If you’ve made it to this article, you’re probably a car enthusiast on some level and are very selective about the products you use. Your vehicle is one of your most prized possessions—your baby. And you want to make sure you take care of it.
Chemical Guys vs. Meguiar’s: which one is better? Chemical Guys is your best option if you’re looking for a one-stop-shop of products to fully detail your vehicle.
Contents
Chemical Guys Review
Founded in 1968, Chemical Guys began as a small company in southern California but has been a well-known name in the automobile care industry for decades.
Who Is Chemical Guys?
Chemical Guys is a company that specializes in quality vehicle care chemicals, wash accessories, buffing pads/machines, and more detailing products.
Who Owns Chemical Guys?
Chemical Guys is owned by David Knotek and Paul Schneider, two men passionate about the industry who aim to foster a community rather than just a business.
The focus of Chemical Guys as a company is on education first; whether you want to clean or wax your vehicle or are a first-time motorcycle owner, you can find various educational materials for free online.
Products and Services
Chemical Guys has a wide range of products to help you achieve the perfect look for your vehicle. Some of these products include:
- Cleaners/shampoos
- Pre-wax cleaners
- Wax
- Sealants
- Leather cleaner/protection
- Polishers/pads
- Accessories
In addition to the product offerings, Chemical Guys offers classes for beginners or those who want to further their knowledge of detail work.
- DIY Basics of Detailing
- Master Detailing Class
Customer Reviews
Take a look at what others say about this company and its products.
Meguiar’s Review
An older company that has been around the block, Meguiar’s was founded by Frank Meguiar, Jr., in 1901. He started the company as a furniture polish lab out of his garage. Later, Meguiar moved the company to Southern California.
Who Is Meguiar’s?
Meguiar’s is a company over a century old that produces surface care products for vehicles, boats, and planes.
Who Owns Meguiar’s?
While Frank Meguiar was the founder, his three sons, Maurice, Malcolm, and Kenneth, took ownership of the company when he passed away in 1950.
Later, Barry Meguiar, the son of Malcolm Meguiar, took ownership of the company after his father and uncles in the 1960s. In 2008, Fortune-500 company 3M acquired the 100-year-old family business.
Products and Services
Unlike Chemical Guys, Meguiar’s doesn’t provide any services. They do, however, offer an array of products, such as:
- Cleaners/shampoos
- Pre-wax cleaners
- Wax
- Sealants
- Leather cleaner/protection
- Polishers/pads
- Accessories
Customer Reviews
You can check out what real people are saying about Meguiar’s products here.
Chemical Guys Pros and Cons
Chemical Guys is a staple in the car enthusiast community and has provided quality vehicle care products for decades.
Chemical Guys Pros
Chemical Guys offers a wide range of products that are available in 50 countries, so you’ll be able to find anything you need to detail your vehicle—even foam cannons and polishing tools.
You can choose from hundreds of products to wash and detail your vehicle from start to finish. If you’re unsure where to begin, Chemical Guys created some starter kits to help you get started.
Chemical Guys has garages all over the US that offer courses on detailing if you’re new to the industry. In addition to the high-quality product and course offerings, the Rides and Coffee events foster a sense of kinship among car enthusiasts.
This is more than just a company; it’s a community.
Chemical Guys Cons
The wide variety of products can be overwhelming, especially if you’re a newbie to detail work.
They also have a lot of products that do the same thing, so unless you’re buying a kit, it can be challenging to know which of the products to purchase.
Meguiar’s Pros and Cons
Now part of a Fortune-500 company, Meguiar’s is widely known because it’s been around for over a century and it’s an established brand amongst the car enthusiast community.
Meguiar’s Pros
Meguiar’s has been around for over 100 years providing customers with solutions to their detailing needs, and their products are available in 100 countries.
If you’re new to detailing your car and unsure where to begin, Meguiar’s YouTube channel provides you with a ton of valuable information to help you get started. Or, if you’re in Irvine, California, you can visit Meguiar’s garage for some hands-on training.
Their product offering is much more limited than Chemical Guys’, as each product serves a specific purpose. As a result, you won’t find too many variations of the same product, which is beneficial if you’ve never detailed your vehicle before.
Meguiar’s doesn’t just sell products to clean and detail your vehicle; you can also buy these detailing products for your RV, boat, or small plane.
Meguiar’s Cons
As established as Meguiar’s is, there are still some downsides to the line. For starters, none of the products come as a set, so it’s up to you to know which products you need for each stage of detailing.
And while Meguiar’s offers educational content online to help you learn how to detail your vehicle, if you need more hands-on training, you’ll have to look elsewhere if you’re outside of Irvine, California.
Which Is Better, Chemical Guys or Meguiar’s?
The answer to the Chemical Guys vs. Meguiar’s question is simple: Chemical Guys’ products are more beginner-friendly, and you can buy every single product you need for each stage of car detailing. If your goal is to give your vehicle a full-service wash, clay bar, wax, and sealant, then Chemical Guys is the way to go.
If you have a hose and the space for your vehicle, Chemical Guys has the rest. And if you decide you can’t figure out how to fully detail your vehicle on your own, you can use the store locator function on Chemical Guys website to find the nearest garage and sign up for a course.
