What am i doing wrong?

[Moses]

Hello Members, I have been practicing my detailing skills in my last 2 cars. But i have notice that i am not doing well of a job in certain parts. Here are my problems

Swirl removal:

I did a one stage polish on my truck with M105, its a dark metalic blue 06 Toyota Tacoma. Over all i did a good job and removed all of the swirls and got a deep shine. But notice that i have some isolated scratches that are deeper, some i can feel with my fingernail and some i cant. this scratches seem to run horizontal. I have tried putting pressure with my DA polisher but the improvement is very minimal. Can these scratches be removed? I can lived with them, since you cant really see them. unless you are really inspecting the paint. I know i still have to follow up with M205, just don't have time to do it yet.

Carpet cleaning and upholstery:

I cleaned my carpets on my 97 camry using a Mytee Lite 2 and notice a improvement over all, But notice some of my stains came back, and my carpets do not look as cleaned as some of the members seem to leave them. I am using APC 10:1 with Folex on certain parts and scrub with a brush and let air dry. What am i doing wrong ?

I have a detail this upcoming weekend for a family member and would like to know i am doing everything i can. i am also thinking of buying a cheap $100 steamer to help with the crack and crevices and around door jambs, will a $100 steamer do ok?

[timaishu]

Sounds to me like you have RIDS.

They are deeper scratches that hide among the swirls. And once you level out the swirls, the rids remain.

If its your daily, I wouldnt worry about it too much. You will remove too much clear removing them.

For your second question, I do not know much about. So I will let someone else chime in on that one.

[SheldonH]

I have a cheap steamer and in my opinion its not worth fooling with.

As far as the interior goes, i would try a specific interior cleaner and not diluted. For stained carpet floored mats try this.

Vaccum
Dampen with rag or a little spray
Carpet Shampoo, like Woo lite( from walmart) or any specific carpet cleaner
Let it soak
Scrub!!
Water again
Then vaccum and allow to dry

[-z yaaaa-]

you remove clear when using m105?

[timaishu]

you remove clear when using m105?

You remove clear with all abrasive compounds and polishes.

Thats why we preach using the least aggressive method to get the job done. That way you remove just enough clear to remove whatever defect you are trying to remove.

[twisted1]

Hello Members, I have been practicing my detailing skills in my last 2 cars...

Over all i did a good job and removed all of the swirls and got a deep shine.

So far, so good. Don't be so hard on yourself.

...i have some isolated scratches that are deeper, some i can feel with my fingernail and some i cant. this scratches seem to run horizontal. I have tried putting pressure with my DA polisher but the improvement is very minimal. Can these scratches be removed? I can lived with them, since you cant really see them. unless you are really inspecting the paint.

The lesser ones may possibly be removed or at least made less noticable.

I cleaned my carpets on my 97 camry using a Mytee Lite 2 and notice a improvement over all, But notice some of my stains came back, and my carpets do not look as cleaned as some of the members seem to leave them. I am using APC 10:1 with Folex on certain parts and scrub with a brush and let air dry. What am i doing wrong ?

15 year old car with stained carpet...sounds normal to me.

I have a detail this upcoming weekend for a family member and would like to know i am doing everything i can. i am also thinking of buying a cheap $100 steamer to help with the crack and crevices and around door jambs, will a $100 steamer do ok?

What are you promising your family member? A detail of the best of your ability and knowledge? Or are you overreaching and selling full correction (in&out) based on marketing?
What do you personally know about the $100 steamer?
Whatever the answer, be confident in your ability before striking out on someone else's vehicle.

[tomsteve]

on most factory paint jobs, the clear is quite thin and i wont try to remove any i can feel with my fingernail. i can, however remove some pretty nasty scratches on repaints where the clear is thicker. i use a rotary, woll pad and m105. after doing any area, and sometimes the vehicle has been severely neglected so i will do the whole thing with a rotary, i switch to my DA, an orange lake country pad and m105. awesome results every time.
however,as stated, it does remove clearcoat. i found this out on my hooptie daily driver. 96 taurus and 1st real cut/buff was about 4 years ago. one area behind the left rear wheel got some serious scratches a few times. i ended up braking through the clear, which led me to repainting/ clearcoating that area.
on the carpet thing, saying the stains came back makes me think the complete stain wasnt removed, meaning that when it dried, left over dirt down in the carpet worked its way up. i know on house carpeting this can be caused by getting the carpet too wet when cleaning.


to add on carpets. my daily driver hooptie never had a real carpet cleaningg until i did the cut/buff. decided that since i was doin the exterior i may as well to the interior. what a mess!!LOLOL.i ended up pulling the seats and pulling the carpet out and using my pressure washer to blast all the dirt out. they were nasty! also did it in the summer and hung the carpet up to dry. this also let me put the seat up on a bech and really clean em good! a lot of crud can build up in hidden places over 11 ish years. it all came out really nice! prolly nt recommended by the pros, but it worked good and now i take better care of the carpets.

[Moses]

I never told my family member that i was going to do an awesome job, i just told him that i was starting and wanted to get the experience. He got a detail from some guy before for $90 and apparently he really liked it. but he only cleaned the inside and maybe wax, no clay. he also polish his headlights but no UV protection.

I am thinking of charging him $100 from dusk to dawn and trying my best to clean the interior, and clay and seal the exterior. if i see that i am done with the interior by 12:00 AM than i will do AIO with XMT 360 on the exterior, I will also restore his headlights since they are very yellow and apply a UV protection on it.

and here is the steamer i was thinking about
McCulloch MC-1275 Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner

i know the price is kind of cheap but its the experience i am after and that's priceless lol

I also think i am not using the extractor right, maybe getting the carpet to wet like you guys mentions, i need more practice i guess

[A.P.A.D.]

I have the McCulloch MC-1275. yes it is cheap, but it is a nice tool to have around. It is a little too wet a steam for my liking, but for less than $100 definately worth it! great for vents, crevices, door jams, etc. it would be great to have a nicer one, but im not ready to dump $700+ into one.

[twisted1]

1 I never told my family member that i was going to do an awesome job, i just told him that i was starting and wanted to get the experience]. He got a detail from some guy before for $90 and apparently he really liked it. but he only cleaned the inside and maybe wax, no clay. he also polish his headlights but no UV protection.

2 I am thinking of charging him $100 from dusk to dawn and trying my best to clean the interior, and clay and seal the exterior. if i see that i am done with the interior by 12:00 AM than i will do AIO with XMT 360 on the exterior, I will also restore his headlights since they are very yellow and apply a UV protection on it.

and here is the steamer i was thinking about
McCulloch MC-1275 Heavy-Duty Steam Cleaner

i know the price is kind of cheap but its the experience i am after and that's priceless lol

I also think i am not using the extractor right, maybe getting the carpet to wet like you guys mentions, i need more practice i guess

^^^
On a 15 year old dd carpet, there is usually much hidden , thoroughly compacted dirt throughout and dried staining product under the carpet. I also have removed trim&seats, pulled and powerwashed carpets. Amazing to see what accumulates on the pavement.
I personaly don't believe in the wicking principle although many do, even carpet professionals.

1. This is good news and satisfied a lingering thought that I have. I've always wondered about newb marketing or presentations while selling services to prospective customers. Especially from those that don't do their research and rely stictly on the marketed ability of products and tools.
FogFight would be a good example of this.

2. Sounds like you are ready to take it to the next level. Dedicated and determined. Good luck and much success to you forum member.