Favorite Products and why?

What products do you guys like to use? What do you keep going back to? Why?

Im in the process of restocking some items and would like some suggestion/input on what your preferred cleaning/detailing products are.

Suggestions from APC's to waxes to trim dressing to quick detailers. Lets here what you like to use and why you use it.

 

Get yourself a bottle of Collonite 845, and don't look back.

I've always heard good things about it, and finally got to try it recently. Let me tell you, I only put about 5 dabs of wax on the pad, and it covered nearly half of my DCLB! It's incredibly easy to use, goes on thin, and lasts a really long time!

I'd like to try out Collinite's Super-Double Coat, but at this rate, that won't be for a few years lol

 

I swear by Astroshield polish . Yes it is old school and I bought a case a few years back when my local detail shop was getting rid of their stock. Simply the best at bringing back a top shine all while covering over and swirls.

 

303 Aerospace Protectorant. I'm pretty sure they milk the male unicorns for this stuff because it is magic.

It seeps into any and all rubber and plastic returning colour and flexibility. I put some in an HVLP sprayer and went to town on my engine, it looked better than new and added some flexibility to some drying out vacuum hoses and wires.

It's water based, non-toxic, odorless when dry, (when wet is smells faintly like cauliflower to me chemical but not strong either way) restores and protects dashes, weather stripping, the plastic bed rail tops, window seals, extends the life of window wiper blades, keeps trim plastic black, cleans and protects vinyl interiors and convertible tops, makes a great tire shine, the uses are practically endless. You can buy it in bulk (5 gallons) and for as many uses as it has it's relatively cheap. It seems to last quite a while and disperce evenly through rubber vinyl and plastic over time, keeps wires flexible prevents dry rotting, and does all of this without leaving a greasy glarey mess. (I'm talking about you armorall) also it can be "built up" apply come back after two days and you can see the light spots that have absorbed the most product re-apply and repeat untill after several days the surface is a uniform black, then the coating seems to last for months. It leaves no residue and has no dyes. After a few hours it is 100% dry to the touch even though it still looks wet, won't stain clothes or hands. Gives things a sort of satin wet look shine without harsh glare.

303 has replaced half my detailing products since I was set onto it. Even though it's not marketed as a cleaner it seems to be very emulsive and works as a great surfactant so I often use it as such where apc may strip or pull out waxes or oils.

 

Just covered my truck with collonite 845 and I absolutely love it. Never going back to "tech wax 2.0".

My favorite thing about it is how buttery smooth is melts and goes on, and it doesn't seem to turn white on plastics and rubbers. It also doesn't seem to "fling" off the DA as much as other stuff I have used. It seems to stick to the paint fairly well.

Just make sure to leave it in the sun or a bowl of hot water for a while as it likes to turn into a more solidified wax when cool as has been my experience.

Goes on fairly well by hand too for smaller things like my motorcycle.

 

That's because ultimately it is a glaze and cleaner wax in one.

 

303 is such an amazing product for all the reasons you just listed.

 

Anything from Adam's Polishes has been amazing. H20 Guard and Gloss (water activated sealant) from Adams is my favorite. Yet to use a product from them that didn't meet or exceed my expectations. Kenotek detail spray is fantastic along with their glass cleaner. Optimum Gloss Coat and Opti-seal are great products for a coating and WOWA sealant. Wolfgang Fusion wax is my go to wax. Gyeon Tire is my favorite tire coating. Gtechniq C4 coating for exterior plastic trim. I like

$21 Collinite 845 Insulator Wax-Easy to Use Carnauba+Polymer Wax Sealant-High Gloss Shine+Durable Hydrophobic Beading & Long Lasting Paint Protection for Cars/Boats/Trucks/RVs & Motorcycles (16 fl oz)

Collinite 845 but hardly use it anymore.

 

Castle product sold and locally here in upstate NY has a very nice line of wax products geared to the wide variety of weather conditions that we experience here.

