Hey there, I just picked up an Avus Blue 328is, unfortunately it has pretty bad swirl marks in the direct sunlight, looks amazing at sunset though.

I'm wondering how much it would cost to have a professional/detail shop to remove the swirls because I haven't the slightest clue how to do it and I wouldn't want to make it worse than it is.

Furthermore, if any of you are in the NY/Long Island area and could offer me help with this, I would really appreciate it. The name of good detailing shops in the NY/Long Island area would help too.

Thanks guys!

In that area, I would recommend http://www.detailingdynamics.com/

I've heard lots of good things about them.

The swirls just need to be buffed out.

Yeah, I dont live to far from you either I live right near glen cove, if you have ever heard of new hyde park, theres a place on hillside avenue called Five Corners Car Wash, which is about the only place I will let wash my car besides by myself, I trust them hell even my brother does with his new 07 Escalade so thats the only place I would go :)

Thanks guys, both of those shops are in my area, I'll check them out.

Any ideas of the pricing I can expect for a full body swirl removal? Much appreciated. :)

A quality job won't be cheap. I would expect $300+, but I couldn't give you an exact price though.

I manage a detail shop here in Delaware and we were voted number one in the area for 7 years straight. Like ZaneO said, if you want a quality buff job its going to cost you a decent amount of money but it will be well worth it. We charge $285 for a 5 step buff job (compound, swirl remover, polish, paint sealant, and then paste wax) the wash is also included in that price. The first three steps are done with a rotary buffer each step with a different type of pad. (yellow wool, blue wool, foam pad) the paint sealant is applied with an orbital buffer and then the paste wax is done by hand. A good buff job will be the next best thing to a paint job, or should be. If you do take it to a detail shop to get compounded make sure you check it outside in the sun for buff marks (swirl marks caused by the buffer) which you shouldnt get if they know what they are doing. Anyway good luck with that and post some before and afters if you can. Take it easy.

Willie

P.S. The price above is for a car. Prices range depending on the size of the vehicle.

Depends on how bad the condition can be, swirling ranges from light to very heavy as with scratches and other paint defects. Get it properly done, then just maintain it.

Detailing Dynamics is definitely the place to go in your area.

A quality job won't be cheap. I would expect $300+, but I couldn't give you an exact price though.


You shouldnt pay more than 150$ to have your swirls removed.

I own my own Detail shop and anything more than 150$ for an exterior
is unbelievable.

Good Luck!

You shouldnt pay more than 150$ to have your swirls removed.

I own my own Detail shop and anything more than 150$ for an exterior
is unbelievable.

Good Luck!

Processes and quality vary. If more than $150 is unbelievable for a multi-step swirl removal, you should do some more research.

Processes and quality vary. If more than $150 is unbelievable for a multi-step swirl removal, you should do some more research.


I agree. $150 for multi step swirl removal???? You get what you pay for.

Here in Dallas most people bairly get wash, wax and interior done for $150.

Aye. Statistically, Professional Car & Washing Magazine took a survey for a basic detail (just Cleaning/Minor Protection for Exterior/Interior) with a mean of $160. Then again it all varies on how you run your business.

I've seen $100/hr for buffing out/ swirl removal, with entire car taking maybe 3 hours or so.

I've seen $100/hr for buffing out/ swirl removal, with entire car taking maybe 3 hours or so.


100 dollars an hour? x3 ...so $300 bucks for 3 hours of work? Jesus:eek:



At any rate, 280 is excessive...but the man owns a buisness and thats how he makes his money. I would look into a private detailer with a good name. Call a few body shops and ask for a recomendation.


I would have them...

wash
clay
swirl removal
polish
paste wax

And only ask for a sealant if you dont plan to wax every 2 months.

Your looking at $175 for a good job. Do interior work yourself ;)

100 dollars an hour? x3 ...so $300 bucks for 3 hours of work? Jesus:eek:



I'd imagine quality materials cost a fair amount. That probably where a decent chunk of change is going..

I guess whether it takes 3 hours or not depends on size of car, how bad the swirls are (whether all over car, etc.), whether dark color...

I'd imagine quality materials cost a fair amount. That probably where a decent chunk of change is going.. Dang, I need to up my prices a bit :D

I'd imagine quality materials cost a fair amount. That probably where a decent chunk of change is going..

someone that makes a business out of detailing cars is probably buying their products in bulk. even if they arent, theyre not going through enough product to warrant a $300 bill.

