If You Had $1,500 To Spend, What Essentials Would You Buy?

[toystry]

So I'm tired of wasting money having other people detail my cars since I have 3 cars and 2 motorcycles so I'm gonna take the plunge and dump some initial cash into products that will pay for themselves in the long run.

I'm looking to spend $1,500 on car detailing stuff and I am curious what you guys would purchase if you have $1,500 to blow (that's my top budget, would prefer to spend less however).

Things I'm considering for my list:

Porter Cable Polisher 7424 ($200)
Metro Master Blaster ($340)
Dual Buckets ($120)
Daytona Speed Master Detailer’s Kit ($70)
Foam Gun ($60)
Microfiber Towels "Brand Unknown ($20)

So far I'm up to $810 just in tools, and would still need to purchase with items below:

Polishing Compound
Polishing Pads
Wax
Sealant
Tire Cleaner
Tire Dress
Interior Cleaner Dash/Panels
Interior Cleaner Leather
Window Cleaner
Opti-Coat or CQuartz

Is there anything I'm missing that you would add to the list?

Also, I'm not looking for recommendations on "which brand", I'll do my research, but if you wanna offer brands for specific items I won't say no. :dblthumb2:

Thanks for everyone's time. Feed back please

[af90]

That's pretty high balled for some. Porter Cable, I'd go with Griots ($120), 2 buckets, grit guards cna be had for under 50. I'd put the money into microfibers especially with bogo. If I had to recommend items though.

Compounds I'd go with Menz FG400/SF4000

Meg's Microfiber pads

Blackfire Midnight Sun

Sonax Net Shield

Get a solid APC and you can use it on almost anything.

CarPro PERL

1zeinzett Cockpit Premium / CarPro Fabric and Leather Coating

Megs D130 for glass

Pick your choosing between long lasting sealants.

But overall looks like a pretty solid list, just spend the money on microfibers up front, also think about brushes, meg's has a detailing brush kit, but an assorted set for interior, engine bay, etc... will help

Guzzler HD is awesome for drying. If you're doing rinseless washes go for 8-10 for the wash. Then another 6 or so for exterior work, detail spray, buffing, etc... Then another 8-10 for interior work, door jambs, engine bay, etc...

[Flex3k]

Keep in mind the metro blaster is kind of pricey if your going to coat your cars and bikes with opti coat or cquartz when rinsed there going to bead and sheet water like crazy already cutting your drying time I'd go for an air compressor at half that price or maybe less and pat dry and remaining water with your micros also keep in mind there isn't one polish an pad combo that will work for every kind of car/paint so I'd stick to the smaller 16oz bottles and different sized backing plates and pads for the hard to reach and smaller areas that need correction I'd invest in a pad washer that will save time and keep the pads clean and keep the componding/polishing process more consistent

[Theostoubos]

That's always a fun question to answer.... And $1500 is a good budget.

The way I see it, you have the following steps to cover

Wash
Polish
Protect/Maintain

So....in Order of appearance...

WASH :

Power washer
Foam Gun
APC (eg Meguiars All Purpose Cleaner)
Shampoo (eg Chemical Guys Maxi Suds)
2 Buckets - 2 Grit Guards
Wool Mitt - Chenille Mitt
Plenty of Microfiber Towels (try Costco for just regular use and invest in a few towels of better quality).


POLISH
PC 7424 or if you want to invest on a better tool Flex 3401 VRG
Plates for 4" and 5.5" pads.
Pads (2 for compounding, 2 polishing, 2 applying wax or sealants, of each size 4" and 5.5 ")
Compound & Polish (Menzerna FG400 & SF 4500 or Meguiars M105 or M205)

Invest into approximately 10 decent spray bottles. You will need them....

PROTECT/MAINTAIN

Wax or Sealant (A lot of people swear by the following...) :
Collinite 845
Menzerna Power Lock
Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant
Chemical Guys Black Light & Hybrid V7

VARIOUS

Spray Wax : Optimum Car Wax
Quick Detailer : Meguiars Last Touch
Rinseless Wash : Optimum No Rinse
Wheel Cleaner : Meguiars Heavy Duty Wheel Cleaner
Tire Dressing : Optimum Tire Shine
Clay
Wheel Brushes
10 Decent Spray Bottles
5 Squeeze Bottles. I recommend these Wolfgang Squeeze Bottle, dispenser (http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-squeeze-bottles.html)

I would never, ever spend $340 on a metro blaster before I get myself all these, which I find essential.

