DIY vs Professional Detailing

[Lazarus]

Any detailers on here pro or hobbyist? Trying to see if its worth it to invest in the tools like a buffer and foam cannon and supplies or should I just pay someone occasionally to do it. I used to just wash my car and put some wax on it but doing research I see theres so much more I could be doing like claying and such. Buffering worries me a little. I used to work at a car dealership and was told that its easy to mess the car up with the buffer. Now I see theres a buffer called Torx or something, that stops when you put too much pressure down so I was thinking of getting one of them.

I just brought my dream car and I plan on taking really good care of it. Just wiping it down I see theres some marks and minor scratches so it could definitely do to get detailed.

Also where do you order the supplies from? Thinking of just going through chemical guys.

 

[Falcon1]

Pics of the car or it didn't happen!

 

[Lazarus]

Pics of the car or it didn't happen!

 

[chazehen]

I used to detail cars for a living. You can get a decent high speed buffer that won't break the bank. I have one from Harbor Freight that had served me well. Unless you're dealing with oxidation, you don't really need a high speed. Orbital will be fine for applying wax. If you use a high speed, use foam pads. Wool pads will burn through clear coat if you're not careful. I mainly used clay for cars with small deposits all over them. It's like super fine sanding. Once again, if your car doesn't need it, it doesn't need it. What are you trying to achieve? That white Beamer looks clean to me. That color is not going to show a lot of depth so not sure a multi step wet sand and three step buffing are going to make a noticeable difference. Black and darker colors are a different story.

 

[RotoTerrier]

I've had an M3, M5 and a couple other BMW's over the years and tried a few detailers. Some good and some bad.
I always found that if I detailed them myself one good time, all I had to do was do a good cleaning once a week and things would stay in pretty good shape. Kinda like a maintenance thing. So I just handled it all myself for way too many years! Ugg, if I could have all that time back.

I wound up getting a Flex XC 3401 VRG Dual Action Orbital
https://www.amazon.com/Flex-XC3401V...pID=41fOvUY8-EL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

You'll need 5 or so different pads and a couple different polishes.

Once you get all the scratches out, you don't have to polish again unless you put more scratches in. You can get into a maintenance routine and will find you rarely have to break out the polisher for more than a wax every couple months or so. The routine that worked for me was:

1) Don't ever let it get too dirty.
2) 2 bucket wash to ensure you aren't rubbing grit around on the paint. If you do nothing else, you have to 2 bucket wash.
3) Occasionally do a dry wash with a California duster. Get a big one for the outside and a little one for the inside.
4) Dry with a blower. Touch the paint as little as possible, even when drying.
5) You can fake it between polishes by getting a detail spray. After washing, hit with something like meguiars detail spray and the scratches will vanish.

I know a lot of folks do a presoak and prewash with foam blasters and other nonsense but I never found it necessary. My cars remained showroom spotless with that.

Hit youtube and watch a few videos about all this stuff and it'll become quite apparent how easy it is. But it is time consuming.

After years of all this, I now just don't even care. I drive all my vehicles thru the car washes. Well, not the cheap crappy ones at the gas stations...I go to the nicer ones where the folks at least pre-wash a little as you are entering. I guess I do still have some standards!

I've had all the "dream" cars I've ever wanted at this point and now they are all just more things I have to deal with. My time is more valuable and I just don't have enough of it to go around, so the cars get no more than they need for maintenance and driving thru the wash. I just turned 40 and I recall my parents going thru the same things. I thought they were nuts for doing then what I find myself doing now. Priorities shift I suppose.

Anyway, hope this helps. Enjoy it, but if you really want to make your life easier, skip all this and just run it thru a nice car wash or pay someone to do it. It's just a thing.

 

[chazehen]

And you don't need any commercial supplies per se. Most of the stuff we got from suppliers was just for bulk use. I like Meguiars. If you want to use acid for wheels you'd have to get that from a supplier but I wouldn't on that car.

 

[Hayata]

Back in the day - BC - before children, had a 530. Used to spend an entire afternoon on it 'cause it was metallic black. Never used any power tools on it, all by hand.

I just don't get into it anymore - don't have a real nice car anymore so I use the drive-thru auto washes.

This place used to be a good place to buy supplies - https://www.autogeek.net/

They also have how-to's.

Good luck in your quest!

 

[Lazarus]

Thanks for the info. Yea this car is pretty clean, one of the reasons why I brought it but theres a few imperfections I noticed that didnt come off with a brief wash so I dont know if clay would help. I'll try to take a picture soon.

 

[fast306stang]

Awesome looking car, congrats!

Clay is easy to use and inexpensive, and makes a huge difference. I use it for the rocker area and the front where all the bugs and road tar will accumulate. Since it's moldable, it gets the stuff out from between where the body panels meet--bumper covers and fenders, etc.

I've always heard that since it removes everything, you're supposed to wax the car after using the clay. I'm getting too old and lazy, so I stopped doing that, unless I clay the entire car. I'm a big fan of the clay though, it definitely works. Just make sure you don't drop it...if you do, cut off the part that touched the pavement since it will pick up and rocks, sand, etc.

 

[fast306stang]

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Thanks for the pics...I already have new car fever, and you're NOT helping...