 

Meguiars Ultimate liquid wax is good to use. You can get it on plastic and not worry about it staining it white. Also it is handy because I can pick up a bottle at the local Walmart. Eagle Edgeless microfiber towels are great to wipe the wax off with.

https://www.theragcompany.com/eagle-edgeless-16-x-16-microfiber-towel/

 

After trying some different products, I feel Adams Polishes is my favorite.

Adams car shampoo - I personally feel its worth it when purchased in the gallon especially with a 20% coupon. pH neutral, feels slick, creates a good amount of suds, and works pretty well in the foam cannon. I also find a little goes along way, took me quite some time to go through 16 oz at first, but I'm using a bit more when using the foam cannon.

Adams detail spray - Nothing to crazy about it, usually just use detail spray to touch up spots, do a quick wipe down if I want some extra shine or as a drying agent. Usually between griots speed shine or adams detail spray, but I find griots to be a bit more streaky.

Adams h2o guard and gloss - This has to be one of my favorite products, usually try to use it every other wash as a drying agent, but find myself using it every wash haha. After the final rinse, I do one light mist across each panel and the water runs off the paint, it makes drying so much easier! Also leaves a nice shine and smell great. Although when I first used it.. it left a ton of streaks, but I found out I was using too much product.

Wash mitts - I find myself using adams 10" synthetic wool pad as I prefer the pad over a mitt. Nothing fancy, only complaint is that it sometimes holds to much grit when the truck is considerably dirty. Will be trying The Rag Company's new 10x cyclone when I need to replace the current adams pad.

Also recently tried Gyeon Car Care products on the parents Audi A5 and Porsche Macan,
Used Prep, Cancoat, then Cure. Was a bit pricey upfront, and took a bit longer than normal sealant/wax application. But I felt it was easier to apply. Had some trouble seeing some spots on the white paint of the Porsche though. The A5 paint had a bit more gloss and the metallic seemed to be more noticeable compared to previous products applied on it. The best part is the ease of drying both vehicles though, usually I can't blow off the water on the truck, but I can get 95% of the remaining water off these two vehicles. I find this beneficial since I can eliminate the one/final step to where I'm not making "contact" with the paint to potentially scratch it.

Still have yet to find a good APC and tire shine though lol. At the end of the year, I will be doing a paint correction on the tacoma and either have Gyeon or Optimum coating applied.

As always, I usually wait for a really good sale to stock up on items. I believe auto geek has a 25% off right now if Im not mistaken?

 

Chemical Guys Tire and Trim Gel has me amazed. Stuff is fantastic. Love it to protect all the black trim on the truck and it makes it look brand new for months. Also keeps the tires looking deep black but not wet like most tire dressings. Dry to the touch and doesn't collect dust.

 

When I first read "You only need 4-5 drops on your pad," I thought "There's no way that little bit will cover the door panel." So, I put a ring of wax on the pad in roughly the same amount I normally would for a cream-like wax, and ended up flinging wax EVERYWHERE!!! I stopped, wiped up the mess, got a fresh new pad, put only 5 dabs of wax on it, and did the whole passenger side of the truck. Lesson: learned.

I also finally understand when everyone says it gives depth to the paint. I usually put it over Meguiar's Ultimate Liquid Wax, and the shine and protection are second to none so far! And yes, it looks amazing on my Honda VTX!

x2
Meguiar's Ultimate line is definitely one of the best widely-available-bang-for-your-buck products.

 

I've recently tried a few new products.

Finish Kare 1000p High Temp Paste Wax. It's a 100% polymer sealer. Great stuff. Some describe it as a "second layer of clear coat". It's got great self-cleaning abilities. Hose off the truck and it's practically clean again. Super bright and glassy. Slick too.

Sonax Brilliant Shine Detailer. It's more of a spray wax than a detail spray. It's got some staying power and definitely leaves something behind that makes water bead incredibly well. BUT... it's not slick. It leaves paint feeling grabby on a towel. The beading and self-cleaning makes up for this aspect IMO. Beading is insane.

