Mike Phillips
09-24-2012, 06:52 AM
Dealership Corvette with Holograms and Swirls (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101/55655-dealership-corvette-holograms-swirls.html)
This last weekend Autogeek had a booth at the 2nd Annual Cold Coast Corvette Show and right out in front of our booth was a 1988 Corvette on display. I used this Corvette all weekend to show people what they don't want when they let someone buff out their car.
The entire hood was hacked up so bad with swirls from the misuse of a rotary buffer it hurt your eyes to look at it.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls001.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls002.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls003.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls004.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls005.jpg
The owner of the car, and I think the owner for the dealership asked me what was wrong with the paint and I pointed out all the horrendous swirls going in all directions and he said it's an old car and it needs a new paint job.
I replied back that just because it's an old Corvette that doesn't mean the paint has be be all swirled out, it has to do with the pads, products and tools the guy doing the detailing is using.
Then I said, even if you have the car repainted, if you have the same guy buff it out, it's going to look like this paint job. It's never about the painter, it's about the guy that does the wetsanding, cutting and buffing after a new paint job that makes or breaks the results.
I could tell he didn't care to hear what I was saying so I left him with his swirled out car.
I don't know that this is an example of the kind of work his "New Car Get Ready" department turns out but the above pictures are historically correct for the kind of work commonly referred to as "Professional Detailing" by the body shops, dealerships and detail shops around this country.
Here's the deal, if you're going to let someone else buff out your car, first find out what they know. Ask them to show you the pads, products and tools they're going to use when they "touch" your car's paint.
Then post what you find out here. We'll tell you if you're going to get a professional job or not.
Keep in mind, factory paint is thin and there's not a lot of room or film-build for mistakes. Every time someone buffs your car's paint out the wrong way, undoing the damage will require removing more paint in order to level the surface and thus remove the holograms and swirls.
So choose wisely who you let "touch" your car.
IF you're looking for someone that is truly qualified, find a detailer that hangs out on a forum and has a posting history showing their work and sharing what they use and then you'll know you're getting someone that's actually qualified to do the job.
:)
This last weekend Autogeek had a booth at the 2nd Annual Cold Coast Corvette Show and right out in front of our booth was a 1988 Corvette on display. I used this Corvette all weekend to show people what they don't want when they let someone buff out their car.
The entire hood was hacked up so bad with swirls from the misuse of a rotary buffer it hurt your eyes to look at it.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls001.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls002.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls003.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls004.jpg
http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/722/DealershipSwirls005.jpg
The owner of the car, and I think the owner for the dealership asked me what was wrong with the paint and I pointed out all the horrendous swirls going in all directions and he said it's an old car and it needs a new paint job.
I replied back that just because it's an old Corvette that doesn't mean the paint has be be all swirled out, it has to do with the pads, products and tools the guy doing the detailing is using.
Then I said, even if you have the car repainted, if you have the same guy buff it out, it's going to look like this paint job. It's never about the painter, it's about the guy that does the wetsanding, cutting and buffing after a new paint job that makes or breaks the results.
I could tell he didn't care to hear what I was saying so I left him with his swirled out car.
I don't know that this is an example of the kind of work his "New Car Get Ready" department turns out but the above pictures are historically correct for the kind of work commonly referred to as "Professional Detailing" by the body shops, dealerships and detail shops around this country.
Here's the deal, if you're going to let someone else buff out your car, first find out what they know. Ask them to show you the pads, products and tools they're going to use when they "touch" your car's paint.
Then post what you find out here. We'll tell you if you're going to get a professional job or not.
Keep in mind, factory paint is thin and there's not a lot of room or film-build for mistakes. Every time someone buffs your car's paint out the wrong way, undoing the damage will require removing more paint in order to level the surface and thus remove the holograms and swirls.
So choose wisely who you let "touch" your car.
IF you're looking for someone that is truly qualified, find a detailer that hangs out on a forum and has a posting history showing their work and sharing what they use and then you'll know you're getting someone that's actually qualified to do the job.
:)