Car Detailing - What products are your go to?

[prydey]

I needed more NV Snow so bought the 2 pack carpro brushes at the same time.

Might need to browse the car care sub forum to educate myself on using interior brushes, as silly as that sounds. Mainly for usage on the centre console, the grooves around the buttons and gear shifter surround etc. Also dash and air vents and power window switches.

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by prydey

I needed more NV Snow so bought the 2 pack carpro brushes at the same time.

Might need to browse the car care sub forum to educate myself on using interior brushes, as silly as that sounds. Mainly for usage on the centre console, the grooves around the buttons and gear shifter surround etc. Also dash and air vents and power window switches.

For air vents, in one hand, use the ultra-soft brush dry and agitate while holding a vacuum in the other hand to suck up the dust as you brush. You can use this same "dusting" method on glossy trims, buttons, screens.................





If you do need some chemical assistance, spray into the bristles, agitate, then wipe clear with a towel. If you have compressed air, you can use that to drive any chemical residue from the crevices. Just be careful doing that around buttons as you risk causing damage to the connection. Around switches, if you need to apply a chemical, I've been told to use an interior detailer that has an IPA element like KCx ASC or Carpro InnerQD, these will help evaporate residue much quicker.

[prydey]

I have carpro inside diluted to 1:5 for cleaning and innerQD as detailer.

I'll have to get used to vacuuming and brushing at the same time but sounds a bit like patting your head while rubbing your stomach

[CyberWasp]

Have a look at AliExpress for some of the Car Detailing Brushes ect.

Some of it is junk, others looks strangely familiar.

[DFB FGXR6]

For anyone wanting to get into machine polishing but don't want to over invest, this ShineMate EX605 at $173.95 is a screaming bargain! Ideally, you would buy the kit, which includes pads and compounds, but at that price, you can't go wrong.

https://www.waxit.com.au/products/sh...0UIOZgU.MeSg3g

https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...n-polisher-kit

The ShineMate EX605 looks like its being cleared for the new ER0600. But the 605 has a 12mm orbit for more effective correction.

https://www.waxit.com.au/products/sh...r&_ss=e&_v=1.0
https://www.waxit.com.au/collections...-polishing-kit

[FTE217]

Originally Posted by prydey

I have carpro inside diluted to 1:5 for cleaning and innerQD as detailer.

I'll have to get used to vacuuming and brushing at the same time but sounds a bit like patting your head while rubbing your stomach

hehe hence why I just use the vacuum long haired brush, does it for me

[DFB FGXR6]

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant...............................

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

A Question for DFB FGXR6

Have you had any experience with this Product from Collinite?

I saw it on a Video being applied on top of anther brands coating and it came up like glossy glass.

If it is really that good I would like to see what it did if applied it on top of the Wolfgang Gloss Sealant you have had much success with.

image

Just to circle back to this question, the following is some first use comments by a friend of mine on Autogeek...........

I reached for Collinite Bead Coat sealant, hadn't used it yet so I went for it! Since the directions said to apply it to your microfiber, work it in and buff with a seperate towel. I chose my 350 GSM Eagle edgeless mfs and what a great choice, control due to 150 less GSM and no grabbing...PERFECT

This product got great reviews by Jon @Forensic Detailing and I can see why, finished WITHOUT any streaking or haze, just a simple wipe with that 2nd towel and SMOOTH & GLOSSY finish!

[CyberWasp]

I was going to get some on the Black Friday Sales but had no need to buy other stuff to make it worth while with the free delivery.

[CyberWasp]

How would this be for a Video Game. Should I develop the concept?

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

How would this be for a Video Game. Should I develop the concept?

image

AMMO has something like that.......................

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1..._AMMO_NYC_DLC/

[prydey]

Merry Xmas to me.

$100+ doesn't go far but at least the brushes are good quality and should last many years.

