THE Auto Detailing Product and Equipment Thread

alex_d10

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I'm also into detailing so I'll write about some products I'd recommend for a DIY'er

Brand & Product Name: Collonite 845 insulator wax
Price paid and from where: ~$20 shipped from eshine.ca
Pros: The longest-lasting wax I've ever used. Easy on/easy off.
Cons: Not as glossy as a high quality carnauba wax
Final verdict: 9.5/10 - perfect wax for a daily driver. Will easily last over 3 months if applied on a properly prepped surface. Best bang-for-buck wax out there.

Brand & Product Name: Mothers Chrome/aluminum polish
Price paid and from where: $5 from local shop
Pros: Restores mirror-like finish on chrome and aluminum wheels with minimal effort. Very easy to use.
Cons: Smells really bad.
Final verdict: 9.5/10 - brings back shine to chrome like nothing I've used before.
 

russiansohcf23

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Brand & Product Name: Blue Magic Headlight Lens Restorer
Price paid and from where: I think i paid around 6 bucks for it at AutoZone.
Pros: I love it! I works great!
Cons: Just need to put some elbow grease into it to for good results.
Final verdict: I love this product because its inexpensive and it is a good size bottle. Once my bottle is empty, i will purchase another one.

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Brand & Product Name: Meguiar's Cleaner Wax
Price paid and from where: Bought it for 7 dollars at AutoZone.
Pros: It does the job well. I really like this product. First I was sketchy about it but then i saw the brand I've always loved Meguiars products.
Cons: Nothing that I can think of.
Final verdict: This product last very long. It made my car look like it just came out of the paint booth.

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Brand & Product Name: Lucas Oil Slick Mist Speed Wax
Price paid and from where: $8 at AutoZone.
Pros: Smell good, very easy to use, and its very quick to wax the whole car.
Cons: Nothing!
Final verdict: I bought it because a friend of mine tried it out and said it was good. I literally waxed my car in about 10 mins which is so much better than 1 hr. It is really easy to use, spray on and wipe off. I recommend it to everyone who wants that wet look.
 
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xmsleepr

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Brand & Product Name: Blue Magic Headlight restoration
Price paid and from where: $6 @ Advanced Auto Parts
Pros: Works perfectly to clear headlights
Cons: none! i used a orbital buffer with a terry bonnet so it didnt even take me 10 minutes to do both sides
Final verdict: will definitely keep it handy to clear all the yellowed headlights I see :p

Before:
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After:
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(I know my reflector is messed up rusted on the process of getting new headlights but the lens are perfectly clear)
 

Mike's_Taffeta

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Product name: clay magic clay bar

Price paid and from where: 13.99 autozone

Pros: very easy instructions, enough clay to do 2 cars, and comes with clay lube.

Cons: kills the shoulders and arms, doesn't come with cloth to wipe off excess lube

Final verdict: made my car absolutely beautiful, changed the color from off white back to the factory taffeta white. Took 3 hours since my car had lots of built up crap on the paint. We did my friends 2006 audi a4 and it took about 2 hours since he had clean paint but still made a tremendous difference on his car. I highly recommend this to be performes once a year followed by a regular waxing routine.
 

DSeng13

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Product Name: Invisible Glass
Price and from where: About 7 dollars from target
Pros: No streaks and leaves glass shiny!
Cons: None so far
Final Verdict: Applied some to microfiber towel and wiped away. Shiny!

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shavedaccord

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Brand & Product Name: Windshield Wonder
Price paid and from where: $9.99, Wal-Greens
Pros: Cheap, Micro-fiber; Reusable/Washable, Pivoting head, extension handle, VERY EASY to use.
Cons: None.
Final verdict: I love it. I bought this product because I was sick and tired of having to deal with cleaning the inside of my windshield. This does it in mere minutes, and does it good. You can use simple filtered tap water or a cleaning solution. I have tried both and both work great.
 

DEP.FTW

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Brand & Product Name: OEM Touch up paint (0.5 Fl Oz pen)

Price paid and from where: $8 at the dealership

Pros: Easy to use. Comes with a pen tip to touch up fine scratches and a brush applicator for larger areas. Dries within minutes.

Cons: This is not a con but more of a 'warning.' If your car was repainted recently (anywhere other than the dealership), test the touch up paint on a small area of your car. My car is dark emerald pearl and was repainted the same color by a local shop. However, the shop did not color match to the OEM paint! They painted it a lighter shade of DEP (barely noticeable). So the area with touch up paint ends up looking a bit darker.

Final verdict: The product is great and a cheap, easy fix for small areas. Lame to have a review for touch up paint but just wanted to give that 'warning' to others.
 

dadams

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This is a review of Sonax Full Effect Wheel cleaner.
Price paid: $100
Place: www.detailersdomain.com
Rating: 10/10
Reasons: This is a wheel cleaner that is by far the best I have ever used. It cuts through everything with out using a brush or anything. When you spray it on you can see it cutting through the grime, brake dust and other stuff on your wheels. The longer you let it sit the better of a job it does. The part I like the best is that you dont have to scrub to get the wheel clean, it does all the work for you. You might have to get something to get in the spaces around the lug nuts, but for the other places that are hard to get to, like the inside of the wheel, it does its job very well.

I do not have any pictures of it working on my car, but I found it in TCL, under the Detailers forum and here is the thread on it. Clicky
 

vu 6thgen

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Brand and model: Meguiar's cleaner Wax
Price paid and where: don't remember but you can get an any auto store like Kragen or Auto Zone
Pros: This was the first cleaner wax I ever bought and I will continue to buy it. It does a great job cleaning and taking all of the dust off your car. Gives the car a fresh, clean, brand new look. I also use it on my headlights and provides very effective restoring. Very inexpensive.
Cons: No cons.
Final Verdict: I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants to wash and wax their car using Meguiar's products. For the money, it is definitely work the results.
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Brand and model: Meguiar's Gold Class cleaner/conditioner
Price paid and where: don't remember. You can buy it at any auto zone or Kragen.
Pros: This cleaner/conditioner is fantastic. The leather in my 2000 honda accord continues to look fresh and you can definitely see how clean and well maintained it is. It really preserves the leather and gives it a legit look by keeping it nice and conditioned. The product is also very inexpensive.
Cons: No cons.
Final Verdict: For people who have full leather interior, I would highly suggest using this product. It has kept my leather looking nice.
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shavedaccord

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Brand & Product Name: Black Magic 2-in-1 Engine Shine
Price paid and from where: $5.95, local hardware store
Pros: Cheap, high velocity spray, don't need to cover electrical componets, washes off easily with water, melts grease better than most, excellent shine on plastic and rubber.
Cons: None really.
Final verdict: Long time since I bought ANY sort of engine degrease, decided to give this a try. Very simple to use, run your engine for about 5 minutes. Spray it down thoroughly with the product, let it sit about 10 minutes, then hose off your engine with a light flow of water (I would cover stuff for the water part) and finally start the engine and let it run for about 10-15 minutes to help promote drying.

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