A World of MINI Cooper Lovers
What Does Detailing Mean to you??
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A lot of people don't have a clue what it means to detail a car. The problem is that the term "detailing" is used by everybody, from mobile car wash guys, to car wash facilities, to all kinds of misinformed persons on the internet.
So when someone comes to me asking for a detail, and I tell them it's going to cost them $500 and up, they are usually floored, because they are expecting a "detail" to be $100-$150 or less.
Why is there such a wide price range? if $500 seems expensive, you should check out some of my competition that charge $3,000 and up for a single detail.
I find it amusing to see local detail shops that claim a "complete" detail for $75 and that includes claying the car and waxing.
Let's see how many ways we can define the term "claying".
Turtle Wax sells a product in their Ice brand, Liquid Clay Bar. It's nothing more than a liquid polish that isn't all that effective as clay. However in the detailing world, all terms are used loosely. Zaino has been selling their synthetic polymer waxes for years as polishes because it's not the kind of natural carnauba "waxes" that people associated the term Wax with. However polishes have an entirely different meaning from waxes and most manufacturers agree that a polish removes defects while waxes (despite whether being natural or synthetic) protect the paint. So a lot of Zaino users incorrectly assume they aren't protecting their paint and need to add protective products on top of Zaino.
There are waxes that last weeks, and most many months. Prima Hydro is a very easy to use spray wax that only lasts a few weeks, yet a detail shop could spray a car and honestly tell you that it's been waxed. They could clay and wax a car in maybe one hour using these products and still make $75/hr which is a decent hourly rate for detailers.
They certainly wouldn't be polishing and if they did, you should run like mad, because polishing takes time, and the only thing that loses out when polishing is rushed is the longevity of your paint. There are fast ways and slow ways to correct paint. Fast ways are great for people who don't have much time like production detailers trying to move on to the next car, but they can permanently damage your paint and will hurt the longevity of it, although you may not realize it until years down the road.
So does detailing including polishing paint? Sure it can. But in the professional world, there are quality detailers and production detailers. Quality detailers put the best quality as top priority while production detailers care about doing things the fastest and cheapest way. Professional detailers who work by hand are either only working on cars with very soft paints or they aren't doing any polishing work, just cleaning and waxing.
As an owner and enthusiast detailer, you may or may not care about the things we find unacceptable as quality detailers like wax/polish residue on the rubber or in cracks between panels. Or buffer swirl marks or holograms in the paint. Bringing your paint as close to perfection as possible is our goal, but within reason taking into consideration that non garaged cars take more abuse than garaged cars as well as paint thickness for overall longevity.
When finding a detailer for your own car, it pays to do a lot of research. Ask them questions about the products they use and why. Ask if you can watch them work. Find out if they interview you at all or just make blanket decisions about you and your car. That is--carnaubas can make a cars paint look richer, but they only last a few months at best where as synthetics are very durable but can be too glossy and mirror like. Some new synthetic products like Prima Epic provide the richness of a carnauba but the durability of a synthetic. If the detailer is going to use a carnauba but suggests doing a maintenance plan every 6 months or vice versa--chooses a synthetic but suggests returning every 2 or 3 months, you might want to ask him why as that's contrary to the typical performance of that wax.
So tell me what detailing means to you and how do you go about it, whether choosing a detailer or detailing your own ride (MINI)?
Richard
So when someone comes to me asking for a detail, and I tell them it's going to cost them $500 and up, they are usually floored, because they are expecting a "detail" to be $100-$150 or less.
Why is there such a wide price range? if $500 seems expensive, you should check out some of my competition that charge $3,000 and up for a single detail.
I find it amusing to see local detail shops that claim a "complete" detail for $75 and that includes claying the car and waxing.
Let's see how many ways we can define the term "claying".
Turtle Wax sells a product in their Ice brand, Liquid Clay Bar. It's nothing more than a liquid polish that isn't all that effective as clay. However in the detailing world, all terms are used loosely. Zaino has been selling their synthetic polymer waxes for years as polishes because it's not the kind of natural carnauba "waxes" that people associated the term Wax with. However polishes have an entirely different meaning from waxes and most manufacturers agree that a polish removes defects while waxes (despite whether being natural or synthetic) protect the paint. So a lot of Zaino users incorrectly assume they aren't protecting their paint and need to add protective products on top of Zaino.
There are waxes that last weeks, and most many months. Prima Hydro is a very easy to use spray wax that only lasts a few weeks, yet a detail shop could spray a car and honestly tell you that it's been waxed. They could clay and wax a car in maybe one hour using these products and still make $75/hr which is a decent hourly rate for detailers.
