OP
OP
DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
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- #76
I have just gone through and made several updates to this listing. Some reflect a change in method, some a change in product or tool preference, others where I have found something better.##UPDATED MARCH 2024#
By special request, this is a quick reference guide for the detailing products that I grab most often. The products in each category have been tested and trailed against several others, so you can buy with confidence.
I will try to keep each product listing brief to make it quick and easy to reference, however I’m happy to expand on where needed. I will also try to put the categories usage groups, as in wheels and tires, decontamination, paint protection ect. Some categories have two or maybe three options, this means I can’t definitively choose one over the other. By no means is this a be all and end all list, in fact it may even be fluid as I continue try new or different products. Hopefully I will be able to update this when something changes.
CHEMICALS –
You will notice a few common brands here, and for good reason. They work, and they work well!
Tire Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster, at full strength. (For regular use)
Stoner's Tarminator (For occasional use or when preparing brand new tires) (Updated Mar-24)
Wheel Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster (Dilute for regular use)
NV Purge (Iron removing ability, safe for regular use)
Wheel Protection –
Armour Detail Supply High Temp Wheel Coating (Long term) (Updated Mar-24)
Gyeon Wet Coat (Short term)
Tire Dressing –
Obsessed Garage Tire Dressing (Satin Finish) (Updated Mar-24)
Adam's Graphene Tire Dressing (Semi-gloss) (Updated Aug-23)
Carpro Perl (Dilutable for variable finish, gloss to matte)
Rinse-less / Water-less Wash –
Optimum No Rinse (ONR)
P&S Absolute
Carpro ECH2o (Best used as a Water-less) (Updated Sep-22)
Wash Soap –
Adam's Mega Foam (Updated Mar-24)
Carpro Reset
Koch Chemie GSF
All suitable for ceramic coatings or otherwise. All pH neutral. All can be used in a bucket wash or foam cannon.
Decontamination Soap –
Carpro Descale (Acidic, great for water-spots)
Carpro Lift (Alkaline) (Updated Aug-23)
Iron Decontamination –
Gyeon Iron (Updated Aug-22)
Tar Remover –
Carpro TarX, this doubles as an adhesive remover. Or Koch Chemie Eulex.
Bug Remover –
Carpro Bug Out (Updated Mar-24)
Water Spot Remover –
Gyeon Water Spot Remover (Updated Mar-24)
Drying Aid –
P&S Bead Maker
Obsessed Garage Drying Aid (OG Drying Aid is also sold as Adam’s Slick and Slide and Extreme Solutions Topper)
P&S Paint Gloss
Quick Detailer / Clay Lubricant –
Gyeon Clay Lube (Dilutable)(Updated Mar-24)
P&S Paint Gloss (Can also be a drying aid)
Glass Cleaner –
Stoners Invisible Glass
Glass Sealant –
Gyeon Q2 Quick View
Glass Polish –
P&S Clarity Creme with Lake Country HDO Blue Pad (Light/Medium Duty)
Carpro CeriGlass with Carpro Glass Pad (Heavy Duty)
Heavy Cut Polish –
Rupes DA Coarse (Updated Mar-24)
One-Step Polish –
Sonax Perfect Finish
Light / Finishing Polish –
Carpro Reflect (Very light finishing polish)
Rupes DA Fine (Finishing to moderate polishing) (Updated Mar-24)
Metal Polish (Exhaust tips) –
P21S Polishing Soap
Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish (Updated Mar-24)
Panel Prep / IPA Wipe –
Carpro Eraser
Rupes Reveal Strong (Heavy Duty) (Updated Mar-24)
Wax –
Collinite 845
Sealant –
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Ceramic Spray Sealant –
Koch Chemie S0.02 (Updated Aug-23)
Ceramic Coating –
Gyeon Can Coat EVO (Updated Aug-22)
Gyeon Pure EVO (Updated Jan-23)
Exterior Trim Protectant / Restorer –
Carpro DLUX (Long term)
303 Protectant (Short term)
Solution Finish (For heavily faded trim)
Engine Bay Dressing –
Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing (5:1 for natural finish)
All Purpose Cleaner (Engines, Heavy Interior Cleaning, Degreasing) –
Koch Chemie GS Green Star (Dilutable to suit needs)
Rubber Floor Mat Care -
McKee's 37 Floor Mat & Cargo Liner Rejuvenator (Cleaner) (Updated Mar-24)
Koch Chemie Guf (Non-slip dressing) (Updated Mar-24)
All-round Interior Cleaner –
P&S Express
Interior Quick Detailer (Mild cleaning/dusting) -
Carpro InnerQD
Optimum No Rinse
P&S Swift (Updated Aug-23)
Leather Cleaner –
Colour Lock Mild or Strong Leather Cleaner
P&S Express can also be used (Updated Mar-24)
Leather Protectant –
Colour Lock Leather Shield (for leather up to 3 years old)
Leather Protector (3 years and older)
Fabric Cleaner (Carpet, Alcantara, Cloth) –
Koch Chemie PO Pol Star (Dilutable).
