Chris K

Last week I ordered a few of the detailing products from griot's garage. Since I have purchased my car this was the first time that I decided to do a complete detailing job on my car. Please note that I am by no means a detailing expert and actually consider myself a novice in the field.<p>I ordered the following products:<br>-Speedshine (to be used with clay)<br>-Clay <br>-hand polish<br>-best of show wax<br>-terry cloth applicators (recommended to be used to apply hand polish)<br>-Orange sponge applicator with holder(used to apply best of show wax)<br>-Cotton Diapers (used to take off polish and wax)<br>-Synthetic "dimple" chamos<br>-griot's garage car wash<p>I started the day by giving my car a thorough wash with the Griot's garage car wash. Then I dired the car off with the synthetic chamois. I have used other synthetic chamois in the past, however I felt like I wanted to use all of Griot's line to see if they provide any noticable difference. They claimed that synthetic "dimpled" chamois would be more effective in retaining the water and would be the best synthetic chamois anyone has ever used. My impression of this product is that it works just as well as any synthetic chamois out there. It just ended up costing almost twice as much.<p>I then sprayed the car with speedshine in order to prep the car for the clay work. I was careful to apply lots of speedshine on the car and the clay because of many instances of cars being scratched without proper lubrication being applied on the paint. As far as I am aware, the clay is supposed to be used to take off bug and tar stains, and also to fix overspray and oxidation of the paint. The process was very easy to complete. However, after I was done, I did notice that the bug and tar stains were still there. That could be attributed to the fact that I may have used too much speedshine (in other words too much lubrication that the clay became ineffective).<p>Next I used the terry cloth applicators to apply the hand polish and the cotton diapers to take off the polish. The polish is used to remove swirl marks and light scratches in the paint. Initial impressions were that the polish was extremely easy to apply and take off. Also it left the car feeling very very smooth. However, it did not take out alot of the swirl marks and scratches. Griot's garage claims that it may not remove all the scratches and swirl marks with their polish (maybe this is why they recommend their orbital buffer and machine polish which they claim will remove ALL light scratches and swirl marks).<p>Final step was the best of show wax. I used the sponge applicator to apply on the wax. Because the sponge applicator was pretty big, I found that it was very difficult to use the applicator to apply wax on the car. The applicator was actually pretty stiff, and thus was not flexible and did not bend at all. This was a problem when I was applying wax on the hood of the car which has grooves. Also I was at times afraid that the edges of the sponge which did not have wax on them, may scratch the paint when I used the applicator to apply the wax. <br>The instructions stated that the wax was to be left until it dried to a haze before taken off with the cotton diaper. I left it to dry for about 15 minutes before I proceeded to take it off. BIG MISTAKE. The wax became so hard that it took me almost an hour to take off all the wax. Maybe I waited too long.<p>When I finally finished the car, I was impressed with the shine of my black a4. The paint looked much richer in color. This could also be attributed to the fact that I haven't waxed my car in many months. <p>Griot's garage products are good. Are they worth the money? Perhaps... Maybe if I was a professional detailer I wouldve been able to take advantage of the full effects of Griot's products that I was not aware of. But IMHO they are not worth the extra cost of over other products. The clay did nothing for me. The synthetic chamois was not the best synthetic chamois I had used; it provides the same effects of a $10 synthetic chamois I bought from Pep Boys. The hand polish failed to remove my swirl marks. Who knows.. maybe some of you guys may have better results with Griot's products. For me, they produced decent results. But not the results I was expecting from the amount of time and money I spent with their products. <p>Chris K<br>98.5 1.8TQTS Tap Stage II

Dave M

Chris, thanks for the update! I have been wanting to order some stuff from them, like the terry wax applicators and maybe a wash mit or wash brush, but not any of the waxes (I'm a Meguiar's professional fan). I thought all their products were supposed to be top notch - maybe not.<p>Don't forget possibly the best thing about Griot's: if you do not like the products, they will buy them back (for life!). You should return the items you are not happy with.<p>Dave M - '97 1.8tm

Andy Hedin

I've been using their wash mitts for the past 4 or 5 years...I love them. I wore two of them out and recently bought 2 more...very nice product.<p>Andy Hedin

Chris K

Andy have you used sponges to wash your car before? If so, which do you prefer,the sponge or the mitt?

Andy Hedin

Yes, I used to use one of those big "car wash" sponges but I prefer the wash mitt. It seems like the sponge dries out pretty soon after pulling it out of the bucket, especially if you wring it out at all. The wash mitt seems to stay "wetter" for a bit longer. I usually don't actually stick my hand into the mitt as it doesn't really stay on unless you've got a really big hand. There is no cuff to hold it on your hand. It's really nothing more than a nice towel sewed into a rectangular mitt shape. If you're handy with a sewing machine you could make your own for less money.<p>Andy Hedin

Dave M

...I WANT THAT 80 FREAKIN DOLLAR FIRE-HOSE WATER SPRAYER ATTACHMENT THEY SELL!!!!!! That thing RULES!<p>Dave M<p>

Andy Hedin

That is sweet...pretty hard for me to justify the cost though :-)

Dave M

LOL

SandyK

I have the complete Griot's car wash kit and didn't have the same problem. I'm not sure about the problem you had with the painting clay or the swirl marks (my car was new so I haven't had those experiences yet). But the Best of Show Wax was very easy to remove with the terry cloth towel. I've also tried the carnauba hard wax and that was also very easy to put on with their orange applicator and remove with terry cloth towel.<p>I wouldn't use a chamois on a black car. It just ends up being like a squeegee which drags any remaining dirt or particles across your paint. Lots of terry cloth towels dabbed on the surface would be a better solution. Also, their inexpensive pistol grip sparyer attachment is actually a bargain. It provides the perfect even conical spray pattern. Very easy on the paint.<p>I'm also using the Boars hair brush for washing the car. I didn't want to take any chances with my black paint. The only problem with the brush is that it just can't reach in certain places.<p>Overprices for Griot's? Probably, but not disappointed.<p>Sandy

EW

I use Mothers clay and clay lube, simply because it it readily available and seems to work OK. I get the impression from your message that you sprayed the whole car with speed shine then clayed it. I don'tknow about Grigot, but with the Mothers, I spray a 1-2 square foot area, rub with the clay, maybe 30 seconds, fold the clay over for the next use, dry up most of the wetness with a good car towel that I wash and reuse then buff it a bit with another piece of terrycloth that I discard omce it's damp, maybe after 1/4 of the car is done. The result is an incredibly smooth surface. Then I was with Meguiars #26 yellow paste.<p>I buy good soft fluffy towels at Costco for $5/each, cut them up int 4 inch spuares for applying was and about 8" squares for buffing dried wax. I wash the towel before first use and dry in the dryer with 2 0r 3 unscented dryer sheets to make it soft. I don't know for sure, but perhaps the diapers are too soft to get a good purchase on the dry was to remove it effectively. Discard the piece of buff towel regularly, two doors, the hood and maybe a fender max. The towels are cheap. The terry hasn't scratched my car.<p>The trick to having a swirl-free finish is to DEMAND when you get the car that it is not buffed or waxed. I do not understand why all dealerships use oscillating buffers on new cars. The finish is close to perfect from the factory, buffers in the hands of anyone but a perfectionist or an expert will create swirls. Also, demand no wash when taking your car in for service. Some places dry the car with a ***** wog or some such thing that is an attachment for a buffer. This will create swirls, too.<p>My wife wants a honda or a mazda. We went shopping last weekend and very damn car in each of 3 lots we visited had what I consider a damaged finish, courtesy of the wash monkey and his buffer. This is a pet peeve of mine.<p>Eric