2001 VW Passat GLX 4Motion

[DiamondShine900]

I need some suggestions on some products..I'm wanting to try blackfire, pinnacle and Wolfgang..is their washes good? Tire gels any good? I don't want to go too crazy with my upcoming detail but I want a good headstart..any suggested ideas greatly appreciated.

[DiamondShine900]

Here are a few pictures to help you figure out the best products I should use..

[1fastTbird]

All of the brands that you mentioned make top tier goods. With that said it is very easy to spend a bunch of hard earned money on products that you may not necessarily need as a number of them can be used for multiple purposes.
My recommendation would be to identify what kind of finish you are trying to achieve, your budget that you are willing to spend, what tools you have available, and you experience level. With those details laid out, the veterans of the forum can help you out.
Technique and experience are the most important factors that will help you achieve the perfect paint, so watch as many of Mike's videos as you can find.

[North26]

Although I am not a AG veteran, or even senior member, I would not spend money on WG or Pinn yet. Those tend to be more expensive and although your VW is nice condition, I don't think those will be necessary. Especially since you are just starting out and at least when I started out I over used products and wasted them. My suggestion would be to start with cheaper products to get the hang of things and then move up.

To put things in terms of myself, I drive a 12' 335xi and I don't even use WG or Pinn on my car. It is not because I dislike them, but I can achieve the same results with Megs for a fraction of the price. Yes, I am slightly biased towards Megs, but (for the most part) they have a lot of quality products. Here is a short list of products I like, the cheaper on the left, expensive on the right:

Megs Gold Class Wash
Eagle One Rim Cleaner/Sonax
Megs Clay bar kit
Megs Cleaner Wax/Collinite 845
Turtle Wax Trim Restorer(works well on wheels)/Ultimate Trim Tire Guard
Stoner Invisible Glass
Folex for carpets/stained fabric
Megs APC - like $15 per gallon and can be diluted around 4:1ish
Lexol for leather

If you need a polish go with Meg's Ultimate Polish. It is very user friendly and actually produces good results. If you want to polish by hand, buy some medium polish applicator pads (usually the white pads). If you want to polish by machine then buy a Porter Cable. A PC is not the most powerful. But the safest and is great for someone starting out.

I think the products I listed above will cost under $100, with the Porter Cable usually around $120. IMO it is a good starter kit to learn from. But by no means the best available, but the products will give great results plus the majority of them can be purchased at the average auto store or retail chain!

Good luck!

[DiamondShine900]

Thank you I'll consider that however my budget is not too bad off let's say around $500 ish my experience level is good I started detailing my cars after I left high school iv owned some nice older cars throughout the years and some were easy others needed some TLC but I managed..I have a bunch of megs products and turtle wax products in my arsenal but haven't really gotten around to use them all just a few items..

[North26]

Thank you I'll consider that however my budget is not too bad off let's say around $500 ish my experience level is good I started detailing my cars after I left high school iv owned some nice older cars throughout the years and some were easy others needed some TLC but I managed..I have a bunch of megs products and turtle wax products in my arsenal but haven't really gotten around to use them all just a few items..


My mistake, I assumed you were had a little tighter budget. With the new info here are better options and what I use a lot:

-Griot's 6" polisher
-Either a Griot's 3" polisher or buy a 3" backing plate for the 6
-2 buckets, 2 grit guards, 2 lambswool wash mitts
-Meg's Gold Class, WG shampoo
-GTech C4 is a good trim restorer, a member on here did a lengthy review and comparison, worth a read
-UTTG for tires
-Opti-Coat Sealant is my personal favorite. Good shine, durable, easy to use. Althoug WG has a excellent product as well
-Maybe consider a foam gun and/or pressure washer
-High quality microfibers
-Collinite 845
-If the interior is bad McCulloch steamers are good and inexpensive
-Lighting set up. I have 4 1000W lighting rigs I use. I am very anal about missing spots and these will help
-Maybe a little pocket flash light as well for swirls
-If you have never used compound I would stick with Megs UC and UP. Stay away form Megs M105, stuff is a pain to remove


I am not familiar with rinse-less washes, as I live in the Northeast and water is plentiful but a quick search will give you lots of good info. Same with spray wax, I am not a huge fan so I am not a good person to give you info.

Again apologies, hopefully I was a little more helpful this time around

[DiamondShine900]

Yeah it helped I have around 50 or so microfiber towels a speed master wheel brush CG foam blaster 6 but upgrading to the blackfire foam gun..several clay bars etc..again thanks for the information

[Skimmer0220]

wow very nice Passat, I'd love to have a 4motion V6, but what are your goals for the paint? are you looking for paint perfection? no swirls?

[DiamondShine900]

Thanks its a limited edition I was gonna spend my hard earned cash on blackfire, pinnacle, Wolfgang..paint is in mint condition but as far ad perfection goes I think I'll have to play around with some products to lock in that combination so I'll know which ones I like the most..we have car shows every so often and I usually take my car to show it off but my goals are to keep it protected and clean and make it shine like a diamond

[Skimmer0220]

Thanks its a limited edition I was gonna spend my hard earned cash on blackfire, pinnacle, Wolfgang..paint is in mint condition but as far ad perfection goes I think I'll have to play around with some products to lock in that combination so I'll know which ones I like the most..we have car shows every so often and I usually take my car to show it off but my goals are to keep it protected and clean and make it shine like a diamond

I'd go the d/a polisher route with the 500 to spend and make that baby shine even more

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

My recommendation is to start off with the Wolfgang lineup of products. The Wolfgang four is a great place to start and will cover pretty much anything you could throw at them provided you have the proper pads/tools.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/74198-wolfgang-four.html