3D Detailing vs. Chemical Guys vs. ?

[gori]

hello everyone!

I'm looking at purchasing a kit to decontaminate/prep car for polishing and eventually sealing it. for the correction piece I was reviewing Costco and saw two packages/kits.

Kit one was for $220 from 3D detailing and one from Chemical guys for $130. They seam like good deals vs. purchasing individually.

What do folks think of 3D Detailing?

Should I skip both and go for another kit from a different vendor?

wife is going out of town for a couple weeks and plan to spend the time to prep the exterior and interior in that time, so have a couple weeks to figure it out and have it all delivered to the house.

appreciate the feedback in advance!
gori

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by gori

hello everyone!

I'm looking at purchasing a kit to decontaminate/prep car for polishing and eventually sealing it. for the correction piece I was reviewing Costco and saw two packages/kits.

Kit one was for $220 from 3D detailing and one from Chemical guys for $130. They seam like good deals vs. purchasing individually.

What do folks think of 3D Detailing?

Should I skip both and go for another kit from a different vendor?

wife is going out of town for a couple weeks and plan to spend the time to prep the exterior and interior in that time, so have a couple weeks to figure it out and have it all delivered to the house.

appreciate the feedback in advance!
gori

What?s specifically in these kits? For just paint decon and prep all you need is clay bar, lube (for which you can use quick detailer), iron/fallout remover, and use a 70/30 isopropyl alcohol solution for panel wipe. Shouldn?t be more than $100. Optimum makes good products. You can use ONR as a wash, clay lube, and quick detailer.

[gori]

appreciate the feedback.

Neither come with the Iron X or Tar X product. I will have to purchase these two items seperately but I do have the clay bar (meguiars) already which i've used...i'll open a brand new one for the M3 :-)

The 3D Detailing Kit comes with the following for $220:
3D Detailing bag (x1)
3D DA Polisher (x1)
3D Scratch correction foam pad 5.5" (x1)
3D Super finish foam pad 5.5" (x1)
Orange Degreaser 16oz (x1)
Water-less car wash 16oz (x1)
Water-less car wash 1 Gal (x1)
Ultra Correction glaze 16oz (x1)
Ultra Protectant tire dressing 16oz (x1)
Glass cleaner 16oz (x1)
LVP, interior clean/protectant 16oz (x1)
Blue microfiber applicator 3"x5" (x1)
Black microfiber applicator 3"x5" (x1)
Salt & pepper scrub brush 6" (x1)
Nylon interior brush 8" (x1)
Horsehair detailing brush 9" (x1)
Black microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)
Green microfiber towel 16"x16" (x4)
Yellow microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)
Blue microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)

The Chemical Guys Polishing Kit comes with the following for $130:
TORQX Polishing Machine - (1Unit)
5.5" Hex-Logic Pad Orange 5.5" Medium-Heavy Cut Scratch & Swirl Remover Pad- (5.5"Inch)
5.5" Hex-Logic Pad - White Medium Light Polishing Pad (5.5"Inch)
5.5" Hex-Logic Premium Soft -Black Finishing Pad (5.5"Inch)
Foam & Wool Citrus-Based Pad Cleaner (4oz)
Polishing & Buffing Pad Conditioner (4oz)
V32 Optical Grade Extreme Compound (4 oz)
V34 Hyper Cut Polish-Optical Grade Cut Polish (4oz)
V36 Optical Cut Polish-Optical Grade Cut Polish (4oz)
V38 Optical Final Polish-Optical Grade Final Polish (4 oz)
The Workhorse Towel Professional Grade Microfiber Towels, Green (3 Pack)

[Eric S]

Car soap
towels and wash mitt
clay lube and clay
a compound like meguiars d300, mf pad or orange
sonax perfect finish with black or blue pad
griots garage DA
menzerna powerlock sealant
sonax wheel cleaner
tire dressing
alcohol 70% for glass and panel prep
tape for trim
spray wax for jambs and wheels
interior detailer
folex carpet cleaner
36pk yellow towels will suffice (not bad when they are new, not good when they are used a few times)

You're going to need more than one pad per polish in order to do the car properly. Once the pads get overloaded, they need to be washed and dried completely before using again. easier to swap them for a new one, and then wash all at the end.
you don't need the pad cleaner and conditioner, laundry detergent with no scents or softeners works just fine)
you don't need 4 steps of polishes unless you plan on spending 3 days on the car and have experience with polishing. simply spreading each step isn't doing things properly.

There is more to paint correction than people think. laying on some wax or spreading a minor polish around a panel is one thing, but true correction takes time to learn. Sometimes its best to let someone else do the correction, and you maintain from there! but by all means, give it a go if you are confident

[Aaaaaaaaa]

Originally Posted by gori

appreciate the feedback.

