DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
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This thread is intended to be a quick reference guide for the detailing products that I grab most often. The products in each category have been tested and trialed against several others, which might save you money by skipping the hit-and-miss dance that I'm constantly playing in attempt to find the best of the best.
I will try to keep each product listing brief to make it quick and easy to reference, however I’m happy to expand where needed. I will also try to put the categories in usage groups, as in wheels and tires, decontamination, paint protection ect. Some categories have two or maybe three options, this means I can’t definitively choose one over the other. By no means is this a be all and end all list, in fact it may even be fluid as I continue try new or different products. Hopefully I will be able to update this when something changes.
CHEMICALS –
You will notice a few common brands here, and for good reason. They work, and they work well!
Tire Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster, at full strength (For regular use)
Shine Supply Wise Guy (Stronger for heavy duty cleaning)
Stoner's Tarminator (For occasional use or when preparing brand new tires)
Wheel Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster (Dilute or foam for regular use)
NV Purge (Iron removing ability, safe for regular use)
Wheel Protection –
Armour Detail Supply High Temp Wheel Coating (Long term)
Gyeon Wet Coat (Short term)
Tire Dressing –
Obsessed Garage Tire Dressing (Satin Finish)
Adam's Graphene Tire Dressing (Semi-gloss)
Armour Detail Supply Tire+ (Satin to gloss finish)
Rinse-less / Water-less Wash –
Optimum No Rinse (ONR)
P&S Absolute
Armour Detail Supply Hero
Water-less Wash -
Carpro ECH2o (Can be used as a rinse-less, best used as a water-less)
Wash Soap –
Carpro Reset
Koch Chemie GSF
Shine Supply Shift
All suitable for ceramic coatings or otherwise. All pH neutral. All can be used in a bucket wash or foam cannon.
Decontamination Soap –
Bilt Hamber Touch-less (Great for removal of heavy road film/bugs/dirt prior to contact wash)
Carpro Descale (Acidic, great for water-spots)
Carpro Lift (Alkaline)
Iron Decontamination –
Gyeon Iron
NV Purify
Tar & Adhesive Remover –
Carpro TarX
Koch Chemie Eulex (The sledgehammer, use with caution)
Bug Remover –
Carpro Bug Out
Water Spot Remover –
Gyeon Water Spot Remover
Drying Aid –
Armour Detail Supply Amplify (Best by a significant margin)
P&S Bead Maker (The gloss and slickness master)
Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer (A Suprise value winner)
Quick Detailer / Clay Lubricant –
Gyeon Clay Lube (Dilutable)
P&S Paint Gloss (Can also be a drying aid)
Glass Cleaner –
Stoners Invisible Glass
Glass Sealant –
Gyeon Q2 Quick View
Glass Polish –
P&S Clarity Creme with Lake Country HDO Blue Pad (Light/Medium Duty)
Carpro CeriGlass with Carpro Glass Pad (Heavy Duty)
Heavy Cut Polish –
Rupes DA Coarse
One-Step Polish –
Sonax Perfect Finish
Light / Finishing Polish –
Carpro Reflect (Very light finishing polish)
Rupes DA Fine (Finishing to moderate polishing)
Metal Polish (Exhaust tips) –
P21S Polishing Soap
Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish
Panel Prep / IPA Wipe –
Carpro Eraser
Rupes Reveal Strong (Heavy Duty)
Wax –
Collinite 845
Sealant –
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Ceramic Spray Sealant –
Armour Detail Supply Ceramic Spray Sealant (6-months)
Koch Chemie S0.02 (3-months)
Ceramic Coating –
Armour Detail Supply Quartz (3+ years)
Gyeon Can Coat EVO (1+ year)
Exterior Trim Protectant / Restorer –
Carpro DLUX (Long term)
303 Protectant (Short term)
Solution Finish (For heavily faded trim)
Engine Bay Dressing –
Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing (5:1 for natural finish)
All Purpose Cleaner (Engines, Heavy Interior Cleaning, Degreasing) –
Koch Chemie GS Green Star (Dilutable to suit needs)
Rubber Floor Mat Care -
McKee's 37 Floor Mat & Cargo Liner Rejuvenator (Cleaner)
P&S Swift (Non-slip dressing)
All-round Interior Cleaner –
P&S Xpress
Interior Quick Detailer (Mild cleaning/dusting) -
Armour Detail Supply Pilot (Best by some margin)
Optimum No Rinse
P&S Swift
Leather Cleaner –
Colour Lock Mild or Strong Leather Cleaner
P&S Express can also be used
Leather Protectant –
Colour Lock Leather Shield (for leather up to 3 years old)
Leather Protector (3 years and older)
Fabric Cleaner (Carpet, Alcantara, Cloth) –
Koch Chemie PO Pol Star (Dilutable).