Anyway.... It's just my opinion, but I do know that these will get you a long way and you will be able to have some fantastic results.

Good luck. :xyxthumbs::buffing:

[Kyle@PrecisionPolish]

Wagner 915 steamer $125
Homelite 220 MPH leaf blower $50
Rigid 6HP wet/dry vac $120

best 3 tools I've purchased.

[Phathooddetail]

as other have said i would not get the metro blaster just yet. all the products mentioned earlier are good also so i would switch the metro blaster out for a good supply of wheel cleaner like sonax, a good supply of iron-x, then finish with a nice quality sealant you want and wax. It would get better use than the metro blaster.

[cardaddy]

Much too much spent on tools there. Like has been mentioned, Griot's 6" is the way to go. Get the 5" backing plate because not only will it work better, (in that the smaller pads will get into tighter places) but the smaller pads are much cheaper. No worries though about the Griot's spinning up 6½" pads though.

No need for the master blaster either. Grab a dedicated electric leaf blower, even the expensive ones are no more than $75. But I do understand wanting to use it on your bikes. Might keep a look out on CL for one. :dunno:

Chemicals; Get Meguiar's and be done with it. At the very least, APC+, glass cleaner, hyper dressing, wheel brightener, D156 spray wax, Last Touch, etc. No reason that you can't use Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish for that matter. Sure, you can go with 101, just depends on how serious you want to be with it.

You could get the Megs Microfiber Correction Kit and it'll come with a bottle of D300 and D301, (GREAT bottles to have around as they are self cleaning, non clogging) as well as a backing plate (saving money) plus 4 pads. (They throw in a free apron as well) If you buy the kit when there is a 20% off sale you can get 2 of them and you'll have enough cutting and finishing pads (plus 4 bottles of product) that'll get you through a ton of vehicles.

Could add a gallon of D151 to that, along with your foam pads and the Ultimate compound and polish and you'll have everything you need. :dblthumb2:

Also, Megs spray bottles at 6 for $15 (less sale discounts) are not going to break the bank. I'm buying them all the darned time for something or another. (For smaller spray bottles you might check with Corey @ CarPro.)

OTOH Menzerna is just fine as well.

You REALLY need ONR in your cabinet, possibly both versions. If not just the old version. You can use it for TONS of stuff.

If you really feel you need the fancy roll around bucket holder that's no biggie, but on a budget, Lowes buckets and grabbing a handle works just fine. Make sure to get enough grit guards though for everything you have.

GREAT IDEA on the Daytona brushes! Get um' both, you'll be glad you did. (WARNING they will splatter your eyes to death!!!) They are however something you need in your tool kit. Along that line, and ESPECIALLY as you have bikes, get the 3-piece Wheel Woolie kit! Also grab the Mother's brushes and that'll be pretty much everything you'll need for exteriors.

Oh oh oh.... foam gun.... "Butchers Foam Gun". Check it out on the other place, (named after a river/tropical rain forest/jungle). When I bought mine in the spring it wasn't but $27.00! I think it's more like $35 now, but can be had with free shipping.

That reminds me, soap for that sucker. Duragloss 901 (well 902 in the gallon), Megs Hyper Soap or Shampoo Plus, and you might want to grab some CG Honeydew. Speaking of Duragloss, GET SOME DG951 AW! You can use it while drying to stop spotting. My main spray waxes I use all the time are Megs 156 and DG 951.

Tire shine depends on what you like. I recently got a free 32oz of DP Tire Gel and like it. I also use PERL and OptiBond. Optibond is really nice though! PERL however is a fantastic product and can be used in at least 3 to 4 different dilutions around your vehicles.

While we're talking about CarPro products (like PERL), you should grab up some Ultima Tire & Trim Guard Plus (UTTGP). Pricey, but worth it. Will really help your rubber, hoses, fittings and such on the bikes, as well as all your rubber trim on the cars.