Blackfire Crystal Seal. It's a WOWA sealant (wipe on walk away). It's unbelievably easy to apply. And NO removal. It's a polymer sealer that you spritz one or two spritzes per panel, spread with a little microfiber applicator, and you're done. It flashes really quickly. When your done, take a dry towel and buff off any high spots or streaks. You can seal a vehicle in like 10 minutes tops. And it lasts 2-4 months at least. Great stuff.

McKee's 360 AIO. An all in one Polish and Sealant with incredible durability. 6 months? Possibly. Great correction of minor swirls and leaves paint bright and glossy (if applied with a DA). And SUPER easy to use. You apply with DA until it disappears, then give a light wipe with a towel and you're done.

 

SONAX High Speed Wax-- a new favorite.
I just posted this review over on AG.

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/product-reviews/111305-sonax-high-speed-wax-bsd.html

 

Keep the suggestion coming. Loving what I see so far.

I recently bought a bottle of Chemical Guys Butter Wax to try. Put it on a week ago. Super easy to apply. I'm impressed with how smooth it made the clearcoat. It hard to add depth to silver paint, but it's much better than the Mothers Carnuba I've been using.

I picked up a bottle of 303 Spray Wax too to try in between real wax jobs.

Another product I'm impressed with is Griot's Speed Shine. I use it 2-3 times a week on my truck to keep everything clean. Takes all the dust and light funk right off the paint, black plastic trim, chrome bumper, wheels, windows, and vinyl wrapped roof. It's been my go to quick detailer for a while now. I'd rank it right up there with the versatility of what 303 can do.

I've been using Opti No Rinse a lot lately too. I've found if you mix it up per clay bar lube instruction and put it in a spray bottle and soak a panel down and let it sit for a few minutes and wipe it down with a micro fiber, it's as effective as mixing up a bucket of it but less wasteful. Wipe the dirty panel off, rinse the microfiber in clean water then move on. Dry the panel with a dry microfiber and I'll shine just like it was waxed too. This works great on vehicles that are too dirty for quick detailer but don't warrant dragging a hose and bucket and shit out for a proper wash.

I use the Opti No Rinse a lot on plastic interior panels. Cleans then without leaving them greasy or too shiny. And it repels dust VERY well.

 

- My go to sealant. Been using this stuff for 10 years now. Great longevity & it will even make light colored vehicles pop! A little goes a looong way. - I've been using this for 10 years now also. IMO, the best spray wax on the market. It's not the slickest wax around but it has excellent longevity (3+ months) & is the only wax with patented UVA/UVB protection. Below is a link for the US Patent Study & also a write-up by Mike Phillips from Autogeek.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/search-bool.html&r=2&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1="ghodoussi,+vahid"&OS="ghodoussi,+vahid"&RS="ghodoussi,+vahid"

https://www.autogeekonline.net/foru...ptimum-car-wax-dr-ghodoussi-autogeek-com.html

- Excellent detail spray. Makes the paint extra slick & the anti-static properties are no joke. Pollen & dust really do take longer to accumulate when using this. - Very economical water based tire dressing. Dilute this dressing up to 4:1 (I use 3:1) to achieve the look your going for. Will not brown or dry out rubber. Only downside is it needs to be applied every wash but the price can't be beat. I'm still on my first gallon over two years later & that's regularly detailing two vehicles. - Great tool for applying tire shine. Cleans up good as new using an all purpose cleaner so it can used for a long time. - Love these towels. Super soft. Use them to apply my spray waxes & details sprays. Been using a set of them for about 8 years now & they are still going strong.

 

My favorite product to apply to my paint is Liquid Glass Ultimate Polish . It's goes on easier than wax, and it lasts longer. It can even be applied under direct sunlight and it won't harden on the paint like a traditional wax. It's simply amazing. And the shine is outstanding as well . Don't let the name fool you. It's not an actual polish that you apply with a buffer to remove minor swirl marks . I would classify it as more of a non filler wax/sealant.

For my wheel wells I've been using Chemical Guys Bare Bones Undercarriage Spray. It makes them look like new with a rich black tone. It makes a worlds difference. Try it, you won't be disappointed!

 

I use it because I love the way it smells

 

Same reason I love ONR!