[prydey]

Heading off on a road trip to Brisbane Saturday morning. I'm a bit weird in that I like to leave with a clean car. Just waiting for the weather to cool down a bit and then I'll give my new wheel brush a test drive.

[CyberWasp]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

AMMO has something like that.......................

Back to the drawing board...

[OneMadMan]

Originally Posted by prydey

Heading off on a road trip to Brisbane Saturday morning. I'm a bit weird in that I like to leave with a clean car. Just waiting for the weather to cool down a bit and then I'll give my new wheel brush a test drive.

Nope. Not weird at all man.
Every time I used to clean my car for hours on end, by hand, the 1st thing I had to do was DRIVE it!

Car is clean. MUST DRIVE...

These days I can't be bothered and use the BP scratch and go once a week. Just easier, and the one I use has an attendant that does the wheels, front and back of the car by hand with the soft brush.

5 minutes, $21 clams later. Done.

I can see DFB FGXR6 having a melt down at that comment.
WHAT? YOU use the SCRATCH AND GO?????

Like W T A F are you thinking????

I have no undercover parking, it's in the weather 24 /7. No point being to mental / OCD about it. It's my daily. It's clean enough. The inside is a totally different story. it's always 99% macko. Never eaten in, never smoked in. Glass is ALWAYS clean and finger print / smudge free. (no kids) that I know of...

Nothing wrong with taking pride in your ride me thinks.


Cheers,

One Man

[CyberWasp]

What can go wrong in Swirl and Go.

Here is a photo of DFB FGXR6's Worst Nightmare.

Not good unless your name is SpiderMan.

[DFB FGXR6]

Excellent video on interior deep detailing, in particular vacuum and brush techniques.................

[DFB FGXR6]

My latest article went live on the Detailing Shed website today.

https://detailingshed.com.au/blogs/a...nd-new-mustang

The idea here was to highlight how the range of Armour Detail Supply products could be used on a brand-new car. In other words, an end-to-end solution from the tyres up.

Obviously, it's all about selling product in these articles, but I specifically singled out those products because I wanted them on the car, they were all paid for by me.

[DFB FGXR6]

And while on the Detailing Shed topic, I squeezed in a final order before they close up for a few weeks.



I said I wouldn't be ordering GSF again due to the cost here, but here we are.

The Wide Open was ordered out of curiosity.



You know it's serious when I order a gallon of something! After first trying Amplify, I knew within seconds that this stuff was a winner. That first bottle went pretty quickly, which was replaced by another two 473ml bottles. While I could have jumped to the gallon size, I've been bitten in the past ordering a gallon of something without enough miles behind it, then being lumped with a product that didn't live up to the first impressions.





My recommendation here is to always, where possible, buy the small bottle of a product first. Actually, I broke that rule myself recently, now I have a gallon of a VERY expensive product that appears to be simply unsuited to the Australia climate.

Amplify has now proven to be my go-to drying aid of late. No doubt, something will come along in the future that will better it, but it will need to be a VERY stellar product to better Amplify.

[Aussie Falcon]

$3 with free postage you can get a Don't Wash My Car hanger, for every time your car gets a service.

Handing your car over to a dealership for a service can be a harrowing experience for many of us. We've always requested to the service manager to not wash our cars, or apply their tyre shine to it. But this message sometimes gets lost and we get it back freshly washed along with new swirls and micro scratches, plus a high gloss tyre shine that flings down the car the whole trip home. We've made this rear vision mirror hanger so your car does not fall foul of the free car wash issue anymore.

Use it every time your car goes in for a service.
Hangs visibly from your rear vision mirror.
Fits all interior car mirrors.
Help stop your car being washed with a year old sponge or broom.
No cleaning off the flinging tyre shine once you get home either.
Branded with Bowden's Own so they know you're a car tragic.
FREE SHIPPING Australia only - via regular mail.

https://www.bowdensown.com.au/dont-wash-my-car-hanger

[OneMadMan]

Originally Posted by Aussie Falcon

$3 with free postage you can get a Don't Wash My Car hanger, for every time your car gets a service.https://www.bowdensown.com.au/dont-wash-my-car-hangerimage

Thanks, I always forget to tell the my non regular tyre shop to NOT put that crap on my tyres.

