Any of you guys buy detailing supplies at Detailing Depot aka Carn-u-ba in Costa Mesa

[Diamond Dog]

I posted this here instead of the detailing forum, as I don't think many people outside of Orange County will or have bought stuff from here.

They are in Costa Mesa on the North Bound side on Newport Blvd. 2146 Newport Blvd
Costa Mesa, CA 92627

They have a lot of private label detailing supplies under their own brand and I was wondering what people that of this store and those private label products. They are very reasonably priced. I specifically am interested in the wheel cleaner (wheel Wizard) , car wash soap, and quick detailing spray.

Sometimes I think that when things are so low priced, they can not be as good as higher priced similar items. Can anyone comment on #1 this store in general #2 these private label products I just mentioned at this store #3 a better store in OC for detailing supplies if there is one

[slvrb7]

Detailing.com in Irvine

[Diamond Dog]

Detailing.com in Irvine

thanks! what lines do they carry? Do they have their own private label line? Is it good? Anything you can tell me about the store would be great

[sirsycott]

have you gone to the chemicle guys store on harbor blvd? it's nearby as well

and what do you typically detail your car with?

i'd love to trade tips and methods

[roger v]

Chemical guys is hit or miss with their products. Some stuff is great, some is so so. I use primarily optimum, sonax, Collinite,poor boys, among a few others. What are you trying to do?


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[Diamond Dog]

"Chemical guys is hit or miss with their products. Some stuff is great, some is so so. I use primarily optimum, sonax, Collinite,poor boys, among a few others. What are you trying to do?"



I have had a company car for 7 years and have not given a crap about it because it was a Chevy Malibu and the company paid for everything. I took it to whatever carwash as the company paid for that. I have not had a nice car for 7 years and have an S5 now. So I am getting back into this. I used to have a nice car 7+ years ago but it seems like detailing technology has advanced a lot. I will be getting my car Opti-Coated in a couple of weeks so I just want to be able to wash it and protect plastic and leather, clean wheels. Basic stuff.

I went to Chemical Guys in Santa Ana and bought their Toro Rosato Car Soap for dark Cars (is this a marketing gimmick?), their nonsense odorless degreaseer and all purpose degreaser, their synthetic Detailing spray. I have not heard good things about their wheel cleaner so I ordered Sonax Full Effects from Amazon to try. I got some Car Pros's PERL for leather, tires, and plastic (anyone have experience with this they want to share?) from a place in San Diego. As far as Chemical Guys, I just get a but leary when you walk in and everything is their private label stuff.

I want to buy good quality stuff that works great, but sometimes I feel that some products are really high priced with little true benefit to justify the cost. I f something works almost as good, but is a lot cheaper (without being bad quality) I would be interested in hearing about it.

7 Years ago, I went to the Car-NU-Ba store (Detailing Depot) in Costa Mesa on the Northbound side of Newport Blvd. I would use Finish First Polish, and their pink Quick Detailer and their Wheel Wizard wheel cleaner. thier car soap It was all reasonably priced and I would buy buy the gallon. It was all their private label stuff under the "Autosmart" brand. I am not sure how good it is as their are no reviews on the product, just the store (which is positive). I wish people could comment on these "Autosmart" products as they are really affordable and the store is local and convenient.

I know you guys love your cars and have tried all kinds of places and products and I hope you share your experiences and favorite places to buy. If you are in S Cal, maybe we can even socialize and clean and do some detailing things (basic things) over some beers and share tips!

[roger v]

CGs synthetic quick detailer is garbage and streaks like crazy. I like their Mr. pink car soap. I think anything for a "dark" car is just a gimmic. Invest in some good towels, a couple buckets with grit guards and you'll be sitting pretty

I'm always up for a detail day and can bring some stuff by for you to try

[Diamond Dog]

Which detailer spray do you like? Thanks for the heads up. I will go through this small bottle then get something else. Got the 2 buckets and grit guards. Used the Absorber synthetic Chamois as some detailers told me they use it and the reviews seem to be good and it is a safer option for scratching.

