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  1. #1
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash


    Time for a little story...
    I had a guy show me his black Corvette after paying a pro detailer $300.00 to buff it out and remove all the swirls and scratches and he was asking me if I thought he was within his rights to ask for his money back because just a few weeks after paying to have his Corvette detailed it was now filled with swirls and scratches again and the water wasn't beading up like it did after he first got it back.

    The first thing I asked this guy was,

    "How do you wash the car?"


    He answered me and said,


    "I run it down to the 100% Hand Car Wash"


    I explained to him that while the lettering on the sign invokes the mental image of a high quality, careful hand wash to the delicate and scratch-sensitive clearcoat finish on his black Corvette that that's just a dream, not reality.






    The wash mitts at a hand car wash become worn and tatty and they are dropped onto the ground all the time. They are not replaced often and chances are they are used and used and used until there's no life left in them.

    So when he shows up to have his black Corvette washed it gets the same treatment the dirty Honda or Ford Escort gets and that is the source of the swirls and scratches in the paint on his Vette, not the work done by the detailer.


    Seriously... do you actually think when you pull up to a hand car wash that the workers notice it's --> YOU <-- and your special car?

    Do they empty their buckets of used car wash soap with all the dirt in it from the last dozen or so cars they've washed and make a fresh solution using a premium quality, non-detergent car wash shampoo?

    Do they put their worn, tatty wash mitts aside and break out the brand new, premium quality wash mitt?

    Do they bring up their level of quality and professional technique because you and your car are different from all the other cars that they see day-in and day-out?


    I think they just continue washing with whatever they've been using and treat your car just like the mud encrusted 4x4 that they washed before you arrived.


    Take ownership of the car wash process
    I then told him if he really wants to maintain a show room new finish on a black Corvette that he'll have to take ownership of the washing process or pay a professional to come to his house and wash the car like a pro.

    He was saddened to hear this as he told me he just retired and in his mind that meant he didn't have to "work" any longer, work meaning washing his brand new black Corvette.

    He thought, like a lot of people think, that a nice looking clear coat finish should simply hold up and always look nice no matter how it's cared for and that's not reality.

    Paints have changed
    Clear coat paints are scratch-sensitive, this means the tend to be harder than traditional single stage paints but still scratch and swirl easily. In order to maintain a nice looking finish a person has to be careful and use the highest quality products they can obtain anytime the paint is "touched"


    Silver Metallic for people that don't want to be bothered by swirls
    I recommended to him to sell the black Corvette and buy a silver metallic Corvette as it will be much harder to see the swirls and scratches in the paint and then he could continue taking the car to the 100% Hand Car Wash and be happy.


    Educate your customer
    On that note, I just answered two e-mails from people asking for recommendations for car detailing projects they have coming up for customers and in both cases the cars were neglected and thus filled with swirls and scratches. Both people contacting me were going to do multiple-step buff-outs to restore a show car shine.


    I asked them if the owner has changed?
    By this I mean, if the owners of these cars let them go so long that they are now swirled out messes, what has changed that means that the same thing won't simply happen again after these two detailers return the cars with a show car shine?

    If the answer is "nothing" then I recommended that they simply do a one-step process and this would be matching their services to the owners of the cars.


    Like explained here,

    A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business


    The point being it doesn't do the detailer any good to restore a show car finish on a car that's not going to be washed carefully. The hard work they perform won't last and chances are good the owners have unrealistic expectations in that they probably figure, like the Corvette owner above, that if they pay for a quality detail job that afterwards, something MAGICAL happens and now they can treat the car/paint any old way and it SHOULD stay looking just like the day the detailer returned the car back to them.

    It doesn't work that way and it's the detailer's job to educate their customer and then match their services to their customer even if it means doing a less complicated buff-out.


    The only exception to the above is if the car owner then hires the detailer to regularly maintain the car via a Maintenance Plan where only the detailer washes and waxes the car into the future.



  2. #2
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Just to add... this isn't a slam on the people that work at car washes because most people take pride in their work no matter what the job... but the quality of the tools, car wash soap, and even the time they are allotted to do a job is out of their control as I thoroughly explain in this article,


    The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers...


    Here's the portion I'm referring to in the above article, while it talks about actual detailers the same idea applies to just about anyone in any job where they don't have control over the products used and time given to do a job.

    Excerpt

    Hack Detailers
    I don't personally like using this term or implying anyone is a "Hack Detailer", but the term is established in the Cyberworld of discussion forums and nothing I can do will change this fact.

    That said, allow me to just point out a few observations I've made over the years...

    First, what is a "Hack Detailer"?

