Otis S.

Was wondering if any else had used their products. I have been using some of their stuff lately and was planning on going down their this week for some pointers on cleaning up the my car (first black car I need all the help I can get). I used their clay bar and carnauba wax last weekend and liked it. I think I really need to completely strip my car down and start all over though there are lots of swirls and some little scratches I want to get out. Wondering if I should use their stuff or something else.

KenHorse

I've been using pretty much exclusively Griot's stuff for well over a year and love 'em. I too have a black Vette.

One thing I love about Griot's polishes and cleaning products are that they are water soluble which makes cleanup (and getting that ever-happening dried up gunk on your finish off) super easy.

Best thing is to wash your car with Dawn detergent, dry then clay bar ( I use Griot's Speed Shine as the lube for this).

Late model Vettes seem to have a very hard clear coat and I've found that Griot's Machine Polish 3 just doesn't do the job so I use Machine Polish 2. And, of course, I use their orbital polisher. After you've polished out the swirls and scratches, follow up with Machine Polish #3 to smooth things out a bit.

Finally, wax with the system of your choice. Personally I've tried Zaino, Meguiars and Adams. And while everyone has their personal favorite, I've had great results with Meguiars NXT 2.0.

Oh, one more thing... I rarely wash my car with water anymore. I use Griot's Spray on Car Wash and get excellent results. Just be sure to get their nice, fluffy microfiber towels too

Hope this helps!

BOOMGUY

I am in a very large Corvette club in the Tacoma area. I think that almost all of the members in the club that I know of use Griot's nearly exclusively. There will of course be a specific product here or there that is from Meguire's or someone else, but 80%+ of their detailing products are Griot's.

Speed Shine in particular is a must have for all of us. The clay bar system also is excellent, you get quite a bit more clay than with some of the other manufacturers.

It's also nice to support a local company. I believe that Richard Griot lives in Lakewood just south of Tacoma.


Good luck!

Steve

c4cruiser

I just finished my 02 using Machine Polish 4 and Best of Show wax. The polish removed all sorts of old swirl marks and even removed old deposits from some small chips on the nose.

Their clay bar is one of the best around. I've tried the Meguiar's clay and it does not work anywhere near as well as Groit's.

I have the older Porter-Cable polisher and it's a very heavy duty machine. It's actually sold by P-C as a D/A sander. I have separate foam pads for polishes, wax, and the paint sealant I use on my black truck.

Black vehicles take more effort to really get to a show-quality finish and depending on the overall condition of the paint, you may want to use Machine Polish 2 followed by Machine Polish 4. You can save tons of time and avoid sore muscles by getting their electric polisher. It's very easy to use and like Richard demonstrates, their polish will not burn the finish regardless of how hard you press down on the polisher.

Speed Shine is an excellent product for a quick detail and I carry a small bottle and a couple rags in my car just for removing stuff like bird cr**. Buy the 35 oz bottles and one of their sprayers.

Their products are a little more expensive, but they are well worth the extra. If you want the polisher, look at their kits especially p/n 11605. It has the polisher, clay, speed shine, polish and wax, pads, and an informative handbook and DVD. This is a great starter kit.

Also get their 8 oz bottle of Leather Care. This is great stuff for the seats and a small bottle will last a long time.

DidntSettle

I agree with the previous posts. I use the polishes, clay bar and carnuba wax. We have a black Explorer and my C5 is red...I like this stuff, for sure. On my wifes commuter Harley, I use the #2 and#3 polish to bring the paint back to a great luster. I need to replenish my supplies and will get some #4 next time I am in Tacoma. I'm almost out of carnuba too.

The only thing about the NXT wax is that although it goes on/off very easliy, it does not last as long. I like Zaino too and still use it occasionally because I still have some in my cabinet, but I fail to see much difference in the paint when you compare prices. Zaino ain't cheap. I just did the clay bar and Zaino, but will probably not buy Zaino again.

As a previous poster said, the clay based Griot's is great because of the cleanup. Warm, soapy water does it, but you must get to it early. If you miss a spot and it dries after a few days, it's still going to be difficult to remove.

