Why We Don't Use Retail Detailing Products

I thought this might be something interesting to touch on since it's come up a couple of times this year.

I will preface this with there are plenty of good retail products out there. Any professional detailer should be able to make them work in a pinch to make a car look great.

So, I've been asked in the past to use certain products when detailing someone's car.

Most of the time, it's a retail product that can be found in any store.

100% of the time, I refuse.

Why?

Most of the time it's because I'm unfamiliar with the product.

I may have seen the product a million times (yes, I do browse the car care sections at stores to see what the current fad is). That doesn't mean I know it well enough to work with it.

I may have even used an older version of that product years ago when I was just detailing my cars.

Most of the time, those retail products are watered down, simple products that can't hold up to what a detailer sees daily.

Most likely, they'll just be ineffective and a waste of time.

Some products just cover up the problem instead of fixing it. Which again comes around to not being familiar with the product.

I can't speak for every auto detailer but at least for me, all the products I use work together.

I've spent months and/or years designing processes to get the results I want to have.

My wash process uses products, from the wash soap to the sealant, that all work together. They all compliment each other to give great results.

It's called synergy.

This can only come from spending time trying and testing different detailing products.

Changing that process will only produce poor and/or short-term results.

You wouldn't ask your plumber to use PVC pipe when he needs to use copper? Or your Electrician to use an extension cord to wire your new hot tub?