DuckeeB7

Im thinking of going out and buying the lot of detailing and cleaning product. Ive heard very good things about Mequiar's line of products.

Im looking for:

Rim Cleaner,
Tire Shine,
Body Wax,
Body Detail-er,
leather cleaner
dash detail-er or cleaner
and carpet cleaner.

Anybody know any good brands that really work for any of these? Doesn't have to be meguiars. Your opinion from personal experience.

GeneKam

Rim cleaner... Anything
Tire shine I like turtle wax foam
And for leather cleaner I like armor all gel looking thing comes in a ketchup looking thing.

The rest I kind if wing it.

mikeh

Be careful here when choosing cleaning products. A rim cleaner should be PH balanced so not to eat into the mag material. Most leather cleaners are silicone based and simply put on a layer over the leather and in essence stop it from breathing. Leather is like your skin it needs to breathe. Check out Leatherique products on the web or similar. There is a huge difference between cleaning and conditioning leather. Just educate yourself before its too late. Same for the rest of the products, there is a difference between waxing and paint sealing. There are plenty of web sites and I believe threads on this forum to search out.

A4Avanti

Hey there,

i just barely spent about 4 hours yesterday, washing, polishing, waxing, cleaning rims and tires, conditioning the leather, pretty much everything, the result is that my car looks like brand new.

i used Mequiars car wash stuff,
the supreme Polisher from Mequiars again
turtle wax
and inside the
mequiars leather conditioner
and the mequiars supreme black shine for all my interior plastic stuff etc!!

and obviously Windex for windows!!!

i wish i would made some pics!!
car looks like new!!

Dan

ps3king

I'm going to keep it simple. Meguiars makes a whole line of products catered to people who do the bare minimum to maintain their car to professionals.

As for wheels, unless your wheels are uncoated anodized alumunium you can use pretty much any wheel cleaner. Some work better than others. Meguiars Hot Rim wheel cleaner is G A R B A G E compared to AutoGlym Custom Wheel Cleaner. I've tested them side by side and was amazed.

Armorall products are also pretty bad compared to what the market has to offer. They put an oily film over the dash and that not only attracts more dirt but gives it too shiny of an appearance. Try something like 303 Aerospace.

Rim Cleaner - AG CWC
Tire Shine - Optimum Tire Shine
Body Wax - AG Hi Definition ($50)
Leather Cleaner - Leather Masters Trio or Leatherique
Dash Cleaner - 303 Aerospace or 1Z Cockpit Premium
Carpet Cleaner - You can use All Purpose Cleaner diluted 10:1 with water.

The products I have listed are basic products I would recommend that is easy and readily available.

Check out my other thread that I wrote about washing and maintaining your car. It all comes down to prep.

Check out this Guide: Paint 101: A newbie's guide to Paint Care

Mikeh - a common misconception is that leather needs to breathe. Majority of automotive leather comes treated with a coating over it. When companies use the terms like "breath" or "supple" it's a marketing ploy to attract more people. Truth be told only water-soluble products can be used to clean leather and very specific types of oil like linseed oil I believe. Leatherique products are also good but can be quite costly. They are good to rejuvenate the leather and not so much maintaining it. Leather Masters Trio can help maintain the product.

Waseem

mikeh

I have heard good things about Leather Masters as well as Leatherique. I do know that both employ a multi-step process. I also know not to use a silicone based product on the Napa Leather. Most of the products sold at say Canadian Tire is a silicone based product.

Thanks for the information. I have checked out your other threads and there is some great info.

bbboy

I used to be able to find 303 Aerospace Cleaner at CanadianTire, last year, but now, nowhere in Vancouver...

plg_cp

+1 for 303 Aerospace for dash

pricha00

You may want to check out a site like eshine.ca for boutique detailing products. You can find 303 products there, Can Tire stopped carrying the line in the spring. Too many people cheaping out with Armor All probably. Chemical Guys make great products, as well as Optimum Product Technologies. The 303 Fabric Cleaner is great stuff. Opti-bond tire gel gives a nice matte look to clean tires. For a good tire cleaner check out Amazing Roll-off, neat stuff. No retail stores sell the really good stuff, even the Megs pro line not at Canadian Tire.

Pat.

mikeh

You sound like you know what you are doing in terms of detailing. Have you considered coming out to one of the meets and sharing what you know?