I used to work for a company that had microfiber in their product line. It was for healthcare. It was8 years ago and they would say not all microfiber is equal. With that being said, I think there is a "limit" on how good it can be. Can you point me to specific brands and sources? Prices are all over the board for microfiber towels. But if I have The Absorber, will I need them?

[roger v]

Immediately throw the absorber in the trash. There is no nap at all so if dust gets trapped between it and the paint it is scratch city.

I like the cobra waffle weaves. Super soft and really gentle on paint

[Diamond Dog]

Immediately throw the absorber in the trash. There is no nap at all so if dust gets trapped between it and the paint it is scratch city.

I like the cobra waffle weaves. Super soft and really gentle on paint

Ok, I got the Chemical Guys, silk effect waffle weave towel and will not use The Absorber. There are so many microfiber towels and prices....it's daunting.

I almost went with these but there were not that many customer reviews out there

http://www.sajabonus4.com/

[DoctorB8]

I have a decent amount of cg products as well as others. This is my review on what to use and when.

Wheel products
The cg signature series wheel cleaner is great for light to moderate dirt. Spray it on. Let it sit. Then agitate with a wheel woolie. For heavier dirty, I use sonax full effect with the same methods. Cost compared to cg is high with sonax so I would like to only use it when needed.

Soaps.
Mr. Pink. I've used other soaps before but nothing compares to Mr pink imo. When using a foam lance, nothing compares to the amount of snow it achieves.

Detail spray.
CG hybrid v 07. I use it and have no complaints. I'm going to try a bottle of Adams to see how it compares but I'm overall ok with it. No streaking issues as mentioned above.

Paste wax.
CG black light. If you have a dark car, this is a must. After a full paint correction and that first wash after, I use this along with v 07 to give a great shine. I usually apply by hand starting at the hood. By the time I wrap around the whole car and enjoy a few sips of a beverage, I buff off the residue with a mf towel. Easy as that and and light swirls as I seem to always manage to get no matter what, are gone. By hand! Now for heavier swirling, this will not correct. That requires at least a 2 step process in which I suggest menzerna.
Dressings.
CG black on black, hyper coat g6, and silk spray. The black on black is just like Adams in and out imo. Which ever is cheaper or what specials is being ran I would get that one. Hyper coat g6 is great for tires. It gives a nice factory clean shine with a little little gloss. If you want more gloss you can add multiple coats. For extreme gloss, I suggest endurance from megs. But I enjoy a new clean tire look. The silk spray is my best friend for engine detail and interior trim. This is a water based shine product that leaves no greasy feel after application. For the engine I mist this on and buff off all plastics and for what I can't reach I use black on black. For the interior I mist on onto a mf applicator block and wipe all plastics. Leaves a great factory finish and just like g6, if you want to achieve more shine, do multiple coats.

All purpose cleaner.
I use the cg apc and what I like about it is that you have control over the concentration. I use the kwazar dual action sprayer and usually do a 1 part apc 2 part water mix. Really cleans up the inside of fenders. For engine detail I dilute it a little more with a 1 to 3 or 4 mix and scrub the engine with a long bristle brush.
I've heard great things about Adams as well but I truly enjoy the control you have over the cg apc concentration wise.

Interior
For a light mess interior I am fine with cg leather cleaner and conditioner. I agitate with swizzwax leather brush and buff off with a mf towel. For heavier duty things i would only trust leather masters kit. This stuff is the bomb when it comes to getting a good deep clean. But if you keep your interior pretty clean, leather masters get very pricy, so cg does the rest of my upkeep.

Misc
Other things i have from CG is fragrances. Their new car smell is ok for the most part. I do find it a little strong sometimes. You can always get a sample set and see which you like best.

So that's my fleet of cg products. I kept it down to just the cg stuff that I use but if you want a more complex list of everything the detailing section has a list of my entire setup.

[roger v]

I have a decent amount of cg products as well as others. This is my review on what to use and when.

