No right or wrong, depends on your preference, requirements.

Grit guards are meant to ward off dirt recirculating in your cloth.
So if you prefer to have less dirt getting back on your car potentially scratching it, use lo.

On other hand, if not bothered, can just clay/polish every few months, don't use grit guards also won't die. (Majority of outside car wash also never use)

Personally I use, but I wash once every few weeks/months, 1 year less than 5-6 wash or so.
Dirt does get accumulated and the wash mitt/sponge will get very dirty

I assumed sifu already got smaller pads/machine , I don't hence my comment

But yeah, learning is good

Just hand polish it unless you got machines that can use small 3" pads that wouldn't go across the edge

silver/grey easily the easiest car to detail/maintain. they just don't pop like the classic white/red/blue(maybe cuz my own car is blue and narcissistic a bit LOL)/black(my pride/best detailed work in the past lol) does for that extra satisfaction.
pre grats bro!

i've used Carpro reload, personally i think it was a bit overrated (especially when Sonax BSD was widely available during the time i used, cheaply too)
and maybe also because it was designed to be used with their cquartz coating and i only used reload as a standalone LSP.

Going to Sonax products, their BSD works as a decent detailer and a damn good maintenance/topper LSP.
damn good price vs performance ratio and probably among the best until our local distributor got taken over by Singapore.

i am using their Profiline HW02/04 (hard wax) and Perfect finish and experiences have been great. Perfect finish is among the best "all in one" (the range it can work with is huge such light compounding to even final finishes that you can control just by pads, machine or even applied pressure!)
Hard wax is a bit so so, but for the price vs performance and durability (can easily expect between 4-8 months in daily driving conditions) it still is a very good product. again, price with previous Malaysian distro and not the new crazy pricing (that's generally even more expensive than Meguiar!)

i'm still quite old school (still! until the products can finish lol) going with multi layered boutique wax in between maybe Sonax Profiline HW / Meguiar's ULW / Poorboy's black hole Glaze (if i do glaze, it is first layer before anything else/post polish clean up)

then maintain with either Meguiar gold class wash > BSD or just simple wash (Wash and wax type shampoo, could be cheap turtle wax zip wash n wax or TW ICE wash n wax or someday, maybe trying out Osren or Meguiar wash n wax lol) and dry without any topper. usually toppers are also my drying aid but if i'm lazy or hydrophobic action still crazy strong, i just skip the topper.

And with that, even more reason I recommend to go with (cheating hahaha! , And assuming you don't want to Polish) Glaze > boutique wax such as from DodoJuice, or maybe that brand new turtle wax 75 anniversary whack every tech into it paste wax lol > and monthly topper

Or if you're lazy like me and since MCO rarely drive and car shaded parking, you wash every 2 to 3 months, zero topper , the wax will still last at least 6 months to even a full year
Mine currently zero topper only washed like twice? Pushing 7-8 months already since 2020 year end annual detailing? Dust caked on top can be visible and even abrasive if you touch it, but once rain come, auto wash and immediately hydrophobic lol (unheard of for most paste wax )

As for windows/windscreen, basically glass, I've written guides with home remedies such as tooth paste and vinegar and clay and rinse repeat.

Once water marks fully cleared, rain X them and never even have to worry about water marks for the entire lifetime of the car.

fuck it close an eye.

1) gave up, i make craters faster than i can cover them
2) too expensive, cheaper to repaint and detail and enjoy that paint pop. PPF won't ever give that
3) i just overtake, but that alone enough to be hazardous with any road debris and furthermore my current car is super low
4) touch wood my 8 years old car still haven't need to resort to that. PKP now just giving me free age/years and less to zero stone chips.

thanks for list sifu

i personally bought from JigJeob Premium Car Care (checked spelling lol... korean?) for the tire applicator sponge i posted here also last time lol
EXQ 2x Multi Purpose Tyre Applicator Pad Curved Foam Sponge Pad

if it's effective without damaging, suits your budget, sure it is good

my go to is Sonax (maybe slashing it off as prices gone crazy) and DodoJuice Ferrous dueller (also pricing issue, however i bought in bulk last time so still consuming it after so many years using very sparingly lol)

so next i am aiming at Osren, and maybe adding EXQ to the list since you've produced good results, thank you

Sonax already finished, now only on DodoJuice

I go through them a lot especially when I was still active with Motorsports lol

If can, during rain better 😆

Bug juice lol
IPA/Meguiar UQD can remove easily especially if your glass already protected by LSP like rain X

Yes confirm

Nature is thriving when us humans hiding at home from pandemic.

Normally you only get bugs after rain/night time, however my day time vaccination cross state trip also gotten many splatters.

Your car at speed + aero dynamic wind "curtain" will insta gib and juice up any unfortunate bugs that happen to get caught in your path

If you don't get rid of it asap and/or no LSP protection like Rain X, it will harden under sunlight and then you'll get headaches trying to get rid lol

That's why real detailers charges a ton! It's an art.
Whether one appreciates the art and fees requested, is another story.

There's a huge difference between cheap ah neh x amount layers (lol) polishing especially those from discount/voucher/coupon websites vs actual detailing centers or even those famous ones, where one detailing session can cost over 5 digits, or even car wash alone (just wash, no wax nothing) can cost 4 digits.

Detailing, just like every skills in life, will have learning curves, and once you're over that hurdle, you can reap the rewards.

Cheap tools/products not to say cannot use, however they may come with drawbacks in favor of cost such as:
- not user friendly (smell, maybe easier to scratch/damage surface, like fake /cheap clay)
- no environmental concerns
- packaging
- effectiveness (maybe a cheap polish can get same end result as expensive ones, but may need to Polish more, and/or be careful not to over polish and damage surface like first point mentioned)

Unfortunately I'm not able to recommend any one at "normal pricing" as I only DIY and detailers I know are also DIY Hobbyists.

The ones that I do "know", through reputation, charges at really out of the world pricing.
Example
https://www.autodetailer.co/index.php/elements-packages
I just realized that you can no longer see their premium (signature, or custom) offering price lists, now only got their more "down to earth" elements price range.

need better camera! seems that it lost focus from all the dazzles

you don't need to do alignment by removing/remounting wheels; only a concern if you're removing the strut/wheel hub/lower arm/knuckle/tie rods etc.

most, if not all of detailing products can be stored and use well over 10 years.

the common issues are:
the original storage containers deteriorating/leaking/cracking etc

chemical separation - eg: oil and the wax, or liquid separating, you'll need to remix back

product drying out/hardening - like some polishes or waxes, if the container isnt sealed tight, or not stored out of sunlight etc, once you get this stage, then the product MAY not be usable. why i say may? because very common (like polishes) the hardening is only near the entrance of the cap or exit point, and after you removed that hardened bit, you can continue usage. for paste wax, just heat up the product (put the container over boiled water, obviously above water level) and the material will equalize/remiv back again

I've personally had many products from many brands that are well over 10 years old already lol.

the biggest "no" to your question is probably clay cloth.
as the "claying" material will either become sticky and gooey, resulting in very bad marring of your paint, OR they hardened up so much that they aren't effective at all in doing any claying.

So far still no review or comparisons on Armor all and megs wheel cleaners? i am thinking to copy/relay my review of them, either a facebook link will do or i manually copy/post them here? lol

https://www.facebook.com/jason.lim.ts.1986/...614275805285183

ok for now is facebook link... a bit lazy to relay all 20+ photos over here.