What am I doing wrong

[Nickshades]

I recently detailed an 89 mercury Grand Marquis..........car was never detailed before other than a wash once and a while (at least once a month)



My steps were:

Wash

Clay

Gliptone Heavy Buff Clear Compound

3M Finesse-III Glaze

Blackfire Wax



I used a PC rotary for the compound with yellow pad

and the other two steps with my cyclo.



Why does it seem like the paint doesn`t look AS GOOD AS I WANT IT TO. I still see some scratches and some light swirls. Anybody willing to give some advice as to what i`m doing wrong. And it took me 10 HRS!!!!!!! All I got was a car that looked pretty decent in MY OPINION, but had really good shine.



PS. - Is there a shelf life to Meguirs Final Detail Spray??



Thanks everyone for any suggestions. (oh my back is killing me)

[Nickshades]

anybody?????

[94BlkStang]

Originally posted by Nickshades

I recently detailed an 89 mercury Grand Marquis..........car was never detailed before other than a wash once and a while (at least once a month)



My steps were:

Wash

Clay

Gliptone Heavy Buff Clear Compound

3M Finesse-III Glaze

Blackfire Wax



I used a PC rotary for the compound with yellow pad

and the other two steps with my cyclo.



Why does it seem like the paint doesn`t look AS GOOD AS I WANT IT TO. I still see some scratches and some light swirls. Anybody willing to give some advice as to what i`m doing wrong. And it took me 10 HRS!!!!!!! All I got was a car that looked pretty decent in MY OPINION, but had really good shine.



PS. - Is there a shelf life to Meguirs Final Detail Spray??



Thanks everyone for any suggestions. (oh my back is killing me)

I`m not familiar with the Gliptone Heavy Buff compound, but maybe it`s to heavy of a product to use with a pc. Some compounds are meant to be used with a rotary so that they can agressivly break down the compound to level the paint and buff out the swirls and scratches. I`ve always had good luck with DACP with my PC, but the paint on my vehicles are in pretty decent shape.

[Nickshades]

you have the PC rotary or orbital??

[shaf]

I have no idea of what this Gliptone product is, but....



At each stage check your progress and make sure that the paint looks as good as it can get (or as good as it is supposed to get) at each stage. For example, let us say that Gliptone Heavy Buff is an extremely strong compound that will inevitably leave some hazing on the paint when you are done. So when you are done with Heavy Buff, check the paint. The swirls and scratches should be gone, but the haze it leaves should be normal. If the swirls are still there you should either do it again, step up the abrasiveness level, or you are doing something wrong. Just an example.



Basically at some stage in the process you were either A) Not being aggressive enough, or Not doing or using something right, or C) Reintroducing new swirls and scratches.



By checking your work at each stage, you should never reach the point where you have totally 100% completed detailing the entire car and not known where the failing step was!



Sorry, I know that doesn`t help you much now, but it can help you next time around (you might have to go over it again....) Good luck.

[Accumulator]

A few things besides what 4DSC said. And yeah, I`m not familar with the Gliptone compound either.



On old ss paint like that, it`s often not advisable to remove *all* the defects anyhow. You don`t want to cut off too much paint, though it`s debatable how much is safe (some say almost none, others say you`re OK as long as you don`t hit primer).



The scratches are almost certainly things that you`d have to remove with more extensive/aggressive compounding with the rotary. The sort of thing you have to be very careful with. Unlike many here, I almost *always* chicken out and quit before I have a perfect finish on cars like that. I just don`t want to risk thinning the paint too much. Might oughta live with the scratches.



The other marring is probably from the jump between Gliptone/rotary to 3M FI/Cyclo. I`d follow the heavy rotary work with *milder* rotary work, but not as mild as the 3M stuff. Then use the same product for the first of the Cyclo work. Then milder products by Cyclo. I always make it a multi-step process. Unlike the scratches, you may well be able to improve this sort of marring.



Get out major marring with compounds/aggressive polishes and rotary- this leaves micromarring (and the smoothed/rounded remains of stuff you`re afraid to work any more). Get out micromarring with milder products/approaches- this leaves a "nice" finish". Improve "nice finish" with even milder products/approaches. Be willing to settle for imperfection when working on old, original paint; it`s only original once.

