What was it that got you into serious detailing?

I've owned/driven one or two vehicles since about 1970. Never owned a garage queen. I've always been pretty easy on cars and have taken average care of them or slightly better. I wouldn't use the word 'detail' to describe my occasional wash, wax, vac process though.



My last three vehicles were 3 year lease deals. In June I bought a 2006 Rendezvous that spent it's first 12k as a fleet car (rental). Great shape/great deal.

Caught the 'new' car fever. I think especially since I bought vs. lease (er..smart buy).

The fever, among other things caused me to buy a PC 7424 and I'm about to experiment with pads and polishes (wifes car below).



As I worked to keep the new 'Rondy' new, I looked over at the wife's 2000 Regal and saw work to do there! Then my wife said half jokingly, 'my mother wants to know when you're available to do her car?!" (I'm detailing it tomorrow).



Anyway, back in June, wandering around on the web I came across Edmund's car care forum and spent countless hours reading through the archives and the great Zaino debate that led to a forum split. I learned a lot there, but the site isn't currently very active because everybody is HERE! I stumbled on Autopia after doing a google on 'auto detailing' I think. I think I'll be around for awhile - at least until the fever breaks! LOL
 
GOOGLE! Autopia DIY Pages, Learning the Steps, Hours of wondering how people can use different Detail products, and Lots of free time.
 
I purchased a black car and it came with heavy swirls and oxidation. Tried all that OTC stuff and it did nothing, so for the time being I had given up. Then I went on vacation and someone scratched the rental car! :eek: So I went to a local detailer and I watched him buff out the scratch, then I saw him work on the trunk of another car, he wet sand it, compounded it, then polished it. He used Autoglym 03B then SRP... So needless to say those were my first real detailing products and after that I was hooked. One day I was looking for a place to buy some more SRP and I came across autopia.org :spot
 
gm: Inspiring story!





I get asked this question *all the time* from clients.





Basically it went like this:



Back in 2002, I was in the market for a new car. I found this Integra with a pristine interior and flawless engine and drivetrain. However, the day I looked at it and picked it up, the weather was poor. Sure, it looked dull, but when I got it in the sun, it was PINK!



Having then been made fun of from friends for buying a pink car, I was on a mission. Down to the local car care store for some products. I clayed the car, then polishes the scratches out with Meguiar's Scratch-X by hand, Meguiar's Cleaner Wax (entire car) by hand, and Meguiar's #26 by hand (entire car). I Rain-X'd the windows and dressed the tires.



That week, I had nothing but compliments on how stunning and rich my paint looked. From there, I started doing a few cars for family members. That trickled down to friends and ultimately "strangers". I took a grave love for the craft and found Autopia through Anthony (Jngrbrdman) and Team-Integra.net.



The rest is history :).
 
Got my dream car from when I was a kid, a BMW 3-series convertible. I bought it used, in good condition, but wanted it to look its best. Then got into the forums and have spent about $400 in products, pads, MF, and a PC. I have detailed my car twice before I got the PC, but I have just kept learning more so I need to do it again. I am holding off on my car again until I have practiced on all my friends and families car first! :) The black mustang is on Tuesday. So if I can get that done well, I will move on to my car. I love detailing. But I live in an apartment complex, so everyone thinks I am nuts since I can't hide my obsession in a garage of my own.
 
I started wih average products like meguiars and mothers in attempt to prepare my old 2002 Corolla S for car shows. It was black and everyone always love the wet look of my car. I could spend all day cleaning and touching up here and there and not mind at all.



Now I have an 06 Acura RSX Type S. Im done with car shows, but I love having it look good waiting for me in the garage every morning and in the parking lot after work. I'm done with body kits and race seats etc etc, but it has the perfect drop that only other RSX owners notice because they know what to look for. I'm now into the mirrow glaze line and other brands such as poorboys and pinacle. I'm a newb in this part of detailing. I cant believe I never had a PC before until this year. Picked one up somewhere around Jan.
 
I used to always wash/wax cars started from a very early age (Maybe 5 for washing and a couple years later for waxing) and once I turned 16 I started polishing and did neighbors cars and worked my way through referrals and I had a good time in highschool because of it.
 
GM...good info. I had not seen those pictures in a while. I never really realized that the work was THAT bad. That changes my opinion on things a whole lot. If someone is claiming to be a pro and does that kind of work, they need to have their head examined.



I got into detailing after watching the guys from our the detailing side of my dealership slowly dwindle down and realizing that I would be in a better spot if I could understand what they were or should be doing. After being in over my head on these forums for a number of months, when I saw the daylight, I realized that I could easily apply what I had learned towards keeping my own cars newer longer. Now I sleep in the garage.



-GT
 
since i was young, i always admired and liked to look at clean cars. when i bought my first real car (over 3 1/2 years ago), that's when i got into it more seriously and the rest is history... thanks to david b, and the many great fellow autopians for such great info and kindness! :hifive:
 
was a natural progression for me, along with some genetically inherited traits...



I grew up around cars. My dad owned a body shop when I was very young (about 5 or 6).



All through my early childhood, the one big event of the year was me & my dad going to the AutoRama at the Toledo sports arena & look at all the custom cars. Later on, we'd go to various car shows, ripping on the quality (or lack thereof) of some of the paint work.



