ben_r_

REALLY???? Man they messed mine something ugly... Its only a month old and I think it looks like its 3 years only under the right light... So did you find out what the detailer used? Some ScratchX? Clay bar it? Used a machine to buff it? Also how much did it cost you?

cancellino

I am too OCD and **** (yes I said it) to let anyone wash my car...It is detailed a few times a week and every Sunday (its rediculous)

Gtidan

All the time and they do a heck of a job. Tires nicely dressed and all water spots wiped off. One judge of a good job is how well they clean the rims. Some places you have to spend another ten minutes finishing the job.

My dealer: Newport Lexus purchased a state of the art 'touch-less' wash. If your in the area I highly recommend them. There service pricing, however, is over the top.

totalstu

I wasn't there for all the action. I watched him some, asked questions, etc. but didn't feel right above hovering over him. I don't like it when people hover over me at work. I'd leave him alone and come back occasionaly. It was the nicest day of the year so I got a tan

He washed it to start so he could get a good look at what he was to find and revive. Then he used the claybar. After that he pulled out the machine to buff. He then showed me the difference in the small bit he did on the hood. It was amazing. He then recommended a multi step compounding as opposed to a one step polish. Based on his reputation his word was all I needed to give the ok. I'll link you to a thread at Autopia where he lists the process. It's a bit technical for me but you may find it useful.

To keep it looking good, and since I'm not the type to want to spend to much time working on it I'll be using ONR, and OCW when necessary. I found this writeup at Autopia that he says is perfect for someone like me.

As for price, it's all relative. He lists his prices on his site and keep in mind this in Canadian Dollar. In the end I say it was well worth it.

15951

Wow, your paint was absolutely butchered in the "before" shots. I've never seen marring that bad on a 6 month old car.

I detail my car with a PC buffer when I have swirls/marring (which happens no matter how careful you are). However, the guy you hired to do the job used a rotary buffer, which takes some skill. It's VERY easy to burn through the paint with a rotary buffer. He also wetsanded, which can make a novice a bit nervous. If you saw the paint after wetsanding, prior to polishing, you'd pass out...it looks ruined.

He did a great job on your car. I'd keep his business card if I were you.

ben_r_

So I called Lexus yesterday and told them that from day one there were tons of micro scratches on my car and I purchased the permaplate interior and exterior protection package and when they did that I expected they would have at least dont something to get rid of the micro scratches before doing the permaplate waxing. They didnt. On top of that from day one the paint never really felt very smooth. I mean is was soft, but not way smooth like other brand new cars I have owned. It felt about a year or two old already. After they applied the permaplate it was very smooth, but only for a couple of weeks. Now its back to normal feeling. The service rep said they would have the detail manager look at it and see what they could do first before I take matters into my own hands.

Im thinking of using Dawn soap as a striper to take all the permaplate wax off, then using either megs scratch X over the whole car or Megs NXT and covering it all with a coat of either mothers or megs carnauba wax. I dont really want to get a porter cable yet since its a one month old car and I dont feel I should have to do that yet...

TheMangia

sorry to hear about that man. i just bought a IS-250 AWD two and a half weeks ago and there is no way in hell i will let anyone wash my car. i got some great advice over in the detailing section of the forum. there is this stuff called optimum rinse and it works perfectly. just two cap fulls and a gallon of water and your car comes out spotless no swirl marks or anything. just apply it then wipe it off with a high quality microfiber towel.

jdoolitt

Nooooooo. I wouldnt take it back to the dealer, nor would I try and strip their polish off with dawn. You can get your car swirl/scratch free easily... Your car needs to be detailed, and then waxed. Autopia.com has a lot of articles that explain how to do that (and it is a lot easier than you might think). That permaplate crap is just a polish - which needs to be waxed (they should have told you that). Anyway - There is no need to wax over NXT - but you can I suppose. You have a PM..

tmm0f5

I checked out autopia.com and it's some dental site. Any chance for a link?

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

I would say no after all these horror stories......

jdoolitt

Sorry 'bout that

http://autopia.org/

ben_r_

Yea I have been doing a lot of reading on autopia, and now I think you guys are right. Im a little worried that ifI take it to the dealer, they will just slap on some sealant or oily stuff and make it look good right then and there and send me off. Or worse get out a monkey from the back to do a polish job that could lead to worsening the problem. I think I am just going to take care of it myself. So if permaplate is an actual polish, how is it applied? Machine or hand? I wish they would have told me I was supposed to wax it afterwards... That must be why they give you that whole kit of bottles after they finish.

slowandlow

they hand wash at my dealer

mkivbadger

Yes, my dealership hand washes my IS350............it's wonderful!

CWS

I've always done my own washs. But, went to Austin to get my CD player replaced, and they advertise 'hand washing', so I figured what could it hurt!? Well, it looked good at first, but today I noticed that something mixed with the brake dust on my chrome rims to make a nasty looking, hard to remove stain, in streaks. Water, and rubbing, did not remove it. I think it was probably the tire black, but I'm not sure. But, I am sure that I won't be letting anyone else wash it again for a long time.