Guys, after a lot of consideration and the fact that it would be my first time and my car is a lot more scratched than I'd like I'm chickening out

I found some guys in San Francisco with awesome reviews that are going to detail the car with polishing/cutting for $80 and I said "what the f*ck". Probably next time (6 months) I'll do it myself, but I don't feel up to the task (and more when thinking that it takes 18 hours!!!!)

I'll stick to washing/claying/waxing for now

Sorry if I let you down, but I got really scared of ruining my paint

I'll let you know how it went

 

$80 bucks seems cheap. Just beware that you get what you pay for when it comes to this kind of work.

 

I agree, and if they didn't have 4.5 stars and 207 reviews I'd not do it
But now I'm even more scared

 

Nice thread. Subscribed

 

I feel like I'm in a reality show
Ok, I'll take pictures before and after
Wish me luck!!!

 

Not disappointed. You do what you are prepared to do for your car. If that means you do it yourself, done. If that means paying someone else to do it, done. I think I speak for most that the only disappointment would be not taking care of your G. So nothing to be disappointed about

 

This is the absolute truth....

I do not want to degrade anyone's services, but let me share my thoughts on this.


The term 'detailing' is a VERY broad field that means something different to nearly everyone. The vast majority of vehicle owners are completely satisfied with a "typical" detail consisting of a basic wash, wax, and interior cleaning. Sometimes shops will "buff the paint" as well. Again, many people are very happy with this type of work.... but this is far from high end work. It is production style work that gets cars in and out, and makes them cleaner. If that is what you're after then it sounds like you have found the right place.

The type of work we were describing to help you do yourself, and also the type of work I specialize in, is much more in depth. We spend a lot of time correcting damage caused by other detailers.





This X5 was just "buffed out" not long before the owner decided to bring it to us to see if we could improve the finish. Notice the buffer trails and dull appearance. The owner told us the paint looked fine for a couple of weeks, but the defects began to show after the glaze and/or waxes started to wear away and expose the defects.



Again, the vast majority of vehicle owners don't even know these types of defects exist even though they see them every day on their own vehicles. It is just one of those "ignorance is bliss" kind of situations.


So to reiterate... the saying "you get what you pay for" is very true in the detailing world. I would still highly recommend investing in the tools and supplies you need to take an attempt at doing it yourself.

Let me know if you have any questions

Zach McGovern
Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author
Attention to Detailing Peoria - Home

 

Well... I went.
I bought a Groupon that included polishing, so I was kinda confident that they were going to do things right. I had an appointment at 1:30PM but I got there 1:15.
They said I had to wait 15 mins, I said no problem, it was my bad that I got there early.

Alright, he took a look and he offered me (for $20 extra) leather reconditioning and I said OK.
We waited for 1 hour and 45 minutes and then I saw the car. I was happy I got the leather reconditioning because they were not going to clean the seats unless I got it and the interior looked nice. But the exterior looked clean but the swirl marks/scratches... still there!

They said that polishing isn't enough and that they need to charge me 500 to "buff it" to remove the swirl marks. Knowing that I had already lost I said "thank you" and left.

Now, the car DOES look better but it was a half assed job.
I have pictures! Who wants to see pictures????

Before:










The car from a couple of feet looked fine




I hate this scratch:


--------------------------------------------------------------
Now, the after:

This one looks a lot better (still needs work though):


Door handle still scratched:


swirl marks (less, but there):




Scratch is kind of gone, but the swirls are there:


--------------------------------------------

So, what am I going to do?
This looks better but don't forget that the car WAS NOT WAXED and now IT IS, so when the wax goes away I think I'll see most of the scratches again.
So, I'm buying the porter cable and will start doing it myself. I feel like I wasted $80 but well, life is life and now that I experienced it for myself I have learned a valuable lesson

BTW, you can use me as an example xD

Thank you guys and I'll update you when I do it, but now, at least I can wait a couple of weeks :P

 

I don't want to say I told you so, but you shouldn't have expected them to get all the swirl marks out and correct paint for $80 dollars.

The $500 they told you is more in the ball park.

Sorry you didn't get what you wanted, but it does look better than it did before.

 

Well, you DID tell me so
I know, $500 is more likely, but if I say "I'm going to polish it" what do you think they are going to do? That was written in the groupon (polish )

anyways! My bad, now i'm wiser

 

Again... the definition of most of these detailing terms are completely unregulated.

They may have used a polish type product on your car, however they certainly did not go through a "paint correction" process which is what your paint desperately needs to get it looking like new again.

From looking at the photos, I would recommend either seeking a professional, or purchasing the tools needed to perform a 2-step paint correction process starting with a cutting process, then a finishing process to first level and then refine your paint to eliminate the majority of defects and bring out amazing depth and clarity.

This amount of work is not cheap, and the $80 should have been a clear indication of what you were going to be receiving as an end result, but as you mentioned... now you know better



If you would like more product recommendations and information on how to proceed with DIY solution, I would be happy to help.

If you wish to seek a professional to do the job properly for you, please let me know where you are located and I would be happy to see if I know of anyone who comes highly recommended in your area.

Thanks,

Zach McGovern
Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author
Attention to Detailing Peoria - Home

 

I noticed you are around San Francisco, here are two amazing detailers in the area that I would highly recommend if you decide to seek a professional service. Both specialize in high end automotive care - specifically paint correction and paint coating services.

Immaculate Reflections
Owner: Jeff McGoveran
p. 925-354-7653
e. irdetail01@gmail.com
w. Immaculate Reflections

OCDetailing
Owner: Joseph Torbati
p. 925-457-4703
e. Joe@bayareadetails.com
w. www.Bayareadetails.com


Zach McGovern
Detailed Image Ask-A-Pro Blog Author
Attention to Detailing Peoria - Home

 

I am!
My thought process was "Will I do this for $250 if I can pay $80 a person to do it?"
Now, I already spent $80... and I don't think I can get good results for that amount of $$

The big question: being new on this, does anybody think that I can screw up my paint by doing it myself? I'll be buying the porter cable, that's for sure as I heard bad things about the rotatory ones in the hands of a non-expert (like me)

If everybody agrees that I should be able to pull it off, I'm buying the equipment and I'll do it myself. And I paid $80 to learn not to be cheap hahaha

 

is it this one?

 

and what do you guys think about this other polisher?

It looks like it comes with the backing plate so I can save some $$