Welcome back to the Proje’ blog! This week, we’re focusing on accessories. There are several things that, if you want to get into detailing, you absolutely must have in your home inventory. These are the multiple use, everyday products that make the sprays, ceramics and cleaners work. Without accessories, you can’t do anything. So, use this blog as a checklist and ask yourself: What do I need for car detailing?
The Essentials
Microfiber Towels
What’s in microfiber? Well, it’s a blend of polyester and polyamides, so it’s synthetic. This means that it’s been made for a specific purpose; in this case, to be super-thin. The “micro” in microfiber relates to this. Now, as microfiber is synthetic, it can be designed to do specific tasks. You can make the fibers thicker, rougher or smoother during the design process. At Proje’, our microfiber is designed specifically to work on the surfaces of your car. That means no scratching, no streaks and no tiny bits of dirt left on your vehicle.
We’ve got a few different microfiber products here at Proje’. Our standard Redpro, Bluepro and Whitepro towels have a 480 GSM rating, making them more lightweight, for buffing and spreading sprays across surfaces. You don’t to use a higher GSM for this job and have your towel absorb your sealants before they can protect your car. And for jobs where you need a more absorbent towel, you don’t want that extra weight either, so we use a special kind of fabric weave, called a terry weave, on our white intensive 2-sided interior towel. When you’re using this towel on the interior of your vehicle, you can use one side for dust, and the terry weave side for absorbing every last drop of liquid.
So, get a few microfiber towels and one 2-sided towel. Job done!
Wash Accessories
Keeping your car clean is number one. Ok, a good ol’ fashioned car wash doesn’t sound like detailing, but in fact, all detailing processes are defined by their effectiveness, and effectiveness is always increased when the car surface is clean.
Now, we’ve got a great cleaning product – Vital Car Wash Soap. But as we said earlier, it’s useless without the accessories. And there are three vital accessories for washing your car – a bucket, a grit guard and a wash mitt.
First, the bucket. Buckets become quite heavy when they’re filled with water. 3.5 gallons of water weighs just over 20kg, so you need a strong, thick bucket with a sturdy handle to avoid repeated sagging that will ultimately result in sudden breakage and wasting your cleaning solution. Our 3.5-gallon pails are thick and extremely durable, so you can lift, drag and place with no problems.
Next, the grit guard. The Proje' Grit Guard fits most 3-5-gallon buckets and is essential to prevent scratches in your paintwork when washing your vehicle. The Grit Guard traps dirt that comes off your wash pad, ensuring that it stays at the bottom of the bucket, so no dirt will be reintroduced into the wash solution. Just remember to rub your wash pad up against the grit guard each time you rinse it off, to prevent rubbing dirt and contaminants back on your paintwork with the next wipe.
And, as we’ve just mentioned, get a good wash pad. Our Green Micro Fiber Wash Pad is a premium, scratch-free, microfiber chenille wash mitt that is extremely gentle on paint, glass and plastic trim. Chenille comes from the French word for “caterpillar” and you’ll see that our shaggy microfiber strands are green and thick, just like caterpillars. The soft fibers are plaited together to make them extra thick and absorbent, so you can expect your mitt to hold an enormous amount of water. One wipe should be enough to cover large surfaces, making this perfect for the bodywork washing process while also ensuring that no scratches or swirls are left on your vehicle.
So, get two buckets, one grit guard and one wash pad!
Brush Up
Finally, get a good brush game going. There are a few different kinds of brush that feature in a detailer’s inventory. Here are the essentials:
For the Wheels - Barrel Brush, Tire Dressing Short Handle Brush, Rim Cleaning Brush
Because of their shape, wheels are hard to get perfectly clean. They are a mixture of rubber tire, metal rim and deep barrel that is impossible to tackle with just one cleaning brush. If you want to be really thorough, you need three!
The Barrel Brush is a big plush brush with one main use in mind, to clean the inner barrel of your rim. With is synthetic fibers and long handle it makes cleaning the hard to reach parts of your rim not only easy, but enjoyable again. Meanwhile, an applicator brush is extremely useful on uneven surfaces, as its sturdier bristles allow you to really get in to all the nooks and crannies. Our short handle brush is great for shining all kind of tires and grooves when Fusion Tire Dressing is applied directly to the brush. Finally, the rim cleaning brush is ideal for cleaning around the surface of your wheels. Its handle length means you can penetrate deep and at awkward angles, due to the head shape and design. As with the short handle brush, it is designed to be soft enough to make contact with polished and painted surfaces with no heart in mouth moments.
For the Interior – Carpet and Upholstery Brush, Easy Reach Crevice Brush, Pet Hair Brush
Three on the outside, three on the inside! The carpet and upholstery brush makes cleaning floor mats, carpeting and cloth seats simple and effective, saving you time and energy. Its streamlined grip makes it easy to hold so that you can really get in to your fabric and remove every last bit of dirt, when paired with Benchmark Fabric and Upholstery Cleaner. The easy reach crevice brush is for making cleaning the small cracks and crevices of your interior simple and effective, saving you time and energy. And if you have dogs, cats or other pets, you’ll know how difficult pet hair can be to get out of your carpeting. The thick bristles on the pet hair brush generate static electricity as you brush, which serves as a natural magnet, pulling hair from your carpets with extreme effectiveness.
So, you need a barrel brush, tire dressing short handle brush, rim cleaning brush, carpet and upholstery brush, easy reach crevice brush and (perhaps) a pet hair brush. Phew!
And the Result…?
Four towels, two buckets, a grit guard, a wash pad and six brushes. That’s the detailer’s inventory! And the cost? A total of under $150! Don’t believe us – start clicking and fill your shopping basket. We promise you’ll be very pleasantly surprised.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading this week’s blog – stay tuned for more tips and tricks next week.
If you have any questions about any of the techniques or products that I’ve mentioned in this post, just add a comment below and we’ll post a reply! Remember that we stock only the best auto detailing supplies, so why not click some of the links in this blog post, or visit our products page to find out more? From all of us at Proje’, Enjoy the Process!