...unless theyre using jars of $500 zymol wax. :dunno

Im gonna give you the good news and the bad news, lol. Detailing Dynamics is 1000% the best shop to get this done. When I picked up my 760li black sapphire with only 9k miles it was plagued with swirls and scratches. The scratches were not nail deep but albeit they were there. After going to a few places and all the regular 100 detail shops where the shiny wax job is gone in a week, I spoke with matt down there. He reconditioned all the paint, detailed the car and I must say it looked probably better than the day it was originall delivered. Bad news though; lol, they're gonna charge you around 1200.00 for the job. I just had them detail my 2007 m6 which I wouldnt let the dealer even prep, there waxing/polish detail was around 500-600. With this being said, my 760 and m6 were the poor cars in there. There running Hepa filters on raised floors and the workers will get screamed at if more than 1 tool is in the car, lol. If you want to get work done where 90% of the clients are ferraris, lambos and other exotics this is the place. For a full detail they'll literally remove every piece from the car, detail and put back together.

fazooley

Mostly paying for time and slightly paying for materials, depending on the detailer and how serious they get, they'll be using the best most expensive chemicals......example, new Zaino Clear Seal is $30 bucks for 6oz.
Even buying in bulk, it adds up, plus milage etc.....

I've done swirl removal and it's taken me more then 9 hours from start to finish. All just depends on the cars clearcoat how hard or soft it is, either way you're talking about using a rotary 1-2x's and then following up with a PC 2x's and then waxing. It's very time consuming. You could probably get a very good high quality exterior job done for $200 bucks and reduce the swirls by 75% and your car would look dynomite but to get 100% swirls removed (not filled in) it's going to cost.

100 dollars an hour? x3 ...so $300 bucks for 3 hours of work? Jesus:eek:
;)

3 hour total swirl removal?? they were probably using multiple people which have to get paid as well, ecspecially if they're well trained and experienced then they don't come cheap.

I'd imagine quality materials cost a fair amount. That probably where a decent chunk of change is going..

Tain't the materials that cost...it's the business liability insurance! Your lower priced detailer has business liability...right? If not, and they burn through paint, or worse....that detail will be downright expensive.

I did a lot of driveway detailing for a lot of years and "rolled the dice" by not having insurance. But all it takes is one big boo-boo on an expensive car and the detailer or owner is out the $$$

Totoland

you get what you pay for if you dont wanna do it yourself

Bad news though; lol, they're gonna charge you around 1200.00 for the job.

Umm... $1200 just for a swirl removal? Or are you talking about detailing the whole car? I just want a good swirl removal service, I don't think they're that deep because the paint looks phenomenal during sunrise/sunset, but once high noon hits, all hell breaks loose.

I'm willing to do $300, but if you are serious about a swirl removal being $1200, I might as well get the whole car repainted!

Last question, will the car be any less shiny after this process, since the clear coat is being shaved off a bit?

Thanks again.

Your car wouldn't ever look worse after you had it detailed...unless they burned a hole in your paint with an orbital. (not likely at all)

300 is still overpriced IMO...but seeing how your really not sure. Id just take it to the guys buisness above. Otherwise a mobil detailer might keep adding things on for extra.


Your car will look great...heres swrils, and than after there removed.


http://autopia.org/forum/click-brag/85137-ferrari-360-z4-7-series-g35.html

Hey contact me at noooorb@gmail.com. Most likely (depending on just how truly bad the paint) I'd be able to remove the swirls, polish, seal, and wax just as well as the detail places.

I believe he was talking about a complete detail for $1,200.

You could probably find someone for a $300 swirl removal only. Depending upon your car's paint condition, that would be more than reasonable, but I don't know what the prevailing rates are in your area.

I'd recommend shopping around and asking questions such as:

1. References and digital pics (show me your work)
2. Do they have business liability? Important if a mistake is made to your car and a claim needs to be made.
3. Swirl removal at a shop location or at your location.

Lastly, swirl removal is not removing clear coat: wet sanding does and it's a super small amount (unless the person sanding goes nuts). Swirl removal is pretty labor intensive because you are polishing the surface with diminishing abrasive material to smooth the surface. Some detailers will give you a flat rate while others will quote a per hour charge. And, most will want to see the car's paint condition first to determine the amount of time involved.

Hope that helps. If you want to see examples of before/after, check out my Photobucket Dot Com album under Totoland. Look at the Feb_2007 BMWs sub album and I have examples of a lightly swirled white 545i and a black X5 that I'm currently finishing up. I don't have enough privileges on Bimmerforums to post pics yet, so that's the best bet.

Totoland

Hey contact me at noooorb@gmail.com. Most likely (depending on just how truly bad the paint) I'd be able to remove the swirls, polish, seal, and wax just as well as the detail places.

