what products to buy?

Okay so im not super new to the detailing world. I want to switch up products to higher end products but not sure what to get. I have the basics i have a foam gun, flex, pads,but want to get high end products.

I dont know if i should switch from wax to sealant and if so whats the best to get, i want to be able to start detailing cars and making money. i already detail my friends cars and there all happy and everyone comments on there cars how clean they are.

What soap to get one to strip all prior wax and sealant and one to maintain the car.
Degreaser
Sealant or wax
Polishes
Claybar
lub
wheels cleaner
tire dressing

then interior products i have a heat extractor and a metro vac.
and not sure what else to get there never got into cleaning the interior much.

Everyone will have their own opinion. if you are serious about doing this to make money you should try to get as many of the gallon sizes as possible imo its a lot cheaper. so my recommendations are:

Soap, Def CG Citrus Wash and Gloss (for stripping and maintaining)
Degreaser, CG Grime Reaper
Sealant, Optimum Opti-Seal
Wax, (really depends on color but cant go wrong with) Dodo Juice Rubishboys
Polishes, Menzerna SIP and 106fa but again depends on condition of car etc.
Claybar, Clay Magic (they are one of the manufacturers)
Lube, Optimum No Rinse (can be diluted to clay lube strength so you will get a ton of Lube from one 32 oz bottle)
Wheel Cleaner, CG Gel Wheel Cleaner (little bit cheaper than P21s and works just as well)
Dressing, PB Bold and Bright
Interior dressing, 303 Aero (great stuff, a lot better than armor all)

I would get spray bottles from HD or lowes or costco so you can dilute things and just have everything in smaller containers soits easier to work with. Good luck post some pics of your work when you get a chance.

which pads do you have already?

What soap to get one to strip all prior wax and sealant and one to maintain the car.
Degreaser
Sealant or wax
Polishes
Claybar
lub
wheels cleaner
tire dressing

soap - citrus wash clear for stripping
whatever you want to maintain LSP

degreaser - majestic solutions super green stuff - puts grime reaper to shame and is on par with p21s total auto wash but miles cheaper. 13+shipping for one gallon and i dilute it. 2:1 for the wheels, tires and wheel wells. 3:1 for the body.

you can put wax on top of sealant. a lot of people including me like to do this
sealant - duragloss 105 - $10 for 6 months of protection? the bottle might expire on you before you finish it
wax - depends on the color. can't go wrong with chemical guys 5050 or pete's 53
polish - Meguiar's M105, power finish and PO85RD - this handles 90% of all cars for me
clay bar and lubricant - clay magic is good but i hear meguiar's professional grade clay is better. i use sonus, and they are really hard to mold

wheel cleaner - super green stuff listed above diluted 2:1
tire dressing - tropi-care tire dressing or swissvax pneu - one bottle of these go a LONG way if you know how to apply it right

For stripping wax you want a strong shampoo, Citrus wash and gloss works, but it has glossing agents. When polishing I prefer to have the surface free of anything so I prefer Citrus Wash and Clear

For Maintenance Washes CG Maxi Suds II is great. It's slick and much more gentle than Citrus Wash and Clear.

Grime Reaper and P21S Total Auto Wash are great degreasers. I prefer TAW as I find it gentler.

As far as polishes, you can never have enough if you're working on a variety of vehicles. I would recommend picking up the following:

Meguiars M105
Menzerna SIP

Menzerna Power Finish (Great for One Steps)

Menzerna 106FA Great Finishing Polish

Menzerna PO85RD Great polish for jeweling the paint and getting that extra pop out of it. Use it with a Gray or blue pad after the surface has already been defect free and you will be amazed at the gloss you will achieve.

Meguairs M205

DI Fine Clay This is one of the most pliable clay bars I've used and my current favorite. I find most others are too hard, sticky, or crumble easily.

For lube Optimum No Rinse is the most cost effective option, and it works great. It's also great for washing the car after polishing.

For Wheels I would recommend CG Sticky Wheel Cleaner as it is much more cost effective than P21s and works just as well.

