What is your best inexpensive product? What is your worst premium product?

Best inexpensive favorite....Sprayaway Glass Cleaner.

I don' t know if I would say "my worst" but Pinnacle Souveran wax. I just wasn't fond of it.
 
Best inexpensive:
-Orange Uber/ BnS pads as they are just about all I ever use
-Rain X
-Mother's wash and wax
Worst expensive:
-Blackfire rinseless, which may be just my fault, but I have a terrible time with streaks
-Kwazar Venus, it leaks like crazy between the bottle and the top until you hit a sweet spot where it seals, and then burns through product like no other
 
This thread ran its course in 2009 until post 99. Most of the products mentioned back in the 2009 era are likely not the same as those that would be posted today some 6 years later.
 
Best inexpensive: LA's Totally Awsome. It can be diluted for just about any surface and it does an amazing job
cleaning tires, wheels, wheel wells, etc.

Worst Premium: Fuzion Wax. Easy on, easy off, nice shine, but a very weak performer for the price. (ATME).
 
Best Inexpensive:
Harbor Freight black 6" pad (Just the black!)
PB Professional Polish
Colli 845
DG Aquawax

Worst Premium that I've tried:
I've never used a premium product I didn't like. I guess I'm lucky and I'm sure to read the reviews before spending the cash. There are, however, several that I will not buy again because they didn't perform appreciably better than lower tier counterparts. Examples are Sonax wheel cleaners, DoDo Born Slippy, Lusso Oro, and Pinnacle Crystal Mist.
 
My best inexpensive product is CQuartz UK. I cannot believe how many hours of effort that product has saved me while keeping my vehicles looking better than ever, by far. Nothing to date has yielded such value. It's paying benefits week after week after week...


Good cheapskate products: Meg's Ultimate Paste Wax, Meg's Endurance Tire shine stuff and HD Polish.

unloved: anything with the Black Magic name.
 
Without a doubt it would be CG Fabric Clean, which is diluted 20:1 and makes about 3 gallons for less than $10.

And it works awesome - everyone I have sold it to (I'm a CG dealer) raves about how well it cleans and how it can eliminate minor odors.
 
I guess I can update this 5 years later...

Best inexpensive are still Woolite/water to clean leather, ONR in all its various forms, Armor All (tires/wheel wells only), and instead of BioKleen, I've been using 3D Carpet Shampoo at 16:1 since its easier to buy than BioKleen and works just as well. Have to include Opti-Seal, a little goes a long way.

Best expensive would be Mitchell and King Rannoch Wax. And yes, its expensive, around $400 for 8 ounces. But should be enough to do 40-50 cars and the look over properly prepped paint is stunning. Also, Optimum Gloss-Coat.
 
Scottwax said:
I guess I can update this 5 years later...

Best inexpensive are still Woolite/water to clean leather, ONR in all its various forms, Armor All (tires/wheel wells only), and instead of BioKleen, I've been using 3D Carpet Shampoo at 16:1 since its easier to buy than BioKleen and works just as well. Have to include Opti-Seal, a little goes a long way.

Best expensive would be Mitchell and King Rannoch Wax. And yes, its expensive, around $400 for 8 ounces. But should be enough to do 40-50 cars and the look over properly prepped paint is stunning. Also, Optimum Gloss-Coat.
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Thanks for your update.

So what is your worst premium product?
 
Mr. Gloss said:
Thanks for your update.

So what is your worst premium product?
Click to expand...

Offhand, I can't really think of anything other than maybe Zaino Clear Seal if that's considered "premium". No change in the look at all, side by side with Opti-Seal, the Opti-Seal side looked noticeably better. And that was the first version of OS. Been tweaked once and now apparently completely reformulated since the alcohol scent is gone.
 
Barry Theal said:
my best inexspensive product would be a cue tip
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+1 for Johnson & Johnson Q-tips (AKA Cotton-tipped swabs). I buy them at Sam's club for about $8.00US for the 2,000 double-pack. I go through ALOT of them but it really separates a cleaned car from a properly detailed car, both inside and out. Yes, it takes (ALOT) more time , bit it really shows the level of attention to detail (no pun intended) in a truly detailed car.

Also got to give mention of round toothpicks. I use them to remove very old wax build-up on emblems left behind from novice or uncaring detailers or grime build-up in lettering on shift knobs or any corner, crevice, or seam that needs such care and attention. Not to mention that they serve as a good poker to remove or dislodge car-care product stuck in pop-up nozzle dispenser caps on bottles or jugs if they haven't been used in a while.
 
Lonnie said:
..Also got to give mention of round toothpicks. I use them to remove very old wax build-up on emblems left behind from novice or uncaring detailers or grime build-up in lettering...
Click to expand...

I usually "flag" the tips of the toothpicks with a razor blade and soak them in a QD (usually M34) to soften them up and make them behave like tiny brushes.
 
Off the top of my head my favorite inexpensive product has to be rinseless products (ONR, UWW+, etc....) due to their versatility and the quantities of clay lube, quick detailer, glass cleaner, etc...that they will make.

As far as worst expensive......I can't really think of anything that I've bought that has been what I would consider "expensive" let alone one that has been disappointing. About the only thing that I can think of that I've bought that could be considered expensive to me would be some Chemical Guys 50/50 and P21s pure carnauba, but both of those were on sale, both looked good/were easy to use, and both are going to last me forever.
 
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