They certainly wouldn't be polishing and if they did, you should run like mad, because polishing takes time, and the only thing that loses out when polishing is rushed is the longevity of your paint. There are fast ways and slow ways to correct paint. Fast ways are great for people who don't have much time like production detailers trying to move on to the next car, but they can permanently damage your paint and will hurt the longevity of it, although you may not realize it until years down the road.
So does detailing including polishing paint? Sure it can. But in the professional world, there are quality detailers and production detailers. Quality detailers put the best quality as top priority while production detailers care about doing things the fastest and cheapest way. Professional detailers who work by hand are either only working on cars with very soft paints or they aren't doing any polishing work, just cleaning and waxing.
As an owner and enthusiast detailer, you may or may not care about the things we find unacceptable as quality detailers like wax/polish residue on the rubber or in cracks between panels. Or buffer swirl marks or holograms in the paint. Bringing your paint as close to perfection as possible is our goal, but within reason taking into consideration that non garaged cars take more abuse than garaged cars as well as paint thickness for overall longevity.
When finding a detailer for your own car, it pays to do a lot of research. Ask them questions about the products they use and why. Ask if you can watch them work. Find out if they interview you at all or just make blanket decisions about you and your car. That is--carnaubas can make a cars paint look richer, but they only last a few months at best where as synthetics are very durable but can be too glossy and mirror like. Some new synthetic products like Prima Epic provide the richness of a carnauba but the durability of a synthetic. If the detailer is going to use a carnauba but suggests doing a maintenance plan every 6 months or vice versa--chooses a synthetic but suggests returning every 2 or 3 months, you might want to ask him why as that's contrary to the typical performance of that wax.
So tell me what detailing means to you and how do you go about it, whether choosing a detailer or detailing your own ride (MINI)?
Richard
Tags: 101, detailers, detailing, paint, polisher, production, quality
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by benji_mini on -
there are too many defiinitions for the word "detail", as youve said.
detailing my MINI, to me, is washing thoroughly, clay the car, re-wash the car, compound if/where needed, polish by hand, wax by hand.
it sounds pretty straighforward but theres a lot more detail that i actually go into, primarily being that i tape off my stripes, remove my tail light rings as to not get anything on there, and the interior is a whole other story. i also use rain-x on my windows before the first wash. rain-x is the sh*t
i primarily use turtle wax, i forget what polish i use but its pink and smells nice haha, mostly everything i use is Meguires though. i like their professional line of products - their wheel brightener is probably one of the best ive seen, aside from RCW or something like that which is supposedly super toxic or something.
i know i dont do the best details out there but i love the way my car looks when im done and i cant justify spending upwards of 350-400 on a detail. i did it once and it was entirely worth it. my car looked better than new. but when i can do it myself, id rather - its more of a passion than anything else.
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Permalink Reply by PlayPlay on -
Thanks for the great write-up, Octaneguy. I fall into that category detailing "noob". In fact I am guilty of posting a thread on NAM about how I loved my $100 detail job hehehe. I was quite happy with it and still am. But, thanks to your write up, I understand better now that it was probably a "production" detail job. And, I understand better now that it was a clean and wax, and not a polishing. But, since my car has 7,000 on it and is garaged 99% of the time, I really only needed a clean and wax. At least the guy was very patient, let me watch, explained all the steps (which I can't really remember) and was a very decent guy. So, for me, I do want to learn more as I honestly trust myself more than others, but I probably will never need to indulge in professional polishing on a regular basis.
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Permalink Reply by lawmann on -
Hi, my name is lawmann and I'm a detail-a-holic...
To me detailing a vehicle insinuates exactly what it sounds like, going to the nth degree that commonly most individuals do not strive for. Cleaning not only what you normally see, but what one doesn't see as well. I clean all components under the bonnet, the undercarriage, and parts of the interior that most let go (no free range french fries under my seats!).
I clean, wax (using an old fashioned paste carnuba wax) and condition the rubber components using a cleaner and protectant. Windows are cleaned and conditioned with Rain-X, and I ensure the door jambs and boot are equally cleaned and waxed. Once a year I will break out the clay bar and spend 10-12 hours cleaning the MINI and then waxing it. I do not use a mechanical applicator for the wax, but use good old fashioned elbow grease...you know, wax-on, wax-off! For me doing the waxing by hand using good quality diaper cloth produces an excellent swirl-free finish that looks exceptional. I avoid spray-on polishes except when I am extremely short on time and have not applied any carnuba in a month or so. I wouldn't consider anyone using spray-on products as one who is detailing per se, but merely cleaning.
This is just an overview of my detailing, not a complete listing of what I do, but a generalization.
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