Underrated products

Like the title says, I want to know what products you use that you feel are underrated or under appreciated in the detailing community. I'll start with a couple of my own.

1. Mother's Showtime Instant Detailer - I love using this product as a clay lube because it's super slick, has a nice trigger sprayer, and is priced excellent (can usually be found for $7.99 at Autozone etc) and it has an awesome cinnamon smell to boot.

2. Meguiar's #40 Vinyl and Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner - I've used 303, Sonus, FK1, and Poorboy's vinyl/rubber treatments and Meguiar's is my go to. Again, can be found for cheap locally (O'Reilly's is where I usually get it) and it does a great job of cleaning and protecting dashboards, doorpanels and tires and it leaves a great "new car" smell inside the car, more so than any "new car" scent I've ever used.

 

1. Stoners glass cleaner. Works great inside and outside for me and can be had on the cheap at walmart and auto stores.

2. poorboys natural look. Cheap for a great dressing! the smell is not my thing but the results it leaves are great. only down side is having to order online

3. Zep citrus. only like $12 a gallon at home depot and works for many difernt uses.

4. Meguiars interior quick detailer. something like $5 at walmart and works great for that price! works almost as well as my 1Z cockpit

 

The Stoner Glass Cleaner! I love that stuff! The Aerosol works great! I bought a 3 Pack at Costco on sale for $7.99!!! That was in April and I am on my 2nd Can !
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Spray Way Glass Cleaner-hands down, best glass cleaner I have ever used 2.38$ at Home Depot

Folex-Carpet Cleaner also @ HD

Duragloss-501,105 and 601

Megs All Wheel and Tire Cleaner- $4.65 @ Walmart, awesome tire and wheel cleaner. Nice foaming action, cleans very well.

 

Stoner 'More shine less time' is a great and easy to apply tire dressing... perfect for hitting large truck tires and the spray pattern is easy to control and keep off rims.

The entire Britemax line is an unsung hero. Their wash soap leaves a fantastic result, and their Speed Shine spray wax is a fantastic and quick spray on protection that beads and lasts. When you use Britemax products, you actually can tell the difference in the results you get. Their 'Grime Out' cleans off my KTM after a long day of getting pounded through mud and sand... I could change off the clutch cover and sell the bike as a 1-ride bike. Metal Twins are also a go-to.

Wax-tec is an up and comer for me as well, really like the results I've been getting from their full line.

 

I can agree with you guys on the Stoner Glass Cleaner and Spray way glass cleaner, both are great cleaners with a nice foaming action. I still use these with newspaper to clean my windows, I've yet to find something better.

Any particular stand outs from the Wax-tec line, hostage? Also, where are you getting it, i see it's from the UK.

 

1. LA's Totally Awesome: $1 for 16oz. Great degreaser / APC for nasty
dirty stuff. Good to clean pads and tires.

2. Optimum Polishes: work great and are cheap. Good SMAT polishes. Don't get a lot of respect for some reason.

3. Sonax Gloss Enhancing Shampoo: never hear about it, great shampoo. I like it.

4. CR Spotless: don't know if its "underrated", and yes the resin is expensive. However, if you have to wash in the sun its a real game changer. You can just literally let your black car back dry in the noon sun with no spots. I love it.

5. MicroFiber Tech towels: as good as the towels anywhere else, half the price.

6. Polishin' Pal: really makes such a difference when applying waxes and sealants by hand over the foam discs. Its a drastic improvement and your hands stay away from the paint.

7. Magna Sponge / Chemical Guys Clay Block: works great as a clay alternative. Very cheap. Doesn't mar paint for me.

8. Duragloss APC: great APC, pretty cheap. Dilutes 10 or 20:1. Never hear of anyone using it.

9. Wolfgang Fuzion: people always say this wax is a rip off, but it always works great for me. Easy to use and looks very glossy. The free refill is kind of dumb, but if you like it its nice to know you have a free tub coming to you.

 

Wax-tec direct from them... Got a full sampling on the cheap, delivery was quick and intact. Think I dropped $28. Small sampling, wish I bought all full size stuff!

 

Meguiars gold class shampoo 1 gallon from costco for 10.00

 

Could not agree more with this.

 

honestly, after trying every shampoo I could think of. this works great, very slick creates great foam and it does what it says.

 

Love this stuff LA's Totally Awesome: $1 for 16oz. Great degreaser / APC for nasty
dirty stuff. Good to clean pads and tires.

 

distilled vinegar for cleaning windows.

 

Some of these have been mentioned, but here's my list:

1. Folex - my parents used to own a floor covering business. They used Folex exclusively, even on $10,000+ custom area rugs. It's amazing the amount of soiling this stuff can tackle with stiff-bristle brush and yet still be so gentle.

2. Ridgid shop vacuum with air blower. I bought the 12 gallon/5 hp Ridgid wet/dry vac w/ detachable air blower at HD on sale for $60. I'm sure there are benefits to the $200+ vacs marketed specifically for detailing, but for much less money, the Ridgid suits my needs for sure.

3. Klasse AIO - KSG gets a bad wrap for being finicky, difficult to remove, etc. The AIO is a great all around product. I especially love using it to clean/polish and provide a little protection on windows.

I agree vinegar works well for cleaning windows, but the smell was a little too much for me inside my car. I went back to Stoner's IG.

 

Disappointed with the Optimum polishes mentioned earlier in that the polishes will seperate and become unmixable. I've thrown away multiple quart bottles. I was using it and keeping it in my supplies for polishing on a mobile detail where I had no shade and the sun would be a problem, but I'm not going to waste anymore $.

Zep Purple Industrial Degreaser/Cleaner

Used to clean tires at about 7:1 to 8:1 dilution. Finally tried this about 2 months ago after hearing some discussion about it. This is the best tire cleaner I have used so far. Better than all my tire cleaner specific products I have.

This stuff really cleans. First time cleaning a tire the foam will go dark brown/black. Go over it again and you'll barely see any more dirt coming of it. Go over it again and you'll get clean white sudsy foam. This stuff does not cause any browning/blooming of the tire afterwards like many tire cleaners do. It does not leach stuff (carbon/protective wax) out of the tire like most cleaners do, just cleans the surface. Its the leaching of desireable stuff out of the tire that causes the tire to develop that blooming browing with the carbon and wax migrating toward the tire face surface as the tire tries to repair itself.

I've done most of the major tire brands with it now and the results have been smooth flat black tires with no residue.

At $11 a gallon, I've got 7-8 gallons of tire cleaner when diluted.

If you haven't tried it yet, go for it. It always seem like it would be too stong but worked beautifully.

 

I agree about the Optimum polish, my poli-seal separated when i checked it, consistency of water now. I keep all of my products air conditioned of course, still love my optimum car wax though.:thumb:

 

I've been using Optimum's wax exclusively on my GF's new car. The car has seen no other LSP but this. Its not been "topped" been a "topper".

The wax is pretty nice especially for a spray wax, but I find the 5 month or so durability claim way overrated. By month 2 - its dead.

 

303 aerospace protectant. Very versatile. Tires, wheel wells, interior, door seals, etc.

 

Ultima Interior Shampoo.

 

The one product everyone should have is 1z deep plastic cleaner I can't be with it.