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I'm a product junkie! I love trying out new products and then trying them again ... and again with other products I love to see if they will work into my regular routine. Like food, I don't stick to just one routine or one set of products but have a number of favourites and a number of favourite combinations.

Shampoo, Wash Mits and Drying

First thing ... throw away your sponge!

Second thing ... throw away your chamois! Unless you're me, of course, in which case you abhore drying towels and will be cold in your grave before giving up your Autoglym Synthetic Chamois :)

You can tell I like my chamois, but advice you'll read on detailing forums really is right - use two buckets and use a sheepskin mitten for delicate paints and a microfibre covered sponge for a slightly stronger bite if necessary.

While I am not sold on "grit guards", I find the two bucket method to be right - before returning your mitten or sponge into the bucket of suds, clean it out in a bucket of clean water. This is prevent the transfer of grit back onto the paint. Using either a sheepskin mitten or a microfibre sponge, my technique it to gently squeeze water to create a little wave ahead of the mitten or sponge that gently lifts dirt from the paint. Whichever drying method, I like to hose the paintwork down with gentle free-flowing water to remove as much standing water as possible.

So, shampoos:

Serious Performance Ultra Gloss Shampoo
Finish Kare 1016
Duragloss 901
Zymol Auto Wash

By far, my favourite shampoo is Serious Performance Ultra Gloss Shampoo. Using 1 fl oz per gallon of water, this shampoo gives a good clean and leaves the surface with a fantastic gloss! Drying off is a doddle, too since many shampoos leave a waxiness that drags the drying towel or chamois, but not Serious Performance Ultra Gloss Shampoo.

Aside from that, two other shampoos that are very close in terms of performance are Finish Kare 1016 and Duragloss 901. Finish Kare 1016 has a slickness in the bucket, which translates as a very smooth finish on the paint and Duragloss 901, which providing the same level of cleaning and waxing as Serious Performance Ultra Gloss Shampoo, has a gorgeous cherry scent :)

Zymol Auto Wash is a no-frills shampoo with a heavy leaning towards natural ingredients. Perfect for a "posh wax and wax" 8)

Polishes

Polishing your paint is the only way to remove paint defects, such as oxidisation, bird etching, scratches, swirls and water marks. Machine polishing is the most effective way and the most effective of machines is the rotary polisher. I use a Kestrel SIM 180, which is not an expensive polisher and has a good feature set. Personally, I found that polishing with a dual-action or orbital polisher took so long that all the fun came out of it and so took up the rotary more out of a desire to show off a kind of elite skill than anything since I was very happy maintaining good paint by hand.

By machine I wholeheartedly recommend 3M Finesse-It polishes and pads as well as Menzerna polishes:

3M Finesse-It III Fast Cut Plus Polish (3M50417)/Green Pad (3M50487)
3M Finesse-It III Extra Fine Polish (3M80349)/Yellow Pad (3M50488)
3M Finesse-It III Ultrafina SE Polish (3M50383)/Blue Pad (3M50388)
Menzerna Power Gloss (S34A)
Menzerna Intensive Polish (PO85RD 3.02)
Menzerna Final Finish (PO85RD)

Combinations of pad and polish and even a single drop of a different polish can make these products a most versatile set for all colours and paint types.

Other machine-orientated polishes I adore for burnishing in a really deep gloss into show car black are from Autobright:

Autobright Great White
Autobright Top Line
Autobright Foam Pad Polish

Autobright Great White is a kind of all-in-one product, but designed for use by machine - it is a good polish with a cut slightly below Menzerna Intensive Polish (PO85RD 3.02) and works out to leave a layer of carnauba protection behind. Ideal for one hit applications by machine.

Autobright Top Line is a cut below most defect removing polishes and a cut above most finishing polishes making it a most useful product indeed for cleaning up newer and well kept cars. Autobright Foam Pad Polish is simply a perfect finishing polish for machine use, filling the air with a gorgeous licquorice aroma and leaving the most deep finish you could imagine, with a long work time to really burnish in that finish. Imagine the finish jewelling away under the pad in your mind and as you lift the pad away ... it appears!

