Crazy Stuff You’ve Seen

J

jeffindetail

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Working at a dealership, I’ve seen lots of head scratchers, but I think you’d like hearing this one. One night we were close to wrapping up and a young salesman pulled up to clean his new lease. My attention was elsewhere as he was asking for help, so he decided to help himself. When I was able to turn my attention to him, I found that he had unwrapped and started washing his car with a brand new wool buffing pad like it was a wash mitt.

Anyone have any out there detail stories to share?
 
not really a detail story, but the other day at the grocery store gas station i saw a lady wiping down the window and paint with paper towels and glass cleaner...
 
Just love seeing a towel being used on all surfaces. My favorite is going from the rims to the paint.
 
My co-worker wiping off a huge bird bomb on the hood of his BMW with one of those hard public bathroom dispenser towels and spit.

Yes, he spit on the towel and scrubbed it off.
 
Back in the 90’s we were out west near Yellowstone. We pulled into a self service car wash and watched a woman start scrubbing her dry, dirty paint with the foaming brush. At least the brush was dispensing those foaming suds:)
 
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Bob
 
PaulMys said:
My co-worker wiping off a huge bird bomb on the hood of his BMW with one of those hard public bathroom dispenser towels and spit.

Yes, he spit on the towel and scrubbed it off.
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Talk about thrifty! :)
 
I still shake my head when I drive by the local drive-through swirl inducer and see a black BMW with the owner drying it off with a series of microfiber towels.

If they only knew what just happened! AGGH!

Many years ago in production dealership detailing a coworker removed a competing dealership's sticker with mineral spirits and a scotchbrite pad....
 
I have seen the gas station wash down a lot. it seems pretty popular in my area. Awhile back I seen a lady use the foam side of the squeegee all over, she even hit the front wheels then straight to the hood.

But if I had to say, this takes the prize. It was about 2001 I was living in Oklahoma and working at a detail shop, the owner hired a young man still in school. He would come in after school, clean up, wash towels, we were also teaching him the basics. He really was excited about learning.

One day I was working on a interior and he comes in for his shift, comes to me and ask me to look at something that he needed help with. As we were walking to the back lot he tells me "I wanted to clean up my girlfriends Neon for her, and there were bugs I had a hard time getting off. I think I messed it up." I am thinking probably a little machine time will straighten out. On the very front of the hood there were 2 3 inch white/gray spots. I said, "What the hell did you do?" His reply, "They were pretty tough, I used a Brillo pad!"
 
My dad did that once! He was wrapped up in the PT Cruiser craze and used a dish sponge for his bugs. When he told me, I asked him green or yellow side, but we all know what side he used.
 
We use spirits to remove the adhesive from old dealership decals, but the scotchbrite pad is a new one to me. We ease the stickers off with composite plastic blades and follow with spirits.
 
Once at a gas station I seen a guy wiping down his Mercedes S class using the window squeegee, he did his whole car!!
 
Maybe he was trying to compound it using all the dirt in that sponge as an abrasive.
 
I've seen the ol gas station scrub down as well. I swear people only see dirt and the color of the paint....nothing else. It's like they don't even see swirl marks. Or if they do, they think it's a sign that it's been "detailed".

There used to be a guy about a mile from me that would apply wax to his black car (Chrysler of some sort, 2000-ish model) and drive around for a day or two before removing the wax. I can't tell you how many times I saw him driving around with thick, caked on turtle wax.
 
Why.. why is he doing that? I don't understand.

JDGolden said:
I've seen the ol gas station scrub down as well. I swear people only see dirt and the color of the paint....nothing else. It's like they don't even see swirl marks. Or if they do, they think it's a sign that it's been "detailed".

There used to be a guy about a mile from me that would apply wax to his black car (Chrysler of some sort, 2000-ish model) and drive around for a day or two before removing the wax. I can't tell you how many times I saw him driving around with thick, caked on turtle wax.
Click to expand...
 
JDGolden said:
There used to be a guy about a mile from me that would apply wax to his black car (Chrysler of some sort, 2000-ish model) and drive around for a day or two before removing the wax. I can't tell you how many times I saw him driving around with thick, caked on turtle wax.
Click to expand...
That. Is. Awesome! Going for maximum cure time on the Turtle Wax. Maybe also get some dirt on there for abrasive when you remove it.
 
Many people absolutely don’t see swirl marks or they’re desensitized. For most people it’s not a high priority and that’s why dealerships don’t put much stock in paint correction. What’s really emphasized at dealerships (speaking mostly of used cars) is interiors. Most customers are accustomed to neglected paint and signs of “wear and tear” on the exterior, but interiors need to be damn near spotless. No one wants to be reminded of their car’s previous owner’s cleanliness and that’s what a filthy interior does.
 
It’s funny an old school at my job was telling me about this the other day. He said back when he started detailing in the 80s, you’d see cars with wax caked on them for weeks around town.
 
In my youth I worked at a dry cleaners. One of our customers pulls up in her new Lexus, admires the car for a bit then starts wiping it down with one of her husbands Ralph Lauren shirts she was bringing in for cleaning. So she was not only dragging the buttons across the paint but using a $50 towel to remove the dirt. :doh:
 
i have yet to see this in person, but i wouldn't be surprised when i do...
 
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