Feeling overwhelmed

[RowdyAudi01]

Hey all. I did some detailing back in high school and a side gig for a few years after. I'm pretty familiar with most of the processes and products and how to be patient with certain aspects. I never used to get to deep into the brands because they had everything at the shop I worked at and when i did side work I used a lot of mothers products at the time.

Fast forward to today I have my wife's car (dark gray cx9) my fun car (01 silver s4) and my daily (16 black grand cherokee). I also have the griots g9 buffer and a fair amount of other odds and ends for complete detail work for my vehicles. I am running low on a lot of my stash of older mothers products and the detailing hobby has gotten so much more satisfying for me in recent time so I want to venture out of the same old mothers products but there is just a ridiculous amount of options anymore.

Do you guys tend to stick to one brand or bounce all over the place? Do you use the same product on all your vehicles or do you use something different for black or for certain vehicles? There are so many products available on autogeek and tons of them have fantastic reviews that I just have analysis paralysis to pick out a few new products to keep my vehicles in tip top shape inside and out. Would love a little nudge to get going in the right direction.

[2black1s]

There is something to be said for each of the scenarios you present. From my perspective it really depends on how much work you're going to be doing.

If detailing is your full-time gig, then I would absolutely want to try everything I could get my hands on. That is the only way you'll ever find your own "favorites". I did this in the past when I was painting cars full-time. I would try everything my supplier(s) suggested.

Now-a-days, I only detail maybe 10 or so cars/motorcycles a year. In my case I have basic inventory of products, primarily from one manufacturer that I have found to like over the years. Whenever I'm looking for new product I will always look at that manufacturer's products first. If I try it and don't really like it, then I will look at other brands. This methodology works for me.

As long as you are using quality products, you can usually do slight process tweaks to make whatever products you have work in a variety of situations. Obviously we all have our own favorite go-to's, and some products may have a little edge over others for specific conditions, but I have found that with a little finesse you can make any quality product do what you want it to do.

[RowdyAudi01]

Thanks for the response! It's mainly the 3 vehicles I own. I don't really want to do other peoples cars. Maybe if my parents ever need to me wax for them or whatever that's fine but The black Grand cherokee really pops when its spotless. The audi is a project car that needs a ton of love to get where i need it. The cx9 i have pretty darn clean right now and just have to maintain it. It's probably the car I would be most comfortable experimenting with (i hope my wife never comes on this forum) haha

I hear so many good things about chemical guys but they seem to have 5 of every product. I like how straight forward griots seems to be about things but are definitely a little more pricey. I guess it's a bit of trying a few options to figure it out I'm just trying to figure out where to start.

[Lance Mark]

brand new to your world sir, be encouraged

the consequences of failing on a detailing project can be no problem or very costly

at some point, as a complete newb, I'm going to have to put a polisher down onto a vehicle and turn it on for the first time....i'm a bit nervous about that....but I've decided, in order to get the reward i want, there is no other way than to take a risk....i'm here to mitigate the amount of risk I'm taking

based on how I'm starting out, pretty sure the worst thing I can do is waste some product and time

[RowdyAudi01]

brand new to your world sir, be encouraged

the consequences of failing on a detailing project can be no problem or very costly

at some point, as a complete newb, I'm going to have to put a polisher down onto a vehicle and turn it on for the first time....i'm a bit nervous about that....but I've decided, in order to get the reward i want, there is no other way than to take a risk....i'm here to mitigate the amount of risk I'm taking

based on how I'm starting out, pretty sure the worst thing I can do is waste some product and time

do you have a car or a friends/families car you can practice on? Having a car that your not terribly worried about will certainly calm your nerves and give you a few spots to practice correction techniques.

[Wknd Dtlr]

I'm not super-qualified to answer your question but I've been an enthusiast detailer for 11 years. I mainly maintain our two cars plus two of my grown kid's vehicles. I also slip in a freebie detail for a friend/family member a couple times per year.

My biggest problem when I was at your stage was that I bought waaay too many pads and products, thinking I had to be ready for any type of paint condition that came along. Reading these forums and seeing how people corrected destroyed paint was like crack cocaine for me, and many, many people benefited from free multi step corrections over the years!

I also benefited from a couple local detailers sharing some products so I got more exposure that way.

Nowadays, I've pared my arsenal way back. Anymore, I'm using Blackfire One Step and adjusting my pad. I still have some compounds and polishes but I've declared 2021 "the year of using only what I have left to detail vehicles"!!

My advice -- get some Blackfire Onestep ( or 3d Speed ) and get some polishing and cutting pads and start from there. You'll get a pretty good range of effectiveness. A decent cutting pad and Blackfire AIO will make a decent dent even in Audi hard paint. Then get something to top it off to get longevity.

If the above step leaves you wanting to dive deeper, try contacting detailers in your area and get samples of some of the products they use. They are usually more than willing to share their knowledge. Also, people like me are always willing to give product away that's taking up space in my cabinet to help out a fellow detailer. Now, If you decide to pull the lights out, do a full correction, and do coatings, that's a whole different deal. I've been there, done that, but now my vehicles are pristine so no longer have the need to go to that level.

Just try to have fun with this and not get paraylis by anaylis. Honestly, one of my best detailing moments is when I called AG to get started. I bought the original PC 7424 along with KAIO and white and orange CCS pads. I couldn't believe how I transformed my white Yukon and didn't think life could get get any better!

My apoligies for the long post. I just felt like sharing

[dgage]

Great post and advice Wknd Dtlr.

[Jim w]

As Mike would say pick a product and use it frequently

[Lance Mark]

do you have a car or a friends/families car you can practice on? Having a car that your not terribly worried about will certainly calm your nerves and give you a few spots to practice correction techniques.

i have an '08 GMC Sierra that has a few rust spots on it, I don't really drive it a whole lot, maybe put about 1000 miles on it in the last year....i'll start there

after that I have my wife's every day driver, a Chrysler 300....and it's black .....hold my beer (i don't actually plan on drinking and detailing)

mistakes will be made....but I don't know that I've gotten really good at a whole lot of things where I wasn't good at the start

I'm still watching some videos, doing a lot of reading

[PaulMys]

(I don't actually plan on drinking and detailing)

Well now you have taken all the fun out of it...............