Detailing Discussions.......
 

OT, as I just went back to the detailing forums after a 5-6 year exodus.....

Where did all the pros go. Seems like either all the old school in-depth discussion guys have grown up, changed careers or it simply looks like there has been a mass exodus . Or maybe there is some unknown forum where all these pros and no joes hang their hat ;-)
Autopia was home for a long time.
I moved over to AGO when 3D bought Autopia and the forum was sch1tz.
Dabbled a bit in DB and L2D


Granted, I think to a certain degree, the availability / products out there make it somewhat easier for the weekend warrior, so maybe they feel like it's taking business away...

Who knows. I suppose only one can speculate.
Gone seems to be the in depth discussions and it's aways about the FOTM.
Flavor of the month..
It's all good I suppose. We all like our rides clean and shiny

The constant evolvement of products out there has changed my detailing if not upkeep regimen for sure.

Most of the heavyweights have either gone to a less forum like approach nowadays or taken to social media - groups like Obsessed Garage and big names in the industry hang out a lot in there.

Still flavor of the month mentality for the most part, but being as I never hung out on AG, I have no clue what it used to be or is now -

Right now I don't go on the detailing forums because I get my daily dose from OG group, Larry @ AmmoNYC's videos on YT, and Garry Dean's videos as I love his products and processes that make my detailing regimen simpler.

Detailing is like AA. Need to stay away from it.
Once I get this roofing project dealt with, maybe I'll find an excuse to squeeze in a iBrid before the end of the year ;-/

That's what happens.....u buy 1 thing, and next thing you know, it all goes downhill. There is 1 constant in my regimine. Wash media. Everything else, while to a certain level, it is FOTM, many products have constantly changed both how I maintain and ~dress~ the vehicles. I already have the MTM lance....just ordered that new one Phil sells.

Hey josto, seeing as you're already here and it looks like you have a a lot of detailing experience, I wanna ask you a quick question. I have little to no knowledge in exterior detailing, all I know is a little about buff, polish, and wet sand. Other than that zero. I really want a mirror shine in mine, the paint looks kind of "hazy" and overall just not nice and glossy. Any idea of how I can achieve that, like what steps should I do, clay bar, buff compound, etc. please excuse my stupidity if I made a mistake or its just a real stupid question lol, thanks.


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What sort of tools / supplies do you have on hand ?
Do you plan on detailing long term/short term.

If the answer is no on the 1st, or short term - double no's to the question, I'd be inclined to tell you to just send it to a pro to have it done.

Are you the original owner ? Has the car ever been repainted. How thick is the clear if you absolutely do not know the history of the car from day 1 of production....Lotsa variables, on CC thickness that needs to be determined IMO before any polishing is done.

Between machine, pads, chemicals, etc - it's actually more cost effective this route.
If it's something more either as a hobby, just tooling around in the garage, etc , a rough mathlist would be something like

buffer - $50-$150
pad - $12 - Medium Cut AIO
pad Option 2 - $25 - Polish/Finish Pad Combo
Polish - $25 AIO / $50 for Polish/Finish Combo
MF towels - $6 per polish or QD towel, another $20 for decent high plush drying
Iron X - $20
Clay - $20
Coating/Sealant/Trim Restorer/Trim Coating - $100

Most if you consumables also have a ~finite~ lifespan. Solvents in them dry out. Any of the decent coatings (whether it be for paint or trim), have a shelf life of 6 months once you crack that bottle open. Other products that are not ~coatings~ may have longer shelf lifes, but they are just not of my preference....


YazX5, the list goes on from there but hopefully you get my point when I line item the grand sum of materials (not including knowledge and experience), might outweigh the cost of subbing it out.

At the end of the day, moving forward, car washing technique/regimine is even more important .

You don't want to put the haze back in your paint after whatever course of clarity correction you have chosen.

I am a SNOB when it comes to washing so here goes some very basic fundamentals
Grit Guards - $35 (2 Grit Guards and 2 CG Cyclone Grit Guards). CG on bottom, original on top. You also will need 2 buckets to hold these for wash /rinse buckets....

Great Wash Media
Great Drying Towel
When drying if you have a blower, blow dry the car and then BLOT the remaining water

Here's the underlying premise. You want to avoid rubbing on the paint as much as possible. Especially when washing but also drying...just consider your hands as sandpaper (whether it be coarse or fine sandpaper), so avoid it as much as possible. When you wash with your wash media of choice, try to float the wash media over the paint.....instead of what 99% people do, which is drag it across....

^Great post jsoto and I agree, washing/drying technique PROPERLY is what keeps your paint looking good in the long term - I corrected my paint 2.5 years ago and besides some VERY fine marks induced by washing/drying over that time period which most people can't notice, I probably will not need to go over it until spring with the machine again and just one quick pass with a finishing polish.

