New KIt Required

[Arnbine]

Hi Everyone,



I just bought a new car recently and i`m looking to make up and buy a good kit for detailing it.



It`s a Black Mustang GT500 with silver stripes up the center. Any input would be greatly appreciated, i will also be using the kit for family cars too but mostly for the Mustang.



I have a budget of around $1000



If you can also think of anything else i can add please dont hesitate to add, thank you for taking the time to answer.



Car wash:

Foam:

Wheel Cleaner:

Wheel Protection:

Wheel Well Dressing:

Wheel Well Cleaner:

Engine Degreaser:

Tire Cleaner:

Tire Dressing:

Glass:

Clay:

Compound:

Polish:

Polisher:

Interior Plastic Cleaner:

Carpet/Upholstery:

Leather Care:

Interior Protectant:

Exterior Trim:

Quick Detailer:

LSP:

APC:

[Accumulator]

Arnbine- Welcome to Autopia!



Heh heh, your request for info is a little bit like ..."I bought a tract of land, what do I need to build a house on it?"



But I`ll take a quick stab at this-





IMO all new cars should be decontaminated. I`d use the ValuGard "ABC" system, which is, BTW, approved by Ford.



Clay- Sonus SFX for "maintenance claying", Griot`s or Clay Magic blue for more aggressive work.



For maintenance details, I`d be *ALL* about washing it without instilling marring. What`s your plan there?



For a vehicle that`s gonna be somewhat pampered, you shouldn`t need Engine Degreaser.



I`d OptiCoat the wheels and then just use APC/Griot`s Wheel Cleaner on them.



On that car, I`d detail up the wheelwells and use a sorta-strong shampoo mix to clean them. IF you`re not gonna pamper it to the extent of waxed/sealed wheelwells, just clean them with APC.



What do you plan to "dress" in the wells? I generally spritz my wheelwell plastic with ValuGard`s Fast Finish rather than use one of the "tire slime" products. BTW, my fave of the latter is Z16.



I just clean glass with Glass Cleaner. Griot`s, 3D, Meguiar`s (forget the #, the grape-scented stuff), or Zep40. Sonus Glass Cleaner on aftermarket tint jobs.



Compound? Hope you don`t need it on a new car! IF you can`t get by with Uno on a new vehicle, IMO something`s wrong (I wouldn`t take delivery of a messed up car).



Polish? Something mild like 3D`s finishing polish or Menzerna PO85RD should suffice.



Polisher- Griot`s Garage 6" Random Orbital. Or the Meguiar`s unit (the newer V2 one).



Most interior cleaning can be done with a good APC. I like the 3D green stuff.



For leather, I really like the stuff from Leather Doctor. LeatherMasters stuff is OK, as is Sonus. But I`ve been disappointed with the other stuff I`ve tried so I`d stick with one of those three (actually, I`d just use the Leather Doctor stuff, period). Biggest thing is to merely keep leather clean, you can actually get away with not doing much of anything if you don`t let it get dirty.



I`d give the interior plastics a little spritz of Meguiar`s Interior Quick Detailer or 1Z Cockpit Premium and leave it at that. Modern interior plastics hold up just fine with minimal treatment, as with the leather just keep things clean.



Exterior trim- lately, on my Fords I`ve been using Ultima`s Trim Guard+ and it works great. It`s like a "sealant for trim". Otherwise, I`ve been getting *GREAT* results (far beyond what I ever expected) by just using ValuGard`s Fast Finish Quick Detailer on exterior trim after each wash. After a few treatments it apparently "builds up" a little and then it looks wonderful. I`d previously used Collinite Insulator wax and other such LSPs (Last Step Products, i.e., waxes/sealants) on trim, but the Ultima and the Fast Finish are changing my mind. I *DO NOT* use "trim dressings" as they run in the rain and generally just aren`t "clean" enough for my taste.



APC- I`ve been very happy with the 3D green stuff lately but before that I was all about Einman Fabrik Hi Intensity and P21S Total Auto Wash (eh, overpriced IMO, and you want to be able to use a lot of it to keep the undercarriage clean).



LSP- What`s your fancy? Seriously...hard to say what somebody will like. I`d just FK1000P it, but some would say that`d look too "sterile" and would lack "depth and jetting". I wouldn`t care, but you might :nixweiss



QD- Match to the LSP. I use FK425 on sealants, Griot`s SpeedShine on waxes, and ValuGard Fast Finish on trim (like it less on paint).

[Arnbine]

Hi Accumulator,



Thank you for taking the time to respond to my question.



