Advise on what to buy..

[PathfinderGuy]

I just received my CMA Proper Auto Care catalog, and the drool wouldnt stop.. So many nice products.. much better than the "cheap" stuff i buy at PepBoys.. I looked at the catalog for over an hour to see what i would potentially buy. My father has allowed me to buy $200 worth of products, and i drew up a list of items i wanted, but they far exceeded $200.. So i want your guys opinion on which if these products are worth buying and which are a waste of money..


Pinnacle PolyClay Kit
Pinnacle Body Work Shampoo---- heard it was VERY good
EF Black Opal
EF Clear Vision----- should i buy the combo with the MF towel?
EF Spot Remover
EF Engine Degreaser
P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion
Medallion Premium Paint Cleaner
Pinnacle Leather Conditioner
Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion-------- heard also it was VERY good
Sonus Gel Wheel Cleaner
Microfiber Wash Mit
P21S Drying Towel



let me know guys on a scale from 1-10 on these products.. and if possible tell me which DEFINETLY to buy.. i got so much cheap junk in the garage, and after my father got a nice BMW 740i and i have a 1996 Pathfinder SE, that we need to step up our cleaning materials..


Thanks in advance

[FLONI]

i used all of the 3 you mentioned(pinnacle body work...cleansinglotion,medallion paint cleaner)in my opinion just get the Pinnalce paint cleansing lotion instaed of all 3 of them....i would get EF hi -intensity cleaner instead of the degreaser cause..its more diverse with its use...and it will clean the heck out of any engine.....never used the drying towel but do a search i know some others have liked it...MF mitt is good...EF clear vision is good minus the viper thingy...i never like that thing too much...lots lint at first with it...Ef spot remover's very good and lots of different uses..never used sonus/opal....so....pinnacle paint cleansing lotion#1.body works #2...medallion#3.....also...love the pinnalce leather conditionewr...smells awesome and o so soft....if i left a few out its because i never used them....hope this helps buddy....remeber...we've all ordered stuff....then didnt like it...the we know...that.....we dont like it....very individual tastes....good luck....man your gonna have a good time....$200......thank you poppa.....adopt me

[Andre']

They're all very good products , but you can save some money with products that are just as good but less pricey.

PRODUCTS.

#1. Good kit i give it an 8 , but Mother's clay bar system will work just as well.

#2. It's a 9.5 but Meguiar's Gold class car wash is an 8, and it's only $10 a gallon.

#3. If you like shine it's a 9 , for durablity a 6. If you don't like shine go for 303 Aerospace protectant , it has a good natural sheen , you can use it on the dash and trim to , it's a 10 on my scale.

#4. never used it , but i do like Stoner's Invisible Glass.

#5-6. Go with the Hi Intensity. It's a number 9.

#7-8-10 . just use the Pinnacle paint cleansing lotion #9 for what it is.

#9. Never used it. Eagle one and Lexol are just as good.

#11. Use the Hi Intensity.

#12. Never used one , a good option is a cotton Chenille wash mitt.

#13. The best synthetic drying towel is made by Wizards , the water bandit. buy it at www.kleanride.com

Laters.

[JasonC8301]

1. Pinnacle Poly clay kit, never used it but heard good reviews. I recommend Clay Magic or Mothers.

2. Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo, Very good 9.5 as Andre said but my vote goes to Meguiars Gold Class, $10 a gallon at Target. But hey for $9.95 the Pinnacle is great.

3. Ef Black Opal - didn't like it too much, a bit finiky to apply.

4. Ef Clear Vision - I like mine very much, I use a trry cloth to apply and provide that cleaning punch and a follow up MF to set in that shine

5. + 6 EF Hi-Intensity

7. P21S, Meguiars Medallion paint cleaner, and Pinnacle PCL, my vote goes to Pinnacle (try to get a kit with one of their waxes, superb)

8. Sonus wheel cleaner, try the Ef Hi for this, and the Ef Hi-Intensity also cleans the tires too

9. Microfiber wash mitt, never tried it, I use the cotton chenille pads.

10. P21S drying towel, try www.kleanride.com for the water bandit.

Also, What type of paint sealant do you want to try out? If you want to try Zaino or Blackfire, don't get the Pinnacle Wax, if you try the Klasse, go with the Pinnacle wax or Blitz, Blitz being more durable and Poinnacle more cosmetic, but Pinnacle is sooooooo easy to apply, apply wipe off. No drying time needed.

What type of vinyl and rubber dressing are you going to use? Vinylex and 303 get great reviews. I personally love my Vinylex.

So MUST have's
1. EF Clear Vision (look at the Ef kit for $50)
2. EF Hi-Intensity
3. Pinnacle Cleansing Lotion
4. A drying synthetic shammy
5. Pinnacle Car Wash
6. Wash mitt
7. Paint sealant
8. Rubber and vinyl dressing

Optional
1. Everything else

Jason

[PathfinderGuy]

Thank you so much for all the replies.. From everything you guys told me, i have compiled a new list.. Please tell me what, if anything, i should add:

Pinnacle Body Work Shampoo
Pinnacle PolyClay Kit
Pinnacle Paint Cleansing Lotion
Pinnacle Leather Conditioner
Sonus Gel Wheel Cleaner (hey, its only 7.95.. cant go wrong)
EF Clear Vision
EF Hi-Intensity Cleaner
EF Spot Remover (for the carpets)
Micro Fiber Wash Mitt
303 Aerospace Protectant



I need some wax, and some sealant... what do you guys recommend in those two areas?

