Top 3 Tips/Techniques that helped the most when first starting out?

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Top 3 Tips/Techniques that helped the most when first starting out?



Thinking back to when you first got into detailing cars, what are the top 3 tips or techniques that helped the most to get the results you're were struggling to get?


When I first started out, someone showed me,

1. How to pick up a bead using the 10 @ 10 Technique when using a rotary buffer. This helped a lot compared to what most people do and what I was shown which was to with the rotary buffer "off", take the pad and spread a glob of product around on a panel and "then" turn the buffer on and start buffing. This also tends to sling splatter everywhere.


2. How to use a real steel pad cleaning spur to clean my wool pads instead of a screwdriver.
I've used screwdrivers as well as other things to peel off the gunk that builds-up on a wool buffing pad when compounding, but a simple tool like a steel spur, a tool designed to clean and fluff the fibers works so much better.


3. Using firm downward pressure with a Porter Cable to remove swirls.
When the Porter Cable was first introduced to the paint polishing world from the wood sanding world, back then everyone kept saying just use light downward pressure. Everyone was saying,

Just use the weight of the tool.

Of course, this was over 20 years ago. I found this advice in practice meant never actually getting any work done, in other words, never actually removing swirls and scratches. On my own I tried pushing down hard, or firmly while still maintaining pad rotation and voila! The tool actually started working.

No one showed this to me, I figured it out on my own and then started showing everyone else. But this helped a lot for removing swirls when using a DA polisher as well as turning out hologram-free finishes after using rotary buffers. We also didn't have all the cool abrasive technology that's readily available today.

Keep in mind back when the Porter Cable was introduced, there also were no thin foam buffing pads like we have today, everything was actually fairly thick and this too, hindered the Porter Cable and PC "style" tools. Marking the back of a DA backing plate to make it easier for your eyes to monitor if the pad was rotating was also a key technique that helped me and others as well.



So what tips or tweaks in your technique helped you the most when you first started out?



:)
 
1. Don't think you "know better" and can develop "shortcuts".

2. Spend the $ to buy the right/good stuff the first time.

3. Not everything you read on a forum is true.
 
1: Tape off body lines!

2: Seriously, tape off body lines!

3: See numbers 1 & 2...
 
Honorable Mention

Do a Test Spot


I learned or should say, taught myself the value and importance of testing a product or collection of product to one small area before buffing out the entire car.

Test to make sure the pads, products, tools and techniques you're "thinking" of using over the entire car will work on one small section before buffing out the entire car with the first product in the system.

If you can't make one small section look good you certainly are not going to make the entire car look good and you'll save a lot of time and headache.


:)
 
When I first started a few thing that helped me out were:

1. Using downward pressure when polishing but also keeping the pad spinning for give the correction to remove the defects.

2. Learning the section pass. Working a 2x2 foot area using over overlaping passes with SLOW arm speed. The slow arm speed I found was one of the key thing. I think it was you (Mike) that stated people new to the machine polishing have a tendency to turn on the machine hear the noise of the machine an they start moving the polisher fast and brisk over the paint and this in turn does nothing.

3. The 2 bucket method with the grit guards. I think most of us all started with the was method changing our habits of using one bucket a spounge,dish soap and a terry towel to dry. We I was first pointed to the 2 bucket method (from Mike) I was changed for good on the way I wash my vehicle. Now I use 2 bucket with the grit guard Microfiber mitts and MF drying towels.
 
swanicyouth said:
1. Don't think you "know better" and can develop "shortcuts".

2. Spend the $ to buy the right/good stuff the first time.

3. Not everything you read on a forum is true.
Click to expand...


Awesome post :dblthumb2:

Only thing I can add is do small sections at a time and this becomes ever more important when doing panels that are hard to reach either really low or really high. You can't do proper work if you're contorting your body to reach. So take your time.
 
1. Learn as much as you can about paint systems. Knowing what your working on will save you lots of time and money in the long run. There are so many different variations out there, even within the same model years.

2. There's no substitution for experience. We all know people with neglected cars, so start small. Don't buy a DA and a bunch of product to work on your brand new BMW, only to get frustrated when you make it worse.

3. As detailers, we are naturally perfectionist, but most people with daily drivers don't know the difference between perfect paint and clean/shiny paint. It's hard to NOT make it perfect, but don't waste your time if they aren't paying for it. (THIS IS THE HARDEST THING FOR ME)
 
On top of those already mentioned, I would add to learn as much as you can about the product(s) you are using, and make sure you understand the proper manner and technique with which to use the product and get the desired result.

The best or most expensive product or tool will yield results equal to the skill of the user.
 
1: Read everything you can, then put to work what you read until you get it right.

2: Do NOT practice on your friends cars! Do your own, and do it till you get it right.

3: Never EVER listen to someone else tell you what works for them without trying what works for YOU. (See my thread on dreaded black Porsche paint) ;)

Honorable mention:
Never count on a guy to know the difference between "detailed" and "shiny".

My neighbor is a huge car collector, from 70's muscle cars (like a 71 Roadrunner pumping out 725HP on 112 racing fuel) and another 71 being built now, 70 Chevelle(s), 69 Z28 to a Red 2009 Viper (I did last weekend and he only wanted shiny even though I buffed half his trunk to show him what 'detailed' was), a yellow 2010 Z06 (he wants 'shiny' ASAP) AND a blue metallic 2012 GT500 that he also wants shiny right after the Z06. All these are at his home currently.

