Is this detailer crazy?
 

A friend of mine is have his car detailed Tuesday by a shop that has been in business 20 years. He stopped by in his Black 99 Mustang, which was pretty dirty at the time, and the guy pulls a buffer out and lays down some wax or polish and then removes it and says the car will shine up great. I couldn't beleive the detailer would buff a dirty car....didn't he just etch the clear coat? Anyway, I will be taking a close look at his car in the direct suin once it's done.

I'd have to know exactly what he did to pass judgement, but my first inclination is to say he's out of his mind.

Not totally crazy.. depends on the material he used and condition of the car.

sorry, sounds like a hack to me. you'd be shocked at what some of these so called professionals prescribe. i found a shop that always wetsanded as a first step.

I will say it then...yes, he is crazy. I don't care what products you use. Buffing a dirty surface is nothing but trouble. The dirt that is between the paint surface and the buffer is going to scratch like crazy. I QD my car before buffing if it has sat more than an hour or two after washing as I have seen the damage that can be caused by applying any form of pressure on a dirty car. And on black?!?! I won't even go on about that....

-GT

...and to think I've been washing my car first like a sucker all this time

Yea most definitely crazy to me, I've never heard of that in my professional experience ever, unless there is some new product released by gov't top secret labs. Not only will that be buffing in the contamination its building up in the buffing pad and ensuring that more damage will happen on whatever surfaces that pad touches next. I go out of my way to keep my pads clean and free from contamination which is always challenging. I mean Klasse AIO is an amazing chemical polish that really helps clean the surface and shine it up but I would never try something like that. I'd love to learn more about this process if you got any info on it.

Now that I think back, DriWash used to advertise that it could be used directly on a dirty car. I see no possible way that would work without marring the surface.

-GT

It really depends what he means by dirty. I know detailers that will buff a car that's not clean.. but it depends on what he means by dirty.. Dirty meaning just some dust?

If the car has sand or anything on it... definately big no no.. but if it's just dust or water spots etc.. It's perfectly fine.

Depends on the type of a car too.. I wouldn't do ANYTHING to a Vette without washing it.. The car is fiberglass... hard to buff like that.

From your description..... he is nuts.
There must be something else going on.