Daily Driver Detail Kit - need recommendations!

[jjv101]

Hello all, new member here and thought I would do a small introduction along with a newbie looking for some help and product recommendations! I have always tried to keep my vehicles (trucks) as clean as possible, which has been a struggle with living in apartments and what not. But now I have a house with access or water and a garage! And I just ordered myself a 2016 Ram 2500 (expected to take delivery around the end of December). Since I ordered the truck and its going to be my first BRAND NEW vehicle I have been trying to research products to keeping it well maintained, protected and looking as good as possible.

This will be a daily driver and see all weather conditions in Ohio. At first I was looking at ordering a wash kits from Adams (includes 1 bucket, 1 grit guard, 2 wash pads, microfiber towels, drying towel, car shampoo, APC, detail spray, and a spray sealant/gloss enhancer)

The problem I am having as I've spend the past couple weeks looking at different products and have been considering there may be better alternative products to the kit. But not having used many products I need some recommendations.

-Buckets: why spend $25 for a single bucket and grit guard when I can go to Lowes or Home Depot and get two buckets and order two grit guards for $25-$30. So that takes care of that

-Car wash/shampoos:
--Seems there are a lot of good ones, so which is the best for pH balance, cleaning power, suds, lubricity, easily removed, and streak free, while still cost effective?

-Rinseless/Waterless Wash:
--Again seems like a lot of good choices such as Optimum, Ultimo, Wolfgang Uber, Black Fire, D114/D115, etc..
--So which is best for cleaning power, lubricity/slickness, easy to remove/dry, and streak free?

-Glazes/Gloss enhancers? Got nothing for these

-Sealants
--liquid vs spray on applications?

-Quick Detail/Clay lube:
--Seems a lot of people use their rinseless/waterless wash concentrates for this? Optimum seems popular or am I mistaken?

-Microfiber:
-- Waffle weave for drying
--What GSM/plushness do I need for rinseless/waterless as well as product application and removal?

Am I missing anything?

Again just looking for some recommendations/reviews/comparisons on what products are these best in each category that work well with each other! This won't be just for me but also as a gift for my father who has well water...

Thanks in advance!

[vabch22]

I'm in the same boat as you. I am trying to figure out what products to buy for a beginner that are easy to work with and offer the best price/performance. I don't know where to begin. Just started reading this forum and there are so many products to choose from.

[parshooter]

There really are no "best" for any particular product. Many people have their favorites and all the suggestions you get here will be good. Do a search on each product to see reviews and opinions and go from there. I'm just a weekend warrior like yourself. I use ONR for rinseless washes, Nanosponge lube, and a quick detailer. I have used Blackfire polish/sealer, Collinite 845 and Mothers Synthetic waxes, Stoners glass cleaner, Optima Tire Gel, Meguirs interior detailer, and various microfiber towels. But don't be like me and order one or two things at a time. Do all your shopping at once to save on shipping. Good luck.
BTW, my favorite tip that I got here is to use a spray wax while drying your car. It works great.

[BillyJack]

I'm just a weekender also, but I've been absorbing the wealth of info here for five years, while buying and trying a bunch of stuff to protect my fleet of DD's here in Western PA, so I'll pass along some of the info I've learned to get you started:

-Car wash/shampoos:
--Seems there are a lot of good ones, so which is the best for pH balance, cleaning power, suds, lubricity, easily removed, and streak free, while still cost effective?
I use both Meguiar's Gold Class and Duragloss-both inexpensive, often locally available and very effective.

-Rinseless/Waterless Wash:
--Again seems like a lot of good choices such as Optimum, Ultimo, Wolfgang Uber, Black Fire, D114/D115, etc..
--So which is best for cleaning power, lubricity/slickness, easy to remove/dry, and streak free?
A multitude of choices here, but I like the Ultima as both a rinseless/ waterless wash/ detailer. My favorite rinseless is Duragloss for its performance in cooler weather, though I also use Optimum and Meguiar's D114.

-Sealants
--liquid vs spray on applications?
Spray waxes are OK as boosters and drying aids, but liquids or pastes are the way to go for durability. All the Collinite and Duragloss products are superb in the bang-for-the-buck category

-Quick Detail/Clay lube:
--Seems a lot of people use their rinseless/waterless wash concentrates for this? Optimum seems popular or am I mistaken?
ONR is superb. I use more for clay lube than I do for washing.

-Microfiber:
-- Waffle weave for drying
I have a bunch of different WW towels. No real standouts to recommend.
--What GSM/plushness do I need for rinseless/waterless as well as product application and removal?
For rinseless washing, I prefer a microfiber mitt, either the Meguiar's or the new Ultra-soft rinseless mitt from AG.

For microfiber towels, the choices are endless, but the blue or green AG rolled edge towels are safe for any surface and a bargain.
Get some Kirkland towels from Costco for utility use on interiors, jambs etc., where a plush towel is not necessary.

Once again, I'm just an amateur, so don't take my recommendations as absolute, just preliminary guidelines. Spend some additional time here soaking up information and you'll learn a lot.

Shine on!
Bill

[EzyBrzy]

I went to Autozone and they have buckets there for 4.99.

I hear nothing but good stuff on Chemical Guys line up of car soap. I picked up their Citrus Wash to use prior to detailing to strip any waxes and Honeydew snow foam for maintenance washes.

For a sealant I used Chemical Guys Jet-Seal. It has been only 5 days but my car still looks good. So can't say anything about durability yet. The bottle says up to 12 months of protection though.

This is my first time with Chemical guys, just though I'd give them a shot. Like you, I'm also new and trying to soak in any information this community has been generously been giving me.

