Dear All,
Paul Dalton of Miracle Detail seems to have created a bit of a stir, so I thought I'd better try and answer a few questions. Starting with why he's not posting himself!
Basically, it's because Paul is extremely busy (detailing and correcting the paintwork of cars, as you may expect) doing 10-12 hours - with a long waiting list meaning little free time even at weekends. So he cannot post on detailing forums as much as he would like. However, he does read them because of his professional interest in detailing.
Therefore, I would like to step in as his marketing/PR guy and 1) explain a bit about the Fifth Gear feature, and 2) try and act as a conduit for any questions you may have for Paul. I will answer them as well as I can, but please bear with me as I am not a detailer myself. I am just as likely to get my terminology wrong as you would talking to me about a 'six page roll-fold in a C5 outer'
Firstly, Fifth Gear.
Fifth Gear were poised to do a feature on Paul before we launched his '5k car wash' service in a bid to raise his profile, establish his credential as a leading detailer in the UK (and beyond) and also spread the 'detailing gospel'. Remember that all publicity for Paul indirectly benefits all professional detailers. I have first hand evidence of other detailers being asked for a similar service to Paul's 5k car wash (normally for less money, as you would expect!).
The Fifth Gear feature, and subsequent mass-media coverage, required Paul's services to be simplified for a mainstream audience. These are people who don't know what a clay bar is and they would think two buckets wholly impractical. They are your mums, dads, girlfriends and 'non-believing' mates. Washing up liquid and a gritty sponge is their car care equipment of choice.
Therefore, the shoot for Fifth Gear was broken down into 'basic stages' and was not completely representative of what Paul does to a client's car. It is about as real as the film Titanic was... dramatising a true story so that everyone 'gets' it, but the details may be slightly different or inaccurate. Leonardo Di Caprio never floated away on an iceberg in real life!
So... two buckets and grit guards. Paul uses multiple buckets for client cars and uses grit guards. For the shoot he used one bucket with a grit guard because the car had been thoroughly detailed prior to the shoot. In effect, he was washing a clean car, for the benefit of the cameras.
As for Zymol Royale, at the time of this shoot, Paul was one of two to three detailers in the UK with Zymol Royale. There are now a few more. The reason for any inaccuracies is due to the time difference between shoot and broadcast date; a period of a couple of months.
Secondly, Paul would like to thank everyone for their interest and support. He has been a bit dismayed about some of the negative comments, especially from those who think he is a guy swanning around with loads of money, 'ripping people off' or who can't detail cars properly! So to address those issues quickly.
'Loadsamoney'? Nope, Paul's 5k car wash is a genuine service but for obvious reasons is a rarity... demand is currently just 1-2 of these per year and as it is based on Paul's hourly rate he doesn't earn any more from this as from a day to day full order book. Normal detailing/paint correction comes in at about 300-600 GBP per car. If it saves a respray or helps a car sell for top money then it's good value. And it's not as if you need him to come over every week.
'A rip off'? Not really. Paul charges 75 GBP plus VAT per hour, which is expensive compared to some detailers, admittedly, but he has invested heavily in his business (Merc van, 4k paint depth gauges, 7k Royale) and has formidable paint correction skills. In the UK, a main dealer charges you 100 GBP plus VAT per hour for an oil and filter change, and an average plumber charges you in the high sixties. So is Paul really pricey when working on the cars that he does? Paul's one of the top few detailers in the UK, if not the world, and I bet your plumber wouldn't be top of the same plumber's league.
'Can't detail cars properly'? What the papers/TV say, surprise, surprise, isn't always that close to reality. It is repackaged, reprocessed and regurgitated for a mass audience. 'Australian microfibre towels and filtered water' were reported third hand by one magazine as 'filtered water imported from Australia'. Quite different and a bit silly. Suffice to say, Paul has 13 years of experience, details cars to extremely high levels and is proud of his professionalism. If he was dropping his sponge on the floor every five minutes, he wouldn't get near a Veyron, would he? The results, his client list and order book show that he is doing something right - and it's not just my marketing, even if I would like to claim that it was, LOL.
Thanks for reading all this and I hope it has given you an insight into the mysterious Paul Dalton. He isn't 'above' contributing forums, he just doesn't have the time. But I will try and log in every now and again, time permitting, of course.
For those interested in Paul's work, you can see his galleries on his website at
www.miracledetail.co.uk