Interior Dressing –
Koch Chemie TS Top Star
Interior Scent –
Angelwax Eden or Angelwax Bliss
MICROFIBER TOWELS –
Apart from a few odd bods, my microfiber collection is all from The Rag Company. To save writing The Rag Company several times, I will simply refer to them by their product names. You will notice a lot of duplication here, with color used to differentiate towels into usages. I probably have a lot of unnecessary categories here, so pick and choose what applies to your needs.
Microfiber Cleaner / Detergent –
P&S Rags To Riches (Best by some margin)
Wash Mitt / Pad -
Cyclone Ultra 6” x 8” (Available in mitt or pad)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Bug Sponge –
Jersey Bug Scrubber
QTY : 1, I have 2
Water-less / Rinse-less Washing –
Eagle Edgeless 500 16” x 16”
QTY – At least 10, I have 15
Drying Towel / Drying Aid Towel –
Larger Drying Towel –
The Gauntlet 15” x 24”
QTY : 1 per car, I have 4
Smaller Drying Towel –
Microfiber Madness Chipmunk Jr.
QTY : At least 1 per car, I have 4
Door Jamb Drying Towel –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Pale Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Glass Towels –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Dark Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Ceramic Coating Removal/Leveling Towel –
Edgeless Pearl 16” x 16” (Orange and Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
(These towels are single use, they need to be binned or demoted once used for this task)
Polish/Wax/Sealant Removal Towels –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
Multi-Purpose Towels (Dirty jobs, tires, wheel arches, bench cleaning) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 10
Wheel Towel -
The Gauntlet 12” x 12”
QTY : 2 per car, I have 6
Engine Bay Towel -
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Red)
QTY : At least 4, I have 10
Interior Towel (General interior cleaning, dressing ect) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Dark Green)
QTY : At least 6, I have 10
Interior Towel (Delicate surfaces) –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Green)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
Applicator Sponges (For applying sealants, coatings, dressings ect on interior and exterior surfaces) –
Pearl Applicator Sponge (Orange)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Eagle Applicator Sponge (Blue)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
TOOLS / BRUSHES -
These listings are more complex, a lot will be subjective.
Buckets –
To be brutally honest, a bucket is a bucket, although there are a few specifics. You need one for wheels, two for washing. All will have a grit guard and a gamma seal lid. I also use rolling bucket dollies. Buckets should ideally be 15 liters / 4 Gallons or bigger for sufficient water volume.
Tire Brush –
Detail Factory Tire Scrub Brush (The best by a large margin)
Tire Applicator –
Maxshine Hydro-Tech / Speed Master Tire Applicator
Detail Factory Curveball Brush (For medium to high profile tires)
Detail Factory Screwball Brush (For low profile tires)
Wheel Cleaning Brushes/Mitts –
Microfiber Madness Incredibrush Flat
EZ-Detail Brush Large (For where Incredibrush won’t fit)
EZ-Detail Brush GO (For wheel arches)
TRC Ultra Wheel Mitt or Ultra Wool Mitt (For wheel faces and back of spokes)
Lug Nut Brush – Detail Factory Ultra Soft Synthetic (Long handle)
Interior Brushes –
Detail Factory Boars Hair Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Detail Factory Ultra Soft Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Lily Brush (Pet hair)
Detail Factory Progrip Interior Brush (Carpet)
Colour Lock Leather Cleaning Brush (Firm bristles)
Wheel Woolies 5-Piece Brush Set (Good for intricate work such as pedal cleaning)
Bottles and Sprayers –
Kwazar Mercury Super 360 Pro 500ml (There is a larger size, 500ml is nicer to use)
Kwazar NIX (For heavy duty chemicals like strong APC or Tar Remover)
Carpro Dilute (Makes dilution ratios easy)
Chemical Guys / Adam’s EZ-Fill Funnel (Screw on funnel)
Measuring Container
Lighting –
Scangrip iMatch 2 (Headlamp)
Scangrip SunMatch 3
Scangrip MultiMatch R
Clay Bar/Mitt/Block –
To be honest, all do a similar job. Just make sure to choose one for the level of decontamination you are dealing with, always use the least aggressive first to avoid unnecessary marring. Keep in mind a traditional clay bar will be more effective, a clay mitt/sponge/towel will be less aggressive. At the moment, I'm liking the TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber.
