"Pro" level products

travbee said:
Basically I have a decent full time job and I have never put detailing completely first where it is a "true" business, but the thought has crossed my mind. And if I go pro, just wondering about products that I should be using or even what exists as a PRO level product, so I`m taken seriously by prospective clients etc.
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I would let the quality of your work be the driver of clients taking you seriously.

You`d be surprised at how many reputable pro`s with their own business and/or shops use the same prosumer products you can buy today.
 
William_Wallace said:
had a good laugh with this message
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100% always comes from a position of love... we all love our Accumulator - and I`m one of his biggest fans.

We must speak the truth, in our homes in our workplace and especially in this forum... there is so much BS in this world. This overreacted virus has changed me.... for better or worse I have yet to decide.

Truth is now the forefront of my thoughts... i`ll leave you with an Emily Dickinson quote

Tell all the truth but tell it slant —

Success in Circuit lies

Too bright for our infirm Delight

The Truth`s superb surprise

As Lightning to the Children eased

With explanation kind

The Truth must dazzle gradually

Or every man be blind —

THE POEMS OF EMILY DICKINSON: READING EDITION, The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Copyright © Copyright © 1914
 
Stokdgs said:
travbee - How many years experience do you have paint correcting, and how did you do it? How many vehicles have you paint corrected per year ?

In my experience with Coatings, ( I started with Zaino over 20 years ago), they were great when they first came out over 15 years ago.. It was a free market, not many manufacturers..
Then some started getting really smarty-pants, and decided if their coating was that good, they should charge more for it, and restrict that now way higher price/s to their "people" who had to have a legit business, business license, etc., the whole shebang..

Then, the one I was using made the price requirement so high, I just let it go.. I did not have the Client Market I had before that could afford it, so I knew it was not going to work for me any longer in my new location..

Now, it is even more expensive and more requirements to go through on some products to have their "pro" versions if that is what they really are..
I believe some even make you buy so many syringes of it a year, if you want to keep on their supply chain..
So perhaps they have taken on the 7+ decades old Avon marketing strategy...

There are now a LOT of choices in the coatings industry, with new ones introduced bi-yearly/yearly, etc... All making claims about being the best but no one has any real world testing results that can be seen, much less verified very well..

Everything that has been said about coatings above by all these great men, is true and based on real-world experiences...

I had my first Optimum coating go just past 5 years awhile back, and was still holding up, when I removed it and re-applied the last syringe I had of that product..

And, as has been accurately stated above, your experiences will vary, depending on all those conditions already said above..

Good luck with your research !
Dan F
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I have had wonderful results with Optimum when they had the more reasonable priced Opti-Coat. Just loved the looks of it on my black extremely soft G35. Just looked gorgeous every time I washed the car. I had to look back at her twice it was so stunning, I couldn`t believe I had prepped and applied this product the very first time. If I had known they were going to go bonkers on the price I would have ordered more syringes and kept them in a vacuum sealed bag. Ever since then I have been wandering in the desert hoping for another Opti-Coat like product.
The car was still stunning the day I sold it years later.
Sorry for the rant.
 
not sure if some people will like what I am going to say about car products....I use to play golf two times a week...always went online to try to fine out what golf ball was best for me...like car products golf ball company`s has a golf ball that goes farther then any other ball...goes higher...goes lower...stops on a dime on the green...etc...then I seen my playing partners go looking for golf balls in the woods...lakes...and sure as crap they hit that ball and wow it goes so far...stops on the green...so then I realized it doesn`t matter what you pay for a ball an old one found in the lake was just as good...its like car care products...one better to use because it shines better...more glossy...last for ten years..etc...I am an old timer always have my car`s looking the best...years ago we just had wax..and the cars looked great...no buffers...just hand wax...now we have have sealants...coatings...special wax...just sio2..and then uber SIO2...both made by the same company...also there`s Gyeon...on and on...I feel sorry for newbie trying to figure out what to use...LOL I just ordered WFG ceramic booster...LOL now I can throw out my old SIO2 silica spray
 
bodidly22 said:
Go CQUK 3.0 - 1-2 years depending on conditions, usage etc. - Light to medium polish, then go again - 3+ years is horse biscuits, sure it might still be there... but it`s swirled up! (unless you`re Accumulator!)
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Just as a data point, I applied CQuartz UK 2.0 (not 3.0) to my daughter`s car over 2.5 years ago. She lives in Oklahoma where the weather isn`t all that harsh and the car sits in a garage at both home and work. The only attention it gets is a good washing like I taught her and a wipe down with Ech20 about once every 6~8 weeks. The coating actually seems to be holding up better than a 1.5 year application of CQUK 3.0 on my wife`s car, and the swirls are minimal, probably due to the infrequent washes.

