what`s the worst mistake you`ve made while detailing?

**White95Max** · 10-19-2005, 06:32 PM

I should have been a little more careful around the emblems of a Buick Riviera, because I took one of the letters off of the side emblem.

Those emblems were extremely thin and fragile.

**docker** · 10-19-2005, 07:04 PM

My wife`s Jeep Liberty - Had an excellent finish on it and it was oh, so very sweet... AIO, EXx3, Nattys-Blue. Well, about a week after I applied Blue I decided to wash and apply another coat of wax. Accidently applied a coat of EX on top of the wax. Ugh. Crap. Dang it! :furious:

So, I proceeded to remove everything and this time use WG instead of EX just to see what it would look like. I AIO`d, then applied WG. Then 12 hours later I went to apply another layer of WG, but instead picked up and applied AIO to about 3/4 of the Liberty before I realized what I had done.

Back to square one. A couple days later I finally finished and the Liberty looks very nice with AIO, WGx3, Nattys-Blue.

Just spaced it. Not once, but over and over (as usual, my wife rolls her eyes at me and wonders when I`m gonna out grow this `phase`).

**White95Max** · 10-19-2005, 08:08 PM

Originally Posted by docker

Then 12 hours later I went to apply another layer of WG, but instead picked up and applied AIO to about 3/4 of the Liberty before I realized what I had done.

LOL Couldn`t you tell the difference in smell when you were accidentally applying AIO instead of WG?

**BigLouMaxSE** · 10-19-2005, 08:23 PM

My worst mistake...besides all of my pre-autopian mistakes (old worn out t-shirt wax applicators, dawn all the time, etc.), is I don`t know...and that`s the problem

I got all of this little crescent shaped micromarring going on on my hood after polishing with SFX-1 and 2. There was nothing in the pad, and the hood was the first spot I did. For anyone that knows 4th gen. maxima`s, the part of the hood that has the two creases down each side, going front to back. Right where those creases make a "valley", I got micromarring.

**Thomas Dekany** · 10-19-2005, 08:28 PM

Originally Posted by bigben21

castrol all purpose cleaner is some really strong stuff

Send the leftover to me. I`ll pay for shipping too. I`ll buy it.

**Mikeyc** · 10-19-2005, 09:28 PM

I once ate right through the clear coat on a friend`s car with some rubbing compound. This was the good old school rubbing compound that comes in a metal can with a pry off lid. I was trying to take out a scratch. Well . . . at least there`s no more scratch. :doh

This is even better. In High School my friend and I started a detailing business. We were detailing a Black Bronco in my driveway one day and found it had specks of cement dried on the paint behind the front passenger wheel well. We tried every chemical we could think of, but to no avail. After a while, my mom came out to see what we were doing spending so much time on one little spot of this car. She was convinced steel wool or razor blades could get the cement off no problem. I insisted it would take off more than just the cement and when I wasn`t looking she did it anyway. She barely got any of the cement off, but got plenty of the paint off. :doh :doh

**ChuChu** · 10-20-2005, 05:42 AM

One thing I learned, if you use generic little plastic bottles like I do for some of your products, label them in gigantic letters and literally hide the ones you arent currently using so you won`t reach for your product and accidentally grab the wrong one without noticing.

**Hines** · 10-20-2005, 07:33 AM

my worst, using a 30.00 walmart orbital buffer and used/un-washed (caked up polish and wax) terry bonnet a few years back to detail my truck with the 8000.00 paintjob!!........was way before my autopia days so be easy on me

. After noticing all the swirls i took it to a Pro detail shop a few weeks later to have it done the correct way.

My dads worst.........i could go on for days, it might not be the worst but definately funny, he uses used/dirty/holey old school long *** tube socks with the color stripes one them to apply just about anything to his crossfire and 72 challenger (funny part is he puts it on his hand like its a waxing muppet) every time i suggest him doing it the proper way......he gets mad an starts cussing.....it the funniest thing.

**Sicarius123** · 10-20-2005, 08:44 AM

Not quite a "Detailing" mistake, but had some arsehole kids egg my Supra at work, pager alarm went off in my pocket, ran out in time to not see the kits but see all the fresh eggs. Was a servo with a car wash next door (would normally never use one, but EGG!!!) but they wouldn`t allow me to use it because I have a wing. So I got 99% of the egg off using the servo windscreen washers, tiny little scratches all over the car which I have to fix up now. Luckily they seem like very light scratches.

Dan.

**BigAl3** · 10-20-2005, 09:28 AM

oh... when i was a little one i used a scotch brite pad, because the dirt wasn`t coming off the paint. :geez

**BigAl3** · 10-20-2005, 01:42 PM

oh... when i was a little one i used a scotch brite pad, because the dirt wasn`t coming off the paint. :geez

**psl car wash** · 10-20-2005, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by I wont say who

In High School my friend and I started a detailing business.:doh

ive ALWAYS hated hearing this sentance hehehe ( no offence)

**Mikeyc** · 10-20-2005, 07:40 PM

Originally Posted by psl car wash

ive ALWAYS hated hearing this sentance hehehe ( no offence)

None taken. If we knew what we were doing we might have been really dangerous. Amazingly most of the cars we did came out pretty well.

**imported_Neothin** · 10-20-2005, 08:23 PM

My worst mistake was on my freshly repainted 94 chrysler concorde a while back. I was using a pressure washer to get all the dirt off the car (painter told me not to wash with anything but water) and came to a spot of dirt that wouldnt come off. What did I do? I turned the nozzle from a fan into a tight stream and got right up on the paint. When i backed up I had a nice 2 foot bare metal mark where the water had taken off the paint.