Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

[JD09civic]

So i'm looking to buy a few things to try out but not sure which things to get. What did you like better in your experience? Which products would be worth the extra money? Thanks!

Wash: Gold Class or Shampoo Plus? ( Seen tuck's review an really liked the shampoo plus but saw gold class at walmart for only $7! Would shampoo Plus be worth it? Is there that big of a difference between the two? )

Trim: Gold Class Exterior Trim or All Season Dressing?

Glass: NXT glass cleaner or Detailer glass cleaner or Stoners invisible glass?

Drying: Water magnet (1 or 2 regular size or 1 marine sized one?) Or do you have a better way to dry your vehicle?

Any other thoughts or product recommendations are welcome!

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

Here are my thoughts:

Wash- Gold class is fine. Great product. I switched to Shampoo Plus. But the general consensus is with Gold Class.

Trim- I have never tried the Gold Class Exterior trim. However I really like the All Season Dressing. Last"s along time. Very good.

Glass- I would go with the Detailer line concentrate. I would also pick up a spray bottle. The dilutions are clearly marked. Very good product. Very economical. The 1 gal concentrate makes 11 gallons of product.

Drying- I use a marine water magnet for paint. I use the regular magnet for glass. It is just me,In my mind in case I missed something on the paint. I will not smear it on the glass.

Hope this helps you out.

[ClearlyCoated]

Re: Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

Wash: Gold Class or Shampoo Plus? Gold Class for me. Great lubricity, but I have never tried Shampoo Plus either.

Trim: Gold Class Exterior Trim or All Season Dressing? Depends. ASD is probably more versatile, but nothing beats Gold Class Exterior Trim for restoring matte black finishes like rear window louvers or window pillars.

Glass: NXT glass cleaner or Detailer glass cleaner or Stoners invisible glass? Havne't tried the first 2, but Stoners is a very effective product.

Drying: Water magnet (1 or 2 regular size or 1 marine sized one?) Or do you have a better way to dry your vehicle? I use a leaf blower to sheet off most of the water then blot up the rest using water magnets. I use one Megs regular size and several smaller 30"x30" WM's made by another brand to blot-dry the hood, roof, and trunk. After that, I use one of the smaller WM's (folded) to blot dry the vertical panels, then another small one to dry the door jambs and door sills, trunk and hood seams. So you definitely want more than one WM.

I also use sham wow type material cut up into small squares to fit into the door handle joints and the door mirror stalks. They usually absorb excess water that might have escaped the leaf blower so I don't get those nasty streaks when I drive the car following a wash.

[jmakado]

Re: Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

Wash: I have tried both and like both. I have also tried Super Soap. Honestly, they are all nice. GC tends to *add* more shine than the other two IMO but the others are faster rinsing. If I'm making an order then I will get one of the Detailer Line soaps. If I'm not making an order and need soap the I just run down and grab some GC. It's what I've used since the first car I owned and still great today.

Trim I have not used ASD. I have used a few of the others in the line though. M40 is the clear winner for me. I can use it on exterior trim, tires, dash, etc. I have been meaning to give GC exterior trim detailer a try. But with the amount of stuff I already have and how versatile M40 is I have a tough time justifying adding another product.

Glass Tough call. Stoners is a GREAT product. NXT is similar but it also beads water nicely. Ease of application is the same as far as smearing, etc. Given the additional water beading I would say NXT has the edge. I have a gallon of the Detailer Line glass cleaner right now also. Since I still have some NXT left I have just been spraying the Detailer Line glass cleaner on test spots when polishing. So no real info on that one. The BIG advantage is buying it in gallon sizes if you use a lot.

Drying My experience with the water magnet was not a good one. More like the water magnet and the water on the car had the same polarity. It absolutely would not absorb water until I got it wet under the sink. Then it would absorb some water but basically just spread the remaining water around the car leaving smaller water drops instead of bigger ones. I then had to follow with some of my other microfibers to get the car dry. It took me longer to dry the car than to wash it!

I also tried the Meguiar's Super Suede drying cloth. It is supposed to be like a chamois type experience. That had some promise and I enjoyed using it.....once. I put it away and when I went to use it a second time it was covered in mold. Sad day as not only did it cost me $10 to dry my car once, but I didn't get to really experiment with the towel.

In the end I still use the Absorber. It does exactly what you want it to. Leaves the surface completely clear of water with no residue to spot, especially on glass. However, I am still wanting to find another product to dry the car with. The Absorber is very flat (if that makes sense) and it can drag if the car is not waxed. While I have never actually seen it scratch or mar the paint in the 10+ years I have used I just don't like the feel of it. A good WW microfiber that actually absorbed water would be ideal.

Part of the fun of detailing is trying all the different products. So don't be afraid to get smaller samples of some of the products you are interested in to try. That's part of the reason I like Meguiar's so much. I have tried A LOT of the products they offer in all of the lines and they all have their upsides. It feels like a safe bet that you will not be burned by anything that Meg's offers. I have only had a very few Meg's products that I didn't like anything about. And given how many different products I have tried it's a VERY small percent that didn't actually exceed my expectations.

[JD09civic]

Re: Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

Thank you guys for your replies.

Wash: 3 votes gold class
Trim: 1 vote asd, 1 vote gc, 1 vote m40
Glass: 1 vote detailer, 1 vote stoners, 1 vote nxt
Drying: 2 votes to buy watermagnets

Sounds like i know what to go with for the wash (gold class) but I'm still undecided on the 3 others. Anyone else have more info or opinions?

[Murr1525]

Re: Product Comparisons, need your opinions!

They pretty much got it.

For the Glass Cleaners, I'd try the Nxt first at least. If you like it, and find yourelf using a lot, then try the concentrate. But may as well make sure you can get good results with the smaller bottle first.

Drying is here you will see a lot of differences. I use 3 Water Magnets. I think Mike Phillips uses two of the chamois and 1 Water Magnet. Some people like the Absorbers, some like Water Blades, Leaf Blowers....