[Nickshades]

I know what you mean about the smaller steps from most abrasive to least to get a better looking finish. My problem is that I spend 10 hrs on the car by myself doing the 3 step process (compound, glaze, wax)......then it gets dark! (lol) so I don`t know if I`m taking too much time compounding or something or what the problem is. Even today I did a car that was a 94 toyota camry (white). Car had oxidation/embedded dirt that put a layer over the paint. so i had to compound, but there were sections I had to work over again because I could see the "dirt" still there. Then I applied the PI-3 glaze and after removing it, i tried to look at the front fender with some sun reflection and could see the cobweb effect. i ordered the two menzerna polishes, AIO, & FMJ. I`m hoping that i might have some improved effects. Today, I know that I spent at least an hour compounding the car, without even have taken it off yet. For someone who goes mobile, some experience, but not PRO yet, I charge $135 for a full detail inside and out, but no engine cleaning. Any suggestions anybody.

[Accumulator]

Nickshades- Doing this mobile (with lighting and all the other constraints) sure won`t be easy! I`m spoiled, I can take as long as I like. There might not be an easy answer to this one, since the way to save time would be to use more aggressive measures, which isn`t always feasible :nixweiss at least when it comes to jobs like the Mercury.



On the Camry, you might`ve saved time (in the long run) by claying it first to remove as much "dirt" as possible from the paint. Sometimes when you don`t clay, you polish the "dirt" instead of the paint. Another idea might be to use something like ABC or the similar system from Finish Kare (probably what I`d try when faced with a *very* dirty car).

[Nickshades]

I did clay the vehicle after washing, but the time I didn`t clay it was all gritty after polishing and i had to go over it with bug and tar remover. Not using clay made the job more complicated and annoying so now I always do. I might have to look into the ABC procedure. Just curious how long and how much are u charging for a car? Thanks for the reply

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Nickshades

Just curious how long and how much are u charging for a car?

Hope I didn`t inadvertently give you the wrong impression- I`m not a pro; I don`t detail for pay, just do my vehicles and occasionally, those of friends. I did detail professionally in a sense when I had a used-car dealership and when I worked in new-car prep, but that`s *very* different from what you`re doing. I did get the feeling your prices are bit low, though. Again, sorry if I somehow made for a misunderstanding, I`m just a "serious amateur" (that`s definition #1 of "amateur" in my dictionaries- the one that refers to payment, *NOT* definition #2, which refers to level of competence )

[Nickshades]

o no problem. I know the new car prep is totally different. Its just that from other people I`ve spoken to, they can detail a car is a few hours and move onto the next. For me, I can only do one car per day. I hate doing larger SUV`s only because of time constraints and the purpose of getting on a ladder to do the roof. i started this small business after working for a place that did all high-end cars (porsches, ferraris, aston martins, etc.) I was very entrepreneurial at the time and did very well with it. its been more than 4 years now that I`ve been doing it and business has been growing. The reason why i don`t charge that much is because of the fact that I don`t consider myself a pro, but i do my job well. only problem is I take too damn long on these cars. high expectations i guess is the root of the problem. lol

[Accumulator]

Well, I was always sorta slow too, I only do things as fast as I can without compromising my results. Heh heh, at the dealerships, I`d arrive early and work through lunch if I had to. But no way was I gonna work faster than I felt I should.



For high-up-there roofs, I use a folding work platform, makes a world of difference and is well worth the money, IMO. The stability alone makes it worth its weight in gold.



If you "do your job well", and people pay you for it, and your business is growing, then you`re a professional in *my* book!

[Nickshades]

well, i appreciate your consideration of me as a pro. That`s nice that you think that.



The folding platform sounds like a good idea. Do you know where I`d be able to buy one?



Thanks again

[Accumulator]

Originally posted by Nickshades

The folding platform sounds like a good idea. Do you know where I`d be able to buy one?

I got mine from The Tool Crib. Mine`s made by Werner (the ladder people), but there are probably cheaper alternatives. Sorry, no link, but if you look around for "ladders" you should find one.

[Dalight]

Am I the only one who noticed that the car is 15 years old and has experienced no care other than the occasional wash (at the car wash?)?



You`re lucky there`s still paint left.