Hey there. I'm more of a wrencher than a detailer, so I figured I'd ask here.

This is my car:

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05201a.jpg

Looks good from a distance, and all the paint is original. However, it seems to have a coat of very old wax which is starting to to flake and oxidise. It's also not nearly as shiney as it could be, as seen on the hood here.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05192.jpg

So, my question is, is I got a quote from a detailer to completely buff out, polish, wax my car for $250, but they said they could probably cut me a deal. According to the guys there, the discoloration is caused by wax and not a peeling clear coat (did they even have clear back then? I thought it was single stage) According to them, it would take a few hours, but the car would look 'like new.'

I'm a firm believer in paying someone who knows what they're doing for specialty work, and seeing as I have neither the experience nor the supplies, I was just going to go ahead and do it.

My biggest question was as to the cost. I know they do good work, I've seen examples, so is the price fair? It seems fairly labor intensive as to what they're talking about, and I do want my car to look its best.

Should I go for it or should I shop around for cheaper?

As far as cost goes it can vary for numerous reasons. What products they use, how much time is spent and experience; are just some of the questions you should keep in mind when considering a professional detail.

If they're reputable that, price sounds ok. I know a few people who've had detailers come to their house to do their exotics, they charged $100 just to wax it alone.

I'm sure other members here will chime in to give you a better idea. Great looking 2002 btw. I hope to acquire one someday :)

Since that is original paint, it is probably single stage. Like said above, pricing depends on many different variables. If they are experienced and you trust them with your car, I believe $250 is a fair price.

It is a single staged paint, and for JUST doing the outside, $250 seems fair for a buff. Ask for references though and see what other kind of cars they have done, because if they don't have experience with single stage paint, I would look into someone who does.

Also if they tell you that it will only take an hour or two, run away. This sort of job should require at least a good 4-8+ hours.

Also if they tell you that it will only take an hour or two, run away. This sort of job should require at least a good 4-8+ hours.

The man told me I needed to schedule an appointment, and that it would take 'several hours and that I should leave it there with them.' Sounds more in line with what you just said here, and if it truly takes that long, it sounds like a decent deal.

I work next door to them, and a lot of higher end cars come through their place. M3s on a daily basis, AMGs, all sorts of stuff. I know they do good work, I've just never owned a car I felt compelled to keep nice before :)

The man told me I needed to schedule an appointment, and that it would take 'several hours and that I should leave it there with them.' Sounds more in line with what you just said here, and if it truly takes that long, it sounds like a decent deal.

I work next door to them, and a lot of higher end cars come through their place. M3s on a daily basis, AMGs, all sorts of stuff. I know they do good work, I've just never owned a car I felt compelled to keep nice before :)
Gotcha. Yeah it defiantly sounds like a good deal and place.

I so want to get that beauty and make it shine, but you're on the other beach from me. $250 sounds very reasonable if they do it right.

I was bored today and decided to take pictures of the 'problem spots' to see what you guys thought. Due to unforseen expenditures, I won't be able to get it done for another couple weeks or so, but it's still on my mind.

I'm guessing this is the flaking wax, since it doesn't seem to be damaging the paint.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05550.jpg

This happened after the first time I had it washed, they put some sort of protector in the car wash, and I parked it next to some sprinklers without noticing. The runs happened, and I haven't been able to take them out since. On the other hand, it hasn't gotten consistently worse any other times its gotten wet, so I don't know what to think.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05551.jpg

Detail of the paint transfer I bought the car with, and they said buffing it would remove 90+% of the paint.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05552.jpg

Hard to see, but theres a foggy spot in the paint in the circle.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05553.jpg

And this is overal indicative of the quality of the paint on there right now. Good, strong color, just looks a little foggy and 'not clear' for lack of a better term. Can also see some light swirling. Does what I want (IE shiny paint) look like a professional buffing will take care of it and leave me satisfied? I'm not rolling in dough, and for me $250 is a purchase large enough to spend time on considering.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/DSC05554.jpg

My opinion is DYI and save the money for new paint later.

My opinion is DYI and save the money for new paint later.

What he said!

For 250 bucks, you could buy all the necessary equipment (polisher, pads, polish, wax, etc...) and still have some dough left over. Getting the hang of using a random orbital isn't too hard and as long as you do a little reading to get a few ideas about the technique before you attempt to do it yourself will be all the experience you really need. The chances of damaging the paint with a random orbital are extremely slim... just keep your speeds down to start and find out the comination of speed and pressure (and keeping enough material on the pad) necessary to take out the blemishes.

Edit: If you can wrench, you can undoubtedly do this yourself.

No need now :(

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a47/nid05/2002%20Tii/080607_2034.jpg

There seems to be a very real correlation between the price of a job and the cost of the related tools to do it yourself.

To me this seems odd as I generally feel that I should be paying for labour and skill but market price seems to be more related to how much I would have to pay to buy the tools and do the job myself.

This oddity in vehicle repair pricing is leading me to buy tools over having the work done on a fairly regular basis.

I would seriously consider trying some Meguiar's Deep Crystal #1 Paint Cleaner. This does a FANTASTIC job on soft single stage paints and won't remove 90%+. After this, apply some Deep Crystal #2 Polish, and finish off with Deep Crystal #3 Carnuba Wax.

These were originally intended for soft single stage paints, so go for it! Do a small test section of 2'x2' and use ONLY foam pads to apply the products. This is one instance where I would not recommend starting out with anymore more aggressive than ScratchX after hearing what you just said.

Try it, should only cost ~$30, and you may just piss your pants on how big of a difference it can make with that simple system.

awww mann

dude...........what did you hit? Deer? Car? Pole? Hooker?

Freeway rush hour traffic. I got boxed in, someone else wrecked in front of me, there was nowhere to go. :(

:(

My condolences. That is, indeed, sad.

again sorry to see that. glad your ok though.

And the answer to your original question is most certainly no.

I'm sad that the car got wrecked and hopefully you are ok but your paint is/was toast. No detailing would fix the damage to the paint.

Oh man, sorry to hear that :(

I hope everything works out.

:eek: Oh No!


:bawling Sad to see this :bawling

Sorry about your accident.

I'm sad that the car got wrecked and hopefully you are ok but your paint is/was toast. No detailing would fix the damage to the paint.

I agree with Andrew. That does appear like the clear coat was peeling off on the roof. A simple way to tell if the paint is single stage (ss) or has a clear coat (cc) is to try some paint cleaner with a white towel on the paint. If the towel turns red or the color of the paint, it is SS.

If you dont have the time, pay someone.

It doesnt hurt to do it yourself with the right products