Once I get these done he has more in warehouses! :)
 
1) Turn the speed down on that rotary.

2) Test spot-least aggressive method first.

3) Take your time.

These aren't really what I learned first, but what my mentor yelled at me-then I learned he was right.

Bill
 
swanicyouth said:
1. Don't think you "know better" and can develop "shortcuts".

2. Spend the $ to buy the right/good stuff the first time.

3. Not everything you read on a forum is true.
Click to expand...

Winner for the best post lol.

Like someone else mentioned if I could squeeze one more in there... Do a test spot! A lot of people forget...
 
1. Do the research - buy the right products the first time...and stick with them.

2. Pictures and testimonials are key to getting new business

3. Some people will spend $50K or more on a car, treat it like crap, and then try and be surprised when it costs over $100 for someone to care for it correctly.
 
Here's my serious responses...

1. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.
For example: If you're doing something like wet sanding your car, you should be prepared for the possibility of striking through your clear, whether it's in the middle of a panel or, more likely, an edge.

In addition to doing everything you can to prevent strike through, you should also determine what your next steps will be in case it does happen:
  • Are you prepared to live with it?
  • Are you going to repaint the panel yourself?
  • Are you going to have someone paint it?
  • If so, do you have the money to do so immediately?
If you don't have a solution for striking through then you shouldn't be wet sanding your car.

This may not sound like such a big deal for your own personal car, but if you know how to handle it with your car, you can stay cool, calm, and collected if it happens to a client's car.​

2. Know your risks and determine if it's worth the reward.
Much of the example for #1 applies here as well. But to take it a step further, ask yourself if the risk of screwing up is worth the reward of having a car with no orange peel? If it is to you, and you are prepared for the worst, then go for it. If your client wants you to do something on their car that you feel is risky, both this and question #1 can be good questions to ask the client.​

3. Screw up on a test panel instead of your own car.
Going back to my previous example - If you're going to be wet sanding, not only should you practice on a test panel, I believe you should also strike through on that test panel.

This will not only show you how quickly it can happen, it will show you what to look for. I'd even go so far as to tape of an edge of the test panel and learn what it takes to burn through the tape. Trust me, it can and does happen.

While striking through is striking through, if you can recognize when it's starting, you can at least minimize the severity. If you plan on fixing a strike through yourself, this also gives you an opportunity to practice fixing it - or determining if fixing it yourself is better left to a body shop.​
 
erichaley said:
Here's my serious responses...

1. Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.

2. Know your risks and determine if it's worth the reward.

3. Screw up on a test panel instead of your own car.
Click to expand...


Very good advice...

I've burned through paint on junker panels on purpose with rotary buffers for the experience and highly recommend this to everyone.

Better to learn what not to do on something that's not important to you than to learn on something that is important.


:dblthumb2:
 
I just have 1 golden rule..... WORK CLEAN
 
I have seen Mike recommend many times to mark your back plate to be sure the pad is spinning. However I don't know what do you do if the pad is not spinning properly. Clean the pad? replace the pad? Buy a new Buffer? Before this happens I figure I should find out what to do.
 
1. Do not fall into the hype trap.
2. Do not fall into the hype trap.
3. Do not fall into the hype trap.

Concentrate on technique, technique, technique.
 
Evan.J said:
When I first started a few thing that helped me out were:

1. Using downward pressure when polishing but also keeping the pad spinning for give the correction to remove the defects.

2. Learning the section pass. Working a 2x2 foot area using over overlaping passes with SLOW arm speed. The slow arm speed I found was one of the key thing. I think it was you (Mike) that stated people new to the machine polishing have a tendency to turn on the machine hear the noise of the machine an they start moving the polisher fast and brisk over the paint and this in turn does nothing.

3. The 2 bucket method with the grit guards. I think most of us all started with the was method changing our habits of using one bucket a spounge,dish soap and a terry towel to dry. We I was first pointed to the 2 bucket method (from Mike) I was changed for good on the way I wash my vehicle. Now I use 2 bucket with the grit guard Microfiber mitts and MF drying towels.
Click to expand...

I am fairly new at detailing but that is one thing I am so unsure to be true.

Some detailers use fast arm speeds, the most prominent one I can think of is Larry Kosilla. Larry uses very fast arm speed yet achieve perfect results on the most expensive of cars. I think arm speed is not as important as work time. If you work a 2 X 2 area for say 2 minutes, at slow arm speed you will be doing say 8 section passes and at fast arm speed you might be doing 16. So in the end the area has been worked the same. This is just a theory of mine, but that's how I feel.
 
Calendyr said:
I am fairly new at detailing but that is one thing I am so unsure to be true.

Some detailers use fast arm speeds, the most prominent one I can think of is Larry Kosilla. Larry uses very fast arm speed yet achieve perfect results on the most expensive of cars. I think arm speed is not as important as work time. If you work a 2 X 2 area for say 2 minutes, at slow arm speed you will be doing say 8 section passes and at fast arm speed you might be doing 16. So in the end the area has been worked the same. This is just a theory of mine, but that's how I feel.
Click to expand...

I guess it's true you can get to the end result either way, since it's the dwell time (the combination of arm speed and passes) that matters in the end (how long you work the compound).

However, it seems you'd defeat (or minimize) the purpose of the dual action (rotation and oscillation) if your arm speed is too fast, resulting in mainly the rotation that gives the cut, and not much of the oscillation.

edit to add that I guess you minimize the rotation as well (in a given spot) with faster arm speed but make up for it in repetitions.
 
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