Car Cleaning Kits (Christmas Ideas)

OCD feel free to chime in...

 

I got the age old question from the wife, "what do you want for Christmas." I am thinking a car cleaning kit is the easiest and best way to answer the question. I haven't really had an affinity for any brand in particular. I would like to try some of the new brands I have seen like Chemical Guys but I am not sure. Any one have "kits" they have seen recently that seem reasonable? I just spent 1 hour on the autogeek website trying to see what is out there but feel a little overwhelmed. Thanks!

Don't mind if I do.

 

It just depends on how thorough you want to get. There are a lot of things that can be purchased locally and you can avoid the shipping and markup costs ordering online. Things like clay, soap, quick detailer, etc. are all pretty easy to source. Wheels/Tires and the engine are easy to find products locally for which perform just as well as anything online, so that just leaves interior and exterior products.

 

Interior: The local retail scene pretty much screws us for good interior products. You can find the occasional stash of Aerospace 303 on the shelf and there are lots of good foaming upholstery/carpet cleaners you can buy. Where we really get screwed are on actual leather cleaners & conditioners. I just haven't found anything locally that really fits the bill. Tuff Stuff works for cleaning leather occasionally or for really dirty jobs, but it isn't something I would use every time. So definitely look at leather care products. A really good 'all in one' type product would be Poorboy's Leather Stuff. It is really good stuff. But if you don't have leather then that pretty much rules out anything you have to buy online. Just stick with what you get in the store. Leather care is really the only part of the interior that I bother ordering line for.

 

Exterior: Now this is where the options abound. Everything from cutting the paint to finishing it off with a shine. So it just depends on what you are going for. If you are looking for just a 'keep up' kit then I would get something like Souveran Spray Wax or Wolfgang Spray Sealant. Either of those are awesome at bringing a shine right back to perfect. Throw in a couple nice microfibers and you are styling.

 

I forgot the question... lol Oh yea... kits. So here is what I'd get for someone who was a car nut but just wanted something they could put in a box in their garage for the occasional Saturday detail session.

 

Tuff Stuff - For all things fabric, vinyl, or leather. It is an awesome spot cleaner on carpets or deep cleaner on anything else.

 

Invisible Glass- Definitely the best glass cleaner you are going to find on the shelf. Probably anywhere else too.

 

Meguiar's Quick Detailer- because everybody needs a bottle of this stuff. I'd get the big bottle. You'll use it.

 

If you can find it then I would get a can of Gunk Foamy Engine Degreaser and a can of Gunk Engine Shine. That helps keep under the hood super good looking. If all else fails then I'd get a gallon of all purpose cleaner and that works too.

 

For wheels and tires I'd get an Eagle One A2Z and Wet combo. A2Z is probably one of the best wheel/tire cleaners and I love the Eagle One Wet tire shine. If you apply it on dry tires then it doesn't sling anywhere and it lasts a long time.

 

If I'm feeling generous then I'd get a couple other products, but this is where the cost goes up. Getting clay will cost ten or fifteen bucks, a bottle of polish is around 12 or 15, and if you get a good synthetic sealant then you are looking at at least 20 or 30 and possibly a lot more. The Meguiar's Ultimate line works well for that though, so you could shop locally for all of that. The same goes for the Aerospace 303 to protect the dash.

 

Online I would get the spray wax or spray sealant. One of my favorite products ever is Wolfgang Fuzion wax, so that is a good choice too. It is a paste wax which has the durability of a sealant and all the looks that you could want. It is an outstanding product and something that everybody universally loves. Kinda spendy, but not when you consider you get a refill for that price.

 

If you have leather then you might get a bottle of leather conditioner and a bottle of Leather Stuff, but that depends on your interior.

 

All told you will spend about $100 locally and possibly that online depending on what you get. You'll want your towels online too, so plan on fifteen or twenty bucks there too. However, for about $200 bucks you'll have a kit which pretty much takes care of your car.

 

If you are looking for just a portable kit then you can get away with a small box, Invisible Glass, Quick Detailer, some tire shine, an applicator, and a couple microfiber towels. But you could get the big setup I just described and peel those products out to carry around with you in the trunk if you wanted too. It all just depends.

 

As usual, I'm sorry that I just threw up words all over the place and probably didn't help much. I'm sure other guys will pop in and let you know what they have.

That was so very helpful. Printed and given to the gift purchaser...lol. Thank you!

lol Have her call me if she finds herself in front of a car care shelf with no clue which one to get. One of these days I need to put this kit together in reality and write it up so it is more organized. Like I said, short of the leather conditioner or really high end polishes and sealants, most of what anybody needs for a good set up can be found locally these days. Meguiar's did us all a favor with their Ultimate line.