What products have you adapted to detailing?

[electricgreen]

I mean things that aren't sold for detailing. I just placed an order at the company I work for (we sell 1st aid supplies) for Cotton tip applicators (reaching the part between the door and front fender-front door jamb?, getting into the vents, etc) and (soft bristle) toothbrushes ("scrubbing" exterior black trim, reaching hard to reach parts of rims, lightly working on spots in the interior) that I use for detailing. I also just picked up a lint brush on someone's suggestion (sorry, I forgot who posted this originally) to clean light dirt/fuzz of carpets/seats when arriving at a show. I'm also planning on getting some makeup sponges to apply the GC Trim detailer.....

So, what other good ideas are out there?

[FlyNavy]

I use cleaners designed for glass/ceramic stovetops for cleaning hard water spots off automobile glass. Works MUCH better than anything else I have tried. There are several brands (Kenmore for example) and they all seem to work well.

[2000]

thanks to rpicketts idea I used a paint brush for tire gel in the sides of my tires where the lugs are and it worked great.

[rusty bumper]

Re: What products have you adapted to detailing?

Originally posted by electricgreen
I mean things that aren't sold for detailing. I just placed an order at the company I work for (we sell 1st aid supplies) for Cotton tip applicators (reaching the part between the door and front fender-front door jamb?, getting into the vents, etc) and (soft bristle) toothbrushes ("scrubbing" exterior black trim, reaching hard to reach parts of rims, lightly working on spots in the interior) that I use for detailing. I also just picked up a lint brush on someone's suggestion (sorry, I forgot who posted this originally) to clean light dirt/fuzz of carpets/seats when arriving at a show. I'm also planning on getting some makeup sponges to apply the GC Trim detailer.....

So, what other good ideas are out there?

This might be old stuff by now, but I use 2 buckets of water to wash a car with...One for soapy water, and one for rinsing the wash mitt in.

Another good idea is to use a leaf blower to blow water out of the cracks with...I have been detailing in the past, thinking that the car was dry, and I would get water on my towel when wiping close to trim areas. A leaf blower will dry these areas quickly!

If you have a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter, then you might be able to attach the vac hose to the exaust port, and then attach the crack & crevice tool on the other end of the hose to give the air more force, and use this to blow out water in the cracks with too.

I use this method to fluff the nap of our indoor carpets after using the carpet shampooer. (Makes the carpet dry faster and really fluffs up the nap!)

[mr84monte]

I use to use the leaf blower, but have since moved up to an air compressor. I use it around all the emblems and grills, plus my side mirrors have a tendency to drip water from behind them, this works great, plus it also helps on the mirrors themselves. I have the little passing mirrors and I just blow the whole mirror dry and it doesn’t leave any spots. Also works well on tires to dry them off before you dress them, not to mention blow the water out of the lug holes, on wheels

[Mike Phillips]

Originally posted by mr84monte
I use to use the leaf blower, but have since moved up to an air compressor. I use it around all the emblems and grills, plus my side mirrors have a tendency to drip water from behind them, this works great, plus it also helps on the mirrors themselves. I have the little passing mirrors and I just blow the whole mirror dry and it doesn’t leave any spots. Also works well on tires to dry them off before you dress them, not to mention blow the water out of the lug holes, on wheels

Hi mr84monte

Welcome to Meguiar's Online...

I use compressed air sometimes, one thing for sure, you have to be very careful around any paint chips so you don't remove any paint with the water!

Mike

[Don]

I have a 3 gallon hand pump garden sprayer that I keep a mix of APC in. I use it to spray cleaner on the engine, tires, wheelwells and undercarriage.

[rusty bumper]

Originally posted by Don
I have a 3 gallon hand pump garden sprayer that I keep a mix of APC in. I use it to spray cleaner on the engine, tires, wheelwells and undercarriage.

Don, I think that is an excellent idea!

I have a Solo 3 gallon? or so sprayer just sitting around gathering dust. Home Depot was closing out the line for some reason and was selling it at 60% off...So I bought it.

I've just used it one time to spray herbicide on some bushes...I wonder if I could find something to neutralize the herbicide residue?

Maybe a strong alkaline cleaner will do the trick and then I will fill it up with APC+ & water.

[DFTowel]

Well guys I have the best of all! I use an old WaterPik to water blast hard to reach nooks and crannies, especially in the engine. Spraying some Orange Blast on a hard to reach engine spot, let it sit for a bit, then hit it with a jet from the WaterPik... clean as a whistle!

[ebpcivicsi]

Red denture brush from the dollar store is the best detail brush I have(for the interior anyway).

If I have a detail and forget the brush, I go to the dollar store!

[Spotty-Dog]

Rather than using the leaf blower or air compressor blow out the water (which I find ends up running to just another crevice), I use the shop vac to **** the water out and remove it. If you've ever detailed an FX45, you'll appreciate that tip! I've never worked on a vehicle with as many horizontal creases but if we ever have a drought here, I'll always know where I can get some water