Thanks for your compliments. One thing I learn on how to do a good work is :
Treat your customer's cars like your own!
If you can afford it and want your car to be 100% flawless, AutoDetailer SS2 is the only place to go. If you can only afford 40 - 50% lesser price than AutoDetailer, then come to me (
shameless plug )!
QUOTE(nycs82 @ Feb 20 2007, 06:34 PM)
Agreed ... if u cant do it properly by urself ... send to some1 capable of doing a good job ...
Poyo ... not bad ah ur work

...

Yeap .. I would also agree tat autospa is crappy n the service there is not as good as it is. I would also recommend autodetailer in SS2. Learnt a lot of detailing tips from them in another forum.

Added on February 21, 2007, 1:00 pmAllright, lemme straighten something up : No way that your car doesn't have ANY swirls. It does have some. Even mine got a few, but at least it's not so noticable, even in direct sunlight.
Ok, to maintain the quality of the paintwork on your car is simple : go for a full detail ( wash, clay, reduce those REALLY glaring scratches, polish and wax / sealant ). And do it often, like at least once a month. And wash your car weekly, a minimum. Or if got time, twice a week.
Rather than you going to that (@rnauba - sh!t - sh0p, come to me instead! I've said this once and I'll say it again. Everytime I go to work, or on my way home, I will pass their shop. I have also seen up close and personal, how the Bangla, or Vietcong boys polish cars with quite an abrasive stuff, with a ROTARY ( and the assh0le really doesn't know how to use the rotary properly ), and no FOLLOW - UP work with a dual action orbiter with a less stronger abrasive polish. Oh yeah, cars detailed by that (@rnauba - sh!t - sh0p looks shiny at their shop with all those bright lights, but take a good, 2nd look in direct, hot afternoon sunlight. You will see that the there will be holograms! Yuck! And what about swirls? Eeeuuwwww...
A number of my workshop boy's customers cars ( a few M3s, one M5 to say the least ) is detailed by them. Yes, the cars look shiny, but my car, when parked side to side and in direct sunlight, have lesser visible swirls compared to the cars sent to that (@rnauba - sh!t - sh0p! I got no holograms, but they got quite a few! And they pay RM 1700++ monthly for : 1 full detail work and countless washes. Well, I did try to bid their business, but since they can't leave their cars with me for days ( they do leave their cars at that (@rnauba - sh!t - sh0p for about 3 days or so when they go for full detail, when the work takes only a max of 8 hours ), I couldn't get it.
There are 3 types of polish ( that I know of ) :
- abrasive polish ( to smoothen out scratches / swirls ).
- abrasive polish with diminishing properties ( like MG's stuffs that I use. It will 1st smoothen out the body panels, then, under a minute or so, the soft abrasives in the polish with break down and become pure polishing oils instead, works well and is extremely safe ).
- pure polish ( will NEVER level out the swirls / scratches on the car, it will ONLY fill them in and the swirls / scratches will revela themselves in a couple of washes )
You can get swirls / scratches by :
- leaning / sitting on your car,
- buffing something off the car via a tissue, cloth, your own hands etc,
- rinsing, washing and drying your car ( when you are not doing the best possible way to reduce the chances of instilling swirls / scratches )
- when parking your car in a tight spot. The fella who parked his car beside you might accidently brush your car with his shopping bags ( yes, those heavy, filled with groceries plastic bags can scratch your paintwork! ), or worse, might swipe your car with his jeans ( those reddish buttons on your jeans? Oopppss! )
- driving. The car / lorry / bike / truck might be using softer compound tyres, and stones will stick on these type of tyres and fly off to you.
- when parking your car outside. Sometimes, some areas are "trapped" between taller / larger buildings. During strong winds, the areas lower, or trapped between taller and larger buildings will get that "mini tornado effect". Have you seen dusts and dried leaves swirling around in one spot? Imagine those swirling stones, dusts and dried leaves around your car? Voila, free scratches!
You will get swirls and scratches on your vehicles, it's something we can't avoid and something we have to live with. Best way to handle it is : do the best we can to reduce the chance of instilling MORE swirls / scratches, and do safe, repeatable remedy work that will safely remove, to some extend, these swirls and scratches and in the same time, not buffing too much clearcoat until the paintwork becomes too thin.
I'm not saying that I'm a pro in detailing, but I have learned a lot of detailing and now, I can detail the exterior of cars and bikes, reduce the appearance of swirls and scratches until they are about, at the minimum, 40 - 50% gone, and the car shines, reflects with good clarity and depth, and also, the wet - look!
QUOTE(Dannyl @ Feb 21 2007, 10:43 AM)
Poyo, need your advice here. My car is 3 months old, have had no wax or polish session before. No noticeable swirls or scratches as far as I can tell (just 1 scratch on the bonnet). What should I do to maintain the shine of the paintjob? The car is parked mostly indoors. I planned to go for a waxing session once every 3-4 months without polishing since there are no noticeable scratches, but Autospa told me that I have to go for a polish session first to 'smooth' out the paint, then maintain it with regular waxing.
Any advice?
This post has been edited by poyo: Feb 21 2007, 01:00 PM