I don't know about everyone else on the forum, but I am a detailing monster. But anyway, to the question I have for everyone. What detailing products do you use/swear by? Personally I prefer Meguiar's products for the exterior and good ole Armor-All for the interior. But I think I may switch to another brand for the Cobalt... Any suggestions?

 

zaino

 

YES, pain in the A$$ but worth it

 

LOL I'm the same way.. KEEPING EVERYYYYY THHHIING clean and shinny...

I'm going to try mothers on the Cobalt... I think... I hear it's realy good...

Armarol, Black Magic... Soap and Wax ummmmmm.. Still thinking about that one!

 

klasse

 

i use meguires for quick polish and 3m for me full details. but as for interior armoral is bad for plastic and vinyl. There was a test on all dressings for interior and armoral had the highest water content which will lead to cracking. the best ones i have used for interior are stp son of a gun low water and works just as good as armoral

 

I used to use Zymol liquid cleaner wax, but switched to Meguires paste cleaner wax last year, I find both to work very well.

I use the Mother's clay bar kit.

Dupont Teflon wheel cleaner (Simple Green also works well for this)

I think it's turtle wax gel tire shine, I'll have to check.

Simple Green at full strength is great for the engine bay.....

I use one of "the absorber" synthetic chamois to dry the car after washing.

Terry cloth towels to wash the car, 2 per wash.

Soft smooth cotton towels to wipe wax off, can also be used to apply wax and quick detailer type sprays.

One of the california car dusters is great to have around for exterior and also a smaller one for the interior.

That's abou all I can think of right now....

 

I used to use 3M, but haven't been able to find it anywhere for years. My second choice is Meguiar's.

 

I say never use Armor All on your car. My friend swore by it, but after only a few years of regular use (once or twice every two weeks), his dash was the worse cracked dash I have ever seen. He now hates it.
Never put anything containing silicone on your car as it acts like thousands of little magnifying glasses on your dash, but this is what gives it the shine.
Look for something that says it contains no silicone.

 

Period.

Zaino is hands down the best stuff in the world. I tried them all and NOTHING works like Zaino.

This is true especially for the leather interiors. I have white leather seats in my TA and everything I used made them look old and dirty. Then I got Zaino and wow, what a difference! My seats are whiter then fresh snow!

I’m still not sure why many people never heard of this stuff, but Zaino is very popular among the Corvette, F-body, BMW and Audi guys.

 

Agreed. Ever since my dad found Zaino he's obsessed with it. He used it all the time on his PT Cruiser when he first got that. First thing I'm doing when I get my SS S/C will be to claybar it, etc. with Zaino stuff.

The finisher polish they use makes your car so smooth, you can run your hand across it without it getting all 'stuck.' I hope that makes sense.

In conclusion, Zaino rules.

 

With all the pollen landing on my car right now, I'm going to wait a bit longer before I detail again. But before all the pollen got kicked up, I washed it with some Meguiar's car wash stuff & a wool wash mitt. Dried it off with Turtle Wax's knock off of the California Water Blade, and used a chamois to get anything it missed. Used a Clay Magic bar to catch any rail dust it may have picked up in transit, then washed it & dried it again. Waxed the car with Meguiar's NXT Tech Wax, and used their Hot Tires dressing on the tires. And to finish it off I cleaned the glass with Stoner's Invisible Glass. Took awhile but it was worth it. And then it rained.

Oh yeah, and for cleaning the dash, I bought the California Dash Duster which does a fairly good job of picking up dust & such. I also have the bad habit of dragging my work shoes across the door sill which leaves scuff marks. Cleans up easy with soap & water.

 

Yep I keep doing thta too. Pisses me off when I see I had done it.


I usually use Meguires 3 step. But I might have to find some Zaino to try I guess.

 

I use Mothers... Clay and all that good stuff..

But I get the sensation that it's not quite as good as Zaino. lol I've never heard of it.. but it seems like I'll have to try it out!

 

I used the Maguires 3 step in the past. Its nothing compared to Zaino

 

wow i posted once and this thread went nuts lol. anyways about everyone using clay bars. those are real abrasive and should be used very little. i worked at a detail shop and we only used them when things were embeded in the paint. like if you rub you hands over it and paint feels rough after a wax then its somethign you use last resort. i preffer the high speed buffer. I buff my truck out once a year and do just small details once a week during the show season and full detail like twice a month. And 3m products can be picked up at any automotive paint supply shops thats where i buy it.

 

I currently use Armor-All wipes on my current car but will stop after reading all these posts about how bad they are. Or maybe I'll just give them to my sister to use on her car.

 

well it isnt gonna like crack right away. but id switch to stp. just as shiny and no cracking.

 

Wow, great thread. I finally read it but no one that I seen mentioned where you get this Ziano stuff? I've never seen it.

 

http://www.zainostore.com/

 

meguiar's for in and out of the car
there new nxt generation polish and "tech protect"( for intiror) are the best thing you can get for in and out of your car, even there tire gel is great it last for ever thorw rain the tire gel stayes and keeps your tires lookin good...

MEGUIAR'S #1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Just got my restock order from Zaino's.... $190 in stuff. I love it and it's soooooo much better than regular wax. I got the accelerator and the 2 pro polish this time. I'll let you all know how it works. I'm going to try to do 4 coats over memorial day weekend.

 

So is armor all leather wipes not good for leather? or just the dash stuff

 

I detail for a living and all I use is 24kt and blueshine, makes people come back everytime.

 

May aswell spray your interior with cement degreaser before you use that stuff, just IMO.