Detailing Kits

[ek5.56]

Changing my original post to actually show what's currently in my shopping cart. Im glad I didnt order anything yet as the more reading I do, the more I see negative review about a lot of Chemical Guys products. Seems like there are much better options for the money out there and CG seems to be known as "a marketing company that happens to sell car products". So here is what I'm currently holding my amazon cart. If its a good choice, I'll keep it. If not, please let me know what you'd recommend to replace it with and why.

Adam's Grit Guard bucket with lid - $24
Maguiar's X2000 Water Magnet drying towel - $11.15
CG Wash Mit - $6.94
Dusichin SFL-001 Snow Foam Cannon - $20.90
CG Honeydew - $29.99
CG V7 High Gloss Spray Sealant and Quick Detailer - $16.95
CG Diablo Gel Wheel Cleaner - $9.99
CG Wheel Guard Wheel Sealant - $19.99
CG Butter Wet Wax - $17.99
CG Jet Seal - $37.17
CG VRP (Vinyl, Rubber and Plastic) Super Shine - $10.99 -- my intent with this is the tires. I dont want a glossy interior, just a clean interior.
Griot's Interior Cleaner - $9.99
Griot's Interior Detailer - 15.47

Things I know I'm missing - quality microfiber towels for buffing, clay kit, and foam/microfiber applicators.

Question - CG lists a few different towels by color, claiming they each serve a specific purpose. True/false? Does it matter ? Is microfiber microfiber?

As you can tell, I was hit by the Chemical Guys bandwagon, but I'm a person that like to read review of each product as well as the company. You can slap a fancy label on a mediocre product and make it look like its a godsend to the auto industry.

Sponsored

 

[parshisa]

Changing my original post to actually show what's currently in my shopping cart. Im glad I didnt order anything yet as the more reading I do, the more I see negative review about a lot of Chemical Guys products. Seems like there are much better options for the money out there and CG seems to be known as "a marketing company that happens to sell car products". So here is what I'm currently holding my amazon cart. If its a good choice, I'll keep it. If not, please let me know what you'd recommend to replace it with and why.

Adam's Grit Guard bucket with lid - $24
Maguiar's X2000 Water Magnet drying towel - $11.15
CG Wash Mit - $6.94
Dusichin SFL-001 Snow Foam Cannon - $20.90
CG Honeydew - $29.99
CG V7 High Gloss Spray Sealant and Quick Detailer - $16.95
CG Diablo Gel Wheel Cleaner - $9.99
CG Wheel Guard Wheel Sealant - $19.99
CG Butter Wet Wax - $17.99
CG Jet Seal - $37.17
CG VRP (Vinyl, Rubber and Plastic) Super Shine - $10.99 -- my intent with this is the tires. I dont want a glossy interior, just a clean interior.
Griot's Interior Cleaner - $9.99
Griot's Interior Detailer - 15.47

Things I know I'm missing - quality microfiber towels for buffing, clay kit, and foam/microfiber applicators.

Question - CG lists a few different towels by color, claiming they each serve a specific purpose. True/false? Does it matter ? Is microfiber microfiber?

As you can tell, I was hit by the Chemical Guys bandwagon, but I'm a person that like to read review of each product as well as the company. You can slap a fancy label on a mediocre product and make it look like its a godsend to the auto industry.

If you're looking for some high quality detailing products - look into CarPro or Gyeon brands. I personally use carpro for the most part since I had both of my cars coated with CQ ceramic coating. As for the CarPro products the best way to get them is Autogeek for sure. They constantly having sales with up to 25% OFF and free shipping - it will be much cheaper than Amazon (don't ask me how I know it lol). I've used almost all of the products by CG you've listed above and they not anywhere close to CarPro. With that said, go check out their products and let me know if you have any questions - they are in my detailing box and I have some good experience using them.

As for the microfiber, you should check theragcompany.com. Amazing microfiber for very good price. Let me know what your needs are as far as towels and I'll help you out on what to choose. Again, I use exclusively their products with very very good results. Hope this helps

 

[ek5.56]

If you're looking for some high quality detailing products - look into CarPro or Gyeon brands. I personally use carpro for the most part since I had both of my cars coated with CQ ceramic coating. As for the CarPro products the best way to get them is Autogeek for sure. They constantly having sales with up to 25% OFF and free shipping - it will be much cheaper than Amazon (don't ask me how I know it lol). I've used almost all of the products by CG you've listed above and they not anywhere close to CarPro. With that said, go check out their products and let me know if you have any questions - they are in my detailing box and I have some good experience using them.

