Hologram HELL!!!

[Aaryn NZ]

Hello fellow Geeks,

It's been a while since I have posted a Show N' Shine, & after a bit of interest on Facebook with this Toyota RAV-4 I thought it best to find the time to upload the pictures to the forum, so here we are.

On Facebook I mentioned that Mike Phillips says "It takes just as long to do it right as it does to do it wrong" & geeze! This RAV-4 really didn't need to be done twice. Sadly I am seeing a lot of this kind of work coming in to my shop to be fixed, & sometimes, I have to turn people away. I had to tell a guy, a "car guy" I couldn't fix the holograms in his limited edition HSV GTS because whomever took to it with a rotary polisher, then took to it again with the rotary polisher to attempt to fix the holograms they put in the paint the first time didn't leave enough paint on the vehicle to allow me to safely correct the paint, needless to say, he wasn't overly impressed. All this in the same week as I did this RAV-4 & a Ford Focus that wasn't far from being as bad as this here Toyota.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/57400-takes-just-long-do-wrong.html

That's the link to Mikes article he wrote on this very topic back in 2012, bet some of you will cringe & remember this.

So, this Toyota RAV-4 come into my shop from a commercial client to be detailed inside & out so as to put on the lot for sale. It had just returned from the body shop after getting the front bumper re-sprayed, & of course - the dreaded body shop BUFF. I could see the holograms as it pulled up outside the shop door & after the wash process was completed, the full extent of the damage was clear to see under the shining light of the sun. WOW!!! At first I got angry, really angry! How could anyone work like this, to these standards & let it leave their shop? I still don't understand that part but I'm willing to put it behind me, as Mike also said - "hack detailers create more work for pro detailers" & I look at this opportunity as a way to make a statement on how great the service & workmanship is at My shop.

After taking many paint thickness readings, I was surprised as to how much I still had but also, not so surprised because most of the defects I guess they were trying to correct in the first instance, were still virtually untouched. It was like all they intended to do was put holograms in the paint.

After settling on my test spot findings, I chose Pinnacle Advanced Swirl Remover on orange LC Hybrids via Flex 3401, which finished down really nice, followed by CarPro's Essence on CarPro Gloss Pad, again - Flex 3401, & a coat of CarPro's Reload.

Right, on to the pictures -

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav12.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114255/title/rav12/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav21.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114256/title/rav21/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav31.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114257/title/rav31/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav4.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114258/title/rav4/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav51.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114259/title/rav51/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav6.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114260/title/rav6/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav7.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114265/title/rav7/cat/3325)


Yeah, I'm sorry! Pretty hard to look at I know, right, lets fix it! A couple of 50/50 pictures -


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav8.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114266/title/rav8/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav9.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114267/title/rav9/cat/3325)


And finally, some pictures of the subject completed -


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav10.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114261/title/rav10/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav111.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114262/title/rav111/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav121.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114263/title/rav121/cat/3325)

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav13.JPG (http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/114264/title/rav13/cat/3325)


Thank you all for looking.

Aaryn NZ. :dblthumb2:

[VISITOR]

excellent job buddy... :props:

p.s. how you liking essence?

[Aaryn NZ]

excellent job buddy... :props:

p.s. how you liking essence?

Thanks mate. :xyxthumbs:

I love Essence, just when you think there isn't anymore gloss to be had - Essence proves ya wrong! I love the way it feels too, sooo slick. I got my first order of Essence + last week (yeah, I know but better late than never. Hard living this far away from where its all happening.) & Essence + has been impressing me & I haven't used it for its intended use yet! I did a 1 step on a black truck today that was relatively swirled, came out pretty nice.

Thanks for chiming in my friend, hope you're still skating. :props:

Aaryn NZ.

[RPM_BR]

Nice work, Aaryn!
I've been getting a lot of work like this lately, people only bring their cars to detail when they can't stand looking at it, and usually black cars.
Probably due to the economical crisis, they look for the cheapest, get the worst, and then try to fix it when the deal is done.
Sometimes it is so bad that you need a pre-cut stage, to level it off, like rotary, wool and menz 300, since cutting alone with let's say menz 400 isn't enough.
What I bluntly say to my clients is that his car's clearcoat 'got AIDS', because the level of correction needed is so profound that the remaining clearcoat will be so thin to withstand and to be able to give the protection needed.
Probably this is the reason I've been seeing so much cases of clearcoat failure nowadays in cars that are not supposed to be showing it, like 2010, 2011 cars, the thin clearcoat trend and one or two hack detailing job is enough to screw it up permanently.
Best regards, mate.

[GSKR]

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav21.JPG

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/3325/medium/rav121.JPG



Awesome recovery and love that color.


:dblthumb2

[Paul A.]

Brilliant work, Aaron! Those are very dramatic 50/50 shots as well.

[Mike Phillips]

Nice work sorting that out Aaryn!

