[AVB-AMG]

There are hundreds of different car care products and the same number of different opinions on what works best. I am as particular (read: obsessive compulsive…....) about which products work best, based on my experience and ultimately use on my cars, to accomplish different finish goals. After trying quite a few products over the years this is what I have settled on to date. I hope this helps some of you who are curious what to use and will be interested to hear what others are using as well.

For my Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and my wife's BMW 335i xDrive Coupe:
Since 2007, I have been using the following Ultima products from Autopia Car Care for protecting the metallic paint finish of my Mercedes-Benz and BMW cars. The process and sequence I follow starts with washing our cars with the Chemical Guys Glossworkz, and then follow by preparing the paint, followed by applying the protective polymer. I have listed below each product in order of sequence, links to each product on their respective web site(s). Also, the noted ongoing/occasional cleaning system is great for removing tree sap, bug splats, etc. after having applied the polymer, as well as the listed Detail Spray that is formulated to be compatible with the protective polymer. The finish of this polymer is a very shiny high gloss that is sufficient for my tastes for daily driver cars, thus eliminating having to also apply a wax/polish and the time required to do that on a regular basis. If one wants to have a shine with more depth, it is suggested to use a high quality car polish on top or over the polymer, realizing it will only las 2-3 weeks with normal exposure to the environment. (I also suggest that you might want to read some of the customer reviews for each product):

Chemical Guys Glossworkz Hi-Foam Gloss Booster & pH Neutral Auto Wash
http://www.autogeek.net/chemical-guy...auto-wash.html

Ultima Paint Prep Plus Pre-wax Polish
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-4012-120.html

Ultima Paint Guard Plus
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-1004-100.html

Ultima Elastrofoam Paint Cleaning System
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-3200-3322.html

Ultima Detail Spray Plus
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/ult-2022.html


For my 2014 BMW M6 Coupe:
My new BMW M6 with the Alpine White paint finish, is NOT a metallic paint. Therefore, I want to use a product that will work better for that type of finish, producing a glossy and protective coating over the painted surfaces, I have done some more research online and have decided to purchase some new products from the excellent online auto car care retailer AUTOGEEK.NET, specifically Wolfgang Concours-Series Car Care, listed below. I will apply them this weekend and see how they perform over the next 3-6 months:

I will continue using the Chemical Guys Glossworkz Auto Wash, described previously, since I am satisfied with its results, then will apply the following new protective paint polymer sealant:

Wolfgang Deep Gloss Paint Sealant 3.0
http://www.autogeek.net/wg5500.html

I will then use the following as necessary:

Wolfgang Instant Detail Spritz
http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-ins...il-spritz.html

For the carbon fiber roof I will use the following product which is one of the few that claim to work very well on carbon fiber:

Chemical Guys JetSeal 109 Super Acrylic Sealant Formula
http://www.autogeek.net/chemical-guys-jetseal-109.html


For my 1961 Mercedes-Benz 190SL
I enjoy top-down driving of this little roadster during fair weather weekends and taking it to selected car shows and enthusiast events, I use the following traditional carnuba was products to produce a spectacular show shine polished finish over non-metallic paint finish:

P21S Gloss Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser
http://www.autogeek.net/p2paincleanl.html

P21S Concours Carnauba Wax
http://www.autogeek.net/p2concarwax.html

Sonus Carnauba Spritz
http://www.autogeek.net/sonus-carnauba-spritz.html


For all of our cars I use the following:

Wheels & Tires
For cleaning off the continuous dreaded accumulating brake pad dust on surfaces of all of the alloy wheels of our M-B and BMW's, I use the following:

SONAX Wheel Cleaner
http://www.autogeek.net/sonax-wheel-cleaner.html

Ultima Tire & Trim Guard Plus (for a satin finish on the tire sidewalls)
http://www.autogeek.net/ultima-tire-trim-guard.html


My miscellaneous cleaning and polishing items

California Dry Blade
http://www.autogeek.net/orcadrybl.html

CCS Red Wax/Sealant Applicator
http://www.autogeek.net/red-ccs-applicators.html

Daytona Speed Master JR Wheel Brush
http://www.autogeek.net/daytona-mini-wheel-brush.html

Stoner Tarminator Tar, Grease & Sap Remover
http://www.autopia-carcare.com/stn-91154.html

Plexus Plastic Cleaner, Polish and Protectant
http://www.plexusplasticcleaner.com/frames.html

What do all of you use and really like, based on your experience.....?

[5soko]

-My M5 gets nattys blue or red wax every 2-3 months, as I don't think any sealant can get as nice of a shine/glow, and I have the time to do it. When I don't have time, I slap Blackfire sealant on her. But for looks I go for wax.

I wash with CG gloosworkz/maxi suds/mr pink depending on the condition of the paint with a wool mit, 5 gallon bucket, grit guard, and drying with two large waffle weaves.

Seal the wheels with poorboys sealant, wash with CG maxi suds or mr pink.

Clay bar once a year or about 1.5 years.

