Beginner looking for supplies/product advice

S

StunnedDetail

New member
Hi guys,


im new here on the forum so first a little introduction.
im a student and recently bought my first car, a nice red suzuki ignis sport, and after washing it a couple of times my hands start itching to do more than just wash it. I have already polished & waxed it once with some cheap stuff, which was ok but not that great, so i would like to buy some quality products.
Eventually i might even would like to get a little side job out of detailing.


the point is, im struggling a little on what supplies to buy.
lets say i have €100(yes euros, i live in europe) to start out with.
what i already have atm:
- decent quality shampoo with some carnuba wax in it
- good quality MF drying towel
- basic/decent MF washing sponge
- cheap MF wash mitt
- some real cheap multipurpose MF towels
- a bunch of cheap yellow applicator pads, cheap blue MF pads and some cheap white wooly ones which came with the set and i havent used yet because no idea what they are for.


so with €100, what should i buy.(i plan on polishing by hand for starters so no Buffer required)
- i have read good things about collinite 845 and a bottle also seems to go a very long way, so that would be my choice of wax(€20)
- auto glym SRP, have read good things about it for its price (€10)
- a set of pads for multiple application purposes (polish, wax, etc) these?
https://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guy...00BTGSGFK/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8
or should i invest in something more expensive/durable, for example chemical guys hex logic series? And how much of each would i need?
- some quality MF towels for buffing polish and wax i guess?
- i plan on buying some big basic buckets for starters, no grit guards, just wash using 2 bucket Method


so am i on the right track? What am i missing? What will be worth investing in for sure?
 
the two bucket method involves a grit guard, you need one of those for sure at least if you are doing the 2 bucket method

as far as the pads I don`t know- I prefer Rupes pads because I have Rupes polishers and they just run smoother that way- I`m sure someone else can provide advice on that

I don`t know what choices you have as far as vendors over there but you might look into Poorboys UK presence as their DMT towels are quite good in my opinion

you can repurpose those cheap towels you had for nasty duties like fender wells, etc

Quality towels, wash mitts, drying towels are worth the investment- you don`t want to scratch your ride with bad towels after you spend all that time working on it, right?
 
Costco has the best cheap microfiber towels. Walmart has the chenille mitt for only $5. You can also get gold class by the gallon at costco for $9, it has no carnauba though.
 
512detail said:
the two bucket method involves a grit guard, you need one of those for sure at least if you are doing the 2 bucket method

as far as the pads I don`t know- I prefer Rupes pads because I have Rupes polishers and they just run smoother that way- I`m sure someone else can provide advice on that

I don`t know what choices you have as far as vendors over there but you might look into Poorboys UK presence as their DMT towels are quite good in my opinion

you can repurpose those cheap towels you had for nasty duties like fender wells, etc

Quality towels, wash mitts, drying towels are worth the investment- you don`t want to scratch your ride with bad towels after you spend all that time working on it, right?
Click to expand...

hmm might as well look for a grit guard if thats the case.

I dont plan on buying a rotary just yet so its hand pads im looking for, any good experiences with a particular brand? (Price / quality Wise)

i live in the netherlands, almost all brands are available but prices are steep. e.g. Meguiars gold class car wash: amazon $9, over here €27... Same for poorboys dmt, $6 vs €9 So i will be buying most of my stuff from amazon and such i guess.

any suggestions as to what else i need regarding cleaning products? Whats a good bug/tar cleaner?

i will indeed invest in some quality mitts and such. Is a lamswool wash mitt worth the extra $$$ or can is just stick with a MF wash mitt?
 
Mr. Slick said:
Costco has the best cheap microfiber towels. Walmart has the chenille mitt for only $5. You can also get gold class by the gallon at costco for $9, it has no carnauba though.
Click to expand...

You mean the 36 pack from kirkland at costco? Are they machine washable or disposable?
any other worthwhile products from wall-mart? Otherwise the shipping costs all the way to europe wont be worth the hassle.
 
StunnedDetail said:
You mean the 36 pack from kirkland at costco? Are they machine washable or disposable?
any other worthwhile products from wall-mart? Otherwise the shipping costs all the way to europe wont be worth the hassle.
Click to expand...

Yes, those are the ones he`s talking about. While they`re decent towels for a decent price but I don`t think that the shipping would be worth it.

I definitely agree that a good quality wash mitt/sponge/pad and towels are the most important place to start. Good wash equipment will keep you from further marring the surface so, even if it takes you a few more months to get the rest of what you want, you won`t make it any worse. Also, if you use the cheap stuff, spend all that time hand polishing it, and then put some love marks in it the first wash I`m sure you won`t be too happy.

