Duped by local "detailer", now need to make it right

Slickooz: Why do you say "A orbital buffer is only really good for applying wax, it mostly used by people who don't have a clue what swirls are."
 
michael13 said:
Slickooz: Why do you say

"A orbital buffer is only really good for applying wax, it mostly used by people who don't have a clue what swirls are."
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I'm going to take a guess that when he mentions an "Orbital Buffer", he's not referring to a DA Style like we talk about here on the forum but a "Traditional Orbital Buffer" like the style talked about in this article,


The Traditional Orbital Buffer aka The Wax Spreader

WaxSpreader02.jpg



See the article for clarification on why it's mostly good for spreading out a coat of wax an not actually removing swirls.


:)
 
Wes8398 said:
He said he'd polish it again and "make it right", but I'm not sure that I want him working on my car again. We'll see where that goes.
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Just guessing, but where it probably goes is he trowels on even more fillers and runs the 'not a high speed' buffer over it again so that you go away happy.

You sound like many of us....OCD in a good way and are likely to be happiest only if you do it yourself.
 
That GM paint will be hard as a rock and will require some work to get those swirls out. I'll repeat some of my earlier advice which is, whatever route you take to get the car corrected, make sure that is followed by a careful wash regimen to minimize future marring.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
That GM paint will be hard as a rock and will require some work to get those swirls out. I'll repeat some of my earlier advice which is, whatever route you take to get the car corrected, make sure that is followed by a careful wash regimen to minimize future marring.
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Would you recommend any specific product lines, given that I'm dealing with such a paint?
 
Wes8398 said:
Would you recommend any specific product lines, given that I'm dealing with such a paint?
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There's lots of hard paints, and lots of great products now. Meguiar's 105/205 or their Microfiber DA correction system, Wolfgang 8 oz. Swirl Remover Combo, Wolfgang polishes, total swirl remover, finishing glaze, machine glaze , or the Optimum spray compound and polish would all be good choices, and of course the Menzerna polishes for the ceramic clears are good if you can live with buying a quart (the Wolfgang products are similar and available in smaller qtys).
 
If you've gone as far as to come on to this site, post, and already get involved in the community...I say screw it, do it yourself, ha.

We'll help you out. It will surely take you longer, and be a lot of learning for you. But, you'll have the tools and product with the kit to do it ten times over all by yourself and save yourself $300 every time.

I vote for DIY. But, if you don't have the time to learn how to do it correctly...then I say get it to someone who knows what they're doing. That first detailer...obviously had no clue, ha.

If the other guy is charging $300...then he better know what he's doing. I charge $350 for a 3-step exterior, and that means swirl FREE!
 
Wes8398 said:
Would you recommend any specific product lines, given that I'm dealing with such a paint?
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For starting out, I'd go with the griots da, Meg's 5" backing plate, Meg's 5" Microfiber da cutting and finishing disc, Meg's d300 compound, Meg's 205 finishing polish, then pick your poison on sealant/waxs, everyone has their own favorites, personally I like easy sealants for speed, after you polish a car all day you'll see why lol, so that means optimum opti seal, or carpro reload, all that will run around 300 :)
 
IMO the Griots DA and the Megs DA MF SYSTEM is the best way for a beginner to go! Add WGDPS as a free sample and you are good to go! Get an extra pair of both MF pads and throw them in the washing machine after. The rolled edge MF on BOGO now are superb! Just my $.02!
 
Ok, I'm definitely talking myself into the DIY job. I'm not going to be able to get to it for a few weeks, but I know I'll achieve the results I want and I'll feel great knowing that I did it. Oh, and I'm always a sucker for saving money too! lol

So, in searching for what products I want to go with, I'm getting a little confused. Why is everyone recommending the Griots buffer ("random orbit") over the Porter Cable (dual action) one? Price seems about the same but I had assumed that DA was better than random orbit, even though they seem to be very close in operation methods which also confuses me. lol

Aside from that, would any of you fellow penny pinchers out there suggest any less expensive product lines that perform as well as or better than the popular Meguiars/Menserna/etc products?

