Favourite Detailing Brand

[91GranSport]

I just want people's opinions on their favourite brand for automotive detailing. I've used Turtle Wax, Simoniz, Mother's, Meguiars and Eagle-1. I like Mothers and Meguiars, though they're both expensive I find them to be some of the best. Eagle-1 is also very good. I don't like Turtle Wax and I really don't like Simoniz. Turtle Wax is all right but their detailing stuff isn't as comprehensive as Mother's or Meguiars. I simply find Simoniz products for the amateur or idiot if you will. Their wax isn't that great and their gel car wash is garbage.

[luminator94]

Meguires without a doubt. The Liquid Gold wax works great. I use Black Magic tire gel on my tires.....that make the tires look real good.

[NeverSayDie]

Awww man, the smell of black magic reminds me of back-in-tha-day

[GnatGoSplat]

I'd go with Meguires. It's what I use, and it really brings out a great shine.
A lot of people swear by Zaino, it's expen$ive stuff with so many steps you'll need to take vacation from work to get it all done (the whole time not driving your car so it doesn't get dirty). Someone did a comparison between Zaino and Meguires, however, and his opinion was Meguires did better!

[SuperBuick]

I use Zymol, and only Zymol on my regal. Meguires (and mothers) is the best of the "commercial grade" stuff, but if you step up to Zymol, you see a difference. Granted, though, if you're paint isn't new or close to new, you're not gonna see that difference. On my Z34, which has a standard paint job, I simply use mothers, and sometimes even that turtle wax color cure polish, it works quite well on black cars.

[Anonymous]

I use Mequiars. I use their car wash, liquid wax , and I just used their one-step leather care on this Cutlass I bought. The seats were so dirty and they were starting to get stiff. Wiped one-step leather care on them and they look brand new.(except for that little tear in the drivers seat.) :roll:

[musthavemuzk]

well
i should first ask this.
is all meguiars created equally?
ok with that out of the way.
when i purchased my cutty in mid may i followed a thread at GMF about this verry thing.
i made the choice to go with meguiars for starters. so basically i picked up the first meguiars wax i came upon. there was a choice between paste and liquid. i chose liquid. it is called cleaner wax. cost 4.75 or so at walmart. i also grabbed a mitt, bucket, rags and a bottle of meguiars car wash stuff. i think it is the premium or professional stuff. but anyways i liked the results i got with that cleaner wax. then at another store i found the gold stuff. it was 9.75 or so. for now i will stick with what i have. gonna at least run a bottle out before i go switching.
so is their a dif between the two meguiars?
the xymol was like 13 or so for the bottle i saw. i did notice it also said cleaner wax on it.
i have seen zaino, but i forget the cost of it. it was definitely more than the other two.

now slightly different here

what do you clean your windows with?
i have always stuck to windex. then about a year or so ago i found a no drip windex. which is nice as it says put alot longer...but i have noticed that they get dusty pretty quick. the insides get dusty quickly. and then after they get dusty you can see the wipe marks from how you cleaned the windows. and for me that gets annoying. i have this pet peeve about being able to see out the windows.
so what do you use to do your windows?

after reading that thread at GMF i have went to just using light soap and water to clean my interior with.

Monty[/quote]

[SuperBuick]

Meguires has a prefessional and a consumer line, as you have discovered. Zymol also has a consumer line, which is the $13 cleaner wax you saw. It is, in my opinion, by far the best cleaner wax available. They also have a professional line, but it is hard to find zymol professional dealers. Usually, the carbon wax (which is for black cars) goes for around $40, and the HD Cleanse (pre-wax cleaner) is about $20. They are expensive, yes, but well worth it, and they last for a very long time both on the car as well as you use very little product at a time so a bottle will last you over a year even if you wax once a month (or every 2 weeks like obsesso me)

[Anonymous]

so what do you use to do your windows?

This is what I use for the outside of my windows.

Go to Wal-mart and look in the houshold cleaner isle. Look for the comet and somewhere near it you will find a gold can the size and shape of a comet can. It is called "Bar Keepers Friend". Get a good sponge to go with it. Wet your windows and wet the sponge. Sprinkle the powder on your windows and some on the sponge. Then scrub your windows. Then just rinse with the hose. It will take everything off and it doesn't scratch glass.
You will have to dry the glass or it leaves water spots.

you can use it on the insides also but just use a damp sponge and wipe it back of with a damp towel and then dry.

[91CuttyConv]

I use the Meguires 3 step program every spring, takes a long time but the results are awesome, don't like turtle wax at all, have had no luck with it, I use whatever car wash soap is on sale, as long as it is of some quality, same with tire shine, I use armor all ultra shine on the dash and other interior parts.

