Need help please

M

mohamedmaark

New member
Hi guys ive been using these forums many times and all of the members have been helping me alot so i want to thank all you guys. Now i have been asking people for help on getting a place to work a garage and i found one and now im in the start of opening my buisness. Believe it or not, ive never ever buffed a car before and i just started today, i started off doing my headlights sanding with 800 grit, 1500 grit, and 3000grit sanding discs and the results were pretty good my headlights are very clear but i have alot of swirls and scratches even after buffing and polishing with menzernas polish and compound. Hopefully tomorow im going to start buffing my car, now i have a few questions, first is it normal for the headlights to have swirls although they are very clear, like is it ok for there to be swirls although my headlights are very clear only see swirls when i go up close? and all my work im doing with a porter cable 7424xp, i really wanted to know is a porter cable good enough machine to run a buisness? like use it on different cars with different paints because i know that a da polisher doesnt have as much cut as a rotory, so would i have to switch to a rotary if i wanted to start my buisness?


Sorry if i confused anyone
 
mohamedmaark said:
Hi guys ive been using these forums many times and all of the members have been helping me alot so i want to thank all you guys. Now i have been asking people for help on getting a place to work a garage and i found one and now im in the start of opening my buisness. Believe it or not, ive never ever buffed a car before and i just started today, i started off doing my headlights sanding with 800 grit, 1500 grit, and 3000grit sanding discs and the results were pretty good my headlights are very clear but i have alot of swirls and scratches even after buffing and polishing with menzernas polish and compound. Hopefully tomorow im going to start buffing my car, now i have a few questions, first is it normal for the headlights to have swirls although they are very clear, like is it ok for there to be swirls although my headlights are very clear only see swirls when i go up close? and all my work im doing with a porter cable 7424xp, i really wanted to know is a porter cable good enough machine to run a buisness? like use it on different cars with different paints because i know that a da polisher doesnt have as much cut as a rotory, so would i have to switch to a rotary if i wanted to start my buisness?


Sorry if i confused anyone
Click to expand...

i am also wondering about headlight swirls.... is there any way to remove them without getting too abrasive and without taking all the uv coating off the lens?
 
Is it swirls or sanding scratches that your seeing? Its possible that you didnt get the rougher scratches refined enough, and once you started polishing you basically shined up the scratches. Its hard to say wothout seeing it. If it really is swirls, that should be an easy fix..either keep polishing, or switch to a finer polish at the end. If you've sanded and buffed, that UV coating is probably gone anyway, or close to it. Thats why we recoat them with Opti Lens afterward. Either way, those swirls shouldnt be that hard to remove.
 
mrclean81 said:
Is it swirls or sanding scratches that your seeing? Its possible that you didnt get the rougher scratches refined enough, and once you started polishing you basically shined up the scratches. Its hard to say wothout seeing it. If it really is swirls, that should be an easy fix..either keep polishing, or switch to a finer polish at the end. If you've sanded and buffed, that UV coating is probably gone anyway, or close to it. Thats why we recoat them with Opti Lens afterward. Either way, those swirls shouldnt be that hard to remove.
Click to expand...


How will i know if its sanding marks or swirls left there, im starting to think its sanding marks ill try to post a pic but how do i know?
 
That all depends on how you sanded them. If you went in straight lines, then your scratches will be straight. If you went nuts and sanded in every direction, or even worse..in circles, then you could absolutely mistake it for swirls. The best way to sand headlights or anything for that matter is cross hatch sanding. Keeping your scratches straight is important when doing that. Lets say you wanted to go 1500 and work up to 3000. You would go 1500 straight across horizontally, then 2000 up and down vertically. The key is to NOT move on to 3000 until all of your 1500 scratches are gone. There should be no horizontal scratches left at the end of this step. Once that is finished, repeat that step going horizontal with 3000. This will leave you a true 3000 grit finish that will easily buff out.
 
I'm going to take this a little off topic because I think it needs to be said; starting a detailing business is tough, even for those who fully understand the technical side. It is also something that seems like could be a lot of fun. In reality, detailing a few cars for family and friends on the weekends is far different from doing it on strangers cars for money 50-60 hours per week.

I don't want to discourage you but it is important to point out that your lack of knowledge and experience is going to greatly handicap you. Being able to identify a problem is the first step toward fixing it. Not being able to identify whether what you are seeing is swirls or sanding scratches could lead you to wasting time trying to solve the wrong problem or to do more harm than good by doing so. Even those of us who have done this for years will come across issues that have us scratching our heads. It is only through extensive knowledge and experience that we are able to solve the problem.

I highly recommend you attend a training course if you are serious about starting your business. Even with that you will need to gain the experience. You should start small, with wash & wax, and slowly work your way up.
 
