9 replies to this topic

[Paul B]

A good friend of mine is a photographer and he is helping me develop some content for my website. I'm starting up a detailing business on the side, low volume, quality detailing at the cleints residence. I have a good job now and just can't walk away, but I enjoy detailing and extra money for the family won't hurt. I'm going to be picking up a HWE and/or vapor cleaner and thinking about headin up to NJ for a training session with Kevin at Kleen Car Auto. I also plan on taking an upholstery and carpet cleaning class from my local Interlink supply affiliate.

2001 Nissan Sentra in VERY bad shape. The purpose of this session was to get some good before/after pics and some pics of the process.

Process:
Wash
Clay, OP/white CCS pad and Poli-Seal hood
Poli-Seal rest of vehicle with Blue CCS pad
Removed some scratches and scuffs
Headlight restoration process (clean, wet sand, clean, OP White CCS 5" pad)


If this was a client who wanted as much paint correction done as possible I would have clayed the entire vehicle, gone with OC/Orange CCS, OP/White CCS and Opti-Seal and try to get them on wash and vac contract and top with Spray Wax for added durability. Most of the vehicle just had light scuffs and scratches (a lot of them) and overall was just dirty.

I liked working the Poli-Seal with the Blue CCS pad more than the white, it seemed to spread and work into the paint better.

Overall Condition


Some Process Shots
Claying


Polishing


Before/After

Headlight



Door Handle



White Scuff



Hood 50/50


cont....

[Paul B]

...

Done


End of the day


We were running short on time so I wasn't able to do as much correction work as I wanted and didn't touch the interior. We will probably be trading services for a while and I hope to get the entire vehicle back in shape once we get some nicer weather in the spring. My friend's wife said the car looked much better, but I'd like some more time with it.

Having someone there to just shoot pics was a big help, we got some good shots and are getting closer to getting the site up!

-Paul

[Anthony Orosco]

Hey nice stuff Paul and look forward to your site coming on line.

May I suggest a few things picture wise?

The wheel wells are rather dirty in one of your "after" pics so that distracts from the work you did. Make sure that the wells are as clean as possible as it can either make or break your wheel/tire detailing and also you could have the glossiest fender around but the eyes will always be drawn or distracted by dirty wheels, tires and wheel wells.

I like that you seek to capture the same shot (angle wise) for both the "before" and "after". Keep that method as a standard.

You may also need to get a stronger wheel cleaner to remove the stubborn baked on brake dust.

Lastly, Kevin and his training would be a great idea

Good luck,
Anthony

[Paul B]

Thanks for the Advice Anthony. I noticed the wheel well and plan to crop that picture, drop it or retake in the future. The emphasis should be on the white scuff removal and that dirty wheel well does take away from the picture. I'll make darn sure everything is completely cleaned and dressed for any future pics. This was the first time we got together for documented detail work and it was a good learning experience for both of us (he has no prior experience photographing vehicles).

Thanks again for the feedback.

-Paul

[Driven Auto Detail]

Paul,

Great job on the paint. I'm so jealous of the Flex. I hope mine gets here soon! I think you're doing a great job at getting your business started and I know you'll do great work for your customers!

Keep it up!

By the way, don't you just love Poli-Seal? I sure do!

Any idea when you might head up to Kleen? I'd like to take the class sometime this spring.

[Paul B]

Thanks Mike, I appreciate it. I'm putting a lot of time and effort to get things setup right before I "go live".

I really like the Flex, great machine. Yes, Poli-Seal is a fantastic product, it's very easy to work with and is a perfect solution for someone who just wants their car cleaned up and shiny but doesn't want (or need) a full detail with paint correction.

As for the training, I'm really not sure when I am going to head up there...I just know I really want to go. I'll shoot you an e-mail.

[Chris Thomas]

Nice work Paul One question for ya, do you get any correction wtih that blue pad. Mine is super soft and supposed to be for LSP's.

[Paul B]

integritydetail, on Jan 17 2008, 06:41 PM, said:

Nice work Paul One question for ya, do you get any correction wtih that blue pad. Mine is super soft and supposed to be for LSP's.

Thanks! No, no correction with the blue pad, it's very soft. I usually use it to apply Collinite but grabbed it when the white pad got a little caked up with product. I usually use the white with Poli-Seal, but I did enjoy using the blue. I'm probably sacrificing some correction by using the blue, but as you can see anything was an improvement for this car. I need to order some more pads and plan on getting some of the Grey CCS finishing pads.

Any recommendations for pads with Poli-Seal Anthony?

[Driven Auto Detail]

While we're asking Anthony buffing pad questions...

Anthony, do you plan to carry all of the American Buffing pads at some point? I really like the green and blue ones that I've ordered from you. Scottwax seems to really like the orange ones as well so I'd like to order a couple of those at some point.

[Anthony Orosco]

Yes a fresh supply of pads are coming in soon. I've had to make more room so I can house more product which isn't easy as my wife doesn't care for cases of stuff all over the place

Anthony