Detail on top of Dealer Detail
04-03-18, 08:59 AM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Detail on top of Dealer Detail
Hello all, so basically I paid my local dealer $150 to have their detailers go to town on my car with a "Presidential Detail". To cut to the chase, the end result was meh.
I then went home, and pulled from stock a Meguiar quick detailer, Meguiar leather cleaner, Mothers back to black, Mothers Leather conditioner, new microfiber rags, a dusting paint brush, and six ice cold adult baby bottles, and in a handful of hours blew the dealer's interior detail work out of the water.
On the other hand there is the outside of the vehicle and since it was waxed at the dealer, would I mess anything up or strip anything if I redo the entire car's body panels with a clay bar and one of those bottles of rinse-less wash sprayers?
Would I need to redo the wax job?
What do you recommend is the best approach to redo the outside detail?
I then went home, and pulled from stock a Meguiar quick detailer, Meguiar leather cleaner, Mothers back to black, Mothers Leather conditioner, new microfiber rags, a dusting paint brush, and six ice cold adult baby bottles, and in a handful of hours blew the dealer's interior detail work out of the water.
On the other hand there is the outside of the vehicle and since it was waxed at the dealer, would I mess anything up or strip anything if I redo the entire car's body panels with a clay bar and one of those bottles of rinse-less wash sprayers?
Would I need to redo the wax job?
What do you recommend is the best approach to redo the outside detail?
04-03-18, 09:33 AM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Hello all, so basically I paid my local dealer $150 to have their detailers go to town on my car with a "Presidential Detail". To cut to the chase, the end result was meh.
I then went home, and pulled from stock a Meguiar quick detailer, Meguiar leather cleaner, Mothers back to black, Mothers Leather conditioner, new microfiber rags, a dusting paint brush, and six ice cold adult baby bottles, and in a handful of hours blew the dealer's interior detail work out of the water.
On the other hand there is the outside of the vehicle and since it was waxed at the dealer, would I mess anything up or strip anything if I redo the entire car's body panels with a clay bar and one of those bottles of rinse-less wash sprayers?
Would I need to redo the wax job?
What do you recommend is the best approach to redo the outside detail?
I then went home, and pulled from stock a Meguiar quick detailer, Meguiar leather cleaner, Mothers back to black, Mothers Leather conditioner, new microfiber rags, a dusting paint brush, and six ice cold adult baby bottles, and in a handful of hours blew the dealer's interior detail work out of the water.
On the other hand there is the outside of the vehicle and since it was waxed at the dealer, would I mess anything up or strip anything if I redo the entire car's body panels with a clay bar and one of those bottles of rinse-less wash sprayers?
Would I need to redo the wax job?
What do you recommend is the best approach to redo the outside detail?
You need to remove the wax before claying, you can do that by washing the car with dawn or a more aggressive grease fighting soap/wash or you can use rubbing alcohol and water. When you clay you will end up leaving scratches and swirls, depends on how bad your paint is before claying so after claying your car will then need to be polished and then need to be waxed again.
My recommendation is if you are not happy with the detail.
Remove wax on the car with dawn, more aggressive soap, rubbing alcohol.
Clay, remember you need to use a lubricant when you clay your finish.
Wash car
Polish your car, if you have a PC do a regular polish with a orange pad, then finishing polish with a blue pad/white pad.
Wash car
Add a sealant as they last longer
04-03-18, 09:47 AM
#3
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Thanks for the guidance UDel. I would need to acquire a buffer machine and load up on detailing knowledge and products to acquire and use. In the interim, I'll start washing the vehicle with Dawn to start removing whatever wax the dealer detailer smeared around the body panels and called it done.
The other option of to pay $500 to a detailing shop across town and hope for the best.
The other option of to pay $500 to a detailing shop across town and hope for the best.
Last edited by Aleximus; 04-03-18 at 09:50 AM.
04-03-18, 03:48 PM
#4
Lexus Fanatic
Thanks for the guidance UDel. I would need to acquire a buffer machine and load up on detailing knowledge and products to acquire and use. In the interim, I'll start washing the vehicle with Dawn to start removing whatever wax the dealer detailer smeared around the body panels and called it done.
The other option of to pay $500 to a detailing shop across town and hope for the best.
The other option of to pay $500 to a detailing shop across town and hope for the best.
