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Author Topic: How to Mess Up a Good Detail  (Read 5903 times)

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Offline Too Stroked

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How to Mess Up a Good Detail
« on: September 03, 2014, 08:13:07 PM »
I’m under doctor’s orders to stay off my feet for a week or so – which is absolutely killing me. So I figured I’d try to liven this place up with a new thread. We always seem to be talking about how to detail a vehicle properly. (OK, we also talk about how to grow world class snards in the winter once in a while too.) So there’s tons of good information here on how to make a vehicle look great. But there’s precious little information on how not to screw it up. (Could it be that’s because folks screwing up a good detail are good for business?) In any case, let’s talk about what not to do.

The starting point for this discussion will be a fully detailed vehicle. For the sake of argument, that means somebody competent has washed, clayed, prepped, masked, buffed / polished and applied an LSP to it. In short, it looks like a million bucks. How fast could somebody possibly screw that all up? Believe it or not, about 5 minutes (or less) is all it takes – if you really try. So how do you mess it up? Let’s look a few of the more common ways.

1)   Wash it with Dish Soap: Some of us use Dawn Dish Soap to get every last bit of wax off of a vehicle before a detail. (That should be a hint right there.) Dish Soap is a very different product than Car Wash Soap. The differences are driven by not only what you’re trying to take off, but also by what you’re trying not to take off. Dish Soap is designed to take off everything. Car Wash Soap does a lousy job of removing baked on lasagna, but it does a great job of leaving any wax still on the surface. One last note. Even Car Wash Soap will remove wax – if you use it at too high of a concentration.

2)   Wash it with the wrong sponge, brush, etc.: Most folks use any old sponge to wash their vehicle. But not all sponges are created equal. Some can be quite abrasive. Some don’t release trapped contaminates very well. And even the best sponge – used improperly – can do damage by introducing new surface marring. So buy a good quality sponge designed for washing your car and use the Two Bucket Method. Oh, and resist the temptation to use any kind of brush – especially the kind at the local quarter car wash. (The guy washing the muddy backhoe in front of you should be a hint there.)

3)   Wash from the bottom up: This might be a news flash for some folks, but cars and trucks generally get dirtier nearer to the ground. And the worst possible spots are behind the wheels / tires. Always wash your vehicle from the top down so that you don’t pick up a rock from the rocker panel (no pun intended) and mar the rest of the paint job with it.

4)   Inadequate Rinsing: Somebody once told me that you can never rinse a vehicle too much. (Unless of course you live in certain drought stricken areas of California.) And I’m not just talking about rinsing after a wash. I always rinse a vehicle really, really well before I even hit it with Car Wash Soap. Rinsing can not only wash away soap and car wash chemicals, but it’s also pretty darn good at rinsing away contaminates that can mar your paint surface.

5)   Dry it with the wrong kind of towel: I know it’s real tempting to use the great big bath towels that the wife just tossed out because she re-decorated the bathroom. But old (generally cotton) bath towels aren’t really the best thing to use anymore. The current favorite material of most detailers is Microfiber Towels. Laundered correctly, these bad boys not only wick up more moisture than cotton, but they also trap any surface contaminates deep enough in the nap so as not to cause any harm. And as for the old favorite Chamois – forget it.

6)   Wipe off light dirt with a dry towel: Every single one of us has found themselves in a situation where our freshly washed (or detailed) vehicle ends up with just a light coat of dust on it just before a hot date or some other occasion where we want it to look perfect. The temptation is to grab a towel and lightly wipe the surface off. Resist the temptation! Remember, every time you even touch a painted surface, you are – at least at the microscopic level – marring the surface. If you really must “dust,” at least lubricate the surface with a Quick Detailer or us a product such as Optimum No Rinse for the task.

OK, time for some other members to chime in with a few more no-no’s that I missed.

Offline Kitzy

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Re: How to Mess Up a Good Detail
« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2014, 05:42:37 AM »
#6!  Every time I'd go over to my girlfriends house, her dad cut the grass and get it all over my truck.  Not just dust and whatnot, no, he cuts it out towards the sidewalks instead of in towards the yard and then makes everyone sweep up his mess.  Anyway, Im going down a road I don't want to right now.  Regardless, it never fails.  My truck is always clean and he always has his youngest daughter go wipe down my truck with a dry crappy rag...  I do t know how many times I've said its fine, I appreciate it, but please just leave it dirty.

While this isnt necessarily ruining anything per say, its frustrating and annoying.  Puddles!  I spent the other morning washing my truck and getting it looking presentable, drove a half hour to a car show to meet up with Steve and Pockets, while driving through the park to their setup to park, navigating pedestrians and show cars, I was forced in to a mud puddle.  Sumumabish!

Tapatalkin...

If you always do what you\'ve always done, you\'ll always get what you\'ve always got.

Offline Too Stroked

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Re: How to Mess Up a Good Detail
« Reply #2 on: September 04, 2014, 06:50:52 PM »
My first Scion xB (AKA - Toaster #1) had a beautiful Dark Cherry paint job. One day (in the winter) at the marina, it was pretty well covered with salt. One of the geniuses there wrote "wash me" in the salt on one side with his bare finger. Want to guess what that did to a good detail job? Yup, the letters showed up perfectly as marring. Pulled out the Flex again to fix it!

Offline Kitzy

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Re: How to Mess Up a Good Detail
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2014, 04:34:56 AM »
My first Scion xB (AKA - Toaster #1) had a beautiful Dark Cherry paint job. One day (in the winter) at the marina, it was pretty well covered with salt. One of the geniuses there wrote "wash me" in the salt on one side with his bare finger. Want to guess what that did to a good detail job? Yup, the letters showed up perfectly as marring. Pulled out the Flex again to fix it!
Ignorance is bliss.  Sometimes I wish I my life was that blissful.  I gotta take up drinking.

Tapatalkin...

If you always do what you\'ve always done, you\'ll always get what you\'ve always got.

 


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