Any other miscellaneous items, I just picked up here and there. One thing I can say is that, don't go cheap on micro-fiber towels. I bought a pack at Harbor Freight and they didn't feel so nice.

[tenblade2001]

I went to Autozone and they have buckets there for 4.99.

I hear nothing but good stuff on Chemical Guys line up of car soap. I picked up their Citrus Wash to use prior to detailing to strip any waxes and Honeydew snow foam for maintenance washes.

For a sealant I used Chemical Guys Jet-Seal. It has been only 5 days but my car still looks good. So can't say anything about durability yet. The bottle says up to 12 months of protection though.

This is my first time with Chemical guys, just though I'd give them a shot. Like you, I'm also new and trying to soak in any information this community has been generously been giving me.

Any other miscellaneous items, I just picked up here and there. One thing I can say is that, don't go cheap on micro-fiber towels. I bought a pack at Harbor Freight and they didn't feel so nice.

I purchased MANY items from CG and the only ones that I would buy again are :
- Soaps (all are really good IMO and better deal when you buy the gallon)
- V7 QD (its not a spray sealant)
-innerclean
-EZ creme glaze (BUT I hear Prima Amigo is better)

[EzyBrzy]

I purchased MANY items from CG and the only ones that I would buy again are :
- Soaps (all are really good IMO and better deal when you buy the gallon)
- V7 QD (its not a spray sealant)
-innerclean
-EZ creme glaze (BUT I hear Prima Amigo is better)

I thought I read someone using V7 and their car had less beading/shine to it. Kinda like it broke down the wax or sealant. So I was kinda weary on purchasing it.

Would like to try out the Inner clean though.

[woob44]

I purchased MANY items from CG and the only ones that I would buy again are :
- Soaps (all are really good IMO and better deal when you buy the gallon)
- V7 QD (its not a spray sealant)
-innerclean
-EZ creme glaze (BUT I hear Prima Amigo is better)

This!

I got into detailing for the exact same reason as the OP. Watched a lot of CG videos on youtube and bought an absurd amount of their stuff, to include the Torq polisher which I think is a turd and will be banished to tire scrubbing and carpet shampooing as soon as my new Rupes comes in. The only things I will buy from them now are soaps. I've found that almost every CG product I've replaced with something from AG has worked better or faster and almost all have been cheaper.

[jjv101]

Appreciate all the input so far fellas! There is a ton of information to be soaked up on here it's crazy!

Trying my best to read up on different products and what is working well for people. Holding off to order anything until Black Friday to see what deals are out there but I think I'll get the most bang for my buck by piecing my own together.

Any input on soaps/rinseless wash products to stay away from that negatively effect adding a gloss enhancer/wax/sealant? Or one that isn't pH balanced. Definitely need that for my fathers well water!

[Eldorado2k]

@jjv101. I hear you on the price of buckets, honestly a bucket is a bucket and they're all created equal...

I was trying to see if I could come up with a list in which you could find it all locally, but something like a good rinseless wash concentrate and good towels are usually best found online. But as far as car wash, you could easily go with Meguiars Gold Class. Up until recently I had been using that for like 15yrs. and it works great. Now I use Meguiars Shampoo Plus which comes in a gallon and can be had for under $20. That gallon will last you a good long while..

Think about whether you're going to preffer doing rinseless washes sometimes, or waterless instead. If you're going to go all in on a wax/sealant/ or even a coating [if your research takes you that far] that you feel you totally trust [fall in love with, for lack of a better word]to protect your paint, then I'd recommend sticking with bucket and rinseless washes, with the rinseless being Megs D114 because it doesn't leave anything behind or alter your wax/sealant that you already have on the paint.

If you're not that committed or OCD about the wax/sealant you've put on your truck and and wax it every 3-4 months or so, then you might want to consider investing in Megs D115. I say this because from my experience, D115 [along with alot of other products out there] will turn your LSP into D115 over time.. It's a great product, and very convenient to use, but just keep that in mind.

[jjv101]

@jjv101. I hear you on the price of buckets, honestly a bucket is a bucket and they're all created equal...

I was trying to see if I could come up with a list in which you could find it all locally, but something like a good rinseless wash concentrate and good towels are usually best found online. But as far as car wash, you could easily go with Meguiars Gold Class. Up until recently I had been using that for like 15yrs. and it works great. Now I use Meguiars Shampoo Plus which comes in a gallon and can be had for under $20. That gallon will last you a good long while..

Think about whether you're going to preffer doing rinseless washes sometimes, or waterless instead. If you're going to go all in on a wax/sealant/ or even a coating [if your research takes you that far] that you feel you totally trust [fall in love with, for lack of a better word]to protect your paint, then I'd recommend sticking with bucket and rinseless washes, with the rinseless being Megs D114 because it doesn't leave anything behind or alter your wax/sealant that you already have on the paint.

If you're not that committed or OCD about the wax/sealant you've put on your truck and and wax it every 3-4 months or so, then you might want to consider investing in Megs D115. I say this because from my experience, D115 [along with alot of other products out there] will turn your LSP into D115 over time.. It's a great product, and very convenient to use, but just keep that in mind.

I appreciate you trying to put a list together. I've got the buckets and microfiberes figured out. Still trying to figure out the rest of it haha.

I will probably do a normal wash when Esther allows and a rinseless when needing touched up or when it's colder outside. My father on the other hand will use waterless more than I will due to cleaning his motorcycle!

As far as wax and sealants I am really looking to find something that makes a darker colored vehicle pop and shine while offering some protection. My new vehicle is on order right now and should be in at the end of December. I will try and post a picture of the color of the vehicle to help aid in determined the best gloss/wax/sealsnt

[jjv101]

Heres what ill be working with color wise! NOT my truck, any suggestions on products for this metallic paint?