What "details" do you lack in?

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NorcalZ71

New member
Ive been detailing a family friends expedition, just finished, and it occured to me mostly where im either lacking in skill or just hate that part of the detail. This is just a side job because the thing was a mess, i dont do this as a normal job just a hobby. However, I've found I am not real good at the following:



Glass, cannot get it waterspot or streak free and its killing me. Hate doing it as well, especially the inside of the windshield



Vacuuming, probably need a new shop vac, but it never seems vacuumed enough for me



Gross interior stuff, i have a thing about nasty, dirty interior panels and such and i can never get them all the way clean, also hate doing it



Chrome/rubber trim, never can seem to get it all the way spot/grim free to my liking.



Basically, i think im biased towards the paint. I kind of suck at wheels as well, but my new chrome 20s should be better and i will stay on top of it every week.



What parts of detailing do you guys despise or lack in? Have any tips on how to fix mine?
 
I use a microfiber towel and invisible glass with no streak problems. Make sure you have an assortment of different types of brushes and just some APC for cleaning the interior.



I however... lack in removing scratches under door handles and my skills with a rotary could be much better. I also need to work on cleaning and dressing engines and I would like to learn how to do perfect touch up's where there are deep scratches on my dads malibu.
 
I sometimes lack on getting things totally swirless. But then again, I'm used to working on old, worn down paint, which can't be redone.
 
I dont really have a downside to detailing. I do have my stronger points like making sure carpets are spotless and the interiors can be eaten off of . I am definately the perfectionists, perfectionist but what I lack in is organization. During a detail, I have extension cords, water hoses, and air hoses all tangled. I have buckets, and bottles scattered all over the place during a detail. The funny thing is that when I am at somebody elses house detailing their car, I am very organized. Its when I detail out of a shop or my home is when I am spread out all over. :nixweiss
 
I'm bad with engine bays. Not that I can't get them clean, but that the last two times I did mine I had driveability issues for days afterward.



Tom
 
I'm always trying to one-up myself with new things but the newest area of interest that I haven't done in the past were the pedals and getting them completely free of grime and dirt and the underbody pieces that you can see when driving (lower gas tanks, spare tires, trailer hitches, etc).
 
I don't deal with any nasty, gooey, or otherwise complex interior issues, so I'd have to say I lack in completely remedying them especially with no extractor. I'm no whiz with a rotary so I view using it as an ongoing learning experience. I can't repair stone chips to my ideal standards nor remove defects in awkward places where a machine can't fit such as door handle cups, curves in bumpers, door jams and frames, etc. If a somewhat notable amount of painting is called for, I would consider this task to be my weakest.



Also,when it comes to perfect headlight protection film installation, I don't particularly excel. However, I've taken the advantage of the high heat here and have done a much better job installing a new set on my fog lights, gradually working up the courage to do the headlights again too. :)
 
pretty much anything interior.. dont know how to clean wash anything interior.. i seem to suck with putting on armorall and 303 on the vinyl.. not a fan of insides anymore.
 
I'm a pretty good paint guy, can wetsand, touchup, run a rotary pretty well. However, I am absolutely terrible at vacuuming. If I don't shampoo the carpets, I might as well not have touched them. Plus I can never get it clean between the seats and console. I think I need an extractor with a crevice tool, too bad they run at least 600 bucks.



Oh yeah, and I'm bad at forgetting little things. Like the roof :o.
 
Haha, i feel you on the roof. I hate doing the roof, mostly because all but about 3 cars i do are large SUVs (i am an SUV/truck guy) and the stupid racks and rack roof guards get in the way. I'll tell yah, the roof of my moms suburban feels like 200 grit sandpaper its insane.
 
NorCalZ71 said:
Haha, i feel you on the roof. I hate doing the roof, mostly because all but about 3 cars i do are large SUVs (i am an SUV/truck guy) and the stupid racks and rack roof guards get in the way. I'll tell yah, the roof of my moms suburban feels like 200 grit sandpaper its insane.
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Personally, I always just yank the racks off while I'm working. They can be put back on easily with a quick turn of the wrench!



I have to agree that I'm not exactly great at glass, nor at hiding/getting out really ground-in, set in stains in carpets. I really, REALLY need a high quality extractor to help me out.
 
Interior is my achilles heal too. When I do friends and families cars I tell them I will make it beautiful on the outside, but the inside is their job. I will clean and condition leather (mostly because I love the smell of Z10), but vacuuming, vinyl, and gross plastic pits and crevises are all theirs.



I think, like others have mentioned, that I need a better vacuum, that might make my vacuuming experience better.



I just seem to enjoy doing exterior, even the really tough stuff like wetsanding, pulling off exhuasts and cleaning them, etc... interior, not so much.
 
I have the hardest time getting the exterior seams clean and free of wax and dirt. I just cann't fugure the best way to attack those areas. My eye is always drawn to those places where I did not get the old wax off. :hairpull
 
zippymbr said:
I have the hardest time getting the exterior seams clean and free of wax and dirt. I just cann't fugure the best way to attack those areas. My eye is always drawn to those places where I did not get the old wax off. :hairpull
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That is where the foam paintbrushes come in REALLY handy; I can weasel them into tight spots without too much trouble. I either use them dry or with a quick spritz of #34 to grab dried dust. The air compressor/leaf blower works really well for the dusty stuff, too.
 
Picus said:
Interior is my achilles heal too. When I do friends and families cars I tell them I will make it beautiful on the outside, but the inside is their job. I will clean and condition leather (mostly because I love the smell of Z10), but vacuuming, vinyl, and gross plastic pits and crevises are all theirs.



I think, like others have mentioned, that I need a better vacuum, that might make my vacuuming experience better.



I just seem to enjoy doing exterior, even the really tough stuff like wetsanding, pulling off exhuasts and cleaning them, etc... interior, not so much.
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LOL yeah I hear that; for me it isn't so much that I don't enjoy it, because I LOVE taking a nasty mess and sanitizing it with the steamer. Of course, big rubber gloves are standard opperating procedure when dealing with nasty messes of unknown origin :nervous:
 
Chris do the design engineers not consider these things ? My son wants to be a automotive design engineer.....Im going to have to consult him.....
 
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