To Yaz, start honing your washing/drying technique and perhaps pay a professional the first time around, by the time you invest in machines, pads, compounds, polishes etc and learn the ropes you will have invested quite a bit of money -

Once your paint is "caught up" and defect free for the most part, even if its at 90% perfect, that would be much easier to maintain going forward -

A good blow dryer is critical, the less water on the surface the better after washing, then take a dampened MF towel and a couple spritzes of the lubricating agent (quick detailer) give a final wipedown of your surface in order to reveal a streak free finish -

I am a big fan of the Microfiber Madness Incredimitt, as well as the Merino Wool mitt sold by Detailers Domain - I also like the Adam's synthetic wool wash pads as they are durable and cheap to replace once or twice a year -

Great info thank you very much for that. I have access to a lot of tools, my uncle has a body shop and he has buffers pads etc. they use 3M compound (brown one) and a pink bubble gum like polish. I tried bugging a few times getting a little better every time I try it. I would just have them do it, they do a great job, but they don't pay much to detail on my cars (leave compound between cracks, buff black trim by accident making it white) so I wanna do it myself as I pay a lot more attention to my own car. From doing a couple searches and reading online, I came up with this process, but not too sure about last couple of steps.

1. Wash the car
2. Clay bar
3. Buff with compound?
4. Buff with polish?
5. Wax

The products I have are 3M perfect-it rubbing compound, Meguiars ultimate polish, Mothers clay bar kit, and Mothers California gold wax.
I dunno if that seems about right, what do you guys think, and thanks again.


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Buffing is done with a rotary - polishing is done with a random orbital -

Its a lot of educating but basically the body shop mindset is quick shine and production work to get the fresh paint looking good so the car can stop taking up shop space - paint correcting and detail shop work is going to be similar yet different than body shop work -

If you are a newb don't start on a rotary, and all rotary work will require a follow up with a dual action polisher to remove the light marring and holograms you WILL inflict with a rotary.

Turn on YouTube and watch Larry Kosilla's videos for a start, (AMMO NYC), and then some other pros like Jason Rose, etc to educate on proper paint correction -

Love AMMOS videos, have you ever tried any of his products? I'm mostly interested in the leather "lather" looks like it does a good job.


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I currently do not have any of the Ammo regimen - however, as some of my existing stock of other products gets used up I would definitely not hesitate to use any of his line at all - my buddy has the Ammo Mud tire gel and Ammo Hydrate and thinks both are fantastic -

YazX5 -

For a period, I've polished a plenty using a rotary only.....but we're talking OCD 3 step polishing. No DA needed.

I don't recommend you to try to buff it yourself.
It takes a skilled hand with Rotary. You can cause damage easily....and fairly quick.

You're on the right track. You can use the products you have. It will STILL make the paint look better than it is already right .

Re, leather. I don't have any issues with cleaning leather.....use a nice horsehair brush, later, foam it...etc, agitate, get it clean.

Re: conditioning. It's coated leather. It's NOT going to get any conditioner into it.
Maybe in the areas where the stitching perforation AND on a very MaCroSCOPIC level, the conditioner might even into ~abraded pores~ of your coated leather by let's say .0001 absorption.

Don't go crazy with the conditioner. It tends to accelerate wear as it keeps dirt, etc around . Once again, reference washing the car techniques. It's all about the abrasion factor....whether it be paint of leather

Yeah I was practicing on a black e63 yesterday, let's just say that you can now surf in the paint lol. I'm just gonna clay the car and then look for a reliable detailer that actually gets the job done right. One guy near me wants 110 for a buff and polish, he does all the cars for the dealers on our street Honda, Toyota, dodge. Look pretty good but I don't think it'll be that much of high quality work as they're always packed with cars so they just need it to "look good enough" and not the type of perfection I want. Oh well gotta keep lookin.


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Dont know where in CHI you are but hit up this guys if you are close

Chicago Auto and Car Detailing - CQuartz Finest - XPEL - LUSTR Detail

Prices start at 500-1200 for suvs…yikes! I can buy a whole 'nother car for that lol.


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For that price ($1200) I would expect full paint correction and CQuartz Finest coating. Not bad if that's what you are getting.

The website did say something about c quartz. No idea what it was or what it does. Didn't bother after I send the price tag. For that price you can get a semi decent paint job on the whole car.


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You can? At $1,200 I expect a mid grade Maaco paint job - maybe in Chicago there are more shops hurting for business - Around here if you want a good quality paint job with proper prep, masking, disassembly, etc, expect at least $3-5k

There are lots of other factors, I'd personally rather keep factory original paint in good shape then getting a paint job on a whole car -

I said semi decent. My uncles shop charges 3.5k if there's no body damage. And I was joking about getting it painted. Keeping it original and maintained is way better of course.


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