$10 vs $1000 Car Detailing Products

We’re testing cheap vs expensive detailing products: we get the expensive stuff, and the pros get the cheap stuff.

Donut = We like cars, and we like making videos about cars. Hopefully our videos make you like cars too.

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[gc]

thank you @donut for giving our detail boys some love. So many people out there do not understand the time and energy it takes to actually clean a car properly,

[viper]

Props to the detailers. They seem like cool dudes.

[slightlybrewed]

As a professional detailer, i would love to see more of this stuff from you guys! Im also really jealous of their detail shop, it looks so good!

[Mkzuke]

i can see the honesty in the professionals' soul

[SRG]

As a detailer, a lot of those cheaper products can still get the job done to similar levels of the expensive stuff. That's where the detailers skill comes into place and what you're ultimately paying for.

Anyone can pick up a pad and polisher, but not everyone can get a 90% correction using the same tools. Also in the detailing industry, more expensive usually means less hassle but a lot of people tend to think more expensive = better product. It's all in the technique.

I would love more detailing episodes tbh.

[motoring]

Thank you guys for using our shop for this video! 🙌 Love the way it came out!

[sekkaro]

For 99% of people Turtle wax hybrid solutions, Griots 3in1, meguiars etc is all you need to add a strong yet extremely cheap 6 month to a year ceramic coating to your car. All you need is two buckets, a packet of microfiber towels from Costco, car soap, iron remover, ceramic spray, interior cleaner, and most importantly elbow grease. If you have a new car or a car that still has good paint stay away from automatic or diy car washes, the brushes will absolutely swirl and scratch your paint.

[uglycargarage]

Now have the pros do yalls side again but with their usual tools they use, and see how much we better it looks 😂

[Val-kiez]

The main issue is that these types of comparisons is they ignore the law of diminishing returns. Of course the absolute cheapest stuff will not compare to the most expensive, however the difference from $10 to $50 ceramic coating will be *massive* accounting for like 90% improvement while the difference between $50 to $250 ceramic coating will be much less noticeable with maybe 10% extra improvement beyond the average costing products. The other part is at least having the reasonably priced right tools for the job even for the cheaper products.

[kegangriffie]

Seeing you guys on actual ads is the first time I have not skipped an ad in a while. It’s so good to see actual car people on commercials.

[SatchDoesThings]

As an ex-detailer just a few things to note: cheap clay bars can get the job done just as well as more expensive ones.

A good lube is often more important, soapy water is a no go as it's technically a degreaser and tends to dry out, you can use something like heavily diluted Optimum No Rinse and it'll cost pence (cents for you americans) per bottle.

In regards to polishing, technique and patience are the most important factors. Rushing over it will create inconsistent results that won't have the desired outcome. Take your time and don't use too much product as you'll just get slinging, four large dots on your pad, tamp the bad on the body in small areas, then gently brush the product around with the pad and start the machine low to move it around to the desired areas, then work in a crossing pattern always running straight or parralell. A cheap Das6 DA will be more than enough for most people, coupled with a decent quality pad (chemical guys hex logic for example) and returning to the argument for compound then polish, I honestly got the exact same results in less time using a better quality combination product than used here, such as Scholl S20 Black, it's a fairly heavy cut but if you don't abuse it, it'll work better than the Meg's shown on here.

Regardless of the cheap ceramic performance, the longevity is often awful, more expensive products last 6+ months with proper care (if you go to a car wash it'll last very little time), but the cheap stuff will last 1 month or so before beginning to fail.

As another pro to PPF, a lot are now self healing so any scratches you do get will 'heal' under heat, making the mark pretty much disappear.

[LeyliaFireheart]

Donut is like Saturday morning cartoons for overworked adults like me

[RD-iosm]

Okay Donut. I really appreciate the effort you put in to share some of the ins and outs of detailing. That being said, as a professional I found some issues with this video.

1. Clay bar isn't actually clay. From what I understand it's synthetic but just going by that definition doesn't make it the same as other "clay bars". Clay BARS are abrasive. They can mar the paint but they're good at lifting deeply embedded contaminants. Clay mitts and towels are generally considered non abrasive given proper lubrication. DIY Detail takes pride in there perforated clay towel because it holds more lubrication and has passage ways for contaminates to lift away from the paint.

2. In my opinion, the 2 bucket method is outdated and inefficient. It's much more effective to have multiple wash media in a single bucket whether its wash mitts or wash towels. Discard them into an empty bucket so you're always starting with a perfectly clean mitt or towel. Clean them in your downtime.

3. 13:27. This is actually what gave me the motivation to stop watching the video on the couch and start writing this comment. I've spent so much of my time learning from my mistakes and from others when it comes to paint correction. Heat is not your friend. You DO NOT heat up the paint to cut faster. You're jeopardizing the integrity of the clear coat with excessive heat making it swell and drying out your compound/polishing cream faster.

If you need to cut fast, use a compound with a microfiber cutting pad. Use enough compound to lubricate the pad, but don't overly saturate it. A clean pad will always cut faster than a dirty residue loaded pad. A pad washer is a game changer. If this is STILL not enough, then you need to wet sand. At this point you really need to know what you're doing.

If you're just coming up into paint correction, it's really easy to get into the mindset of pulling out all the big guns and beating the paint into submission. Keep in mind, you're working on one of the most expensive pieces of the car and the clear coat is finite. The goal is to get good results while preserving as much as you possibly can.

[enriquezamora]

That ending transition where you guys are saying thanks for watching in the reflection of the paint was pretty clever 🔥

[Rahzarusfilms]

i love the detailing episodes. this honestly taught me some things

[zbatchDOC]

Nolan is crushing the “I’m turning into a 40 year old man” transition.

[DarkSession]

Hope you make a video on how to clean and detail further on :
- Different Products to get back deep blacks on plastic trims and panels
- Headlight restoration (Polishing, Steaming, or Spraying a new layer of clear coat)
- Chrome and Exhaust tip restoration products
- Grease for Doors and Mechanical parts
- Glass cleaning products (Spritus, normal glass cleaner, special car glass cleaner etc.)

[brandondickinson]

Hoonigan has been showing off their cars getting detailed for the last month. I love that you guys are actually comparing different products and techniques. Your videos Give me the confidence to work on my car by myself, and make it so much easier to accept the failures.

[terra___photo]

Y'all should definitely put up more detailing content. Super fun to watch with a Donut twist!

[MMusa-gyqb]

That e39 is a beauty. Hope it will get restored