Practicing on a scrap panel will help your technique. But to achieve paint correction you will need to assess each car individually, dont assume that because XXXX works, it will work on the next car/panel you do, it may be too aggressive or not aggressive enough.
So...How do I get into detailing?
- Thread starter mr tommo
- Start date
Ive got to agree with that - he even looked like a wrongun,
Ah, this, I feel, is where I have been going wrong
Its given me a fantastic idea for a new business. Going round machine polishing the heads of rich bald bankers, measuring scalp depth to ensure it's consistent, applying protective coating etc etc
Autoglym Ultra Deep Polish works wonders on Sapphire Black.
Tried it
Heres a list of what Ive tried so far by hand.
AG Super Resin Polish
AG Ultra Deep Shine
Poorboys Black Haze
Poorboys Blue wax
Meg (black bottle
)I give up. Granted Ive probably not used them properly but Ive had this itch to get a machine for a while now so I dont think anything is gonna put me off. Plus I'd love to attempt stone chip repair myself, read a few guides, and again a machine is pretty much essential.
Which is adequate still?
Makita is a bit more than I want to pay really.
Where do you buy your pads/polishes from? Any favoured websites?
Soldato
- Joined
- 10 Oct 2006
- Posts
- 3,678
Which is adequate still?
Makita is a bit more than I want to pay really.
Where do you buy your pads/polishes from? Any favoured websites?
www.polishedbliss.co.uk is good I knew Rich before he started it up. The G220 is good its a random orbital polisher which is easier for beginners. Although a couple of scrap panels and a rotary polisher is a good start aswell. If the car has soft paint a random polisher would be better however for hard paint which is most of the German cars a rotary once you have mastered it will be a lot faster however you would be amazed how quickly it can go through a soft clearcoat.
I make a lot of money from this at the moment, Not to brag but im pretty good (I detailed the mustang saleen) and this is what it takes to earn money from it as if your ok people will not use or reccommend you . From 1 job I get about another 3 or 4 booked in .
It costs a lot of money to get all the right gear aswell and I wouldn't bother with a RO , just jump to a rotary as you have to be seriously stupid with speeds to burn paint work .
You need any help my msn is in my trust and I can also help with trade discounts on materials etc
It costs a lot of money to get all the right gear aswell and I wouldn't bother with a RO , just jump to a rotary as you have to be seriously stupid with speeds to burn paint work .
You need any help my msn is in my trust and I can also help with trade discounts on materials etc
To buy your stuff, cleanyourcar.co.uk is brilliant.
I use Autoglym SRP and it hides swirls/light scratches very nicely. Trouble is, they're back again within a week, and I CBA to spend 7-8 hours cleaning my car every week. Once a month (or two months depending how lazy I am) will do me
Besides, it's only an 51 plat 1.6 Astra SXi, nothing to show off
I use Autoglym SRP and it hides swirls/light scratches very nicely. Trouble is, they're back again within a week, and I CBA to spend 7-8 hours cleaning my car every week. Once a month (or two months depending how lazy I am) will do me
Besides, it's only an 51 plat 1.6 Astra SXi, nothing to show off I never read the rotary guide as I presumed the Dual action ones were the better ones
Will definately be getting some scrap panels to try it out on before I take it anywhere near my beloved car!
I'd rather just buy the right kit at the start thinking about it. So will probably go for the rotary. I need to look into this in-depth tomorrow with regards to what to get started with. Making money out of this was me looking waaaaayyyyyy down the line (2 years, if at all) but theres 3 cars in my household and I will just be doing it for fun for now. I will add you on msn tomorrow if thats ok because I could do with getting a shopping list together to work out how much this is gonna cost me.
Just a quick question, how much is a reliable Paint Thickness Guage? Whats the cheapest I could get away with without it below average?
Are you sure you want to "invest" all this money on something you have never really tried before? Surely just buy a few of the basics and take it from there. Paint thickness gauges can range from cheapo to hundreds of £££.
Obviously some in this thread don't see the point, but as with anything, if you want the results, one way or another you need to put the work in. "It'll do" is a phrase all to many people seem to live by. I'm really into my detailing, but only to the extent that I get the results I'm happy with, and willing to spend time doing it. I'll only really do it for close friends or if someone's in a fix.
You've got the URL for perhaps the most comprehensive guide you need Mr Tommo, and your intentions don't seem unrealistic at all. Once you've read a few guides, got yourself some kit and products together, I'm sure you'll get into it in no time. As for the paint thickness gauge - I'd not bother unless you decide to do it for money, or for people who would throw a hissy if the worse did happen.
...then the pictures of your car at the top of the multi-storey near Vue Cinema/Morrisons will look even better
You've got the URL for perhaps the most comprehensive guide you need Mr Tommo, and your intentions don't seem unrealistic at all. Once you've read a few guides, got yourself some kit and products together, I'm sure you'll get into it in no time. As for the paint thickness gauge - I'd not bother unless you decide to do it for money, or for people who would throw a hissy if the worse did happen.
...then the pictures of your car at the top of the multi-storey near Vue Cinema/Morrisons will look even better
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I like my cars to be immaculate however I have to admit that detailing, especially machine polishing is the most boring thing in the world and I can't bring myself to do it more than once per year.
I did the Boxster about a month ago and spent about 7 hours in total, that's 2009s detail done, by the time August 2010 rolls around I might be able to force myself to doing it again (although I might just pay somebody next time to be honest). Till then it's just wash and the occasional wax to keep it looking good.
I did the Boxster about a month ago and spent about 7 hours in total, that's 2009s detail done, by the time August 2010 rolls around I might be able to force myself to doing it again (although I might just pay somebody next time to be honest). Till then it's just wash and the occasional wax to keep it looking good.