Also, you will find the EZ Detail Brush is excellent for cleaning wheels, it allows you to easily clean the inside of the wheels with ease.

For neglected wheels, you can use Meguiars Wheel Brightener. This shouldn't be used on bare aluminum wheels, only on painted wheels.

For Dressing Tires I would recommend a LC Tire Dressing Applicator as it is much longer lasting and easier to use than those tire swipes you can find in auto stores.

As for a dressing, I would say Opti-bond Tire Gel is a great value.

For interiors I like Optimum Protectant Plus, it's similair to 303 but less shiny and smells much better. Also much more cost effective. It has light cleaning properties, but for dirty interiors you want to clean them first with something like 303 Fabric and Vinyl Cleaner which is concentrated, so you can dillute it and get a lot of use out of it.

That should set you up quite well. You should also make sure you have enough pads, I would say a minimum of 3 of each.

This is a great package since you already have a buffer and some pads.

Finally, Sealant and Wax. Sealants are much more durable but waxes give a great warm deep glow. I would say having many of both in your collection is the best thing to do. You will quickly find you develop favorite products for certain paint colors. I would recommend Optiseal, Jetseal 109, P21s 100% as sealants and waxes to start out with. Also pick up some Optimum Car Wax for door jambs and maintenance washes.

Squeak - The guys above gave you some great recommendations I'd suggest you look at. If you want me to go over anything in specific please let me know I'd be happy to help you out. Also don't forget we are offering 10% off and Free S/H on orders over $75 through 9/7 (coupon code LABORFS75).

Greg @ DI

Originally Posted by Greg@DetailedImage.com

Squeak - The guys above gave you some great recommendations I'd suggest you look at. If you want me to go over anything in specific please let me know I'd be happy to help you out. Also don't forget we are offering 10% off and Free S/H on orders over $75 through 9/7 (coupon code LABORFS75).

Greg @ DI

alright thanks a lot i order a few things but will be ordering more in a week or so.

what do you guys think of swissvax products? Im curious what the best brand is.

i like p21s products a lot
four star i like there wheel gel dressing since i like the matt look
i already found a liking for certain brands and just certain products from them.

Originally Posted by Squeak

what do you guys think of swissvax products? Im curious what the best brand is.

i like p21s products a lot
four star i like there wheel gel dressing since i like the matt look
i already found a liking for certain brands and just certain products from them.

there is so such thing as one best brand

as you can tell, i choose from all different sources and brands. i don't stick to one because no one brand is the "best" at everything. However, detailing is based on preference. So, if you like it, nobody can tell you that it's wrong.

edit: i just noticed you're in the bay area. if you're around SF, i can actually show you some of the products that i've mentioned.

Originally Posted by SpecC

there is so such thing as one best brand

as you can tell, i choose from all different sources and brands. i don't stick to one because no one brand is the "best" at everything. However, detailing is based on preference. So, if you like it, nobody can tell you that it's wrong.

edit: i just noticed you're in the bay area. if you're around SF, i can actually show you some of the products that i've mentioned.

+1, but if you're looking to to do this to make some money you also want to look at products that are the best bang for your buck, which is something Swisswax products are not.

Originally Posted by SpecC

there is so such thing as one best brand

as you can tell, i choose from all different sources and brands. i don't stick to one because no one brand is the "best" at everything. However, detailing is based on preference. So, if you like it, nobody can tell you that it's wrong.

edit: i just noticed you're in the bay area. if you're around SF, i can actually show you some of the products that i've mentioned.

yea I'm about 45 mins away from sf. i live near palo alto.

Originally Posted by Squeak

alright thanks a lot i order a few things but will be ordering more in a week or so.

Thank you for the order I appreciate it! The best brand is tough to define and it varies with each person and every unique car. I look for more of the top product regardless of brand. We have so many different brands and my favorite products generally vary depending on the task.

For some top quality waxes I recommend you look at the Dodo Juice waxes or look at the Chemical Guys 50/50 Limited Series Concourse Paste Wax - 16 oz.

Let me know if you have any specific areas you would like recommendations for.

Greg @ DI