I use Zaino Bros. and I am 100 percent satisfied with it after I am done putting it on. It takes forever to put it on but it is worth it for me when i get all kinds of complements on my car. Especially from some one who has the same car as me.

For the tires I use Meguires gold class or something like that. I like it better than eagle one wet stuff. But like all tire polishes it is a magnet for dust. If you put it on once you have to continue to do so or your tires will look like a gravel road.

My windows have some kind of waxy film on them that i cannot get off the only thing that has helped at all was an abrasive cleaner. but I dont like scratching my windows. So what would you guys recommend

[GnatGoSplat]

You could try Castrol Super Clean. Just keep it off of aluminum!
Lacquer thinner works great for removing oily coatings too.

[Anonymous]

bbemmels, Go up and read my last post about cleaning windows. I had some wax and other junk on my windshield and that took it off.

[90TGP]

I use Meguiar's car wash, gold class polish, quick detailer, vynal/rubber wipes, leather wipes.

Simple Green multi-purpose cleaner.

Eagle-1 tire cleaner.

[musthavemuzk]

so what do you use to do your windows?

This is what I use for the outside of my windows.

Go to Wal-mart and look in the houshold cleaner isle. Look for the comet and somewhere near it you will find a gold can the size and shape of a comet can. It is called "Bar Keepers Friend". Get a good sponge to go with it. Wet your windows and wet the sponge. Sprinkle the powder on your windows and some on the sponge. Then scrub your windows. Then just rinse with the hose. It will take everything off and it doesn't scratch glass.
You will have to dry the glass or it leaves water spots.

you can use it on the insides also but just use a damp sponge and wipe it back of with a damp towel and then dry.

OK i have seen that stuff.
will it damage decals? as i have a banner across my windshield.
will have to try that.

Monty

[Anonymous]

It hasn't done anything to the decals on my side windows. I think they'll be fine. You don't need to scrub the decal anyway but having it on there won't hurt it any more than what you use to wash your car.

Oh yeah, the runoff from rinsing won't hurt your paint either.

[musthavemuzk]

should i be prepared to wash and mayb wax after this is done?

Monty

[Anonymous]

I usually rinse everything off, do the windows, and then wash the car. But if your not washing the car just rinse it all off real good.

[musthavemuzk]

cool
think i will do this this weekend
gonna see if i can't get it lookin nice.

Monty

[Anonymous]

If using the sponge won't get everything off get one of those soft pot scrubbers. They have cloth on one side and a scrubber on the other. That's what I use for the heavy dirt and bugs.

[musthavemuzk]

hmmm
wonder if i have an unused one laying around?

Monty

[Anonymous]

If you don't have one I have an extra I'll sell you. :mrgreen: Really cheap, too. lol

[musthavemuzk]

i bet youy do ;)
and i bet it would be here by the time i got off of work tomorrow right?

Monty

[Anonymous]

Could be.... for a price.

Give me enough money and I'll drive it to you. And yes I would be there by the time you got off work.

[musthavemuzk]

ROLLIN
well is this the 2002 version of smokey and the bandit?
still using a pontiac

i get off at 3:30pm central time...but am trying to bail early so i can go play with car audio stuff 4 hours south of me.

could be done, but would be rough

Monty

[Anonymous]

musthavemuzk, take a look at this.

http://www.twoguysgarage.com/forum/showthread.php?s=1d82b274994a2b12a75ec08b708e675f&threadid=20

[Brian P]

Exterior- mothers clay bar, meguiars cleaner wax (sometimes mothers cleaner wax)

Interior: Tuff Stuff for carpet, Lexol for leather, Vinylex for plastics and vinyl (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

Glass- water mixed with a few drops of dish liquid

Underhood- Castrol Super clean (Works fantastic on the areas around the starter and transmission, also you should see how great the master cylinder looks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

I definetly want to use that bar keeper's friend on my windows! I was looking for a way to get the water spots off my windshield, but I just got a stress crack in it!! Time to get another one under warranty!

[Lee]

because I didn't want to get jumped on for being stupid. I've done many waxes from 100% carnuba to recent Maguire's. I had just washed my car 2 weeks ago and ended up with a clean rag with WD-40.

My car had developed that "not shiney" film again that cleaner waxes do a fair job on (it's dark garrnet red)...and I happened to rub the WD-40 into the rear of the trunk. The film came off, leaving a noticably dirty rag. I knew I was removing any wax layer left on in but it looked and shined like new. After it looked like no paint problems I rubbed down the whole rear of the car. It seriously looked like glass.

