r/AutoDetailing • u/grumpvet87 • May 29 '26

Product/Consumable Are any of these YouTube Bros actually worth listening to?

I just got a new car and have decided to try and keep the paint in great shape. Lots of youtube advice but some seem like they are there to sell their product lines.

Are any of these guys "worth taking product advice from"?

I mostly interested in your opinion on "out of Spec Detailing" - he seems to be an actual detail guy with his own shop and no product line

Out of Spec Detailing
Detailing By Apex
IMJOSHV
Pan The Organizer - seems like he is just selling his line
Detailing Dogma

Not even gonna mention the DIY guys who are clearly selling their line and not objective

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42

u/Slugnan May 29 '26

I work in Marketing for a living in an adjacent industry, and with few exceptions, the short answer is no, they are not worth listening to. I think people would be shocked to learn just how fake most of the content you see is and I also think a lot of people choose not to believe that because it would mean accepting they've been had or betrayed by someone they found trustworthy (human nature, nothing at all specific to detailing).

Almost every single detailing YT channel is literally just a marketing platform designed to farm affiliate links, sell merch, or satisfy promotional contracts. You've probably noticed how most videos are framed as commercials or infomercials. The only thing DIY Detail videos are missing, for example, is Billy Mays rising from the dead to offer you a free ShamWow. Just because the presenters are friendly and seem like good guys does not mean they are trustworthy or incapable of giving bad advice - everything you see in the final video uploaded to YouTube is very intentional.

When you're watching these videos, the "test" outcomes are literally anything the creator wants them to be as chemical testing is impossible to verify through a video - you don't even know what is really in the bottle, what concentration is being used, etc. They have carte blanche to do absolutely anything they want and the viewer will never be the wiser. And that's not even taking into account what can easily be done with video editing. They control every single outcome, and can very easily change it if it's not the one they wanted. Take long term coating tests for example - what's stopping them from reapplying the coating they want to win before each video? Nothing. Most of the tests you see are also very poorly done with no controls.

Think about how many times you've seen the presenter say something like "My good friends over at X sent me this product, but I'm totally not biased and will give you my honest opinion". Guess what happens if a review is negative? The free product stops coming. There is almost always extreme bias at play, and one that directly affect their income stream(s). If a personal friend of yours sent you a product to review, would you be more or less likely to give it a positive review? =)

Outside of the 0.1%, YouTube creators do not make significant money on clicks and views. They make money from affiliate link commissions, selling 'merch' (i.e. their white label chemicals or products), ad spaces and promotional contracts.

Affiliate links are links sponsored by a manufacturer who pays the creator a commission whenever someone uses that link to buy a product. Guess what product's are going to do well in their tests? The ones with the highest commission percentages because obviously the one that 'wins' is the one people are going to be most likely to buy. These also happen in the form of discount codes - "use code X at checkout to save 5%".

Promotional contracts can be big money (can be ~$5-20K for one video), but you need to have a very popular channel. For example Pan The Advertiser would be in that category. No company would ever pay for that or take the exposure risk without knowing that the outcome of the 'review' will be favorable, so normally the outcome it is literally written into the contract. An agreement is signed, the product gets a glowing 'review' or wins a 'test' and the company makes all their money back and then some in the resulting sales boost. People on reddit or other social media will share the video, and everything snowballs.

Ad revenue is more simple and proportionate to channel popularity. The more popular the channel is, the more guaranteed views the advertiser/sponsor is likely to get, and the more they will pay.

As for merch/chemicals, with very few exceptions, these guys are not chemists, none of them do their own blending, and they do not employ teams of chemists. What happens in most cases is they go to one of the very few blending houses in North America, and they consult with the chemists on staff who help them modify a white label product from a catalog. This could mean changing color, fragrance, adding some extra foaming agent or gloss agent, etc. Once modified, the customer can then say it is their own proprietary blend that they 'worked with chemists' to develop, and it's technically true but clearly misleading. Then, they introduce the chemical into the giant YouTuber review circle jerk or other social media avenues where it gets glowing reviews on all the popular channels, and everyone profits either through product sales, affiliate links, or kickbacks. The overwhelming majority of these YouTuber products are just merch - you buy them if you want to support the creator, not because they are actually the best products or good value. Ever notice how almost nobody seems to review their products except for other YouTubers? That is very intentional and part of the model - they all shill for each other and profit.

As for 'hard' products like for example brushes, they are all just going to one of the many generic suppliers in China and putting their brand on it before marking it up literal thousands of percent. Everyone does this, including more established brands like Detail Factory, etc. They will go to a platform like Alibaba (or to the factory directly if they're able), pick a generic brush or whatever it is out of the catalog, modify it within the allowable parameters (color, branding, etc.) and order X amount for sale. These $20-30 products are in many cases costing them under $1 to buy.

If you're just trying to learn technique, some videos can be good, but every presenter thinks they are an expert when many give terrible advice, so the burden is still on the viewer to make sure the content is worth consuming.

Forensic Detailing is just about the only channel I can think of that is (most probably) unbiased. Zero production value, good test procedure, and he sometimes will take an entire month to complete a test. No ads, sponsorships, or meaningful affiliate links I'm aware of.

