The "Recommend A Car Product" Thread

[clutchrider]

What's good for leatherette? This is my first car with it and it says to just use a wet cloth but I feel something else might be needed to protect/clean. I was thinking something simple like leather wipes would do the trick but there does not seem to be products specifically for it.

[rj_shiver]

This stuff are amazing to restore leather seats


GLIPTONE Leather Cleaner and Conditioner KIT

[Shmi]

Small suggestion: For posterity, could you guys include the NAME of the product along with your pics? Because as I've found from browsing age-old threads, some pictures are no longer hosted after a while. And some of us browse from work and have blocked pics.

[Charolastra]

What's good for leatherette? This is my first car with it and it says to just use a wet cloth but I feel something else might be needed to protect/clean. I was thinking something simple like leather wipes would do the trick but there does not seem to be products specifically for it.

Aerospace 303. See pics of the product on pg. 1. You can buy it off Amazon at good prices. Else, try www.detailersdomain.com.

[1.8Tquattro]

Aquapel
Like Rain-X but lasts longer than a week.

[Rage In The Machines]

Best and cheapest product to remove the yellow haze off your headlights.

[TooFitToQuit]

Off Detailing for a moment. I've put these in the last few cars I've owned and have been really happy with the results. Right now I'm on OEM but for replacement lamps they are amazing. No blue fake HID stupidness but the light output is worth every penny. Cost is similar to a Silverstar but with a longer lifespan.

Philips doesn't make rebased HIDs. lol

[TooFitToQuit]

Griot's Horse Hair brush is excellent for quick washes

[bpodlesnik]

Can anyone recommend a good product for cleaning dead bugs off your car?

[aussie88]

Can anyone recommend a good product for cleaning dead bugs off your car?

This has worked well for me

[Cousin Eddie]

Can anyone recommend a good product for cleaning dead bugs off your car?

The Auto Glym line I mentioned earlier has a great insect remover. Spray on, wipe, hose off.

[stevegolf]

I use PB Blaster almost every time I do any heavy work on the car. Really good for stuck suspension bolts.

[RQ1]

I use PB Blaster almost every time I do any heavy work on the car. Really good for stuck suspension bolts.

Good product, that and carb/wd-40 stocked at all times

[clutchrider]

Philips doesn't make rebased HIDs. lol

Maybe it's early and I just got to work, but I'm not sure what you mean by this. My only mention of HIDs was that the bulbs do not have that look alike coloring where your lamps are blue or purple.

Here is something else product wise;

Use two buckets for washing your car


And get yourself a grit guard for brushes and sponges to be cleaned off and set in when not in use so they don't sit at the bottom and collect all the dirt you just washed off

[Smigelski]

Use two buckets for washing your car

And get yourself a grit guard for brushes and sponges to be cleaned off and set in when not in use so they don't sit at the bottom and collect all the dirt you just washed off

100% agreed. This is the reason why none of my cars have swirl marks.

[dub*man]

Scrubbing Bubbles - Bathroom Cleaner.
Keeps your tires looking new and gives it them a nice matte finish :thumb up:

[clutchrider]

Can anyone recommend a good product for cleaning dead bugs off your car?

Turtle Wax Bug & Tar Remover has always worked well for me. I just switched over to the aerosol can instead of the spray bottle to be able to get a more even coating and better spot shots. The front of the GLI gets hammered by bugs as do the mirrors.

[thegoodson]

CorrosionX makes a great penetrate/lubricant. In the salty north, we are well versed in seized fasteners...

[Uberhare]

Scrubbing Bubbles - Bathroom Cleaner.
Keeps your tires looking new and gives it them a nice matte finish :thumb up:

Seriously?

[veedubcos]

This stuff is amazing. Has the new car leather smell and cleans/conditions leather.

[Daedalus]

A lot of good suggestions here but I wanted to suggest something a little different.



IMHO these are the PERFECT street/auto-x pad. I replaced my OEM pads on my '07 WRX with them and found them to be very good at almost everything.

They were less expensive than the comparative Hawk or Carbotech products.
They had great initial (cold) bite.
They handled the heat generated by aggressive driving in West VA mountain roads.
They didn't make any noise.
They generated little dust.
They cleaned off the old OEM pad material during/after break in.