    A real Hack Detailer would be someone that knows they're doing shoddy work and does so anyways and the results from their work leave the paintwork looking horrendous.






    Included in the definition of Hack Detailers are people that either knowingly or unknowingly instill rotary buffer swirls or holograms into a car's paint but do so either unwillingly or because they honestly know not what they do...

    Unknowingly
    The reason I state this can be done knowingly or unknowingly is because some products will look great after wipe-off after being applied using a rotary buffer, so in the detailer's mind he thinks he left a swirl free finish. It's after the paint is washed a few times or repeatedly exposed to inclement weather that whatever wax, sealant or glaze was applied begins to wash off exposing the rotary buffer swirls.

    Now most of you reading this know that with a little education, the above group of people can be taught proper technique and things like choosing the appropriate pads and products to do good work, but not everyone is a member of a detailing discussion forum and a person only knows what they know. That's why I aways say that the best detailers are detailers that hang out on discussion forums because via discussion forums we're always learning about new products or new approaches...

    Believe it or not, there exists people that buff out cars that don't hang out on the Internet let alone a detailing discussion forum.
    Knowingly
    At one point in my life I called on body shops, dealerships and detail shops to conduct product training, during another point in my life I called on these same types of shops to conduct sales and here's the deal... I met plenty of "detailers" and also "Painter's Helpers", that knew they were instilling swirls as a result of their buffing work but there was nothing they could do about it outside of quiting.

    In these situations, these are employees provided products and tools by the company and their job is to do the best they can with what they are given. I know for a fact that many of these people knew they were doing hack work and didn't like it but the situation they were in was out of their control.

    Sad truth is, most of have had jobs we didn't like but did them out of neccassity... If this hasn't happened to you... count your blessings...
    The above are just two examples of people instilling swirls either knowingly or unknowingly and in these examples they don't really fit the description of "Hack Detailer" as it's usually used on discussion forums in a derogatory manner as their intentions were for good, their circumstances were out of their control.



    Just don't want anyone to take the point I'm trying to make in this article the wrong way as I've had plenty of jobs I didn't like and even though I may have done my best work there were still areas of the job that I didn't have control over and I'm sure most people reading this can relate.


    Related article...

    How to maintain a freshly waxed car






  3. #3
    Super Member ShineTimeDetail's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    True, true! I love those pictures of that Mustang hood!!!

  4. #4
    Super Member LuxuryMobile's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Great article Mike.

    And those pictures you posted scare me everytime I see them.
    Luxury Mobile Auto Detailing
    Pensacola & Orlando
    407.625.1480

  5. #5
    Junior Member Julesh's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Thank you for taking the time to write this. I was so concerned about not going to a brushless wash that will remove my wax/sealant, that I never even considered that a hand wash place would not be as careful with my car as I am.

  6. #6
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Quote Originally Posted by Mike.Phillips@Autogeek View Post

    I asked them if the owner has changed?
    By this I mean, if the owners of these cars let them go so long that they are now swirled out messes, what has changed that means that the same thing won't simply happen again after these two detailers return the cars with a show car shine?

    If the answer is "nothing" then I recommended that they simply do a one-step process and this would be matching their services to the owners of the cars.
    This can't be stressed enough. Some people turn their noses at anyone that uses a product that fills swirls. The fact is, if the car came in swirled and the owner isn't changing the way they do things, it will be re-swirled soon enough.

  7. #7
    Mike Phillips
    Guest

    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Quote Originally Posted by yakky View Post
    This can't be stressed enough. Some people turn their noses at anyone that uses a product that fills swirls. The fact is, if the car came in swirled and the owner isn't changing the way they do things, it will be re-swirled soon enough.
    Exactly...

    Here in the forum world we all know what it takes to remove swirls, what it takes to avoid swirls and how easy it is to instill swirls but the average car owner doesn't know the difference between a swirl and a squirrell...


    The difference between a swirl and squirrel

    For clarification...

    This is a Squirrel




    These are Swirls






  8. #8
    Junior Member The Heater's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    The only way to have control over your paint finish is to wash it yourself. There are some very good detail shops in my area that are the rare example of places that carefully wash with separate wash mits or towels and don't dry the car with any seams on the towels, etc. But for the most part, washing your own car is the time you can take a look at the paint and see what needs attention.

  9. #9
    Super Member Jaretr1's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    Mike, you are right on about silver / gray. I did not know what I know now about paint care when I bought my magnesium metallic RSX. That color seems to hide everything!

  10. #10
    Super Member budinsc's Avatar
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    Re: The reality of the 100% Hand Car Wash

    excellent article mike! as you told me earlier this week, once you get your finish in great shape, the real work starts and that is to keep it that way.

    budinsc

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