Hello all,
I thought I'd share some detailing products that I have found to be worth checking out.
A bit of history on myself is I use to be a Professional Detailer back in my College days. I started that journey working for a Chevy Dealer as a lot guy and learned how to run a Rotary Wheel. My Manager was a former detailer and I had a midnight Blue Firebird that needed some attention.
One day after work, we went into the shop and he taught me how to compound polish and wax a car properly. It was an amazing experience the took me down a path of passion and love for extreme car on my vehicles. This was 1988. Fast forward to the 90's and I have been detailing for a company that sub in house at dealerships and was responsible for new and used car details. I got trained by Ardex, C-Bud, 3M and Maguire's top guys who came into the shop and gave detail lessons . It was amazing taking what I learned over the years and taking it to a higher professional level.
I worked my way up to manager then regional manager. I would go into a dealership, set up shop,, hire local talent, train them to my perfection or as good as they could be and off to the next shop I went.
When I got out of College and then switched to Mechanics I got an associates degree in Automotive Technology and became a Mechanic for Nissan, Pontiac and GMC trucks at a local Dealership. My Passion for all things cars drove me. I also became a switch hitter there as they learned my experience in detailing and wanted me to work in the shop a few days and then back in the detail shop doing their higher end used car trade ins. Then they pulled me all together from the Shop and made me detail manager.
I left that business as I was offered a job in the Audio Video business as a Installer which was another passion of mine. But the fire for detailing never went out and to this day I love doing it.
So my son and I are balls deep into testing learning and about all the available products of today and to my surprise they are very different and better then what I grew up with. Not everything but some things are better to work with.
I wanted to leave a few special products from certain brands that I found are gems. This thread can go on forever as there is so much to talk about on this subject especially for passionate people like my son and I.
1- Adam's Polishes CS3.
adams-cs3-gallon-with-free-12oz
Now this is a special product that I learned about and now buy by the Gallon. it's a multi purpose product that servers top notch function in what it does. First off it's a waterless wash. This is an excellent product for those in-between wipe's downs when your ride has some light dust or dirt and your not going to do a full bucket wash. You just want a touch up to hit the town or just stare in the garage. It glides and smoothes over your paint with a Special kind of slickness. It feels heavy and thick yet works light on it's feet.
You can use it as a drying aid. After a full maintenance wash, you want to use something to soften the drying process. I like to use a leaf blower on all the wheels to get them as dry as possible and then blow out all the emblems and cracks to make the drying process effortless as possible. Also limited the amount of towel contact to prevent surface scratches from drying. CS3 really helps aid in this process as a very light spray on each panel gives you a smooth soft towel feel that also ads gloss and slickness.
And finally a Topper or protection layer. It's great on top of a Ceramic Coating, spray coating or paint sealant layer. You basically use it like you would a spray wax. The gloss slickness and feel is amazing. It really feels like you spend hours with a heavy paste wax. It gives you that thickness.
2- Jay Leno's Tire and Trim Care.
tire-and-trim-care
I find it that most people don't try out Jay Leno's Products. I find that a shame. His line of stuff is amazing, all of it and this product is special. If you like a Satin like finish on your tires that actually holds up for weeks then this is something you want to check out. We picked up most of his line to test out and this is one that really stood out to me. It goes on like silk and deepens the rubber side wall of your tires. It's brings out a brand new tire look that is so inviting. It makes your rims POP and your Paint gloss deeper by not taking away from their beauty. By being a Satin finish the tires don't POP and take away from your rim and paint job on your car. They blend in and give it a look that really completes your fresh clean car. I'm proud to use this product and find it to really be special . I never was a fan of high gloss tire shine and especially when it slings all over the side of your car after a drive. That really sucks as most oil based dressings will do that unless you knock then down with a towel and then that takes away from some of the awesome gloss they add. It's like using those kinds of dressings is made for a car show when the car isn't going to be driven.
Anyway check out this product it's incredible.
3- P&S bead Maker.
i-23875428-bead-maker-paint-protectant.html
I'm sure many of you have heard of this stuff. It's probably one of the most hype'd products in the last few years BUT it has earned that in many ways.
First and foremost this is a spray paint sealant that doesn't have a long life. You can get 1 to 2 months out of it if you don't reapply it. BUT here is the kicker, if you use it as drying aid after a full dry application, you can maintain it for basically as long as you want. I would after a few months do another dry application to give it a full strong coating but let me tell you, it's shine and slickness might be the best in the industry. Sure other products might shine or have a slickness equal or close to this but look at the price? Bead maker is a super special product that does exactly what it claims to do. If you have not tried this out, and if you enjoy a silky finish with a gloss that is second to none, then you need to try this stuff out. With Adam' CS3 on the market this stuff isn't as special to me as it was when I tried it out for the firs time but when you factor in price, it still wins hands down. CS3 is on it's own level but if you where to compare these to to each other for slickness and gloss it's a tuff battle with bead maker winning due to it's much lower price. CS3 is a better product all around except value but the value is still there because it does more than bead maker does.
When I go for a topper , I stuggle on which one I want to use. I'm feeling that right now. I have a brand new Black Scat pack and I'm not sure what topper I want to use. They both are so damn good. I use bead maker on my Wife's Plumb Crazy purple Charger and man... it looks stupid good.
So there's just a few awesome products I like to use but I have so many more we can talk about.
