My Top 5 Detailing Accessories
I’ve accumulated a few items over the years in my garage that, to be honest, weren’t really ‘detailing necessities’; perhaps ‘indulgences’ is be a better word. They make the experience much more enjoyable and efficient. Whether that’s worth the price of admission is up to the individual but I never regretted having acquiring them. Check out a few of the ‘Detailing Accessories’ that I consider “Gifts to myself” to make things more enjoyable.
Kamikaze Door Gate Stopper
When I misplaced my short one for over a year, I really missed it; ideal for hoods, it was just so convenient to have around.
The longer adjustable piece was great for doors and for trunk lids as well.
You can substitute many things (broomsticks, polish bottles, your limbs and such) to kind of get the same result but a purpose built, sturdy item is always welcome.
Unfortunately these are hard to come by and when we do get stock, they go quickly. If they’re not in stock you can sign up on the product page to be notified when they are available again. As of this writing, another batch is inbound and due to arrive soon!
Kamikaze Collection Beast Backing Plate
Soon after I got my first Rupes, an LHR15 Mk2, I grabbed one of these instead of doing the ‘ol ‘washer mod’. It certainly made polishing easier for me as I was learning the best technique for a long-throw polisher like the LHR15. It was more precise, spun better and stalled less.
The velcro clings to the pads like cold death so it has a very secure ‘connection’ in that respect.
It’s just something that, for me, makes the polishing experience so much nicer; smoother and more precise. I’ll still toss the stock Rupes backing plate on there for certain situations but the Beast is a nice option. Additionally, if you’re just a fan of well-crafted metal-work, it’s a thing of beauty!
CR Spotless High Output Water Filtration System
This is one of those personally unfortunate situations where I have to admit that, well…I was wrong. I always thought this was a bit of overkill for a ‘driveway-hobbyist’ as I was for many years; I’ll just wash in the shade. After using one of these at the shop/studio for a while, I’ll be grabbing one for my own garage where I plan to do more washing this coming season. Washing at home is one of those simple pleasures I have been missing out on lately and I’d like to get back to that.
The only opportunity to wash in the shade at our new house is either before 8am in the morning or after 7pm at night; generally that’s fine but much like life before VCR’s & DVR’s, being held to a schedule can be inconvenient. The CR Spotless will allow me to time-shift washing according to my schedule, not Mother Nature’s. While it might not be nice to fool Mother Nature (remember those commercials?), it certainly is convenient.
Whether or not is is practical really all depends on your source water, which you can test with a simple Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) meter available from a number of places; I snatched mine from a major online seller for about $12. With my TDS at 122, and a rather economically-price pressure washer providing a (likely overrated) 1.76gpm I’ll probably be able to get about 52 washes out of a set of $138 cartridges on the DIW/DIC-20 setup…more than enough for a Spring/Summer/Fall even with an estimated ‘trigger-time’ per wash of 10 minutes.
MTM Stainless Steel Garden Hose Coupler & Quick Connect Plug
Literally stop screwing around with garden hose fittings by adding these male & female quick connect fittings for garden hose threads. Quickly and easily make solid connections with no worry about washers falling out or cross threading. Yes, it’s a simple thing but sometimes simple things mean a lot!
Get-A-Grip Diamond Pattern Nitrile Gloves
Great gloves that are ‘supple’ enough for intricate detail work and also tough enough that I use them when doing brake pad changes with no rips, tears or other unwelcome intrusions.
They go on and come off easily with no fighting and are nicely comfortable with no pulling or binding. Garage, yard or basement…these gloves deliver!
In conclusion…
So there you have it…some of my favorite ‘Detailing Accessories’ that make the tasks involved in detailing easier (Door Gate Stopper), more enjoyable (Beast Backing Plate) and more efficient (Quick Connects). Some are relatively inexpensive, some decidedly less so but having spent considerable amounts of money on ‘Detailing Things’ over the years, these are a few that I never regretted investing in. As for ‘Detailing Things’ I thought better of after purchase, well…a different story entirely but that’s how some of us learn, that being from our mistakes (I’m sure they all seemed like a good idea at the time)!