Lastly, given the "hard" clear coat of my car, should I shop for a ceramic kit, or is that overkill? And how does the Meg's DA microfiber system compare to the ceramic systems?


Thanks again and sorry for all the noob questions. I am reading around these forums as much as I can manage.
 
The griots is a DA. It has a lot more power than a Porter cable.

The best advice I can give you when it comes down to choosing products is take your time and research as much as possible before jumping in. I made the mistake of buying every OTC product I could when I first started and wasted a lot of money.

When you decide which DA you're getting, get 5 inch or 5.5 inch pads.

The meguiars microfiber disks are awesome tools. They can handle some pretty serious damage.

Don't be scared to ask questions about anything. You'll be able to find at least one person on here that's been through almost any problem you run into.
 
The griots and pc operate the same, the reason more will recommend the griots overs the pc is power, smoothness and warranty, I run a small mobile detail business and love to save money, but I will tell you one thing you don't want to go cheap on, first is mf towels and the ones on bogo with the rolled edges are a great start, next is products that abrade your paints surface, clear coat is very thin and you don't wanna mess up to many times with junk products because each time you fix those problems your going to have to remove more clear coat which is why proper washing techniques are important if your going to try and keep your car in it's best condition, the products I mentioned above might not be the cheapest but it's one of the cheapest that will get you the results your looking for :)
 
OP

The first give away was "I don't use a high speed polisher".

Detailing is like anything else, what you really are paying for is time. Much like when you go to get a car fixed, part, $40 labor $600 :)
 
Bah just checked the bogo, and the rolled edges mf towels are no longer on there, but still a good towel even at the regular price 3 for 10 bucks
 
Buy a hood from the junk yard and practice. I Learn how to buff back in 1997 working at a body shop. I practice on damage hood that was getting replace.
 
Wes8398 said:
Ok, I'm definitely talking myself into the DIY job. I'm not going to be able to get to it for a few weeks, but I know I'll achieve the results I want and I'll feel great knowing that I did it. Oh, and I'm always a sucker for saving money too! lol
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That's a great attitude. I'm sure you'll produce excellent results.


Wes8398 said:
Aside from that, would any of you fellow penny pinchers out there suggest any less expensive product lines that perform as well as or better than the popular Meguiars/Menserna/etc products?
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These Megs bottles come in 8oz. sizes, M105 / M205, but is more than enough to polish your car and a few others.


Wes8398 said:
Lastly, given the "hard" clear coat of my car, should I shop for a ceramic kit, or is that overkill? And how does the Meg's DA microfiber system compare to the ceramic systems?
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The Megs M105/M205 combo is plenty strong enough to polish the clear on your car. Coupled with Megs microfiber pads, you should have a winning combination. Or you could use the compound and polish that come with the microfiber kit: Megs 5-inch Starter Kit. M105 has a little more cut, but is more difficult to work with. M205 is awesome.
 
LOL just pay the good guy to do it. I do this all day every day. before you know it you will be in to this do it your self thing for alot of cash. aka 1000 just to get started buffer pads comp wax sealer pad washer mf wheel cleaners brushs lights degessor dress for tires its end less. But if you like to get out of the house and hide from the wife this is for you and price less lol
 
master detailer said:
LOL just pay the good guy to do it. I do this all day every day. before you know it you will be in to this do it your self thing for alot of cash. aka 1000 just to get started buffer pads comp wax sealer pad washer mf wheel cleaners brushs lights degessor dress for tires its end less. But if you like to get out of the house and hide from the wife this is for you and price less lol
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Quite the opposite tone from all the other responders ... :dunno: As you may have read in earlier posts though; I'm going the DIY route. By my calculations I'll be FAR from $1,000 in costs to DIY... :coolgleam:




To all the others - thanks for your guidance! If you don't mind keeping an eye on this thread, I'll likely be posting back again before I make a final decision on what I'm going to buy. I'll also post back after I meet with the first "detailer". Ideally, I'd like my money back. But I don't think he's going to be very willing to do that. So we'll see what I can get out of him for him to "make this right".
 