As for the microfiber, you should check theragcompany.com. Amazing microfiber for very good price. Let me know what your needs are as far as towels and I'll help you out on what to choose. Again, I use exclusively their products with very very good results. Hope this helps

Very helpful thank you! I’ll check out Autogeek and put a cart together, and then consult with you if you don’t mind.
As for towels, I’ll be using them to dry, buff off any polish, sealant and wax, use with quick detail spray, and for cleaning the interior. The paint on my car, luckily, is still pretty damn mint, minus some swirls on the gloss black plastic trim around the grill area. For this reason, I’m pretty anal about not touching the car during the wash or dry. My theory is that if I foam canon it, let it sit and run the dirt off, then rinse, foam a second time and lightly while it down with a mit, that might avoid causing any swirls or scratches in the process. When drying, I’d actually prefer a blower, but I know towel drying is probably inevitable in some areas.

 

[boosted180sx]

I mainly use CarPro, Gyeon, and McKee products. I either get them through autogeek or detailimage. AutoGeek does ship kinda slow but they do carry good stuff.

 

[parshisa]

Very helpful thank you! I’ll check out Autogeek and put a cart together, and then consult with you if you don’t mind.
As for towels, I’ll be using them to dry, buff off any polish, sealant and wax, use with quick detail spray, and for cleaning the interior. The paint on my car, luckily, is still pretty damn mint, minus some swirls on the gloss black plastic trim around the grill area. For this reason, I’m pretty anal about not touching the car during the wash or dry. My theory is that if I foam canon it, let it sit and run the dirt off, then rinse, foam a second time and lightly while it down with a mit, that might avoid causing any swirls or scratches in the process. When drying, I’d actually prefer a blower, but I know towel drying is probably inevitable in some areas.

Alright, here we go, the list of the stuff I use for my ceramic coated cars:

1. Car washmit - Microfiber Madness (https://www.carpro-us.com/wash-mitts/microfiber-madness-incredimitt/, https://www.carpro-us.com/wash-mitts/microfiber-madness-incredipad/) - they are pricey but worth every penny, I have both
2. Car soap - CarPro Reset - very slick soap with great dilution ratios. Cleans the surface really good with no gloss enhancers and other nonsense.
3. Tire dressing - CarPro Pearl (diluted with distilled water 1:1 ratio). Great satin shine with no sling whatsoever. Last a good while. You can also use on exterior plastics as a trim dressing.
4. Interior - CarPro Inside (diluted 1:1). Great for all interior surfaces including leather. Minimal scent and cleans very good.
5. Wheel Cleaner - IronX - there are might be other option out there but I find it working really well on removing break dust and other crap from the wheels. You can also use it on paint and glass for decontamination purposes if you are planning on polishing.
6. Bug remover - TarX - great for tar, bugs, road film removal
7. Paint sealant - CarPro Reload - absolutely amazing silica based sealant. Spray it on microfiber towel and spread across the panel and do the final buff - shine and protection are guaranteed.
8. Rinsless wash - either CarPro ECH2O or Optimum non-rinse. Both are great products but I personally like Optimum a little better. You can also use them for pre-mixing the clay lube (if you ever decide on claying the paint).

Now to the microfiber. I got all of my towels from theragcompany.com

1. Drying - Dry me a river Junior - I have two of those and they are absolutely brilliant towels for drying. (https://www.theragcompany.com/dry-me-a-river-jr-20-x-40-premium-korean-waffle-weave-towel/). I also use these bad boys (https://www.theragcompany.com/platinum-pluffle-16-x-16-hybrid-weave-microfiber-towel/) for tiny areas while drying.
2. Final touch/drying aid application - Eagle Edgeless - you can't go wrong with these - phenomenal stuff. The only thing I'd suggest is to get a blue ones. In my experience they have 0 lint and soft as baby skin (can't say the same about orange ones). https://www.theragcompany.com/eagle-edgeless-500-16-x-16-microfiber-towel/
3. All purpose towels - you can get them from costco in bulk (they are really cheap) and use them for door jams, engine bay etc.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know. Cheers

 

[ebatr24]

I stopped using conventional waxes, and switched to just using this coating from Mckees. I would highly recommend it, I am a month in and the coating still beads water unlike any wax I ever used. Supposed to last 3 months but I will probably reapply within 2. I also like it because bugs aren't attracted to it like they are to wax which was a real pain in my area. Before using it I would always use the Turtle wax-wax as you dry stuff which believe it or not is phenomenal for store bought stuff so that I could maintain a wax in between traditional wax applications. I plan to start using the wax as you dry again with the Mckees for the extra shine and just to maintain the coating. I agree that Chemical Guys is overrated, but I do use their citrus soap you can get from Walmart in my foam cannon, it foams really really well and smells very nice.
https://www.autogeek.net/mckees-hydro-blue-coating.html

 

[ek5.56]

Alright, here we go, the list of the stuff I use for my ceramic coated cars:

