Interior Dressing- The great debate?

David Fermani said:
If an interior isn't shiny when it's new, why would alter that look?
Click to expand...



If the paint on the exterior doesn't have depth when new, do you try to alter that? Or if a car has 300 horsepower is that enough or do you go aftermarket to add more power? ;)



Point is, most people (at least around here) prefer a lightly (as in low gloss) dressed interior, to them it looks better. Gives a lot of interiors a richer, more premium appearance if you use the right product.
 
JuneBug said:
I still have 2/3 gallon of Optimum Protectant Plus, it's separated like that salad dressing and I am debating on whether or not to give it away. Of all the interior dressings I have, OPP is the only one to do that.
Click to expand...



The UV protectors separate when OPP sits a long time, should mix pretty quickly if you shake the bottle up.
 
Scottwax said:
If the paint on the exterior doesn't have depth when new, do you try to alter that? Or if a car has 300 horsepower is that enough or do you go aftermarket to add more power? ;)



Point is, most people (at least around here) prefer a lightly (as in low gloss) dressed interior, to them it looks better. Gives a lot of interiors a richer, more premium appearance if you use the right product.
Click to expand...
I'm with your people Scott. A light sheen does renew the look of a just detailed interior. Most here don't like any dressing at all. I favor Sonax and 1Z Cockpit Premium.
 
Barry Theal said:
lol Justin wern't you a schill for them there for a while? What happened to that? lol
Click to expand...



LOL! I hate that word Barry. Sounds like scum.

I did get some free products and I did over 150+ write ups in year. No money. Just about 300.00 retail in supplies. The thing is the products were great. About all of them are though. My inlaws got me an Armor All kit from Wal Mart and I used it on three cars. My customers could not tell the difference in the change of products. When I told them what I used, they simply didn't care.



When I focused on my work and not write ups, I simply made more money.
 
lol Justin. I was just busting your chops a little. Thats all. I know your making it happen so someone had to.:lol So what your telling me is you got roughly 2$ in there inflated prices of chemicals per write up? Wow the things we do when people make us feel cool.:biggrin1: I've been down that road as well. Glad to see though your making money now. :whistle: Its amazing what happens when you focus on the business side of things! I love it.
 
Justin Murphy said:
I did get some free products and I did over 150+ write ups in year. No money. Just about 300.00 retail in supplies.
Click to expand...



Wow, that's pretty sad considering I got about $40-50 worth of product just for letting them use a picture of my car for their Collonite page.
 
Has this been posted?



http://www.guardian.com/stellentdev/groups/climaguard/documents/native/gi_004941.pdf



I refuse to use dressing unless demanded. If demanded, I'll use Optimum Protectant plus since that produces such a small amount of shine, doesn't smell bad, etc. Seems like every car I get that has used protectant in the past smells funny. It's a mixture between smelling oily and like BO. Maybe that's just an association I've gained but that's exactly what I think about when I see a dressed interior. Oily BO.



I've heard rumors that most current manufacturer plastics include built in UV protection into the plastic itself, and that fading isn't as much of a problem anymore, but rather heat is the issue....and that's not something a dressing is going to help with.
 
Regulars here knew before this thread that I don't dress interiors and that I hardly ever use ERV dressings on stuff in engine compartments/exterior trim/whatever. I hardly ever put anything on leather unless I have a definite reason to do it. I like stuff "bare". But if anyone saw the before/after on that Volvo's interior they'd agree it needed dresssing to look its best. I suppose other people have vehicles that are the same way, so if somebody feels the need to use such stuff, well...OK.



Heh heh, I doubt that anybody here is talking about dressing with the kind of stuff the "detailers" put on my Tahoe for its pre-sale prep; had to scrub my hands but good to get that [stuff] off, took hours to clean everything properly.





Mush-Mouth said:
Aren't you aware that they are trying to steal the name Autopia? How would you feel if someone basically tried stealing something which you (literally) helped build? Why does a business that is on top feel the need to do something so low down and dirty like this? I find it pathetic that so many people continue to support these scumbags knowing this.
Click to expand...



No, I wasn't aware of that, but then I don't follow such topics..I don't have a dog in that fight so I don't much care. Eh, I know..that probably sounds bad :o I just don't get involved in all the, uhm...politics of the detailing world.



I actually *do* appreciate all the responses to my comment, at least I have a better idea why people are unhappy with them.



I've had nothing but 100% positive experiences dealing with AutoGeek, sorry to hear it hasn't been that way for everybody.
 
Just a note to say I really appreciate the input on topics like this one. It is exactly why I read a lot but post very little; I don't have the the broad experience that the experts here have & don't have that value to add. So I guess I feel guilty - I'm gaining a lot while adding little, but it is what it is...



FWIW - I've always hated that high gloss vinyl look, even before I knew there was an alternative to the old Armor-All high shine. But I do think that interior vinyl that has been detailed with a low gloss product just seems to my eye to look "smoother" than no treatment at all - but no treatment is preferable to high shine (for me anyway).
 
Kevinch said:
..I guess I feel guilty - I'm gaining a lot while adding little, but it is what it is...
Click to expand...