By hand, I have to recommend Autoglym Super Resin Polish - this is an all-in-one polish, which has a chemical cleaning action and can remove some oxidisation and water marks, a light abrasive and good filling agents for polishing and diminishing the appearance of swirling and light scratches and an acrylic sealant finish. Autosmart Platinum is another astonishing product for hand use and while it contains more modern filling agents which do not wash out as easily as Autoglym Super Resin Polish, I have to err on the side of the Autoglym product for its filling effectiveness.

There is, of course, no reason why you could not use a finishing polish which will be rich in polishing oils, a dedicated swirl mark remover or even a pure polishing glaze:

Sonus SFX3 Final Finish Polish
Serious Performance Finishing Polish
Mark V IP200 Swirl Remover & Finishing Glaze
Duragloss 671 Swirl Mark Remover
Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze
Sonus Professional Hand Applicator

For pads, I often simply use the 3M pads hooked onto a vectro hand strap.

The Serious Performance Finishing Polish product is very oily and has a long work time which gives you ample opportunity by hand to really work in the product and jewel a perfect swirl-free finish which works especially well on the black side of the Sonus Professional Hand Applicator, as does their own Sonus SFX3 Final Finish, Duragloss 671 Swirl Mark Remover and Mark V IP200 Swirl Remover & Finishing Glaze where the pad can be flipped over to the yellow side for a little more bite, if necessary. These products all achieve much the same effect, with the swirl mark removers also going an extra length to improving depth of finish.

Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze is quite a unique product and can be used as often as you like and after whichever layer you like to further deepen that finish. Used on the show car circuit to give a final wipe of deep oily wetness over the top of waxes at the show, such layers can also be locked in with another coat of wax over the top. This layering method is very effective as producing a dramatic depth of finish.

Cleansers

You might well have gathered that all-in-one products have some chemical cleansers in there, but there are a good number of dedicated cleansers on the market and a couple that I keep in are:

Serious Performance Paint Cleanser
Dodo Juice Lime Prime/Lite
Menzerna Top Inspection

Best used as a wipe-down after polishing to cleanse the surface back to pure paint or to help remove oxidisation by hand, these products do much the same job as any pre-wax lotions and prepare the surface to receive a wax or sealant. I like to use Serious Performance Paint Cleanser when I am going for an all synthetic session on white and light coloured cars but prefer Dodo Juice Lime Prime/Lite as a precursor to a fine wax. The Lite version does not contain abrasives, which are sometimes useful if a little swirl mark removal is required as well in preparation for the wax.

Of course, a simple wipe-down with isopropyl alcohol diluted half and half with distilled water will achieve much the same effect, as will a light spritz of inspection products, such as Menzerna Top Inspection.

Glazes

Having talked about polishes and gone some way into discussing glazes with some of the cross-over products, what exactly is a glaze? Well, historically it was simply an oily finishing product often with some filling action that left a wet look on paint finishes with a deep clarity.

As discussed above, swirl mark removers often contain some kind of glazing action as do pure polishes like Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze. Here are a couple of my favourite dedicated glazes:

Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze with Acrylic Shine
Autobright Purple Haze

The Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze with Acrylic Shine product is superb for using after all manner of polishes and really gives a dramatic improvement when following on from a hand polish and used as part of a series of layers that might follow on with a sealant, it is an excellent choice.

Autobright Purple Haze is a close relative of Autobright Foam Pad Polish and formulated for hand use goes a long way to offering that deep finish that can be left by Autobright Foam Pad Polish when used by machine.

Sealants

With a normal laying approach following the polish, glaze, seal and wax order it is right to discuss sealants at this juncture although sealants are perfectly good without a topping of wax and vice versa. In fact, on white, light colours, light metallics, dark metallics and even black metallic a sealant will offer a wet look and help the flake in metallics really pop out. There are a number of hybrid products that are marketed as "waxes" which are in fact for want of a better word - sealants.

