When to stop buffing - Or - How far should you go to remove swirls and scratches?

[luckydawg]

And it is for this type of horrible experience that most people, especially if working on a daily driver, shouldn't try to remove each and every single scratch out of the paint.

Because its hard to tell wether the defect is just into the clear and not deeper into the base

[Mike Phillips]

Shared here,

https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...ml#post1661550

[Dano shine]

Mike you are so wise. I was one of those who thought I had to get all scratch’s and swirls out. You brought me back to the real world. Most of these cars being detailed are daily driver’s so keep it simple and don’t go to far repaint isn’t cheap! Just remember how thin the paint is on these daily drivers, it’s post note thin!
I personally think it’s money well spent investing in a paint meter like a Defelsko because you don’t know who detailed the car before you at least you will know what you have to work with having that meter could save your butt.

[gfa]

Really good article. Thanks. I started getting more serious about paint correction last year and found my perfect "test spot" to try out a lot of the products and techniques suggested by the posts and how to articles on AG. That being my 20 yr old Craftsman garden tractor. It's now the shiniest garden tractor in the neighborhood.

[Mike Phillips]

And it is for this type of horrible experience that most people, especially if working on a daily driver, shouldn't try to remove each and every single scratch out of the paint.

Because its hard to tell wether the defect is just into the clear and not deeper into the base

Yes, exactly for this reason and simply because the FACTORY clear layer of paint, (what most people are working on i.e. factory clearcoat), is so thin that EVEN if you're able to VISUALLY make a scratch disappear out of the factory clear layer of paint - you will have likely left the clear paint in that area that you now risk clearcoat failure moving into the future - OR anytime you work on that area in the future you could buff through what's left of the clear layer.


And this topic goes directly to this article. This has to be one of the most common articles I reference in the online world and the real world.

Clearcoats are thin by Mike Phillips






Great question - thank you for asking.

[Dr Oldz]

Great read. I love when older articles pop up I missed. It’s a reason I really find the forum useful as the content doesn’t disappear over time.

One thing that kind of ties in with this article is using products with fillers. I know fillers are a taboo with the keyboard detailers but in real life they are OK in my book on some instances. For example when you are working on a vehicle that may have some age and has been “detailed” an unknown amount of times or someone who uses their vehicle off road where it will eventually get scratched up again.
Bottom line is, you can’t keep removing clear without eventual failure. So a quick product with fillers makes the vehicle glossy and shiny again is actually the best course of action for the future of the vehicle.

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

Wow Thanks Mike! I came her for info about polishing glass but got side tracked here. So do you have different levels of interior packages as well? Is there an article on this? Where do you typically do a test spot?

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app

[Mike Phillips]

Wow Thanks Mike!

I came her for info about polishing glass but got side tracked here. So do you have different levels of interior packages as well?

Is there an article on this? Where do you typically do a test spot?

In my original VIF - Vehicle Inspection Form - I share that just like exterior packages, a person should have interior packages. These are based on the time it takes to do the work and the time is based upon the degree of neglect or dirtiness of the interior.

In my car detailing classes, I teach what I practice myself and that is, if someone brings you a car interior that NEEDS to be cleaned, the word NEEDS sends up a RED FLAG and this is where you say,

I would love to clean your car's interior but I'm afraid my schedule if full. Here's the phone number go my buddy Jim, he's great at interior detailing, give him a call.


The lesson or point is, don't take on unprofitable work that is also NOT enjoyable. If someone NEEDS their car's interior cleaned, perhaps because the kids puked or the dog urinated on the carpet, I don't want to do this type of work in the first place.

I don't like doing interior work in the first place and if I do take the job it's only for interiors that are NOT in bad condition. Here's a great recent example,

How to use 303 Aerospace Protectant to Restore Vinyl Seats by Mike Phillips





The interior of this Camaro was lightly dirty, as in dirt on the floor carpet, easy enough to clean. The main thing was the vinyl interior just had not been taken care of probably since it was installed. So easy work. Took me about 3 hours from start to finish. I like to aim for $100.00 per hour.


People that take my car detailing classes learn how to make money, not waste their time. They learn to send the crap jobs down the road. I tell them let the people that haven't taken my classes and learned the hard lessons from my class - to have the blessing of learning all these types of lessons on their own.

[Jacob Harrod AUTOCLEAN]

In my original VIF - Vehicle Inspection Form - I share that just like exterior packages, a person should have interior packages. These are based on the time it takes to do the work and the time is based upon the degree of neglect or dirtiness of the interior.

In my car detailing classes, I teach what I practice myself and that is, if someone brings you a car interior that NEEDS to be cleaned, the word NEEDS sends up a RED FLAG and this is where you say,

I would love to clean your car's interior but I'm afraid my schedule if full. Here's the phone number go my buddy Jim, he's great at interior detailing, give him a call.


The lesson or point is, don't take on unprofitable work that is also NOT enjoyable. If someone NEEDS their car's interior cleaned, perhaps because the kids puked or the dog urinated on the carpet, I don't want to do this type of work in the first place.

I don't like doing interior work in the first place and if I do take the job it's only for interiors that are NOT in bad condition. Here's a great recent example,

How to use 303 Aerospace Protectant to Restore Vinyl Seats by Mike Phillips





The interior of this Camaro was lightly dirty, as in dirt on the floor carpet, easy enough to clean. The main thing was the vinyl interior just had not been taken care of probably since it was installed. So easy work. Took me about 3 hours from start to finish. I like to aim for $100.00 per hour.


People that take my car detailing classes learn how to make money, not waste their time. They learn to send the crap jobs down the road. I tell them let the people that haven't taken my classes and learned the hard lessons from my class - to have the blessing of learning all these types of lessons on their own.

This is really good info for me. I genuinely appreciate your response Mike! I wish I'd learned this a long time ago.

Sent from my SM-G975U using Autogeekonline mobile app

[soapboxpreacher]

This is great stuff! Thanks mike!