I've got a quick question for those of you in the know when it comes to detailing and cleaning vehicles in general. I just picked up a 15 SR5 MGM and would like to put together a "kit" of cleaning supplies and products for the vehicle. My goal is to keep it smaller and less complicated:
That being said I'm looking for recommendations on products that may serve a dual role in their cleaning or detailing abilities. I have a small boutique car cleaning center down the road from me who sells adams products and I've used the VRT for black plastics in the past. I use invisible glass now and have had great success with it. I'd be looking for a interior detailing product, wheel cleaning product and a quick detail for between washes.
If you can recommend any one or all of the products I would really appreciate it, as I'm looking to make something that I can keep on hand easily or in the confines of a 5 gallon bucket to transfer easily and take with me to multiple places.
Thank you!!
Detailing is a big hobby of mine, and I occasionally clean up friends' sports and exotic cars on the side, so hopefully I can be of some help.
For interior products, I typically use 303 protectant on matte surfaces (most plastic and vinyl parts, like the dash) and Meguiar's D156 spray wax on shiny interior plastics and nav screens, and apply both products with microfiber towels. D156 and their consumer-line Ultimate Quik Wax are essentially the same, so since you said you wanted something portable, I would pick up a spray bottle of 303 and the UQW on Amazon, as well as a pack of microfiber towels if you don't have any.
To clean wheels and tires, I always use Simple Green, typically diluted in the neighborhood of 2:1 - 4:1 since most of the vehicles I detail and/or own are higher-performance ones and shed tons of brake dust. I highly recommend purchasing a cheap tire brush (found for a couple bucks at your local Wal-Mart) as well as a separate wash mitt for wheels, as the iron particles you are cleaning off will seriously mess up your paint. I also suggest picking up the set of 3 wheel woolies you can find on Amazon - while they seem expensive for a set of brushes to clean wheels, you can clean the entire wheel with them, including the barrel, to get the entire rim clean, and I feel they are one of the best investments I have made in detailing products ever.
For a quick detailer between washes, I do two things - first, I dust the car (I live in Arizona, so if your environment isn't dusty, you may be able to forego this), then I wipe down the vehicle with a deep pile microfiber towel and Meguiar's M135 Quick Detailer. Again, since you want something more portable, I suggest picking up a spray bottle of the consumer line Ultimate Quik Detailer, as it is virtually identical.
In addition to these items, I highly recommend purchasing a high-quality wash mitt and drying towels for the actual vehicle paint, as the clear coat is very soft on newer Toyotas and it is quite easy to mar the surface. If you do this, it should be quite a while before your truck needs any actual polishing to remove swirl marks. Below I have added links to all of the products I mentioned above - pretty much everything should fit into a 5 gallon bucket quite easily, though I do suggest separating the wash mitt, microfiber towels, and drying towels from everything else, just to avoid getting them dirty. All of this may seem like a lot, but it's pretty minimal and will keep your vehicle looking much better than 99% of others on the road - the rabbit hole goes MUCH further in the detailing world. Hopefully this helps, and let me know if you have any further questions, as I'm an open book!
303 Aerospace Protectant:
Amazon.com: 303 (30313-CSR) Aerospace Protectant Trigger Sprayer, 32 Fl. oz.: Automotive
Quik Wax:
Amazon.com: Meguiar's G17516 Ultimate Quik Wax - 15.2 oz.: Automotive
Microfiber towels:
Amazon.com: Chemical Guys MIC50612 Professional Grade Premium Microfiber Towels, Gold - 16 in. x 16 in. (Pack of 12): Automotive
Simple Green: Purchase at a local store, it's cheaper
Tire Brush:
http://www.amazon.com/Detailers-Cho...TF8&qid=1440957620&sr=8-2&keywords=tire+brush
Wheel Wash Mitt: Purchase at a local store, just find the cheapest one
Wheel Woolies:
Amazon.com: ABN Wheel Woolies Wheel Brushes Kit (3 Brushes) Scratchless Brushes for Rims: Automotive
Car Duster (if necessary):
http://www.amazon.com/California-Ca...TF8&qid=1440957743&sr=8-1&keywords=car+duster
Ultimate Quik Detailer:
http://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G144...957765&sr=8-1&keywords=ultimate+quik+detailer
High-Quality Wash Mitt:
Amazon.com: Chemical Guys MIC491 Extra Thick Multi-Fiber Microfiber Wash Mitt: Automotive
Drying Towel:
http://www.amazon.com/Chemical-Guys...&qid=1440957821&sr=8-15&keywords=drying+towel
