Preferred brands for self-washing?
 

You can go to Adam's polish website for a lot of informing vids. on how to properly wash your car. You can't go wrong with "his how" to vids.

Junkman2000!! What a great dude to watch. When I first started getting into detailing my own vehicles, I was researching every day and came upon his videos.

This statement about using the right products and techniques, is just about the most simple and accurate answer you can get.

RY460 - Research your vehicle's paint type, interior material, what works with it, and maintain a discipline in how you care for it. I am not a fan of chamois, I feel like they "Hold" dirt that can mar my clearcoat. In short, once you have nailed down the proper washing technique, and have applied a good coat of protection (coating, sealant, waxes, etc), you should be able to dry a car with a leaf blower, instead of having to run a drying towel all over the paint. This is my personal opinion, others may not agree.

now that you've made the decision to detail your car personally, you've just opened a door to a whole new world. This forum alone, without mentions of specific detailing forums, have more than enough info. How much time do you plan on allocating for a detailing session. Are you planning on just doing the basic wash? Or are you wanting to do some waxing, sealing, coating, etc? Any deep cleaning of interior? Do you want to do paint correction? Is there a budget? How OCD are you? All these factors play a role in determining your strategy.

My GS was CAKED in bugs after driving through WA State a couple years back, so I bought some Poorboy's Bug Squash, let it soak on the car for a few, then did a quick scrub. Everything came off pretty easily. Definitely recommended for bug removal, as well as a pre-soak.

This is what I use:

Wash Mitt: Adam's wash pad, but I'm looking to try the DI reThickulous wool wash mitt next. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/aut...wash-mitt.html
Drying towels: Griot's PFM towel - This towel comes with a bit of sticker shock, but easily the best drying towel I've ever used. I ended up buying 1 towel for every car.
Soap: Optimum car wash soap (my go to cheap soap), Pinnacle Body wash shampoo (best smelling soap), Carpro Reset (my favorite at the moment)

Larry from Ammo NYC is a great resource on Youtube as well. You might want to check out the Optimum Polymer stuff as well along with "The Rag Company" towels. Lots of selection.

Could go on forever for you on this topic Ry - but searching thru the Threads often delivers a lot of helpful info. For instance, I just now stumbled onto these "Ammo NYC" Products on my AutoGeek Forum - very interested in what this stuff does.(Anyone willing to give some Pro's and Con's for us? When I DO go with Waterless / Rinseless Washes - I use ONR. I mean where else can you Wash, Clay, and Wax a car all at the very same time!! ( I soak like 6 quality Microfiber Towels in bucket and use them for each panel, not that red sponge.

Wash, Clay, Wax at once

Not to tout myself as a Pro- but there are some good alternatives inside these Threads. Its a therapeutic exercise for me to Detail my RCF. Ive acquired just about every product imaginable, and have my Go-To-Brands pretty nailed down. IMHO- ONR has the market cornered on most Waterless stuff. Hope you can find some help within-
Products & Source

Full PPF & Ceramic Coat

Hope something in this blubbering mess helped you out? ;)

You do realize that you have gone down a rabbit hole from which there is no way out? :D You have lots of great choices. But remember, it's just soap, waxes, and polymer coatings. Most of all, price is a function of marketing, not quality. Lots of great advice and tutorials on the link I'm posting here. I really like this guy. Seems more real than lots of those YouTubers who are just product shills. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVl...QbHMmKdVWTleaQ