I followed a list posted here by someone but as a newbie who has never detailed I have no clue if i am missing anything. Am I set for everything I'll need to detail my car myself? I've seen videos online where they use buffing tools, tape, foam guns, clay bars and grit guards and the such.

Should I use a buffing tool or is polishing by hand feasible?
To start out should I just use a sealant alone or is sealant/wax the best way? I don't want to have to do too much that isn't 100% necessary at first.

My G is Black.

Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss (16oz)
Poorboy's Bold N Bright Tire Dressing w/sprayer (16 oz)
Poorboy's Natty's Paste Wax Blue (8oz)
Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing w/sprayer (16 oz)[B]
Poorboy's EX Sealant (16 oz)
Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Paint Sealant (16oz)
Poorboy's Spray and Wipe (16oz)

The Dehydrator Drying Towel
The Thief Glass Towel
5” Wheel Applicator
Wolfgang German Polish N’ Wax Applicator
The El Cheapo Microfiber Buffing Towel
The Cookie Monster Buffing Towel V2.0
100% Sheepskin Mitt With Thumb x2


thanks and sorry for all the questions. I am reading the detailedimage guide to help me out

 

haha you will get some serious detailers on here that have 3-4X's what you do or more...

but for a decent detail, you've got plenty of product (be careful with the citrus wash, it is POWERFUL! dilute it enough)

for MF towels though, I'll just say I have 5 drying towels, probably 20 paint safe towels and 15 non-paint safe towels, a couple glass towels, a handful of foam applicators, etc...do I use that many each time? absolutely not, but I use A LOT more than just 1 or 2.

so I would buy some more MF towels and then you should be good to go

 

dont forget the clay and clay lube!

 

ah! thank you, I totally overlooked that

 

In the detailedimage guide they recommend using Poorboy's Spray & Wipe along with water as a lube. I should buy a gallon of it then? :P

For the clay bar my choices (from the site i am buying from eshine.ca) are:

Riccardo Clay Original Yellow (8oz)
Riccardo Clay Blue (8oz)
Wolfgang Poly Clay Bar (4oz)
Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay (4oz)

any recommendations there? Thanks a million

 

I use the spray and wipe, great product!

for the clay bar, just make sure to get the fine clay, not medium or anything like that unless you really know what you are doing and know you need it...the clay package DI.com has with the spray and wipe is a good deal

 

Thanks. unfortunately they don't ship to Canada

 

I just noticed i have 2 sealants in there...

Poorboy's EX Sealant (16 oz)
Menzerna Power Lock Polymer Paint Sealant (16oz)

i don't need both right? Also if i don't wax it after using sealant is it the end of the world?

 

Personally I don't care much for MF glass detailing towels, I save money and just use a regular MF towel.

I like the look and feel of a carnauba wax over a sealant, it's a matter of preference - especially on black. You can do one or the other or both, if you do both be sure to do the sealant first and let it cure at least 12 hours before applying the wax over it.

You have 2 different sealants listed, no need for both unless you just want to try them both out.

No need for a polisher if you aren't doing any polishing, the sealant and wax can be done just fine by hand, polishing really needs a machine to get excellent results.

Best of luck, post up photos of the results.

 

ok thanks a lot. I think i got it sorted out through your help and DI's guide. I'll use sealant and skip on the polishing until I really need to do it (or i'll hire someone to do it as it's quite time consuming)

I'll go with washing -> clay bar -> washing -> sealant.

Here's my updated gear:

Applicators and towels:
100% Sheepskin Mitt With Thumb x2
The Dehydrator Drying Towel x2
5” Wheel Applicator x1 ----------- Do I really need this?
The El Cheapo Microfiber Buffing Towel x5
4" Applicator Black Foam Sealant/Carnauba x2
Micro-Restore Microfiber Detergent x1
Grit Guard Bucket Insert x1
Buckets x2

Cleaning:
Chemical Guys Citrus Wash & Gloss (16oz)
Poorboy's Bold N Bright Tire Dressing w/sprayer (16 oz)
Poorboy's Natural Look Dressing w/sprayer (16 oz)

Sealing:
Poorboy's EX Sealant (16 oz)

Claying:
Riccardo Clay Original Yellow (8oz)
Poorboy's Spray and Wipe (128oz)

Lookin good?

 

I would suggest getting some quick detailer - Optimum (OPT) Instant Detailer & Gloss Enhancer - 17 oz | Detailed Image


and all purpose cleaner concentrate, such as Meguiar's All Purpose Cleaner Plus D103 - 128 oz | Detailed Image . You can mix it in any proportion depending how strong you want the product to be and use it everywhere! Get some empty spray bottles too.

Are you getting any interior cleaning products, like leather cleaners/protectors, etc? You may want to look at my list when I was just getting started: https://www.myg37.com/forums/car-car...ping-list.html

 

Hey Four,

i already have an all-purpose with PB's Spray And Wipe. do you think that is good enough?

As for cleaning inside I was thinking of using the Spray and wipe along with the PB Natural Look Dressing.

Your list is quite extensive. If I had my own garage i'd definitely go for the full gear but as of now I live in a condo with no garage so i'll just stick to the basics.

 

I use PB S&W for exterior cleaning and clay (1:1).

Meguiar's quick detailer is good for light clean up of interior parts, and cheap too, can be bought at Walmart.

Meguiar's APC is just a very good value and you can control how strong you want it: 1:4 for heavy cleaning and degreasing (wheel wells, engine bay), 1:10 for interior surfaces.

 

Alright a few weeks later i finally got around to trying all of these for the first time. The G is looking brand new again and mirror-like. I did notice a couple of light scratches while cleaning it but i guess that comes with the black color. I will have to polish it eventually.

But for all the beginners like me out there this list above is a good start. However I would change a few things from it:

- I'd buy a gallon of the Spray and Wipe as i've already used half of it in a week (quick detail, wash and clay lube)

- I wouldn't buy a tire brush, I didn't even need to use it.

- I wouldn't buy the tire dressing, didn't seem to add much.

- I would buy 2-3 more drying towels and I've already purchased 3 more MF towels.