Seeking product recommendation for production detailing products

[Dan Tran]

Hello AGO!

Currently, my business is kept basic for many reasons since i started out my business back in Dec 2015 officially.

For economic reasons I have kept cost basic and current have been doing daily drivers interiors mostly lately for now. Since then business has been lining up gradually and I will have three exterior jobs lined up very soon. And a few interior jobs in the mix

My arsenal consist of a few basic things.

I have a 1375 steamer/ ridge vac
D114
Plenty of gold plush juniors and 530 mf towels
A mf wash mitt
I only have a single bucket system right now for wash but plan on adding a second
Wolfgang uber rinse less
Wolfgang: total swirl remover, finishing glaze, and deep gloss sealant 3.0, tire gel, tire and wheel cleaners, trim dressing.
I also have HD speed and HD Poxy.
Griots interior leather care spray

Meguiars Ultimate trio. Scratch x

I plan on buying Rupes 15 mark II in a couple of weeks along with Rupes pads I think.

My areas of concern are:

Should Rupes pads work fine with my products?

Also, I was doing some product price comparisons and I was looking at Meguiars detailing line because it just seems extremely economic as far as price per gallon to cost ratio compared to the Wolfgang line I currently have for certain things.

Are there many pro retailers who use Meguiars line for APC ,wheel cleaner, hyper dressing, etc?

I feel I bit off more than I can chew when I went Wolfgang because of the cost of the product for my mobile business. It was more a decision I made because of all the great reviews but things started to hit me when I was doing my car one day a few weeks ago. Depending on how dirty something is, I fast realized if I used a good amount of something (for example) on my clean kept up car, it's going to cost more in the grand scheme of things with a more dirtier car.

Am I wise to eventually switch to Meguiars full line for my business in terms of cost and quality of my final product I am trying to achieve?

Steam is great for many things but wouldn't mind products on hand in case the machine ever goes..

Any how, please help my situation!

[usmcpab]

I personally use many of meguiars detailing line for many of my details. Hyper dressing is one of my favorite products. D151 is what I use for aio type details. As far as your dilemma, I personally also use many Wolfgang, Blackfire or PBMG products in general in many of my details, and don't have a problem with costs. So take into consideration what you're charging as well.

[briarpatch]

I'm no professional, but I do use the Meguiars APC a lot. I mix it up in different dilutions to fit the job

[FOCUS.FREAK]

I think Meguiars is a great option to cost savings. They have a wide variety of different products. Also take a look at 3D products. I don't know if you have use any yet but folex works wonders as a stain remover for carpet and some seats.

[hkirch74]

Hello, I am new to this site only as I don't spend the time on it unless I am looking for something that well I haven't used.

In your search for chemical(s) for production shop or just a very good basic cleaners and polishes and waxes you should try looking at the PROWAX Line @ Prowax.com

I have used almost their entire line of products ranging from cleaners to paint sealants with great success as I managed a production shop in which we did 100 plus cars a week and that was everything from the basic prep and engine cleaning to polishing and hand Carnauba waxing of these vehicles.

The PROWAX line has a good selection and the cost and effectiveness is very good as well as factory support and yes they also sell Clay Bar and other products in which to detail an automobile.

I still detail automobiles for a exotic/classic car broker and he has seen how well these products work.

As to the polisher I use I am using a Milwaukee 2800(rpm) buffer with foam or wool buffing pads depending on the paint and how bad it is but you want to be careful when rubbing out a Packard or newer Corvette as it all depends on what and how the car was refinished. I use the 3M Perfect It System # 2 & # 3 polises in which work very well.

PROWAX has some very good pricing and in their cleaners like their C-49 interior and C-60 car wash products are hard to beat and also their Premo UV Dressing is great and I use it as it dries and looks very natural. Their Paint Sealants and Carnauba Paste Wax is very good also. I don't use many if any Meguiar's products except the #105 polish and # 205 Finish Polish which are similar to the 3M Perfect It System Polishes.

I hope this information is of help to you, I have been using PROWAX since 1977. You will find a system that suits you well and is cost effective in running your business.

I wish you well my friend . . . . . . .

[Dan Tran]

Thanks to all the responses so far!!

Since this is a thread I started I might as well add to it.

I have been reading up on Folex with great feedback.

Does Folex trump Meguiar's D101 on carpet?

Does D101 do well on tire brown grime?

[Kamakaz1961]

IMO you should be fine by sticking with the Megs line. Megs is the 800LB Gorilla that everyone is always trying to beat or compare to. Some products or brands may be better in some areas and some not. So OVERALL, you have picked a great product brand for your detailing business. All that being said, get the 2nd bucket but DO NOT forget to get Grit Guards for both buckets.