1. Car washmit - Microfiber Madness (https://www.carpro-us.com/wash-mitts/microfiber-madness-incredimitt/, https://www.carpro-us.com/wash-mitts/microfiber-madness-incredipad/) - they are pricey but worth every penny, I have both
2. Car soap - CarPro Reset - very slick soap with great dilution ratios. Cleans the surface really good with no gloss enhancers and other nonsense.
3. Tire dressing - CarPro Pearl (diluted with distilled water 1:1 ratio). Great satin shine with no sling whatsoever. Last a good while. You can also use on exterior plastics as a trim dressing.
4. Interior - CarPro Inside (diluted 1:1). Great for all interior surfaces including leather. Minimal scent and cleans very good.
5. Wheel Cleaner - IronX - there are might be other option out there but I find it working really well on removing break dust and other crap from the wheels. You can also use it on paint and glass for decontamination purposes if you are planning on polishing.
6. Bug remover - TarX - great for tar, bugs, road film removal
7. Paint sealant - CarPro Reload - absolutely amazing silica based sealant. Spray it on microfiber towel and spread across the panel and do the final buff - shine and protection are guaranteed.
8. Rinsless wash - either CarPro ECH2O or Optimum non-rinse. Both are great products but I personally like Optimum a little better. You can also use them for pre-mixing the clay lube (if you ever decide on claying the paint).

Now to the microfiber. I got all of my towels from theragcompany.com

1. Drying - Dry me a river Junior - I have two of those and they are absolutely brilliant towels for drying. (https://www.theragcompany.com/dry-me-a-river-jr-20-x-40-premium-korean-waffle-weave-towel/). I also use these bad boys (https://www.theragcompany.com/platinum-pluffle-16-x-16-hybrid-weave-microfiber-towel/) for tiny areas while drying.
2. Final touch/drying aid application - Eagle Edgeless - you can't go wrong with these - phenomenal stuff. The only thing I'd suggest is to get a blue ones. In my experience they have 0 lint and soft as baby skin (can't say the same about orange ones). https://www.theragcompany.com/eagle-edgeless-500-16-x-16-microfiber-towel/
3. All purpose towels - you can get them from costco in bulk (they are really cheap) and use them for door jams, engine bay etc.

Hope this helps. If you have any questions let me know. Cheers

Wow thank you! I just finished whipping together a shopping cart on autogeek. I mostly went step by step and chose my products based on price and reviews. I went with a couple CG products, Griots, 303, and McKee's. I think a Maguiars and Klasse is tossed in there as well. Based on the descriptions of some of your products, it sounds like I can downsize my cart by making mulit-use of some products, like using the tire dressing on the exterior plastic trim.

I certainly do plan to clay the car, but I'm holding off on purchasing that and polish for the time being since it's not yet in need of it. I suspect once this New England rain and pollen season dies down, it will need a good clay job.

What do you like for wax? I leaning toward Griot's Best of Show Wax. I read a review saying to let cure for an hour or more, and buff off using a spray wax. Might be overkill but what the heck.

 

[boosted180sx]

Alright, here we go, the list of the stuff I use for my ceramic coated cars:

basically have the same set of products like you except for wheel cleaner. I just use soap and water and it cleans up the wheels very easily once they were coated. IronX is great but I feel like it's too much money to use as a wheel cleaner.

I've also stopped using waxes and sealants and went to coatings. The McKee coating is VERY beginner friendly and super easy to apply.

Here is the products I use:
CarPro Reset
CarPro PERL
CarPro Inside
CarPro Reload
CarPro Hydro2
Carpro Ech2O

If i want to use a foam cannon - CG HoneyDew SnowFoam

Coatings:
Gyeon Rim/Trim/Mohs on my CTR
McKee Paint Coating/Wheel Coating on my other cars.

 

[parshisa]

Wow thank you! I just finished whipping together a shopping cart on autogeek. I mostly went step by step and chose my products based on price and reviews. I went with a couple CG products, Griots, 303, and McKee's. I think a Maguiars and Klasse is tossed in there as well. Based on the descriptions of some of your products, it sounds like I can downsize my cart by making mulit-use of some products, like using the tire dressing on the exterior plastic trim.

I certainly do plan to clay the car, but I'm holding off on purchasing that and polish for the time being since it's not yet in need of it. I suspect once this New England rain and pollen season dies down, it will need a good clay job.

What do you like for wax? I leaning toward Griot's Best of Show Wax. I read a review saying to let cure for an hour or more, and buff off using a spray wax. Might be overkill but what the heck.