Miscellaneous –
Big Boi Blower PRO 4 (Blow dryer)
Stoner Reach and Clean Tool (For easy windscreen cleaning, especially rear windshield on a Mustang)
Tornador Basic (Blowing out pads or cleaning engine bays)
Detail Guardz Wheel Guides (Prevents hoses snagging on tyres)
Fur-eel Vacuum Attachment (Helps lift pet hair)
Maxshine Detailing Cart (Don’t lock in a brand for this, but you will need one)
Karcher WD6 Premium Vacuum with Obsessed Garage Accessory Kit (Shop Vac)
Milwaukee M18 Compact Vacuum (Quick clean ups)
Pressure Washing –
This category is very complex, I will list what I use but this is not really universal and needs to matched to your specific pressure washer. Happy to advice if required.
Kranzle KHD-10/122 Pressure Washer
Cox Reel
MTM CobraJet Hose (Blue)
Mosmatic OG Spec Spray Gun
Mosmatic OG Spec Wand
Mosmatic OG Spec Rubber Tipped Nozzles (25deg and 40 deg)
MTM PF22.2 Foam Cannon
MTM Foam Cannon spare bottles
Paint Correction –
Again, a complex subject that should be matched to the sort of polishing you expect to do. Scale up or down depending on budget and expected use. For polishing pads, I use Shine Mate or Rupes in appropriate sizes and grades.
Rupes Claw Pad Tool (For pad priming and cleaning)
Carpro Masking Tape (Various sizes)
Rupes Apron (Just good to have)
Door Jamb Prop Bar
Rupes iBrid Nano Kit (Long neck) (1 inch / 2 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Rupes LHR75 Pneumatic (3 inch machine)
Shine Mate EB351-3/12 Cordless Polisher (3 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Shine Mate EB351-5/15 Cordless Polisher (5 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Rupes HLR-15 Cordless Polisher (5 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
That list is only scratching the surface of what I use overall but, as mentioned, these are the products and tools I like to use the most or find easiest to use. Hopefully this makes shopping a bit easier, most of those product listings can be Google searched to find your preferred retailer.
I will try to keep each product listing brief to make it quick and easy to reference, however I’m happy to expand where needed. I will also try to put the categories in usage groups, as in wheels and tires, decontamination, paint protection ect. Some categories have two or maybe three options, this means I can’t definitively choose one over the other. By no means is this a be all and end all list, in fact it may even be fluid as I continue try new or different products. Hopefully I will be able to update this when something changes.
CHEMICALS –
You will notice a few common brands here, and for good reason. They work, and they work well!
Tire Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster, at full strength (For regular use)
Shine Supply Wise Guy (Stronger for heavy duty cleaning)
Stoner's Tarminator (For occasional use or when preparing brand new tires)
Wheel Cleaner –
P&S Brake Buster (Dilute or foam for regular use)
NV Purge (Iron removing ability, safe for regular use)
Wheel Protection –
Armour Detail Supply High Temp Wheel Coating (Long term)
Gyeon Wet Coat (Short term)
Tire Dressing –
Obsessed Garage Tire Dressing (Satin Finish)
Adam's Graphene Tire Dressing (Semi-gloss)
Armour Detail Supply Tire+ (Satin to gloss finish)
Rinse-less / Water-less Wash –
Optimum No Rinse (ONR)
P&S Absolute
Armour Detail Supply Hero
Water-less Wash -
Carpro ECH2o (Can be used as a rinse-less, best used as a water-less)
Wash Soap –
Carpro Reset
Koch Chemie GSF
Shine Supply Shift
All suitable for ceramic coatings or otherwise. All pH neutral. All can be used in a bucket wash or foam cannon.
