My Personal Favorite Detailing Products for 2004
#1
Lead Lap
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My Personal Favorite Detailing Products for 2004
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 Poorboys 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?
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 Poorboys 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?
Last edited by yESman; 12-26-04 at 08:01 PM.
#4
Lexus Fanatic
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..
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..
#6
Lead Lap
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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.
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.
Last edited by yESman; 12-27-04 at 09:17 PM.
#7
Originally Posted by yESman
Lexusk8,
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.
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.
Thanks again fellas.
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#8
Lead Lap
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Is "P21S Carnuba" an item that I can get at the local Pep Boys or will I be ordering it on-line..?
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.
#9
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.!
Thanks and keep up the great work.!
#12
great lists, thanks!
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!