Difference between 1, 2, and 3 step detail?

pologuy · 07-04-09, 12:22

Hi,

Can someone explain to me what the difference is between a 1, 2, and 3 step detail?

I mean if your paint is black and glossy, but it has a very few light scratches, but you can see swirls/cob-webs in the paint under direct sunlight - what step needs to be done?

Thanks as always!

Accumulator · 07-04-09, 12:32

pologuy- Heh heh, I believe you might be overthinking this (and how often do I say *that* :eek ). How many steps is just how many steps.

One-step with an AIO? Polish-then-wax for two steps? Compound-then-polish-then-wax for three?...you get the idea. Consider a job where you have wetsanding, then compounding, then polishing, then burnishing, then some gloss-enhancing glaze, then a sealant, then a wax topper

Sounds crazy perhaps, but people here do stuff like that upon occasion.

IMO if a vehicle has marring that's as obvious as what you're describing then it needs polished to the point where the marring is "sufficiently corrected", whatever that means to *you* (as it's only your opinion that really counts).

Maybe you can clear it up to your satisfaction with just one polishing step, maybe you can't

I'd plan on doing quite a bit to paint in that condition, but that's just me.

pologuy · 07-04-09, 12:41

LOL, ok...

So a wash, dry, clay, paint cleaner, polish, wax, sealant would be how many steps? lol

yo2tup · 07-04-09, 12:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by pologuy

LOL, ok...

So a wash, dry, clay, paint cleaner, polish, wax, sealant would be how many steps? lol

i always thought the steps referred to polishing. if its just a one-step polish...then it'd be just one step

89gt-stanger · 07-04-09, 09:46

Honestly, I think "1-step polish/2-step polish/3-step polish" is a joke. I have customers who either want a wash, interior or wax. And then there are the customers who want swirl/defect removal. I consider any "polish" that still intentionally leaves defects behind (i.e. a 1-step polish) a half-assed job. I have never had a customer that wanted to pay to remove only a little bit of defects or add a tiny bit of gloss. They want the whole she-bang. On almost all of my defect removals, I start with M105. When there is only light-light moderate I use 205. A while ago I started to use products from Menzerna for polishing. However, when 205 came out, I was once again addicted to Meguiars.

pologuy · 07-05-09, 12:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89gt-stanger

Honestly, I think "1-step polish/2-step polish/3-step polish" is a joke. I have customers who either want a wash, interior or wax. And then there are the customers who want swirl/defect removal. I consider any "polish" that still intentionally leaves defects behind (i.e. a 1-step polish) a half-assed job. I have never had a customer that wanted to pay to remove only a little bit of defects or add a tiny bit of gloss. They want the whole she-bang. On almost all of my defect removals, I start with M105. When there is only light-light moderate I use 205. A while ago I started to use products from Menzerna for polishing. However, when 205 came out, I was once again addicted to Meguiars.

My sentiments exacly...

toyotaguy · 07-05-09, 12:43

then expect to PAY for a "whole shebang" detail

There is a reason for the incrimental details with a 1-2-3-4 step. not everyone cares about swirl removal. It may just be a bi-product of a gloss enhancing detail, where others want optically clear paint with no defects!

There is a reason why a detail can cost 75 bucks for a wash and wax, and 1200-2000 for perfection...

to answer your question though:
one step - all in one process of a light polish and a waxing
two step - clay, compound, polish, wax
three step - clay, compound, heavy polish, light polish, wax

89gt-stanger · 07-05-09, 04:52

toyotaguy-

After reviewing your 1-step process, I could never do that. Every 1st time customers vehicle I have touched needs to be clayed. I clay every vehicle I polish. My feeling is that I want a perfectly prepped surface.

I live in the Keller/Southlake/Westlake/Colleyville area of North Texas. The average income of cities in this area ranges from $100k/year to $175k/year. The average home price is $475,000.

Southlake brings home the bacon in country's income ranks | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Latest News

I have yet to come across a customer who wants "a little more gloss", or someone who wants just a little swirl removal. Like I said, it is either exterior, interior, wax/sealant, or full exterior polishing.

My go to product is Meguiars 105, followed by 205. It seems to work on almost every finish. Even on soft Honda paint, and hard black Mercedes Benz. (I polish a lot of black Mercedes. On a rate, I probably take care of 10-15 black Mercedes cars a month. They are very abundant here.)

I am not trying to brag at all. I am just explaining my situation.

Darkstar752 · 07-05-09, 04:58

You use 105 on soft honda paint?

David Fermani · 07-05-09, 05:00

89gt-stanger - what's your typical charge for a paint correction?

toyotaguy · 07-06-09, 12:20

who is saying first timers only get a one step??? who is saying they are not adding clay time?? I clay and one step, I clay and two step, i just never clay and wax....

lecchilo · 07-06-09, 06:50

I also think of it as polishing steps because everything else is just parts of a detail job... can't really count washing as a step, or waxing, because what'st he point of washing, claying, polishing if you won't wax... thus why I name my services based on polishing steps.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 89gt-stanger

Honestly, I think "1-step polish/2-step polish/3-step polish" is a joke. I have customers who either want a wash, interior or wax. And then there are the customers who want swirl/defect removal. I consider any "polish" that still intentionally leaves defects behind (i.e. a 1-step polish) a half-assed job. I have never had a customer that wanted to pay to remove only a little bit of defects or add a tiny bit of gloss. They want the whole she-bang. On almost all of my defect removals, I start with M105. When there is only light-light moderate I use 205. A while ago I started to use products from Menzerna for polishing. However, when 205 came out, I was once again addicted to Meguiars.

So what you're saying is that you polish each vehicle to perfection? What happens when you need to remove too much clear coat to get to perfection, which ironically now ends up being the opposite?

Maybe you work with cars in the 2007-2009 year range and a light 1-2 step will remove all defects, but in the real world there are 20+ year old vehicles on which perfection simply isn't useful, possible, or necessary. A black car that's swirled to hell will look 10x better with a light 1-step of say M205/LCW and that's all a client may want. It will look that much better because 50-70% of those swirls/defects in the paint are fairly shallow and recent and removed pretty easily with the 1-step.

As a detailer, you go by what the client wants but more so what you feel is best for the paint. If you polish every car to perfection, you're either lucky to work on some newer cars with clients that want perfection, or you'll have some pretty pissed off clients if/when they relate their cc failure to your polishing to 'perfection'.

Quick example... yesterday I did an inspection on a 2002 BMW 525 and paint was extremely hard. To correct to perfection (which I wouldn't do anyway fearing loss of too much cc) it would take roughly 4-5 steps of aggressive compounding, and obviously 1-2 steps with finishing polish. This would run the client at least $1k. We decided on a 2-step which took care of 90%+ of defects on every panel but the hood, which was in horrible condition and will be re-sprayed in the near future.

Just to be clear, most of my work end up being in the 95-100% (100% is always debatable but in the lights available to me, including the sun, it is 100%) but quite a few of my clients aren't in it for perfection (some due to price some due to my recommendation of keeping cc intact) and simply want to freshen up the paint with a clay, 1-step polish, and wax.

EDIT: I'm simply awed by your bold statement that me doing a 1-step polish for my client who can only afford $250-350 for the detail is half-assed. I've never intentionally half-assed work and definitely don't consider doing a service for a client half-assed because it costs less than my 20hr details where I can take time to do pretty much everything I want.