Is it the Chemicals Tools or Technique?

unleashedfury · 10-22-09, 12:24

I've read many reviews, Talked to many people, Tried plenty of products because being a auto student I get plenty of Free samples.

And everyone has their own experience with different chemicals, washes, waxes and so forth. Some of us praise a product to the high hills and get a cult following, Some of us bash a product to death and have an angry mob with torches lit to burn that town down.

What I am wondering is how many of us try different techniques. More chemical less chemical. Different towels. so on and such forth.

Discuss?

judyb · 10-22-09, 02:42

As far as leather cleaning is concerned we find that it is very much an all encompassing process - understanding the process together with the correct product and technique to achieve the best results. Too often we find that people dismiss products and move on to others (sometimes several times) because they claim that it is rubbish without understanding:

a) the problem they are trying to resolve (is it actually a cleaning problem or something more).Without understanding what the problem is and what is achievable it is impossible to begin the right process or select the correct products to resolve the issue. This is a vital step and encompasses leather ID together with a simple 5 step process to assess what the probelm is.

b) what your products will do and how they work - without this knowledge you will never be able to use them in the most effective way to achieve the best possible reults

c) what technique and tools to use to get the best results. Different problems may require products to be used in slightly different ways or with a variety of tools etc to achieve what you are trying to do

As a training company we have generally tried all products/methods/tools etc in order that we can pass on best practice to those we teach, this takes in over 25 years of working exclusively with leather, many, many product ranges and 'been there, done that' mistakes!!!!!

Hope this helps the dicussion

Jakerooni · 10-22-09, 06:49

The technique is by far more important than anything else. Period end of story.

You can put the exact same product and tools into 2 peoples hands and get 2 entirely different results.

MuttGrunt · 10-22-09, 07:56

i agree with Jake, but I hope folks keep in mind that products / tools will make a difference

PatB18C · 10-22-09, 09:45

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakerooni

The technique is by far more important than anything else. Period end of story.

You can put the exact same product and tools into 2 peoples hands and get 2 entirely different results.

I agree with this, with the caveat that different techniques will work better or worse with specific tools and/or products.

For instance, I have a friend that can get amazing results with Griot's 1/2/3 polishes but they don't work well for me.

Also a lot of the technique has to do with what you perfected it on... his Subaru is going to be treated differently from my BMWs.

PistolWhip · 10-22-09, 05:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jakerooni

The technique is by far more important than anything else. Period end of story.

You can put the exact same product and tools into 2 peoples hands and get 2 entirely different results.

What he said

There are hundreds of great products on the market that perform better than most OTC products, but in the hands of someone that doesn't know how to use them, you'll never know the difference.

unleashedfury · 10-22-09, 11:10

Thats what I've been thinking. When someone askes me well what do you use? And I tell them its like well I tried that I got bad results.

Or even reading some reviews even on the site.

I'm not gonna name one because we'll go way off topic.

So lets say we were reviewing BRAND X Glass cleaner.

I use it and Have good results. No streaks.water spots. No haze. I give it 4 stars

Next guy says he had nothing but problems haze and streaks. gives it 2 stars.

Like I said before I am a Auto Student So I get all kinds of freebies to try. Usually only enough for small or one time application. Some stuff I wouldn't give to my worst enemy. Some stuff I am almost curious to go out and buy some to get more test results done.

All kinds of freebies I mean everything, Car shampoos, Glass cleaners, hand cleaners, Glues, Various types of lubes, anti seize, if it can go on or in your car I think Ive been handed a sample.

But I also feel that when you get into High end detailing products, You don't have a noticeable difference. It all comes down to the application

Accumulator · 10-23-09, 06:32

I see this a little differently from many people here: IMO even the best product won't work well without the right technique, but it might still work OK. OTOH, the *wrong* product won't work well no matter what technique is employed (e.g., "why doesn't my Meguiar's polish fix my swirlmarks?"...I get asked that all the time).

Some products are so, uhm...Accumulator-proof that I recommend them to absolute newbies (and I mean people with *zero* experience or serious interest in this stuff) and they get results that they're very pleased with right off the bat. Give the same people some other product and they'd botch things up quite badly or at least be disappointed.

Some things *are* 99% technique, but a lot of this stuff is stoneage simple for anybody (who's intelligent) if they're using certain products.

dschia · 10-24-09, 03:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by judyb

a) the problem they are trying to resolve (is it actually a cleaning problem or something more).Without understanding what the problem is and what is achievable it is impossible to begin the right process or select the correct products to resolve the issue. This is a vital step and encompasses leather ID together with a simple 5 step process to assess what the probelm is.

b) what your products will do and how they work - without this knowledge you will never be able to use them in the most effective way to achieve the best possible reults

c) what technique and tools to use to get the best results. Different problems may require products to be used in slightly different ways or with a variety of tools etc to achieve what you are trying to do

, I think this pretty much sum up everything not only for leather but for detailing. Chemicals tools and technique are all important, but you need to have some knowledge on the type of defects and products before knowing what product and technique to adopt, otherwise, it is always trial and error to get result.