As the title states, this thread will be anything and everything related to those who enjoy cleaning, washing, polishing, waxing, sealing, and etc to preserve their vehicle(s).
List or post pictures what products and tools you use to get the job done.
Explain instructions or write reviews of the items you like/dislike.
Share your own diy pictures/videos or link some from your favorite detailer(s).
Ask questions about cleaning/detailing methods, maintenance, tools and products.
Lastly, don’t forget to show off your hard work with a picture or two the final product…
I’ll start it off. These items have been my favorite based on ease of use, relatively low cost (except the polisher), and overall performance. There are a few things that probably are hidden in the pic, but it’s a general overview… I’ll post a pic of the EM1 once it’s all dialed in.
Guess ill play. This is my set up
Ryobi pressure washer. Just a little electric one. Works great for twice a month washes. (2 years so far. Just now starting to act up)
Watermelon snow foam for my foam gun.
I have both a mtm brand gun and a off the shelf one that came with a smaller handle from advanced auto(actually prefer that one)
Meguiars gold class for the wash buckets
303 aerospace protectant for the upper plastics that face the sun( thanks to automotive astestics and gears and gasoline) and meguiars natural shine for lower panels
Stoners invisible glass for glass work. Using it for years. Love it to death.
My personal observations-im not a professional by anyone’s imagination:
If you’re doing alot of washes. Spring for the big bottles and refill. Ive had my snow foam bottle since aug 2018 and its still hanging around.
Chemical guys citrus wash n gloss seems to separate easy. All you need to do is shake it and itll be fine.
If you have a pressure washer. Spring for the quick release connections. Game changer for clean up.
One of the smaller spray handles like I have in the center make things alot easier compared to the long handle that comes with the power washer.
Looking forward to what other people have to teach and say!
@aho I’m using a Rupes LHR15 w/ 5 inch pad and a porter cable with a 3 inch backing plate for the smaller areas… If you’re considering something in the near future, I’ve heard maxshine line (specifically m15) is good bang for your buck.
My friend uses chemical guys torq bux503. He likes the polisher but didn’t like any of the polishes that came in the kit. Ive never used it personally so I cant comment on how well it works.
Hello! I work and detail full time for automotive aesthetic. Been doing it for about 5 years. Rupes is what we use everyday for polishing and lake country pads. And for products we use a variety of everything for products. If anybody needs any tips and tricks I’d be glad to help!
I actually have question. Any special tips or tricks on ceramic coating for powder coated wheels? Havent selected a ceramic coat yet if you have any recommendations.
We use Modesta bc-06 for wheels. I actually have my rpf1s powder coated and it holds up flawlessly. If you’re doing it yourself make sure the wheels are clean as can be, wipe them down with 99% alcohol and you can use the desires coating. Modesta is mostly for special installers but off the shelf stuff I like car pro Dlux, its a multi layer install but it works just as good.
I used Gtechniq C5. I’ve had it on my CE’s and it had worked very well. As @BryanDaughtrey mentioned, make sure the wheels wiped down as clean as possible. Also, a little goes a long way. A 30ml bottle is more than enough.
What a good way or product to bring life back into old FRP plastics, like front lips and CRV’s with black plastic bumpers? Mainly talking about light scratches and fuzz.
I’ve used a few “back to black” or “plastic restore” products and most fail within a week or two. Only product I have had good results is Solution Finish. It will outlast the tire, plastic or vinyl dressings by several weeks.
I’ve seen and read reviews regarding trim coatings and they seem promising. However, I have no personal experience…
I would love to get the same polisher but I’m. It ready to spend that much money on one yet. It’ll be my first polisher so I want to make sure I know what I’m doing first
I managed to score some EK window visors for a great price. The visors were complete, but a bit hazed up. After a small compound, I noticed they were going to clean up ok, but I decided to wet sand them to get them a bit cleaner… Surprisingly, they came out pretty damn good. I’m sure there are many other methods on how to clean visors, but these are the steps I took to clean them up…
1st step was to rinse them off to get all the dust and crud off of them. This was the visor’s condition:
2nd step was to tape off the weather stripping and to wet sand. I used 3M’s Trizact 1500 grit sand paper on a small block and sanded in a crosshatch pattern…
Last step (I apologize I did not take pictures), I mounted the visors on the car to stabilize them as i compounded/polished them.
I used a Buff and Shine URO-Fiber Microfiber 3 inch Pad along with Meguiar’s M105 compound to remove the sanding haze. I finished them off by polishing them out with Sonax Perfect Finish and a Buff and Shine Uro-Tec Maroon Medium Cut Pad…
Ignore the dust/residue, but this was the result. A near perfect reflection that makes them look almost good as new. Overall, very happy with the results…
Depending on your budget, but I have a cheap Amazon one that I’ve had for 4-5 years. It’s held up fairly well and have had no issues. Does a decent job at foaming considering I paid $15 or so.
I’ve always enjoyed detailing and have tried various items. I recently did a garage corner wash station, which has made washing the cars much easier. All the standard items are in one place.