Tyre shine is for car yards, not blokes like us who care about their sponges and chamois. Should be banned until they can come up with a product that does what it does now, without the 'fling off' aftermath.


Cheers,


One happier Man now

[prydey]

Originally Posted by OneMadMan

Tyre shine is for car yards, not blokes like us who care about their sponges and chamois. Should be banned until they can come up with a product that does what it does now, without the 'fling off' aftermath.

I use carpro perl diluted 1:1 however there are many other tyre dressing options that don't 'fling off' afterwards.

Tyre care thread
https://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11498074

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by OneMadMan

Thanks, I always forget to tell the my non regular tyre shop to NOT put that crap on my tyres.

Tyre shine is for car yards, not blokes like us who care about their sponges and chamois. Should be banned until they can come up with a product that does what it does now, without the 'fling off' aftermath.


Cheers,


One happier Man now

Ooh ooho, you walked into that one my good man. Happy reading.........................

https://www.fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11498074

Short answer, anything water and NOT solvent based should deliver a lovely, non-slinging finish, without excessive shine. My current favorites -

OG Tire Dressing -

https://detailingshed.com.au/product...43468323324119



Armour Detail Supply Tire+ (a little glossy but manageable) -

https://detailingshed.com.au/product...e9457df4&_ss=r



NV Onyx -

https://www.waxit.com.au/products/nv...x&_ss=e&_v=1.0



None of those are going to cause the issues presented by that horrible tyre goop dished out by tyre fitters or dealers.

[OneMadMan]

Originally Posted by DFB FGXR6

Ooh ooho, you walked into that one my good man. Happy reading......................... None of those are going to cause the issues presented by that horrible tyre goop dished out by tyre fitters or dealers.

Hmm not a happy Jan.

I went to a new tyre shop last sat dee to have what's called a Road Force wheel balance done to eliminate a pesky wheel shake I've been trying to get rid of.
I had 3 instructions for them, which were noted and hand written on the job card.
These were:
1) remove, balance, and replace all wheels to their original locations.
2) DO NOT USE TYRE SHINE.
3) check the balance of the wheels BEFORE re-balancing them, as to get some idea of the accuracy of my current tyre shops equipment.

I washed the car / and or wheels before I set off that morning.
Did about 120 kms return trip. Had other stops to make etc.
Could not believe the state of my wheels! Fscking A holes used tyre shine!!!

So cleaned the wheels AGAIN (no pic sorry) but haven't cleaned the car yet. I will take a pic when it's daytime and post the absolute mess this crap has made.

Good news is: that spending $70 clams on THAT type of wheel balance has restored the car to an ALMOST, as new driving experience. It still has a slight vibe in the wheel. But hey, it's old, like me!! And before any of you wise guys say it... NO it's NOT me that's shaking!!!


Cheers,

One sponge down (due to tyre shine wrecking it) Man

[DFB FGXR6]

Originally Posted by OneMadMan

Hmm not a happy Jan.

I went to a new tyre shop last sat dee to have what's called a Road Force wheel balance done to eliminate a pesky wheel shake I've been trying to get rid of.
I had 3 instructions for them, which were noted and hand written on the job card.
These were:
1) remove, balance, and replace all wheels to their original locations.
2) DO NOT USE TYRE SHINE.
3) check the balance of the wheels BEFORE re-balancing them, as to get some idea of the accuracy of my current tyre shops equipment.

I washed the car / and or wheels before I set off that morning.
Did about 120 kms return trip. Had other stops to make etc.
Could not believe the state of my wheels! Fscking A holes used tyre shine!!!

So cleaned the wheels AGAIN (no pic sorry) but haven't cleaned the car yet. I will take a pic when it's daytime and post the absolute mess this crap has made.