Otis S.

Sweet, I guess I am heading in the right direction. I already have the speed shine and really like it. Their customer service is great I went in there about a month ago to get something for the water stains on the windows of my Tahoe and the dude spent about 30 minutes showing me how to use the glass polish, I wasn't too impressed with it once I started doing it myself by hand then I threw some on my buffer and using very light pressure got all the windows done in about 20 minutes. I bought their basic washing kit while I was there and have slowly started using it as I ran out of other stuff that I have I guess I will start buying their stuff as I need it.

last901

I endorse the several comments re Griot's Speed Shine, though I don't use it to "wash" my car. I've tried their Best of Show liquid wax and have no disappointments, but think it might be redundant. I also tried some of their - geez I hope I don't get this wrong - rubber and plastic treatment and found it too glossy.

For me, I no longer have the time nor the ambition to use all these much-heralded concotions. I use P-21S car wash - or is it shampoo or body conditioner? - when I wash the car (with a freshly-washed wool mitt). I use those waffle-like (microfiber) drying towels to dry it. I've also had excellent experience with the P-21S drying "chamois" or "towel"...whatever it's called.

My favorite wax is One Grand "Blitz" wax and I've been using it for years, often touched up with the Griot's Speed Shine.

I've tried the clay bar treatment but can see (nor feel) any difference, but then my car isn't a daily driver either.

For what it's worth, my personal opinion is that just about everything Griot sells is of pretty high quality (it better be for the $). If I were looking to win some award for best paint or best finish in some show, I might give it further thought and use. For now, I'm prefectly content with my Blitz Wax and Speed Shine. Beyond that, I fear I may get a call from the producers of "Obsessed" or "Intervention" to be the star of an episode.

ieatyllwcryns

Pics after use?

Mr. Peabody

I think that I have posted this pic before but this is after Griots clay bar, Griots carnuba wax & then Meguiars NXT 2.0. (probably a bit of overkill )

NW94Z

It's not overkill when you bring home a prize for your efforts. Definitely the best looking C4 there by a wide margin.

notdads

I have a whole Garage Full of Griot's products! My husband and I used to be die hard Meguires fans, but when I tried Griot's I fell in love with the results. My husband took a moment to warm up to it, but now that is all he will use too. We occasionally still use some Meguires, but Griot's works awesome!!!

Crewrow

Loved reading through this thread, and seeing a few pics. Just wondering who's house I should bring my car over to for detailing?

KenHorse

Last shot is of the hood with the garage ceiling reflecting off of it

Otis S.

Here is mine after the 1st time I waxed and clay barred it with Griot's products.

shawden

I think I paid for a couple of windows and doors in their new location – if that tells you anything !! HA !!

KenHorse

Heh....

It's true they ain't the most economical choice on the planet but you can't argue with the results!

Iroczlover

stop posting pics with my car in it lol.
HEY WAIT A MIN there was only 2 there & mine was behind his lol

ADetailedFinish

Ok from somebody that details cars for a living here's my $.02
Griot's garage has some good products- I've used their whole line up and I think I will stick with their Car was soap (for regular maintenance washes, but dawn for Paint correction details) their clay bar, and their carpet cleaner, oh and their MF towels. Those are the only products I have really seen a good turn around with. There are other products out there that do a better job and are way less expensive... If any of you guys have detailing questions please let me know and I would love to help you out. Even if you want to bring your car by to learn a thing or two about true detailing I would be glad to help out!

vetluv

Hi Steve, Im toby and i too stay in the Tacoma area, ruston way to be exact, do you know of any indy service shops here in Tacoma that are familiar with vet's thanks!

BOOMGUY

Pacific Corvette in Puyallup has a pretty good reputation. Corvettes of Auburn also has a good reputation but I had a very disappointing experience with them recently. If you have a little extra time to drive I would probably recommend Corvette and High Performance in Olympia.

Hope that helps. We would love to have you stop by one of our meetings or one of our events, www.classicalglasscorvetteclub.com.


Steve