And a proper write-up to boot!


The owner of this vehicle is lucky to have someone that actually knows what they are doing to undo the damage and restore the paint the right way the second time.


Thank you for taking the time to take the before, during and after pictures and then sharing them on our forum.


:dblthumb2: :dblthumb2: :dblthumb2:

[Mike Phillips]

On Facebook I mentioned that Mike Phillips says "It takes just as long to do it right as it does to do it wrong" & geeze! This RAV-4 really didn't need to be done twice.

Sadly I am seeing a lot of this kind of work coming in to my shop to be fixed, & sometimes, I have to turn people away.



It's important to know when to turn a client away. That's called wisdom. It usually comes from making mistakes and learning at the school of hard knocks.






I had to tell a guy, a "car guy" I couldn't fix the holograms in his limited edition HSV GTS because whomever took to it with a rotary polisher, then took to it again with the rotary polisher to attempt to fix the holograms they put in the paint the first time didn't leave enough paint on the vehicle to allow me to safely correct the paint, needless to say, he wasn't overly impressed.




You know years and years ago, probably almost 25 years ago, there was a local body shop that offered car detailing on Highway 20 in-between Corvallis, Oregon and my home town of Albany, Oregon. I had a customer take there car to this shop to get detailed. The shop only used a rotary buffer and the car ended up looking like the car you saved in this thread.

The owner of the car came to me with their swirled out car and told me the shop has offered to "try" again if he will bring them back his car. Here's what I said to him, I asked him a question...

What's changed?

By this I mean, what has changed at the shop that this second time they'll get it right.

1. Have they purchased a new tool to use instead of the rotary buffer?
2. Have they hired a different guy that knows what he's doing?

The answer is "no".

I told him they would simply repeat the process only after buffing out the car they would be sure to slather on lots of wax or some type of glaze so that when you pick up the car it will look good, you'll be happy and go away.

Later, after you wash the car a few times the hologram scratches will show up.


And this is the problem with shops 25 years ago and by looking at the hologram swirls which are more accurately described as hologram scratches, it's still a problem today.


Two things...

1. If a shop or a person can't do it right the first time, unless something changes they can't do it right the second time. The crime is each time they do it wrong they remove precious amounts of paint from a vehicle that already has THIN paint to start with and the only way to fix it is to remove even more paint. This is a lose/lose situation for car owners.


2. The rotary buffer is a GREAT tool. It gets a bad reputation because it's used incorrectly. At this point in time the rotary buffer is the right tool to use for removing sanding marks for a wet sanding project and for heavy correction by someone that truly knows what the heck they are doing. But at this point in time with all the orbital polisher tool options, all the pad options and most important, all the options for great abrasive technology, there's no reason to use a rotary buffer to do the finishing step on any car.


And for all you guys that consider yourself the "God of the Rotary Buffer", give it a break. Rotary buffers impart a scratch pattern called holograms. Sure it might be possible to leave a hologram free finish ONLY because of the great abrasive technology now available that has not always been available but this has more to do with the ultra fine polishes and jeweling pads on the market today and little to do with the person behind the buffer.

Besides, instead of hoping you're able to leave a hologram free finish behind using only a rotary buffer why not simply make the detailing process bubba-proof and finish out with ANY orbital polisher and be done with it.








http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/off-topic/57400-takes-just-long-do-wrong.html

That's the link to Mikes article he wrote on this very topic back in 2012, bet some of you will cringe & remember this.




Sad thing about what I wrote in the above article is that it's true.

It takes just as long to do it wrong as it takes to do it right.

What separates the people that do it wrong from the people that do it right is knowledge.

This is why one of my new sayings goes like this,


"Professional quality detailing starts with the brain... not the buffer"



Again... great work my friend!


:)

[RatZ1LLa]

Amazing job!

Those 50/50 shots are so satisfying especially with that green it looks great!

[Boudin]

Spruce Mica is a beautiful paint! Nice job

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[backtees]

Stunning. Great work.

What's the best method to send those 50/50 shots to the body shop? Unmarked envelope? Slid under front door? Print a poster and tape to front window??


Sent from my iPhone using Autogeekonline mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87407)

[Cruzscarwash]

Those are beautiful 50/50 shots, amazing work. I tend to drool when I see swirls and get excited knowing that myself or any of the AGO geeks can transform them into glossy masterpieces, again great job

Sent from my Pixel using Autogeekonline mobile app (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87407)

[Hammer77]

The people who did that ought to be ashamed, you Sir should be very proud. Show those before and after photos to future customers, if I walked into your shop and saw those, I would be assured I was dealing with a true professional! Amazing.

[Jeremy1976]

Looks great! Love the 50/50 shots!

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

[Mike@DedicatedPerfection]

Beautiful work Aaryn! You really showed those defects who is the boss!

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed the fb posts as well as reading about it over here.