Hello from NC - help finding a detailer

J

jesh462

New member
Hey guys, my name's Jesh and right now I'm in Jacksonville, NC. I'm 25 and enlisted in the marine corps. My passions are cars, video games, and my wife Colleen. Probably in that order. :cool1:

Recently I bought a spectra blue toyota MR-S, pretty much my dream car! I immediately started searching around the interwebs, looking for ways that I could restore my vehicle and make it stand out. I came across autopia and have poured hours of reading into this forum.

My car has water damage covering almost the entire body. It looks like water spots, but won't come off with washing. I tried a clay bar as well. This does work, but the lubricant almost has to be evaporated before it will remove anything. That tells me that the clay bar is mostly working by abrasion and using it the right way doesn't bite in enough. It's also way too much work.

That brought me to my decision that I'd like to have the car professionally polished. I know I could buy a DA and a few products and do the work myself, but what I'm after is quality. As I mentioned before, I want my vehicle to stand out.

I'm looking for a detailer within reasonable distance with experience using a rotary to get top results, and getting the most out of the vehicle. I don't have mounds of money to spend, but from what I've read here, the first 80% of that perfect shine is pretty easy to get.

If anyone has any information, I would love to hear it. My best friend is coming down tomorrow night to visit, and I'd love her to see my new sparkling car. :love:



p.s. Before I get b!tched at, I did use the find-a-detailer tool, and there's nothing on there within a few hours of me.
 
I know there's a guy in Raleigh from Auto Finesse named Martin, and there's Mike Napoli of CMC Detail in Charlotte, but aside from those two, I don't know of any real active detailing in NC let alone the east coast of the state.



Even a high quality and pricey job will take less time and money that a full quality repaint (as you'd be looking in the $6-8k range for an OEM style paintjob most likely), so it's worth taking the time to find the right detailer to handle your needs.



BTW, it sounds like you have a ton of hard water spots / etching.
 
I am also in the Raleigh area. Nobody seems to have heard from Martin in quite some time. I don't know of anyone on the coast either. If I can help you out feel free to contact me.



Chris Chandler

Nth Degree Auto Detailing

919-475-9013

[email protected]

fb: Nth Degree Auto Detailing
 
In that area, Chris (Nth Degree) will do it right. Martin D is still alive and well, and active on other forums too, as well as bringing AutoFinesse stateside. Can't go wrong with either of these guys!
 
Nth Degree said:
I am also in the Raleigh area. Nobody seems to have heard from Martin in quite some time. I don't know of anyone on the coast either. If I can help you out feel free to contact me.



Chris Chandler

Nth Degree Auto Detailing

919-475-9013

[email protected]

fb: Nth Degree Auto Detailing
Click to expand...





I appreciate the quick replies guys.

Chris, I left you a voicemail at the listed number, since you showed some initiative and posted a reply.

Here are some pictures of the paint so you know what you're dealing with. This is just after washing with Meguiars Gold and a microfiber cloth.



A9C6x.jpg


ddWY1.jpg
 
Looks like it was washed a million times and left in the sun to be dried... If you were closer to Charlotte, I'd bring it to my shop and take care of it for you but I believe you are far from Charlotte. If you can find someone who knows what they are doing, they should be able to remove most if not all of those spots without a problem (all it takes is time and money of course). I recently did a black crew cab Harley Davidson edition Ford truck (lifted, never properly washed and abused) that was twice as bad as that as far as water spots, etching, etc and I'd say about 90-95% of it came out.

Good luck with your new vehicle and hopefully someone here will point you in the right direction!
 
ABC the car is the first step.

Those are hard water deposits, and most will be removed with the use of the ABC system.

Any left over will be "etching".

Then a light buff and polish will finish it up.

Grumpy
 
Looks just how my Acura did. At least it is a smaller car, compounding hard water etching that has been spending years working its way into your paint is a pain. If you want to fix the paint and work some sweat-equity into it, you could come over to Sanford and I'd help ya out.
 
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