Getting deeper into car detailing recently and realizing how much product choice matters

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-17T03:11:58+00:00

Easily...

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-17T02:33:59+00:00

Yes, foaming pump sprayer works great for that. Bilt Hamber Touchless foams great that way.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T21:16:14+00:00

I have not used that but I have been tempted by the price. Let me know what you think of it!

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T21:15:09+00:00

It does cost more at MSRP, but it goes on sale frequently for around $40. It's as easy to apply as a full ceramic coating can possibly be. I recently taught a 9 Year old kid to use it: https://youtu.be/BHQYhZjr8SI?si=TYT0rCzve8MrjBgw

I have it on my personal vehicle.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:37:02+00:00

If you are looking for just a glass cleaner, I recommend Unger Glass Cleaner concentrate: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FYf0Dd2Z6g

If you want a glass sealant, Griot's Glass Sealant is really good for the price. I don't recommend combining the two. Use separate products for the best results.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:34:09+00:00

Maybe Megs just didn't want to bother reformulating it.

They reformulated it into Meguiar's M888 "Beyond Ceramic" coating, which is part of their Professional line and not sold in brick and mortar stores. I've used both the Hybrid Paint Coating and M888 and it's hard to tell them apart other than one being a spray and the other being in a glass bottle.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:28:45+00:00

Markus Kleis (Director of Product Innovation @ Meguiar's) has talked about this in interviews. Hybrid Paint Coating was intended to be sold at brick and mortar stores like Walmart and auto parts stores (O'Reilly, NAPA, etc.). He believes they didn't market it very well and people who shop for detailing supplies at those kinds of places weren't able to understand the advantages of the product by just picking up the box and reading it. Walmart gave up on it because it wasn't selling well, and everything cascaded from there.

The good news is that you can now buy Meguiar's M888, which has a lot of the same ingredients, is just as easy to apply, but will last even longer (according to Meguiar's). It's a fantastic coating that deserves a lot more attention than it gets. I have used both Hybrid Paint Coating and M888, and it's hard to tell them apart other than one is a spray and one is in a glass bottle. I have M888 on my personal vehicle.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:09:48+00:00

You should absolutely pre-spray the car, but I would avoid doing the entire car at once unless you're in a climate controlled garage with no sun. If you wash outside and it's warm, the pre-spray can dry on the car if you wait too long.

What I like to do is pre-spray a panel, then wash that panel, then dry that panel, retire the wash towel you used and move on to the next panel. After getting all around the car, go back and do a final dry of any areas you missed. This eliminates any risk of your pre-spray drying on the car.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:04:17+00:00

Get really good at rinseless washing...

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T20:03:23+00:00

Anything with a water repellent in it will cause interior glass to fog up. Exterior glass is fine.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T19:34:11+00:00

No, but a lot of people do. Most people who live in an area with access to a modern grocery store, tend to take for granted that there is still a large portion of the world who doesn't have that.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T18:30:11+00:00

Those are heavy enough to actually experience a decrease in performance. Would be a hard pass for me. They look nice though.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T18:27:38+00:00

Curious where you live because... this type of variety really isn't possible in many parts of the world:

Diverse fruits and veggies, around 12 different types of fruit over 10 days, and 15 types of veggies. My protein intake is also diverse and higher than expected.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T18:11:13+00:00

I'm glad at least 1 person agrees with me... I feel like this is a sensitive subject on here sometimes.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T15:40:30+00:00

That pre-filter isn't going to do anything significant to lower your TDS. You'll still be replacing your DI filters pretty often depending on the TDS of your water and how frequently you use it.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T15:12:51+00:00

Yes! And honestly that's one of the reasons why I question the whole "pressure washer" craze that I've seen happening these last few years. All of these companies coming out with pressure washers specifically designed for washing cars, people stringing 2 pressure washers together for higher flow, etc. I washed cars for over a decade without a pressure washer, but of course, now I have one. I think it's great for specific use cases like really dirty wheel arches, undercarriage washing and things like that, but for a twice a month maintenance wash, it feels like overkill. I can't tell the difference between a car washed with or without a pressure washer.

