without a doubt,.,

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LazyGhost

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,.,.this is the most informative website ive ever found for any and all hobbies ive ever been interested in. Ive recently gotten the detailing bug and after looking around here and there, I sure am glad I found this place:xyxthumbs: Still havent done any work yet. Saving up my nickels for a polisher which I hope to get soon. In the meantime, im getting more edumacated every day. So I dont mind the wait.

Ill be polishing out some swirls and scratches on my personal vehicles soon enough, and ive got a basic question. I understand that removing swirls and scratches actually takes a little paint too. I know there are a lot of variables that go into how much wear my paint will get over the years ill be owning my vehicles and polishing them. I comprehend that the less scratched and swirled my paint is, the less abrassive polish and pads will be needed, thus causing less paint wear over the years.
My question is, for the average every day driver who dabbles in detailing, how many times over the years can I really expect to be able to polish out my ride, before I get to the point where ive gone too far and my paint job is damaged from my continuous polishing?
 
If you wash it the wright way I only do mine once a year. What year and kind of car do you drive? You won't be taking off any paint ever if the clear coat is still intact. Every time you polish it you are just leveling the clear coat out and taking minimal amount of clear coat.
 
Both vehicles ill be tinkering with are newer models, 2011 and 2012.
 
Welcome. You're going to need more than nickels...

I detail my cars and a few for friends and relatives, so, not a pro like many on here. That disclaimer in place, with proper care, wash technique, a top quality products (like the stuff you get here), you won't have to polish much paint off over the years.

You'll notice that many tape off high spots (ridges and creases) to avoid thinning of clear in these areas. You will probably get tired pressing on a dual action polisher before you burn thru clear (assuming nobody polished it before you do) but clear tends to be thinnest in these areas so go easy on them.

Like buying a truck, you're going to be surprised at how many friends you have when you get the hang of this. Few cars will ever look "clean" to you again. You'll get physically ill when you see the neighbor drying his car with an old beach towel. You'll threaten the dealer if he offers a free "detail" with an oil change.

This really is a lot of fun...
 
PS. Swirls, for the most part, are much easier on you and the paint go get rid of. Scratches are a little trickier. If you can catch on a scratch with your finger nail, you probably won't be able to polish it away. There has to be paint to polish and if it fails the nail test, chances are the clear is scratched away. Most recommend gently "rounding" the edges to make them less noticeable. Unless you're shooting for Pebble Beach Concouse, that should do.
 
meh I doubt you will be able to go through the clear with a DA... I wouldn't worry about it unless your car was over 5 years old and you have been compounding it (not just polishing it) quite frequently.
 
ihaveacamaro said:
meh I doubt you will be able to go through the clear with a DA... I wouldn't worry about it unless your car was over 5 years old and you have been compounding it (not just polishing it) quite frequently.
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Agree
 
Pureshine said:
If you wash it the wright way I only do mine once a year. What year and kind of car do you drive? You won't be taking off any paint ever if the clear coat is still intact. Every time you polish it you are just leveling the clear coat out and taking minimal amount of clear coat.
Click to expand...

Agree, if the wash is done 'right' and carefully, (2 bucket etc) what little swirls that might be picked up here and there will be fine for many months, (especially with some of today's hard finishes).

Would have an issue though in telling a newbie that buffing "won't be taking off any paint ever" as buffing by design takes off paint. Might never be enough to go through the clear with normal use of a DA, but it has to take off paint to provide a new, slick, uniform finish. Although if never doing any compounding, and only using filler type polishes/glazes it might not be measureable until several rounds (years) have passed.
 
LazyGhost said:
,.,.this is the most informative website ive ever found for any and all hobbies ive ever been interested in. Ive recently gotten the detailing bug and after looking around here and there, I sure am glad I found this place
Click to expand...


Above all, a discussion forum should be helpful, that is provide quality, accurate information. A good forum is also friendly. The community in general should be courteous to both new and existing members. Everyone in the online detailing world started out in the same place and that's knowing nothing. Helping new people to come further up the road is payback for the help they received in the past from others.

I wouldn't belong to a forum made up of people that don't fit the above criteria or conduct themselves in an unprofessional manner online. Pretty easy to get a feel for a person's true character by the words they they post, just spend a little time reading through their posting history and their true character shines through. :laughing:



LazyGhost said:
Still haven't done any work yet. Saving up my nickels for a polisher which I hope to get soon. In the meantime, im getting more edumacated every day. So I dont mind the wait.
Click to expand...

Nothing wrong with that and it's how most people act, that is research, (sometimes to death), and then take action.