Any downfalls to this other than needing a good washing before rewaxing?

[musthavemuzk]

musthavemuzk, take a look at this.

http://www.twoguysgarage.com/forum/showthread.php?s=1d82b274994a2b12a75ec08b708e675f&threadid=20

thanx for the linkage

Monty

[Brian P]

because I didn't want to get jumped on for being stupid. I've done many waxes from 100% carnuba to recent Maguire's. I had just washed my car 2 weeks ago and ended up with a clean rag with WD-40.

My car had developed that "not shiney" film again that cleaner waxes do a fair job on (it's dark garrnet red)...and I happened to rub the WD-40 into the rear of the trunk. The film came off, leaving a noticably dirty rag. I knew I was removing any wax layer left on in but it looked and shined like new. After it looked like no paint problems I rubbed down the whole rear of the car. It seriously looked like glass.

Any downfalls to this other than needing a good washing before rewaxing?

Have you tried washing the area with dish soap to remove the wax buildup? Dont feel to bad, when my mom had her tan metallic 82 Caprice Wagon, the hood was so faded that I regularly sprayed and rubbed Wd40 on it, looked like new! lol

[Anonymous]

Brian, you will still get water spots with the bar keepers friend. I get rid of them by either drying the glass before spots apear or get one of the water blade/squeegee things to get the water off.

[per0781]

My problem is that ive had water spots on my front winshield and hood, roof, and trunk since my parents bought the car off the lof brand new :cry:

Paul

[SuperBuick]

That's because you're weak.

[TurboSedan]

aq

[Anonymous]

I tried something on my wheels the other day and I'll probably get laughed at for it. The crosslace wheels are such a pain to clean in between all the laces. I sprayed BBQ grill cleaner on them and let it foam up. Hosed them off and it took almost everything off including between the laces.Now I need to get more so I can clean the insides.

[Brian P]

And with crosslace wheels :) you could cook on them if you wanted! I think they'll fit just right over a round charcoal grill! Nah but seriously as long as the cleaner doesnt stay on long enough it shouldnt damage the clear coat.

lol and if you decide to barbecue, I like my burgers medium! I'll bring the beer

[88Intl]

so what do you use to do your windows?

This is what I use for the outside of my windows.

Go to Wal-mart and look in the houshold cleaner isle. Look for the comet and somewhere near it you will find a gold can the size and shape of a comet can. It is called "Bar Keepers Friend". Get a good sponge to go with it. Wet your windows and wet the sponge. Sprinkle the powder on your windows and some on the sponge. Then scrub your windows. Then just rinse with the hose. It will take everything off and it doesn't scratch glass.
You will have to dry the glass or it leaves water spots.

you can use it on the insides also but just use a damp sponge and wipe it back of with a damp towel and then dry.

I use Bon-Ami for glass. The can is 99 cents or less, looks almost the same as BKF, gold with red logo instead of blue. Not all stores carry it. GM specifies Bon-Ami in the owners manual of one of my cars, for removing road film from windshields. When the windshield is clean with Bon-Ami, sprayed on water will run off in a solid "sheet" instead of beading up. I only use BKF on dishes when they have really nasty baked on food. BKF contains oxalic acid, irritates hands, strong stuff, would not allow it to remain on an automotive finish.

[Anonymous]

As long as you rinse the BKF off real good you won't have a problem.
It also makes the water sheet off.

[nerfbars]

What do you guys clean your white raised letters with? The best I've found if Westleys Bleech White but now that I have polished aluminum rims I dont use it because it will spot them. A friend of mine really screwed up a set of polished rims with it. I dont want to do the same.

[Anonymous]

I knew a guy that used soft scrub on his tires and chrome wheels. Never had a problem with it. I'm not sure what it will do to polished aluminum.

[per0781]

That's because you're weak.

Dude..the spots on the car where on their from the car sitting their in the lot....when my parents bought it it was a leftover 91.

Paul

[Brian P]

how do you remove spots on a windshield resulting from rain water sitting on it? My windshield is being replaced in a week, so I'm willing to experiment! PS I already tried 2000 grit wetsanding and it helped a little

[DEMonte1997]

I've gotten really good results from Meguiars and Mothers. 3M is good too. From what I've seen, 3M has a LOT of professional products that other brands don't have. Today I was searching for a rubbing compound to remove a scratch from my car and found this really nice medium cut rubbing compound from 3M. Works like a charm! They also have every sealer, glaze, swirl-remover, wax, polish imaginable.