The Riot Line™ — Your Guide to the Riot Garage Detail System

Everything you need to know about how to use The Riot Line™ interactive page, what the products do, and how to build your own detail protocol.

What Is The Riot Line™?

The Riot Line™ is an interactive learning tool and product guide built around The Riot Protocol™ — our 8-step detailing system. It's designed for everyone from first-time DIYers picking up a wash mitt for the first time to seasoned pros who want to understand how our products work together as a system.

This isn't a random collection of bottles. Every product has a job, every step has an order, and the system works because the steps build on each other. Whether you're maintaining a daily driver or prepping a show car, The Riot Protocol™ gives you a repeatable, consistent process that delivers results every time.

Riotous Car Care is our service side — mobile detailing, paint correction, and ceramic coatings applied by our trained team at your location. Riot Garage is our full line of detailing, paint correction, and protection products — 19 products, all developed and 100% made in the USA.

The Riot Line™ is where both sides of that obsession come together.

How to Use The Riot Line™ Page

When you land on The Riot Line™, you'll see three main elements working together. Here's how to navigate them.

The Riot Line Compass™

At the center of the page is our Riot Line Compass™ — an 8-position radial compass that maps the entire Riot Protocol™ visually. Each position on the compass represents one step in the system, starting with Step 01 (GRIP) and moving through all eight steps to Step 08 (SHIELD).

Think of the compass as your overview — a bird's-eye view of the entire detail process. It shows you where each step lives in the workflow and how the system flows from start to finish. Click any position on the compass to jump directly to that step's product information.

The Product Tiles

Along the left side, you'll find the product tiles — one for each of the 8 core Riot Line™ steps, plus our Intervention Zone products. Each tile shows the product name, step number, and a product photo.

Click any tile to activate it. The Product Info Zone on the right will populate with that product's full details — description, deployment protocol (how to use it), pro tips, and the "ADD TO GO-BAG" button if you want to grab it.

Click the same tile again to deselect it. It's a toggle — explore at your own pace, jump between products, compare steps. No commitment, no pressure.

The Product Info Zone

When you click a product tile, the right side of the page lights up with everything you need to know about that product:

Description — What the product does and why it exists in the protocol. Not marketing fluff. Actual information about what it's designed to accomplish and where it fits in the system.

Deployment Protocol — Step-by-step usage instructions. How much product to use, how to apply it, how long to let it dwell, and how to finish the step properly.

Pro Tips — The things you learn after doing a thousand details. Techniques, pairings, and warnings that come from real-world experience on real vehicles.

ADD TO GO-BAG — Ready to buy? Add the product to your bag and keep exploring. Build your kit one step at a time, or grab the full protocol in one shot.

The Riot Protocol™ — All 8 Steps

Here's the full system, in order. This is how we detail every vehicle at Riotous Car Care, and it's the same system you can execute in your own driveway with Riot Garage products.

Step 01 — GRIP

Tire & Rubber Reset Shine. Control. Last.

Start at the wheels. GRIP is a premium water-based dressing that penetrates rubber and trim to restore structural flexibility and a deep-black appearance. Unlike greasy tire "slimes," GRIP revives faded tires, trim, and plastics to a rich, natural look with UV protection. Delivers a dry-to-touch satin finish that won't sling or attract dust.

We start here because wheel work is the dirtiest job in the protocol. Handle it first so you don't contaminate clean paint later.

Step 02 — PURGE

Pre-Wash / Organic Soak Erase. Clean. Reset.

The Chemical Pre-Strike. PURGE is engineered to break the static bond of road film, salt, and grime before you ever touch the paint. By softening surface debris now, you ensure the contact wash in Step 03 is safe and swirl-free.

Spray it on, let it dwell, rinse it off. Everything that was stuck to your paint is now on the ground where it belongs.

Step 03 — ASSAULT

Full Contact Wash Foam. Fight. Finish.

The Lubrication Barrier. ASSAULT is a high-foaming, pH-balanced shampoo designed to carry away what PURGE loosened. It creates a friction-reducing shield between your wash mitt and the paint to prevent wash-induced marring. Strawberry scent.

PRO TIP: DO NOT PRE-RINSE. Use the two-bucket method for maximum swirl prevention. PURGE already did the heavy lifting — ASSAULT's job is lubrication and lift, not cleaning power.

Step 04 — CLARITY

Optical Glass Spotless. Streakless. Ruthless.

Streak-free, fast-acting glass cleaner for crystal-clear windows and mirrors. Safe for tint. Ammonia-free. Spray directly onto glass, wipe with microfiber using straight-line motions, flip to the dry side and buff.

Clean glass changes the entire perception of a detail. It's the first thing people actually notice — and the fastest way to make a car look unfinished if you skip it.

Step 05 — COCKPIT

Interior Surface Cleaner Fresh. Fast. Flawless.

Fast-acting interior cleaner that breaks down dirt, grease, and grime on all non-painted surfaces. No residue. Spray it on, let it dwell, wipe it clean. Use before any interior protectant for maximum bonding.

The interior is where you live with the car. COCKPIT makes sure that experience is clean, fresh, and maintained — not just the outside that everyone else sees.

Step 06 — REVIVE

Carpet & Upholstery Restoration Wipe. Flash. Refresh.

