It's a quick detailer, Pam. If you just want to spruce up your shine, get rid of some dust, that sort of thing.

It doesn't take the place of washing your MINI. It's to hold you over in between washings to keep your MINI looking shiny.

Yes, you really need a wash to get the grit and heavier dirt off. Don't QD if your car is more than dusty... your risk minor scratches and swirls if you do that.

 

A quick detailer is best used for either cleaning a light layer of dust/road grime off of the car, or for removing spots like tree sap or bird droppings before they have a chance to attack the paint.
I wouldn't use QD for a really filthy/muddy car, although I've used it to clean isolated mud splashes off a car that was fairly clean otherwise.

 

Thanks for the explanation on QD

 

Never mind... these fine folks beat me to it...

 

pam- QD is usually meant to remove light dust with a dedicated
MF towel like Platinum MF towel. if your car has oily grime or dirt,
sat out doors over night with morning dew, drove through rain, you
should just wash your car. I don't QD my commuters for that reason
as it could cause scratches and swirls from the grit you mentioned.

for clay, you should try the new Glide from DP.

 

you should've posted before me.

 

Thanks for the response. Heather sold me the Slick to clay my car in the beginning of August before Glide was introduced. Have already dropped two bundles at DP. Will get Glide when the Slick runs out. Probably won't use it much to QD as I do drive my car an and it gets more that just dusty.

 

Mix your Slick - 50/50 with water for lube.

 

Thanks

 

You do need water, and I bet Slick is 95% water, with some lubricant/shine stuff added. Works great for spots of bird poop, stuff too small to warrant a carwash after you Cali-dust. I like it.

 

does it matter if tap or distilled? (I would probably use distilled water..)

 

In a perfect world, distilled would be preferable to tap, but unless you're the type to use distilled/purified water when you rinse your cars, it probably doesn't matter which you use to dilute Slick.

 

Guess that's next in this craziness - buying gallons of distilled water to wash and rinse my car.....and I thought it couldn't get any more expensive than..... buying the whole Prima line, PC & pad set, lambs wool mit, special buckets, waffle weave towels, monster fluffy towels, wheelshield, WOW

 

Well since you are wiping the spot just clayed before the surface dries - distiled water would be a waste unless you got like West Texas water.

 

I know what you mean. I get Christmas cards from Griot's Garage, but I guess a couple of $1000+ orders will do that for you. (I still prefer the mints that Detailer's Paradise includes with their orders, though).

And wait until you start buying everything by the gallon. I've got twelve gallons so far, and of course, every time I order, I always think "I may as well toss in a few more Monster Fluffies, another Waffle Weave and a glass-cleaning cloth or two..."

Seriously, it's really nice to have enough of the various microfiber towels that I can save up the dirty ones until I have enough to do a full load in the washing machine, rather than having to wash a small load because I don't have any clean Monsters/Platinums/Utilities/Waffles/whatever left.

 

Thanks for being a good steward of our planet. I'm going to use that one next time - Dear, I have to buy more waffle weaves so I can do a full load in the washer and prevent Greenland from being overwhelmed by the ocean. I don't want to buy any more, but our children's children will worship me as a hero for saving the planet!

 

Hey, whatever works!

Also, it's nice to have plenty of clean towels on hand because it lessens the temptation to stretch one towel through a job that really calls for two, or to use a "utility" microfiber towel for a job where you should really use a Monster or a Platinum.

Having a bunch of towels also makes it less painful when you demote one of your "nice" towels to "utility-duty" because it's not as soft as it used to be, or it's picked up a little bit of "schmutz" that won't come out and you no longer trust it on your paint.

 

I don't know about Platinum?????

 

The Platinums are much nicer than a utility microfiber, but not as super-soft as the Monster Fluffies. I usually use the Platinums for removing polishes and sealants. They have one side that's fluffier than the other, so it's real easy to pick up the polish or wax with one side and then flip it over to buff with the other side.

 

What do you use the Monster Fluffies for? I just got them and I used them when I Hydroed - I was thinking they would be a good polish/ wax buffer. I use the waffle weave to dry after washing. I like the size of the Monsters - I don't have to be careful that they don't drag the ground when I'm doing the sides of the car. Should I not get wax/polish on my good Monsters or does Epic and Amigo wash out of them?

 

I generally use the Monster Fluffies either for quick-detailing, or for removing waxes/sealants that come off easily. I've used some waxes that don't come off so easily, and in those cases, I've found that the Monsters can be a little too soft to be effective, so I use the Platinums.

Waxes and polishes wash out, so don't worry about using your Monsters for that. If you were to get them *really* loaded up with wax (like using them to *apply* the wax), you might need to pre-soak them before washing or use one of the commercial microfiber cleaning soaps on them, but you're not going to hurt the Monsters by using them to remove Amigo/Epic.

 

If you use the monster on Amigo you might have a little bit of trouble getting it out as it will look a little gray in some spots, but really it is pretty hard to tell. Despite that though the one i used with the Amigo is perfectly usable after just one wash.

I wouldnt worry about getting Epic on it though, that stuff washes out no problem.

 

actually i have a bottle of distilled water in my sprayer and
gallon bottle in my detailing arsenal.

for claying, i suppose tap is fine since you don't let it air dry anyway.

for monster fluffy's i use it as a final wax buffing towel when i do
carnauba. for Epic, im not sure....i think the platiums do better from
the several times ive used it. for Hydro, i think monster fluffy absorbs
too much.

i use the Platinum's the most...

 

I did notice the Monster Fluffy was soaking up a lot of Hydro. Great! Now I need to get some Platinums.

Thanks to all for your personal detailing tips.

 

Pretty soon you're going to be like me and have 6 varieties of microfiber towels. :impatient

Hey, speaking of that... what happened to DP's huge, brown, fluffy microfiber towels ? I don't see them on the site any more. You know, the ones that could double as bath towels and turn everything else in the washing machine a pinkish brown color. Wheredtheygo ???