This is by no means the norm, but it is actually possible! I fully expected to detail the car when she visited this summer, but really didn`t see the need.
 
A golf ball’s performance does degrade the longer it sits in the lake. Lot’s of comparisons have shown that. :)
 
Two thoughts occur to me:

1) I`ve *dramatically* improved some of my results by switching to "better" products in a few categories. E.g., I can`t wash marring-free (even with my technique) using lower-quality shampoos. The diff was absolutely night/day.

In other cases (especially LSPs), any diffs were immaterial at best. E.g., the "Expert Detailer" who thought a car I did with 476S was wearing Dodo Juice because "nothing else looks quite like that!" Wrong wrong wrong...he wouldn`t believe it was Collinite even after I told him I was the guy who applied it :rolleyes:

2) While I can see the (supposed ;) ) rationale, I don`t like that I can`t buy "Pro" products.

I only coat things like wheels. Used to be I could get a coating that`d last many years (OptiCoat V1.0), but now such stuff is only available to Pros :( If I`m only gonna get a year or two, I`d rather just apply FK1000P a few times instead.
 
I am going to hi-jack this thread (REALLY AGAIN, Captain Obvious?!!!...go ahead, we cannot stop you... but the Moderators could!) and ask WHY do you use the products that you do use. Here`s some of the reason and criteria for using a specific car-care products, in no particular order:
1) Final outcome/end result or performance of product for that detailing task
2) Ease of use or efficiency in its application and/or removal
3) Cost per application (Bulk or small sample)
4) Availability (OTC, boutique, dealer-only)
5) Previous experience with product or manufacturer
6) Customer service of retailer/manufacturer
7) Trial or self-experiment (including beta-testers!)
8) Gift or given as freebie in order
9) New item highly recommended or Autopia "flavor-of-the-month"
10) Because some highly respected Autopian-All-Star, pro or hobbyist, uses it

Which ones are important to you? Let me know your thoughts
Mine is all three of the top reasons combined, IE cost with performance in the shortest time possible or better known as economic product efficiency
 
GearHead_1 said:
A golf ball’s performance does degrade the longer it sits in the lake. Lot’s of comparisons have shown that. :)
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This is absolutely the truth^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My Dad was a self taught (with a 7 iron he found), golfer that without ever a lot of practice or lessons, shot in the 60`s for 18 holes until he got past his 60`s.. Straight strokes, no handicaps, etc...

Any Course, any time, he was naturally gifted, and very strong.. Like on a par-5, 500-yard hole, be pin-high on the green in 2, and an easy putt in 3, an eagle.. And these were those old steel shaft, wooden, normal sized woods, irons; none of this stuff they use now.. I watched him as his caddy, and his speed of his swing was so fast, the steel shaft looked like it was flexing..

The sound of the club head sweet spot hitting that ball was also very "sharp" and high pitched. No one else he ever played with made that sound when they used their driver..

He liked to go into the rough, etc., to find golf balls, and we always looked in the creeks we played over and found buckets of balls..
The ones that had been in the water always, when bounced on hard smooth concrete like in the garage, sounded "dead", while the ones that were found dry, AND they were good brands like titleist, dunlop max fli, wilson staff, spalding, etc., always, always, made a sharp "ping" when bounced off that same surface, and always bounced higher.... And they always went farther..

Thanks for the opportunity to recall those awesome times..
Dan F
 
Lonnie said:
I am going to hi-jack this thread (REALLY AGAIN, Captain Obvious?!!!...go ahead, we cannot stop you... but the Moderators could!) and ask WHY do you use the products that you do use. Here`s some of the reason and criteria for using a specific car-care products, in no particular order:
1) Final outcome/end result or performance of product for that detailing task
2) Ease of use or efficiency in its application and/or removal
3) Cost per application (Bulk or small sample)
4) Availability (OTC, boutique, dealer-only)
5) Previous experience with product or manufacturer
6) Customer service of retailer/manufacturer
7) Trial or self-experiment (including beta-testers!)
8) Gift or given as freebie in order
9) New item highly recommended or Autopia "flavor-of-the-month"
10) Because some highly respected Autopian-All-Star, pro or hobbyist, uses it

Which ones are important to you? Let me know your thoughts
Mine is all three of the top reasons combined, IE cost with performance in the shortest time possible or better known as economic product efficiency
Click to expand...

I am with you Lonnie - the first 2 are the main driving force, but if #3 is too much, I will look for a similar alternative.
I think the others have been reasons at one time or another. I used to beta test for a few different brands, and really liked some of the products (and still use some today).
Numbers 9 & 10 are less a deciding factor, but if it fits 1, 2, or 3 better than what I am using, then I will switch. E.G. Sizzle has been using Optimum Paint Prep with good results, and it is cheaper then Eraser, so I picked up a gallon.
 
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