Product selection for the broke college student

[mitsuman47]

Hey everyone. I`ve been lurking around here for a while, but haven`t posted much.



First off, I have a 2005 civic fiji blue, which seems to be just as tough of a color to keep as black. It`s bascially covered in minor swirl marks. Also, it is not garaged, and I`m in texas, so it will take a beating this summer.



Second, I`m poor. My budget is ~200 bucks for all of my products (interior and exterior). So, it looks like I`ll be doing things by hand, since a PC is about $125 plus 10 bucks a pop for the pads. Do you guys think something like this would do me well? Or, would I be better off with a different set of products since I`m doing this by hand?



Sonus Perfect Shine Kit (http://www.autopia-carcare.com/son-pershine-kit.html)



I currently have plenty of mf towels. But, I need everything else.



Thanks in advance for the help.

[P1et]

It might be cheaper to buy a few things over the counter. How about you pop into your local Carquest and purchase some DG items since they`re on sale?

[imported_GregCavi]

I would agree to look at something local. Carquest and Duragloss, as stated above, would be a nice, cost effective route to go. Duragloss, IMHO, has the best over the counter car product.



Greg

[thesacrifice]

On your budget you should invest in quality washing tools and work on your wash technique to minimize marring.



From there a decent AIO and LSP should get you thru your poor college days.

[CalgaryDetail]

dont eat. Thats what i do.... ok just kiding..

[cjv998]

I`m in the same boat as you are (college student who wants a nice looking car). First off, what do you have to start with? If you don`t have anything, I`d recommend making a trip to Walmart and picking up the following:



Eurow sheepskin mitt ($5)

two buckets

hose

nozzle

car wash soap (Meguiar`s Deep Crystal soap is cheap, that`s what I use. Apparently their Gold Class soap is better if you feel like spending the extra few bucks)

some sort of an LSP (hopefully others will have a recommendation here. I personally bought some Mother`s SynWax for $8. Haven`t tried it yet though. You could also consider an all-in-one product, I can`t say much on those however, as I don`t have any experience with them)



Also, Duragloss apparently makes great OTC products, as mentioned above. I`m sure you couldn`t go wrong there.



I`m not sure how in depth you want to get with swirl removal, particularly if you`re doing things by hand. I just bought this PC kit: (7424 Ultimate Detail Machine & Pad Kit (http://www.properautocare.com/74uldemawico.html))

It was $190 with free shipping (through May 13 I believe), and includes everyting you`d need to polish out swirls, except the polish itself (I bought some Hi-Temp Medium polish for $15 shipped). I realize this would be over your budget, but I figured I`d at least throw it out there.



I`ll add some more to this as more stuff comes to mind, but hopefully that gets you started.

[JB_TSX]

I would agree to look at something local. Carquest and Duragloss, as stated above, would be a nice, cost effective route to go. Duragloss, IMHO, has the best over the counter car product.



Greg



I agree... Duragloss, for the price, looks and durability, is one of the best product lines out there..

[the other pc]

I would grab a couple good, basic over-the-counter products and keep saving for the PC.





PC.