Recommended Auto Detailing Supplies

Exterior

Wash & Dry

Clay Bar

Polishing

· What is Polishing · Types of Polishes · Breakdown Stages · What Causes Hazing

Wax/Sealant

Product Demo's
& Reviews

Product
Recommendations

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Recommended Products & Kits

My philosophy on detailing is procedure over products. It takes a combination of products, procedures and knowledge to restore and maintain a high gloss finish to your paint. Once you learn proper procedure, the majority of products available will do what they claim to do. Now, I'm not talking about "miracle" type detailing products that claim they will restore, protect and maintain a finish for years with one application, I'm referring to quality detailing supplies.

I have used many products over the years, and like most people, I have a core list of products that work best for me. Most of the products listed below are available online but some of them can be picked up locally.

Below are a list of recommended products that I use and have good success with.

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Washing & Drying

Five Gallon Buckets - You can pick them up at your local Home Depot or Lowe's. Autogeek also carries the 5 Gallon Wash Bucket System with Dolly. This is a great system and come with a lid, seat cushion and a dolly. The dolly make it easy to move the bucket around the car. It also works great as a seat when polishing horizontal surfaces.

Grit Guards

Foam Gun - See it here

Wash Mitt - Genuine Sheepskin, Lake Country Ulti Mit & Natural Sea Sponge. All work great, but my favorite is the Sheepskin Wash Mitt.

Car Soap - Meguiars Gold Class (can be purchase locally), Poorboy's Super Slick & Suds (my favorite), Zaino Z7 and Pinnacle Body Works Shampoo.

Misc Wash Items - Stiff bristled brush (For tires and wheel wells), Extra Wash Mitt or a Boars Hair brush for wheels, Bug & Tar remover (Goo Gone works well too), EZbrush (great for clean behind the wheels)

Drying - Waffle Weave Microfiber Towels and some type of compressed air. I use the Vac-n-Blo, it's both powerful and compact. It's a bit expensive but it's a great tool for both interior and exterior cleaning. If you are on budget a shop vac works just as well, just not as portable as the Vac-n-Blo.

Clay Bar - Wolfgang and Pinnacle are the ones I use. All work great.

Clay Lube - Any kit or dedicated clay lube works fine. I use Poorboys Spray & Wipe or car soap/water in a spray bottle (1/10 ratio).
Note: some clay bars react with certain car soaps and will break down and deteriorate. Make sure to test a piece of your clay before using it with your car soap.

Polishing

Machine -
Porter Cable 7424/7336, UDM (Ultimate Detailing Machine). Both are great for novices or the enthusiast detailer.
Cyclo A work horse polisher, it's been around for years. It's a step up from the Porter Cable or UDM in correction abilities.
Flex XC 3401 VRG This machine bridges the gap between an orbital and rotary. It's a bit more expensive, but if you can afford it get it. You won't be disappointed. See it here compared to the Porter Cable 7424

Polishing Pads - Lake Country Pads - I've used many different pads over the years and always come back to Lake Country. They work great and last.

Heavy Cut Polishes - I've had great results with both Menzerna Power Gloss and Poorboy's SSR3

Medium Cut Polishes - Menzerna Super Intense Polish, Menzerna Intense Polish, Optimum Compound, Poorboy's SSR2.5

Light Cut/Finishing Polishes - Menzerna PO106FF & PO85RD, Final Polish Optimum Polish and Pinnacle Advanced Finishing Polish.

Paint Cleansers/All in One - Pinnacle Paint Work Cleanser, Poorboys Pro Polish and Clearkote Vanilla Moose - This is a great product for light paint cleaning. It also great at cleaning faded rubber & plastic trim. Optimum Poli-Seal, Klasse AIO & Poorboy’s World Polish with Carnauba

Glazes - Clearkote Red Machine Glaze and XMT Finishing Glaze.

Metal Polishes - Clearkote Metal Polish, Meguiars Mag & Aluminum Polish and Wolfgang MetallWerk Aluminum Polishes also work very well.

