wanabe

if you could only have one product for each choice, what would be your product of choice... (yes we have a post that is similar to this, but i am asking for if you could choose only one product what you would pick- not all that you use like in the other post)

my current choices:

shampoo - zymol auto bathe (dont think we can get it in the u.s. anymore- just got a message that it is still here but under a slightly diff name)- if i had to choose one that i know you can get today it would have to be poorboys
clay- hmm... not a biggy- mothers or zymol?? o.k. if only one, its mothers
polish- usually fine cuts or swirl removers -for both, i am goin 3m- and i know that this is where we will have the most disagreement!
synthetic- does depend on the amount of time i have... but usually its zaino. my other choice would be finish first- since we can only pick one, i would go with zaino here
carnuba- still my old standby is p21s- gotta 2nd choice but p21s is far enough away that i wont list it
wheel cleaner- p21s wheel cleaner with no close 2nd... i do have 2nd choices but they are more like 3rd choices!
vinyl/rubber- vinylex
leather- townsends
carnuba detail spray- griots speed shine
synthetic detail spray- tough to choose one here... but if only one it would be zaino
glass- pretty hard to beat stoners
engine and citrus cleaner- eimann fabrik- gentle where it needs to be and aggressive enough every where else... have also used this stuff on adhesive removal (did this even today)


some other must have tools:
creeper- brand not important
brushes- i dont even know the brands i am using!! but the long handled one is the one i would have if i could only have one
big blue and a blade for drying- also use the blower sometimes
pads for the pc- still using lake country
bug & tar- autoglym
vacuum- vac'n'blo


post up your favs!!
challenge is to keep it to one of each... i am sure i missed a lot of categories, so just post yours if you think of more!

JSWhaler

shampoo- griots or P21's either one don't really care, both are great
clay- griots a must have
machine polish- griots although it's a PITA it comes out looking amazing
cleaner wax- P21's synthetic, maybe NXT cleaner wax due to its cheep cost (atleast on the wheels)
carnuba- gotta go with P21's
vinyl top- 303
wheel cleaner- P21's close second is griot's
leather- griots
interior cleaner- griots interior spray, followed by DP protectant (recently fell in love with thanks Mike C)
exterior black trim- sonus
detail spray- griot's speed shine try this is you haven't, you will love it. I keep a small bottle in my trunk for those nasty bird droppings.
glass- stoners

mitt- sonus sheepskin mitt
assortment of micro fiber towels
big cobra waffle weave drying towel, but still love my old absorber
other tools- good jack and jack stands, assortment of wrenches etc.
random orbital with assortment of pads

Emil St-Hilaire

Very basic kit:
Shampoo =Zymol.
Cleaner - Klasse AIO.
Carnauba + P21S.
Leather = Lexol.
Engine =CD2

wanabe

gotta say that is a gorgeous red car!!!

and a great example of carnuba over synthetics!

MikeyC

I had the pleasure of seeing Emil's car at the Nor'Easter in August. It was definitely one of the shiniest and cleanest cars there. I was able to see some cob webbing in direct sunlight, but definitely the car was better cared for than 98% of the cars at the meet and 99% of the cars you see on the road.

MikeyC

Great thread!! I was tossing around the idea of starting a thread like this myself.

shampoo - Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds
clay- whatever I can get cheap it's all same stuff
polish- Menzerna (Finishing Polish II, Intensive Polish, Power Gloss)
synthetic- not a big fan of synthetics, but my favorite is Wolfgang
carnuba- Zymol Vintage
wheel cleaner- DP Gel Wheel Cleaner
vinyl/rubber- Ragg Topp (for the top), DP Interior Surface Protectant (for interior), Poorboy's Trim Restorer (for exterior trim), CD@ (engine bay), and DP Gloss Tire Gel (for tires)
leather- Zymol Leather Cleaner & Zymol Leather Conditioner
detail spray- Poorboy's Spray & Wipe
glass- Sprayway Glass Cleaner (beats Stoner's )
engine and citrus cleaner- Meguiar's Safe D-Greaser tough on dirt, but gentle on your car


some other must have tools:
creeper- brand not important
brushes- I use a lot of various brushes in my detailing
Drying-Cobra Ultimate Guzzler
pads for the pc- Edge 2000
bug & tar- Meguiar's Body Solvent
vacuum- any wet/dry vac rated 5hp or over

wanabe

i love to see what others are using...
it challenges my thoughts and makes me want to try new stuff!!

mikeyc- is the poorboys a carnuba based detail spray? (am looking for a new one)

my "new stuff to try" list just got a lot longer !

MikeyC

The Poorboy's is a waterless wash (i.e. a QD meant for cleaning with no gloss or LSP enhancing properties). It's really quite an amazing QD. The cleaning power and lubricity it provides are unmatched by any other QD I've ever used.

I'm not a big between wash clean-up person. However, if I were I think the Poorboy's followed by something to refresh the LSP like Z8, Optimum Car Wax, or DP Spray Surface Shield would be an unbeatable combo.

Poorboy's does make a QD with carnauba. I think it's called QW+ or something like that. I've never used it personally.

wanabe

call me really old fashioned... i like the lubricity of carnubas or synthetics in a detail spray.
for any newbees out there- a qd really only needs to clean, so (as is usual) there is not right or wrong here (whether a quick detailer needs to contain protectant or not).
i just like the added shine that i get from the qd- again, it is the old me showing once again!!!
so now mikeyc is making me try two new products-
qw+ and the qd...
now that would be an interesting side by side comparo
anyone using both out there???
(if so, can you post up a comparison?)

Emil St-Hilaire

:"I had the pleasure of seeing Emil's car at the Nor'Easter in August. ":

And thank's again for the CD-2,Mickey.!!!
it.!!!