Ok, I am going to bite the bullet and hire a detailer for my remaining swirls

ltoman

ltoman

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Ok,
I have worked on my danged vette and in the sun, she is covered in light swirls and spider webs. I can't get out the remaining light swirls, spider webbing, and light scratches.

It is coated in wax and cm, and I am really frustrated. I called a detailed who said they would do the hood just to show me the quality of their work and if I liked it do the car for $100/125. They were talking about using Malco or some other products not available to the public that I'd never heard of. Something with Teflon in it. ??? Mean anything to any of you? And is the price fair?
He knew of Pinnacle though, and of Souveran. He wasn't sure if he'd use an orbital or a rotary - I don't want to shave off all my clearcoat
what do you guys think??
ANY INPUT from you guys is appreciated!
(No, this does not mean I am giving up on working on the car. It just means I can keep it under control!!!)

Thanks,
LaurenFeed back please Feed back please Feed back please :)
 
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i wouldn't trust anyone else with my car...what products are you using? just remember that the clear on your car is VERY hard and takes longer to work out the imperfections...
 
orngez said:
i wouldn't trust anyone else with my car...what products are you using? just remember that the clear on your car is VERY hard and takes longer to work out the imperfections...
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I am using a pc with the XMT line. It has been clayed with Pinnacle clay and washed with the shmitt and Pinnacle body shampoo mixed with DG soap or PB SS&W.
Repeated passes with help - I can wait for XMT 4 or buy Menzerma...

I figure he will be right in front of me .... and I will inspect everything he uses....
I just can't get them. My son's hand blows up every time he uses it. (That is another mystery).... and I am not happy about the car or my son. I had another teeneager (19) help me pc, and still same results. Boy did he put in some gusto.
 
where in socali are you ...i'd be happy to come by and take a looksy...see if i could help...
 
orngez said:
where in socali are you ...i'd be happy to come by and take a looksy...see if i could help...
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Just north of Escondido - (San Diego)
 
yikes....to far for me...maybe the mobile detailer will be your best bet...
 
Hmm, Well took out swirlles on my 2003 GMC using Wizard, Edge blue pad. However if heart is still intent some Bodyshops also detail.
 
I'd look into the Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Compound (made my Menzerna) and maybe the finishing polish.


Maybe ask him about your clear coat, and see if he knows what he's doing. You know your cleat coat is hard, if he tells you its soft, he's wrong.

Ask what sort of polisher/buffer he's going to use. A PC, a buffer, do it by hand? (play dumb) etc.

What sort of polishes or products is he using? The brand name of the polish. If he can't tell you, look elsewhere.

And this whole "teflon" is crap. You can buy "Dupont 'teflon' " wax at Wal-Mart. Teflon cannot remove swirls.
 
nick19 said:
I'd look into the Blackfire Scratch Resistant Clear Compound (made my Menzerna) and maybe the finishing polish.


Maybe ask him about your clear coat, and see if he knows what he's doing. You know your cleat coat is hard, if he tells you its soft, he's wrong.

Ask what sort of polisher/buffer he's going to use. A PC, a buffer, do it by hand? (play dumb) etc.

What sort of polishes or products is he using? The brand name of the polish. If he can't tell you, look elsewhere.

And this whole "teflon" is crap. You can buy "Dupont 'teflon' " wax at Wal-Mart. Teflon cannot remove swirls.
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Yah, this guy worried me. He said the answer to swirls was wax, but now he knows I know better.

teflon is for pots, not vettes ...lol...thanks for the tip on that

i wish one of you guys on the forum were nearby - i would so pay to have it done!!

have to sleep on it....
 
I wouldn't.. shame on you Lauren! :(



Find someone else to do the work. If his answer was "wax" is for swirls, hire someone else. $200 for a job like that is common. And with your Vette hard CC, I'd charge you by the hour, because I have no idea how long it's going to take.

Maybe lift up your top, and show him the reflections! He'll be amazed by what stunning reflections you have.. ;)
 
nick19 said:
I wouldn't.. shame on you Lauren! :(



Find someone else to do the work. If his answer was "wax" is for swirls, hire someone else. $200 for a job like that is common. And with your Vette hard CC, I'd charge you by the hour, because I have no idea how long it's going to take.