Wax/Sealant

Waxes - Pinnacle Souveran Paste Wax, Pinnacle Souveran Liquid Wax, Poorboy's Natty Blue, Collinite Liquid Insulator Wax #845 (very durable wax), Clearkote Carnauba Moose Wax and S100/P21S Carnauba Wax (S100 can be picked up locally at a Harley Davidson Dealership). Foam applicator pads

Sealants - Four Star Ultimate Paint Protection, Poorboys EX-P, Zaino Z5Pro, Z2Pro, Menzerna Full Molecular Jacket (great shine but not the most durable sealant), & Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant. Foam applicator pads

Quick Detailers -Pinnacle Liquid Souveran Spray Wax (This is a great spray wax), Clearkote Quikshine, Poorboy's Spray & Gloss, Zaino Z8 and Finish Kare #425. I also use Poorboy's Spray and Wipe - Very versatile product, if you do get it I recommend getting it by the gallon (I by the 5 gallon container).

Miscellaneous Items

Towels - Waffle Weaves for drying and Microfiber for everything else. Look for sales, everyone runs sales on Microfiber towels...get them when they're cheap!! Use Costco, Walmart, Sam's club microfiber towels for dirty jobs other then the paint (door jambs, wheels, etc.).

Tire Dressing/Exterior Protectant - Poorboy's Bold & Bright and Zaino Z16 Perfect Tire Gloss. Both dressings work great and can be layered for more shine or gloss. Both are water base so they can be cleaned with just soap and water, plus neither sling. For wheel wells I use Armor All.
Faded Trim - Poorboys Trim Restorer (see a demo of Trim Restorer here. Tire dressing pad, Cotton covered foam applicators for applying dressing to tires, external trim and plastic.

Wheels -Cleaning
For Chrome or Clearcoated Wheels ONLY- Meguiars Hot Rims works great at removing stubborn brake dust and grime.
For Aluminum - Clearkote Metal Polish for light oxidation or marring and Meguiars Mag & Aluminum Polish for more stubborn stains.
Normal washing - car soap or if needed an All Purpose Cleaner.
Protection - Poorboy's Wheel Sealant or a good Paint Sealant will work too.

Windows -
Stoner's Invisible Glass & Meguiars NXT Glass Cleaner and Glass Microfiber towels.

Interior Products

See the Interior section for product recommendations.

Detailing and Polishing Kits

Menzerna Intense Polish and Final Polish II

New to polishing?

Below are a few starter kits Autogeek has that I'd recommend.

These kits work great at removing normal to moderate swirls and scratches (like the one's in the picture) caused by normal wear and tear.

Menzerna Porter Cable Intensive Shine Kit

Kit includes:

Porter Cable 7424, Wrench, Counter Weight
5" Backing Plate
32 oz. Menzerna Final Polish
32 oz. Menzerna Intensive Polish
2 – 8 oz. Bottles with Caps
2 Cobra Indigo Edgeless Microfiber Polishing Cloths
4 Cobra 6 Inch Microfiber Bonnets
1 CCS 6.5 Inch White Polishing Pad
1 CCS 6.5 Inch Gray Finishing Pad

Optimum Porter Cable 7424 Kit

Kit includes:

Porter Cable 7424, Wrench, Counter Weight
5" Backing Plate
32 oz. Optimum Polish
32 oz. Optimum Compound
32 oz. Optimum Poli-Seal
6.5 inch CCS Orange Light Cutting Pad
6.5 inch CCS White Polishing Pad
6.5 inch CCS Gray Finishing Pad
3 Cobra Microfiber Detailing Towels

Poorboy’s World Porter Cable 7424 Polish & Protect Kit

Kit includes:

Porter Cable 7424, Wrench, Counter Weight
5" Backing Plate
16 oz. Poorboy’s Light Abrasive Swirl Remover SR1
16 oz. Poorboy’s Medium Super Swirl Remover SSR2.5
8 oz. Poorboy’s Natty’s Blue Paste Wax
16 oz. Poorboy’s Spray & Gloss
16 oz. Poorboy’s Spray & Wipe Waterless Wash
1 CCS 6.5 inch Gray Dual Action Finishing Pad
1 CCS 6.5 inch Orange Dual Action Light Cutting Pad
1 CCS 6.5 inch White Dual Action Polishing Pad
2 Cobra Microfiber Towels, 16 x 16 inches
12 oz. Pinnacle XMT Polishing Pad Cleaner

Have any questions or need specific product recommendations? Contact me and I'll see if I can help.