Poppa

Hi everyone... wanted to run something past you and get your opinion... A buddy of mine told me that he occasionally takes his car to a specialized detail shop... said he goes there a couple of times a year to keep his car in good shape.... I'm long past the days of doing these sorts of things myself so I called that shop today to get some info... what do they do, how much... well it turns out they have several packages..

package 1: hand wash / hand dry / dress the tires / vacuum & shampoo all carpet including carpet in the trunk / all leather cleaned / door panels cleaned / and hand wax.....

package 2: all of the above, plus clear coat polish..

pkg 1 cost $139 + tax
pkg 2 cost $203 + tax

my first concern was the wax or polish... when I was a kid I burned the paint on one of my cars because I didn't use the orbital buffer correctly.. but the guy at the detail shop told me they don't use electric buffers.... one of the reasons I'm considering doing this is the carpets in my car are beige ( light in color ) and starting to show some dirt, especially on the drivers side, so having the carpet cleaned would be nice... so my question to you is which pkg would you go with... seems like a clear coat polish would really make it "pop"... but the car is only a year and half old so it's not like the paint needs to be brought back to life.... it's something I would only do once or twice a year at most, so I'm leaning to pkg 2... just wanted to see what some of you would do... thanks.

Poppa

chromedome

There's a wealth of info over at the Detailing sub forum, maybe you could ask there about pricing. Usually washing, vacuuming and light hand polish/waxing shouldn't cost much... I usually do this myself on weekends

If you want to really make the car shine and keep looking shiny, you would need a good wash, claying, machine polish and a good protectant application. That could be done just once or twice a year with gentle washing in between. An experienced detailer won't ruin the paint using an orbital machine whereas a hand polish could end up adding swirls and scratches.

LexBob2

I just had both of our cars detailed and found it pays to shop around a bit for the services/prices you are comfortable with. Based on what I found around me, the prices you quoted seem about average give or take a few $$'s for that type of work. I was satisfied with the work and glad that I didn't have to do it myself.

grabilsm

I would never let anyone touch my paint with an orbital buffer. With that said if you find a place that uses Dual Action Buffers (DA buffer) they are almost idiot proof.

Arty101

If your fear is the orbital buffer, then I'd go with Package #1 with just the hand wax to be safe. Pricewise, it seems pretty standard.

roxy208

I'm past doing that myself too. Got my RX done at my Lexus dealer. Everything in package 2 plus cleaning the headliner, windows inside & out, for $169. They did an excellent job.

Arty101

A Package 2, including polish and clay bar, goes anywhere from $300-$400 for full detailing here. You're getting a bargain, and I'd let them do it for $169 too.

SpecialAgt

As mentioned about that pricing is fair. I recently had my interior fully done, shampooed and all, which cost me $145 alone, because I had unfortunately puked in my own car -_-.

A few days later I was too lazy to attend to the dirty exterior so I had them do that too which costs $170, for washing, claying (they clayed my windows too), wax, wheel wells cleaned, tires dressed, and interior wiped down and dusted, etc. This package would've more than sufficed for my whole car if my interior hadn't been so bad.

This is all mobile detailing by the way that I used, I'm pretty pleased with them and I'm gonna have them paint correct my car too in the near future

SpecialAgt

The pic doesn't do it justice

SW17LS

You can't burn the paint with an orbital buffer. You can with a rotary buffer, but not an orbital, they don't generate enough heat.

Personally I'd select a detailer on recommendations and work vs expense. Those prices are pretty cheap for top quality work, I'd pass.

Canesguy

What is that zig-zagged color change on the upper fender where the light shines on it? Hope it's just a reflection.

laobo979

iTrader: (5)

Im with you on that point. I take quality like the saying goes sometime you get what you pay for.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

I am pretty sure you are confusing orbital with a rotary....

zmcgovern4

iTrader: (2)

You mean rotary... rotary machines are more or less obsolete these days in the detailing world. Random orbital (aka Dual Action) polishers are much safer and very effective thanks to the advancement in polishing liquids over the years.


You surely can burn paint with a DA/RO machine, however the chances are much, much lower for the reasons you mentioned.

I also agree that these prices are quite low... I imagine the "clear coat polish" mentioned is simply a quick pass with a cleaner wax or light polish and not truly any type of real correction.

Paint correction (and all of the necessary prep) is a very extensive process and therefore true professionals who produce quality work will charge accordingly. These prices do not reflect that type of work.

+1

SpecialAgt

Ya that's only a reflection