[KeyserSoze848]

Alright, I haven't had a car worth keeping clean in a very long time. What brand/products of polish, wax, ceramic, cleaners, soaps, etc are the go-to these days? I'm open to any and all suggestions. I have a 23 2SS in transit and it's going to be pampered. TIA for all the suggestions.

[DamonZ28]

There's a Beginner Detailing group on Facebook that is excellent for beginners and professionals alike. Tons of good info there.

[Plasar]

[WhiteMale]

The only thing I sway people from a bit is the Adams and Chemical Guys and that high or somewhat high end products. Meguiars is great stuff, there's a bit of trial and error over time for products that work for YOU. FOr instance I just discovered Jay Leno's branded stuff, the detailer and tire dressing are the best I've used. You don't need the latest and greatest ceramic coatings, stick to basic car stuff from the name brands and you'll be fine.

[22SS1LE]

I have been detailing for around 18years.
I have used ALOT of brands, Optimum, Griots, Adams, Chemical guys(they are about the bottom of the barrel), Sonax, Gtechniq, Gyeon, Wolfgang, P$S. You name it.
I have never been more impressed with the new DIY Detail line.
I have pretty much bought their whole lineup and its really the only thing I use on my Camaro.
https://diydetail.com/
I have the 3year on the Camaro and my Wifes Explorer, Also installed it on my buddies 1LE
you can see them all on the wall. That's excluding all the gallons I have of each to refill as well. I ceramic coated his 1LE straight from the dealer with DIY 3year

[JoeTX]

i use https://diydetail.com/ as well. I'd recommend you graphene coat the car instead of waxing. if you have a garage you can buy a pressure washer from home depot or another store/Amazon, it will make washing and cleaning much faster

[KeyserSoze848]

Originally Posted by 22SS1LE

I have been detailing for around 18years.
I have used ALOT of brands, Optimum, Griots, Adams, Chemical guys(they are about the bottom of the barrel), Sonax, Gtechniq, Gyeon, Wolfgang, P$S. You name it.
I have never been more impressed with the new DIY Detail line.
I have pretty much bought their whole lineup and its really the only thing I use on my Camaro.
https://diydetail.com/
I have the 3year on the Camaro and my Wifes Explorer, Also installed it on my buddies 1LE
you can see them all on the wall. That's excluding all the gallons I have of each to refill as well. I ceramic coated his 1LE straight from the dealer with DIY 3year

I actually stumbled across the diy detail site and their stuff looks really good!

[22SS1LE]

Originally Posted by KeyserSoze848

I actually stumbled across the diy detail site and their stuff looks really good!

It is great stuff. Yvan is also an industry legend as he has been in detailing for more than 40years and helped develop alot of products for alot of other companies. He also use to be the VP at Optimum car products and helped develop alot of stuff there.
I have yet to use one of their products that let me down.
They have videos on every product on their youtube page to explain how to use them and Yvan is always preaching about using less not like most companies where they want you to over use so you buy more product.

[DamonZ28]

I haven't tried it, but I have heard lots of good things about DIY Detail from the professionals.

Chemical Guys is all about marketing, but their products aren't great. Sure, it works for some, but there are lots of products that will take it to the next level (or next several levels).

If you want budget/cheap, go with Turtle Wax products. Have heard good things about them, as far as entry level products. Which is strange for me, because they weren't all that great 10-20 years ago when I started getting interested in detailing my own cars.

[WhiteMale]

Lenos detailer

[FarmerFran]

I use meguiars gold class car wash in a bucket with a dirt trap.
Wax I use meguiars hybrid ceramic

[Shock and Steel]

I use several products I am very happy with.

For wash I use Chemical Guys Mr. Pink in a foam cannon... or just a little in a bucket. My car doesn't get that dirty since it is garage kept, and I don't have to drive that often. If I drove it more often, and through bad weather, I would definitely use a good lower-powered pressure washer rinse, followed by a foam cannon of Mr. Pink.

For the lower parts of the body, grille, rear, exhaust tips, wheels, calipers, and tires, I use an odd product called S100 Total Cycle Cleaner, diluted 2 parts water, 1 part cleaner, in a spray bottle. This is a PH-balanced cleaner that removes bugs, tar, grime, and brake dust, all with light agitation. You're supposed to just spray on and hose off, but I find you need agitation on the lower parts of the car.

**Any product that works with just spraying on and hosing off is likely very strong, and potentially harmful to your wheels and clear coat.

After a wash, I get the car out of the sunlight, and dry/polish with TEC582 Ceramic Detail Spray... it works great. I use it on everything except the glass and the convertible top.

For tire dressing, I find that I like the Goodyear Eagle Tires with no tire shine. If I want a dressing, I use Chemical Guys Silk Shine Protectant, which has a lower sheen.

Let me know if you have a convertible top; I can share what I do to keep that nice.

[greenz28]

My favorites, I've tried a few, and I detail as a side job:

Polish = Menzerna, lots of choices from Menzerna- take your pick, all are good
Wax = Klasse All-in-One + Klasse Sealant
Spray Wax for maintenance = Meguiars Synthetic Express
Ceramic = not sure
Interior cleaner = Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner
Soap = take your pick, not important

Always use clay bar after wash before polish/wax.

Best to apply polish with a dual action.

[22SS1LE]

Originally Posted by greenz28

My favorites, I've tried a few, and I detail as a side job:

Polish = Menzerna, lots of choices from Menzerna- take your pick, all are good
Wax = Klasse All-in-One + Klasse Sealant
Spray Wax for maintenance = Meguiars Synthetic Express
Ceramic = not sure
Interior cleaner = Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner
Soap = take your pick, not important

Always use clay bar after wash before polish/wax.

Best to apply polish with a dual action.

Soap is very important. If you are using a poor soap/rinseless wash you will not have good lubrication that will end up inducing swirls in your paint and it wont clean well.

Klass is even still around? I dont think anyone has mentioned them in about 15years. Turtle wax is leaps and bounds better than that these days.

If you dont want to marr your paint stay away from traditional clay bars and invest in the perforated decon towels that you can get at Theragcompany, Optimum and DIY.
They will not marr your paint if used correctly and will last 40-50 uses unlike a clay bar that might do 2 cars and if you drop it its garbage.