Nth Degree said:
I'm going to take this a little off topic because I think it needs to be said; starting a detailing business is tough, even for those who fully understand the technical side. It is also something that seems like could be a lot of fun. In reality, detailing a few cars for family and friends on the weekends is far different from doing it on strangers cars for money 50-60 hours per week.

I don't want to discourage you but it is important to point out that your lack of knowledge and experience is going to greatly handicap you. Being able to identify a problem is the first step toward fixing it. Not being able to identify whether what you are seeing is swirls or sanding scratches could lead you to wasting time trying to solve the wrong problem or to do more harm than good by doing so. Even those of us who have done this for years will come across issues that have us scratching our heads. It is only through extensive knowledge and experience that we are able to solve the problem.

I highly recommend you attend a training course if you are serious about starting your business. Even with that you will need to gain the experience. You should start small, with wash & wax, and slowly work your way up.
Click to expand...



Thanks for the advice i will keep that in mind.
 
mrclean81 said:
That all depends on how you sanded them. If you went in straight lines, then your scratches will be straight. If you went nuts and sanded in every direction, or even worse..in circles, then you could absolutely mistake it for swirls. The best way to sand headlights or anything for that matter is cross hatch sanding. Keeping your scratches straight is important when doing that. Lets say you wanted to go 1500 and work up to 3000. You would go 1500 straight across horizontally, then 2000 up and down vertically. The key is to NOT move on to 3000 until all of your 1500 scratches are gone. There should be no horizontal scratches left at the end of this step. Once that is finished, repeat that step going horizontal with 3000. This will leave you a true 3000 grit finish that will easily buff out.
Click to expand...


That solves my problem lol thanks for the advice, now i wanted to ask you, is a porter cable 7424xp capable of working on all different cars and paints? I know a rotary is faster but other than that theres no difference?
 
Nth Degree said:
I'm going to take this a little off topic because I think it needs to be said; starting a detailing business is tough, even for those who fully understand the technical side. It is also something that seems like could be a lot of fun. In reality, detailing a few cars for family and friends on the weekends is far different from doing it on strangers cars for money 50-60 hours per week.

I don't want to discourage you but it is important to point out that your lack of knowledge and experience is going to greatly handicap you. Being able to identify a problem is the first step toward fixing it. Not being able to identify whether what you are seeing is swirls or sanding scratches could lead you to wasting time trying to solve the wrong problem or to do more harm than good by doing so. Even those of us who have done this for years will come across issues that have us scratching our heads. It is only through extensive knowledge and experience that we are able to solve the problem.

I highly recommend you attend a training course if you are serious about starting your business. Even with that you will need to gain the experience. You should start small, with wash & wax, and slowly work your way up.
Click to expand...

I have a question, were would you suggest me go train and how do you start your detailing adventure? like how do you start learing, did you go to detailing school too?
 
mohamedmaark said:
I have a question, were would you suggest me go train and how do you start your detailing adventure? like how do you start learing, did you go to detailing school too?
Click to expand...


There are a lot of detailing classes. The first one that comes to mind is Mike Phillips' Boot Camp. There are others around the country, but I cannot make any recommendations as I have not attended any. Where you are located and what your budget will allow will factor into it.

I started with the basics just to make a little money on the side. Wash, wax and interior clean. I found that it was something I was very good at and enjoyed doing. I grew up around cars (my dad was a mechanic, my grandfather restored old cars) so I had a good foundation, but the technology had changed so much that I had to learn everything all over again anyway. I did a lot of reading, research, experimentation and practice... and I continue to learn. Early this year I attended a training with Barry Theal and Joe Fernandez for sanding. Many detailers constantly share information, tips and tricks so we stay abreast of the evolving technology.

If time is more available to you than money you could look to volunteer your time with a few respected detailers who are willing to teach you. Each detailer has their own ways of doing things so you could experience different styles, marketing methods and business activities. You would likely have to travel for this since it isn't necessarily wise to be training someone to become your competition.

There is a ton of information here. It is a lot to filter through and don't accept everything you read blindly; consider the source. You will learn to tell the difference between those who give advice from experience and those who are theoretical/keyboard detailers. You will find that, early on, each answer to a question will leave you with even more new questions. Learn a little, put it to practice and repeat. Even the best training course can only get you so far. You will need to gain experience, which is why I recommend starting with the basics and master that before taking on more. There is no point in learning paint correction if you aren't capable of maintaining it after.

I hope I haven't rained on your parade. This industry is plagued by businesses that don't acknowledge their limitations and, not only cause confusion in the minds of potential customers with mis-information, but create a poor image for the industry overall when they fall short of expectations or just plain ruin a car.
 
Nth Degree said:
There are a lot of detailing classes. The first one that comes to mind is Mike Phillips' Boot Camp. There are others around the country, but I cannot make any recommendations as I have not attended any. Where you are located and what your budget will allow will factor into it.

