I bought a new Saturn Aura in March of 2007 and faithfully ran it through the swirl tunnel wash weekly. I wanted to keep it clean and shiny! After a month or 2, I thought I'd wax the car to make it shinier and protect it. In my garage I had some old Blue Coral Wash & Shine, a 14 year old bottle of Nu-Finish and an equally old unused bottle of Slick 50 Synthetic Car Polish. I didn't know if it was healthy to use such old products so I googled "Car Washing." I discovered the Meguiar's site and started reading.
Pics and pics of swirled cars came up on my screen. I thought I'd go outside and take a look at my new shiny car with my new knowledgeable eye.
Omigod! Swirls galore on my new pride & joy DD! And I thought I was doing good by tunnel washing it weekly! Now what?
Being the voracious reader and learner that I am, I read more, browsed more, and discovered other sites beside Meguiars. Armed with new knowledge, Meg's #80, a new PC, a few pads, NXT 2.0, and another local enthusiast I found on Autopia, we tackled my wife's 1996 white Saturn SC1 first. This other enthusiast I found online brought a rotary and
PB's polishes with him. He told me he was extremely knowledgeable and would teach me the rotary and how to polish.
I watched him and listened to him teach, but from what I had read, I disagreed with the way he was handling the rotary and polish. I didn't say anything though because, after all, I had just read stuff and he was the "experienced one." I thought I was making better progress on 1/2 the car with #80 and my PC than he was doing with the rotary and the SSR 2.5.
Well, he created 2 small rotary burn-thrus with his rotary work. I thanked him for his time and effort and told him I'd rather finish the car myself so I would learn by doing. He apologized for the burn-thrus and offered to come back at a later time to fix them. I never saw him again.
I finished the car with my PC, laid a coat of NXT 2.0 on the car, and WOW! It NEVER looked that good! 12 years old and it looked better than 95% of the cars I see on the road. It was covered with swirls though but it was white and one had to get close and look with a "practiced eye" to see them. But it was shiny! I couldn't stop going outside to look at it at different times of day and night to admire the gloss and light reflection.
I was hooked. I've since spent tons of money on products, supplies and equipment and have what I think is an impressive collection.
I then spent a few months and more money widening the area on the side of my garage so I could detail a couple of cars each weekend for $ to at least pay for my supplies.
I did 2 cars for 2 friends for a grand total of $70.00.
Now I realize detailing is hard on a 57 year body, so I'm just doing my car and the wife's for the time being, but that doesn't stop me from spending $$ on supplies and spending time on these forums.
I guess this is a long winded reply to the question, sorry!
Re: How would you classify yourself as a detailer? -
06-14-2008, 01:26 AM
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