Decim8r

Have any of you guys ordered from this company?
http://www.chemicalguys.com/Car_Care...art_up_s/1.htm

I've been calling around detailers and getting price quotes from $600 to $800 for a full detail and 22PLE install.

I figured that I could spend $250 and use a bit of elbow grease and do it myself. Now mind you I don't need major paint correction since my car will be brand new, but even if I did a Porter Cable 7424 looks idiot proof and I think I will have fun doing it!

Anyway, maybe I will document my experience when I get a chance and review lessons learned. BTW, I do plan on "trying out" a friends car first before touching mine, so any lessons will be learned on that car instead =D

uberwgn

This is probably the most common and it's what I use:


They're probably around $40, but it's a lifetime tool.

uberwgn

Chemical Guys is a major player.


You might want to look at the Harbor Freight DA polisher for $50. It's quite the value.

http://www.autopia.org/forum/car-det...ight-6-da.html

Maverick61

Well if you go the foam lance route (which is the best option) first you need to own a pressure washer.

I purchased this lance (because i needed a specific attachment and was purchasing other things from this site and got a discount):

http://www.carpro-us.com/snow-foam-cannon/auto-wash/

But this one is also well recommended:



http://www.wayfair.com/MTM-Hydro-Pro...3-MHD1010.html

Would not be surprised if mine was made by MTM and just branded for Carpros

If you have no pressure washer - then the gun pictured a few posts up is the type you need

Maverick61

Chemical guys has some good stuff at reasonable prices - just have to know what you are looking for

on the polisher - I would go with the Griot's Garage 6" model


Has a lifetime warranty and drops down to $80 or so every couple months on Amazon - just have to be quick

Or if you just are going with real limited use the Harbor Freight one is also decent

Maverick61

Just saw this - Given your car will be brand new - I really don't think you need a polish.

I just picked mine up this past Friday and what I am doing is the following

1. Dawn wash to strip anything remaining on the car
2. IronX decontamination - http://www.carpro-us.com/decontaminate/
3. Clay bar
4. Re-wash with IronX snow soap - http://www.carpro-us.com/decontaminate/
4. IPA wipedown
5. Coat paint and wheels with 2 coats of Cquartz - http://www.carpro-us.com/cquartz-50m...ce-protection/ - this will provide two years worth of paint protection
6. Detail tires / trim with Ultima tire / trim guard (also long lasting) with - http://www.carpro-us.com/ultima-tire...ce-protection/
7. And for the interior trim, I will use PERL - http://www.carpro-us.com/perl-plasti...ce-protection/

My choices are based on longevity of the product. I really don't want to be a slave to the car. Do it right the first time and really just will need periodic maintenance washes and an application of Reload - http://www.carpro-us.com/reload-inor...ting-400ml/zs/ every 3 months or so.

With the Cquartz - washing the wheels should require nothing more than basic car wash soap and a strong stream of water

MileHighJC

Interested in this... Before the Adams stuff, I was using Mothers wheel cleaner. It worked reasonably well, but the wheels were still a magnet for brake dust.

I noticed today that after driving the car about 40 miles that I really don't have much dust on the wheels... not NEARLY as much as I had with the Mothers. Not sure the chemistry behind this, or if it will last, but they look better now than they would after driving the car across town before.

Brake dust seems to be my nemesis with this car (as was with my A4).

Decim8r

Wow! This board rocks...I've learned alot by just reading this web site and standing on the shoulders of giants! Interesting that you are using Cquartz. I heard it basically works the same as 22PLE, but a tad cheaper it seems.

Maverick61

Happy to help. 22PLE and CQuartz (and one of the GTechniq products) are all in the high silica-content glass coatings category. The glass barrier these products provide a great shine and a level of protection / durability up to two years. These coatings are hydrophobic - so there are less items (dirt / contaminants ) that stick to the surface making it easier to wash / maintain

I am going with CQuartz because it has been out longer, and has been tested / proven more. 22PLE didn't hit US markets til 2012.

I think no matter which one you go with, given it is a brand new vehicle, you should be able to do just a good decontamination / prep and not have to do a full polish

snagitseven

So, back when I started this thread last Nov, I wanted to share my car cleaning regimen, particularly aimed at the novice weekend, car detail warriors like me. As I pointed out, I'm not quite as dedicated or as **** as some of you guys but definitely decided to do as much of my own detailing as possible rather than farm it out as for the most part as done with my past Audis.

That said, by January, the mild winter weather up here in MA went downhill fast and we experienced about 70" of nor'easter snow storms through March, one right after the other (one of them was so powerful, the winds exceeded Sandy in SE MA last year). So washing, waxing, etc was out of the question for those 3 months - I was forced to use a touchless car wash a few times. (I know, sacrilegious, but what can you do when the only thing that can move freely in your driveway is the snow blower)? But in April, it finally was warming up and I was back at it again. It took me most of two days to clean, detail and wax, inside and out to get the car back to shape. I'm back in the saddle.

One thing I've realized reading the posts here on the different products and methods employed, is that detailing is like religion. Everybody has their methods and brands and seemingly, would give up their wives and kids before using anything other than their favorites. I get it.