Neither come with the Iron X or Tar X product. I will have to purchase these two items seperately but I do have the clay bar (meguiars) already which i've used...i'll open a brand new one for the M3 :-)

The 3D Detailing Kit comes with the following for $220:
3D Detailing bag (x1)
3D DA Polisher (x1)
3D Scratch correction foam pad 5.5" (x1)
3D Super finish foam pad 5.5" (x1)
Orange Degreaser 16oz (x1)
Water-less car wash 16oz (x1)
Water-less car wash 1 Gal (x1)
Ultra Correction glaze 16oz (x1)
Ultra Protectant tire dressing 16oz (x1)
Glass cleaner 16oz (x1)
LVP, interior clean/protectant 16oz (x1)
Blue microfiber applicator 3"x5" (x1)
Black microfiber applicator 3"x5" (x1)
Salt & pepper scrub brush 6" (x1)
Nylon interior brush 8" (x1)
Horsehair detailing brush 9" (x1)
Black microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)
Green microfiber towel 16"x16" (x4)
Yellow microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)
Blue microfiber towel 16"x16" (x2)

The Chemical Guys Polishing Kit comes with the following for $130:
TORQX Polishing Machine - (1Unit)
5.5" Hex-Logic Pad Orange 5.5" Medium-Heavy Cut Scratch & Swirl Remover Pad- (5.5"Inch)
5.5" Hex-Logic Pad - White Medium Light Polishing Pad (5.5"Inch)
5.5" Hex-Logic Premium Soft -Black Finishing Pad (5.5"Inch)
Foam & Wool Citrus-Based Pad Cleaner (4oz)
Polishing & Buffing Pad Conditioner (4oz)
V32 Optical Grade Extreme Compound (4 oz)
V34 Hyper Cut Polish-Optical Grade Cut Polish (4oz)
V36 Optical Cut Polish-Optical Grade Cut Polish (4oz)
V38 Optical Final Polish-Optical Grade Final Polish (4 oz)
The Workhorse Towel Professional Grade Microfiber Towels, Green (3 Pack)

The polishers in these kits are likely pretty cheap quality. Sub $100 polishers are usually pretty bad (Griots DA polisher perhaps the exception). Honestly if you are planning on a ?once and done? correction and protection and you are a novice to paint correction then I?d also recommend hiring a good pro to do it and apply a ceramic based coating. However if you want to learn and experiment then by all means go for it. It can be a fun and interesting experience but can be time consuming and you end up buying a lot of products yourself and maybe spending more than if you hired someone. I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on detailing stuff and not even on paint correction supplies. All various soaps, QDs, tons of MF towels, spray waxed and sealants etc. It gets kind of addicting.

[EuroDude]

Originally Posted by gori

What do folks think of 3D Detailing?

gori

Hi Gori,

I've been detailing for 30 years, 3D Products are top notch and right up there with the best of them.

[EALm4]

Originally Posted by gori

hello everyone!

I'm looking at purchasing a kit to decontaminate/prep car for polishing and eventually sealing it. for the correction piece I was reviewing Costco and saw two packages/kits.

Kit one was for $220 from 3D detailing and one from Chemical guys for $130. They seam like good deals vs. purchasing individually.

What do folks think of 3D Detailing?

Should I skip both and go for another kit from a different vendor?

wife is going out of town for a couple weeks and plan to spend the time to prep the exterior and interior in that time, so have a couple weeks to figure it out and have it all delivered to the house.

appreciate the feedback in advance!
gori

Both of these kits are terrible. The 3D kit doesnt even include the proper compounds. You have the cutting pad and finishing pad but not the appropriate compounds to go with them. The all in one "glaze" wont be good enough.

The Chemical guys kit contains a rebranded Porter Cable polisher and is garbage. It has an oversized backing plate to accommodate the 5.5" pads (or larger) when that specific polisher of the size should be only used for at max, 4" mini pads. The extra size of the pad combined with the DA will be a nightmare on your hands/body. Their Hex Logic pads are great though. The amount of compound they give you is a joke but you're getting what you pay for.

If I had to pick solely from the ones you are considering, I'd get the 3D kit. Their polisher is larger and looks more ergonomic. The backing plate is appropriate for the polisher size and type of pads you'll be using. The kit also includes bunch of other essential car care products. Downside is that you'll still have to buy polishing compound.

The resell on the polishers in the two kits you are interested in is basically nothing. People will buy the Porter Cable since it's an "entry level" polisher and has a brand name. The 3D kit is just some Chinese made polisher that's rebranded. While it will be the better polisher of the two, since no one has heard of it, most will be hesitant to buy.

I suggest you look at other companies that have proper polishing kits. I'd recommend the following kits from Rupes, Griots and Adam's.

In order of most expensive to least:

Griots Boss - Long throw polishing kit (G15/5 - large)

Rupes LHR 15ES Big Foot kit

Adam's 15mm Swirl Killer kit

You can easily spend thousands of dollars on detailing products and DA polishers. So think about if you want to invest in a product long term or just basically ditch it after your job. The kits I've listed are pretty basic but dedicated to polishing. You'd only really need some basic decon products like a clay bar and iron remover/wheel cleaner.