A friend of mine owns a dark blue Porsche 911 that always seems to be in spectacular condition. He gave me a catalog to Griot's Garage. Quite simply, these are the finest detailing products I have ever used, and I have tried EVERYTHING in the 22 years I have been driving. Costs a little more but well worth it. My favorites:

Window cleaner and wipes...nothing will compare

Microfiber drying towels....super absorbant and virtually scratch proof. You can instantly feel the quality.

Wheel cleaner.....imagine one that actually works!!!!

Fine Hand Polish & "Best of the Show" Wax. The ultimate two-step.

Speed shine....a very high end quick detailer/clay bar spray.

Lots of other neat garage accesories too!!!

www.griotsgarage.com

 

I've used a ton of their stuff. Some of it is pretty neat, a lot of it is expensive. Their MF towels can be elsewhere for cheaper, their waxes aren't as great. Their claybars are all the same as everyone elses basically, just priced more.

I do have a few of their trick specialty items, boars hair brush, window cleaner, and a few other siht. I use to be a big fan of their till I realized what else is out there

 

I use the Griot's wax and polishes. The reason I use the polishes is because of the simplicity. There are 3 polishes with Machine Polish No.1 being the most abrasive and Machine Polish No.3 being the least. Just pick the appropriate polish number for what you have on your car (i.e. swirl, light scratch etc.) All of this using swirl mark remover etc. got confusing to me. I first clay bar a section, then machine polish and then apply wax, then do the same for the next section until I finish. I looked at Zaino and that's a lot of work. I have seen Zanio'ed cars and I think mine shines just as good with a lot less work. I just wax and polish my car every 4 months. Griots sells the Porter Cable 7424 which you can find for a lot less elsewhere. Griots tells you to beware of cheap Porter Cable imitations but how can that buffer be imitated as there is only one Porter Cable plant. I got my PC from a local tool supply store for a lot less than Griots sells it for.

 

I use the Griot's SpeedShine on my Z...best detailing spray I've ever worked with. I bought the polishes and the wax recently, but haven't used them yet. I need to get a backing plate for my porter cable first...not to get too far off topic, but does anybody know where I can find one? I'd rather not use the pad that came with it.

 

Try http://www.topoftheline.com/

They have a great velcro backing plate with an assortment of pads to go with it. I don't have the links on this computer but there are a number of articles on http://autopia.org on how to use the PC polisher and where and what to get as far as pads, plates, etc.

 

Generally their products are ok but definatly not the best. Their are better products out there for less money.

 

A great vendor for detailing products is Pakshak.com. He has outstanding micro fiber towels and wax products...

He carries many different product lines including:

Meguiars
Clearkote
Poorboys
1Z
etc.

His towels are some of the best that I have ever used.

Here is a link to the site.
Pakshak

He even gives a discount if you tell him you have a Z