Sealant, Megs M21 2.0 is as slick as anything else out there. Wolfgang can of course be found in these parts as well as Blackfire. Might want to get a sample of both of those and decide which one you like. (That's if you like the WOWO sealants.) Not bad to have the WOWA versions, and they play well with their respective polymer sprays, not to mention their same labeled detailing sprays.

Are they any better overall than say Megs 135 detailing spray? Maybe not, just depending on what's on sale I guess.

Finally, please PLEASE P-L-E-A-S-E don't get really cheap with the microfibers. At least not for the ones you're using for LSP's.

That being said, I know a guy that uses nothing but "virgin Wal-Mart towels" when he's doing paint correction. Whether its a Honda or a Ferrari it'll be a really thin, really cheap, (imho really scary) white Wal-Mart towel. :dunno: I much prefer the Costco gold Kirklands (after they've been washed and tags removed) for those jobs where they could be used like that. They are dual-nap terry design with the one side that's pretty soft all things considered.

For the price, (under $15 for 36) they are great to have around, even if you only use them once on paint. (Not saying all paint, but hard GM, Ford, Mazda etc. I've never had a problem with.) I'll use them instead of the "white" towels when working as a team with the other guy for instance, just because I can't stand the feel of those flimsy things he uses. :rolleyes: (Disclaimer; As far as I am aware, he has never had a problem using them, so take that as you like.) I just am not comfortable with them at all. :eek:

Might want to check out MF Tech for prices on 3, 10 to 20 packs. Really nice towels, even the most expensive ones are fairly affordable.

It's like I've told people in the past when I was designing their Home Theater systems. They would think they wanted to get all the latest and greatest doo dads and shiny things but when it came to speakers they didn't want to spend any real money. At the end of the day you LISTEN to your speakers, not your wires, (or even your amps for the most part), and that's where the bulk of your money needs to go.

Same thing when it comes to some decent towels. You'll see the results of a cheap towel fairly quickly when it scratches your paint. I'd rather spend minutes rubbing down the LSP with a big fat towel to a beautiful shine than hours trying to buff it back out again. Get some nice towels, even if it's just a few and you'll be glad you did! ;) That not withstanding, check out those Costco Kirkland units you may find they'll do quite a bit of work for ya'.

Of course once it all catches on... er the disease spreads... er, your sickness gets worse.... ;) You may find that you need Menzerna, Optimum, Meguiars, Wolfgang AND Blackfire compounds, polishes, sealants, and everything else you can think of. :laughing:

That is after all what happened to the rest of the inmates here. Im the MAN

[Harry Da Hamster]

I'm also trying to build my master collection. Just a few ideas off the top of my head.

Get a Griots Garage 6" polisher instead of the PC. Its priced similarly but it has much better power.

Do you REALLY need a Metro Blaster? With that budget, i wouldn't prioritize that much money to a glorified leaf blower.

Go to Home Depot and get two 3 gal buckets and get two grit guards and call it a day. $120 for a bucket system is insane, regardless of budget.

Costco microfiber towels can't be beat in value. Even if you have to buy a membership for $50 just to get the towels, its still a good value!

Get two good waffle weave drying towels. I like Pakshak towels. Use a damp Costco MF to remove the excess water while drying, then a Pakshak Waffle Weave to completely dry.

Dump the Daytona wheel brushes and get the Wheel Woolies. I don't want to have to say "i told you so" after the first time you use them and all the caked up brake dust and wheel cleaning chemicals splatters all over your face.

Get a set of RaceGlaze detail brushes. I use this very often to get in the nooks

[Mach1USMC]

Honestly I'd look a buying a starter kit from AGO or CG. You can get decent "all inclusive" kits for $500-$600, ie: pads, DA, and a good variety of products. To add to it get a steam cleaner (I found a basic one for 130 on Amazon), a pressure washer, and shop vac. Spend another $50-$75 on some MF bundles, and maybe another $100 on product you'll use a lot: ie car wash soap, extra pads, some more wax and compound, and maybe some more detail spray. You should be under $1500 at his point. Then you can look at extras like NanoSkin towels or pads, extra buckets, carts, stools etc. - personally I'm at around $1300 and I have everything to include 2 buffers, probably close to 100 towels, shop vac, LOTS of product. I don't have a power washer or steam cleaner yet though. Going to wait til I get back for that.

