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Best detail products for the money! DD cleaning...


zeitgeist57

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Alright...I surprised myself when I did some searching and didn't find much on detailing products. I want to be READY for the 2015 season. Please advise on what I need to buy online:

 

Wheel cleaner - thinking IronX or Royal Brown?

Rinseless soap - Optimum?

Steamer - for carpet cleaning and leather

Electric power washer - For wheel well, undercarriage?

Brushes - I've used an excellent soft nylon bristle brush that I'll continue using, but would like a good between-spoke wheel brush.

Leather/Vinyl treatment - I bought a can of Sonax for my BMW last season and I liked it alot for the leatherette seats and hard tonneau cover

 

Anything else you recommend? This will be used on my 2 "nicer" DDs (CTS-V and BMW) so nothing I need to spend $100s on, though I realize a large rinseless jug will be about $50 but should last a long time.

 

Thanks in advance, CR Detailers! :thumbup: If I missed previous discussions, just copy/paste in here...

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Wheel cleaner - Sonax. It's expensive but it's good. Buy in bulk to bring price down

Rinseless - optimum no rinse. Again buy gallon

Leather - I've been very happy with Leather Masters line as of late. Still like zaino too but requires a couple of wipe downs after application to keep shine down.

Brush - buy a soft lug nut brush and either a speed master wheel brush or wheel woollies.

 

Not a power washer guy. Clean the hard to reach areas by hand :D

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I use diluted Optimum for wheels (light cleaning) and this diluted pro product (lye based) for heavy cleaning; I wouldn't use Optimum without rinsing.

 

I don't use steamer for interior, just a regular vacuum cleaner.

 

Power washer is half a hassle for me and I don't like the strong spray which may take off trim, paint, emblem, or any other piece; so undercarriage rinsing is done using a garden hose with a good nozzle. I do this several times a week between the truck and the Z in salty months keeping them cleaner, so a power washer is not required; they never got so dirty. Only once in a long while one of them would need a couple full washes to get rid of the heavier dirt.

 

I use a cheap 1.5-in wide paint brush (with a few layers of duct tape around the wide part next to the bristles to avoid marring and scratching) to clean between spokes and lug wells. A large soft nylon brush with split ends for larger areas like the lip and center section. To clean the barrel, I use a tire-bead-lube applicator which has loose cloth bristles and wire handle. The wire handle is covered by a few layers of duct tape to prevent marring and scratching. It's small enough to go between caliper and barrel for most wheel and brake conbinations; otherwise the car will need to roll a maximum of 270-deg wheel revolution (the case for CTS-V with 18" wheels, no need while having 19" or larger).

 

My interiors are usually vacuumed and lightly cleaned using this pro product containing mink oil. Once in a long while, cars with leather trim get Leatherique full treatment. So far, the Leatherique treatments never yielded anything to indicate heavy soiling.

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Thanks, Andy! I looked at that Full Effect wheel cleaner and it does look like great stuff. Anyone have any discounts for products? :)

 

BTW, despite my cheapassedness, I realized this last year (especially with Sonax) that cheap, piss-based wheel cleaners and soaps are now costing a pretty penny. Yes, you pay more for the professional products but if I get something recommended by others, it tends to do better cost-per-volume over the cheap WalMart/AutoZone stuff, especially with a discount or bulk-shipping on the internet. I've got a milk crate of old cheap products I'd rather get rid of.

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Yep, do it often (like once a week) to keep it clean and you don't need a heavy cleaner. The lye-based wheel cleaner I got actually scares me. It's diluted 5:1 and I keep watch of it closely while it's working. Sonax falls between this diluted pro product and the diluted Optimum (2:1), but diluted Optimum is a whole lot cheaper for light cleaning and if you need medium cleaning, use Optimum at full strength but keep an eye on it. By using Optimum for a lot of things (work for underhood cleaning when diluted further) you keep the cleaner variety in your shelf to one.
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Thanks for your points, guys. I agree about not needing the power washer too...I've gone back to the coin-op car wash this winter and for $1.50 I get a hot, soapy power-wand wash that I can use to knock salt/slush off topside and underside...that's about the worst the car ever gets is in winter. I'm sure regular maintenance during warmer months will keep it as good as it's gonna look. :)

 

Definitely looks like Sonax wheel, Optimum washsoap, and a Speed Master brush for now. Quick google search earlier showed that Autogeek option...I'll buy some stuff for my FiL as well.

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