Car Detailing

CatdickBojanglesI know most of you can’t drive or haven’t ever cleaned your car and it smells of cat piss, old burritos and stale roaches. But those of your who detail your own car what’s your go to? Looking for a new line of products after being let down by half of chemical guys shit.

I use to work at a decent detailing operation and I think they used a lot of mcguire's products. The bulk APC they mixed with water worked really good on interiors.

What kinda stuff are you lookin for? Interior, exterior? I've geard nothing but good things about Adam's polishes but I've never had a new enough car to get too deep into anything past using a claybar and/or carnuba wax but I know a lot of guys in the $$$ car scene swear by em.

BiffbarfI use to work at a decent detailing operation and I think they used a lot of mcguire's products. The bulk APC they mixed with water worked really good on interiors.

What kinda stuff are you lookin for? Interior, exterior? I've geard nothing but good things about Adam's polishes but I've never had a new enough car to get too deep into anything past using a claybar and/or carnuba wax but I know a lot of guys in the $$$ car scene swear by em.

Mainly interior stuff. I don’t have the patience to go too deep on the exterior of my truck besides a good wash.

Meguire's interior stuff is good, also the mothers ceramic coating is super easy to put on and looks great

Maguire's is good but half of the cost goes into just making their shit smell good, the detailing shop I used to work for always used ARDEX products, but I don't know if you can buy their products as an Individual, as for glass cleaning shit sprayway is the best and its cheap. The best commercial stuff for detailing exteriors IMO is Griots garage

The best thing you can get as an auto detailer is an air compressor. I used to work at a detail shop and we used them on every car. Its great to blast junk out of the cracks and crevices then just shop vac it up. It works well too to blow soap out of cracks in the dash etc and into a rag. Just be really careful to not blow soap or plastic conditioner into the gauge cluster because its impossible to clean out.

Bought a tube of armor all whipes with mixed results so am basically taking notes off this thread

ElcheapoBought a tube of armor all whipes with mixed results so am basically taking notes off this thread

Armor all is terrible all around. Leaves a greasy mess. I am impressed with chemical guys silk shine dressing though. Not insanely shiny but doesn’t leave a residue. Biggest part is using an applicator not a rag.

Nickc88Maguire's is good but half of the cost goes into just making their shit smell good, the detailing shop I used to work for always used ARDEX products, but I don't know if you can buy their products as an Individual, as for glass cleaning shit sprayway is the best and its cheap. The best commercial stuff for detailing exteriors IMO is Griots garage

Forgot about Griots very good

CatdickBojanglesArmor all is terrible all around. Leaves a greasy mess. I am impressed with chemical guys silk shine dressing though. Not insanely shiny but doesn’t leave a residue. Biggest part is using an applicator not a rag.

The whipes seemed like a good idea at the time but get pretty foamy, I tried a tack clothe and it left a sticky residue that's why i originally bought the whipes was to deal with that mess. I'll look into your suggestion

AMMO NYC if you've got some cash to spend and want fantastic results or Chemical Guys if you want to save a little coin with good results.

Both have great youtube channels.

CatdickBojanglesI know most of you can’t drive or haven’t ever cleaned your car and it smells of cat piss, old burritos and stale roaches.

Lmao

you’re probably not wrong tho

T.L.AMMO NYC if you've got some cash to spend and want fantastic results or Chemical Guys if you want to save a little coin with good results.

Both have great youtube channels.

AMMO looks awesome but is very pricey. Probably worth it. I have been using Chemical Guys a good bit and some of their stuff is amazing and some is garbage. If they would just get rid of some of the overlapping product I would be happy. Most likely picking up one of their foam cannon and wash kits.

T.L.AMMO NYC if you've got some cash to spend and want fantastic results or Chemical Guys if you want to save a little coin with good results.

Both have great youtube channels.

Ammo is great but there is absolutely too high to justify, OP has stated that chemical guys is shit. My advice to OP to not focus on just one brand, each brand does some things good and others shit, and paying more doesn't necessarily yield better results. some products don't even need to be for detailing. the only thing that price really matters on is the quality of your towels.

What CG products suck OP? I use a handful of their products at work and never really have issues where it doesn’t work in the end, except their iron remover, any other brands I’ve used kicks it’s ass and was the same price for twice as much.