Good news is: that spending $70 clams on THAT type of wheel balance has restored the car to an ALMOST, as new driving experience. It still has a slight vibe in the wheel. But hey, it's old, like me!! And before any of you wise guys say it... NO it's NOT me that's shaking!!!


Cheers,

One sponge down (due to tyre shine wrecking it) Man

Yeah, that sucks!

That's the byproduct of a solvent-based dressing, its longevity creates problems with removal. With greasy substances like this, you must use alkalinity to break it down for effective removal. And yes, you are going to ruin a some tools in the process.

Before you go and ruin more tools, get yourself something like Meguiar's Multi-Purpose Cleaner or Non-Acid Wheel & Tire Cleaner. These will make the job so much easier. Or........................grab a rag and some mineral turpentine, and rub like crazy. That might sound drastic, but its very effective and will prevent you ruining good tools.

https://www.repco.com.au/car-care-pa...K6Bkuy0_oZQLKf
https://autobarn.com.au/ab/Autobarn-...4332-/p/137759

[DFB FGXR6]

I'm not sure where I got this idea, but for a long time now I've been using Carpro Eraser as a post decontamination wash drying aid. The concept here being that you don't really want to go ahead and use your normal drying aid, basically putting back on what you just stripped off in preparation for polishing and coating.



So why use a drying aid at all in this situation? For couple of good reasons............

- Firstly, quite often the paint will be completely flat and unresponsive to drying via a blower or compressed air, meaning towel drying is needed. If you are polishing afterwards, then you probably don't "need" a drying aid, but naturally you don't want to add to any paint marring if you can help it.

- Carpro Eraser (and some others) are unique in having a lubrication package to help reduce the risk of marring your freshly corrected paint prior to coating. So, using Eraser here as drying aid provides that needed lubrication, just without leaving anything behind to interfere with your polishing pads and compound performance.

- The side benefit here is something you should be doing anyway prior to polishing, an IPA wipe down. The IPA step at this point removes any lingering chemical residue from the decon step, which in turn allows you to clearly inspect the condition of the paint before nailing down a pad and compound combo. My theory here is, why do something twice, why not combine the drying process with the IPA wipe down prior to inspecting the paint, you also burn through less towels...................work smarter, not harder.

- And finally, with completely flat water behavior after the decon, you are naturally going to have more moisture to mop up than usual. The IPA content within Eraser helps flash away that moisture, making your job easier.



The above topic spurred me to comment on an Obsessed Garage Black Friday livestream, with Matt decon washing their F-150 Raptor in prep for polishing. After the decontamination wash, I noted Matt mentioning not wanting to use a typical drying aid for the reasons outlined above. My comment was to recommend using Carpro Eraser as the drying aid. The comment was via the Inside The Hex platform and went largely unnoticed...................or so I thought.

In a video posted today, work continued on the Raptor, which he had been decon/polishing/coating in manageable sections. Well, my comment clearly resonated.....................................

(47min 40 sec and 52min)



".........I like that idea, I'm going to steal that......"

".........I don't know why I never thought of that, it's a great idea.........."

".........I like this move..........."

I didn't get named, but it was my suggestion. Some random guy on the other side of the world influencing the influencer.

When you consider the problems he was having earlier in the video with a random iron remover he was testing reactivating during the rinse, the Eraser here helps remove any that managed to linger on the paint.



I probably wouldn't use the stronger prep sprays such as Gtechniq Panel Wipe or Rupes Reveal Strong, or an IPA/Water mix. But the very similar Gyeon Prep would be a good alternative, likewise Koch Chemie PPS and ADS Panel Prep. Otherwise, something like N-914 at the waterless dilution would work well too.







I know the above might sound pathetic, but hearing that semi-shout out made my day, I've been feeling down and very anxious over the last two days.

[CyberWasp]

Dude you know your stuff, good on you.

You fairly cross reference just about everything in every category with no bias, and know the technicalities on each product as well.