LazyGhost said:
Ill be polishing out some swirls and scratches on my personal vehicles soon enough, and ive got a basic question. I understand that removing swirls and scratches actually takes a little paint too. I know there are a lot of variables that go into how much wear my paint will get over the years ill be owning my vehicles and polishing them.

I comprehend that the less scratched and swirled my paint is, the less abrassive polish and pads will be needed, thus causing less paint wear over the years.


My question is, for the average every day driver who dabbles in detailing, how many times over the years can I really expect to be able to polish out my ride, before I get to the point where ive gone too far and my paint job is damaged from my continuous polishing?
Click to expand...

As long as you use common sense and avoid compounding a lot chances are good you won't have any problems with your car's paint. The horizontal surfaces take the most punishment from wear-n-tear plus exposure to the sun and inclement weather.

Keep your car's paint clean and regularly protected and chances are good your paint will last over the service life of the car or until you decide to sell it and get a new or different car.

Probably the worst place to own a car is any geographical area that gets a lot of harsh sun, so places close to the equate or sunshine states like here in South Florida.

Even then, if you have covered parking that will help a lot. The sun is probably the biggest enemy to a modern clear coat finish. That and using coarse abrasives and/or not keeping the surface polished and protected.

A smooth paint surface will resist deterioration better and longer than a rough surface.


Also, one of the most common mistakes the "average" person makes when it comes to maintaining the exterior of their car is they scrub the paint when they wash their car.

I discuss this in my how-to book in the chapter on washing.


:)
 
Rayaz said:
Welcome. You're going to need more than nickels...

...... Few cars will ever look "clean" to you again. You'll get physically ill when you see the neighbor drying his car with an old beach towel. You'll threaten the dealer if he offers a free "detail" with an oil change.

This really is a lot of fun...
Click to expand...

Yes indeed! :)

Here I am trying to talk my neighbor into letting me "help" him with his BMW X5 M Series. I've seen him out there with an old rag, hardly ANY soap, rubbing on for hours. Heck, I'm darned near old enough to be his DAD and it makes me ill. Even took him a bucket of ONR mix (and a bottle mixed to QD specs) a week or so ago hoping he would use it. NOPE.... he just kept wiping with that darned rag! I pitched in and started with the ONR anyhow. :laughing:

Figure once it warms up and I get to working outside he'll break down and let me buff the darned thing.
 
cardaddy said:
Figure once it warms up and I get to working outside he'll break down and let me buff the darned thing.
Click to expand...


And that's how it starts, informing them the correct way, helping out, you'll be surprised one day to see the rag disapear and the questions start. If he even cares about how the car looks.
I've helped a lot of friends and they appreciate it, maybe just to humor me.
 
cartman57 said:
And that's how it starts, informing them the correct way, helping out, you'll be surprised one day to see the rag disapear and the questions start. If he even cares about how the car looks.
I've helped a lot of friends and they appreciate it, maybe just to humor me.
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I hear ya' brother... (on the "just to humor me").

I mean good LORD man, please don't do that to your car!

Thing is.... my neighbor is a motorcycle NUT in the biggest way. His basement garage is a dedicated motorcycle shop, complete with a beam mounted chain lift. He raced in his teens & twenties and still has a KTM 450 just because, and his street bikes are; Buell, Kawasaki & Yamaha. Plus a pair of Simplex bikes, one a 1938 he restored to an amazing level that sits in his livingroom and another all original, unrestored, I'm guessing from the early 50's that he rode as a kid in the late 70's.

His bikes, his bike garage, he keeps clean, period. The cars and the upstairs garage, well... they are considered beaters. WTH?

Oh well, I know I'm already planning on how to get ahold of that X5M, maybe do half the hood, fender and door and see if he can "see the light". :laughing:
 
Rayaz said:
Welcome. You're going to need more than nickels...

I detail my cars and a few for friends and relatives, so, not a pro like many on here. That disclaimer in place, with proper care, wash technique, a top quality products (like the stuff you get here), you won't have to polish much paint off over the years.

You'll notice that many tape off high spots (ridges and creases) to avoid thinning of clear in these areas. You will probably get tired pressing on a dual action polisher before you burn thru clear (assuming nobody polished it before you do) but clear tends to be thinnest in these areas so go easy on them.

Like buying a truck, you're going to be surprised at how many friends you have when you get the hang of this. Few cars will ever look "clean" to you again. You'll get physically ill when you see the neighbor drying his car with an old beach towel. You'll threaten the dealer if he offers a free "detail" with an oil change.

This really is a lot of fun...
Click to expand...
ROTFL!!!

fdesalvo said:
Quote of the week?
Click to expand...

Definitely! lol

I actually have customers that complain that we don't offer "free details" with service work.. Some folks just don't understand. :face_palm:
 
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