Titus69What CG products suck OP? I use a handful of their products at work and never really have issues where it doesn’t work in the end, except their iron remover, any other brands I’ve used kicks it’s ass and was the same price for twice as much.

The foaming carpet cleaner is terrible, the air fresheners do not work (maybe just the scent I had), and the inner clean is not good at all. I have had good results with the other stuff I have from them.

CatdickBojanglesThe foaming carpet cleaner is terrible, the air fresheners do not work (maybe just the scent I had), and the inner clean is not good at all. I have had good results with the other stuff I have from them.

Yeah, we use an off brand that’s just bulk of their carpet cleaner I think though idk if it’s the same as their foaming shampoo stuff, but it doesn’t get everything 100% but then again sometimes carpets have to be dyed if the stains that bad, for 90% of the time it works for me still, but often use a little APC to help extracting. And yea, inner clean sucks, it cleans but never lathers, we use a different company for APC but I recently bought some of the nonsense from CG and liked it, strong but doesn’t burn your throat every spray strong. The only product I hate that we use is their leather conditioner, most of the time it looks streaky on the seats unless you re coat it like 3-4 times. Luckily the other half of stuff we use is pretty decent and not a cringey company.

Titus69Yeah, we use an off brand that’s just bulk of their carpet cleaner I think though idk if it’s the same as their foaming shampoo stuff, but it doesn’t get everything 100% but then again sometimes carpets have to be dyed if the stains that bad, for 90% of the time it works for me still, but often use a little APC to help extracting. And yea, inner clean sucks, it cleans but never lathers, we use a different company for APC but I recently bought some of the nonsense from CG and liked it, strong but doesn’t burn your throat every spray strong. The only product I hate that we use is their leather conditioner, most of the time it looks streaky on the seats unless you re coat it like 3-4 times. Luckily the other half of stuff we use is pretty decent and not a cringey company.

Yeah I ended up buying one of those bissel spot clean carpet cleaners and it works great. I can do my whole truck with a 1/4 bottle of the bissel solution and it does a great job especially the seats.

I noticed traces of rodents under my hood so I made the mistake of using poison and now I’ve got a dead one somewhere lol. I’ve since bought one of those ultra sonic repellers. Now just dealing with the stink until it’s gone. I can’t find it anywhere.

CatdickBojanglesYeah I ended up buying one of those bissel spot clean carpet cleaners and it works great. I can do my whole truck with a 1/4 bottle of the bissel solution and it does a great job especially the seats.

I noticed traces of rodents under my hood so I made the mistake of using poison and now I’ve got a dead one somewhere lol. I’ve since bought one of those ultra sonic repellers. Now just dealing with the stink until it’s gone. I can’t find it anywhere.

I once had a lady with a rank smelling car and she didn’t know why, I found 2.5 dead mice in the bottom of her center console, and by 2.5 I mean there were 3 and I think two of them ate some of the other....good luck

best leather cleaner? also what's the best thing to use to clean off plastic/wood/dashboard etc? i'm not driving a limo so i don't need anything crazy and I keep my car super clean normally but I'm sure I could be doing a little more

Titus69I once had a lady with a rank smelling car and she didn’t know why, I found 2.5 dead mice in the bottom of her center console, and by 2.5 I mean there were 3 and I think two of them ate some of the other....good luck

It’s been hot too so I’ve been leaving my hood and windows open whenever possible. Smell is slowly fading away now.

CatdickBojanglesIt’s been hot too so I’ve been leaving my hood and windows open whenever possible. Smell is slowly fading away now.

At a point you might need an ozone machine (?) to just fuck up any bacteria in the car, but also find the source, hopefully it’s somewhere a shop isn’t needed like the for in the dashboard or something

danbrownbest leather cleaner? also what's the best thing to use to clean off plastic/wood/dashboard etc? i'm not driving a limo so i don't need anything crazy and I keep my car super clean normally but I'm sure I could be doing a little more

Don’t fart in ur seats, it fucks up the leather

danbrownbest leather cleaner? also what's the best thing to use to clean off plastic/wood/dashboard etc? i'm not driving a limo so i don't need anything crazy and I keep my car super clean normally but I'm sure I could be doing a little more

Lexol was the consensus on the forums a while ago when I had leather seats worth cleaning/conditioning. There may be better but it worked great for me

BiffbarfLexol was the consensus on the forums a while ago when I had leather seats worth cleaning/conditioning. There may be better but it worked great for me

That stuff is definitely still the best I’d say, other shops I’ve worked at use normal fucking vinyl shine on leather too, wrong product, but looks good.

