Detailing?

Author
Discussion

aidanbree

Original Poster:

298 posts

202 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
Can anyone explain to me the process of paintwork detailing?

I have a 1994 TVR Chimaera that has a fair number of scuffs, light scrapes and scratches. It always looks cracking for a few days after being waxed as the scratches appear to have lifted but shortly after, it is back to normal. Would detailing actually lift the scratches out?

What would a car like mine cost to have detailed? I am in the Southside of Glasgow (Clarkston) if anyone could recommend someone to speak to.

MethylatedSpirit

1,893 posts

135 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
It involves using a heavy polish and cutting pad on a rotary polisher. The aim is to take away some of the clear coat so that it is level with the bottom of the scratch. Then follow up with finer polishes to give a better shine.

£150-200 for a partial "gloss enhancement" and £500+ to have all defects removed. But depends entirely on the person doing the work

If you're glasgow area, I can show you how to use a machine polisher (Budget £160 and you can detail as many cars as you like)

DUMBO100

1,878 posts

183 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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I know a good local guy called Scott at Prestige Auto Valet. I'll check that he could do it for you and then dm you his phone number

aidanbree

Original Poster:

298 posts

202 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
MethylatedSpirit said:
It involves using a heavy polish and cutting pad on a rotary polisher. The aim is to take away some of the clear coat so that it is level with the bottom of the scratch. Then follow up with finer polishes to give a better shine.

£150-200 for a partial "gloss enhancement" and £500+ to have all defects removed. But depends entirely on the person doing the work

If you're glasgow area, I can show you how to use a machine polisher (Budget £160 and you can detail as many cars as you like)
Hmm.... that sounds like a great idea....whats the risk of mucking up? Is it difficult / time consuming?

aidanbree

Original Poster:

298 posts

202 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
DUMBO100 said:
I know a good local guy called Scott at Prestige Auto Valet. I'll check that he could do it for you and then dm you his phone number
Yep, that would also be great! I'm keeping my options open

MethylatedSpirit

1,893 posts

135 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
aidanbree said:
Hmm.... that sounds like a great idea....whats the risk of mucking up? Is it difficult / time consuming?
The risk of mucking up is fairly low, especially if someone has shown you how to do it properly and you use a DA machine instead of a rotary. I use a Dual action polisher which is less harsh on the paint (Compared to the rotary that the professionals use), but it's slightly more time consuming.

Budget about a full day to do the whole car to a good standard. A lot of it is prep work, masking off the hood, plastics and windows and removing every bit of dirt/tar from the paint.

Here's my TVR


aidanbree

Original Poster:

298 posts

202 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
Looks like a great job! Gleaming... The thing that puts me off doing it myself is that I don't have a covered space. The chances of getting a sunny but not too sunny day to myself are limited...


ClarkPB

818 posts

199 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
quotequote all
MethylatedSpirit said:
It involves using a heavy polish and cutting pad on a rotary polisher. The aim is to take away some of the clear coat so that it is level with the bottom of the scratch. Then follow up with finer polishes to give a better shine.

£150-200 for a partial "gloss enhancement" and £500+ to have all defects removed. But depends entirely on the person doing the work

If you're glasgow area, I can show you how to use a machine polisher (Budget £160 and you can detail as many cars as you like)
It doesn't always require a heavy polish to correct paint as all cars have different hardness and thicknesses, if you used the same compound needed to correct a modern Lamborghini on a Honda civic for example then there's a good chance you could remove dangerous levels of clear coat.

cammy71

351 posts

197 months

Wednesday 1st April 2015
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Can recommend IncredibleDetail. Did cracking job on my Tiv.

WMD GTR

67 posts

121 months

Thursday 2nd April 2015
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Gordon Muir at Defined Details in Cambuslang, best by a country mile. I do detailing, but can get nowhere near the level he achieves. Have a chat with him.

Technomad

753 posts

162 months

Friday 3rd April 2015
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If you're fairly central, I strongly recommend Ultimate Shine Auto in Stirling - they've done brilliantly on both my 911 and DD X5

sconzo

123 posts

167 months

Wednesday 15th April 2015
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Another thumbs up for Gordon at Defined Details. Have him correct and protect the paint on all my cars when I get them. A paint correction is the only permanent solution to small scratches and swirls.