Hey now. Respect the garage crocs, I have a blue pair

 

That"s why I come here to see what ya'll are using.
Only because I'm a sucker for snake oil in a fancy can. Lol

At least here I can see feedback from real users of the products.

 

Its the wild wild west of products. Upto X number of years, this product sticks to the windows, this product was designed with this new age molecule....

Meanwhile most detailers are buying P&S products by the 5 gallon drum, or superior product purple fury, etc.

Long term I would like to find a one stop product with a bit more foaming potential. ONR was the OG, and I know of some friends who use their rinseless wash product in different dilutions for almost every home car detailing as designed. We need more of that. Make detailing simple so everyone does it, rather then you need multiple products to detail your daily driver weekly or bi monthly.

 

Haha. ,my carwashin' crocs.

Well, professional detailers and detailing for a hobby are different. Detailing professionally you have to think about cost etc, I try new products because its fun. Cleaning my cars with the same products over and over again isn't as fun. I'm not interested in hype or longevity etc but I just like trying new stuff.

ONR is a good example of a product that was great but now is just okay, there are several dramatically better rinseless washes out there today. You can use many products for multiple things, but again whats the fun in that?

 

Fair enough. For me, detailing isn’t a hobby it’s a routine chore I have to fit into a busy schedule so I’m not driving a dirty car or one coated in chemical residues that can damage the paint, and I value solutions that save both time and money. I respect influencers who started as professional detailers and share real techniques and tips to avoid common pitfalls, and I’d like practical instruction on technique, time‑saving methods, and how to minimize mistakes; instead we often get contradictory messaging “don’t use a brush, it scratches” followed by an ad for a new brush that “won’t scratch,” or warnings that micromarring comes from automated washes while those same creators insist you must wash and clay every time to avoid it. Lately those experienced voices seem drowned out by product‑first creators pushing edge‑case solutions and vague claims; the market increasingly looks like the supplement industry, where low barriers let anyone with an ad account promote miracle fixes without independent testing or regulation of any sort. In reality, reputable basics such as quality car shampoo, microfiber towels, polish, and a proven wax or paint sealant typically cost $10–$40 each and a basic kit runs about $50–$150 and will last months to years with normal use, whereas trendy influencer products and proprietary “nanotechnology” coatings often retail for $50–$300+ with limited long‑term data, so claims like “permanent protection” or “lifetime hydrophobicity” should be treated skeptically.

ONR has been good, but with their founders legal and health struggles their lineup has stagnated.

 

Have you looked at DIY Detail's YouTube channel and line of products? I think they would be up your alley.

If you like ONR try that Clean by Pan Rinseless Wash I linked towards the top of the thread. Dramatically better than ONR.

Its really pretty simple, there is no one way that fits all. Are there brushes that won't scratch? Yes. Will most brushes scratch? Yes. Do carwashes mar the paint? Yes. Do you have to clay every time you wash? No. In fact you shouldn't. Will any protection last forever? Of course not. Do some ceramic coatings last longer than others? Yes but the prep that goes into them is the most important factor in longevity. Do ceramic coatings last longer than any wax or sealant? Yes. Can you get 1-3 years out of a properly applied coating to a properly prepped surface with proper washing and maintenance of that coating? Yes. Once you have the basics down, the rest of it is just tools and chemicals to use at each step in the process.

I have found that by and large the "big name" stuff like Meguiars, Turtle Wax, etc etc is far surpassed by higher end/professional detailing products. The measure really isn't in durability its in ease and enjoyment of use and results.

 

I went with the huge prep requirement/ceramic option to reduce my dad to day cleaning effort because I have so many cars. The 5 core fleet members all got full corrections and the best ceramic I could get my hands on so that I never need to touch them 90% of the time to clean them off....I avoid touching to make the coatings last longer because of how long it took to get each car corrected.

Other cars I don't care as much about I just use whatever in the flavor of the month I have acquired for sale or free. Some stuff works better than others but it's always best to clay a car before trying anything as it just allows anything to work better/longer. Two cars I just straight up don't wash myself, they get an automatic wash since I don't really care about the already swirled to hell paint.

 

What is the best ceramic money could buy, and how did they quantify their claims?

 

There is no "best ceramic"...but ceramic coatings that are dedicated to professionals typically last the longest but are more difficult to apply (hence why they sell them only to professionals). Choose a good quality ceramic coating from a reputable brand (CarPro, gTechniq, Modesta, Clean by Pan, DIY, Armour Detail Supply, Yum, Katiba...the list is extensive) and put it on a properly prepped vehicle and you will be fine. Properly prepped means washed, chemically decontaminated, clayed, polished and wiped down with IPA to remove any polishing oils.

BUT, a ceramic coating isn't required. If you wash your car regularly (preferably once a week) and spray it with a spray ceramic sealant once a month your paint will be good to go. I don't use coatings anymore because I'm always using new stuff my paint is always protected.

Really the single best thing you can do to keep up with your car is wash it regularly. I just cleaned the Pacifica up from the trip to WV (it was FILTHY) and I was thinking about this thread, it was so much harder to clean because it had gotten so dirty. Washing it once a week is a breeze.

 

It's an aerospace coat used on planes. I managed to get 2 and half bottles of it and used it on my favorite cars via someone I know.

Outside of that I have found that ceramic pro is very good for the money, I have one car with 3 coats on it to ensure it was totally consistently covered. I also have one with Avalon king and one with Gtechniq and a final car with Adam's.

I got those three for free so figured I might as well use them, the Cpro is easily the hardest coating and on a test panel (I have a random door off a 1988 Chrysler I test things on) it was insanely hard to remove and bound much more aggressively than the others. Gtech has the best beading however but they are all so good on a corrected paint car there is no way to tell what coating is what.


Not this last winter but the one before I intentionally took my daily driver W12 out to test the coating and my tires

Baked on after a week


Usual winter driving result

This is a single pass, foam and rinse only zero contact wash

11 min end to end with foam and blower, like nothing ever happened. Takes more time to go through with a detailing spray and address the glass/rubber than the actual painted surfaces with a ceramic coat

My D4s all have Cpro on them and they have been consistently extremely easy to keep nice. The 4.0 has done 36k miles without need to refresh anything and hasn't picked up and swirls etc, all my cars other than the Lexus live inside though so I'm not sure how outside cars will fare. I also never contact wash unless I absolutely have to do so or it's been long enough I want to reset everything that isn't painted/refresh those areas coatings. The LS460 is using Adam's and I've had to refresh it once just under the two year mark to allow it to maintain ability to be contactless

 

Yeah the process is a bitch, the pro coats also require a fairly tight humidity range to work correctly and I had to get a dehumidifier in my garage at one point to keep the air in that range. It's also hard to get your hands on the pro coatings unless you know someone, I have someone but it's not consistent.

As you said you can absolutely get away with never using a hard coat type product if you wash a car often and add some type of protectant. In my case since I'm already doing a 5 stage.....might as well just put the hard coat on lol!

 

Do you use the aerospace coating on the non-garaged car? That's the litmus test I would start with, as covered/garage saves the paint from most of the harmful chemical reactions that UV initiates.

 

No but I assume it will outperform. That cost will likely last 10+ years if not longer due to use cycle, as mentioned most of my stuff is inside

 

I just got an email from Obsessed Garage about their new wash stations they are selling, good god, talk about sticker shock, $6,500!

https://www.obsessedgarage.com/produ...7AIj_bU.LYEBBJ

I will say they sell some good stuff but a lot of it is overkill for me. I am not that obsessed, I have too many other things going on in my life.

 

It would be interesting to know how many of those they sell. I'm sure there will be some takers but how many?