Just made one of Armada’s head guys truck look niice, no free schwag though just a thanks for wearing an armada hat, lol /claim.

I mostly use meguiars but i have the odd ammo pieces i agree chemical guys sucks it’s all watered down

Reviving this thread after a year of experimenting.

Best shampoo I have found is Adam’s wash and wax.

Best interior cleaner has been chemical guys interior cleaner (the clear one).

Best tire and wheel cleaner is Adam’s tire and wheel cleaner.

Best glass cleaner has been Chemical Guys streak free.

Best tire dressing Chemical Guys VRP.

Best interior dressing Chemical guys Silk Shine.

CatdickBojanglesReviving this thread after a year of experimenting.

Best shampoo I have found is Adam’s wash and wax.

Best interior cleaner has been chemical guys interior cleaner (the clear one).

Best tire and wheel cleaner is Adam’s tire and wheel cleaner.

Best glass cleaner has been Chemical Guys streak free.

Best tire dressing Chemical Guys VRP.

Best interior dressing Chemical guys Silk Shine.

Good shit.

This is some of my current line up I'm working through and trying out.

Right to left:

Windows & Sap removal: Isopropyl alcohol

APC: LA's Totally Awesome concentrate. I prefer Optimum Power Clean as my go to APC but I ran out and saw this stuff at home depot for $9. Honestly, impressive cleaning/cost ratio but I'll get another gallon of power clean when this is out.

Wash: Working my way though Griots at the moment. It's a decent wash soap both in the bucket and in the foam canon. Been through a ton of different soaps recently and nothing really stands out tbh. After I'm done with this one I'm going to look at some 'pro' level soaps and see if I notice a huge difference.

Engine Bay: Meguiars Hyper Dressing. The best engine bay detailer I've ever used.

Tires: Chemical Guys Silk Shine. I used to use it for a bunch of interior stuff but it was too shiny in my old car. I'd be seeing dashboard reflections on the the windshield and it got annoying. For tires though it's my favorite by far. Not too shiny, not too dull. A bottle goes a long way and doesn't leave a gooey residue like some dressings will.

Quick Detailing: Griots Speed Shine. Great to get light dust and pollen off of a clean car.

Wax: Griots Best of Show. Cost effective, moderate longevity, not crazy impressive but very easy to work with.

Sealant: Jescar Ultra Lock+. Nuff said.

Interior: Griots Interior Detailer. Doesn't leave stuff too shiny, pleasant smell, easy to work with, and 1 bottle goes a long way. I use this on the dash and all the interior trim pieces in my car.

Leather: Meguiars Gold Class. There's more intensive leather care stuff out there that will get you better results but when it comes down to time invested vs. results, these two products are one of my favorites.

Wheels: Not pictured because I'm out of both. For regular cleaning I like to use Chemical Guys Diablo. Occasional deep cleaning I used Gtechniq W6 Iron and Fallout remover.

I could be mixing him up with someone else but I swear @Greg_K mentioned car detailing in a post one time.

CatdickBojanglesThe foaming carpet cleaner is terrible, the air fresheners do not work (maybe just the scent I had), and the inner clean is not good at all. I have had good results with the other stuff I have from them.

the air fresheners do not work (maybe just the scent I had), ........



......who picks*Cock Breath " as their choice of scents , anyway?

Trumpkin2024I could be mixing him up with someone else but I swear @Greg_K mentioned car detailing in a post one time.

Yes, I’ve been a mobile detailer for years.

Agree with the last few posts on products although I use oil/solvent based products for tire shine for their increased lifespan Would be too greasy and slippery inside so always stay with water based leather/vinyl treatments inside.

Use lots of various companies but lots of the non-consumer lines of Meguiars and Optimum. Buy tire shine locally in 5 gallon containers as I use so much of it. Lol