Essential detailing gear

Ive been a DB junky this past weekend, really letting myself get hooked on this hobby. Ive been reading, making notes in firefox as to what others are using and where to get it.

Im looking at making a list of items, a list of essential pieces of equipment to maintain my famiys cars (Grand Cherokee, Journey, 2X Santa Fe's, Grand Caravan, Bel-air).

so far here is what i have in mind:

Have:
Lug nut brush
Megs quick detailer (interior)
Spray N wash
Aerosol glass cleaner
Back to black trim dressing
shop vac

Need:
2-3 5 gallon buckets (I can get as many of these as i want free)
Megs APC
LSP (very lost as to what im looking for here, soooo many choices!)
interior and exterior brushes (uber boars hair wheel brush & something for the inside)
MF towels/chamois

Want:
Chemical guys blower/vac


Am i missing anything that you would consider key to being able to finish a car inside and out?

 

I'm guessing you aren't going to be correcting paint, so I'll leave that out.

Off the top of my head:

Clay Bar
Auto shampoo (like Chemical Guy's Citrus Wash and GLoss/Optimum Car Wash)
Wash mitt or sponge (Uber or proline sponge, or a quality sheepskin wash mitt)
Grit guards
OPtimum No Rinse
swissvax wheel brush
brush to clean the barrels of the wheels

I stayed mainly with the wash step, because I feel that's one of the most important to maintaining a nice finish.

For LSP, get Collinite 845. Cheap, durable, looks great. I would worry more about getting the proper tools/basic chemicals before springing for a pot of Supernatural. Although SN is awesome.

 

And ditch the idea of a chamois. Get a quality microfiber drying towel, such as the showroom fx waffle weave, uber waffle weave (www.detailersdomain.com), or the super plush drying towel (Rubbish Boy's Carnauba Wax Shop)

 

Seems like you got everything down pretty well. Invest in some wheel cleaner, grit guards, various interior/exterior burshes, and some clay bars and you should be set. Seems like you could use a few more shampoos, and maybe a foam gun, though I wouldn't call these neccessities. Be prepared to spend some money.

 

I dont see a carwash soap in there (I love my Optimum Car Wash)

Id pick up the Raceglaze brush set and the Raceglaze Wheel brush.

The brush set can be used on the interior

Some kind of tire dressing is needed as well.

as far as LSP goes. Id just pick up Autoglym HD wax. IT can be had for around 30-40 bucks from pepboys or walmart

 

I might get into correction, but im leary...i painted a car i bought right out of high school. Spent a ton on prepping it right, and painting it right (rented a booth)...only to cut through the clear & color on the back QP as soon as i started sanding it. Ive been pretty shy about doing any kind of buffing/polishing/sanding since.

@ Jon, pektel, RT. Thanks for the advice, im looking into those products now.

Are any of these carried locally at a AutoZone or the like? I see some of the AG stuff is at walmart, which kind of suprised me.

 

Carquest will have Duragloss products.

IF OTC is what you are after, they cannot be beat.

Their car wash is awesome. Their sealants (they call them polishes) are awesome. In fact, I have yet to try something of their's that I was not completely satisfied with.

I own:

Duragloss Car Wash (901 IIRC)
Duragloss 501 - excellent cleaning ability.
Duragloss 105 - great sealant. I use this on windshields/exterior plastic lenses (headlights/taillights) all the time
Duragloss 111 - Super nice sealant. Not sure if it lasts quite as long as 105. To me it's right up there with Blackfire WEt Diamond sealant.
Duragloss 951 (Aquawax. Amazing stuff.)

 

Perfect, theirs a CQ about 3 miles from my house

I can see it now, ill have a pile of stuff...and no idea what the proper application would be lol.

EDIT: Question about the 951 vs the 105. The 951 is the LSP for the paint, and the 105 is the dressing for trim/plastic right?

 

105 can be used on paint, glass, wheels, anywhere you would use a paint sealant.

I top 105 with 951. 951 is an excellent drying aid. And adds a nice layer of protection.

 

duragloss 951 is indeed awesome. just bought a gallon and now my friend is harrassing me for some of it. i especially like it on a washed dry car as a detailer. the gloss is amazing. ditto for their car wash shampoo.

 

See if any of us are local in your area, most people will let you observe a detail or even offer lessons. Depends on the person though. Observing a detail will let you see how the products are really intended to work, how much work goes into a detail, tips, tricks, it's basically the best thing I can recommend if you can find someone who will let you observe.

And don't worry, paint correction ain't all that bad. Unlike painting, paint correction is a lot harder to mess up as long as you stay away from the edges and know that you have enough paint. I'm guessing you went right through your paint because it was still too soft from not curing enough.

 

anyon in so cal willing to let me sit in on a detail? id love to learn more!!!

 

yeah,
Duragloss 901 for car shampoo
501/601-4:1- good paint cleanser and some paint potection
105/601-4:1- good paint sealant

then maybe top with collinite 845 or AG HD wax and you are good to go.

Remember to buy grid guard for wash bucket and lots of mf towels.
PC or Flex if you want paint correction, wet/dry shop vac, foam canon/pressure washer are not necessary

 

Im north of Detroit just a little bit, im sure that there is someone on here in the area Ive already seen one guy down river about 2 hours, but that would be one the outer limits of my range.

I was able to find a nice MF wash mit and some megs apc locally today after work. So the collection has already begun.