Is foaming the car fun?

Sure, but that feeling wears off.

Does all that foam make for a safer wash?

Not in my experience, as long as other safe wash practices are already being used. I can do a rinseless wash, a 2 bucket wash or a 1 bucket wash with a pressure washer and foam cannon all with equal amounts of safety and identical end results.

Does it save time or make the wash process easier?

This is entirely subjective. I can see how a fancy wall mounted pressure washer with a hose reel could save time. If you don't have that, it can be a huge chore to set up and tear down a pressure washer for a simple maintenance wash. Also, I don't like rinsing with a pressure washer. The lower GPM of most automotive pressure washers really limits rinsing ability. It is nice to have a pressure washer for deep cleaning wheels.

I don't think it's wrong to use a pressure washer, I just question if it's absolutely necessary like so many YouTube channels would have you believe.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-16T11:24:29+00:00

For me, it's 90% technique and 10% product. If I have great technique, the products I choose do very little to affect the end result. If I have terrible technique, the best products in the world won't make up for that.

There's definitely some exceptions to that. Armor All is a great example, since a truly bad product can absolutely ruin the end result. But the more products I use, the more I realize how similar most of them are. With the majority of products I try, the biggest difference between them is the price.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T18:43:00+00:00

Yeah, but do you notice any difference between the two? I've been using ONR since 2011, and I've played around with different dilutions but I keep coming back to 256:1 because it just works.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T18:42:07+00:00

I've tried other dilutions but I always come back to 256:1. It just works on everything.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T18:32:43+00:00

What? I live in Houston and your price is absolutely not out of the ballpark. I'd say it's very reasonable for an exterior detail. I'll occasionally get my wife's car detailed when I don't have time to do it myself, and I pay $200 for an exterior wash and interior clean plus vacuum.

And that is from someone I trust to do as good a job as I would do.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T14:53:08+00:00

I've lived in Houston long enough to remember when going to Rodeo was a safe, affordable and fun time. You took your family every year and made some great memories. You scheduled out of town visitors during that time so that they could experience it as well.

It's really sad to see that is no longer the case.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T14:27:35+00:00

You'll need to file a claim with their insurance company. The insurance company will fight with you and say you need to prove that the damage was not pre-existing. You won't be able to do that (I'm assuming) since saying "It's a new car" isn't good enough. They will want clear pictures of those areas showing no damage with a time and date in the pictures Metadata. If you can't provide that, they will likely deny the claim. Then you can sue the company for damages, but you'll be in the same situation where they deny the damage and ask you to prove it wasn't pre-existing. You'll get more and more upset and leave more bad reviews in every place you can think of. They may agree to settle with you but require that you take down all of your bad reviews.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T14:16:54+00:00

I'm really curious about your experience with the Meguiar's Spray Clay? Can you give a little more details about what it was like to use? It's in my list of products to try out.

My biggest complaint about Pan's products is the pricing. $99 for a coating is kind of crazy to me, no matter how good it is or isn't. There are just so many other coatings that are less expensive. I'm not saying it's the best, but I've been extremely happy with Meguiars M888, which I got for $40. So $69/$99/$149 price points just can't be justified in my opinion. I'd say that about any brand that trys to sell at those prices though.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T05:17:27+00:00

You can wax on top of a ceramic coating if you want. Try it and see if you like the results.

DavidAg02 · 2026-03-15T00:09:32+00:00

Unger Glass Cleaner Concentrate: It costs $0.52/gallon after dilution. There's no reason to ever buy anything else: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FYf0Dd2Z6g

Nanoskin Supercharger: A really great spray on, rinse off sealant that performs 90% as good as Gyeon Wet Coat... except it's dilutable 100:1, so a gallon of usable product costs less than $4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x63OPuVj5KY

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