Anyone ever have there car detailed by a place?
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 2,140
Likes: 1
From: Long Island, NY
C3Twon AWD Jumpofffff
Anyone ever have there car detailed by a place?
I'm thinking about bringin my car somewhere to have it detailed like wash, clay, buffed, and sealed... I dont have much experience with detailing places. I usually just wash it myself and wax it but there are some scratches that i know that can def be buffed out. I wanna know around how much should i be looking to pay??? Is it true that if you keep getting your car buffed the paint wont look as deep or is that a myth??
I also have a lot of rock chips on the hood from highway driving back and from upstate NY.
Thanx any input would help.
I also have a lot of rock chips on the hood from highway driving back and from upstate NY.
Thanx any input would help.
Member
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 175
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From: TX
2007 Porsche 997 TT
If Westchester isn't too far, check out www.newyorkmotorclub.com. Met the owner (Larry Kosilla). Real nice guy. Runs this detailing business in Harrison, NY that's apparently top notch. He's so meticulous, I've heard that owners need to tell him to just STOP obsessing.
They also do a few drives every year with tons of exotics. When I was there 2 weeks ago for one of their meets, there were a few Ferraris, P-cars, lots of Z06's, Aston Martin, Viper, Lotus....crazy to see so many nice cars in such a small parking lot
Check it out. Heard it's pretty $$$$$, but I'm gonna look into it further when the weather improves.
They also do a few drives every year with tons of exotics. When I was there 2 weeks ago for one of their meets, there were a few Ferraris, P-cars, lots of Z06's, Aston Martin, Viper, Lotus....crazy to see so many nice cars in such a small parking lot
Check it out. Heard it's pretty $$$$$, but I'm gonna look into it further when the weather improves.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 6,211
Likes: 2
From: Laguna Niguel, CA
There's a huge difference between detailers and finding one that has the passion and will to do the right job is tough. I've had good and bad and finally gave up and do it myself. There are 2 types to stay away from;
1) those that damage your car by overbuffing, using the polishes that are too strong because it makes there job easier, don't take the time to do it right and are not clean and mix polishes and end up adding new scratches and swirls.
2) those that use waxes with high fillers to hide and mask the issues, your car looks amazingly great, they don't damage the paint in anyway because they are not really polishing scratches, just hiding them. The downside is in 2-3 weeks when the wax starts wearing off the scratches re-appear. This is good for their business as it makes you want to come back sooner for that deep shine that was there recently. They blame the new found old scratches on your car wash.
So what you need to do is find the happy medium, someone that uses the least aggressive polish to get the majority of imperfections off and then uses a good filling wax to hide the imperfections that don't easily buff out. Also one that has a professional hot water extractor for carpet cleaning (these machines can easily run $1,000). Depending on the color of you car, it's probably a good idea to get it buffed about once a year and just wax in-between 2-3 a year. The clearcoat does get thinner with each buffing but someone that truly knows what he's doing isn't removing that much material and the benefit of wax protecting the car outweigh the loss of material when buffing.
1) those that damage your car by overbuffing, using the polishes that are too strong because it makes there job easier, don't take the time to do it right and are not clean and mix polishes and end up adding new scratches and swirls.
2) those that use waxes with high fillers to hide and mask the issues, your car looks amazingly great, they don't damage the paint in anyway because they are not really polishing scratches, just hiding them. The downside is in 2-3 weeks when the wax starts wearing off the scratches re-appear. This is good for their business as it makes you want to come back sooner for that deep shine that was there recently. They blame the new found old scratches on your car wash.
So what you need to do is find the happy medium, someone that uses the least aggressive polish to get the majority of imperfections off and then uses a good filling wax to hide the imperfections that don't easily buff out. Also one that has a professional hot water extractor for carpet cleaning (these machines can easily run $1,000). Depending on the color of you car, it's probably a good idea to get it buffed about once a year and just wax in-between 2-3 a year. The clearcoat does get thinner with each buffing but someone that truly knows what he's doing isn't removing that much material and the benefit of wax protecting the car outweigh the loss of material when buffing.
Member
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 118
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From: Casa Grande, Arizona
2005 c230k
About $225 to $250 is what Ive payed just to have the outside of the car done at a shop I taught was very good. Over time however I learned to do it myself because I could not afford to pay to have it done as much as I wanted too. For around the same price I was able to buy all I needed to do it myself. After the initial big investment I would say it costs about $10-$15 and 4 hours of my time to do it. Do an internet search for " Griots detailing manual" and you should be able to find a manual that very easily will teach you what to do. It is what I used to learn and I found it very helpful.
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Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 88
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From: at the hojo
c240 and 69 cadi cdv conv
if you have a bunch of swirl marks or faded paint you should take it to a body shop and have them color sand the car, this will remove most swirls and leave a nice shine for months, over time the swirls will come back but a good wax and drying the car with a good shami will keep swirls away for a good while,
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