Here is something I put together to get me started, I could use some help with products for correction, polish, wax. Also if you notice any redundancies, or must haves that I may have missed. Any help would be appreciated.
Meh, wouldn't get Grime Reaper, OPT already is plenty. So far so good, unsure on the Griots dressing.
Ditch the Grime Reaper and stick with Power Clean. Get the gallon size if you can so you can dilute down for other various uses. It's the best APC/Degreaser out there, that's what i use! Optimum makes and Opti bond tire dressing thats good as well. I haven't heard much about Griots garage's dressing. Chemical guys window clean. Ehhh It's alright, pretty much anything works well depending on the technique. Sealants that are good: Menzerna Powerlock, CG Jet Seal 109, Opti Seal, Blackfire Wet Diamond, Wolfs Body Wrap Polishes: M105/M205 Menzerna 106FA, 203S and Super intensive And your good to go!
I use the Opti-Bond tire gel and really like it so far. Pretty quick and easy to apply, and also works great on unpainted plastic on the rest of the car such as mirror covers and mud flaps.
I'll pretty much echo what other posters here have said with a few opinions of my own added: Buy a gallon of Optimum Power Clean* and forget about Grime Reaper. Buy Optimum Opti Bond or Duragloss 253 instead of the Griot's tire product. Buy Optimum Car Wash or Duragloss 901/902 rather than CG Citrus Wash and Gloss. If you need more gloss pick up something like Prima Hydro or Prima Slick for use immediately post wash. At 30% off I'd buy more Riccardo Yellow, at least a pound. The smaller size EZ Detail brush is useful tool, the larger one not so much. In any event you'll also need a stiffer brush for tires, wheel wells, the backs of wheels, etc. Sealants: Wolf's Body Wrap, Blackfire Wet Diamond, Menzerna Powerlock or Duragloss 105 are all good. If you want to use a wax or hybrid wax instead of a sealant get Collinite 845 or 476s. * There is an improved version of OPC coming out imminently. The original works fine but you should be able to get a significant discount on it.
Why 3 products to clean windows? I like the Stoners one that you can get at Costco as a 4 pack. As for polishes/compounds, if you do not have a machine, dont get them yet. M105/205 should be a good choice if you have a couple of pads! A really good wax for our canadian winters: two coats of Coli 845 will give you protection and some nice gloss to. Make a trip to home depot and check out the Zep line. Citrus, Degreaser and cleaner (aka Purple), APC and Premium Carpet Cleaner. Around 10$ for a jug and it's from concentrate, goes a long way! I'd suggest adding some 303 Protectant or 1Z Cockpit.to the list. Take either the cookie monster of the el cheapo for your buffing, I got a buttload of the cookie monster and they're pretty good and super plush! But if you have a few extra bucks, the Cobra junior 600 is OMGBBQSAUCE! For any dirtier jobs, go to canadian tire and cheap the cheapest one you can find lol!
This is some good info! I really appreciate the help guys. Reading through the forum in search of products to start with was getting a little overwhelming. I know I'll be able to make a good purchase now. Thanks again.
Here's my updated list. I have some Stoners glass cleaner already, also have some tire brushes that I can use, everything else has been refined from the suggestions. I also have a new never used, PC 7428 polisher. Is this something I can work with or is it too old to bother with?
Stoners FTW.......... Someone mentioned Jetseal, sadly I was not impressed with jetseal one bit. Looks great initially but did not last. Menzerna Powerlock is all you need, looks great on anything including Carbon Fiber and lasts alot longer. just tried Opti-bond myself, I've been a big user of CG VRT as well as Megs endurance tireshine when I do SUVs.... lets just put it this way, I will not be restocking my VRT, I really like the Opti-bond. As for megs endurance, it is a good beater tire dressing and I recommend having it around. If you want a good recommendation for a cost effective and a very good interior dressing, Meguiars Interior cleaner http://www.detailersdomain.com/Meguiars-Quick-Interior-Cleaner-D14901_p_584.html I have found that it does a very good job cleaning interiors and leaves the surface very natural looking, again just some extra ideas. good choices all in all.
I think you should add Optimum No Rinse back to your shopping list, at least in the 32 oz size. It is an extremely versatile product, you can use it as a clay lube, a quick detailer or a low water use rinse-less wash (may come in handy in Ontario winters unless you have a heated garage with a floor drain) depending on the dilution. I always keep both ONR and the regular Optimum Car Wash around. I don't think either one completely supplants the other. Collinite 845 is great but not without its quirks. For one thing 845 contains a fairly significant amount of solvents and it doesn't always play well with other last stage products. Personally, I'm not a big believer in layering different LSPs but many other people vehemently disagree. It also benefits from warming it and shaking it to get it well mixed before use but make sure the cap is on tight and keep your hand or a thumb over the cap while shaking the bottle. Also, keep it away from plastic or rubber trim. The question of which pads and compounds/polishes to use is an area of strongly held preferences. I'm not convinced that M105 and M205 are the ideal products for you but I'll yield to the many more experienced detailers here. I think you will find some advocates for Meguiar's D300 (the DA microfiber system compound) and/or the Menzerna products rather than M105/M205. Unless you have a fleet of cars or are starting a business 32 oz. containers of compound and polish are way more than you are likely to use in the next two or three years.
