Your Signature - Don`t leave one...


I don`t know if any of you have another name or term for this issue... but here`s what I use...

Signature


As in, leaving your signature on your car or your customer`s car. It`s actually a bad thing but as hard as you try and as careful as you might be, once in a while there`s a whoops!

I call the whoops your signature.

The goal is to NOT leave your signature on the car.

As I was buffing out this 1970 Cutlass in the studio last night I found a number of places the person before me left their signature...










Of course it goes without saying to always do your best to avoid leaving your signature in your car or a customer`s car and ALWAYS closely inspect edges, corners, raised body lines and seams for signs of where the person before you burned through the paint and then take the necessary precautions to avoid buffing on these areas. See this article...

Tips on Taping Off Thin Paint and Chipped Paint

It`s a GREAT IDEA to document any area where the paint has been burned-through on a check-off diagram and also to take pictures of the damaged areas and if the owner is around before you begin buffing on the car then be sure to show them the damaged areas and even make sure they know you`ve taken pictures and documented these areas on a check-off sheet or diagram.

This will show them how meticulous, careful and thorough you are as a professional detailer. Plus, you don`t want to get blamed for someone else`s mistake and if you don`t document and point out the damaged areas before you buff out the car there`s no way to prove that you didn`t do it after the buff-out.

And... as a good policy... if you do make a mistake on a customer`s car... be honest and show them, hard to do but better you show them then have them find out on their own.

And here`s two related articles...

Tape it off and avoid a lifetime of ugly...

TOGW = The Other Guy`s Wax