Decontamination Soap –
Bilt Hamber Touch-less (Great for removal of heavy road film/bugs/dirt prior to contact wash)
Carpro Descale (Acidic, great for water-spots)
Carpro Lift (Alkaline)
Iron Decontamination –
Gyeon Iron
NV Purify
Tar & Adhesive Remover –
Carpro TarX
Koch Chemie Eulex (The sledgehammer, use with caution)
Bug Remover –
Carpro Bug Out
Water Spot Remover –
Gyeon Water Spot Remover
Drying Aid –
Armour Detail Supply Amplify (Best by a significant margin)
P&S Bead Maker (The gloss and slickness master)
Meguiar's Hybrid Ceramic Detailer (A Suprise value winner)
Quick Detailer / Clay Lubricant –
Gyeon Clay Lube (Dilutable)
P&S Paint Gloss (Can also be a drying aid)
Glass Cleaner –
Stoners Invisible Glass
Glass Sealant –
Gyeon Q2 Quick View
Glass Polish –
P&S Clarity Creme with Lake Country HDO Blue Pad (Light/Medium Duty)
Carpro CeriGlass with Carpro Glass Pad (Heavy Duty)
Heavy Cut Polish –
Rupes DA Coarse
One-Step Polish –
Sonax Perfect Finish
Light / Finishing Polish –
Carpro Reflect (Very light finishing polish)
Rupes DA Fine (Finishing to moderate polishing)
Metal Polish (Exhaust tips) –
P21S Polishing Soap
Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish
Panel Prep / IPA Wipe –
Carpro Eraser
Rupes Reveal Strong (Heavy Duty)
Wax –
Collinite 845
Sealant –
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Ceramic Spray Sealant –
Armour Detail Supply Ceramic Spray Sealant (6-months)
Koch Chemie S0.02 (3-months)
Ceramic Coating –
Armour Detail Supply Quartz (3+ years)
Gyeon Can Coat EVO (1+ year)
Exterior Trim Protectant / Restorer –
Carpro DLUX (Long term)
303 Protectant (Short term)
Solution Finish (For heavily faded trim)
Engine Bay Dressing –
Meguiar’s Hyper Dressing (5:1 for natural finish)
All Purpose Cleaner (Engines, Heavy Interior Cleaning, Degreasing) –
Koch Chemie GS Green Star (Dilutable to suit needs)
Rubber Floor Mat Care -
McKee's 37 Floor Mat & Cargo Liner Rejuvenator (Cleaner)
P&S Swift (Non-slip dressing)
All-round Interior Cleaner –
P&S Xpress
Interior Quick Detailer (Mild cleaning/dusting) -
Armour Detail Supply Pilot (Best by some margin)
Optimum No Rinse
P&S Swift
Leather Cleaner –
Colour Lock Mild or Strong Leather Cleaner
P&S Express can also be used
Leather Protectant –
Colour Lock Leather Shield (for leather up to 3 years old)
Leather Protector (3 years and older)
Fabric Cleaner (Carpet, Alcantara, Cloth) –
Koch Chemie PO Pol Star (Dilutable).
Interior Dressing –
Koch Chemie TS Top Star
Interior Scent –
Angelwax Eden or Angelwax Bliss
MICROFIBER TOWELS –
Apart from a few odd bods, my microfiber collection is all from The Rag Company. To save writing The Rag Company several times, I will simply refer to them by their product names. You will notice a lot of duplication here, with color used to differentiate towels into usages. I probably have a lot of unnecessary categories here, so pick and choose what applies to your needs.
Microfiber Cleaner / Detergent –
P&S Rags To Riches (Best by some margin)
Wash Mitt / Pad -
Cyclone Ultra 6” x 8” (Available in mitt or pad)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Bug Sponge –
Jersey Bug Scrubber
QTY : 1, I have 2
Water-less / Rinse-less Washing –
Eagle Edgeless 500 16” x 16”
QTY – At least 10, I have 15
Drying Towel / Drying Aid Towel –
Larger Drying Towel –
The Gauntlet 15” x 24”
QTY : 1 per car, I have 4
Smaller Drying Towel –
Microfiber Madness Chipmunk Jr.
QTY : At least 1 per car, I have 4
Door Jamb Drying Towel –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Pale Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Glass Towels –
Dry-Me-A-River Jr. 16” x 24” (Dark Blue)
QTY : At least 2 per car, I have 6
Ceramic Coating Removal/Leveling Towel –
Edgeless Pearl 16” x 16” (Orange and Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
(These towels are single use, they need to be binned or demoted once used for this task)
Polish/Wax/Sealant Removal Towels –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 15
Multi-Purpose Towels (Dirty jobs, tires, wheel arches, bench cleaning) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Grey)
QTY : At least 10, I have 10
Wheel Towel -
The Gauntlet 12” x 12”
QTY : 2 per car, I have 6
Engine Bay Towel -
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Red)
QTY : At least 4, I have 10
Interior Towel (General interior cleaning, dressing ect) –
The Car Wash Terry 41” x 69” (Dark Green)
QTY : At least 6, I have 10
Interior Towel (Delicate surfaces) –
Creature Edgeless 16” x 16” (Green)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
Applicator Sponges (For applying sealants, coatings, dressings ect on interior and exterior surfaces) –
Pearl Applicator Sponge (Orange)
QTY : At least 2, I have 6
Eagle Applicator Sponge (Blue)
QTY : At least 2, I have 4
TOOLS / BRUSHES -
These listings are more complex, a lot will be subjective.