Traditional wisdom that said sealants wick water away where wax beads up really gets messed up nowadays, as does the saying that waxes produce depth and warmth where a sealant will be glossy and bright. I tend to use sealants on my white car, but love the look that a wax offers on my black car. Here are a few of my favourite sealant products:

Duragloss 601 Pre-Bonding Agent
Duragloss 105 Total Performance Polish
Chemical Guys Jetseal 109
Finish Kare 1000P

The Duragloss 601 Pre-Bonding Agent works together with a sealant like an epoxy to assist the sealant in bonding and strengthening the finish. Used with Duragloss 105 Total Performance Polish, even on white a deep finish can be achieved with some warmth that beads up as well as any wax. Chemical Guys Jetseal 109 is a very strong sealant which works especially well after Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze with Acrylic Shine, but does need to be followed with a wax for a good beading effect.

Finish Kare 1000P is by far the best sealant I have used. Manufactured in paste form the finish is truly glass-like - not glassy as in bright, which it is, but glassy as in like when you look into a mirror and can see the structure of the glass as well as the reflection. It can give the appearance of an extra-thick layer of clearcoat! I like to use this after the Duragloss 601/105 Total Performance Polish combination for a perfect finish on white.

Waxes

Just as I have found a small number of sealants which I regard as perfect from the vast array on the market, I have a small number of waxes which I like to use. One could say that a wax is a wax is a wax - it should not interfere with the finish and especially so following a machine polish, a wax should simply protect that perfect finish and while that purist apporoach is most laudable we might in fact want some effects out of our wax products.

One such effect is depth and another gloss. These nuances are discussed and debated at length on detailing forums, but the other thing I want out of a wax is ease of use and my favourites are kept in for all these reasons:

Chemical Guys Pete's 53 Black Pearl Signature Wax
Pinnacle Souveran
ValetPro Artemis Wax Seal
P21S/R222
Poorboys World Natty's Paste Wax

Before going into further detail about how I like to layer a paste wax over a liquid wax for a perfect effect, I'll just outline what it is I like about these waxes.

Chemical Guys Pete's 53 Black Pearl Signature Wax is pretty much my favourite wax, pipped only by Pinnacle Souveran. It leaves a perfectly boosted finish which is bright, glossy and with some extra depth but not darkened. Cited as the wax to use on blacks and red, I think it is perfect on all colours and paint finishes. Pinnacle Sourveran is most certainly best suited to blacks, reds and other high pigment colours - it has a darkening effect and an astounding depth when left in the sun to cure for a few hours. Both of these have wonderful fruit scents - coconut and banana.

ValetPro Artemis Wax Seal is a new wax on the market and I have to say that this is fast pushing Chemical Guys Pete's 53 out of the favourite spot for me. The finish is staggeringly deep with a hard shine and good gloss. Gorgeous to apply and a breeze to remove with so little effort - in many ways, a very user-friendly equivalent of Collinite 915. If longevity and durability are as claimed, this is going to be one heck of a good wax!

P21S/R222 is a very pure wax which leaves a really glassy look and a nice one to use as a final coat - it does not seem to last long, but for those of us who like applying waxes that is certainly not a problem :) Finally, Poorboys World Natty's Paste Wax which has a delicious vanilla scent and it just a pleasure to use. I can't really say any more about it other than it is just a sheer pleasure to own and use.

Backing up a step, I like my paste waxes to be the final layer and to do that without interfering with the underlying layers. Liquid waxes are argued to last as long as paste waxes, but there is something in a paste wax that I just like to reserve for that last step protection product. What I want out of liquid waxes is depth and darkening ... and a couple that I really adore are:

Autobright Carnauba Better Wax
Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Liquid Carnauba Wax
Rude Wax Super Wet Carnauba Wax

The Autobright Carnauba Better Wax is a buttery wet wax and everything you would expect out of Chemical Guys Butter Wet Wax, but buttery :) Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Liquid Carnauba Wax has an astonishing darkening effect, but can be difficult to use at times - I find Autobright Carnauba Better Wax does everything I want at that stage, but keep coming back to Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Liquid Carnauba Wax to see if I can really get it to work for me, especially after using Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze. Needless to say, Autobright Carnauba Better Wax is a ideal topper to Autobright Purple Haze, or indeed any glaze.

