w0rM
New member
Heh heh, wonder if I`ve ever corrected a vehicle (that I cared about) that fast...can`t imagine that I have. But then it takes me about half that to do a good regular Maintenance Wash. IF I work really, *really* fast.
I`m a *BIG* advocate of newbies doing the "one panel at a time" approach- just doing a panel (OK..or two) after each of a series of regular washes and then doing a final all-over LSPing when it`s all been corrected. Just concentrate on a limited amount of work that won`t be overwhelming and won`t take so long that you lose focus, do that small area right, and let it take as long as it takes. And if anything starts to go haywire *STOP* (before it *has* gone haywire) and figure things out lest you make it worse instead of better. Note that you need to know your [stuff] to spot that sort of thing before it`s too late.
HAVE THE RIGHT INSPECTION CONDITIONS. Utterly critical IMO. I`d buy the right lighting before I bought a polisher since you can`t even see what needs doing without it.
On "how to get dialed-in", I gather I`m a complete outlier and might as well keep my opinions to myself (at least this time), but I really don`t think it`s wise to go about this stuff without first developing the requisite knowledge base. We *are* talking about the risk of irreparable damage..or at least the kind of damage that can only be fixed with a paintgun. It`s not all *that* tough of a subject compared to a lot of skills that people develop, but the time/effort involved to understand it can be considerable, just like any other subject. How long did it take to get proficient at [something you`re really, *REALLY* good at]? Detailing a car is probably as involved as whatever that [something] is, but people sometimes assume it`s more simple than it is. Which goes 100X for "how to wash a car", which is the most important part of Detailing, period IMO (if only because if you keep marring the paint the polishing is pointless in the long run). But that`s another rant..I mean "topic"....why does it need polished in the first place?
Thanks man! I always appreciate some honest input.
The panel by panel approach is exactly what I was thinking. I imagine this is something that will happen over a month or two.
I actually have a really nice light I bought here years ago. I`m not new to detailing. I`m just new to polishers. I`ve been reading this forum for years and detailing the various cars I`ve owned based on what I`ve learned here. The only difference now is that I have a car that needs some fairly serious attention. It`s not something I would even be able to do by hand. That said, I`ve clayed, hand polished, sealed/waxed countless times over the years. I have hundreds of towels, pads and various chemicals for cleaning. I even taught my wife to do some hand restoration (which she`s pretty darn good at).
I`m just here to up my game to the next level.
I sure don`t.