I started with the basics just to make a little money on the side. Wash, wax and interior clean. I found that it was something I was very good at and enjoyed doing. I grew up around cars (my dad was a mechanic, my grandfather restored old cars) so I had a good foundation, but the technology had changed so much that I had to learn everything all over again anyway. I did a lot of reading, research, experimentation and practice... and I continue to learn. Early this year I attended a training with Barry Theal and Joe Fernandez for sanding. Many detailers constantly share information, tips and tricks so we stay abreast of the evolving technology.

If time is more available to you than money you could look to volunteer your time with a few respected detailers who are willing to teach you. Each detailer has their own ways of doing things so you could experience different styles, marketing methods and business activities. You would likely have to travel for this since it isn't necessarily wise to be training someone to become your competition.

There is a ton of information here. It is a lot to filter through and don't accept everything you read blindly; consider the source. You will learn to tell the difference between those who give advice from experience and those who are theoretical/keyboard detailers. You will find that, early on, each answer to a question will leave you with even more new questions. Learn a little, put it to practice and repeat. Even the best training course can only get you so far. You will need to gain experience, which is why I recommend starting with the basics and master that before taking on more. There is no point in learning paint correction if you aren't capable of maintaining it after.

I hope I haven't rained on your parade. This industry is plagued by businesses that don't acknowledge their limitations and, not only cause confusion in the minds of potential customers with mis-information, but create a poor image for the industry overall when they fall short of expectations or just plain ruin a car.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, and thats pretty much my situation, i have to options
1. is i pay like 700+ and go to a training course
2. is rent out a garage and start working first learn off these forums and interent and then apply what i learned and keep doing so until i get better.
Im currently in situation two, and dont worry i havent paint corrected any one elses car other than mine and family and friends, and im not going to do so until i feel like im capable of doing a good job, as for interior detaiing i feel very confident that i could make customers happy...... SO pretty much i do what i feel confident in doing right now while at the same time keep learning.
 
mohamedmaark said:
That solves my problem lol thanks for the advice, now i wanted to ask you, is a porter cable 7424xp capable of working on all different cars and paints? I know a rotary is faster but other than that theres no difference?
Click to expand...

As a member here used to say, "if it spins then it cuts". A PC will cut it out with the proper pad and compound, it just takes time. A rotary would knock it out in no time, but I wouldnt worry about getting a rotary any time soon. In the wrong hands, a rotary is a deadly weapon.
 
mrclean81 said:
As a member here used to say, "if it spins then it cuts". A PC will cut it out with the proper pad and compound, it just takes time. A rotary would knock it out in no time, but I wouldnt worry about getting a rotary any time soon. In the wrong hands, a rotary is a deadly weapon.
Click to expand...



thats exactly what i wanted to know thanks for the help:)
 
mohamedmaark said:
Hi guys ive been using these forums many times and all of the members have been helping me alot so i want to thank all you guys. Now i have been asking people for help on getting a place to work a garage and i found one and now im in the start of opening my buisness. Believe it or not, ive never ever buffed a car before and i just started today, i started off doing my headlights sanding with 800 grit, 1500 grit, and 3000grit sanding discs and the results were pretty good my headlights are very clear but i have alot of swirls and scratches even after buffing and polishing with menzernas polish and compound. Hopefully tomorow im going to start buffing my car, now i have a few questions, first is it normal for the headlights to have swirls although they are very clear, like is it ok for there to be swirls although my headlights are very clear only see swirls when i go up close? and all my work im doing with a porter cable 7424xp, i really wanted to know is a porter cable good enough machine to run a buisness? like use it on different cars with different paints because i know that a da polisher doesnt have as much cut as a rotory, so would i have to switch to a rotary if i wanted to start my buisness?


Sorry if i confused anyone
Click to expand...

I know this is a few days old
but really think this out. I have a shop and some experience. When you take this on you need a plan and customer base. Once your there you are married to it. If you are not willing to sleep on the floor and spend many waking hours there don't do it yet. Things can and will go wrong. It is a serious commitment and the last thing you should ever do is sacrifice quality or anything because you feel your day is done. Keep at it if it is what you want but this is just some advice from someone who has "been around the block"
Truly best of luck in your endeavor.
 
Concours.John said:
I know this is a few days old
but really think this out. I have a shop and some experience. When you take this on you need a plan and customer base. Once your there you are married to it. If you are not willing to sleep on the floor and spend many waking hours there don't do it yet. Things can and will go wrong. It is a serious commitment and the last thing you should ever do is sacrifice quality or anything because you feel your day is done. Keep at it if it is what you want but this is just some advice from someone who has "been around the block"
Truly best of luck in your endeavor.
Click to expand...


Appreciate the help, ive already moved into a garage with somebody i know, its a performance shop, and things are going pretty good, ive been getting alot of customers matter fact im not worried about the customers all im worried about is my skill and how good ill be able to deliver. Still have alott to learn thats why im looking for someone around that could kinda help me but im catching up and im getting more comfortable with paint correction.
 
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