Buckets –
To be brutally honest, a bucket is a bucket, although there are a few specifics. You need one for wheels, two for washing. All will have a grit guard and a gamma seal lid. I also use rolling bucket dollies. Buckets should ideally be 15 liters / 4 Gallons or bigger for sufficient water volume.
Tire Brush –
Detail Factory Tire Scrub Brush (The best by a large margin)
Tire Applicator –
Maxshine Hydro-Tech / Speed Master Tire Applicator
Detail Factory Curveball Brush (For medium to high profile tires)
Detail Factory Screwball Brush (For low profile tires)
Wheel Cleaning Brushes/Mitts –
Microfiber Madness Incredibrush Flat
EZ-Detail Brush Large (For where Incredibrush won’t fit)
EZ-Detail Brush GO (For wheel arches)
TRC Ultra Wheel Mitt or Ultra Wool Mitt (For wheel faces and back of spokes)
Lug Nut Brush – Detail Factory Ultra Soft Synthetic (Long handle)
Interior Brushes –
Detail Factory Boars Hair Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Detail Factory Ultra Soft Brush (Long handle) (Also suitable for exterior surfaces)
Lily Brush (Pet hair)
Detail Factory Progrip Interior Brush (Carpet)
Colour Lock Leather Cleaning Brush (Firm bristles)
Wheel Woolies 5-Piece Brush Set (Good for intricate work such as pedal cleaning)
Bottles and Sprayers –
Kwazar Mercury Super 360 Pro 500ml (There is a larger size, 500ml is nicer to use)
Kwazar NIX (For heavy duty chemicals like strong APC or Tar Remover)
Carpro Dilute (Makes dilution ratios easy)
Chemical Guys / Adam’s EZ-Fill Funnel (Screw on funnel)
Measuring Container
Lighting –
Scangrip iMatch 2 (Headlamp)
Scangrip SunMatch 3
Scangrip MultiMatch R
Clay Bar/Mitt/Block –
To be honest, all do a similar job. Just make sure to choose one for the level of decontamination you are dealing with, always use the least aggressive first to avoid unnecessary marring. Keep in mind a traditional clay bar will be more effective, a clay mitt/sponge/towel will be less aggressive. At the moment, I'm liking the TRC Ultra Clay Scrubber.
Miscellaneous –
Big Boi Blower PRO 4 (Blow dryer)
Stoner Reach and Clean Tool (For easy windscreen cleaning, especially rear windshield on a Mustang)
Tornador Basic (Blowing out pads or cleaning engine bays)
Detail Guardz Wheel Guides (Prevents hoses snagging on tyres)
Fur-eel Vacuum Attachment (Helps lift pet hair)
Maxshine Detailing Cart (Don’t lock in a brand for this, but you will need one)
Karcher WD6 Premium Vacuum with Obsessed Garage Accessory Kit (Shop Vac)
Milwaukee M18 Compact Vacuum (Quick clean ups)
Pressure Washing –
This category is very complex, I will list what I use but this is not really universal and needs to matched to your specific pressure washer. Happy to advice if required.
Kranzle KHD-10/122 Pressure Washer
Cox Reel
MTM CobraJet Hose (Blue)
Mosmatic OG Spec Spray Gun
Mosmatic OG Spec Wand
Mosmatic OG Spec Rubber Tipped Nozzles (25deg and 40 deg)
MTM PF22.2 Foam Cannon
MTM Foam Cannon spare bottles
Paint Correction –
Again, a complex subject that should be matched to the sort of polishing you expect to do. Scale up or down depending on budget and expected use. For polishing pads, I use Shine Mate or Rupes in appropriate sizes and grades.
Rupes Claw Pad Tool (For pad priming and cleaning)
Carpro Masking Tape (Various sizes)
Rupes Apron (Just good to have)
Door Jamb Prop Bar
Rupes iBrid Nano Kit (Long neck) (1 inch / 2 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Rupes LHR75 Pneumatic (3 inch machine)
Shine Mate EB351-3/12 Cordless Polisher (3 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Shine Mate EB351-5/15 Cordless Polisher (5 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
Rupes HLR-15 Cordless Polisher (5 inch machine) (With 2 batteries)
That list is only scratching the surface of what I use overall but, as mentioned, these are the products and tools I like to use the most or find easiest to use. Hopefully this makes shopping a bit easier, most of those product listings can be Google searched to find your preferred retailer.
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