[Andre']

The list looks good.

Klasse ALL IN ONE and HIGH Gloss Sealants Glaze. If you go with Klasse , add one of the Pinnacle waxes , or One Grand's Blitz wax. None of the sealants need wax , but it helps add depth to Klasse , if that is what you like.

Zaino Bros sealant's , it's a very high gloss product.

Blackfire , mot much info on that one.

They're the best sealants on the market.

Add the Water Bandit and some Micro Fiber towels.

[FLONI]

you gotta have some Microfiber towels....and as i recently learned....get them from steve....at...

http://yosteveshop.homestead.com/mt.html...............

they are really an awesome towel....

[Brad4rdHay]

I would drop ther Sonus wheel cleaner, i hear its awesome but EF Hi is also really really good and is much more versital and cost effective. Also, you dont seem to have anything to tackle the inevitable swirl marks...PPC is a great cleaner but not to good on the swirls. Go with some 3m or griots, they have some good hand polishes along with your clay so you can clean the paint and tackle swirls too. As far as clay, i havnt heard good things about the Pinnacle clay lube and would suggest you go with the mothers kit instead. Also, i would get a more cost affective shampoo. Check out Blackfire, right now its riskier than klasse or zaino because its new buit im sure its good, i will be testing it out in a few days. Klasse route: AIO, SG Blitz (great combo), Zaino route: Z-1, Z-2, Z-6. Blackfire route: Polish, Protectant, QD. Drop the EF-spot cleaner, get some EF upholstry cleaner and use the EF-HI as a spot cleaner. Cotton Channile is better than microfiber for wash mitts.

[PathfinderGuy]

where can i obtain the Zaino?

[FLONI]

love it...your best bet would be to call the owner.(OR EMAIL HIM)...Sal Zaino(very cool guy...friendly)....im not usre if they ship that far....he doesnt take credit card/over the phone orders yet....you have to send in the check.money order....if its a crap load to send it that far...ill get it for ya and send it out with all my xmas presents that are going to PR this yr... anyway......here's the link with all the info....read the whole site....

http://www.zainobros.com/

[PathfinderGuy]

I dont really wanna order products from different sites.. Id much rather just buy it all from one place.. So ill buy the Klasse Concours kit, which include the All In One, and the Sealant/Glaze, and some with some applicator pads..

regarding the microfiber towels, i might just have to do with the Viper ones.. 3 for 14.95.. not too bad i guess..

regarding wax, my father recently ordered from Zymol a tub of Wax which cost him $160.00, containing 60% Carnuba Wax.. so i doubt i will have to buy any extra wax..


So being that i have my list complete now, unless any other items come to mind, i guess ill order it either tomorrow or Saturday..



Thanks so much guys for all the help.. Once the products get here, ill be sure to let you know..


And just to be ahead, how would i go applying all these waxes/polishes?

1) Pinnacle Paint Cleansing
2) Klasse All In One
3) Klasse Sealant/Glaze
4) Zymol wax

That the order it should go in?

[JasonC8301]

1. Wash (two bucket method, washing is a critical step in paint surface maintainance, lots of room to introduce swirls and scratches, work from top to bottom, using bumper to bumper light sweeping motions.)

2. Pinnacle Paintwork Cleaning Lotion (work the product into the surface using bumper to bumper motions until tacky/dry, if having trouble getting residue off, mist some water on the panel and buff.)

3. Klasse AIO (some people use two coats for that extra surface prep, but one coat will suffice. Apply using a damp applicator pad in bumper to bumper motions, buff, do not wait for AIO to dry, one panel at a time.)

4. Klasse SG (apply using a dry foam applicator, let the Sg dry on the car for at least 20-30 minute,s longer if colder or humid, then buff, run a Viper towel under water and wring out as dry as possible, then buff out the Sg residue, IF you have problems buffing off the SG residue dry) Multiple coats of Klasse SG increase shine and durability. If you have the time, apply the SG as ususal and wait at least 24 hours to let the Klasse cure. Then apply the second coat like the first. Then wait at least 24 hours for the Klasse to cure (harden) Then do each coat like this. The 24 hours between coats of SG allows the previous coat to harden and allow the second coat ot go over the first one. This increases shine and durability.

To be realistic though, I have layered on 3 to 4 coats of SG in a day with no problems, some on the forum do a coat a week (after a good wash of course.)

I find the results to be best between 3 and 5 coats of Klasse SG.

NOTE: Apply Klasse products thin, a little goes a long way. More is NOT better.

Sit back and admire the car. You want more, sure you have the Zymol wax ($160, should this be a tub of Zymol Concours? or Destiny?)

Wait for the last layer of SG to cure. Then put on the Zymol as stated in their instructions.

Once you Zymol, you will have to strip the Zymol in order to apply another layer of SG. Most people wash with dawn, then SG again.

Most people do this process twice a year, mostly during the Fall (to get ready for winter) and during the spring, to take away what the winter did to the car. But being in PR I doubt you see winter.

Just be sure to apply the Zymol at least once a month, maybe even once every other week.

Jason