Local forum "conversation" about detailing

[CHAOS]

before i get started, i apologize for this being long winded but i want some opinions from you guys!

Ok, so this one goes back a little bit for me... so ill give a bit of foreword on it... over the past several years of owning sports cars ive learned how to keep them clean/correct paint/ make them shine etc etc... but i had never applied this knowledge much because i didnt have the time and i was scared to mess up... well within the past 6 months or so ive gotten pretty serious about it... enough to start detailing on the side and picking up a good amount of local customers slowly but surely... i feel that my methods, although they might not be perfect, are good and i think i get really good results from them... however some people, as the internet would have it, like to argue that... i asked a local guy on a local forum to help me out with water spots a few months back because i didnt know how to get them off of the glass... well he never followed thru with that.. (bad business, never called back, blew me off etc)... and i was "forced" into learning how to do this on my own...ill give him credit, he is a nice guy and does good work.. i mean i was originally going to have this guy detail my entire car because i just didnt have the time... and the same thing happened, scheduling conflicts for me and him and then no calls back... now that ive gotten more confident in my abilities ive started emparting knowledge on the local forum... alot of which ive learned/witnessed here...

well it seems as though every time i post a bit of my experience or knowledge he has something contradictory to say about it... for instance...

the last time i posted a customer's car he "bashed" the time i took to buff it ... 2005 Dodge Neon SRT-4.. i spent 3-4 hours on the exterior... and he seemed surprised by this and said "i guess you do need the experience, heh" ... i was stunned by such a comment... my intention was never to brag about the car or how much time i spent it was simply answer questions that were asked and showing the results...

the most recent incident was today... someone posted that they were using liquid glass and that they liked it but wanted more shine out of their car... i noted a few extra shiney LSP's and noted that the paint may need a bit of correction if it had never been done before ... actually ill copy and paste the comments ....

heres the original post:

Originally Posted by CleanNeon98

Its called Liquid Glass...it was the most expensive thing on the shelf at the store so I grabbed it to give it a try, and for $20 plus tax, I am VERY HAPPY! It did exactly what I wanted...gave my car that glossy appearance that I thought I would need to have my car re-clearcoated for. It literally blinded me as I was taking it off of the paint. It comes in a little tin can with a pop off lid and is gold in color and has an older corvette on the front. Definately a product worth trying I think, so I thought id let you guys know.

Does anyone here know of any good detailing products? Waxes, tire shines, window cleaners, carpet cleaners, dash, etc.etc.

Also, how does wheel wax work...like regular wax? Is there ANY tire shine that doesnt become dull after you drive in the rain? And where if anywhere can I get some kind of sprayer to give me a real new car smell?

Post away ladies and gents!

then i said:

Originally Posted by CHAOS

zaino, pinnacle souveran, optiseal. etc etc etc. there are hundreds out there... what r u looking for? ... also you may need to look into paint correction if youve got swirls

the OP said he had no swirls and he just wanted shine.. i said i was willing to bet money he had some swirling going on ... the car is several years old and has probably never been touched before...

the argument guy then goes on to say how the OTS stuff can be made to work wonders, which i agree with, but starting with better products is the way i do things... he also made these comments:

Wheel waxes are bull****, dont waste your money on that when you can buy your rags and quit being a *****.

You probably do have swirl marks, but honestly. Even if you were to "buff" then out, theyre just going to come back. Putting a buffer on any car should always be a last resort. Its not healthy for the paint at all whatsoever.

my jaw dropped... all i could this was.. has he ever tried this stuff... it works fantastically... i mean i could be way off but im thinking if i want some serious shine im going to bust out my buffer and get to work... he also told the OP to use some terry applicators and a terry wash mit.. another thing i disagree with.. i said that once these pick up dirt they can become EXTREMELY abrasive... and he said the same about microfiber.. which i do not disagree with but i feel that MF is the lesser of the two...


anyway to save you all some reading... am i wrong? am i crazy? lets hear some opinions on how i should handle this....

[JBSpeed]

Don't let it get you down. Most of these enthusiast forums are full of what I like to call, "Wanna-be-net-celebrities". They'll post information, factual or not, just to garner some attention to themselves, so they are known as the "all knowing member when it comes to detailing".

I have argued with a person who uses a wheel scrub-brush on his paint, then listen to his claims that it does no damage at all.

Your going to run into these people all the time. Just stick by your suggestions. If people listen, its better for them and if they research they'll know your right. If they choose to listen to some donkey who doesn't know nothing about anything, then its their paint they'll be sacrificing, not yours

[99blackSE]

To be honest the guy running you down sounds like a hiswayonly tool *shrug*

Don't waste your time?

[ConglomrationAL]

Well of course he says the swirls will come back! He uses cotton everything. Gun to my head i'd be willing to say that he uses filler polishes when he polishes because: 1) He laughed at you for spending 3-4 hours polishing a car, which I think is pretty dang fast considering you used a PC (If you're using filler polishes you can polish a whole car in 20 minutes). 2) He said the swirls will only come back after polishing and that is only true if you're using filler polishes (the fillers wash out after a while) or, like I said before, he uses cotton terry everything which only mars the paint.

How many times do i have to tell you Jon? Most people on tri-state tuners are idiots. Not even when it comes to detailing, but car knowledge in general. I saw this one kid with a Protege Rally and he thinks it's the coolest car in the world and, come on, it's a Protege.
You can't take what they say seriously. They have no clue what they're talking about.

[ConglomrationAL]

I might just have to join tri-state tuners just to have your back when it comes to that stuff.
~Albert

[Jakerooni]

the way I look at is if your getting the desired results then your doing it right. The ends always justify the means. theres a thousand and one ways to correctly detail a car. no matter how we all start or how long it takes the end result is always the same. A nice clean shiny car that makes you smile to look at. Sounds to me like he's pretty old school and is set in his ways on detailing. Is he wrong? Probably not.. as long as he gets the results he's personally after. Does that make you wrong? Absoutly not. You obviously love the results and that's what works for you. I wouldn't worry to much about it. Your just not going to please everyone

[CHAOS]

thanx for encouragement guys... its just a very frustrating situation....

[ZoranC]

Originally Posted by CHAOS

its just a very frustrating situation....

It frustrates you because you care. Why you care what tool has to say? Where we would be if we were paying attention to what every tool in the world says? Just do your own stuff, let the results speak for themselves, and don't allow him to entangle you in very counter-productive stuff.

[D&D Auto Detail]

Guy sounds like an idiot to me. And it would bug me if I was in your situation too.

[bpfoley]

why don't you send him towards autopia. I used to think I knew what I was doing (never in a arrogant way) until I came here and began soaking up as much info as I could.

[Coupe]

No kidding, link him here, especially to the C&B section.

[CHAOS]

again thanx for the encouragement... ive actually picked up a client (06 STi in obsidian black pearl).. who is from around his area... who saw my car and said "i want you to do that to my car" haha... i cant wait