Rude Wax Super Wet Carnauba Wax is not a joke - it is, sadly, a discontinued product but if you look around the usual source you'll find some. What I like about this wax is that it achieves very much what Pinnacle Souveran does and has a very similar look indeed, but can be had for under a tenner as opposed to more than 50 quid! Beading is not as impressive, but topped with the king of beading: Chemical Guys Pete's 53 Black Pearl Signature Wax you have a perfect look on blacks, reds and other high pigment colours.

Last of all for waxes, I have a couple of tins and a bottle from Collinite that I just love using:

Collinite 476S
Collinite 915
Collinite 845

For the full run down on Collinite waxes, please see my weblog but what I will say here is that these are by far the longest lasting waxes available. Due to a high solvent content, these waxes are best used after a polish or an acrylic sealant or all-in-one polishing product for while I highly recommend Car-Lack68 Nano Systematic Care (which is also retailed under the Klasse and Jeff's Werkstat labels) with an optional layer of Car-Lack68 Long Life Sealant. Perfect winter products!

Quick Detailers, Spray Waxes and Spray Sealants

Whether used to assist drying, remove dust or fingerprints from a cherished finish or simply to pop a layer of bling onto a washed car, quick detailers are really useful and I tend to stick to just one, now:

Autosmart Reglaze

I do use a small number of spray waxes and sealants which I like to be able to pop a quick spritz of bling onto a finish to really set it off in good light:

Lucas Slick Mist
Chemical Guys Blitz
Dodo Juice Red Mist

Chemical Guys Blitz is really a hybrid wax/sealant in spray form - apply to a pad, wipe over and allow to haze before buffing off. I like this one to get a quick layer down if the weather is threatening.

Lucas Slick Mist can be diluted up to half with distilled water to be used as a quick detailer without losing its ability to work as its primary constitution, a wax it wet product. Superb for following a wash in the winter months and crystal clear on white, while bright and glossy on black.

Last of all, Dodo Juice Red Mist is a unique product which evaporates very quickly indeed so a refined technique is necessary, but the darkened and smoothed look is staggering! Beading is astonishing, too! I like to use this product in very good light to really crisp up an already perfect finish into an unbelieveable finish 8)

Dressings, Trim Treatments and Tyre Shine

I have tried a lot of products in this category and keep coming back to Autoglym for their Vinyl & Rubber Care, Bumper Care and Instant Tyre Dressing products, but having found Autosmart TNT Treatment I have a product that I can use on all internal trim, external trim and tyres. While not lasting as long as the individual Autoglym products on the exterior, it is such an easy product to use that it remains a favourite of mine:

Autosmart TNT Treatment
Autoglym Bumper Care
Autoglym Instant Tyre Dressing

For application of external trim and tyre products, I like to use foam. Take a conventional washing sponge and cut it into small sections suitable for application to the sizes of your external trim or tyres.

Cabriolet Roof Care

No contest:

Autoglym Convertible Hood Kit

Autoglym Convertible Hood Kit will leave your roof protected and beading as well as your paintwork. Use once a year towards the end of summer and take care not to get the protectant on your paintwork unless you intend to undertake a strong cleansing or polishing session.

Leather Care

Again, no contest:

Gliptone Leather Cleaner (GT12)
Gliptone Leather Conditioner (GT11)
Gliptone Gentle Leather Cleaner (GLIE10)

Aside from smelling like proper old-fashioned car leather, these products simply work. I like to massage the conditioner into the leather by hand rather than with an applicator - use latex gloves to protect agains skin irritation.

For cleaning work, I use a pure bristle nail brish for heavy soiling and like a simple microfibre towel for light cleaning.

