When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
@tfischer, not sure how the place of purchase of car cleaning products is going to matter. I just linked everyone to the site because it seemed like a good bundle for the price. If I had known about places like autogeek in the first place I probably would have still bought chemical guys prodcuts from them just because the product reviews themselves are pretty decent, although the company is not all that popular. Either way though, lets see how this works out!
@tfischer, not sure how the place of purchase of car cleaning products is going to matter. I just linked everyone to the site because it seemed like a good bundle for the price. If I had known about places like autogeek in the first place I probably would have still bought chemical guys prodcuts from them just because the product reviews themselves are pretty decent, although the company is not all that popular. Either way though, lets see how this works out!
I agree.. Regardless if it's a product from Chemical Guys, Opti-Coat, Collinite etc. it will work the same regardless of where it is purchased.
Costo is a great place, but it tends not to carry high-end products. Not all microfiber towels are made equal. Many retailers buy them from specialists like PakShak (located in Hawaii, with an excellent web page). Highly recommended. Costco and Sams sell microfiber towels in large packages and at very low prices, and I have bought those, but I don't use them on paint (because of the stitching and the hems), only on wheels and inside the engine compartment, etc. I'm sure the buckets carried by Costco and Sams are fine, as the only criterion there is that they hold water. Speaking of towels, there is nothing like a "Waffle Weave" microfiber towel for drying off the car - these towels absorb an enormous amount of water, don't scratch, and leave no streak marks. You really ought to have one or two of these. Autopia, etc, will also tell you how to clean them. There is special soap available, if yo want to go that far, and never, never, put them in the dryer with one of those softener sheets - they decrease the ability of the towel to absorb moisture. There is so much to learn about a simple thing like washing your car, which used to be so easy.
Hmm interesting, well since I've already bought it ill take my chances with what I get within the Kit, but I understand where you are coming from. I will definitely invest in some more waffle weave towels and I am going to need another bucket as this kit only comes with one. Autopia it is.
The best bucket to use for washing a car is a bucket with two compartments: put soap and water in one side, and clear water in the other side for rinsing - this keeps the dirty stuff from mixing with the clean soapy water. I use one of these, and these buckets are not hard to find at places like Lowe's or Home Depot, where they are less expensive than the ones sold by auto specialty places. I use a bucket like that. The real pros add a small grate to the bottom of the rinse water side to allow the particles to fall to the bottom and not get picked up when you go in for the next rinse - I have not gone to this extreme yet, but I understand the theory. I also understand that you have to draw the line someplace.
Hmm interesting, well since I've already bought it ill take my chances with what I get within the Kit, but I understand where you are coming from. I will definitely invest in some more waffle weave towels and I am going to need another bucket as this kit only comes with one. Autopia it is.
-Zain
Chemical Guys products are not your typical lower end OTC products, so I am sure you'll be happy when you get the kit.
I agree with tfischer in that Autopia is a good source of information, I've been reading their forums for years and enjoy them. However, so you're aware, a lot of the same products you can buy on Autopia or Autogeek you can find at other online retailers usually for less money..
JT4, good point..
I only use Autopia for waxes that are not readily available at retail or local auto parts, a good example are the Pinnacle Line of products. I do use Pinnacle Souvern Wax (once a year) and its not available anywhere locally in Chicago, Ill., but very expensive.
Nothing wrong with using Dawn soap as long as you're topping the paint with some sort of protectant afterwards. 10-15 years ago, using dishwashing soap was not out of the ordinary. I use Dawn as my choice of soap before polishing the paint.
GSteg,
I too wax immediatley after wash.
I hate to read like a broken record, but all of you out there prior to washing your car with "Car Shampoo" READ THE LABEL!
Did I mention, alkalides, sulfides, alchohol? I'm not going to wash my car with these in the soap. I was hesitant at first to use Dawn, but after
using it on my last three cars (8 years later), I would use no other soap. Dawn will not remove Zaino products as this is all I use, but it will remove all other carnuba
waxes such as Pinnacle Souvern Wax as I have discovered for myself.
Chiming in on your original post...Chemical guys products are great. I highly recommend detailing your car immediately after getting it. Even when I got it Brand new from Lexus it wasn't as good as it could be. Also, I get a lot of snow so I like to seal it every year to protect from salt/chemicals etc......if you do wash your car 'the right way' you will not not have to keep polishing or cutting into the paint year after year when you detail either so just using products isn't everything...the technique is important. This was my product list and it is similar to yours:
Chemical Guys Diablo Wheel Gel
Chemical Guys Wheel Guard
Chemical Guys Barebones
Chemical Guys Bug and Tar
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash
Chemical Guys White Light
Chemical Guys Jetseal
Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax
Chemical Guys G6 Hypercoat
Nano Skin Clay Mit
I've been doing some more research on their products as well, and although they may be a little overpriced, even independent reviewers on youtube have great things to say. I am very excited to try the butter wet wax specifically. Kit just came in today, I will see if I have enough daylight left by the time I get home to get the car washed today. If not ill have pictures and a review of the kit up sometime this weekend or early next week. It just rained here in Dallas yesterday and my car looks filthy, so I should have a pretty good idea of how well these products work.
overall given that this was the first time washing and waxing my car on my own, I thought it went pretty well and I was a lot more satisfied with the results than I ever have been at a machine wash. I'm addicted to keeping my car shiny and looking new at this point. Here are some pictures of the kit and results. sorry, uploading from my phone so I cant really chose any specific order here, but the results from the foam gun can been seen in the last picture. It has a 0-6 setting (0 releasing the most foam) I have it set to about 3 as the soap tends to run out fairly quickly at a lower setting. I did try it on 0 to begin with though and it was suds heaven.
I am not familiar with wax products, having used Zaino and now Opticoat for the past 16 years or so, but I looked up this Chemical Guys stuff, and it does seem to be highly regarded. As for washing, I would certainly use one of their auto wash products rather than a dish detergent (who wants to wax the car again after every wash?). For car wash soap, I have always used the Zaino soap when I had Zaino on my SC, and I now use the opticoat wash for my RC with Opticoat (not a polymer, like Zaino, which lasts for months, but a ceramic, which lasts for years). I had this applied when I got my RC about 19 months ago, and it still beads water like new, and the shine remains deep and bright. All I've done since owning the car is wash it when it needs it. I understand that there are even newer and perhaps better ceramic coatings than the Opticoat I used (back in November 1915 - now there is also C-Quartz and Gtechniq, which I would investigate for a new car). Maybe I would not put this on a Cobalt, but I would certainly put it on a new Lexus.
10-20-16, 05:20 AM