My dad would spend a week or so getting the family car cleaned up to go on vacation (a '68 Pontiac Bonneville convertible). Of course, it would be trashed when we got home, but still...



My grandfather was/is hyper-particular about his cars as well. He always had a "Sunday" car, that only came out on special occasions. But he got me started on the whole "don't touch, don't slam, don't lean/sit on, don't scratch" mentality.



Starting early in high school, I was always washing & waxing cars for friends, employers, etc. It wasn't for the money, I just enjoyed doing it.



In college, I worked as a detailer for a local stealership. I got all the "sleds", & did everything by hand, but I also saw what could happen with a rotary in the wrong hands (not mine).



Since college, my cars have gradually gotten a little nicer, and I've become better equipped to keep them that way because of sites like this.
 
I did a Euro Delivery on my BMW 545i last year. I was in Munich in February and they salt the roads to prevent ice. When I dropped the car off in Munich for shipping it was covered with road spray (salt and sand). It was 23 degrees F.. so too cold to wash. There was a drive through car 2 blocks from the drop off site......... but I couldn't get myself to drive a brand new Jet Black bimmer covered with sand.... through a car wash. I did sit there in my brand new baby staring at the car wash for about 10 minutes before driving away....



When it was re-delivered here in the states... it had bad water spots all over it.. windshield, hood, trunk...... not sure what happened, in the process of researching how to remove the water spots.... I stumbled across this forum....... been hooked ever since.
 
Believe it or not, I got into detailing, because I hated to detail cars. My main goal was/is preserving the finish, so I figured that I might as well make it fun in hopes of actually doing it. I began researching the topic, looking at the various products, searching this site and basically getting myself acquainted with the concept. I then purchased a PC and started trying different products and techniques on my cars. As I'd hoped, it was fun and very rewarding. I'd always admired show-quality work and I'm hoping to one day be able to do it, myself.
 
In the 70's while still working for someone else, I would walk across the street during lunch and breaks to a detail shop. I was pretty large..around 10 detailers..lots of dealership business. I was amazed at the things they could do. Now remember there was no foam back then. I decided to research more. Not an easy thing without the internet. I was trained in the art by a man called Shine. It was fairly easy for me to get customers back then, even a few used car lots. I only worked at night in my basement with Shine coming over after his day job at the detailers. The mobility of my hot water pressure washer?? It had to sit on a 55 gal drum. It was during this time I found a company called Tidy Car. I drove about 50 miles to one of their franchises to see what they had to offer.

WOW!! Sealants in the 70's and a nifty little two head buffer. I spent half a day there watching. Within two weeks I had my first Cyclo...blue in color.

Then we had three product line....Pro, Auto Magic and the Cyclo chemicals.

THINGS HAD DEFINATELY CHANGED!
 
Does this guy post on this forum? I know of a couple hacks in Orlando that post on autopia (judging by the work I had to fix)....
 
My mom bought a black car when I was 14 or so, and she would always ask me to wash and wax it for her. You can imagine how I did it - dirty bath towels, a sponge, dish soap or even dog shampoo to wash. I would hit it once in a while with Nu-Finish and it would just look amazing to me - back then, I thought only a new car could look perfect.



Fast forward 2 years, and the GTP was passed down to me. By this point, the paint was almost dull from the use of dirty wax applicators, crappy wash media, etc. After discovering Detail City, I got my PC as a Christmas present for Christmas 2004 along with SSR2.5, SSR1, S100 and a collection of MF towels. I started detailing on the side that summer and doing my own car - I could never get all the swirls out though.



Halfway through summer, I bought my Cyclo, PowerGloss, FPII, RMG and NB... and I got my black GTP perfect for the first time. I've been hooked (and an Autopia Member) ever since.
 
ive always wash and waxed cars since i was little. man i thought they looked good lol. well my gi bill money was about to run out so i went to school for auto body repair. well needless to say my instructor said i was too picky with my body work u will never make any money. in this class we had 1 week of detailing and i was hooked. omg this is what polish can do? what the heck u mean u should not wax or seal a car? imagine my shock. he coulnt even get me do any more body work cuz i was always buffing and polishing and glazing. when i graduated he said i would never wax his car. now ive been in business for 2 years and hes 1 of my main customers. imagine that
 
probably this forum after having my car so called having a pro job done and a few weeks later i had the swirls back.so i decided to do it myself and now i am addicted.
 
The first time I remember "detailing" a car was when I was in the 5th or 6th grade. My dad had a Ford Ranger, a black one, that he had me take care of. I mainly did exterior wash and wax. Then I got a 89 Civic back in 88 and I babied that thing like it was a Benz. That was really when I got heavy in to making my car look good.
 
I've lways like the look of a nice clean car. By the time, the only thing I had was AA, which I applied a full bottle per wash, and whatever soap I had. At least I had the chamois :) Then we got a 2000 Echo (The third one in my town back in PR) That's when I started using Mothers and Meguiars. Then when my now wife and I got married, got an '05 Corolla. We lived in an apartment in MD(Balto), but keeping it clean was a hassle. So looking for info, found autopia, and ya'll know the rest....
 
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