Interior Dressing –
Koch Chemie TS Top Star (Updated Nov-22)
Interior Scent –
Angelwax Eden or Angelwax Bliss (Updated Sep-22)
MICROFIBER TOWELS –
Apart from a few odd bods, my microfiber collection is all from The Rag Company. To save writing The Rag Company several times, I will simply refer to them by their product names. You will notice a lot of duplication here, with colour used to differentiate towels into usages. I probably have a lot of unnecessary categories here, but I think it’s clear I do everything “overboard”!
Microfiber Cleaner / Detergent –
P&S Rags To Riches.
Wash Mitt / Pad -
Cyclone 6” x 8” (Available in mitt or pad)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Bug Sponge –
Jersey Bug Scrubber
QTY : 1, I have 2
Water-less / Rinse-less Washing –
Eagle Edgeless 500 16” x 16” (Updated Mar-24)
QTY – At least 10, I have 10
Drying Towel / Drying Aid Towel –
Larger Drying Towel –
The Gauntlet 15” x 24”
QTY : 1 per car, I have 4
Smaller Drying Towel –
Microfiber Madness Chipmunk Jr. (Updated Mar-24)
QTY : At least 1 per car, I have 4
Door Jamb Drying Towel –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Pale Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Glass Towels –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Dark Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Ceramic Coating Removal/Leveling Towel –
Edgeless 300 16” x 16”
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
(These towels are single use, they need to be binned or demoted once used for this task)
Polish/Wax/Sealant Removal Towels –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
Multi-Purpose Towels (Dirty jobs, tyres, wheel arches, bench cleaning) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 10
Wheel Towel -
The Gauntlet 12” x 12”
QTY : 2 per car, I have 6
Engine Bay Towel -
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Red)
QTY : At least 4, I have 10
Interior Towel (General interior cleaning, dressing ect) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Dark Green)
QTY : At least 6, I have 10
Interior Towel (Delicate surfaces) –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Green)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
Applicator Sponges (For applying sealants, coatings, dressings ect on interior and exterior surfaces) –
Pearl Applicator Sponge (Orange)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Eagle Applicator Sponge (Blue)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
TOOLS / BRUSHES -
These listings are more complex, a lot will be subjective.
Buckets –
To be brutally honest, a bucket is a bucket, although there are a few specifics. You need one for wheels, two for washing. All will have a grit guard and a gamma seal lid. I also use rolling bucket dollies. Buckets should ideally be 15 litres / 4 Gallons or bigger for sufficient water volume.
