Please help a newb out
 

So the CEO of the company I work for is a good friend of mine and is really into cars like myself. We got to talkin the other day and he asked me if I wanted to detail his wifes car for practice(99 Black Honda Accord). He gave me $160 to buy the supplies and do the job. I am going to do exterior only :thumbup:

My question is what do you think I should get with the money? I have a PC and I know that I want to get the Edge pad kit. Should I get the 4" or 6"? My PC is the one from lowes(I can't remember the model # right now).

The other stuff I know I want to get is some Zaino products but I don't know what ones I should get to have a good mix of products. Then I want to get some new buckets and a washmitt.

If this is answered a million times I am sorry. Just I am new to this in depth detail stuff and I want to do it right :thumbup:

Here is what I think I should get:

edge 6" kit- $99
Z-18 clay bar kit- $17
Z-7 car wash- $9

Then should I do the all-in-one or get something else? I would like to spend the least time possible but still get a good shine. 5-6 hours is not too long for me :cool:

Thanks for the help,

Brandon

Oh yeah, Raggtop is another product I am going to get. For my car of course :LOL:

You are going to be over your budget any way you look at it.

Ditch the Zaino Clay and Z7, Go to Autozone and get a Clay Magic kit for $10. Then pick up a gallon of Meguiars Gold Class Shampoo at Target for $10.

You'll need a true cutting and finishing polish. Many good choices there. Top with Zaino Z2 Pro and ZFX if you want if you want or a decent carnauba like S100 from your local Harley store. Raggtop, 303 or Vinylex (find it locally) for the top.

Well considering this isn't for your car, you should figure out what you need to complete your bose's wife's car. then indulge in the left over, So for the edge pads, you wouldn't have to get the kit, just the pads you need. I also agree with Ubetit, pick up the car shampoo and clay bars at your local stores.

Yeah, I did know that I would be going over the $160. I am willing to put in some more $$ to get the right stuff. Doing his car is going to give me practice before doing mine so these products will be used for my car as well. I currently use Meg's gold class car wash so you think that is just as good as Zaino's?


So how about this:

pad kit- $99
Z-2- $15
ZFX- $20
Clay magic- $10
Raggtop- $15
new bucket w/grit gaurd- $20
sheepskin mitt- $16
Gold Class- $10

For drying I have been using meguiars microfiber drying cloths. Is there anything better for a decent price?

Thanks for your help Ubetit :thumbup:

:iagree:

Great suggestions! I would add that instead of buying a bucket kit for $20 you should get the grit guard ($10) and then go to any local store and buy a 5 gallon bucket (probably $5).

Also, where are you buying this stuff that a sheepskin mitt costs $16? Go to Wal-Mart and get one for $7. The big bonus with buying it at Wal-Mart aside from cost savings is that you can check out the mitt before buying it. Feel it to make sure it's the softest one there because sheepskin quality is very inconsistent no matter where you buy it from. Alternatively, you could buy a ShMitt for $12 (I think) and it will last 10 times as long as a sheepskin mitt with less required care.

These suggestions should save you a couple of more bucks. As Ubetit mentioned though, the important thing is that you get yourself a compound and a finishing polish. You could go with Menzerna (IP & FP2) or Optimum is very cost effective (Compound & Polish) or Pinnacle XMT is pretty good (#1 & #3).

10x as long :D

Have your grandkids let my grandkids know if your Shmitt lasts 70 years :D

You have a sheepskin mitt that's 7 years old? I've never had one last more than 6 months or so and I used to buy more than one and rotate them.

:LOL:

So the Shmitt works pretty good then? Maybe I will try that out :thumbup:

So would you guys say your prefer Zaino over the Pinnacle? I looked online and found that the Pinnacle #1 and #3 cost about $15 each. I have just always heard that Zaino is one of the best but I don't really know. Maybe I will try the Pinnacle stuff first :thumbup:

I am planning on getting the Edge Dual action 6 inch kit from autogeek.net for $99.
Are there any discounts that we get for S2ki members at this site?

This is my list now (I think):

$99- Edge kit
$18- Egde kit adapter for PC
$11- All white scmitt
$10- grit gaurd
$10- Clay magic kit
$15- Raggtop
$15- Pinnacle #1
$15- Pinnacle #3

For a grand total of $193. This looks like a pretty good set of stuff to get me on the right path, right?

Also, is it beneficial to get the Pinnacle XMT carnuba glaze for $15 too?

Thanks again for all your help,

Brandon

I have two that are at least that old and they look great still. I wash three cars numerous times a month. They've been to the Dragon and spent time in a bucket washing countless cars. Did you machine wash your mitts?