yESman

I've been lurking around here for a while but contributing few comments so I figured I would offer up some product observations for the benefit of the community. I have been trying a wide variety of product and process on my ES, my neighbors GS, my wife's Camry, and my friend's BMW.

After two years experimenting with hundreds of products and maybe two dozen major lines, I've narrowed my favorites down to the following:

Interiors:
Carpet/Upholstery Shampoo – Woolite mixture
Carpet Pre-Treat Spot Remover – Folex
Vinyl/Plastic/Rubber Cleaner – 303 Aerospace
Lightly soiled plastics - 1Z Cockpit Premium + Waynes UltraPlush
Heavily soiled Vinyl/Plastic/Rubber – 1Z Plastic Reiniger
Leather Conditioner – Zaino Z-10 Leather in a Bottle + Terry applicator
Vinyl/Plastic/Rubber Protectant - 303 Aerospace (dash), 1Z Cockpit Premium (non-dash)
Glass Cleaner – 1Z Scheibenklar (Sonus Vision yet to be tested) or Stoner IG with WW Cobra glass MF

Exteriors:
Car Wash (moderate soil) – P21S Bodywork Shampoo (I keep coming back to this classic)
Car Wash (heavy soil) - Zaino Z-7 has the bite I like
Waterless Wash – QEW but I live in Atlanta so I use water usually all the time.
Clay & Lube – Sonus Block & Glyde
Bug/Tar Remover – Porsche Tequipment, Stoners Tarminator
Quick Detailer – Pinnacle Crystal Mist or Eiman Fabrik Clear Pearl (both are terrific)
Metal Polish – Flitz and Wenol and P21S Multi-finish Restorer
Plastic Polish (bad) – Meguiars PlastX
Plastic Polish (good) – Plexus
Exterior Trim – Poorboy’s Trim Restorer
Door Seals - 303 Aerospace
Light Cut Polish (chemical) – Klasse AIO
Medium Cut Polish (abrasive) – Poorboys SSR2.5
Heavy Cut Polish (abrasive) - Meguiars DACP
Aggressive Cut Polish – Sonus SFX System
Sealant (durability and looks) – Zaino or EX-P+
Carnauba Wax (light cars) – P21S Paste Wax
Carnauba Wax (dark cars) - Pinnacle Souveran
Carnauba Wax (ease of use) - P21S
Pre-Carnauba Paint Lotion - GEPC, close second is Pinnacle PCL

Rims, Tires, Wells:
Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner – Eagle One A2Z
Light Duty Wheel Cleaner – P21S Gel Wheel Cleaner
Tire Dressing – Zaino Z-16
Wheel Wax - AIO + Poorboy's Wheel Sealant (coming soon)

Microfiber Towels:
Drying – Sonus WW Ultimate Drying Towel
Quick Detailing/Glass – Cobra Glass Waffle Weave Towel
Polish Removal – ExcelDetail 16x16 Edgeless
Buffing & QD - Pakshak Ultra Fine
All-Purpose - Waynes Ultra Plush in Green

Buffing Pads:
Cutting, Polishing, Finishing - Lake Country 6.5" Concaved Foam Pads from Specialty Motoring
Cleaning Solution - Sonus Wunder Wasche

Other Items:
Wash Bucket-Baja Sol from Target (dented on one side for convenience)
Hose Nozzle-Ultimate hose nozzle from Home Depot
Sheepskin Mitt-Australian mitt from ExcelDetail
Towel Storage-Rubbermaid 19" deep clear containers
Workbenches-Metro shelving and Sam's Club food prep table in stainless steel
Detailing Swabs-Autogeek "qtips" with narrow ends.
Detailing Brishes-assortment from Emmons Coachworks
Applicators-PakShak fine MF applicators
Wheel Well Scrub Brush-Griot's Garage
MF Wash (lightly soiled) - Pinnacle MicroRejuvenator
MF Wash (heavily soiled) - Charlie's Soap

I'm always trying new things so feel free to suggest any products I should try.

What are YOUR favorite detailing products?

SC4Hundred

that's a lot of products for cleaning

mcv30

that's a great list there!
i'll be sure to check out some stuff that you posted. thanks!

lexusk8

Here's my list:

Interiors:
Leather Conditioner - Meguiar's Gold Class Rich leather cleaner/conditioner (switch to Lexol's leather wipes afterwards)
Vinyl/Plastic/Rubber Protectant - Lexol Vinylex

Exteriors:
Car Wash - P21S Bodywork Shampoo
Clay & Lube - Clay bars purchased from Proper Auto Care, 50/50 mix of Meguiar's Quik Detail and water
Quick Detailer - Meguiar's Quik Detail, Mother's Showtime Instant Detailer
Metal Polish - Eagle One Nevr-Dull (best stuff on earth)
Plastic Polish - 3M Plastic Polish
Door Seals - Turtle Wax Wet n' Black
Sealant - Mother's Showtime Sealer & Glaze (looks awesome on black cars!)
Carnauba Wax - Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step 3 wax system

Rims, Tires, Wells:
Wheel Cleaner - P21S Bodywork Shampoo (double-duty on both the car body and wheels)
Tire Dressing - Turtle Wax Wet n' Black
Wheel Wax - Meguiar's Deep Crystal Step 3 wax system

Other Items:
Swirl Mark Remover - 3M Swirl Mark Remover for dark-colored cars
Remove Contaminants and Light Scratches - Meguiar's Scratch-X (highly recommended)
Touch-up Paint - Lexus touch-up bottle or Autovisuals Paint Pen
Wood Trim - Pledge spray

Yeah I'm also a detailing freak..

exceldetail

Now thats a list Yesman !! Glad to be a supplier of it too!

yESman

Lexusk8,

I think P21S is the best soap out there...I have tried dozens of soaps but I always some back to this one. Pinnacle is pretty good as is the Zaino but Zaino has a bit too much bite for an everyday, or should I say frequent, soap.

You really should get the P21S carnauba. It is amazing-it one the Guru Reports shootout and is the highest rated carnauba wax on Autopia. It applies much easier than the Megs products as well.

Lex Diamonds

Great lists from both of you guys - I've support meguires for years and it appears that I need an updgrade. Is "P21S Carnuba" an item that I can get at the local Pep Boys or will I be ordering it on-line..?


Thanks again fellas.

yESman

Two ways to go here:

1. Get the real thing at Autopia.org or Autogeek.net These are very high quality online vendors.
2. Get the very similar sister product called "S100" at your local Harley Davidson dealer. P21S importer created the S100 line for motorcycle car but many detailers use the wax on their cars.

P21S MSRP is $32 for a long lasting jar, S100 MSRP is about $15 for same quantity.

This wax won the Guru Reports wax contest for best carnauba.

Lex Diamonds

Good deal - Even though it will be raining in my region for the next week - I will buy it before the weekend is up to prepare myself for a good cleaning.

Thanks and keep up the great work.!

RA40

iTrader: (6)

Good list!

It would take me ages to be able to try and compare products like this. This helps me narrow it down.

yESman

No problem RA40. Glad I can help.

Rockefella

Wow, I was just wondering what to get to wax and wash my '98 ES300 and the first thing that popped up were the great lists above. Thanks to you guys for putting them up!

aloha08isf

iTrader: (2)

damn! you folks are really hardcore huh? ...I need to get myself more informed about detailing products lol

yESman

I have been trying the new Sonus Cockpit Cleaner and it works very well. Anyone looking for an effective cockpit cleaner is suggested to try this product.

dickyg

Yes man how do you feel about Griot's products? Have you ever used his stuff? How does it compair to the stuff you use?

Thanks
Rick