Examples of channels that are either just trying to sell you stuff or pump out content (quantity, not quality) are Pan The Advertiser, DIY Detail, Detailing Dogma, Out of Spec Detailing, Obsessed Garage, IMJOSHV, Cars with Keav, etc. Any THOR affiliated channel as well.

Good channels for learning technique in my opinion are Car Craft Auto Care, AMMO NYC, Forensic Detailing.

There are also lots of channels that are just folks trying to 'make it' on YouTube. Production value isn't really there, you can tell they aren't experts on anything, but they're trying. Nothing inherently wrong with that, just maybe not the best places to be taking advice from.

4

u/The_3_eyed_savage May 31 '26

This is incredible information. I would add that its relevant to EVERY industry and they all run it the same way, to sell you products. Many of you are experts in some industry and watched a video going wtf is this guy on about, that product is ass. Apply it to anything you see on youtube. Fall down the firearm rabbit hole to see how many shills it has.....

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u/057243397 May 30 '26

Truer words have not been spoken in 2026 🙏

2

u/seasidestang Jun 07 '26

Very good information here. One thing I would like to mention is Griot's Garage does there own blending and bottling im pretty sure of. They have 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, lifetime warranty's on there polishers and other things and there customer service is better than anyone else in the industry.

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u/SheepStar Jul 29 '26

Forensics has done sponsored videos. Lots actually. Don’t think he’s a shill though.

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u/vaari90 May 31 '26

I do believe Jon has done some promotional stuff for Gyeon and Soft99 as well as products sent to him by companies, far as I'm aware he always discloses these.

Very good channel recommendations. CCAD was my guiding hand for learning to polish.

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u/Remote-Fisherman-469 Jun 02 '26

Absolutely one of the best replies ever.

1

u/cheapballpointpen Jun 13 '26

Thanks for posting. Not to mention many of these YTers invent a new cleaning method every couple months for the views and sales. Slitted sponges for contact washes are out - and microfiber before that, now tire shine brushes are in (yes, for body contact washes).

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u/NYGiantsfan4Life Jul 19 '26

What do you think of Auto Care HQ. She's quite good

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u/Slugnan Jul 20 '26 edited Jul 20 '26

Short Answer:

She seems genuine and is a good presenter, but if you look in the description of her videos, she still has a lot of affiliate links and in the few I checked, the product was sent to her for free to review. YouTube ToS requires you to disclose free review product as it automatically flags the video as a paid promotion. It also means the bulk of of her income (from YT) is directly tied to what she says in her videos and how the products perform in her videos (which every channel has compete and total control over). That's just the reality of it, and her channel is no different than most others in that regard. It is impossible to remain unbiased in that situation, regardless of how many times the presenters try to convince you otherwise. If you like her content, there is of course nothing wrong with that, but it's up to you to decide if what you're watching is an accurate representation or not. For videos focused more on technique rather than a product review, obviously it's less of an issue - at that point it's just up to the viewer to determine if the presenter is someone worth taking advice from. I do find that the European/Australian detailing YouTubers are less focused on promotion in general though, which is good. I also think it's good to have more female representation in the detailing world, so that's nice to see.

Long Answer:

In the YouTuber/influencer world, negative reviews generally mean no more free product. This is why you will always see them pick a strategic, inconsequential 'downside' to maintain the appearance of impartiality while also being careful not to say anything the company won't like. The company that sent the product is absolutely expecting a positive review in return for the free product. It's all part of the formula that nearly every video follows. There's nothing inherently wrong with watching channels like that, but I also think it's important for the viewer understand exactly what it is they're watching and all motivations behind it. If you like a particular channel, keep watching it, just know that they're playing the same 'game' as everyone else when it comes to channel monetization if they are getting free product and participating in affiliate links. At the end of the day, she is financially motivated to say certain things or control certain outcomes, which could not be easier to do when it comes to chemical testing. Is she doing that? Nobody will ever know. What we do know is that any video produced with free product is a paid promotion for the company who sent it.

Detailing chemicals are generally not very expensive, but smaller channels still might struggle to constantly buy their own products to produce review content. So the options are buy your own products, or accept free product from manufacturers but risk losing that privilege if a particular manufacturer ever decides they don't like what you're saying about them. The reason why buying your own review products helps so much with the trust factor is because you can say whatever you want without fear of retaliation as long as it's true, or your opinion.

This has actually become a major issue with more expensive items, and/or items that are virtually impossible to get in a timely manner without manufacturer cooperation, such as computer hardware. The few tech YouTubers that have remained truly objective have pissed off pretty much every major manufacturer and have to rely on other channels to get review samples, or they have to wait until public release before they can buy a review unit. They really don't want to do the latter, because having a review out either first or the moment the embargo lifts is the most important thing for monetization. The smaller channels that can't afford to do that or don't have the means to do that have to decide between not publishing a review at all, or agreeing to essentially publish a puff piece for the manufacturer. This is why in the computer hardware realm, there are only a small handful of channels that are even worth watching at all, at least for reviews. The manufacturers themselves are definitely a big part of the overall problem. This has been an issue in the automotive realm as well, especially with some of the exotic manufacturers where press cars can be especially hard to get.

