Help me stock my new garage!

[jcamls]

Hey guys first time post but long time lurker and first purchase from autogeek was about 5 years ago. Ive learned a ton from this site but now its time to stock my own personal garage. I finally have my own house with my own garage and need to fill it up. I used to use my fathers garage to detail my vehicles, mostly by hand, but I don't want to take every thing out and leave him empty handed. Ive used rotary and DA polishers before, but my father only had a rotary at his house so the past few years I've had to do everything by hand. So like I said before, time to completely stock my garage and I hope you guys can help.

I only detail my own vehicles and a few family and friends here and there. The main vehicles are my fathers silver Chevy pickup, grandfathers Green GMC pickup, girlfriends White caddy suv and then my personal truck, a black GMC pickup. And then there is my baby, a black SS Camaro. Then a few friends random vehicles here and there.

With that being said here is what I've put together so far.

Griots Garage 6" Random Orbital Polisher and a few 5'' backing plates
Griots Garage 3" Random Orbital Polisher (Maybe)

Pinnacle

Ultra Poly Clay
Advanced Compound
Advanced Swirl Remover
Advanced Finishing Polish
Paintwork Cleansing Lotion
Liquid Souveran Wax
Detail Spray
Body Work Shampoo
Interior and Wheel cleaning kits

Lake Country ThinPro Foam Pads
6 of Each color except gray. Don't think ill need the extreme cutting pad, and If i do ill order it then.

Then a bunch of sponges, Micro Fiber towels (color coded for paint, wheels), tire black, wheel polish, and all the random little stuff like bucket grit guard etc.

So I think that's about it. I stayed with pinnacle because It was in the "detailing how to" video and it seems to be a high regarded and easy applying product.
I also saw some sealant / wax combo. I like the idea of a sealant for more durability for the daily drivers but I have no experience with them so not sure how they work. One in particular I saw was BLACKFIRE wet ice over fire but again I have no experience with it, and not sure how it would work if I prepped with pinnacle products. Probably and older school of thought that my father taught me, but he always told me to stay consistent within the brand if possible

Let me know what you guys think on all that and help me spend my money LOL. Any suggestions are welcome. I'm also in the school of thought in buying quality the first time. Ive learned the hard way to get the good stuff the first time, and you'll always save money and time in the long run. I saw Griots Garage has the BOSS series Polishers but not sure if it is money well spent or just not necessary for my needs. That goes for the Pinnacle stuff as well. If you guys think that Id be better of another way I'm certainly open to it!

Thanks in advance guys! I appreciate it.

[parshisa]

Congrats on the new home and garage. I was in the same shoes and had very similar concern on what products to use. At the end of the day I figured that while not being a professional detailer and maintain 2-3 vehicles all you'd need is one compond, one polish and a good synthetic wax/sealant (in case you don't want to go coating route). As far as compounds go I've enjoyed working with Griot's Fast Correcting Cream and Meg's D300 - both produce 0 dust and endless working time, both with MF and foam pads. Finishing polish - Meg 205 is an absolute killer, super easy to work with and yields great results. And yes, there are so many finishing polishes polishes out there but you don't really need them. What you'll need is good supply of the pads. I'd say at least 4-5 pads for cutting (either MF or foam, better both) and 2-3 for polishing. Clean and cool pads are very important, especially if you're working large cars/trucks. I'm absolutely in love with the MF towels from The Rag Company - huge selection for all needs.

One thing I'd do if I were you - see if you can spend a bit more for a decent polisher. if DA then 15mm, if gear driven - then flex or similar Chinese knock off. It will cut your working time tremendously. At least it did in my case when I bought Flex 3401 and used PC for 3" applications only. And make sure you get a good lights: minimum - inspection light, preferably proper lighting setup in the garage.

For wheel/tires cleaning you can easily buy APC and dilute as directed. For interior I personally use Griot's interior cleaner but you can also grab some ONR and use it virtually on any surface inside the vehicle.

But all in all, it's not as much about products u use as about hours you spend polishing and experience you gain. Every time I grab polisher I learn something new, sometimes at the cost of an error but oh well. There's a learning curve to every single thing is this world and detailing is no exception. Good luck with your hobby

[BudgetPlan1]

Once the prep/polishing is done, maybe skip the wax/sealant and go with Gyeon CanCoat. Great longevity and self cleaning characteristics, easy to apply as a spray wax.
Autogeek Gyeon CanCoat: YouTube

[wing commander]

Forget the 3" polisher and get a 3" backing plate that is made by Griots for the 6" polisher. Next get some Wolfgang deep gloss sealant and see why it has such good reviews.Griots Garage 3 inch HD Backing Plate and Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant delivers a deep, wet, liquid shimmer unlike anything you can imagine. your selection looks really good otherwise.

