What are products are BAD?
 

I've been tipped off to a lot of great products on this forum, but I'm sure there are bad ones out there that no one's had a reason to mention. Any company can string together fancy words like "super chemically active polymers" or "unique lab-tested bonding agents" and some people will pay triple for it because... science!. Does anyone know which products (chemicals or detailing tools) are just overpriced gimmicks?

For example, according to the Junkman, all clay sold in the USA (at least as of 2012, when he said it) comes from the same manufacturer. So if he's right about that, a clay that costs $30.00 a bar and claims to remove more contaminants than other brands would be one of these ripoffs.

That is true about clay bars.

:word: except now there are vastly better clay alternatives that leave little situations in which you might actually use a clay bar

I've heard good things about clay towels. Are there other clay substitutes besides that?

Clay towels, clay mitts, clay sponges, and clay pads

If your using a clay towel such as the speedy prep towel for the first time, be sure and inspect a small area before you do the entire car. A fine grade towel is equivalent to a medium grade standard clay bar, and can cause micro marring.

Griots garage and chemical guys are bad more often than not.

Alot of people swear by Chemical Guys and Griots Garage products. I dont think any product now days is truly bad its all about how much of the hype you choose to beleive and deep your pockets are.:nod:

A lot of people swear by Turtle Wax too.

Products are subjective to technique used to apply them, what works for 1 person may not work for another due to differences in application between the two.

Longevity in the business means a lot, companies like Menzerna and Meguiars. You don't stay in business for decades by selling inferior products.

However companies with less time in business, like Adams, who offer a 110% guarantee of satisfaction, and Carprousa, who have people like Corey, who is more interested in helping you for what will work in your particular situation than just selling you something, provide their customers with the highest level of customer service.

I have yet to buy any product from a company with longevity or great service that was mediocre.

95% of TW products are pretty much trash, have there tire coating a lot of people were talking up last summer and will give it a whirl in the spring, not expecting to be surprised but we will see :)

Chemical guys products are to me not worth it. There is a few that I like but most of the products are just based on cool names and fancy scented bright colored stuff.

I've been a CG guy but slowly moving my collection to Adams stuff as my CG stuff runs out.

I had a few bottles of CG wax/polish turn to useless, watery liquid in my garage over the span of a few months. Not sure if that's the product, or maybe temperature, or what...but I've never seen another product do that.

This is helpful, thanks. I'm still trying different products, and some are super expensive. I don't mind paying more to get better results, but there's a lot of snake oil out there too.