Less expensive products that have REALLY made a difference?

danforz

New member
And continuing my other post about expensive products which have made a difference, what less then expensive products (Around or under $40) have made a HUGE difference in detailing for you?



For me, I'd have to say MOTHERS Tire FX cleaner (makes rim cleaning infinitely easier) and COSTCO bulk (yellow) MFs :)
 
Would Zaino be considered expensive? IF so, than yes. Considering I went from using using Car brites "Butter wax" to using Z2-Z5 was a huge difference.
 
I would have to say the whole Duragloss line has really impressed me. From 105 polish to Aquawax, their products are top notch and IMO beat the competition when it comes to OTC products.
 
Duragloss 901. I love it. Haven't tried the anything else from their line up but next time i'm at carquest i'm going to pick up some of their other products.
 
The Duragloss line.....both the Auto and Marine line



LA Awesome APC



CCS pads



Grout Sponge...



These all made a BIG diference



AL
 
Fastball Fiberglass cleaner (for black steaks on RV's Boats etc etc) cost $9/ gallon and seriosuly works on contact. Better than Meg's stuff which was like $12/ for a 16oz bottle and you still had to scrub to get it off.



JD's Aluminum cleaner. (again cheap) I think it's $12/gallon and can get even the nastiest crusted on crap off any rim on contact. Been extreamly impressed with these products



Oh and who can forget Mr. Cleans Magic eraser.... Don't last long but they do a helluva job in a pinch.
 
The entire Werkstatt and Duragloss lines are very reasonably priced (nothing over even close to $40.00 except in bulk sizes) and stack up quality-wise with any other products available on the market at any price IMO.



Individual Products:



Duragloss AW

Duragloss 901 Car Wash

Duragloss 105 TPP



Werkstatt Prime Strong

Werkstatt AJT
 
$40 is a pretty high price. You can get a lot of stuff for under 40. Pretty much each of the Zaino products can be bought under $40.



As for really low-cost ($10-20) products: DG Aquawax, DG 105, grout sponge, Target micro-chenille wash mitt, Sonus Der Wunder towels (they are actually pricey, but they are very good), Collinite 845/476S.



Now that I think of it, I'd say it's hard to just put a price on everything from towels to waxes. For example, bad waxes can cost only $10, but $10 towels are very good...
 
Mikebai is right:



> $40.00 is very expensive.



Most people consider Zaino on the expensive side and it's prices are approximately $15.00 to $30.00.



There are a lot of excellent products available for under $15.00 - too many to name all of them (although Duragloss and Werkstatt stick out IMO).
 
gmblack3a said:
Werkstatt is close to zaino in price.



Depends on what you mean by "close" I guess.







Comparison of (roughly) Equivalent Products:



Prime Strong ($23.95) vs. ZAIO ($26.95)



AJT ($14.95)/AJ ($16.95) vs. Z2 ($14.95)/Z5 ($16.95)



Autobody Wash ($7.95) vs. Z7 ($8.95)



Acylic Glos ($7.95) vs. Z6 ($9.95)





Werkstatt has no equivalent of Z8 ($19.95) or Z-CS ($29.95) both of which are pretty popular with Zaino users (excellent products).





They're not too far apart in price - but the differences add up over time especially if you splurge in the full Zaino system with Z8/Z-CS on top of their other products (the anecdotal evidence seems to suggest most Zaino users do this).





Both Zaino and Werkstatt are excellent products (I might give a slight edge to Zaino in terms of pure looks) - but I've stuck with Werkstatt because it is a bit more economical.
 
All my products have been < $20, and are OTC. Here's a few of my favorites:



Stoner IG

Stoner Trim Shine

Stoner More Shine...

DG 101, 108, 105, AW

303

Megs QID

Costco MF (I know I'll get flamed this one, but they are better than the old bath towels I grew up on:)

Absorber
 
I have found turtle wax platinum products to be very reasonably priced from odd lots. 1.25 gallon jug of car wash is $4, their interior protectant is $3, the leather cleaner/conditioner is $3, and the tire shine is $3. The WW MF's (2 pack for $3) and regular MF's ($5 for 8) from walmart are pretty nice. I found the collinite waxes are amazing for their price around $10 for the 476 and 845. Stoners IG is a bargain if you buy it in the 5 gallon jug which runs around $70.I bought a gallon jug of FK 425 for around $25 and it too is a bargain. As you can see I hate to spend money. The viking MF drying towel is nice too but at $8 is not quite a bargain as the others.
 
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