Automotive Detailing Albums on Picasa Web

FIAT Punto MK2B Sporting de-swirled with 3M Fine Cut and 3M Ultrafine SE polishes, topped with Collinite 915 Marque D'Elegance

FIAT Punto MK2B Sporting (DF) 12/05/2009

Renault Megane Coupe de-swirled with 3M Fine Cut and 3M Ultrafine SE polishes before sealing with Car-Lack68 Nano Systematic Care

Renault Megane Coupe (MD) 06/05/2009

Jaguar XJ8 detailed with Autobright Perfection polish, topped with Collinite 915 Marque D'Elegance wax

Jaguar XJ8 (SGH) 18/10/2008

FIAT Bravo SX detailed with Bilt Hamber Auto Balm

FIAT Bravo SX Detail (Ed) 18/10/2008

SAAB Classic 900 Convertible Pinnacle Souveran Detail (DH) 14/06/2008

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared with Simoniz Advanced Wash & Wax, Car-Lack68 NSC, Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze and finished with Meguiars #26 Hi-Tech Wax and Meguiars #16 Professional Mirror Glaze

SAAB Classic 900 Convertible Pinnacle Souveran Detail (DH) 14/06/2008

Classic SAAB 900 Convertible detailed with Car-Lack68 NSC and Pinnacle Souveran wax

SAAB Classic 900 Convertible Detail (SA) 18/05/2008

Classic SAAB 900 Convertible detailed with machine-applied Sonus polishes, Chemical Guys EZ Creme Glaze and Collinite 476S & 915 waxes

Proton Persona GLSi detailed with Autoglym SRP & UDS, Collinite 476S Super Doublecoat Wax and Meguiars for the external trim

Proton Personal 1.5 GLSi Detail (Ed) 09/02/2008

SAAB 9000 Anniversary Detail (WJ) 17/11/2007

SAAB 9000 Anniversary detailed with Autoglym SRP, Car-Lack68 NSC and Collinite 476S Super Doublecoat Wax

Daimler Six detailed with Autoglym SRP and UDS, topped with Meguiars NXT Tech Wax

Daimler Six (SGH) Detail 31/05/2007

Daimler Six detailed with Autoglym Paint Restorer, Autoglym SRP and UDS, topped with Meguiars NXT Tech Wax

Daimler Six (SGH) Detail 12/04/2007

Automotive Detailing Albums ~pjgh

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared with Dodo Juice Lime Prime and waxes with Dodo Juice Purple Haze, Banana Armour and topped with Supernatural

SAAB 900 Convertible paint protection for Winter topped up with Autobright Top Line pre-wax lotion and Collinite 845

SAAB 900 treated to a de-swirl with Duragloss 671 Swirl Remover

SAAB 900 polished with Serious Performance Fine Cut Polish and then split down the middle with one side treated to Serious Performance Finishing Polish & Super Sealant while the other side enjoys Finish Kare 303 Foam Pad Glaze & 2180 Ultra Seal Polymer Sealant followed by Finish Kare 1000P Hi-Temp Sealant on the bonnet and Finish Kare 2658 Pink Wax on the roof

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared with Car-Lack68 NSC, waxed with Auto Bright Creme Wax and spray sealed with Auto Bright Radiance

SAAB 900 Turbo washed with Duragloss 901, cleansed with Duragloss 652 and then pre-bond and polished with Duragloss 601 & 105

SAAB 900 Turbo washed with Zymol Auto Wash, polished with Autoglym Super Resin Polish and finished with Autoglym Extra Gloss Protection

SAAB 900 Turbo washed with Zymol Auto Wash and finished with Armor All Hi-Shine Soft Paste Wax

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared with Car-Lack68 NSC and finished with Pinnacle Souveran Wax

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared with Car-Lack68 NSC, Meguiars #7 Show Car Glaze for Meguiars #16 Professional Mirror Glaze Wax

SAAB 900 Convertible paint protection for Winter topped up with Car-Lack68 NSC, Car-Lack68 LLS and Collinite 476S Super Double-coat Wax

SAAB 900 Convertible prepared for Autum/Winter with Car-Lack68 NSC, Car-Lack68 LLS and Collinite 476S Super Double-coat Wax

SAAB 900 Convertible corrected with Autoglym Paint Restorer, polished with Autoglym Super Resin Polish, glazed with Autoglym Ultra-Deep Shine and waxed with Meguiars NXT Tech Wax