I was one of the first to try them out on the WRX and wrote a review over on NASIOC which you can view here: http://forums.nasioc.com/forums/show....php?t=1927505

[tampaSi]

This stuff is the king's nuts for between-wash clean ups.

[dub*man]

Seriously?

Seriously
I was told to try it out by a Michelin Engineer.

He said most tire shines pull plasticizers out of the tires and make the sidewalls prone to cracking.

[thegoodson]

Seriously
I was told to try it out by a Michelin Engineer.

He said most tire shines pull plasticizers out of the tires and make the sidewalls prone to cracking.

That's funny. I talk to Michelin almost on a daily basis about warranty issues. One of the most common is ozone cracking on their long life tires. They literally last over 100000 miles, but customers get concerned when they see any cracks in the sidewalls. I'm always told to tell the customers NOT to use ANYTHING on the tires. Interesting to hear an engineer suggest anything else.

[TooFitToQuit]

Maybe it's early and I just got to work, but I'm not sure what you mean by this. My only mention of HIDs was that the bulbs do not have that look alike coloring where your lamps are blue or purple.

The picture of the HIDs was of a generic kit with a Philips name slapped on it.

Grit guards are awesome. I love mine.

[Cort]

Call me crazy, but this has worked some amazing magic on several of my vehicles.

[Adam Pristas]

there's a 20% off coupon right now at Harbor Freight. Great deal on a low profile jack. Been using mine for 7 years now. Always use jack stands people.

[gsprobe]

Nice to see my faves listed here as I always wondered if there were products I SHOULD be using. I will admit to over paying for plenty of "snake oil" type products. The Griots Garage stuff isn't cheap, and I was drunk when I ordered it... Only to be pleasently suprised. Meguires has always been good to me as well.



My contribution to this thread is for ROYAL PURPLE GEAR OIL. Its nice with the slickness. Black Forest Industries motor mounts and trans mounts were nice replacements for the originals. My HR rear sway bar for $100 was a fantastic improvement. Oh yeah, my 4 new bridgestone potenza G019 grids are awesome for everyday driving and super quiet too.

[Broduski]

Harbor Freight 10 piece metric socket set. Has 10mm-19mm and they're color coded to boot. Nice and cheap, plenty strong (I've used them on my impact gun tons), plus the colors are nice to pick out the right one at a glance. The only downside is they get scratched pretty easily.

[MAG58]

I use PB Blaster almost every time I do any heavy work on the car. Really good for stuck suspension bolts.

Sometimes PB Blaster cant cut it. For days like that, I turn to Mouse Milk:

[Grey Mouser]

I've really become a fan of Prima products. Prima Banana Gloss for a quick wax, Hydro for a spray type wax and drying aid (use when drying final water off panels). Clarity for glass is great too.

Prima Nero is my favorite dash/vinyl protectant too.

For leather, it's a tossup. Lexol works great, the Prima leather care is pretty nice too.. lots of good choices out there.

Tire shine I like Meguiars Hyper Dressing diluted down for a semi-gloss finish rather than blingy gloss. Other champs here are Optimum Tire Shine, Stoners More Shine Less Time or Surf City's Tire spray..( Can't remember it's name).

[Grey Mouser]

Same here ... if you put it away damp and put the cover on, it will pretty much never dry out .. I've gone several months without using it and when I've gone to use it, it's flexible, damp, and ready to go. Just run it through a nice clean water rinse, and wipe the car with it, ringing it out as necessary. I love it.

However, I do a final buff/dry with a microfiber ... but yeah, MF SUCKS at picking up water.

I gave up on these because of how grippy it is on the paint. Stuff trapped between the absorber or other chamois like this is more likely to scratch than with a softer cloth with some nap.

[:Jeremy:]

x2 although I use the orange bottle 1st as a cleaner, once that dries I go over with the brown bottle to condition.

[tip]

you guys are going to laugh, but



edit: forgot

[:Jeremy:]

Tuff Stuff is awesome. I got the one with the brush on top.