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story by Tim McNair • photography by the author
Get to one of the country’s top concours events early, and you’ll find Tim McNair of Grand Prix Concours Preparation detailing the most immaculate entries.
Spray detailers have come a long way. What started as a quick method for keeping our cars presentable between washes or touching them up before a show has become a staple in the community.
Whether we’re shopping for a clay bar lube or a replacement for a soap-and-hose session, we have all manner of brands, colors and scents to choose from. Most of us, though, probably didn’t put too much thought into the last spray detailer we brought home. Maybe it was just the cheapest bottle at the auto parts store. Or maybe it was a sample handed out at an event.
The formulas are all basically the same, right? Well, maybe not.
We rounded up several options for a head-to-head comparison. Eric Peterson of Leydon Restorations provided the shop space and test vehicle: a filthy 2008 BMW 5 Series.
We taped the hood and trunk into equal sections–one per cleaning product. Each cleaner was sprayed onto the body and then wiped off using a generic microfiber towel.
The bottles all had similar multifunction spray heads, and all were turned to the spray setting. Most of the cleaners required two or three sprays per section. Scents were described by our judges’ consensus.
