Choosing a detailer

[bguiliano]

Looking into getting my car detailed and cquartz coating applied.
what should i look for in a detailer?

I have one that i'm thinking about using...got, what i think is an incredible price...but they will need to come to my house to do the work...

[Mantilgh]

I'd say possibly someone that has some good documentation of the work that they have done and that is knowledgeable of the process and products. Could ask if he could let you contact one or more of his previous customers that has had the same process as you want done.

[Mantilgh]

And if you don't mind telling, how much were you quoted?

New or older vehicle?

Most of the cost is in the time spent for the prep getting the paint to look its best before coating.

[glisten]

What city are you looking in?

[Dogfather]

I'm not sure I would choose the guy with the "incredible price".

[jarred767]

Careful when choosing based on price alone.....you get what you pay for.

Make sure to ask questions and see pictures of their work.

[dcjredline]

I'm not sure I would choose the guy with the "incredible price".


Me neither

[bguiliano]

i'm in philadelphia.

i was told normally it would haven been $700-$800

but due to them moving out of their location...(lease is up/building being sold)

they have to come to my house to do it....and its $399

[Evan.J]

If you are getting a paint correction and a coating it should be more than 400 regardless of where the work is being done That's extremely cheap.

I would be concerned.

Inquire as to how many coatings that have done. Ask about other coating they offer. Ask about years of work and process that will be followed.

Did they say they do the least aggressive method to get the job done? Ask to see previous work. Do they do the prep work right like IPA wipe down prior to the coating application?

I like the saying:

"Details are like tattoos, good ones don't come cheap and cheap ones don't look good."

[novaman]

When I was as at my home in Naples Florida last winter I had a mobile detailer come to my home for an estimate for a paint correction on my 2003 Lincoln LS He sort of tried to talk me out of doing the car I guess because of the age etc. However, he did kind of quote me a figure at about $1500. I was blown away as the Lincoln doesn't have that much swirls and is in pretty good shape overall. I declined of course and have decided to do nothing unless I purchase a polisher for there too.

novaman

[Mike Phillips]

what should i look for in a detailer?



I"d ask him if he shares his work on a discussion forum because if he does you can look through his posting history and not only see his work but also see his interaction between forum members answering (or not answering) question about his process etc.


Here's how to do it....

1. Click on the forum member's name and a drop down list will appear.

2. Select: Find more posts by "forum name"

All the posts they have made on the forum will appear on a page or pages if they have more than 30 posts and you can scroll through the various subject titles for any that interest you and then click on the person's post and read it.

(Note: If you're a lurker reading this you cannot do this, only forum members that are logged into the forum can use this feature. Click here to join AGO)


Looks like this,

http://www.marine31online.com/gallery/data/526/Look_Through_Posting_History.jpg




I use this feature all the time if I want to find a post by a forum member or check out possible new forum members that are posting like potential spammers.


That's one thing I would do, that is ask the detailer if they share their work on any detailing discussion forums and ask them what their forum name is so you can check out their work.

On a side note, you can also get a glimpse of their character as people reveal themselves through their writing style.


:)

[Mike Phillips]

Here's some other questions you can ask....

What type of tools do you use for machine correction and machine polishing?

You want to hear them say they have at a minimum at least ONE dual action polisher. For example,


RUPES BigFoot 21, 15 or Duetto 12
Flex 3401
Porter Cable 7424XP
Griot's Garage 6" DA
Meguiar's MT300
Meguiar's G110v2


That shows you they at a minimum they have the potential to finish out hologram free.


If they only tool they own is a rotary buffer or a traditional orbital buffer then you're setting yourself up for potential holograms in the paint as it requires a LOT of factors for a person to finish out hologram free with only a rotary buffer as the traditional orbital buffer is useless on modern clearcoats.

These two tool look like these,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/watermark.php?file=95323




Next, ask them the brand of compounds and polishes they use. There's great products and so-so products. Paint is THIN you really don't want someone working on your car's thin paint using a caveman compound.


Ask them how long it will take?

A medium size car, for example a Honda Accord, Ford Focus or Chevy Malibu will take at a MINIMUM 4-6 hours just do do the correction step. That's because you CANNOT move a polisher quickly over the paint just to get the job done faster.

This doesn't include washing and prepping the car for machine polishing.

A proper exterior detail that includes


Washing the car
Decontaminating the car via detailing clay or some other means
One machine correction step
One machine polishing step
Chemically stripping the paint to prepare it for a coating
Applying the coating
Giving the paint a final buff
Finishing touches = Glass, Wheels, Tires

You're looking at a minimum of 8 hours and probably more around 10 to 12 hours if they're good, if they're fast, if they're experienced and if they hustle.


And anyone doing a proper detail job like I outlined above should be charging in a range of a low of $60.00 an hour and up to 100.00+ and hour.

Or if they are giving you a set price for the job it should be in the range of a low of $600.00 and a medium price of $800.00 to $1000.00

And that's all just for the outside and just to note, normally when a Pro Detailer is applying a coating, the application of the coating itself is an upgrade, upsell or add-on of anywhere from $300.00 and up.


Hope that helps...

(Of course you can always do it yourself and we here on the forum will help you)


:)

[bguiliano]

thanks everyone for your responses

here is their site...Home (http://www.advanceddetailingmainline.com)

[Mike Phillips]

thanks everyone for your responses

here is their site...Home (http://www.advanceddetailingmainline.com)

I think I recognize Matt's name, not sure as I know a lot of detainers and too many of them go by forum nicknames that make it hard to associate them to either their real name or their business name.

That said I looked at their website and it looks and reads like the know what they are doing.

:xyxthumbs:

[bguiliano]

does the quartz process require stripping the original factory clear coat? or does this go on top?

also none of this work would void any factory warranty, right?