Specialized cleaner that restores carpets and upholstery. Tackles deep stains, dirt, and odors without damaging fibers. Orange scent. Spray onto fabric, agitate gently with a brush or towel, wipe clean or extract, and let dry.

For deeper work, pair REVIVE with a carpet extractor. The difference between a surface wipe and a proper extraction is the difference between "clean enough" and actually clean.

Step 07 — LUSTRE

Visual Depth Enhancement Flash. Gloss. Protect.

The Aesthetic Peak. LUSTRE provides immediate depth and mirror-like shine that defines a Riot detail. It enhances paint clarity while providing a hydrophobic barrier that repels water and contaminants. Bubble Gum scent.

Important: LUSTRE is an aesthetic enhancer, not a long-term coating. It's the gloss, the depth, the "wow." Finish with SHIELD for lasting protection. A second layer after curing adds even more depth.

Step 08 — SHIELD

Tactical Surface Defense Seal. Defend. Repel.

The Final Word. SHIELD is the only workflow step authorized for long-term protection. This graphene-infused ceramic spray anchors to the surface, providing extreme hydrophobics, scratch resistance, UV protection, and a permanent defensive barrier against the elements.

Apply on a clean, decontaminated surface. Spray, spread with microfiber, buff to a slick finish, and cure for 4 hours before water contact. Two thin layers is better than one thick one — cure the first before applying the second.

Note: Discoloration in the bottle is normal. Shake well.

Beyond the 8 Steps — The Intervention Zone

The Riot Protocol™ handles the standard detail. But vehicles don't always show up in standard condition. That's where the Intervention Zone comes in.

X-Series — "When the standard protocol isn't enough."

The X-Series products are surgical strikes for specific problems. They deploy between or alongside protocol steps when the situation demands more than the standard workflow can deliver.

X·DIRTY DETAILS — Heavy Soil Pre-Treatment. For vehicles that are beyond a standard pre-wash. Construction dust, caked mud, heavy road grime. Deploy before PURGE when the vehicle needs extra help.

X·TRACT — Organic Stain Removal. Tree sap, bird droppings, bug splatter, and other organic contamination that won't respond to normal washing.

X·SEE SPOT — Spot Cleaner. Targeted removal for specific problem areas without treating the entire vehicle.

X·FALLOUT — Iron Decontamination. A surgical strike for invisible contamination. Dissolves embedded iron particles that have "hooked" into your clear coat from brake dust and rail dust. Watch for the color change as contaminants break down, leaving a surgically smooth surface ready for protection.

X·FIELD WASH — Field Wash Alternative. When you don't have access to a full wash setup but the vehicle still needs attention. Waterless or rinseless wash capability for field conditions.

And more. The X-Series continues to grow as real-world detailing reveals new problems that need specific solutions.

Z-Series — "Recharge your protection."

Protection doesn't last forever. The Z-Series exists to maintain and refortify the protection layer between full details.

Z·FORTIFY — Ceramic Recharge. This is not a detail step — it's a maintenance anchor. Z·FORTIFY is a high-load ceramic recharge engineered to chemically refortify the protection provided by SHIELD. It restores "day-one" water beading and surface tension months after your initial detail. When your SHIELD layer starts showing its age, Z·FORTIFY brings it back without redoing the entire protocol.

How to Build Your Kit

Not everyone needs all 19 products on day one. Here's how to think about building your Riot Garage kit based on what you're actually doing.

Starting out? Grab the core 8. The Riot Protocol™ kit gives you everything you need for a complete detail from tires to final protection. Work through the steps in order, learn the system, and build your technique.

Mostly exterior work? PURGE → ASSAULT → CLARITY → LUSTRE → SHIELD gives you the wash-to-protection pipeline. Add GRIP for the tires and you've got a complete exterior detail.

Interior focused? COCKPIT → REVIVE handles surfaces and fabrics. Pair with CLARITY for the glass.

Maintaining a coated vehicle? Z·FORTIFY keeps your SHIELD layer performing between full details. It's the product that means you don't have to redo the entire protocol every time.

Dealing with heavy contamination? The X-Series deploys when the standard protocol isn't enough. X·FALLOUT for iron contamination, X·DIRTY DETAILS for heavily soiled vehicles, X·TRACT for organic stains.

The Philosophy Behind the System

We built this system because we needed it ourselves. Every product in The Riot Line™ was developed and tested on our own vehicles — six-figure restomod builds that we would never risk with something we didn't believe in.

The Riot Protocol™ is a continuous loop of refinement — guided, repeatable, never finished. There's no finish line. Only better outcomes. Whether you're a professional detailer running a mobile rig or a weekend warrior working in the driveway, the protocol gives you a system to follow and a baseline to improve from.

And for the DIYers and hobbyists just getting started on this journey — remember: perfection is the enemy of progress. Don't wait until you know everything. Start with Step 01. Work through the system. Make mistakes. Get better.

Let's progress together.

Product Details at a Glance

All products: 500 mL / 16.9 fl oz. Matte black bottles. Made in the USA.

X-Series and Z-Series products available individually. Full pricing on the shop page.

Shipping

We ship to all 50 states, Canada, and Puerto Rico. Outside these areas? Contact us — we'll see what we can do.

Use the Riot Line Compass™ to find your way to a Best of Show finish.

Quietly Perfect Finish.

Do it the Riot Way™.

If you aren't having a Riot, why do it?!