Wheel products
The cg signature series wheel cleaner is great for light to moderate dirt. Spray it on. Let it sit. Then agitate with a wheel woolie. For heavier dirty, I use sonax full effect with the same methods. Cost compared to cg is high with sonax so I would like to only use it when needed.

Soaps.
Mr. Pink. I've used other soaps before but nothing compares to Mr pink imo. When using a foam lance, nothing compares to the amount of snow it achieves.

Detail spray.
CG hybrid v 07. I use it and have no complaints. I'm going to try a bottle of Adams to see how it compares but I'm overall ok with it. No streaking issues as mentioned above.

Paste wax.
CG black light. If you have a dark car, this is a must. After a full paint correction and that first wash after, I use this along with v 07 to give a great shine. I usually apply by hand starting at the hood. By the time I wrap around the whole car and enjoy a few sips of a beverage, I buff off the residue with a mf towel. Easy as that and and light swirls as I seem to always manage to get no matter what, are gone. By hand! Now for heavier swirling, this will not correct. That requires at least a 2 step process in which I suggest menzerna.
Dressings.
CG black on black, hyper coat g6, and silk spray. The black on black is just like Adams in and out imo. Which ever is cheaper or what specials is being ran I would get that one. Hyper coat g6 is great for tires. It gives a nice factory clean shine with a little little gloss. If you want more gloss you can add multiple coats. For extreme gloss, I suggest endurance from megs. But I enjoy a new clean tire look. The silk spray is my best friend for engine detail and interior trim. This is a water based shine product that leaves no greasy feel after application. For the engine I mist this on and buff off all plastics and for what I can't reach I use black on black. For the interior I mist on onto a mf applicator block and wipe all plastics. Leaves a great factory finish and just like g6, if you want to achieve more shine, do multiple coats.

All purpose cleaner.
I use the cg apc and what I like about it is that you have control over the concentration. I use the kwazar dual action sprayer and usually do a 1 part apc 2 part water mix. Really cleans up the inside of fenders. For engine detail I dilute it a little more with a 1 to 3 or 4 mix and scrub the engine with a long bristle brush.
I've heard great things about Adams as well but I truly enjoy the control you have over the cg apc concentration wise.

Interior
For a light mess interior I am fine with cg leather cleaner and conditioner. I agitate with swizzwax leather brush and buff off with a mf towel. For heavier duty things i would only trust leather masters kit. This stuff is the bomb when it comes to getting a good deep clean. But if you keep your interior pretty clean, leather masters get very pricy, so cg does the rest of my upkeep.

Misc
Other things i have from CG is fragrances. Their new car smell is ok for the most part. I do find it a little strong sometimes. You can always get a sample set and see which you like best.

So that's my fleet of cg products. I kept it down to just the cg stuff that I use but if you want a more complex list of everything the detailing section has a list of my entire setup.

The V7 is great. The synthetic quick detailer which I commented on above, is garbage.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but Innerclean is a great interior cleaner.

Speaking of scents, their stripper scent smells pretty good.

[DoctorB8]

The V7 is great. The synthetic quick detailer which I commented on above, is garbage.

I don't think it has been mentioned, but Innerclean is a great interior cleaner.

Speaking of scents, their stripper scent smells pretty good.

Yes haha. Stripper scent is awesome for summertime especially. And I agree the other detail spray sucks. For interiors I forgot to mention I use 2 parts apc 1 part fragrance and 5 parts water mix.

[slvrb7]

Detailing.com sells all name brand stuff no rebranded stuff I use mostly maguires

[DoctorB8]

Detailing.com sells all name brand stuff no rebranded stuff I use mostly maguires

For really heavy stuff I'll use meg. Their cutting mf pads for the da is great for heavy swirls. Haven't really used anything else from them.

[roger v]

For really heavy stuff I'll use meg. Their cutting mf pads for the da is great for heavy swirls. Haven't really used anything else from them.

MEGS 105 is the shit.