With waxes you can really go wrong. And it really depends on your preference - spray wax, paste wax etc. I've personally have two waxes in my arsenal - finish kare high temp paste wax - great wax for hot climate, it is synthetic wax and holds up really well. The other one is Pete's 53 black pearl - amazing carnauba paste wax that delivers fantastic gloss. I am also hearing a lot of good things about Collinite 845 - never used it myself but looks like great stuff for very little money.
Also, if you are in the market for the paint sealant, you really need to look into PowerLocj by Jescar. Holy crap the paint is smooth after you layer a coat of this stuff. Beads water really well and lasts a good while.

 

[Mike Tonge]

I just ordered a cart load of Obsessed products as I called them and had a great conversation about what they sell. That coupled with the YouTube vids sold it for me. I’m not gonna lie guys, I love the whole cleaning thing and the cost of the ceramic coating just put me off. So I did some research and ended up with Obsessed.
I also talked to the guys at CG, they sounded ok but I didn’t get the warm and fuzzies from them so I declined their products lol.
I will review the Obsessed products when I receive them and get them on the car, this will be my first real detailing as I’ve previously just taken a few hrs to wash clay and polish my cars.
Mike

 

[ek5.56]

I got a bunch of supplies order, deliver, and used a couple times now between my car and my girlfriends car (both silver). I got a a few products that may overlap purposes or be duplicates for the sole purpose of trying a couple different things to see what I like, what works, and what I prefer. I'll go in the order of my full detail:

Lets start with the wheels. I ordered Griots Wheel Cleaner. This product I like, but after cleaning my wheels twice and hers once, I feel like I'm flying through this bottle. Maybe I'm using it too liberally, but its hard not to without taking the wheels off, which I have not yet done. I also ordered Chemical Guys Wheel Guard which I have not yet used.

Wash - I got an electric pressure washer with a pretty decent foam cannon I found at Home Depot (torq foam blaster is on its way though). Soap - I got CG Citrus and Honeydew. I like them both, and I think I'll keep both around. If Im not applying a sealant or wax/quick wax, the Citrus gave a better end product. But I feel like for a deeper clean, prepping for a clay bar, the Honeydew (in a higher amount) was better. But I didnt use the Citrus in a higher amount so its not a fair comparison.

Next was the claying. I got the Meguiars clay kit and it did pretty well. It picked up quite of bit of contaminants, and left the surface very smooth for probably 90% of the car. There were some spots that it didnt pick up some stuff, Im guessing tiny tiny sap spots? They were in inconspicuous area so I didnt dwell on it. With some elbow grease on the windshield, it did very well for some of that.

Theres virtually no swirls or scratches on mine so I skipped the polishing for now. Im going to wait on that step until I get the random orbital polisher and pads.

So I moved on the sealing step. I used CG JetSeal and for what I can tell, it did very well. Went on with a microfiber applicator pad very easily, let dry for 15 minutes and buffed off with ease leaving a very smooth, glossy finish.

From there, I let that cure over night. I dont know that I need to, but it was getting late and I was running out of light.

Next morning I applied a wax coat. I decided to try out Griots Best In Show Liquid Wax. This stuff, eh, its alright. It spread out easily. I let it dry for 20-30 minutes as recommended but it wasnt the easiest to buff off. I made sure to use a thin coat too. Visually, it looks great when its buffed off but I wouldnt say any better than after the seal and before the wax. Maybe I had too high of expectations? I want to try the Butter Wet Wax and Meguiars Ultimate Wax as well. I'll likely use one of those next.

This is where I then lightly sprayed, wiped and buffed the V7 on. Looks great, but at the right angle I can see a decent amount of streaking on the hood. Maybe the hood was too warm... it was a warm morning and it was briefly in the sun.

I finished off my project with 303 Tire Protectant. The more coats you apply the glossier the result. I went with one coat and I like it a lot. It lasts longer than Hot Shine did.


For interior products, I got a few different things but haven't done the interior yet so I cant comment.

One product I got that I really liked was McKee's 37 Hydro Blue SiO2. This was great, but I've read mixed reviews about how to use it. Some say you can apply it over wax, some say to not use it if you're using other products. If thats true, as someone who likes doing these steps, I probably wont use it. If I can apply it over wax, I definitely will because the water repellent factor was outstanding. Better than most waxes I've used. And if it would add to the protection of the prior steps, then why not use it. I'm thinking a few weeks after a wax, I'll wash it and apply the SiO2.

I will say, that after waxing with Griots BiS wax, grass clippings, dust, tree crap, etc seem to be attracted to the car much more than before. They brush off effortlessly but its like a damn magnet.

There were some other products I got for the exterior (quick detailers, Megs Quik Wax, etc) but I haven't used them yet to test them out, and will post my thoughts on them when I do so. I'd like to give each product a try, and then list what I've liked, how I used them, and what Im keeping to get the feedback, tips, trick and recommendations from those more knowledgeable than me.

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