Maybe lift up your top, and show him the reflections! He'll be amazed by what stunning reflections you have.. ;)
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wax for swirls....crap. i know more than that.
but there are lots of guys out there. someone must know.
yes, he knew it had a hard clear - he called it very good or very strong - something like that.

i am not done yet.

nah, they don't get to see my reflections on the hood unless the work is free...lol:p
 
ltoman said:
wax for swirls....crap. i know more than that.
but there are lots of guys out there. someone must know.
yes, he knew it had a hard clear - he called it very good or very strong - something like that.

i am not done yet.

nah, they don't get to see my reflections on the hood unless the work is free...lol:p
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I would get a few more quotes. I wouldn't do the hood for free to show you my work. That's why I keep a scrap book. I would do a small section, about a quarter of the half of the hood. Certainly not the whole thing.

Shoot, I'll buy a ticket to Cali and do the work for free to see THOSE reflections on your hood; who wouldn't? :awesome:
 
nick19 said:
I would get a few more quotes. I wouldn't do the hood for free to show you my work. That's why I keep a scrap book. I would do a small section, about a quarter of the half of the hood. Certainly not the whole thing.

Shoot, I'll buy a ticket to Cali and do the work for free to see THOSE reflections on your hood; who wouldn't? :awesome:
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cool. buy a ticket for july when i am off work, ok?
 
You said that you are frustrated. I understand why you feel that way after all of the hard work that you put into your Vette. It just seems to me that the more that you do the closer you get to getting it perfect.
Bet you might even be more frustrated watching someone else touch your baby. Especially, if it wasn't up to your standards.
That's a lot of talk to lead up to say that I for one would like to see you finish it yourself. Me and a lot of others on here would be your biggest fans.
Hope that some of the experienced guys will chime-in with the idea that will finally work.
Best to you Lauren, whatever you decide,
 
'Nother PM sent. We will work this out.

Your car will be 100% swirl free when you're done.
 
By him saying that using wax for swirls leads me to believe he is going to hide them as with a glaze or a product with fillers. Not what you want, b/c I am sure you have read it before, those swirls will just show back up. XMT 4 may work but we haven't seen any results from test (that I know of). Do you have any Optimum Compound? I have read that it seemed a little more aggressive than XMT 3. This may work along with the right pad then followed by a light polishing.
 
Lauren, have you tried Optimum compound with an orange pad?
 
sounds like she needs to go to Hyper Compound instead, especially if I needed two passes with it on my car.
 
Come on Lauren, are you really going to let some "guy" touch your car. I for one agree, I would really like to see you complete your vehicle. Yes it takes lots of time and hard work to get anything at 100% but I wouldn't trust someone to get near my vehicle....that's just my opinion. Stick with it babe, don't give up we got your back. Hey you saw the Volvo, so if I could rid of all the water edging and the really bad scratches and wirls I'm sure you can make the Vet swirl free....it's just toing to take some time that's all.

Everyone here has your back and I'm sure the more experianced memebers will help you out because we all love you....but me more!!! hahahaha
 
ltoman said:
Ok,
I have worked on my danged vette and in the sun, she is covered in light swirls and spider webs. I can't get out the remaining light swirls, spider webbing, and light scratches.

It is coated in wax and cm, and I am really frustrated. I called a detailed who said they would do the hood just to show me the quality of their work and if I liked it do the car for $100/125. They were talking about using Malco or some other products not available to the public that I'd never heard of. Something with Teflon in it. ??? Mean anything to any of you? And is the price fair?
He knew of Pinnacle though, and of Souveran. He wasn't sure if he'd use an orbital or a rotary - I don't want to shave off all my clearcoat
what do you guys think??
ANY INPUT from you guys is appreciated!
(No, this does not mean I am giving up on working on the car. It just means I can keep it under control!!!)

Thanks,
LaurenFeed back please Feed back please Feed back please :)
Click to expand...

There is one great detailer I would recommend - that is Justin. but he lives to far from you.
Lauren, my advice will be to ask a detailer to show pictures of his work (befores and afters), and make sure you find some Vettes done by him and some other luxury cars. You don't want to trust him if he only worked on old Tercels and Escorts.
That's my advice.

Clear coat is very hard on Vettes, and if you want to do some work yourself you will need Pinnacle Twins (not XMTs), and/or Menzerna PO106FF.
Those polishes are pretty espensive, but so is your car. It's well worth it.

Good luck.
 
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