Another new england Newb.

[J.Bawb]

Hey guys/gals. My name is Jim. from New Hampshire. Drive a dark green 02 A4. And thats what brought me to this site.

Long story short.(Well as short as possible.) When i bought my car it looked like someone had used sand paper to apply the last coat of wax. Bought the car from a friend who owned it for 3 years and had washed it 2 times per summer. Never during the winter.....The thing is covered in scratches. as well as water spots and sap on the hood.
3 weeks ago, i finally gave in and brought it to a local detailer. Paid him double his exterior detail price to spend extra time on the paint. About $300.
He was unable to: Remove scratches, remove water spots, remove sap. He was able to: Make the car shiny, Scratch the car even worse, and cover the entire car in holograms.( It was dark out when i picked it up) Brought it back and he said he'd try to fix it. No thanks.
Came home, found this site, spent hours/days reading/watching videos. Reading product reviews. Then purchased the porta cable with lc 6.5 in pads, m105, m205, mothers clay, meguiars ultimate wax, and a bunch of other odds and ends. I haven't had a ton of time to work on the car. But what i have done so far has been quite an improvement.
Ive learned a lot trolling this site, and seems like a great community to become a part of, and learn from.
Thanks for the help so far, and sorry for the novel.

[Jenn1270]

Welcome....

[kimtyson]

Welcome. Sorry you found a bad detailer. Got any pics? Before, during and after?

[J.Bawb]

Welcome. Sorry you found a bad detailer. Got any pics? Before, during and after?
I will do my best to get some pics up asap. Hopefully the sun is still shining when i get out of work so i can get some detailed shots.

[BobbyG]

:welcome: To Autogeek Online Jim! :props:

I live South of you in MA..

Autogeek is a great place encompassing a wide variety skills, experience, and knowledge. If it can be saved it will be saved, all you need to do is ask a question.

The only stupid question is the one's that's not asked...

[J.Bawb]

:welcome: To Autogeek Online Jim! :props:

I live South of you in MA..

Autogeek is a great place encompassing a wide variety skills, experience, and knowledge. If it can be saved it will be saved, all you need to do is ask a question.

The only stupid question is the one's that's not asked...

Thanks for the welcome. I have already learned a lot from this site just in a few weeks. And i look forward to learning much more. Since i found this site, I have gone from wanting to fix the paint on my car to quickly having a slight obsession, finding flaws with every car I see.

[Meghan]

Welcome Jim, I use to live in Suncook.

[Mike Phillips]

Hey guys/gals. My name is Jim. from New Hampshire.


Hi Jim,

Welcome to Autogeek Online! :welcome:



3 weeks ago, i finally gave in and brought it to a local detailer. Paid him double his exterior detail price to spend extra time on the paint. About $300.
He was unable to: Remove scratches, remove water spots, remove sap.

He was able to: Make the car shiny, Scratch the car even worse, and cover the entire car in holograms.( It was dark out when i picked it up) Brought it back and he said he'd try to fix it.

No thanks.


Ouch! We call that a Horror Story,

The story of 3 H's - Horrendous, Horror Story and Hack Detailers... (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/ask-expert-featuring-mike-phillips/28142-story-3-h-s-horrendous-horror-story-hack-detailers.html)


Generally speaking the BEST detailers are detailers that hang out on detailing discussion forums like AutogeekOnline.net because this is the place where you can learn about all the right techniques as well as cool products to help you do better work.

Detailers that don't hang out on detailing discussion forums only know what they teach themselves or learn from others and that's historically not a very good recipe for success as you've now experienced first hand.





Came home, found this site, spent hours/days reading/watching videos.

I haven't had a ton of time to work on the car. But what i have done so far has been quite an improvement.

Ive learned a lot trolling this site, and seems like a great community to become a part of, and learn from.

Thanks for the help so far, and sorry for the novel.




Thank you for sharing your story, it's very rewarding to hear how our forum helps others to be successful.


:xyxthumbs:

[Belair]

Welcome to the forum Jim.

[J.Bawb]

Ok so i didnt have a lot of time to take pics. But here are a few.
I know it's filthy. it's been a busy week.

This one is the first example of what the detailer was able to do for me.This is the rear bumper. The horizontal scuffs of the left were the only ones there prior to detail.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/IMG_02131.JPG

The scratches on the left were not there prior to the detail.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/trunk1.JPG

Still trying to figure out what he was using to remove the sap.... Sandpaper?
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/roof3.JPG

The rest will speak for themselves.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/side5.JPG
Gotta love holograms...
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/side_pre_existing.JPG
The obvious scratch right below the body line also was not there prior to detail
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/medium/other_side.JPG

This is the only way i can explain what he did to my car..:buffing: Buff the floor, then buff the car, and repeat until "done".

P.s. Is it normal that i can edit this post, but not my original post? Wanted to put the pics up top. Ohwell.

[dad07]

:welcome:to Ago Jim! and to the addiction.....

[J.Bawb]

Thanks. I have had pretty good luck on the hood getting most of the scratches out. But some still remain, as do the water spots. but they are faint and cant feel them. I just ordered 5.5 inch lc pads. Hopefully switching to those will help. The 6.5 just feel too big. Also ordered 3.5 backing plate and a set of the lc 4 inch spot buff pads.

[MirandaAutoSpa]

I have a pain in my side from looking at those holograms!!!!!
i see that too often in my area also.
I used to live in VT and camp every year for the past 20 or so years of the kangamangus highway in the White Mountians. LOVE it up there.:dblthumb2:
Welcome to the community where you will spend the rest of your "Detailing Life".:buffing:

[wild.bill]

Thanks. I have had pretty good luck on the hood getting most of the scratches out. But some still remain, as do the water spots. but they are faint and cant feel them. I just ordered 5.5 inch lc pads. Hopefully switching to those will help. The 6.5 just feel too big. Also ordered 3.5 backing plate and a set of the lc 4 inch spot buff pads.

Welcome, I live a little south of you in Acton Ma.

I did a car a few weeks ago with M105 that was not scratched quite as much as yours. I had excellent luck using 4" pads on the PC for the bad and hard to reach spots. You can make the 6 1/2" pads work, it just takes more passes to get there. Going slow is not a bad thing.

My usual setup is a flex with 6 1/2" pads and the PC with 4" pads and use both as needed. :buffing:

[BobbyG]

I have a pain in my side from looking at those holograms!!!!!

Now, in Larry the Cable Guys voice say......I think those look real purdy :props: