Questions for the detail guys on Chemicals Guys products

[P51DNA]

Some of their products are OK, and some aren't. I wouldn't completely bash CG. Especially if you can get a good price on them. But yeah hype the s*** out of their products.

Id stay away from CG Butterwax Labradog. I've used it twice and it is a dust magnet and short lived. Other products of theirs I've used and was very disappointed is their wheel guard (what a joke), towels (lint like crazy), P40 polish (ugh!), I had a bottle jet seal that was stored and up opened from their bag that had a nasty mold growing on it after a few months. They wrote it off as heat related when all my products are stored the same and theirs was the only one molding and they didn't know how or where I stored my products! FedEx lost a polisher that I bought from them in the mail and CG didn't want anything to do with it as it was claimed delivered by FedEx. I had to do all the leg work to get things right. Guess we've been spoiled by amazon to long just taking care of business.

Hey I like their innerclean though

Sponsored

 

[Wally]

You are correct. I emailed their support to ask a very similar question a few months back. Clay >> Seal >> Wax

Thank you. Everyone else saying there are better products I will check them out. I am by no means dead set on only using CG stuff.

 

[2015Etrac]

Some of their products are OK, and some aren't. I wouldn't completely bash CG. Especially if you can get a good price on them. But yeah hype the s*** out of their products.

Id stay away from CG Butterwax Labradog. I've used it twice and it is a dust magnet and short lived. Other products of theirs I've used and was very disappointed is their wheel guard (what a joke), towels (lint like crazy), P40 polish (ugh!), I had a bottle jet seal that was stored and up opened from their bag that had a nasty mold growing on it after a few months. They wrote it off as heat related when all my products are stored the same and theirs was the only one molding and they didn't know how or where I stored my products! FedEx lost a polisher that I bought from them in the mail and CG didn't want anything to do with it as it was claimed delivered by FedEx. I had to do all the leg work to get things right. Guess we've been spoiled by amazon to long just taking care of business.

Hey I like their innerclean though

That's one thing I hate about their towels, they do lint like crazy and leave small fibers all over the car. I might try washing them first, I just bought a box of them and would hate to see them go to waste.

 

[tom_sprecher]

I use the following.

Meguiar's Gold Class Car Wash from Walmart - $16
Simoniz claybar from O’Reilly - $13
Meguiar's M21 Mirror Glaze Sealant 2.0, 64 oz. from Amazon - $39
Armor All Outlast Brake Dust Repellent, 11 oz from Walmart - $9
Chemical Guys SPI_663_16 InnerClean from Amazon - $14
303 Products 30313 UV Protectant from Amazon - $19

[FONT=&quot]I get stuff from Amazon due to free shipping. Walmart stuff I have shipped free for in-store pickup. [/FONT]

 

[magnetticmadness]

Honestly I use chemical guys all the time. Their products are really good. I've been detailing cars for 7 years and I've gone from basic auto store cleaners to high end online only stuff. Let me tell you, they make good stuff, yes there is a lot of hype but it's hyped for a reason. I also have used Meguiars and i can tell you they are really good too, I just like cg better. Their glaze and butter wet wax make my car shine like nothing else I have ever used before.

 

[free]

Here are the main brands that are in the same price range as CG but far superior products and company ethics: Adam's Polishes, Griots Garage, Meguiars Professional line, AMMO, Optimum Car Care. There are many more, check out autogeek forum for more info than your mind can handle. Good luck!

Edit: Since I know people will wonder what I mean when I say "company ethics" Chemical Guys takes advantage of their consumer base (uneducated weekend warriors) by re branding the same products over and over and selling them as different products. They have probably 15 different cleaner sprays that are all essentially APC that they add different colors too and say they are "specifically engineered" for some very specific purpose.

 

[Mr Monte]

I'm a big fan of:

foam cannon - Chemical Guys EQP300 MTM Professional Foam Cannon
soap - Meguiar's D11101 Shampoo Plus
buff - Meguiar's M2 Mirror Glaze Fine-Cut Cleaner
sealant - Chemical Guys WAC_118_16 - JetSeal Sealant and Paint Protectant
wax - Chemical Guys WAC_300 - Pete's '53 Black Pearl Crystal Polymer White Carnuba Paste Wax
detail spray - Chemical Guys WAC808 Hybrid V7
tire & trim detail - Chemical Guys TVD10716 V.R.P. Super Shine Dressing
interior - Chemical Guys SPI993 Nonsense Colorless and Odorless All Surface Cleaner - !!! This stuff is a must have !!!
glass - buff with Meguiar's M2 then use Chemical Guys WAC_118_16 - JetSeal Sealant and Paint Protectant
fabric guard - Chemical Guys SPI21016 Fabric Guard Interior Protector Shield

Here's my 2014 SS Sedan after a full detail with above products.

 

[ACR2011]

I think all products are great (Meguiars, Chemical Guys, Blackfire, Adams Polish, AMMO Etc.). Its just what you prefer and what you can afford as well. When I detail my car and other customer's cars I use Chemical Guys. I've had great results with their products. I still want to try AMMO products.

 

[Nuked]

I have had pretty good success with CG stuff, although there are a few items I got that I wasn't all that impressed with. My usual routine is Mr. Pink soap, clay bar (yellow one), Blacklight, Petes's 53 then hit it with V7 and use that after washes as a quick detailer. I picked up some Jet Seal, but haven't gotten around to using it yet. The above steps on my Tangerine Scream Focus ST were great! Car really popped and had a nice "liquid" look to it.

Some of the other stuff I have used is the green all purpose cleaner. Works great under the hood and on my Weathertech floormats. Wasn't crazy about the wheel guard, Diablo wheel cleaner or the interior cleaning spray. I prefer Meguirs interior and wheel cleaner. The key to CG stuff is to buy when on sale around major holidays. Picked all of mine up for 25% off the total and free shipping.

 

[aham23]

I'm a big fan of:

foam cannon - Chemical Guys EQP300 MTM Professional Foam Cannon
soap - Meguiar's D11101 Shampoo Plus
buff - Meguiar's M2 Mirror Glaze Fine-Cut Cleaner
sealant - Chemical Guys WAC_118_16 - JetSeal Sealant and Paint Protectant
wax - Chemical Guys WAC_300 - Pete's '53 Black Pearl Crystal Polymer White Carnuba Paste Wax
detail spray - Chemical Guys WAC808 Hybrid V7
tire & trim detail - Chemical Guys TVD10716 V.R.P. Super Shine Dressing
interior - Chemical Guys SPI993 Nonsense Colorless and Odorless All Surface Cleaner - !!! This stuff is a must have !!!
glass - buff with Meguiar's M2 then use Chemical Guys WAC_118_16 - JetSeal Sealant and Paint Protectant
fabric guard - Chemical Guys SPI21016 Fabric Guard Interior Protector Shield

Here's my 2014 SS Sedan after a full detail with above products.

Buffing by hand or using a orbital polisher?

 

[Mr Monte]

Buffing by hand or using a orbital polisher?

I use Porter Cable 7424XP for buffing and applying the sealer but wax by hand.

 

[Chad11491]

Examples? What do you like? Your post doesn't add anything to the discussion.

i've tried a lot of CG and other brand products. some CG is pretty good, some is meh.

glazes:
CG blacklight - meh, doesn't do much for me, it fills minute swirls.
Adam's liquid glaze - Much better shine and depth. It also fills better.

both are easy to use.

sealants:
CG Jetseal - pretty decent shine, very easy to use and long lasting.
Klasse Sealant Glaze - Ridiculous shine on polished paint and lasts forever. a PITA to use though.

wax:
butter wax: doesn't do much for me. dusts like crazy and the shine doesn't really pop.
P21S / S100 wax: shines like crazy, doesn't last super long.

both are really easy to use. I prefer paste over liquid wax though.

My usual ground up coat I do once a year after a full detail is Klasse All-In-One, Adam's Glaze, Klasse Sealant Glaze, topped with S100 wax about every other week. When I'm in a hurry I use Jetseal since it's much easier to apply without issues than Klasse. Use too much of KSG and you'll have a headache getting it all off.

 

[woahs550]

Chemical Guys is good stuff for the price, I don't care what anyone says, especially if they can't even offer a better option. I'd consider getting a glaze from them as well. Put the glaze on to fill swirls, and then follow up with a wax or sealant. Never put glaze on top of a wax or sealant as it won't fill the swirls. Definitely clay bar once every 6 months or as needed. If your not using 2 buckets, one for clean, soapy water and one for dirty water then you should also consider doing so. Lastly, use quality wash mits and micro fibers, if you don't then everything I just told you was for nothing. Good luck man!

 

[plc268]

Chemical Guys is good stuff for the price, I don't care what anyone says, especially if they can't even offer a better option. I'd consider getting a glaze from them as well. Put the glaze on to fill swirls, and then follow up with a wax or sealant. Never put glaze on top of a wax or sealant as it won't fill the swirls. Definitely clay bar once every 6 months or as needed. If your not using 2 buckets, one for clean, soapy water and one for dirty water then you should also consider doing so. Lastly, use quality wash mits and micro fibers, if you don't then everything I just told you was for nothing. Good luck man!

I don't think chemical guys is a bad choice by any means... I think a lot of people dislike their marketing bs. They like to use a lot of buzzwords that mean nothing, and they over saturate the market with a ton of different products that do the same thing, leading to confusion.

The amount of different soaps, detailers, and liquid waxes alone is mind boggling.

That said, I don't think they're particularly great on price... particularly on the smaller sizes. You can find just as good, if not better products at any walmart (mothers and meguiars are good picks) for much lower prices. Chemical guys becomes more competitive in pricing at their gallon sizes, but not everyone likes to stock up like that.

 

[gtaindetail]

People focus to much on chemicals in detailing. Get your technique right and you can make almost any chemical work. CG stuff is universally "fine", it's made to be easy to use and works to varying degrees, again, based on how you use it. If I were to recommend a "brand" to start with it'd be Carpro for sure, mostly because the products themselves are of slightly higher quality but also work well together. They also don't have thousands of products, the line is very simple, as it should be. No one needs 50 soaps and 30 waxes.

Sponsored