[Sharply Dressed]

I agree on conversion of a GG6 or other DA vs the GG3 inch. I have one but it's power is limited. I converted my PC into a dedicated 3 inch by changing the backing place as previously mentioned.

[jcamls]

thanks for the replies so far guys I really appreciate it. There are SO many wax, polish, sealant, and now these ceramic coatings available that it can be mind boggling. What is the deal with the coatings like the Gyeon can coat? Is that technically a sealant or ceramic type coating? What is the maintenance like for these coatings? If you do a Gyeon can coat is it more for protection versus looks? Is there any benefit to putting a good coat of wax on top of it?

And for a DA what would you guys recommend. I'm open to spending more especially if it helps cut time (who really has lots of extra time) and I like to buy quality the first time, not realize I need to upgrade down the line. I have seen the FLEX 3401 and Griots Garage Boss 21/15 as crowd favorites. I didn't even think of just slapping a 3'' backing plate on there but that will definitely give me more funds to step up to the better DA polisher.

[The Guz]

thanks for the replies so far guys I really appreciate it. There are SO many wax, polish, sealant, and now these ceramic coatings available that it can be mind boggling. What is the deal with the coatings like the Gyeon can coat? Is that technically a sealant or ceramic type coating? What is the maintenance like for these coatings? If you do a Gyeon can coat is it more for protection versus looks? Is there any benefit to putting a good coat of wax on top of it?

CanCoat is an entry level coating for someone starting out who and who is looking to venture into the coating world. It will offer more durability than a wax or sealant. It will also offer better self cleaning characteristics compared to a wax or sealant. The look will be more "glassy" to quote Mike Phillips. But a majority of the look comes from polishing.

Maintenance is pretty straight forward. You can use something like Gyeon Cure after a wash every few weeks. Some member on autopia mentioned that he is approaching 1 year and uses Gyeon Bathe+ as his maintenance product. I am at 7 months on my mom's car with it and maintained with Cure every few weeks. CarPro Ech20 at 1:20 is a great product to use as a drying aid or detail spray for it as well.

There is no need to apply a wax or polymer sealant as it will negate the coating like properties. A simple prep wipe (ie Gyeon Prep, CarPro Eraser, GTechniq Panel Wipe) after polishing and you are good to go with application. CanCoat is a great product.

[parshisa]

thanks for the replies so far guys I really appreciate it. There are SO many wax, polish, sealant, and now these ceramic coatings available that it can be mind boggling. What is the deal with the coatings like the Gyeon can coat? Is that technically a sealant or ceramic type coating? What is the maintenance like for these coatings? If you do a Gyeon can coat is it more for protection versus looks? Is there any benefit to putting a good coat of wax on top of it?

And for a DA what would you guys recommend. I'm open to spending more especially if it helps cut time (who really has lots of extra time) and I like to buy quality the first time, not realize I need to upgrade down the line. I have seen the FLEX 3401 and Griots Garage Boss 21/15 as crowd favorites. I didn't even think of just slapping a 3'' backing plate on there but that will definitely give me more funds to step up to the better DA polisher.

I'd strongly recommend you try 3401 first, it is very different from free spinning DA. It requires less technique but man this machine wears out. At least it does that to me. Way too much of the reactive torque plus conterclockwise pad motion is a bit weird. The price I paid for it was too good to say no but I doubt I'd buy it again for full price. Cheers

[lj993]

I would get some HD Speed or Blackfire One Step. Four or five orange pads and four or five white pads You will end up using the HD Speed or the Blackfire One Step 90% of the time. The results are too good and the time savings is too great to go with anything else. I have hundreds of dollars invested in Rupes optimum and other products. They are all great. They give incredible results but they take lots of time. While you will want to make your work perfect, and you think that you can only achieve the perfect finish after hours of toil and finer and finer passes with compounds and polishes, at some point you will appreciate how truly great the HD Speed and One Step really are. Trust me. I’m a doctor. Best of luck to you. Phil

[jcamls]

I'd strongly recommend you try 3401 first, it is very different from free spinning DA. It requires less technique but man this machine wears out. At least it does that to me. Way too much of the reactive torque plus conterclockwise pad motion is a bit weird. The price I paid for it was too good to say no but I doubt I'd buy it again for full price. Cheers

Do you mean the machine wears you or the paint out? Lol. And dumb question but I'm guessing the main difference between a free spinning DA and Gear driven, is that the free spinning will almost stop if your applying too much pressure, where the gear driven will always spin?