-Porsche gets washed/dried same as above, gets nattys blue (for darker paints) wax every 2-3 months. Wheels are washed with maxi suds or mr pink to not strip off selant. Sealant for wheels is poorboys wheel sealant, 2-3 layers (24 hours between each layer or every other wash), about 2-3 a year.

-ML63 is matte, use maxi suds or mr pink to wash same as above and I use some CG matte detailer for it when done cleaning, otherwise wheels are clean with sonax full effect wheel cleaner.


-My DD Honda, maxi suds or mr pink to wash and gets Blackfire sealant, two layers, 24 hours apart about twice a year, along with a clay bar once a year.
Washing and drying are the same as above.

For the interior, I use a leather cleaning brush with leather masters leather cleaning products and conditioner with a swissvav interior detail brush for vents and hard to rich places.

As for polishing, I use porter cable, megs M105 on a orange LC pad, and megs M205 on a white pad.

Wrote this up quick, my apologizes.

[D_o_S]

Ok, I thought I was going to write this elsewhere, but since you posted, I might as well take advantage...

So, 4 years ago I came to the detailing scene. Having read some articles online, I figured I need those "boutique" brands everybody was talking about... I'm in Europe, so at the gas station, you can get Turtle Wax, Sonax, and then other local brands. I figured that just wouldn't cut it, so I had to have Meguiar's, Nattys, and whatever.

So I started off by using Natty's white on my car, sealed beforehand with Poorboy's EX-P. I used Meg's QD and Meg's window cleaner. I got meg's microfiber cloths and meg's gold class shampoo. For the interior, I used Autoglym Interior Shampoo. I thought it was all really good and nice, and I was mostly fueled to go for these brands based on the fact that "anything you can get at the gas station must be bad", at least that was the attitude of most local detailers, and unfortunately still is.

Time went on and I didn't want to hear anything about Turtlewax or Sonax or whatever. Then, one day I was reading E90 post and I read about the Sonax Xtreme Full effect wheel cleaner, how splendid it was, and guess what - the local gas station had it - so I picked some up. It worked awesome, and to date is the best wheel cleaner that I have ever used (I have used Wurth Intensive Wheel cleaner, which I feel is rebranded P21s, and that just sucks compared to the Sonax).

So time went on, and the local Halford's branch was closing down, they had "buy 1 item, get the second one free", so I got the Sonax Xtreme Wax... and lo and behold, it beaded much better than the Nattys... when people say Natty's has tight beads, I just laugh...

So, I was becoming fonder of Sonax. I then tried their polish and wax 2, their window cleaner, and again was impressed - by ease of use, as well as performance/looks. And, so, slowly but surely, I became a Sonax guy.

Today, 4 years later, I am almost exclusively Sonax. Why? Because it just works. I don't need to read 100000 reviews of a product just to see if it's a hit or miss - whatever I buy from Sonax just works, and the results, in my opinion, are much better than these bespoke brands. Why? Look - give Sonax a try and see for yourself. I will just say so much as to the fact that Sonax is like an engineering company, and being German, it just seems to do what it's meant to very well and with utmost precision. These american companies, to me, seem like "home brew". Can your homebrew guy produce a quality nano-based coating? I wouldn't be so sure. Wax, of course, is all "natural", so homebrew might work there...

Come to think of it, the only product I am using today that is not sonax is Gtechniq glass coating, since Sonax doesn't offer it.

I really liked autoglym interior shampoo, and that has been a mainstay in my detailing equipment, because it was easy to use, and could be used on anything. However, it became increasingly difficult to get, and when I was about to pick up my batch 1 month ago, the seller only had 1 autoglym interior shampoo, which I gave to a friend… I asked him what he would recommend, and he suggested ValetPro interior APC. So, ok, I thought, I’ll give it a try, especially since he said “Autoglym sucks in general”. Well, I diluted it and used it on the interior, and even though it claims it’s matte, wow, it was reflections galore… I mean not as bad as Armorall gloss, but much worse than Autoglym. Since autoglym IS became so hard to find, I thought screw it – I’ll go for Sonax. What was keeping me away was the fact that it could not be used on everything, i.e. it was plastic only, upholstery needed a different cleaner. I got the sonax matte dash cleaner today, and it is the MOST MATTE of any cleaner I have tried. It makes ValetPro look like a mirror.

So that’s another reason why I’m all out sonax – it’s much easier to get, and much cheaper too. I can get the the glass cleaner for like $10, meg’s costs $18. Shampoo is $10, meg’s is $25… you do the math.

So, that’s why, whatever I need, I go sonax. I have stopped reading internet forums – it’s a waste of time, and obviously it’s pro-boutique, which I don’t care about. It’s like the way it is with cars – some guys like American, I couldn’t drive a Mustang, cause, like Jeremy said, the performance is there, but at the end of a 1000 mile journey, you feel like a bag of skin. Same with detailing supplies. If you like Chemical Guys, ValetPro, Meg’s or whatever, then good for you. The only thing I recommend you do is try Sonax, and maybe you won’t look back…