Tire Brush –
Detail Factory Tire Scrub Brush
Tire Applicator –
Maxshine Hydro-Tech / Speed Master Tire Applicator
Detail Factory Curveball Brush (Updated Mar-24)
Detail Factory Screwball Brush (Updated Mar-24)
Wheel Cleaning Brushes/Mitts –
Microfiber Madness Incredibrush Flat
EZ-Detail Brush Small (For where Incredibrush won’t fit)
EZ-Detail Brush Large (For where Incredibrush won’t fit)
EZ-Detail Brush GO (For wheel arches)(Updated Aug-23)
TRC Ultra Wheel Mitt (For wheel faces and back of spokes)(Updated Aug-23)
Lug Nut Brush – Detail Factory Boars Ultra Soft Synthetic (Long handle) (Updated Mar-24)
Interior Brushes –
Detail Factory Boars Hair Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Detail Factory Ultra Soft Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Lily Brush (Pet hair)
Detail Factory Progrip Interior Brush (Carpet) (Updated Mar-24)
Colour Lock Leather Cleaning Brush (Firm bristles)
Wheel Woolies 5-Piece Brush Set (Good for intricate work)
Bottles and Sprayers –
Kwazar Mercury Super 360 Pro 500ml (There is a larger size, 500ml is nicer to use)
Kwazar NIX (For heavy duty chemicals like strong APC or Tar Remover)
Carpro Dilute (Makes dilution ratios easy)
Chemical Guys / Adam’s EZ-Fill Funnel (Screw on funnel)
Lighting –
Scangrip iMatch 2 (Headlamp)
Scangrip SunMatch 3
Scangrip MultiMatch R
Clay Bar/Mitt/Block –
To be honest, all do a similar job. Just make sure to choose one for the level of decontamination you are dealing with, always use the least aggressive as possible to avoid unnecessary marring. Keep in mind a traditional clay bar will be more effective, a mitt or block less aggressive. At the moment, I'm liking the TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber. (Updated Mar-24)
Miscellaneous –
Big Boi Blower PRO 4 (Blow dryer)
Stoner Reach and Clean Tool (For easy windscreen cleaning)
Tornador Basic (Blowing out pads or cleaning engine bays)
Detail Guardz Wheel Guides (Prevents hoses snagging on tyres)
Fur-eel Vacuum Attachment (Helps lift pet hair)
Maxshine Detailing Cart (Don’t lock in a brand for this, but you will need one)
Karcher WD6 Premium Vacuum with Obsessed Garage Accessory Kit (Updated Mar-24)
Pressure Washing –
(Updated Aug-23)
This category is very complex, I will list what I use but this is not really universal and needs to matched to your specific pressure washer. Happy to advice if required.
Kranzle KHD-10/122 Pressure Washer
Cox Reel
MTM CobraJet Hose (Blue)
Mosmatic OG Spec Spray Gun
Mosmatic OG Spec Wand
Mosmatic OG Spec Rubber Tipped Nozzles (25deg and 40 deg)
MTM PF22.2 Foam Cannon
MTM Foam Cannon spare bottles
Paint Correction –
Again, a complex subject that should be matched to the sort of polishing you expect to do. For me, I don’t do polishing regularly, so my choice of machines reflects that. Scale up or down depending on budget and expected use. For polishing pads, I use Shine Mate or Rupes in appropriate sizes and grades.
Rupes Claw Pad Tool (For pad priming and cleaning)
Carpro Masking Tape (Various sizes)
Rupes Apron (Just good to have)
Door Jamb Prop Bar
Rupes iBrid Nano Kit (Long neck) (1 inch / 2 inch machine)
Rupes LHR75 Pneumatic (3 inch machine)
Shine Mate EB351-3/12 Cordless Polisher (3 inch machine)
Shine Mate EB351-5/15 Cordless Polisher (5 inch machine)
Shine Mate Battery Charger
Shine Mate Batteries x4
That list is only scratching the surface of what I use overall but, as mentioned, these are the ones I like to use the most or find easiest to use. Hopefully this makes shopping a bit easier, most of those product listings can be Google searched to find your preferred online supplier.
Key changes include the addition of Stoner's Tarminator into the tire cleaning section. This not something you will use often, but a product that I consider essential having for when you need that sledgehammer. I have also changed my rinse-less wash and small drying aid towels to reflect a change in preference.
Rupes DA Coarse replaces Sonax Cutmax, although it's probably good to still have, Rupes DA Fine added to finishing polish category, both are very forgiving to use. I have also added a category for rubber floor mat care. And considering how much I'm using it at the moment, Obsessed Garage Tire Dressing has been added to its respective category as well.
As always, I am happy to elaborate further if required, it would be my absolute pleasure.
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