Ok, for a newbie detailer, what is the basic setup needed to properly detail my truck? What kind and size microfiber towels are needed to clean glass, dry truck, remove wax, etc? How many of each of these towels are needed? What kind of cloth do you use to clean your dash and other plastic/vinyl parts?

TIA for your help.

fx4x42002

 

I'm not a "detailer" in the sense of Intel, Harley356, RockPick, Boss...(the list goes on and on) but I have taken a little bit from everybody's post and here's what I currently use when detailing the truck:


1 - 5-gallon Wide Boy Bucket (by Wooster) from the Home Depot
(I can place this bucket on a flat dolly and roll it around)

1 - 12" Boar's Hair brush

1 - regular 5 gallon bucket for the wheels, wheel wells, and tires
(in that order). I use a "bug sponge" on the wheels and a
separate brush on the tires.

3 - 24"x24" microfiber towels
1 for drying the truck after a wash
2 for taking off paint cleaner or polish
4 - 16"x16" microfiber towels
2 for the windows and dash (I just mist little water on
the surface and start wiping away)
2 basically just as extras - I could use them for a Quick
Detailer product or whatever.

3 - Kmart, Martha Stewart 4-star, 100% cotton, made in the USA
bath towels for removing wax. I usually only have to go
through 2 of them while removing wax.

Some smaller cotton towel to dry the wheels.

I also use a random orbital buffer with pads from topoftheline.com to apply the cleaners, polishes and wax.

As far as products used? The debate is as endless as Reps vs. Dems. My suggestion is find something you like based on results, availability, ease of use and cost. That being said, I am a big advocate of Aerospace 303 protectant for the interior. It's water base, non-greasy, repels dust and last for weeks.

Two last tips:
1. After I dry with a microfiber I pull out the Shop Vac - I attach a 1.25" hose with the little nozzle to blow up rafts, air mattresses and stuff to the "Blower" side. Then I can blow the water out of all the nooks and crannies around the truck (bed caps, trim, center piece of the wheels, mirrors, etc)

2. Heinz E-Z Squirt ketchup bottles make EXCELLENT cleaner, polish, or wax dispensers. They seem to be a much more resilient plastic than the Meguiar's containers. You can drop these all you want and they don't shatter.

 

fx4x42002,

The 16" X 16" towels are nice for cleaning windows and removing polishes and waxes. The 25" X 36" waffle weave MF's are a good size for drying, and about as big as you want to go. Get yourself a good supply of a couple of colors in the 16" X 16" towels. You can use one color for polishes, one for waxes, one for cleaning windows.............. etc. That way you don't mix products on the cloths. For the interior cleaning, you can use an MF of lesser quality (those at Wal-Mart, K-Mart) than those on your paint finish. Some very nice towels can be found at any of these sites:

http://www.neatitems.com
http://www.pakshak.com
http://www.microfibrertech.com

Or you can get some really nice towels at an excellent price by emailing Tom at JT international: jtintern@hotmail.com

 

Let's see if I can answer all these questions

Most of my MF towels for working on the paint such as removing polish, wax, etc. are 16"x16" or close to that size. This size is good because I can fold it into quarters and easily manage it in one hand.

For cleaning glass I use towels from yosteve.com and Pro's Aerosol Glass Cleaner (prowax.com). I've found yosteve.com towels don't leave any lint on the glass when using with this cleaner. The other ones I had left horrible lint on the glass when used with this glass cleaner. I like this glass cleaner because I can get the glass streak free even when using it in the sun when the cleaner is steaming off the glass.

For drying I use Cotton Bath Towels to blot dry the surface to get as much of the water off as possible. A Bath towel folded in half is easy to handle and it covers a large area and can soak up a good amount of water. I then will come back with a smaller microfiber towel to get any drips on the surface or any small drops the bath towel didn't pick up.

All interior work on leather, carpets, vinyl, etc. I use Cotton handtowels with polyester. To clean guage cluster, wood trim, and any other clear plastic I use a damp MF towel.

The three places I'd order MF towels from are pakshak.com yosteve.com and JT International (jtintern@hotmail.com). Jt intern has by far the best prices on MF towels if you want to stock up one some good towels. Send him an email.

 

Hey Intel, have you used, or do you have an opinion about Stoner Invisible Glass? I've used it a couple times and it seems to work pretty good, but I'm incredibly picky about the glass in my truck so I'm always looking for something better.

Also, I'm in the market for some microfiber towels. From your previous post, should I assume JT International is the best place to get them? How's the quality of their towels compared to others?

-Mike-

 

BigDeal,

Not Intel, but I'll throw my two cents in anyway. I'm sure Intel will be by with some good advise.

Anyhow, IMHO, Stoners IG is one of best glass cleaners available. The only one I like better is a product called SprayWay, which is hard to find, but half the price when you do.

As for the MF towels............. I just recieved some towels from JT International. Nice towels, at a very resonable price. Other fine MF's can be found at one of these sites.

http://www.pakshak.com
http://www.neatitems.com
http://www.microfibertech.com/

I know there's another brand of towel that Intel likes, but I can't remember the supplier. He'll advise you on that one.

 

I use Pro's Aerosol Glass cleaner along with a yosteve.com microfiber towels. Of the microfiber towels I've tried I've found their towels lint the least when used with this cleaner.

I listed the three places I recommend getting microfiber towels from. Jt international just has the best prices on getting some quality microfiber towels if you need to stock up on some.

 

I have some of Tom's towels and some of Pakshak's. All excellent, but Tom's were a little cheaper. For interiors and door jams, I have been thinking about getting some of the seconds at Microfibertech.

For glass, I really like Stoner's IG. I ordered a case of it last year. I use two MF towels for windows, one to clean and the other to dry.