Mike Phillips
Active member
- Dec 5, 2022
- 51,004
- 7
Sign-up: 2002 Panoz Esperante - Hologram Removal
Date: Thursday, May 14th
Time: Starts at 5:00pm
Where: Autogeek's Show Car Garage
Project: Remove holograms and restore better than factory new finish to a 2002 Panoz Esperante.
I met the owner Steve at last Saturday's Cars & Coffee car show here at Autogeek, which takes place from 8:00am to 10:00am the second Saturday each month.
Steve asked me to take a look at his car's finish and diagnose the problem, which I did and I'm sorry to say the problem is holograms by an un-trained detailer in the detailing industry.
The reason I say un-trained is because whoever buffed the paint on this car used ONLY a rotary buffer and what looks to be a wool pad due to the sharp looking scratch pattern they left in the paint.
This is like a property crime because it does so much damage to the paint while removing precious paint that is already thin from the manufacturer.
Fixing or undoing the damage will require re-polishing the paint which will also remove a little paint. All this has to be done because there are no regulations governing who can call themselves a "detailer".
I've been teaching detailing classes since 1987, that's 28 years. Not as long as a few in this industry but longer than most. Between the all the classes I've taught for Meguiar's and all the classes I've taught for Autogeek my guess is I've probably had more people go through my classes in total than any other class in existences today and one of the things you learn when you go through one of our classes is how to avoid inflicting holograms into your car's paint or your customer's car's paint.
The sad thing about holograms by un-trained detailers besides removing already thin paint needlessly is that it's so easy to do the job right the first time.
Here's the car....
Looks okay in these pictures because in order to see the swirls you have to know where to stand and use the sun to reveal them....
Here's the holograms...
I moved to the side of the car so that when I look at the paint I see the sun shining down on the horizontal panels exposing the holograms caused by a detailer that has no clue as to what they are doing....
Note: The word hologram or holograms is a term used to define and describe the very specific scratch pattern instilled into car paint by the misuse of a rotary buffer.
Holograms = scratches IN the paint
So when you hire an untrained detailer you are paying them to machine buff scratches into your car's paint. The only way to remove holograms is to re-polish the car a second time only the second time you need someone that,
A: Knows what they are doing (training)
B: Has best in class compounds and polishes.
C: Has the right pads for the job.
D: Has the right tools for the job.
How do you find a qualified, trained professional detailer?
I recommend joining the AutogeekOnline.net discussion forum and start a thread like this,
Pro Detailer wanted in City, State
Then in the message of your thread include,
If they don't have a posting history then simply wait till a member with a history to show their credential does reply to your thread and of course I and others will always be on the forum to steer you to the right person.
Joining a forum is easy and the help you receive from a seasoned forum like AGO is priceless.
:dblthumb2:
Date: Thursday, May 14th
Time: Starts at 5:00pm
Where: Autogeek's Show Car Garage
Project: Remove holograms and restore better than factory new finish to a 2002 Panoz Esperante.
I met the owner Steve at last Saturday's Cars & Coffee car show here at Autogeek, which takes place from 8:00am to 10:00am the second Saturday each month.
Steve asked me to take a look at his car's finish and diagnose the problem, which I did and I'm sorry to say the problem is holograms by an un-trained detailer in the detailing industry.
The reason I say un-trained is because whoever buffed the paint on this car used ONLY a rotary buffer and what looks to be a wool pad due to the sharp looking scratch pattern they left in the paint.
This is like a property crime because it does so much damage to the paint while removing precious paint that is already thin from the manufacturer.
Fixing or undoing the damage will require re-polishing the paint which will also remove a little paint. All this has to be done because there are no regulations governing who can call themselves a "detailer".
I've been teaching detailing classes since 1987, that's 28 years. Not as long as a few in this industry but longer than most. Between the all the classes I've taught for Meguiar's and all the classes I've taught for Autogeek my guess is I've probably had more people go through my classes in total than any other class in existences today and one of the things you learn when you go through one of our classes is how to avoid inflicting holograms into your car's paint or your customer's car's paint.
The sad thing about holograms by un-trained detailers besides removing already thin paint needlessly is that it's so easy to do the job right the first time.
Here's the car....
Looks okay in these pictures because in order to see the swirls you have to know where to stand and use the sun to reveal them....
Here's the holograms...
I moved to the side of the car so that when I look at the paint I see the sun shining down on the horizontal panels exposing the holograms caused by a detailer that has no clue as to what they are doing....
Note: The word hologram or holograms is a term used to define and describe the very specific scratch pattern instilled into car paint by the misuse of a rotary buffer.
Holograms = scratches IN the paint
So when you hire an untrained detailer you are paying them to machine buff scratches into your car's paint. The only way to remove holograms is to re-polish the car a second time only the second time you need someone that,
A: Knows what they are doing (training)
B: Has best in class compounds and polishes.
C: Has the right pads for the job.
D: Has the right tools for the job.
How do you find a qualified, trained professional detailer?
I recommend joining the AutogeekOnline.net discussion forum and start a thread like this,
Pro Detailer wanted in City, State
Then in the message of your thread include,
- The make, model and year of car.
- The problem.
- What you want.
If they don't have a posting history then simply wait till a member with a history to show their credential does reply to your thread and of course I and others will always be on the forum to steer you to the right person.
Joining a forum is easy and the help you receive from a seasoned forum like AGO is priceless.
:dblthumb2:
