In your eyes..is it worth it to pay someone $200 for a complete full detail of my car? The whole 9 yards. I have so many light scratches, webs ect on my paint. I did a wax myself but still looks like ****. I need a good polish. And to do that i either need to spend 200 on equipment of pay someone to do it.

 

Not DI here but the difference between what you get for $200 from your local car wash or mobile detailer what you can do in an afternoon with a Porter Cable and some good products like Menzerna is night and day. You want to know if your guy is going to do full-on paint correction or just a hand polish/wax? If it's just the latter then you wont see much difference in terms of removing scratches and imperfections.

 

Depending on how much work is involved it may be well over $200. If your energetic, by the materials and get to learning.

 

It's $30 a panel for buffing and polishing to get the imperfections out

 

$200 is really cheap... I wouldn't do it unless I knew exactly what they were using and how they do it.. like buffer, polish, and etc.

 

It really depends on your personal preferences and the quality of the work. For what you described I would estimate the average price for top quality work would be roughly $200 - $500. Being at the low end of this range I'd be a bit more skeptical that the swirls are not just hidden. However I don't know this detailer and I have no idea what quality work they do. I'd suggest asking him what steps and products he uses for each step. If you want to relay that information back to you I'd be happy to provide some feedback.

As always I suggest you consider doing it yourself as it's generally much easier that you might think to get professional like results. In the long run you'll save a ton of money and it's very rewarding to do yourself. If you'd like a polishing kit check out this one DI Packages Porter Cable 7424 XP, Meguiar's Polish and Hydro Pads. It has everything you need to polishing the paint to look exceptional again. After that you can apply your favorite sealant or wax. If you'd like more details please let me know!

Greg @ DI

 

I have a 2006 G35 Black Coupe and I just purchased the Flex XC3401VRG polisher. Before I get started since I am new to using any machine buffers/polishers I want to make sure I am on the right track so I don't damage my paintjob...so can u recommend a kit for me or what backing pads/buffing pads/products should i use? Should I be starting with the Porter Cable buffer instead(the Flex sounded like a good combination of 'safe and effective' so I went with that')? The finish does have quite a bit of swirl marks and light scratches. I've read a number of your threads and u seem to really give honest advice so please help out a beginner with some good direction. Thanks!

 

The Flex over the Porter Cable ANYDAY. The price of the Flex is why most people choose the Porter Cable over that. I'm not very familiar with using the Flex so I'll hold on giving advice on what to buy for it lol.

Except for this!
http://www.detailedimage.com/Auto-De...olishing/#flex

 

Wondering, I used my porter cable for the first time, did a 2 step polish with poor boys, sealant, wax. Got too lazy to apply the glaze, is it a good idea to apply the glaze now then follow it with some wax? Came out great btw, couldn't get deeper scratches out but swirl marks are gone.

 

Glaze is not a necessary step inthe detailing process. It is used to clean the paint of any oils that were not wiped away by your
MF towels. It is more of a luxury step to hide small imperfections and make your paint pop just a little more

 

Congrats on thew new Flex buffer it should be exactly what you are looking for. It's very safe and highly effective for new and experienced detailers. Start off with it at a slow speed and I'm sure you'll be able to move up quickly. Also please take some time to read over our detailing guide for additional tips and instructions. You do not need to start with the PC the Flex is a perfectly fine starting point that is just different as opposed to more challenging in my opinion.

The Flex comes with a backing plate installed so you don't need that you just need pads and polishes. So here is what I recommend:

Meguiar's Ultra-Cut Compound M105 - 2x Orange Pads
Meguiar's Ultra Finishing Polish M205 - 2x White Pads

Getting two of each pad and swapping them half way through the detail will help you get optimal results as the pads can get saturated over time.

After polishing you can slow the buffer down to like speed 2 and apply a sealant, or apply it by hand. If you want to apply it with the buffer use one Blue Pad and I'd recommend the Blackfire Wet Diamond with Polycharger. If you have any other questions please let me know.

Greg @ DI

 

You certainly don't have to apply the glaze now, as the wax is the more critical product to be using. However if the wax has faded or if you wash with the Chemical Guys Citrus Wash and Clear you can apply the glaze followed by the wax. Typically the glaze is applied first and then a sealant or wax is applied on top of it. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help.

Greg @ DI

 

Hi George,

What would be the main differences between using a clay bar vs. a pre-wax paint cleaner (such as Dodo Juice Lime Prime Lite non-abrasive cleaner glaze, which you recommend for use after claying) for removing contaminants from paint prior to sealing and/or waxing? Is one of these going to remove things that the other won't? Is doing both steps necessary or recommended?

Thanks!

 

The clay bar is the only thing that will remove embedded surface contaminants that won't come off after a wash. The clay bar will make your paint feel super smooth. The pre-wax paint cleaner isn't strong enough to do any of that.

When I clay I usually just give it another quick wash after that, but then again usually when I clay.. I'll usually polish afterwards instead of applying wax or sealant.

 

Hey guys I recently pulled the moldings off of my doors and rear panels, you know the ding preventing ugly molding that some Gs come with. well my G is an 05 with 22K on it and sits most of the time in my garage. When i pulled the molding using a heatgun and fishing string (the floss method), it left two defined lines in the clear coat where the molding was (slight fade also). I tried cleaning it first then ran over it with a clay bar, after that didn't work I used my polishing wheel with a light compound and still no results. I guess it is going to need wet sanded huh??? any help!