and 253). But I love Gyeon leather coat on leather, I love Blackfire APC, I love Meg's D110, ONR, etc. I'm brand loyal within a given category but not to one brand! I agree with previous posters that Armorall and Turtle Wax stuff isn't super impressive.
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Ummm I think you need to look again at the current line up from Turtle Wax Without looking up your join date I'm going to assume your new here.

There's a number of great products from Turtle Waxes Hybrid Solutions line as well as ICE products

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BlackCarBlues said:
I’m in the market for picking up my first rinseless wash to be used during the winter months. Would you recommend DG-931 over ONR or N914?
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That depends on what features your looking for.

I like using DG 931 as a rinseless but it will leave Aquawax behind. So if your particular on "topping" your existing paint protection, then this may not be for you. If your ok with it, then DG 931 all the way! And the price is unbeatable!

I'll choose N914 over ONR. The N914 is a pure cleaner and is very nice to work with. I've been using a comparable rinseless product for just pure cleaning when I need it. Surprisingly it isn't mentioned often and goes under the radar. Its Micro Detailer Ceramic Wash Xpress (don't let the name fool you, its a pure cleaner). My gut feeling says its a little stronger on the ph scale (unverified). I would chose between these two based on which ever is cheaper.
 
Strictly performance

I think it would be foolish otherwise.
 
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