Craziest detailing "advise" you have heard...

[Invigor]

His idea of cleaning the engine is to blast it at the quarter wash, and doesn`t cover up any of the sensitive components under the hood - he simply blasts away under the hood with the wand.

I`ve easily done over 500 cars just blasting away...soak it down in water based degreaser first, letting it stew, then pressure wash away.



I`ve only had 2 problems that I can recall...One wouldn`t start until the next morning, and the other was a wet distributor cap....and well, that`s an easy fix.

[StealthMode]

Hmmm, all of this sounds so familiar at the used car dealership I used to work at.... When they washed the cars on the lot, no soap was used, you sprayed down 5-6 cars at a time, and then before the sun dried them off, you grabbed a towel an went to town!!! Needless to say, I don`t know why they even bothered to buff the cars before they put them on the lot, a day later they looked worse than they did before they were traded in.....

And the kid I worked with would buff cars without washing too, and to add icing to the cake, finish with a wool pad....... Man I hated working there.... I could go on an on, but I`m afraid it will just turn into a giant rant.



Edit - I have to share this too :nervous2: One day me an the other kid who worked there decided to wash our cars since we were washing the lot cars anyway, so I busted out a bucket of soap and went to town on my black Jetta, asked him if he wanted any for his blazer and he tells me that it will only strip the wax off (like there was any wax left on anyway....) and I told him actual car soap wouldn`t and he wouldn`t believe me. "See" he says, "I haven`t had to put a coat of wax on in 6 months!" .... So w/e, not my car, so I get done and begin drying my car off and before I know it, he is helping me dry with one of his dirty towels he just wiped his dirty *** blazer with. Before I could say anything he left a bunch swirls and scratches in my roof..... I wanted to kill that *ucker....

[Paulie Walnuts]

You should wash your car right after it rains as its the purest water. You dont even have to dry it.

[robsvt]

I usually wash my car several times a week, at the dealership I work for. One of the guys there tells me I`m going to wash the paint off and hes dead serious.



The worst part is that most of these guys who think they know everything aren`t willing to listen to any new ideas. My father always talks about Billy Mays whenever I wash my car with ONR.

Actually, back in the day, on certain brands, like Cadillacs, that was true. My dad was telling me that him and his buddy used to wash his car multiple times a week, and after a year or so, his friends caddy was faded badly, and in certain areas, it had gone down to primer. So yes, back in the 50s and 60s, it was possible to wash the paint off. Not so much a problem with modern clear coats and multi-stage paint jobs.



My dad refuses to use soap on the cars, just uses flowing water and a wash cloth, but after i did my moms marauder, i told him he wasn`t allowed to use that method anymore:nomore: , he has to use soap. He listened because he doesn`t want to have to pay me to fix that paint again. :sign

[Woob]

"Use Orange Hand Cleaner soap and smear it on baked on rims, helps to break the dirt down"....

[salty]

Know-it all friend that washes his black truck with his hands, coin-op soap and rub the dirt, says it is the safest way. He didn`t like my price for a polish.

[BlueLibby04]

Guy I knew used Windex and antifreeze to `bring out the shine` on his cars.



I worked at a dealership washing cars for two summers and it wasnt all that bad. Of course they used crappy rags to take wax off, dirty brushes to wash with, and dirty chamois to dry it, but they tried.

[RIDDLE]

lol my dad says that all the time. he says i polish and clean my car so much that the paint will just fall off one day

[gocubbies]

It sounds like your boss knows a lot more about detailing than you think he knows. Although you may not want to believe it, that cold rain would help to cure the wax. And that my friend, is very good advice.

just curious. would cold weather help wax cure like cold water/rain? or is it something in the water/rain that gives t he help?

[wannafbody]

Guy I knew used Windex and antifreeze to `bring out the shine` on his cars.





that actually might not be too far off. I believe that QD`s use ingredients similar to antifreeze.

[MattB]

Worst advice I`ve heard was that I shouldn`t bother waxing my car because "all the newer cars have paint protection built in".

[Invigor]

hehehe I love this thread :getdown

[paul34]

Go ahead and read this thread. This is the reason why I stopped giving out "detailing advice" a long time ago outside a very few sites.



ScionLife View topic - Got some overspray,easiest way to remove? *FIXED*



:tumblewee

[99blackSE]

just curious. would cold weather help wax cure like cold water/rain? or is it something in the water/rain that gives t he help?

I would lean towards the cold? Perhaps it helps it haze over faster?

[MattPersman]

I knew a guy who cleaned his black car with Windex and paper towels, told me I should try it