No worries on that account! Some of us enjoy trying to put our experience to use this way. If everybody here already had a handle on all this stuff Autopia would get boring.
 
Kevinch said:
But I do think that interior vinyl that has been detailed with a low gloss product just seems to my eye to look "smoother" than no treatment at all - but no treatment is preferable to high shine (for me anyway).
Click to expand...



Agree completely.
 
Scottwax said:
If the paint on the exterior doesn't have depth when new, do you try to alter that? Or if a car has 300 horsepower is that enough or do you go aftermarket to add more power? ;)



Point is, most people (at least around here) prefer a lightly (as in low gloss) dressed interior, to them it looks better. Gives a lot of interiors a richer, more premium appearance if you use the right product.
Click to expand...



Yes, it all comes down to preference. But, I don't see the link between adding gloss to an interior and gloss to paint? Atleast if you go by what *I think* most people would prefer. I don't know many people that wouldn't want their car to be glossier if they were offered the opportunity, but I think the numbers would be quite different if you asked them about adding gloss to the interior. I just believe that most consumers think that their dashboard is going to start cracking unless they put something on it to prevent this which is totally not the case. Their's waaaay too much over endulged marketing going based on this old way of thinking.
 
Plus, as some mentioned, the chore of dressing can be quite cumbersome too. You literally have to make sure every square inch is dressed and looking even. That's not a 5 or 10 minute process on many vehicles. And, it also makes cleaning the windshield couterproductive too. It's very tedious to dress the top pad of the dashboard without touching the edge of the glass causing smears. And, it's also tough to clean the windshield without your towel grazing over the dressed edge of the dashboard contiminating it.
 
Hi Barry, great thread mate



I banned dressings from my shop at least two years ago because if something doesn't last, gives a shiny look with greasy feel, contains man made silicone whether

water or solvent based, what's the point.



In Australia we have one of if not the harshest environments for car interiors



I began using Gtechniq C2 at 10% to 25% strength a couple years ago and now have moved to the stronger version which is the Permanon Aircraft Supershine at 60% to 5% strength

depending on the car and if it's been treated before

it gives no shine to a weak satin finish to all interior materials including leather which it is great on.

The protection is far stronger than that of any dressing, without the issues of shine, greasy feeling, making the seats slippery etc



sure its not cheap for the concentrate at $275 per litre but diluted it does last a long time.

best part, it doesnt attract dust and can revive the colour of red leather seats if they fade in the hot sun over time here in Oz which I've had to fix before



My brother in laws several months old Toyota Kluger and its leather seats, exterior trims, mud flaps etc all get treated with it each time I clean it

the leather seats are absolutely awesome. as supple as ever with a very light improvement in colour but without the shine or greasy feel or having the product stick to his

clothes
 
Ill use 303 on occasion on some pieces, but i make sure to apply it to a rag and make sure i have an extra towel on hand to wipe it down. Otherwise ill use Megs QID or 1zCP.
 
David Fermani said:
Plus, as some mentioned, the chore of dressing can be quite cumbersome too. You literally have to make sure every square inch is dressed and looking even. That's not a 5 or 10 minute process on many vehicles. And, it also makes cleaning the windshield couterproductive too. It's very tedious to dress the top pad of the dashboard without touching the edge of the glass causing smears. And, it's also tough to clean the windshield without your towel grazing over the dressed edge of the dashboard contiminating it.
Click to expand...



Yes very true! This is one reason why I take my time and get artsy with it. I use a concentration of IPA and Vinegar to get rid of any smearing if accident occurs. It gets rid of it on glass.



Tricky dash-windsheild ratios suck. But that stoner reach tool really helps out for that
 
I've detailed my interior as long as I can remember, right now I'm using what I have-- adams leather and interior conditioner.



They advertise it's a vinyl/plastic conditioner with SPF60 protection, so it's application extends from coated leather to interior plastics. I would characterize it's appearance as satin/flat on the plastic, but it does somewhat gloss-up the leather ever so slightly, importantly though, it's not greasy at all, I can rub my hand all over any surface without product transfer. Mostly it looks like it's simply making the black trim-- more black. Years ago I did it because of the perceived UV protection, but now that the V is garage kept, I suppose there really isn't any reason to keep doing it, except that with this product it has a faint leather aroma to it which I like. Meguiar's QID in the flat finish was similar, the adam's might be a little more flat than even that product however. I have so much of the stuff (yay for order screwups) that I'll probally lay-off the rest of the interior trim (I can't stand when it gets on the glass or I miss crevices) but I'll probally keep using it on the leather.



Plus, as some mentioned, the chore of dressing can be quite cumbersome too. You literally have to make sure every square inch is dressed and looking even. That's not a 5 or 10 minute process on many vehicles. And, it also makes cleaning the windshield couterproductive too. It's very tedious to dress the top pad of the dashboard without touching the edge of the glass causing smears. And, it's also tough to clean the windshield without your towel grazing over the dressed edge of the dashboard contiminating it.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree on all points. As I said before, I don't think I'll continue trying to go through that ordeal on my cars.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top