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2010 2011 BMW 5 Series Forum F10 F10 Technical Topics Wash, Wax, Detailing and Cosmetic protection/repairs need advice purchasing detailing products
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      03-28-2012, 01:36 PM   #1
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need advice purchasing detailing products

Hi....my first online shopping experience went awry. I placed an order for stuff worth around $300 at Detailed Image and had it shipped to a US-based forwarding address, since I'm not located in the US and DI doesn't ship internationally. The mistake....totally my fault....was selecting the wrong bank account on Paypal and hitting "submit". The payment went ok and the goods were FedEx-ed to me and I was even tracking it online. Delivery was expected on Mar-28 but on Mar-27 I get the email that the payment has been reversed and the goods are being shipped back mainly because the account I had selected was the on I closed some months back and obviously the bank declined the payment to Paypal.

DI now insists that because of this episode I have to place the order again AND they need the billing address to match the shipping address, which is quite impossible in this case. I am trying to reason with them but not sure how far I will get.

Question: what other options do I have for online purchasing of detailing material (wax, shampoos, Optimum Opti-seal, mitts, etc) with great prices and preferably, ship internationally? This is my first detailing venture, hence the large number of items ordered.

My shopping list is as follows, please feel free to advise me without remorse! I need all the help I can get.

303 Aerospace Protectant - 16 oz 1 $9.74
DI Accessories Clay Bar Storage Container - 8 oz 2 $3.74
DI Accessories Sheepskin Wash Mitt without th 2 $14.99
DI Accessories Ultra Fine Clay Bar - 100 g 2 $16.49
DI Accessories Ultra Fine Clay Bar - 200 g 1 $14.24
DI Accessories Yellow Foam Applicator Pad 10 $11.18
Dodo Juice Born Slippy Clay Lube Concentrate - 250 ml 1 $9.74
Einszett 1Z Cockpit Premium - 500 ml 1 $8.24
Einszett 1Z Gummi Pflege Stift Rubber Care St - 100 ml 1 $7.12
Grit Guard Grit Guard Insert - BLUE 2 $14.98
Lake Country Black Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 3 $16.88
Leatherique Prestine Clean - 16 oz 1 $14.99
Optimum Car Wash - 32 oz 1 $8.99
Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine New Formula (ON - 32 oz 1 $11.99
Optimum Opti-Seal & Free Yellow Foam Applicat - 8 oz 1 $18.74
Optimum Poli-Seal - 32 oz 1 $14.99
Optimum Protectant Plus (Leather Protectant) - 17 oz 1 $8.99
Lake Country Blue Grout Sponge 3 $12.38
Optimum Car Wax - 17 oz 1 $11.24
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      03-28-2012, 09:43 PM   #2
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you need to buy a kit, that is prepackaged. I think Autogeek will ship internationally. Trying to buy things a la carte is expensive and you most likely will forget something(s).
http://www.autogeek.net/kitspecials.html
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      03-28-2012, 11:54 PM   #3
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I just checked and they do deliver internationally, thanks. Will try them out.

Do you recommend any particular kits? Can you spot if I missed anything from my list? Just keep in mind that I am starting this from scratch and need just about everything which is essential to keep the car clean and shiny, without being anal about it. I now intend to wash the car every weekend, or whenever possible.
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      03-29-2012, 09:33 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by darrko View Post
I just checked and they do deliver internationally, thanks. Will try them out.

Do you recommend any particular kits? Can you spot if I missed anything from my list? Just keep in mind that I am starting this from scratch and need just about everything which is essential to keep the car clean and shiny, without being anal about it. I now intend to wash the car every weekend, or whenever possible.
If you plan on buying everything at one shot (which is impossible), then you need to think long and hard about what you really need. There is no reason to wash the car every week, you can manintain the look of the car with a waterless wash solution. In my opinion you are missing a lot of tools, buckets,sprayers,gloves,eye protection,grit guards. I would read more about detailing, before I tried to jump into buying products.
http://www.autogeek.net/art-of-detailing-e-book.html

Believe me I have made that mistake when I first started out. Then you garage ends up looking like this:
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      03-29-2012, 09:41 AM   #5
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Haha ok point taken.

I am simply trying to get the (1) very essentials, and (2) items that I think may not be available locally. Hence the missing items like buckets, sprayers etc. I do have 2 x grit guards in my list above, btw.

The thing with you lucky US-people is the convenience of ordering online anytime you want or simply walking into the nearest detailing shop and picking up what you need. With long-distance shipping you gotta respect the shipping costs and the best way to minimize that is to buy more items at one time and combine shipping.

