New guy needs some advice

F

FinishLineAuto

New member
Long story short, I've been doing details on and off for a few years now, and I'm finally taking it to the next step on a higher level. I would consider my work pleasing to people but perhaps not on a pro level as I've seen being on this board. I've learned alot in the last few months, and continue to learn. I however have a couple questions looking for help with.



1) I'm not asking what's the best product line, but what to choose. I've in the past have basically used all Mothers and Meguair's products. They to me have been rather inexpensive and do pretty well. I've lately sided with Mothers products (california Gold) over Meguairs (Gold Class) and at then thought I was making a good choice by it. As much as I want to stay with Mothers, and perhaps try their professional line it scares me that I don't ever see anybody on this site using Mothers. And I really prefer staying with a solid line and not mixing and matching unless I know I'm not satisfied with a particular product. So if Mothers is let's say a no no, I want obviously a fair price and something that should last a good amount of time is what I want, but still holds good pro results. My choices are:



Griots Garage

Zaino

Poor Boys



2) I've been searching and searching but not having much luck on what product to get on shampooing carpet without the use of a extractor. I used to have a extractor but it got stolen, so in the meantime I'm doing it by hand and using my wet vac to extract. I've used dry cleaners from a spray can and it just seems to make the car smell alittle better but not something I think really got cleaned. Is there a concentrate product that will work, or a good spray that can be lathered in with a good brush?



Thanks, any help is appreciated.



-Curt
 
I would look at Chemical Guys and Megs Professional line if you are wanting to change. I used to use Mothers years ago but I could get more 3M or Megs products locally than the Mothers line.

I haven't tried DP cause the some of the prices are higher than CG's and Megs when comparing price per ounce when you can dilute certain things to get more for your dollar.
 
If you are doing it for money, its hard to beat the Optimum line. Where time is money, you can't beat it. If someone made me stick to one brand, I could throw everything else out and stick with OPT. It seems like their top goal is ease of use, but the results are just amazing.
 
yakky said:
If you are doing it for money, its hard to beat the Optimum line. Where time is money, you can't beat it. If someone made me stick to one brand, I could throw everything else out and stick with OPT. It seems like their top goal is ease of use, but the results are just amazing.
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I like the fact that you can order a sample kit for pretty cheap through OPT. I may consider them. DP looks pretty good, but not sure if they are for me.



Anybody have any thoughts on Griots Garage? Their wharehouse is about 45 minutes away from me and my mustang group loves them. Personally I don't know and I think they might be overpriced for what you get.
 
I love Griot's undercarriage spray. I do find their other stuff kind of expensive. Since they are 45 minutes away they might worthwhile considering.



Other good lines to consider - perhaps take a look at Finish Kare. 1000P is a great wax that is cheap and VERY durable. FK 425 is one of the best detailing sprays out there.



Also if you order from autogeek you get a 10% and a special free shipping discount for orders over $75 if you join their forum!
 
2005GTPinMD said:
I love Griot's undercarriage spray. I do find their other stuff kind of expensive. Since they are 45 minutes away they might worthwhile considering.



Other good lines to consider - perhaps take a look at Finish Kare. 1000P is a great wax that is cheap and VERY durable. FK 425 is one of the best detailing sprays out there.



Also if you order from autogeek you get a 10% and a special free shipping discount for orders over $75 if you join their forum!
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Griots seems to be a good product from the feedback I get and seeing the actual results, however it seems like nothing is under 30 bucks, and it's just a regular bottle size. I know some products are more "a little goes a long way" but some of the products just don't seem any different then another comparable brand that makes more sense for the money. Maybe if I were a full out 24/7 detail shop it would be fine, but for an independant part time detailer cost is more a concern.



I recently bought some more Mothers products about a month ago, I'm going to put them through a test spot on my mustang and see what I think. After that I think I will know if I need to make a change. However, another thing I've considered is upgrading my buffer to maybe a porter cable. I have craftsman orbital buffer that works fine, but I use bonnet's instead of a foam pad. I'm wondering if a simple buffer upgrade with some different pads may help my products and results.



So far I'm really interested in the OPT products. But I'm going to do some more looking.
 
FinishLineAuto said:
..Anybody have any thoughts on Griots Garage? Their wharehouse is about 45 minutes away from me and my mustang group loves them. Personally I don't know and I think they might be overpriced for what you get.
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While I consider some GG products to be the best in the business, I wouldn't want to go with their stuff 100%. But then I wouldn't want to go with *anybody's* stuff exclusively so I guess it wouldn't be a bad choice.



Note that some different lines have functional differences. E.g., Optimum polishes have a long work time, whereas Meguiar's M105/M205 have a short work time. Some stuff works in sun, other stuff doesn't.



I wouldn't go single-source by manufacturer, even though it might seem like a temptingly simple approach.



If you're looking to get a good polisher (and yeah, you really oughta upgrade), then the Griot's unit would be a great choice. I'm not a big fan of their polishes, but again, no need to get everything from one source.



Which polisher you're using, and to a lesser extent which pads, would be a factor in deciding which polishes to use.



For the carpets, you can put a carpet brush on a polisher and let that agitate the nap of the carpet. Make sure the nozzle you're using on your wet/dry vac is appropriately sized (most have openings that are too large). Note that many extractors are little more than wet/dry vacuums anyhow, though some have heaters and good spray sytems that put them in another league.



For carpet cleaning products, I'd check the yellow pages for a professional carpet cleaning supply store and buy your stuff there.
 
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