Wes8398 said:
Wow!! Thanks for all the responses so far. I think they're a testament to how great this forum is.

- It's a 2006 Cadillac cts-v, black on grey.
- I live in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.
- my wife doesn't know that I'm not happy with the work I had done with her gift certificate. I dont have the heart to tell her.
- the car is usually washed my me in the decent weather, and touch-free washes through the winter months. (yes, i drove it in the snow... And it was SO MUCH FUN! lol). My washing technique is far from perfect though. I use a single bucket but I always wash top to bottom in small sections with lots of rinsing. I also wash the wheels with a separate sponge and always wash them last so not to fill the bucket with metal shavings and other brake related crap.

Now that I've discovered this forum, I'll very likely become a DIYer. That said, I'll start shopping for good starter kits and I'd love the suggestions to continue. There seems to be an awful lot of product out there that all claim to work the same magic. Choosing one line seems fairly daunting, but the most popular pick around here seems to be the meguires line, so maybe I'll stick with them...
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I live somewhat in the same area as you. I'm in Cornwall, Ontario, roughly 1 hour east of Ottawa or about 6-7 hours NE of Sarnia. Your hockey team, the Sarnia Sting, was once located in Cornwall and proudly won two Memorial Cups as the Cornwall Royals back in the early 80s.

Back on the topic of detailing - AutoGeek's Canadian distributor eShine.ca is located in Port Colborne, Ontario which is just outside of Niagara Falls. They offer many of the same products that AutoGeek offers at comparable prices in Canadian dollars. You'll save on shipping and not have to worry about duty charges from shipping over the border. Their shipping times are very fast too - it only takes two days with normal shipping to get from Port Colborne to Cornwall. I imagine shipping times to Sarnia would be similar or even faster. They also have a retail outlet if you want to make a road trip.

Based on personal experience and that we live in a similar climate, here are some products I can personally recommend:

- Just about anything from the Optimum line. Their washes, compounds and polishes work well in Southern Ontario's humid summers and chilly springs and autumns. I especially recommend Optimum No Rinse because it has a variety of uses as a clay lube, rinseless wash and quick detailer. Since you don't need a hose you can fill up a bucket in the sink and wash the car in the winter. I haven't tested it to see if it makes the ice in a backyard rink slipperier or not.

- All of the polishing in the world will mean nothing if you don't wash your car properly. Get yourself two 5 gallon buckets from Canadian Tire and a Grit Guard for each. A good inexpensive wash mitt is the Meguiars Microfiber Mitt. eShine and AutoGeek have them, and you might even be able to buy one off the shelf at PartSource or NAPA. You'll also need a couple of waffle weave drying towels. eShine's Dehydrator towel is on BOGO (Buy One, Get One free) right now.

- After using it for the first time last night, get yourself some Riccardo Clay. Due to an American patent on clay Riccardo unavailable in the USA, but we can get it up here from eShine. It's 100x better than the Meguiars clay I used to use. The Riccardo is softer, stickier and easier to work with.

- For a wax, go with Collinite 845. It looks great, lasts forever and it only costs $15. I threw two coats on my car in November and it easily lasted through all of the salt and sand of winter.


Hope all this helps!
 
Just got done a lengthy post and lost it... Argh! The gist of it was:

Thanks for the info...

The kits I'm interested in hearing your opinions and comparisons on:

Meg's - http://www.autogeekmobile.net/meguiars-ultra-polish-kit.html

Meg's - http://www.autogeekmobile.net/da-microfiber-starter-kit-6in.html

Optimum - http://www.autogeekmobile.net/optimum-kit.html

Menzerna - http://www.autogeekmobile.net/menzerna-maximum-shine-kit.html

Wolfgang - http://www.autogeekmobile.net/wolfgang-swirl-kit.html


I'll be taking all your advice and getting the Griot's polisher as well.
Thanks guys!
 
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