I am not a microfiber connoisseur by any means (and have not tried PB DMT`s) but I can say that everything from here is good. There are a lot of good towels over at The Rag Company for a good price. There are even acceptable towels to be had on Amazon for a good price.

Also, I wouldn`t skip on the grit guard. Some people will say that it doesn`t help but it definitely gives me peace of mind and, IME, it does help.
 
Okay thanks for all the advice, compiling my amazon shopping cart at the moment.
What i have so far:
- Meguiars gold class car wash
- The Rag Company wash mit (2-pack)
- The Rag Company 16 in. x 16 in. proff. 70/30 blend 420 GSM MF towels (9-pack)

Thoughts?

I think im set on MF mitts and drying/buffing towels for now.
some things i still need, a glass cleaner, a bug remover and a good rim cleaner. Any suggestions?
 
megs detailer glass cleaner concentrate. One gallon makes 11 gallons. If not that Invisible Glass is pretty good but its $5 for 16 oz
 
Mr. Slick said:
megs detailer glass cleaner concentrate. One gallon makes 11 gallons. If not that Invisible Glass is pretty good but its $5 for 16 oz
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Invisible Glass streaked everytime I used it. Dunno ? Not sold on Megs either.
3D HD has a 50:1 glass cleaner gal, enzyme based bug remover gal. plus they have a brake dust cleaner BDX I`m trying that tonight on tires & wheels.
all this is on Amazon.
just a few suggestions good luck and keepa postin`. :howdy
 
You can use mineral spirits for a bug/tar remover, if you have a good lsp on you could use an APC possibly.
 
Picked op some cheap dedicated bug cleaner today, lets see how that works out.
also cleaned my windows with methylated spirit, worked a charm! completely streak free, clean windows.
 
StunnedDetail said:
Picked op some cheap dedicated bug cleaner today, lets see how that works out.
also cleaned my windows with methylated spirit, worked a charm! completely streak free, clean windows.
Click to expand...

I don`t know what "cheap" products you have there but I tried a few cheap OTC ones (only one I can remember is Turtle Wax) just to see if any would work well enough to recommend to friends and family that don`t want to order things. I can`t recommend any of the ones I tried and instead either tell them to order PB Bug Squash or offer to order for them.
 
RDKC said:
I don`t know what "cheap" products you have there but I tried a few cheap OTC ones (only one I can remember is Turtle Wax) just to see if any would work well enough to recommend to friends and family that don`t want to order things. I can`t recommend any of the ones I tried and instead either tell them to order PB Bug Squash or offer to order for them.
Click to expand...

You ain`t kiddin`...1 tire dress, 4$ said long lasting, because it was siicone !! MAN I couldn`t get it off for a year.
 
Best bang for the buck products for me are:
Wax = Collinite 845 (SUPER TOUGH Wax)
APC = Meg`s D101 APC ($13 a gallon, diluted 10:1, I even use it for cleaning around the house lol)
Wheel Cleaner = Optimum Power Clean ($30 a gallon, diluted 3:1, works very nice, credit to Roshan for his Youtube video)
QD = Meg`s D155 ($20 a gallon, diluted 1:1 for clay bar or using as a QD)
Drying Aid = Duragloss Aquawax (This replaces the need of getting a carnauba based soap, saves your money)
The rest would be for 2 "5 Gallon" bucket (Make your own marking) plus a pair of grit guard or at least a single grit guard on the "Rinse" bucket.

These should be close to 100 Euro I believe, at least with the price in here. These are my go to products in terms of best bang for the buck!!
 
rookiez said:
Best bang for the buck products for me are:
Wax = Collinite 845 (SUPER TOUGH Wax)
APC = Meg`s D101 APC ($13 a gallon, diluted 10:1, I even use it for cleaning around the house lol)
Wheel Cleaner = Optimum Power Clean ($30 a gallon, diluted 3:1, works very nice, credit to Roshan for his Youtube video)
QD = Meg`s D155 ($20 a gallon, diluted 1:1 for clay bar or using as a QD)
Drying Aid = Duragloss Aquawax (This replaces the need of getting a carnauba based soap, saves your money)
The rest would be for 2 "5 Gallon" bucket (Make your own marking) plus a pair of grit guard or at least a single grit guard on the "Rinse" bucket.

These should be close to 100 Euro I believe, at least with the price in here. These are my go to products in terms of best bang for the buck!!
Click to expand...

Thanks, helps me out a lot! Will be going shopping for those
 
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