Please tell me if I should re-think about any of the items mentioned, or maybe if you can recommend something better than what I have chosen? I can't say I have researched extensively but I have read up a bit and selected the brands/products I read more positive opinions about. This is obviously not the ONLY time I will be purchasing detailing products online so maybe my garage will end up like that anyway!?
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      03-29-2012, 08:19 PM   #6
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I would try and read as much as possible. Maybe sticking to 1 product line is a good idea for now. Meguiars is probably the best in terms of cost versus performance. I would start here:

http://www.meguiarsonline.com/forums...-Cycle-Updated!
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      03-30-2012, 12:16 AM   #7
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Ok, will check it out. Thanks.
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      04-12-2012, 04:21 PM   #8
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Where are your micro fibre towels????
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      04-13-2012, 01:25 AM   #9
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Good point, I didn't mention them because they are one of the items that are available locally.
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      04-17-2012, 01:11 AM   #10
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wrong, no one product line has the best of everything!

Chemical guys has good this, and bad that
meguiars has good this and better that, but horrible this
menzerna has great this, the best that, and crappy this

....get my drift!?!?!?!

you need to research what you want and order from different lines! Its the only way to get the best overall! For instance, meguiars 205 is a horrible finishing polish as they claim it to be...leaves the finish hazy and not glossy. Menzerna powerfinish (discontinued) cuts more, and leaves a better finish overall than 205 and are marketed for the same step! however, Menzerna powergloss will jack your finish up where Megs 105 compound will remove defects and leave the finish in a pretty good (only needing one step sometimes) condition making it better than powergloss!

The reason you need things to match now is simply because of fraud! shipping to a US based location with a foreign based billing address has fraud/scam written all over it, especially after the return issue. you may be one of the honest and good guys, but look at it from a business perspective...doesnt look good, I wouldnt ship it to you either! They are just watching out for their money!

You have some items that will serve no purpose/are going to do the same thing as another. I have removed some:
303 Aerospace Protectant - 16 oz 1 $9.74
DI Accessories Clay Bar Storage Container - 8 oz 2 $3.74
DI Accessories Sheepskin Wash Mitt without th 2 $14.99
DI Accessories Ultra Fine Clay Bar - 100 g 2 $16.49
DI Accessories Ultra Fine Clay Bar - 200 g 1 $14.24
DI Accessories Yellow Foam Applicator Pad 10 $11.18
Dodo Juice Born Slippy Clay Lube Concentrate - 250 ml 1 $9.74
Einszett 1Z Cockpit Premium - 500 ml 1 $8.24
Einszett 1Z Gummi Pflege Stift Rubber Care St - 100 ml 1 $7.12
Grit Guard Grit Guard Insert - BLUE 2 $14.98
Lake Country Black Finishing Pad - 5.5 inch 3 $16.88
Leatherique Prestine Clean - 16 oz 1 $14.99
Optimum Car Wash - 32 oz 1 $8.99
Optimum No Rinse Wash & Shine New Formula (ON - 32 oz 1 $11.99
Optimum Opti-Seal & Free Yellow Foam Applicat - 8 oz 1 $18.74
Optimum Poli-Seal - 32 oz 1 $14.99
Optimum Protectant Plus (Leather Protectant) - 17 oz 1 $8.99
Lake Country Blue Grout Sponge 3 $12.38
Optimum Car Wax - 17 oz 1 $11.24
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-remove the 2-100g fine grade clay bars
-remove one clay container, if not both since you can use anything you can find at home, even a sandwich bag
-you have sheepskin and grout sponges...why?
-you have ONR and opt shampoo, I can see why, but....why? if you like ONR, you probably wont go back to traditional washing to be honest, its that much easier!
-the three in red...all do the same thing, so pick one. the 1Z will leave the finish more matte, the 303 will leave the finish a bit glossier, but still matte, yet a little greasy, and the OPP will leave the finish glossier and greasy, I quit using it since it doesnt really clean all that well either.

just my two cents!

Last edited by Envious Eric; 04-17-2012 at 01:20 AM..
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      04-17-2012, 06:59 AM   #11
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Wow that is a lot of helpful information, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this.....thanks!

1. Do I not need sheepskin gloves? Ok maybe I read somewhere that it is recommended, please tell me what I should use instead on a weekly or fortnightly basis.

2. For the leather cleaning and protecting: can you recommend something that is both matte and non-greasy, and also cleans & protects well? The red are in fact 4 and not 3.....any info on how Leatherique acts?

3. Should I assume the remaining items are recommended?
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      04-17-2012, 08:11 AM   #12
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sheepskin for when you traditionally wash the car
grout sponge for when you ONR

wash, clay, poli-seal, OCW paint
wash, clean, opti-seal wheels
leatherique on the wheels
303 or 1Z for doors, dash, console (303 will clean a tad better IMO, but its going to darken the look a bit and leave behind a tad bit of shine. You can take a new towel and buff it down though, so I would go with that one personally. I have heard someone else say he likes the meguiars QID better than then 303, so I have some coming in to try out)
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      04-17-2012, 11:07 AM   #13
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Got it. What do you recommend for leather seats?
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