Very professional.... :confused

As Toto said, it depends on the severity of the swirls/defects. Polishing really just finishes the paint down to enhance the appearance. Heavy Compounding/Wetsanding is removal of the paint

Try it yourself. I'm not a body man but have done some painting,wet sanding and polishing. I found out from my "real" paint man what he used and it was amazing. This is the combo, a Klingspor blue foam pad #10080, with 3M 05937 Machine Glaze on a "Harbor Freight" variable speed buffer. Never any burn or burn through problems, no swirl marks, just don't let it dry on the car.Turns hard and is a pain to get off. Tape up the trim,take your time, and do a panel at a time. You will impress yourself. The blue pad $12, machine glaze $18, polisher $25 and you will be ready to go. The first car I tried was a 82 911 with a fair paint job, but was hazy. Wet sanded the whole car with 2000 paper and used this combo and it looked new and stayed that way. Give yourself a chance!

I would give myself a chance if it were a cheaper car! I just don't want to risk making it worse, or uneven, or any other blemish that I might cause!

LoL at an exterior detail never costing more then 150 dollars. I wash and wax for 125- 150 (thats with out touching the interior).

For buffing, 200 minimum (usually). Most of my details run between 250-350.

Lastly, swirl removal is not removing clear coat: wet sanding does and it's a super small amount (unless the person sanding goes nuts).

That statement is far too generic.

Polishing really just finishes the paint down to enhance the appearance. Heavy Compounding/Wetsanding is removal of the paint

The generic term "polishing" refers to most types of buffing, compounding, paint cleaning or waxing, doesn't alway mean using an actual "polish" or glaze.

Not refering to you Woob, but I get the strong impression that a lot of advice being given on this thread is coming more from the "enthusiest" then from actual professional detailers.:shifty

Try it yourself. I'm not a body man but have done some painting,wet sanding and polishing. I found out from my "real" paint man what he used and it was amazing. This is the combo, a Klingspor blue foam pad #10080, with 3M 05937 Machine Glaze on a "Harbor Freight" variable speed buffer. Never any burn or burn through problems, no swirl marks, just don't let it dry on the car.Turns hard and is a pain to get off. Tape up the trim,take your time, and do a panel at a time. You will impress yourself. The blue pad $12, machine glaze $18, polisher $25 and you will be ready to go. The first car I tried was a 82 911 with a fair paint job, but was hazy. Wet sanded the whole car with 2000 paper and used this combo and it looked new and stayed that way. Give yourself a chance!

I disagree. Just because you got good results doesn't mean the same process that worked on an older Porsche with a soft clearcoat will work on a newer BMW with a harder clearcoat.

First off body shop/painters and pro. detailers/paint correctors are two different things. I've seen body shops that do the absolute best paint jobs but have swirled a car to death cause the owner asked them to "buff" it over once while the car was there....big mistake.

Also, never use a $25 buffer on your car.:nono

And you will never typically get swirls from using a glaze or a soft pad....
Glazes (and polishing pads) have no cutting or abbraisive ability, only fillers. Mainly compounds (and cutting pads) are what leave machine swirls/halograms if you don't go back and correct it with a PC.

The generic term "polishing" refers to most types of buffing, compounding, paint cleaning or waxing, doesn't alway mean using an actual "polish" or glaze.

Not refering to you Woob, but I get the strong impression that a lot of advice being given on this thread is coming more from the "enthusiest" then from actual professional detailers.:shifty

I concur, even I make terminology errors, though Detailing is so broad that anyone can make use of a term. It helps when to use an actual Product name and Abrasive level.

Not going to comment on the $55 Work, but I think it's far to risky and inconsistent for anyone to grab cheap equipment and work on their car.

Hello!! I would like to know if anyone knows of a good place where i can take my car to have the swirl marks removed in Miami/ Ft lauderdale!

I have a jet black e46 , i had it washed the other day and realized my poor car has swirl marks ughhh!!

Thanks,
ALY

Hello!! I would like to know if anyone knows of a good place where i can take my car to have the swirl marks removed in Miami/ Ft lauderdale!

I have a jet black e46 , i had it washed the other day and realized my poor car has swirl marks ughhh!!

Thanks,
ALY

Contact ZaneO, he know's a lot of good detailers around.:alright

Hello!! I would like to know if anyone knows of a good place where i can take my car to have the swirl marks removed in Miami/ Ft lauderdale!

I have a jet black e46 , i had it washed the other day and realized my poor car has swirl marks ughhh!!

Thanks,
ALY

You could post a request on AutoGeek.net They are not too far from your area and might know some detailers near you. I think they have a big open house event this coming weekend (Feb 24th)...that might be worth attending as close as you are.

Toto

You could post a request on AutoGeek.net They are not too far from your area and might know some detailers near you. I think they have a big open house event this coming weekend (Feb 24th)...that might be worth attending as close as you are.

Toto



Ok cool! Thanks!