The car is new to me but is a 2011 model so its over a year old. The paintwork is in great condition, i just want to keep it in top condition as this is the first decent car i have owned. I did try to look after my previous cars but I just want to make sure give it the best I can as I will hopefully be keeping this one for a long time. Its amazing how much you find out from this forum and how far people go to keeping their cars in tip top condition.



I have a question about the stripes : Do you normally tape the edges up on the stripes if you are using a polisher.



Responses to your questions :



For maintenance details, I`d be *ALL* about washing it without instilling marring. What`s your plan there?

I need some advice regarding this as i`m still an amature when it comes to detailing. I should really take time to read the advice on the forums, which i will probably do before completing puchases, but i will be taking your advice for the stuff you have listed here. I will be buying new detailing tools as well.



What do you plan to "dress" in the wells?

I plan to do the whole undercarage of the car then protect it so any advice wouold be greatly appreciated.



Compound?

Not for my car, but other family members especially my step mums car has some swirl marks in it so i would be looking to get rid of them. I have experiance on a DA polisher so i`m comfortable using one of them.



LSP- What`s your fancy?

I`ve been readin g a little on the forum, just not enough but a few people seem to go with FK1000P

[Arnbine]

Oh and thank you for the welcome too!!

[imported_DetailDan]

Optimum No Rinse

Optimum Power Clean

Optimum Opti- Seal

Optimum Car Wax

Optimum Tire Shine

Optimum Opti Clean



Doesnt get any simpler than that!

[Arnbine]

Hahahaha,



Straight to the point, thanks.

[Accumulator]

I have a question about the stripes : Do you normally tape the edges up on the stripes if you are using a polisher.



Generally, yeah (not that I`ve dealt with stripes for quite a while!). You don`t want to abrade the stripes (either painted or tape) much as they`re generally rather fragile. And getting product residue along their edges is a huge PIA.



That product residue issue applies to LSPs too, so move the applicator *along*, parallel or "with" the stripe, not "against" it in a perpendicular manner, if you get my meaning. And consider using the wipe-on-wipe-off method for those areas too.






For maintenance details, I`d be *ALL* about washing it without instilling marring. What`s your plan there?

I need some advice regarding this as i`m still an amature when it comes to detailing. I should really take time to read the advice on the forums, which i will probably do before completing puchases, but i will be taking your advice for the stuff you have listed here. I will be buying new detailing tools as well.



There are a lot of different opinions/experiences regarding wash techniques.



FWIW, the ONR/rinseless/etc. washes don`t work all that great for me, even though they`re very popular with others.




What do you plan to "dress" in the wells?

I plan to do the whole undercarage of the car then protect it so any advice wouold be greatly appreciated.



On my "good" cars, I`ll go so far as to polish/seal these areas. Then I clean with a sorta-strong shampoo mix in a spray bottle using Boar`s Hair Brushes ("BHB"s) and I rinse with the hose. After the wash/dry, I go back down there and spritz/wipe everything with a leaves-stuff-behind QD.



On my beaters, I clean things up very well but don`t bother polishing/waxing. I wash with APC mix (again, with brushes, but sometimes on the beaters I`ll use a flagged-synthetic-bristle brush) and rinse. I still do the QD wipedown after the rest of the wash as it helps keep dirt/etc. from adhering and makes the next wash easier.



In both cases, I`d generally rather use a QD (e.g., Fast Finish) than a dressing. While I`ve used Undercarriage Spray products before, they`re awfully messy and sometimes seem to attract/retain dirt. Using those is a much bigger job (don`t get `em on the wrong places, or on the floor/driveway...easier said than done) than using QDs and most of the time it`s not worth it to me.



Note that I`m a big fan of washing the undercarriage at *every* wash. If the top of the vehicle is dirty enough to need washing, the underneath is gonna be dirty too. I`m an absolute fanatic about this, in part because it keeps me in tune with any developments down there (last thing was discovering a pinion seal that was *just* starting to leak a little).




Compound?

Not for my car, but other family members especially my step mums car has some swirl marks in it so i would be looking to get rid of them. I have experiance on a DA polisher so i`m comfortable using one of them.



M105, Uno, Optimum Hyper Compound. The M105 is the most aggressive of the three. There are probably some recent developments/new products that I`m not familiar with (I hardly ever do compounding these days).




LSP- What`s your fancy?

I`ve been readin g a little on the forum, just not enough but a few people seem to go with FK1000P



The FK1000P lasts an incredibly long time, while providing great protection. I`ve gradually gotten away from the "last half-% ultimate looks" in favor of not having to redo the vehicle for months at a time.