Ask the Detailer

This is the video that I referenced
https://youtu.be/Rgli6VNLsK4

 

Yes. The video I posted talks about the recently released supporting prep and maintenance products briefly.

 

Wait what is Griot's claiming? Are they marketing that other companies don't have their own chemists in product development?

 

Many companies outsource their chemistry or buy and modify premixes.

B&B blending is a BIG manufacturer that designs and mixes for many different companies. Griot's is probably just saying that they have full time chemists in house that develop solely for them.

 

Thanks for clarifying. Its clear several products in the detailing market are copycat clones of each other with a minor difference of a few ingredients. Griot's is a tried and true brand with a great product line up. Where the majority of R & D occurs is largely irrelevant when you consider economies of scale and other factors. IMO its poppycock marketing with a sprinkle of graphene on it. Even if it were true, results are the true mark of distinction.

 

To be clear, the statement about Griots having their own chemists was made by me...not anyone from Griots. It just happens to be true.

 

Griots and Tac systems are the only products for me. I like to keep it simple to brands. Both fit me for my needs. The detailing brand rabbit hole is very deep. Tac systems has some incredible products. For us Americans Carzilla out of Canada is the site for their products. Check them out. You won’t be disappointed

 

So do other companies have their own in house chemists too?
Do other companies formulate their own products from scratch?

 

Meguair’s does, and maybe a few others, but I’d venture that most outsource it, especially the smaller companies. I’m sure it varies greatly amongst those companies in how involved they are in development.
Hard to say for sure about most of them. If I had to guess, the companies that have a ton of similar products and are constantly releasing new stuff are almost definitely 100% outsourced. The ones who’s product lines are more streamlined and are slow to release new things are more involved at the very least.

 

I do want to clarify that using an outside company for manufacturing doesn’t mean it’s low quality. It’s the level of involvement they have in the process that matters. There’s variations of this all the way from one end to another. They may tell them exactly what they want in there, or they just say “make us a spray wax. Here’s the label we want on it.”

Griots researches, develops, tests, and does their own manufacturing themselves. I’d bet there aren’t more than 3 or 4 companies that are 100% in house. Smaller companies like Shine Supply just can’t do this.

Other companies do all the r&d themselves, then have it manufactured elsewhere. For example, Adams Polishes develops in house. They do a lot of their own testing, but have outside help with that also. I believe they have one manufacturing partner who is local to them in Colorado do the actual manufacturing, so they’re heavily involved in the whole process.

Then there are giant companies that do it all for several different brands and just place the appropriate label on the bottle.

Most industries are the same way though. A lot of competing products come from the same factory with minor differences if any.

There’s even a few major detailing companies that will gladly sell you their products with your own private label on it for resell, so it’s not easy to differentiate a lot of this. The only way to know is by experience.

 

Dr Beasleys does
3D does
303 does

 

Thank you. I appreciate the honest answer. I guess patents would provide insight on who is innovating and who is fake formulating. Chemistry is funny though. Two products with the same ingredients but different concentrations don't necessarily behave the same way. So I'm not sure its the best metric for quality. Nor is chemical pedigree.

 

Tracking. Got ninja'd. Concur.

 

Auto geek doing their few days of sales for christmas. Waiting on them to do some for Carpro so I can order some stuff needed. Looking at getting some reset shampoo and iron-x.

 

I saw that email this morning. 30% off. I guess your product isn't covered?

 

Nope. Bunch of brands I don't really use

 

Hey, you guys that have been using CeraKote on your black trim. How's it been holding up?

I finally got some applied to my rear bumper cap today. Just hoping it stays nice for a couple of months at least.

 

It's been lasting for quite a while and been holding up without wear so far. It'll last more than a couple months. I'm pretty happy with it! Especially for about $20 and I still have a couple wipes left over

 

2 of the best products out there

 

No issue with it holding up a couple months. I’m at 5 on the steps and they look good still.

 

Thanks gents!

If it'll look this good for a couple of months I'll be more than satisfied.

 

Couple months will not be an issue

 

('Off-Topic Warning') . . . I recently purchased Griots 3 in 1 Ceramic wax for my new to Me '06 Tundra . . .I washed the truck really well then clay'd it using Griots 'Speed Shine' as the lubricant . . . paint was in excellent shape as the truck had been garaged it's entire life. This is where I blew it . . . I didn't use a de-contaminating product before applying the 3 in 1 Ceramic Wax . . I also think I kind of over did it on the 3 in 1. Anyways, it buffed-out nice and clean with fresh micro-fibers and left a very nice glossy finish all things considered. I'll be curious as to how well it holds up. So far so good, but it's been less than a month.

 

What do you mean you 'over did it'....applied it too heavy? I've done several cars for people where they did not want to pay for a full decon.....3 in 1 still came out looking good and protecting well.

 

Yep

 

Well I did the entire truck .... as well as the cab roof and the whole snug top shell ... as well as the wheels .... kept it in the garage and then the next day did a light 2nd coat. I ended up using about 2/3 of the bottle .... oops... duh. Lol.

 

You did nothing wrong. Multiple coats of this product should protect it very, very well. When it comes to application, streaking is the only issue that I've heard of.....sometimes as a result of over applying, weather or both. If you have a streak-free finish, you did it right. At 19.99 for a 22oz bottle, it's easily economical enough to indulge in the luxury of two coats.

I've not used it on wheels, but there are lots of people who do...some of them right here on this forum, with considerable success. As a side note....we'd like some pics

 

Would Griot's 3-1 be good to use on wheels with a matte finish?
If not, do you have a recommendation for something to help the wheels stay cleaner longer?

 

I'm not sure about 3 in 1 on matte finish wheels....but you can ceramic coat matte wheels. My wheels are cleared, and I really like Cquartz Dlux. There are other wheel coatings, and below is a link to a video by Auto Fanatic using Gyeon Rim on matte wheels

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzmKLhOv5gQ

 

Ive used it on several different vehicles, on several different areas. I think my first use was six months or so ago. I’ve seen no degradation of it to speak of. Definitely a “best in class” product.