Moving away from consumer to fewer bulk products.

[monkeybike]

I'm a driveway detailer and as with most people, I've just been buying OTC products for years and doing what I thought looked best. I've spent a few months researching day and night, and making bigger purchases like a shop vac, DA, and I am considering a steamer.

I'm now in a situation with 3 cars in the garage, all between 1 month old and 18 months old that I really want to keep looking new.

I'm looking to move from a shelf of OTC products to a minimal amount of multi use bulk products for my maintenance washes. All available by the gallon.

Meguiars GC Car Wash (1 gallon from Costco)
Meguiars APC D101 for interior and engine bay.
Meguiars Super Degreaser D108 for engine bay, wheels, wheel wells.
Meguiars Hyper Dressing D170 for dressing engine bay, tires, wheel wells and possible interior.
Meguiars QID D149 (I just like this product) for interior wipe downs.
Meguiars Xpress Spray Wax D156 for a drying aid and additional shine between waxes.

Am I on the right track? Am I missing anything?

I'd rather have 6 solid products that can do everything rather than the dozen or more 16oz spray bottles on my shelf that cost a fortune. I know there are the odd alternatives here and there like PERL but this keeps it simple. It's also only maintenance.

Any hints or tips would be great.

[GEM65]

i remember started from OTC products and some small online purchase.
Years later i have only stock up most of what you listed above.

However my go to car soap is meguiars D110 hyper wash and i use sonax BSD together with meg D156.

You've got great list there IMHO ^^

[KBsToy]

Mequiars is a solid product line and reasonable..

[Goin Rogue]

Soap: Megs Hyperwash
Wheel and Tire: Megs Non-Acid

Both are affordable, last a long time, and perform really well.

[Eldorado2k]

I think you’re on the right track. There’s just a couple of minor changes I’d suggest.

1. Replace the Gold Class Car Wash with D111 Shampoo Plus [or D110 Hyper Wash if saving a few bucks matters to you. IMO you’ll get what you pay for, and Shampoo Plus is the better soap for your needs]

2. Megs D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate. It’s solid glass cleaner. Dilute with distilled water. You’ll never have to buy glass cleaner again for the rest of your life.

3. Replace D108 with D143 Wheel & Tire Cleaner and dilute it 2:1 [2 parts water, 1 part concentrate] It does better at both tasks compared to D108.

4. Use D101@10:1 for wheel wells. It’s hard to explain why this somehow works better at wheel wells than D108. Maybe it’s because D108 seems like overkill that’ll most likely turn your wheel wells gray. D101 just feels right for the job unless they’re super dirty for some reason.

5. Get at least 1 small bottle of McKee’s N-914 Rinseless Wash Concentrate. This product comes in handy for use as a quik detailer, clay lube, etc. It leaves nothing behind nor does it alter the surface and that comes in handy way more than you might think.

6. Only get the D108 if your engine detailing consists of spraying the engine bay down with water. Otherwise you can survive without it + your nose will thank you.

7. Get a few extra Meguiars Microfiber Wash mitts. They’re cheap to buy and having a few to use makes a big difference vs. only having 1.

8. Get yourself a gray flagged tip brush like this 1 to apply Hyper Dressing onto tires. You’ll thank me later. Search online.



Spray the dressing into the bristles, then brush onto the sidewall.



[btw dilute the Hyper Dressing @1:1 to get the deepest richest black look out of it]

Those are my 1st steps to detailing success lockdown tips

[dlc95]

I'd all a rinseless wash product like Optimum No Rinse Wash and Shine, or Meguiar's D115.

I get a lot of mileage out of ONR.

[FUNX650]

I'm a driveway detailer...
I'm looking to move from a shelf of OTC
products to a minimal amount of multi use
bulk products for my maintenance washes.

Meguiars GC Car Wash...
Meguiars APC D101...
Meguiars Super Degreaser D108...
Meguiars Hyper Dressing D170...
Meguiars QID D149...
Meguiars Xpress Spray Wax D156...

Am I on the right track?

No doubt about it!!




Bob

[Route246]

I think you’re on the right track. There’s just a couple of minor changes I’d suggest.

<snip>

2. Megs D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate. It’s solid glass cleaner. Dilute with distilled water. You’ll never have to buy glass cleaner again for the rest of your life.

<snip>

+1 on the glass cleaner. You didn't list one. A competent glass cleaner and spray wax are what I'm locked in on. My glass cleaner is D120 and my spray wax is 50:50 OCW:McKee'sFastWax. I like Megs, Optimum and McKee's in general so my glass and spray wax is a combination of all three. No particular reason, I could easily swap in other products, this is just what I'm locked into now.

[monkeybike]

I think you’re on the right track. There’s just a couple of minor changes I’d suggest.

1. Replace the Gold Class Car Wash with D111 Shampoo Plus [or D110 Hyper Wash if saving a few bucks matters to you. IMO you’ll get what you pay for, and Shampoo Plus is the better soap for your needs]

2. Megs D120 Glass Cleaner Concentrate. It’s solid glass cleaner. Dilute with distilled water. You’ll never have to buy glass cleaner again for the rest of your life.

3. Replace D108 with D143 Wheel & Tire Cleaner and dilute it 2:1 [2 parts water, 1 part concentrate] It does better at both tasks compared to D108.

4. Use D101@10:1 for wheel wells. It’s hard to explain why this somehow works better at wheel wells than D108. Maybe it’s because D108 seems like overkill that’ll most likely turn your wheel wells gray. D101 just feels right for the job unless they’re super dirty for some reason.

5. Get at least 1 small bottle of McKee’s N-914 Rinseless Wash Concentrate. This product comes in handy for use as a quik detailer, clay lube, etc. It leaves nothing behind nor does it alter the surface and that comes in handy way more than you might think.

6. Only get the D108 if your engine detailing consists of spraying the engine bay down with water. Otherwise you can survive without it + your nose will thank you.

7. Get a few extra Meguiars Microfiber Wash mitts. They’re cheap to buy and having a few to use makes a big difference vs. only having 1.

8. Get yourself a gray flagged tip brush like this 1 to apply Hyper Dressing onto tires. You’ll thank me later. Search online.

Spray the dressing into the bristles, then brush onto the sidewall.

[btw dilute the Hyper Dressing @1:1 to get the deepest richest black look out of it]

Those are my 1st steps to detailing success lockdown tips

Thanks for the detailed post! I appreciate it.

[monkeybike]

+1 on the glass cleaner. You didn't list one. A competent glass cleaner and spray wax are what I'm locked in on. My glass cleaner is D120 and my spray wax is 50:50 OCW:McKee'sFastWax. I like Megs, Optimum and McKee's in general so my glass and spray wax is a combination of all three. No particular reason, I could easily swap in other products, this is just what I'm locked into now.

I haven't really explored glass cleaners. I've traditional used products like Windex.

Can D120 double as an additive to washer jet bottles too?