yep, no worries. I am NOT a profession detailer... I just happen to do better work than the local shops do for my friends and do it for cheaper, and kept getting asked do it so I decided to make some money doing it and create my company for fun.
I work full time, go to school full time, and always have stuff going on so I took this job on telling him that I would do the work as I had the time. The engine bay took by far the longest of any engine bay ive done to date, even a beast of a V8 in a F-250 that was crazy muddy from years of hunting and mudding. idk why, but that crap didnt want to come off easily even after soaking the stuff in anything I had on hand like Meg's APC, Super degreaser, purple power, even went to the store and bought some engine detail spray and that seemed to work the best imho. I would have been done long before I finally finished had I not had to worry about any seam sealer or anything but was asked to get it off as well.
The paint was alot more tricky. I started with a white pad and M205. it removed SOME of the oxidation on the hood and roof, but the paint was still a pinkish color and hazy all over so I stepped it up to M105 on the hood and roof and kept the 205 to the doors and fenders where there was alot less correction needed.
As for the supplies, ya, Im a 21 year old guy who does this stuff for fun out of his garage. I have done friend's cars, stranger's cars, fleets, all that stuff and it's fun to me. I have to pay for school out of my pocket. I have a car payment. I pay rent. I am also saving up to buy a house once I finish my Paramedic Degree... so sue me if Im not into dumping tons of money on all kinds of stuff and just stick to the tried and true chems people review and rave about here on Auto Geek... btw, none of my stuff was bought at autozone, so its cool... but if it was... its still the same stuff.
rops:
as for the primer being able to be seen... the car was dropped off at my house late at night as Caleb couldnt make it out any sooner so I couldnt inspect it till the next day. Upon inspection I started texting my customer about the issues and how crazy this car is compared to others... I honestly did not expect it to be in that of shape... and that "puke" stain on the fender was a tough SOB. lol
anyways, the primer was visible on the passenger door in a 3 inch section... right on a body line. and then again further down the body line. and then again just below the surface of the paint above that section on the part of the door that curves inwards to the trim under the door. I know for a fact that I did not burn it down to primer as I am not stupid enough to do that, did not use a pad tough enough to do so, and my PC would take FOREVER to eat away at it like that... so Idk what could have done it... maybe it was just always really thin and the constant oxidation and abuse was wearing it away? hell if I know.
I understand this paint is 19 years old and in rough shape so It would take some serious work, but I honestly was NOT going to go polishing till I saw zero defects across the whole damn paint job simply because I already saw primer in spots and there were paint chips across the whole body, as well as cracks in the paint.
It took so long because I am limited to a PC, and I did use the least aggressive technique first. Instead of just cutting it as fast as possible till I saw fresh paint and running with the money I sat in my chair and just went to work doing multiple passes with m205 until there was no more oxidation, streaking, anything as best as I could without going too far imho.
If I had known this job was going to take this long, cause so much stress between my customer (a guy I actually consider a friend/ really cool acquaintance), and myself, as well as cost him exactly that much, I would have turned him away.... but I was approached by a friend for a detail on an older car I had admired at numerous meets previous... and it didnt look that bad tbh... but then when the sun came up and I saw the paint and everything in the condition it was, and my customer already trusting me to get the job done and I dont like to give up or half ass stuff, so I got to work and tried my hand at it and it looks SO much better than it did previously.
I will admit that I have only done 1 previous single stage paint, and it was on an older car than this, but the paint was NOWHERE near as bad, as thin, chipped, oxidized, scratched, anything... and it took me all of 4 hours to polish it out and get it ready for a wax, and his paint was much easier to work as well.
The pricing I had written on that forum changes all the time since I started out charging next to nothing to get people to come try me out and was told I charge WAY too little. so it went up. same stuff, so it went up more. I dont update it as much as I should, and that is totally my fault.
I also have a quote ready for my customer before they even drop the car off, but I totally forgot since I am so busy with day to day stuff, plus he dropped it off after I had just gotten home from a 14 hour shift, plus running errands so I was pretty exhausted and it slipped my mind.
I contacted Caleb the entire time and kept him in the loop and told him how many pads I was going through (if you touch the paint, it comes off. this paint is so soft and brittle its not even funny!) and he told me "add it to my tab".
I am NOT going to re-use this pads on another car, because no matter how clean i get them, they will still have his paint in them.. I am also not able to re-use them on his car either as I am not stupid enough to use one or two pads on an entire car, regardless of whether its a single or double stage paint. I changed them out as they got clogged and wouldnt wipe clean any more even after soaking them in pad cleaner, dish soap, anything, so I chucked em...
I have since told him that I will gladly give him a free total car wash and wax next month, as well as redo any sections for free that he is not totally happy with. The car was viewed by no less than 30 people as we had family over and friends, and nobody thought it was the same car...
this detail added way over $200 to the value of this car, but it's whatever. Ill just have to be more picky with who I work for I guess. I harbor no ill will against Caleb and I still loving the little car!
