Originally Posted by
GreatAvalon
When I got started, it was weeks and weeks of research. Luckily, during the winter, so I am ready to go now that the weather is warm
You can find a line you like and use it for compounding and polishing. Megs M105/M205 (I like Megs M105 better than Ultimate Compound, M105 has more cut).]
Or you can have various product lines. For example, I just got started in Jan/Feb. I have M105, M205, Menzerna PF2500, Menzerna SF4500 ($$$), and I just ordered CarPro Reflect. I also have Megs Ultimate compound (UC) and Ultimate Polish (UP), but M105/M205 mostly replaced UC/UP in my arsenal.
Something that took me a while to figure out - AG has a lot of "house brands". These are: Pinnacle, Wolfgang, Detailer's Pro (DP), Diamonite, Blackfire, and Cobra MF towels.
Companies such as CarPro, Menzerna, Megs, Auto Finesse, Optimum, TufShine, uhhh...lots more lol, are individual detailing product manufacturers with no ties on the manufacturing front to AutoGeek/PBMG.
Nothing wrong with house brands, at all, but that is something that I didn't pick up on until I was a few weeks into my research.
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Now, buying the stuff to do it for the same price as you could pay to have it done...I opted to pay for the stuff. This benefits you down the line. So say you just got your car detailed and bam, a shopping cart hits it or some jackA door dings you. Now you have a scratch, etc. If you bought your own stuff for close to the same amount of money, then you would be able to fix it!
That was my reasoning behind it, and it has already paid for itself. Now, that being said, I also have a lot more money worth into detailing stuff than it would take to pay to have it done, as my first $500 order slowly replilcated itself to turn into having about $2grand worth of stuff to maintain 2 personal vehicles. So just a warning to you that you may get sucked up in it!
After wash and before clay - I recommend Iron-X. The stuff works plain and simple!
I couldn't possibly type everything that I learned through the process, but I recommend to continue with your research!
I would say ok, I need a tire shine. I would search on autogeekonline, see people talking about a product by abbreviation, such as UTTG+. Google it, figure out it means Ultima Tire and Trim Guard Plus, and then figure out how it ranks on the list for tire shine. What do people like about it, what do they not like about it, and what products do people keep comparing UTTG+ against? Then look into those products. I did that for every single product group there was.
To name a few product groups:
Tire Cleaner, Tire shine, wheel cleaner, decon (iron and tar), clay/nanoskin, clay lube, quick detailer (I use diluted ONR or Ultima waterless wash), compound, polish, sealant, wax, coating, car wash soap, microfiber towels, wash mitts, DA machines, pads, pad cleaners, microfiber cleaners...I'm sure I am forgetting some lol.
Anyways, hope this helps! Read, read, read is great advice!