I thought I'd share some detailing products that I have found to be worth checking out.
A bit of history on myself is I use to be a Professional Detailer back in my College days. I started that journey working for a Chevy Dealer as a lot guy and learned how to run a Rotary Wheel. My Manager was a former detailer and I had a midnight Blue Firebird that needed some attention.
One day after work, we went into the shop and he taught me how to compound polish and wax a car properly. It was an amazing experience the took me down a path of passion and love for extreme car on my vehicles. This was 1988. Fast forward to the 90's and I have been detailing for a company that sub in house at dealerships and was responsible for new and used car details. I got trained by Ardex, C-Bud, 3M and Maguire's top guys who came into the shop and gave detail lessons . It was amazing taking what I learned over the years and taking it to a higher professional level.
I worked my way up to manager then regional manager. I would go into a dealership, set up shop,, hire local talent, train them to my perfection or as good as they could be and off to the next shop I went.
When I got out of College and then switched to Mechanics I got an associates degree in Automotive Technology and became a Mechanic for Nissan, Pontiac and GMC trucks at a local Dealership. My Passion for all things cars drove me. I also became a switch hitter there as they learned my experience in detailing and wanted me to work in the shop a few days and then back in the detail shop doing their higher end used car trade ins. Then they pulled me all together from the Shop and made me detail manager.
I left that business as I was offered a job in the Audio Video business as a Installer which was another passion of mine. But the fire for detailing never went out and to this day I love doing it.
So my son and I are balls deep into testing learning and about all the available products of today and to my surprise they are very different and better then what I grew up with. Not everything but some things are better to work with.
I wanted to leave a few special products from certain brands that I found are gems. This thread can go on forever as there is so much to talk about on this subject especially for passionate people like my son and I.
1- Adam's Polishes CS3.
adams-cs3-gallon-with-free-12oz
Now this is a special product that I learned about and now buy by the Gallon. it's a multi purpose product that servers top notch function in what it does. First off it's a waterless wash. This is an excellent product for those in-between wipe's downs when your ride has some light dust or dirt and your not going to do a full bucket wash. You just want a touch up to hit the town or just stare in the garage. It glides and smoothes over your paint with a Special kind of slickness. It feels heavy and thick yet works light on it's feet.
You can use it as a drying aid. After a full maintenance wash, you want to use something to soften the drying process. I like to use a leaf blower on all the wheels to get them as dry as possible and then blow out all the emblems and cracks to make the drying process effortless as possible. Also limited the amount of towel contact to prevent surface scratches from drying. CS3 really helps aid in this process as a very light spray on each panel gives you a smooth soft towel feel that also ads gloss and slickness.
And finally a Topper or protection layer. It's great on top of a Ceramic Coating, spray coating or paint sealant layer. You basically use it like you would a spray wax. The gloss slickness and feel is amazing. It really feels like you spend hours with a heavy paste wax. It gives you that thickness.
2- Jay Leno's Tire and Trim Care.
tire-and-trim-care
I find it that most people don't try out Jay Leno's Products. I find that a shame. His line of stuff is amazing, all of it and this product is special. If you like a Satin like finish on your tires that actually holds up for weeks then this is something you want to check out. We picked up most of his line to test out and this is one that really stood out to me. It goes on like silk and deepens the rubber side wall of your tires. It's brings out a brand new tire look that is so inviting. It makes your rims POP and your Paint gloss deeper by not taking away from their beauty. By being a Satin finish the tires don't POP and take away from your rim and paint job on your car. They blend in and give it a look that really completes your fresh clean car. I'm proud to use this product and find it to really be special . I never was a fan of high gloss tire shine and especially when it slings all over the side of your car after a drive. That really sucks as most oil based dressings will do that unless you knock then down with a towel and then that takes away from some of the awesome gloss they add. It's like using those kinds of dressings is made for a car show when the car isn't going to be driven.
Anyway check out this product it's incredible.
3- P&S bead Maker.
i-23875428-bead-maker-paint-protectant.html
I'm sure many of you have heard of this stuff. It's probably one of the most hype'd products in the last few years BUT it has earned that in many ways.
First and foremost this is a spray paint sealant that doesn't have a long life. You can get 1 to 2 months out of it if you don't reapply it. BUT here is the kicker, if you use it as drying aid after a full dry application, you can maintain it for basically as long as you want. I would after a few months do another dry application to give it a full strong coating but let me tell you, it's shine and slickness might be the best in the industry. Sure other products might shine or have a slickness equal or close to this but look at the price? Bead maker is a super special product that does exactly what it claims to do. If you have not tried this out, and if you enjoy a silky finish with a gloss that is second to none, then you need to try this stuff out. With Adam' CS3 on the market this stuff isn't as special to me as it was when I tried it out for the firs time but when you factor in price, it still wins hands down. CS3 is on it's own level but if you where to compare these to to each other for slickness and gloss it's a tuff battle with bead maker winning due to it's much lower price. CS3 is a better product all around except value but the value is still there because it does more than bead maker does.
When I go for a topper , I stuggle on which one I want to use. I'm feeling that right now. I have a brand new Black Scat pack and I'm not sure what topper I want to use. They both are so damn good. I use bead maker on my Wife's Plumb Crazy purple Charger and man... it looks stupid good.
So there's just a few awesome products I like to use but I have so many more we can talk about.