What would you do with $500.

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03BlackGTP

New member
Scenario; you’re just getting in to detailing. The wife said your “allowance� is $500. Only supplies you have right now are three empty Rubbermaid storage units to hold your supplies. You have already ordered a PC. For right now the MAIN cars you will be working on are a Black and Dark Red car. But will start own business later down the road (two to three months). What supplies would you order? I’m talking about soap, PC pads, wax, polish, tire dressing, Micro fiber towels, drying towels, etc, etc, etc.



If there is a good place to buy in bulk for the towels, that would be great. Any links would help.



Cut and Paste to new post please.

Soap:







Wax:







Polish:







Tire Dressing:







Micro Fiber Towels:







Drying Towels:







PC Pads:







Misc. Items:



I know it gets old answering the same damn questions over and over, but I searched and searched and came up with nodda.
 
Yeah, I blew 350 at the Chemical Guys about a month ago.......haven't bought anything since and I do 3-4 cars a week. That'll cover the average guy for oh, like 5 years. The other 150 will buy a PC and pads.



You could buy a bunch of stuff from Poorboy's world too if you wanted, they've got the full set. Not cheap, though. Here's what I'd reccomend, cause CG's site is down:



Natty's Paste Wax (BLUE) - 8oz $15.95 USD

Natural Look Dressing - 32oz $15.95 USD

Super Slick and Suds Car Wash - gallon $39.95 USD

Spray and Rinse Wheel Cleaner - gallon $39.95 USD

Bug Squash - 16oz $8.95 USD

EX Sealant - 16oz $15.95 USD

SSR1- 32oz $19.95 USD

SSR2.5 - 32oz $19.95 USD

BioDegradable Cleaner - Gallon $32.95 USD

Deluxe Microfiber Kit - a $138 value $105.95 USD

Spray & Wipe - Gallon $30.95 USD

Amount $346.45 USD



If you've got an extra 150 over that, pick up a gallon of 4* tire gel and a tin of Souveran. And a handful of foam apps, etc.



You'll be covered for at least a full year with that. Enjoy the obsession :).
 
Don't take this the wrong way, but do you think in 2 or 3 months from getting started you will be ready to start your own detailing business? I would think about reducing the volumes of some of the products and taking it a bit more slowly.
 
My 2 waxes:

Poorboy's EX-P

P21S



Poorboy's SSR 2.5 (been having good results with this on my rotary)

1Z's Metallic Polish (Love the stuff and a little goes a long way)



Autoint Step C car wash

I also use their wash pads. Thick, hold a lot of suds, and no cuff to put your hand inside.



Stoner's Trim Shine (Wheel well dressing, interior, and tires dressing)

Stoner's Invisible Glass

Stoner's APC (Tires, degreaser, etc.)

Stoner's Xenit (Tar, tape residue, etc.)



PRO's (prowax.com) Wheelie Clean, Leather Cleaner, Leather Conditioner, Heavy Duty Interior Cleaner, Smoke and Odor eliminator... Mostly their cleaning chemicals. They work as good as anyone elses and their HD Interior Cleaner is outstanding. I stay away from their paint products. Hard to use IMHO.



What I can think of off the top of my head.



I also use to use the Lake City (or is it country? I get the pads and the ammo place confused) buffer pads from TOL but have started using the Meguiar's pads I have and really like them.
 
I would recomend AutoInt's Cerious compound/Polish. You can change the agressiveness of the product depending on the pad you are using. It is easily the best product I've ever used. Other than that I'd recomend Meg's detailer line, as they offer top notch chemicals at competitive prices and they can be had locally.
 
You know what I would do if I had five hundred dollars? I would invest half of it in glorious mutual funds and take the other half over to my friend Asadulah who works in securities and....



Oh wait; wrong movie.





Tom
 
Soap: Meguiar's NXT wash and/or TOL's Bubble Bath for customers - Zaino Z7 for personal use



Wax: S100 and Pinnacle Souveran for carnaubas - Zaino Z2 Pro and NXT or Wolfgang for sealants



Polish: Poorboy's SSR 2.5 and SSR 1 and Klasse AIO



Tire Dressing: Armor All original and Meguiar's Natural Shine - Zaino Z16 for personal use



Micro Fiber Towels: tons of different types from Pak Shak, Excel, Autofiber, etc. - all great vendors - get detergent, too



Drying Towels: same as above - waffle weaves



PC Pads: Lake Country and/or Sonus - cutting, light cutting, polishing, and finishing



Misc. Items: wheel brushes, tire brushes, wheel well brushes, interior brushes, painter's tape, spray bottles, tire swipes, all-purpose cleaner (APC), metal polish, #0000 steel wool, lights, handi-grip foam applicators, good mitts (I use Eurow sheepskin), carpet/fabric spot cleaner, carpet brush, shop vac, leather cleaner and conditioner, plastic polish, glass polish...it's really endless



The important thing will be to start small and buy some small quantities of many different products to see what suits you and your uses best. It takes lots of time and practice.



For the most part, the process is more important than the products.
 
99ITR_SC said:
If you are planning on going pro, perhaps you should invest in a rotary ? or one of those dual action machines instead of a PC?
Click to expand...



A PC is "one of those dual action machines."
 
You already have the PC?



I would spend a 100 on pads, MF, and a couple polishes, get some NXT, and dump the rest at the nudy bar.
 
99ITR_SC said:
If you are planning on going pro, perhaps you should invest in a rotary ? or one of those dual action machines instead of a PC?
Click to expand...



If you're not detailing full-time and it's just a every couple weekends you do a car, then I wouldn't spend the money on the rotary. Most vehicle I encounter just need a clay and a good polish. For the tough scratches I'll just flip out pads on my orbital and hit that spot with a compound.



Rotary's flings product around and I really only pull mine out when I have a vehicle that really needs it. Scottwax has built a big customer base and doesn't even have a rotary. He use to do most of his work by hand.
 
Mosca said:
You know what I would do if I had five hundred dollars? I would invest half of it in glorious mutual funds and take the other half over to my friend Asadulah who works in securities and....



Oh wait; wrong movie.





Tom
Click to expand...



LMAO!.......
 
For polishes, make sure you order at least one can of 1Z PAINT POLISH.



For Waxes, " " BLITZ WAX, S100; AND Clearkote Carnauba Moose Wax, or Natty's.



For the other stuff: Well, just shop around - that's my advice.
 
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