List your bottom ten detailing products

Todd@RUPES

Just a regular guy
1) Cobra microfibers - I cannot even use the mango ones anymore because they shed everywhere



2) Lake Country Green CCS pad- The 7.5 inch one sold thru autogeek. It is NOT the german foam, but more like the yellow foam. Only it cuts less and leaves a worse finish behind.



3) Meguiars PC Backing Plate- Both of the ones I used seperated with in two months.



4) Stongers Tarminator- Great at removing bugs, tar, grime, and paint!



5) Meguiars NXT- Amazing looking sealant that lasted all of 2.9 weeks



6) Menzerna PowerGloss- Considering how many great compounds there are that remove more and finish nicer, this is amongst the worst I have used.



7) Meguiars Microfibers- The yellow ones.. Work great for two washes, then don't work at all.



8) Meguiars Waffle Weave- Works great for three washes, then stops absorbing :(



9) Zaino Z16 Clay- Works great if you goal is to remove nothing or if you car doesn't really need clay.



10) Zymol Ital- Hands down the worst wax I have ever used. I honestly believe that Meguiars DC3 looked better and lasted longer. Not to mention it is an absolute pain to apply, harder to remove, and does nothing for the paint.
 
I'm not impressed with the highly regarded Meguiars glass cleaner, DP glass cleaner or CMA's foam pads. The backing on every single one of my pads came off very quickly. Some after the first wash.



Patrick
 
Funny how you said Stoner's Tarminator... didn't you use that on an Orange Lambo??



Also... why not the z16 clay? I thought you liked that product too!?!

What are you using now?
 
A couple things that just bug me



1. Griot's Garage's Marketing (they could sell dog poop and still make $$$$$)

2. Detailers Domain's Red MF Towels (bleed their color WAY too easily)

3. CG Fluffer MF Towels... I thought I was going to love these, but they're too large to remove wax effectively

4. Optimum Opti-Seal (sorry, Scottwax)
 
autobahnshine said:
Funny how you said Stoner's Tarminator... didn't you use that on an Orange Lambo??



Also... why not the z16 clay? I thought you liked that product too!?!

What are you using now?



Yes, I have also used it on a Ferrari F50 as well. Just don't let it sit to long on the paint... Not sure why its funny though?



Z16 is super mild which is fine for the type of work I do, but if the car has contamination, then it doesn't work as well as many others....
 
Meguiar's NXT ...I have to STRONGLY agree with that one.



I haven't been too impressed with Werkstatt's AJT either.
 
products i stopped using...to name a few...

- DP window cleaner

- Detailer's Domain 16x16 towels

- Cobra Super Plush Jr

- CG air freshener

- DG 105
 
I have two.



2)Sonus Trim and Motor Kote- Terrible. Dried with streaks, and when you wipe it, it just gets worse.

1) Sonus Green "Fine" Clay- Terrible. x3. Does nothing, unless you like sitting in a 1'x1' section and scrubbing as hard as you can, and inducing more marring than sanding the damn car, just to get that stupid little bug off..
 
dmw2692004 said:
I have two.



2)Sonus Trim and Motor Kote- Terrible. Dried with streaks, and when you wipe it, it just gets worse.

1) Sonus Green "Fine" Clay- Terrible. x3. Does nothing, unless you like sitting in a 1'x1' section and scrubbing as hard as you can, and inducing more marring than sanding the damn car, just to get that stupid little bug off..



I thought it was just me when I used sonus green but you confirmed my thoughts. I used it the other day on a white Z3 that hadn't been detailed in 3 years. The car was fairly dirty yet after I washed it and went to clay... nothing, and i mean nothing came off! It seemed strange so I tested the only other clay I had at the time which was Megs Agressive red on a small area of the trunk and I got some contaminents picked up in the bar, with SG though nothing. Now im pissed because I bought 2 packs for a total of 4 bars and just ran out of my pinnacle ultrapoly. Hows the adams clay?
 
1. Natural Sea Sponge - Marred the heck out of my paint.

2. Cobra MF's - they leave more lint on my car than my dryer

3. Stoner Invisible Glass Cleaner - fogs the heck out of my windows in the morning

4. Zaino Z10 - a very strong old leather mitt smell)

5. Meguiars NXT - mutes the flakes on my paint and durability sucks

I'll update the list when I remember the other ones.
 
dsms said:
I thought it was just me when I used sonus green but you confirmed my thoughts. I used it the other day on a white Z3 that hadn't been detailed in 3 years. The car was fairly dirty yet after I washed it and went to clay... nothing, and i mean nothing came off! It seemed strange so I tested the only other clay I had at the time which was Megs Agressive red on a small area of the trunk and I got some contaminents picked up in the bar, with SG though nothing. Now im pissed because I bought 2 packs for a total of 4 bars and just ran out of my pinnacle ultrapoly. Hows the adams clay?



