My G35 needs a little bit of TLC and I found a very reputable detailer who works out of/near a a local Infiniti dealership (Beshoff in San Jose). For $349, I can get the car clayed and polished and what not to make it meticulously clean.

On their website, they noted that for the $349 Ultimate Detail they remove the wheels from the car to have them cleaned. That's some intense and peculiar cleaning; I have never heard of this before. So how many of you take the wheels off to have them cleaned? Any before/after pics?

 

Twice a year I do that. While they're off I completely scrub out the fender wells. I clean the fender liner, brake assembly, control arms, tie rod ends, shocks/struts, anything I can reach. Call me crazy, if you wish.

 

^you are crazy

 

My dad lives in Vegas. I'm actually here right now, visiting him on my Spring Break vacation from school. His Mercedes and Highlander could use some major TLC. Haven't been detailed since purchased new (2007 and 2004 respectively).

Completely cleaned wheels along with a full interior/exterior detail is gonna make me feel like I'm driving a brand new car fresh off the lot.

 

I do it twice a month if I have to But trust my I F#@king hate it

 

OP great price. Do make sure the job he does takes a long time, I mean like 5+ hours. Many times someone might say polish but do a quick polish job which leaves buffer trials..ect.

 

Thanks for the lookout. I checked again and it says it takes 7-8 hours, and they provide an Infiniti loaner.

 

tell him you will tip him an extra 20 - 30 bucks or something if he spends a little extra time with the car. Trust me, tipping the guy will make his work worth a lot more, make sure you tell him, don't tip him after cause that does you no good. Just let him know that if you spend an extra 30 - 40 minutes and make it super clean you will tip him and name the amount approximately you will tip him. Be nice about it tho, don't tell him i know your going to do a crap job so I have to tip you. Just tell him you want him to spend a little extra time on it, that way it is perfect.

 

If you need the loaner, then do it. If you don't and can leave your car somewhere for a day and borrow a friends or something, do that instead. I looked over the detail package for you, and it's not a good price for what it is.

-Hand car wash with Meguiar's NXT car wash - OK, not top quality or a stripping car wash like it should be.
-Remove wheels for cleaning. - Good, just make sure they don't damage them. It's not necessary but is common in higher end packages.
-Clay bar clean painted surfaces with Meguiar's clay bar - Ok.
-1st stage paint polish with Menzerna Micro Polish PO87 - What? This polish barely cuts anything. On a scale of 1-10 on cut, it's around a 2/10.
-2nd stage paint polish with Menzerna Final Polish PO85RD - Pretty much using the exact same polish with slightly less cut, which doesn't make sense since the last one has almost no cut.
-Seal paint with Menzerna Carnuba Sealing Wax AP060 or Finishing Glaze PO115c - First one is ok, but the face that it says OR? A glaze lasts about 2 weeks and it's main purpose is to fill in scratches temporarily that they should have taken out. The main reason you buy a new car, and tons of swirls show up 2 weeks later. The glaze shouldn't even be on there.
-Polish headlights with Meguiar's headlights with Meguiar's headlight polish products - I hope to god they aren't using the drill for this like they are in the picture.
-Hot shampoo carpets & floor mats - Ask them if they have an extractor, or if they just put shampoo on the mats and vacuum it up.
-Clean leather and upholstery - Ok.
-Condition leather upholstery with Meguiar's leather conditioner - This is a crap leather conditioner, makes it feel greasy and shiny.
-Clean windows & external trim - Ok.
-Dress external rubber trim - Ok.


This stuck out to me the most - Clay bar clean paint $129
Remove contaminants from paint surface, leaving paint smooth as glass and prepped for polishing or waxing. WHAT? $130 for a clay bar? You can do this yourself, with about 45 minutes of your time, and a $10 piece of clay. Ridiculously overpriced.

Look here: http://beshoff.smugmug.com/Professio...86335547_jomHq

Just shows my point. Says "Defect removal is completed", but look at the flash on the paint, looks like they didn't even do anything to it, still see swirls, holograms, and other stuff that shouldn't be on a detailed car AT ALL. Here's what it should look like:


To make my point, this is a G35, just like the one shown. This is a ONE-step polish, yet it looks better than their "2-step" polish. The main point you should be looking at, is where lights are hitting that would reflect swirls, and as you can see, there are none. I'm not trying to boast my skills, but their's are lacking and you are overpaying for basically a wash, clay, and wax, instead of a paint correction.

 

^ Good catch. The swirls are horrible. And with that, the leather protector is extremely greasy as stated...

 

I do the same. I also take this opportunity to put a coat of wax on the rims to make for easy cleaning in the future.

 

I only play being crazy. I'm more of a nut. Lol! I've been doing that for some time now to all my cars. I might be doing a tire rotation that turns into a complete undercarriage cleaning.

 

Id love to take my wheels off and clean the barrels plus the sidewalls but i dont have a floor jack. Also, I'd look for a reputable detailer in your area and not one at the dealership.

 

I take off my wheels to clean as well. I do it whenever they get dirty. It usually takes me a long *** time tho.

 

Reading over Darkstars post I agree with him on what he is saying. If you want some of the swirls removed I would use at least the IP or SIP menzerna has for the first step and then the 85rd for the final polish. On the wheels, make sure they have insurance. I have read a thread in Autopia that most professional detailer's don't do that because of the liability if a wheel comes off. watch out felixsc300