04-03-18, 07:11 PM
#5
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
I would just leave the wax on the car until you have all the supplies and are about to detail it and then remove the wax that is on there unless you want to get a head start on claying it right away but word of warning, claying is going to leave more swirls/scratches on your finish then what you already have, that is why you need a polisher to fix everything once you are done claying.
Roger that. I’ won’t mess with the body until I know what I’m doing and get all the required tools and products.
I detail cars for a living and I would charge $300 just to do the exterior of an LS430, then another $300 for interior.
04-05-18, 09:26 AM
#8
Lexus Fanatic
There is no way you are getting a proper polish/correction for $150, those "specials" are a joke.
04-05-18, 09:14 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
Claying a car properly will not induce swirls in the paint. If you use a good quick detailer for lubricity, or even car wash soap and an over the counter mild clay you buy at a car parts store, as long as you're careful not to drop the clay, etc you won't swirl or scratch the car.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
04-05-18, 10:50 PM
#10
I do it on the side and that is about what I normally charge for sedans and that is pretty low considering all the work, many people balk at that price and I often have to explain the process and how time consuming it is and how it is the only way to get those swirls, scratches, and deep water spots out of their finish.
There is no way you are getting a proper polish/correction for $150, those "specials" are a joke.
There is no way you are getting a proper polish/correction for $150, those "specials" are a joke.
People buy a $80,000 car then ***** about a $600-$800 detail, there reply is "I could bring it to hoffmans car wash and get it done for $45"....this mentally truly baffles me, my response to them is you are more than welcome to.
What do you use to scrub leather seats? I use a badger hair brush that come with shaving kits.
If anyone charges you less than $200 to repair exterior panels that have been keyed they have no idea what they are doing, you cant buff out key marks you have to using glazing putting and stuff its very time consuming.
Last edited by 05ls430518; 04-05-18 at 10:58 PM.
04-05-18, 11:01 PM
#11
Claying a car properly will not induce swirls in the paint. If you use a good quick detailer for lubricity, or even car wash soap and an over the counter mild clay you buy at a car parts store, as long as you're careful not to drop the clay, etc you won't swirl or scratch the car.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
04-06-18, 05:15 AM
#12
Pole Position
Claying a car properly will not induce swirls in the paint. If you use a good quick detailer for lubricity, or even car wash soap and an over the counter mild clay you buy at a car parts store, as long as you're careful not to drop the clay, etc you won't swirl or scratch the car.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
04-06-18, 05:41 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
I’m going to do the same thing. Look into 22ple ceramic coatings. They’re as close to wax on wax off as coatings go from what I’ve read and people I’ve talked to.
Im going to use 22ple HPC on mine.
Im going to use 22ple HPC on mine.
04-06-18, 09:26 AM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
Claying a car properly will not induce swirls in the paint. If you use a good quick detailer for lubricity, or even car wash soap and an over the counter mild clay you buy at a car parts store, as long as you're careful not to drop the clay, etc you won't swirl or scratch the car.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
I've clayed my cars many times and never swirled or scratched them. If you're using super aggressive professional grades of clay, then maybe.
Also no need to remove the wax before you clay. The clay will likely do most of that anyways, and if you're just going to use a wax afterwards just wax away.
The issue is going to be that once you remove the glaze/wax from the paint you are likely to find that the swirls and scratches are still there, just covered up by the dealer's "detail".
A proper full compound and polish job on a car the size of the LS could well reach $1,000.
Last edited by UDel; 04-06-18 at 09:45 AM.
04-06-18, 09:28 AM
#15
Claying a car properly will not induce swirls in the paint. If you use a good quick detailer for lubricity, or even car wash soap and an over the counter mild clay you buy at a car parts store, as long as you're careful not to drop the clay, etc you won't swirl or scratch the car.
Totally agree! I do correction every fall on my RX & GS, both metallic black. I've never stripped wax prior to correction. I figure the clay and compounds will remove what little bit of wax is left on the surface. I'm sure theres no wax left on the surface anyway after a year. 10 years ago I would've never have owned a black car. I think product has come a long way since then. Gonna dive into Ceramic for the first time this season and totally dreading it just because it's not really wax on wax off. I'm so burnt out after doing correction that Ceramic will just be more labor but it has to be done.