Dont know about adams, but I ordered 6 bars from claymagic and a few bottles of their lube. Have yet to use them. Ended up costing like 10 bucks more than the 2 bars of sonus and one bottle of the souns lube.
 
3M Dark Car Swirl Mark Remover - "remover" is not the right word. Met it's end at the rifle range.



Poorboy's Wheel Sealant - always impossible to apply without putting a ton on, due to bottle design. I like Rejex better anyways.



Chemical Guy's Waffle Weaves - I really like the rest of their towels, but not these. Always got marring from them.



Lake Country Wool Cutting pad - The worst ratio of cut to finish yet. Cuts like an Edge Green, finishes like an Edge Black.



New LC Orange foam - Just great if you want to grab an edge and burn through. Too stiff for rotary use.



CG M-Seal - The sealant with Carnauba durability!



CG O-Shine - Thick, slingly crap. Met it's end at the rifle range.
 
Now this is interesting. And leaves me with a couple questions.



1 - I've used Stoners Tarminator... why would you say it's great at removing paint? I've used it, and never had any adverse effects from using it. The ONLY reason I DON'T use it anymore... the SMELL, it's GOD AWFUL, and I NEVER was able to get the smell out of the cheap mf towel I used with it. Thankfully I used one of my cheap towels with it.
 
Disappointed with Eagle One's wheel & tire cleaner. Works very very well, but it takes a lot and I can only do about 8 wheels with one bottle. Finished 2 bottles and won't buy again, despite excellent performance for costs reason.



No towel no matter how "designed to clean glass streak free" is written have given me the result I want. I still get the best results with good old newspapers.



Stoner's Invisible Glass. Not the product itself, but the container : aerosol. When I release the button, some drips will always find a way to get on the paint. I know it's now available in spray, but I have other glass cleaner stuff to deplete before I try. This aerosol can is now used in the appartment to clean windows and mirrors.



ALL trim products I tried. Too many to list They all look good until a wash or a rain. One exception : Black Wow looked very good until it froze on the cladding. I should have taken some pics of my clean plastic cladding wearing it this winter : horrible. Plus, you have to scrap a wash mitt the first time you wash your car and do the cladding. The stuff gets on the mitt and is unremovable. Will only use on vehicles I know won't be washed for months or only at touchless.



Turtle Wax Ice. Tried this after being so frustrated by trim products I actually thought this being a wax/sealant would be better. WRONG. Even the paste version, which TW claims lasts longer than their liquid version disappears quickly. Still have the paste can decorating my shelf, not sure what I'll use it for



Meguiar's Quik Wax. Looks OK, but doesn't really improve shine. Kills beading from LSP (QW containing carnauba I expected otherwise). I now use it for the steel rims before I store them for winter or summer and in the bathroom to make the shower walls and sink smooth after I clean them. Have to deplete it somehow, I refuse to throw it away.



Simple Green glass cleaner : "streak free" is reversed, it should be "free streaks". Unfit for large car glasses, I use it daily to clean my eyeglasses.



Absorber. Never worked well for me. Still have it as a backup towel in case I drop my only WW.



Meguiar's ScratchX. This product has a mind of its own. On some cars (or could it be some days ?) it works very well. Of course being a hand used product I expect to work it hard. But why is it sometimes SO hard to remove the residue/excess after working it ? It just won't come off the paint.
 
skuz said:
Disappointed with Eagle One's wheel & tire cleaner. Works very very well, but it takes a lot and I can only do about 8 wheels with one bottle. Finished 2 bottles and won't buy again, despite excellent performance for costs reason.



That's my biggest problem with it also. Also, if you use it on alluminum wheels and stuff, it leaves spots, that you then need to use a metal polish to get rid of. I use it on my factory painted/clear coated wheels and it works great. It's expensive, but last summer I bought a ton of it when Advance Auto Parts had a buy 1 get 1 free sale :clap: Bought every bottle they had one the shelf one day, came back the following week, bought every bottle on the shelf that day, lol.
 
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