One tip. Buy kits or in bulk and buy stuff that's on sale!!

[toystry]

Would Opti-Coating or CQuartz negate the need for a lot of these products or are people still using sealants/waxes on top of Opti-Coat?

[af90]

Would Opti-Coating or CQuartz negate the need for a lot of these products or are people still using sealants/waxes on top of Opti-Coat?If you want the look of a wax go for it. In my opinion sealants are pretty useless as that's what Opticoat/CQuartz are for. Just dont expect any waxes to last an appreciable amount of time.

[dooyaunastan]

PC7424xp - $125
LC 5.5" Backing plate - $10
LC 3" Backing plate - $10
2 6 packs of LC flat pads (5 orange, 5 white, 2 black) - $60-70
2-3 3 packs of LC HydroTech 3" pads (cyan and tangerine, possibly 3 crimson) - $30-50
Pad cleaner - $10-20
IPA or CarPro Eraser or something of the sort - $5-20

Compounds : Meg's 105, Meg's 101, Menzerna FG400, CarPro Fixer, Meg's D300 (if you opt for MF pads). Estimate $20-30 or more for the likes of 101

Polishes : Meg's 205, Menzerna SF4000/4500, WG TSR/FG, plenty of options, figure $20-$30

1-2 dozen nice MF towels for polish & wax removal - $~50
1-2 dozen cheap MF towels for engine/jambs/wheels/etc $20-30
1-2 waffle weave drying towels - $30

2-3 5 gallon buckets ($15-20)
2-3 grit guards ($20-$30)
Shampoo (CG Honey dew snow foam is a favorite) $20-$30
Wash media (I like the LC sponges or similar for lower dirtier panels and MF chenille for less dirty areas) $20-$30

Masterblaster - $340
Foammaster II - $40 but not neccessary
EZ mini - $25
EZ detail brush -$15
Mother's wheel brush - $5
Tuff Shine tire brush - $5
Mother's Interior carpet brush - $5
Raceglaze set of 5 brushes -$30

APC - Meg's D103 and a gallon of D101 for tire cleaning if you feel like it, APC can be diluted to cover interior cleaning, even works on coated leather (in most cars today, only higher end cars have real leather, for which I suggest leatherique) - $15-30 for 1-2 gallons

Meg's D120 is the best bang for your buck for glass cleaning, user Ihavecamaro has a good video comparing it to Stoner's Invisible Glass. - $~20 a gallon

Tire dressing, you could look at CarPro PERL, Meg's Hyper Dressing, Meg's Tire & Trim Gel, tons of options. Figure $10-$20

For sealant, I'd suggest Blackfire Wet Diamond just for it's ease of use and slickness factor, I like it more than Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant but I still wanna try Menzerna Powerlock. Figure $30.

Wax, I'll leave you to your research but I wouldn't really go over $40 for one especially if you're looking at coatings.

Opti-Coat or CQuartz - $60-70

That rings close to $1200.

A lot of this you could & should purchase at Autogeek, however Autogeek is not the only place I'd shop for my detailing products (like 5 gallon buckets or MF towels for the most part). Shop smart and your $1500 can go a loooonnng way.

[Rake]

I'd buy a Flex or Rupes polisher kit, the cheaper DA's are great, but I'd go with one of the better polishers.

I suggest pricing out your kit with a Flex or Rupes and all of your supplies, if you still have enough for the master blaster, get it, but leave that as your "not really needed" item, I still can't bring myself to buy one because my leaf blower works beautifully.

If you go with a leaf blower, I recommend a 12 amp, corded.

[Shortspark]

$1500? Easy - 166 bottles of AquaWax.

[KillaCam]

$1500? Easy - 166 bottles of AquaWax.

Bad idea, buy the gallon and get more.

42 gallons of aquawax is $1500= 5,376 oz. of product

166 22 oz. bottles is $1500= 3,652 oz. of product

You get 1,724 more ounces for the same price! See buying in bulk saves money :xyxthumbs:

Haha