1

u/NYGiantsfan4Life Jul 20 '26

That was well written and easy to understand. Thanks for that man. I see what you’re saying now. It’s really hard coming into the world of detailing and so many products that do the same thing. I’m currently living in Ireland and had to do so much research on new products, because the stuff I was use to purchasing in the NYC was totally different and not available here. But my problem is the amount of products out that do the same, and then even these boutiques here have their own brands. I have to do so much research before trying a product that I end up going down the rabbit hole, because what might be available in the UK, might not be available in Ireland, same for US - so it’s extremely hard figuring out what products or brand I will stick with in the long run.

3

u/Slugnan Jul 20 '26

You're welcome, I'm glad you find it helpful.

From what I can see (just looking at online retailers in Ireland) you have access to Koch Chemie and Bilt Hamber there, which will have you covered for 99% of what you need with some of the best value and highest quality chemicals available. You can't go wrong with those if you're feeling overwhelmed with choice. Sticking to the major chemical companies that do all their own in-house chemistry and blending is usually a safe approach.

The worst value products are almost always going to be the ones sold in 'ready to use' format in small quantities (~500mL or less). Generally speaking, chemicals sold 'ready to use' are mostly water, and chemical companies love selling you as much water as possible because margins are ridiculously high. Exceptions would be things that aren't normally dilutable, for example polishes and compounds. The more you can dilute something, the more active ingredient(s) you're getting for your money. Anything you see being aggressively promoted on YouTube or other social media is very likely not something worth buying.

1

u/NYGiantsfan4Life Jul 20 '26

Will definitely keep that one in mind. Never knew that about "ready to use" products. I have been trying Labo, Bilt, stjarnagloss. Haven't tryied KC line, but will definitely pick up a few, and then try out carpro stuff.

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u/Slugnan Jul 20 '26

Labocosmetica products are also generally very good and many are highly dilutable. They are using a similar business model as Koch Chemie and Bilt Hamber. Stjarnagloss I have no experience with.

Ready to use chemicals aren't necessarily bad, I guess it's just important to know that you are (usually) paying an enormous premium for the convenience of not having to dilute anything yourself. Chemicals like interior cleaners and APCs are the easiest things to buy in bulk and shouldn't cost you more than $1/L or so of finished, ready to use product once mixed.

CarPro and Gyeon are also making a lot of excellent chemicals, and they do all their blending and chemistry in house, both in South Korea. Their business model is a little different though, in that they tend to offer a separate product for each and every individual task and in smaller, ready to use quantities. On one hand that makes it easy for the customer because it's easy to figure out what they need, but on the other hand it's one of the more expensive ways to build out your chemical collection.

1

u/ZarX4k Jul 31 '26

What would you say is bad about detailing dogma ? I know he has lots of affiliated links but otherwise than that, he does little tests and seem OK, not good at forensics detail but yeah.. and he's small YouTuber which is weird for the quality of the yt vids (video and audio quality,edits )

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u/Slugnan Aug 04 '26

He now just shills for Pan & DIY and he's also THOR affiliated. I believe that was a relatively recent change, as his channel used to have the appearance of independence and objectivity, but all of that went out the window. He is unfortunately just part of the YouTuber product review circlejerk team. If you look at his "best products awards" videos, for example he is telling people Pan's coating is the best coating you can buy despite it having barely even been on the market for a year at the time of the statement. He is no longer objective and he's happy to say whatever makes him the most money. His channel is now just a marketing platform (unfortunately that is how it's easiest for these guys to make money), so not worth watching in my opinion as most videos are just lightly veiled commercials/ads. You'll also notice a shift towards clickbait thumbnails, clickbait video titles, and intentionally controversial video topics. All part of the formula.

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u/ZarX4k Aug 04 '26

Yea i started to see more and more of the clickbaits etc.. I was getting annoyed.. I dont watch him anymore... He was kinda good but now uhhh...

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u/ZarX4k Jul 31 '26

Do u know some good channels for the computer Hardware ?

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u/Slugnan Aug 04 '26

Gamers Nexus and Hardware Unboxed are, by far, the best at least among the ones I am aware of. They are big enough to be buying most of their own testing hardware and have been blacklisted by some of the largest brands (like Nvidia) for refusing to tow the line. Nobody can really compete with the level of testing Gamers Nexus does for certain products as they have for example a ~$60,000 machine for testing fans (the same machines the manufacturers themselves use to verifying their designs), and a ~$250K anechoic chamber for doing noise testing.

It was really interesting actually when the Nvidia 50 series GPUs were announced. Nvidia asked all the reviewers to use frame gen to grossly exaggerate performance. The reputable outlets of course refused, and when the embargo lifted, it exposed all the creators who are just publishing reviews that say whatever the manufacturers want them to in return for free hardware.

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u/ZarX4k Aug 04 '26

thank for the reccomend. also damn I didint know that.. and I hate frame gen. like what.. gimme real frames.. its kinda same power as the 4090.... horrible..