cleaners, polishers

You need a Griot's Garage cataog, my friend.

Speedshine as well as many other good products are in there.

 

Griots is amzing stuff. Look in the showroom for pics from out local car show in STL and you'll see the red 355 I drove was done with griots. It looks fantastic. Use Lexyol (s/p?) for the leather. GEt some speedshine and if it was washed well the speedshine will clean it right up.

 

There are literally tons of good products out there (and lot's of crap), but you can hardly go wrong with the Griot's Garage stuff. The Speed Shine is great for touch-ups. I use the microfiber clothes from Costco though. Buy a couple bags of them and you will be good for a LONG time ($9 per bag of 12 or 16?) Just make sure to tear off nylon tag sewn onto each cloth.

For a quickie wax job, the Zymol "Cleaner Wax" that is sold in many mass merchants (Target, Wal-Mart, etc.) works great and gives very good results. It was the highest rated product when Consumers Reports tested wax products 4 or 5 years ago.

Check the archives, there are many good threads and recommended products.

Dave

 

Hey, allow me to give you some input. I'm not a pro. but i'm detailing over the summer, and I stand by my Mothers Ultimate Waxing System and clay bar. Wash the car off, then clay it. Apply stage 1 which is a cleaner and will get things the clay didn't, but don't drop the clay for stage 1 b/c clay get things stage 1 doesn't. Then apply stage 2, if you can't find it for some strange reason you can use Mothers Reflections Polish, which will do practically the same thing. Then you finish up w/ Stage 3, the carnauba wax natural formula. You will literally be able to see yourself in the paint, just remember to apply thin coats, its not necessary to apply heavy ones.
Now for the interior, as strange as it sounds, Use Armor All Wipes just to get the really deep dirt. It works amazing w/ a little elbow grease. Then just finish off w/ some Meguiars Leather cleaner (which smells amazing if I may add). Anyways, goodluck and have fun. You don't need to clay your car more than twice if you even need to that many times. Not only will you see the difference, but you will feel it by moving your finger across parts of the car you can feel the dirt, then after claying it'll be smooth as glass. Hope I helped!

 

Mother's is good stuff. I use the mag and billet polish on my car wheels and the son's xtreme bike! We're shiny!!!

 

Brandon,
Not sure who copied who, but that sounds just like the Griot's Garage system...clay bar (with speed shine), then apply "Fine Hand Polish", then their "Best of Show" wax.....

If I remember correctly, they recommend using clay bar each time before waxing, since it is very mild, and not abrasive, when used with the Speed Shine. And only use the Fine Hand Polish when needed...

 

Hmmm, i would assume they would be similar since detailing should go in a general order. There is no need to clay your car everytime you wax it, first off you shouldn't need to wax it that often, this is when i recommend buying mothers quick detailing which actually comes w/ the clay bar and after you wash your car, spray it on and just wipe it off, or this is where I would recommend buying one of those spray on waxes which I DO NOT recommend using as your main wax, but it should be good enough to use when washing your car. You should only need to clay your car when the paint surface feels rough. And weekly plain washes will keep everything in good shape, this is how i treat my car (people think I'm nuts, but hey my car looks a lot better than theres). The water should sheet off and/or bead up, this will mean everything is working and your paint is protected. Sorry for the long response, but i'm passionate about the subject and want to make sure my fellow Ferrari Enthusiasts look good when on the road.

 

Whooops almost forgot, wash your car again after you clay it to get rid of the swirl marks and such. And go buy 3m's fine scratch removal, use it on and around your door handles to get rid of the find scratches, most ppl don't realize it but once you notice it it will annoy you.

 

Like others I vote Griot's. I don't think the link was posted. Here you go: http://www.griotsgarage.com