The car wash I got to has a detailing bay so I asked the manager about pricing. Does $150 sound like a good price for a full exterior detailing? They clay it, give it two coats of glaze because it's black and a full wax. I know there was something else I am leaving out. Said they would need the car for a few hours. I figure that I will get it done after the winter.

Car is an Black 07 Accord. It has a ton of swirl marks that drive me crazy and a few other spots that need some TLC.

Also does anyone know if the black paint for the Accord has some kind of tint or something? I swear that in certain types of light and at certain angles I can see a hint of navy blue.

 

could be a tricoat...tinted clear. but....to answer your question...

150 is about what a quickie type detail costs, interior cleaning included. on the exterior, this means use of filler-rich glazes to make the finish look corrected without spending the time to actually correct the blemishes. the problem is it really won't be corrected....a few weeks later the finish will show it's true colors and the problems will show up again. also, you very well might see holograms show up from the application of the glazes. but, whatever....the most important thing with a detailer is to catch up with car guys and see who they use in the area. with a black car, you have to be very careful with the high volume detailers.

if you can't find anyone legit, see if you can go on autogeek or autopia and find a local DIY guy to handle the job. many times, these guys will work for a great deal and offer fantastic service. if the car really has alot of swirls and needs attention, it will probably cost more than 150, but it will be truly corrected...and perfect. just an idea ; )

good luck.

 

yea, all the coats of glaze in the world is going to do nothing for the swirls. Id expect to pay about $200-300 for just the exterior and getting the swirls out.


im not familiar with newer honda paint but it sounds like you have nighthawk black pearl, which has blue in it.

 

Awesome info guys! I checked out autopia and posted a request for local detailer info. Then I searched and found a thread showing detailing results on the exact car I have....I was more than impressed with the results of a good detailing.

 

You will never get rid of swirl marks completely. Never.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GuNnErGoD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You will never get rid of swirl marks completely. Never.</TD></TR></TABLE>


maybe YOU cant.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GuNnErGoD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You will never get rid of swirl marks completely. Never.</TD></TR></TABLE>

false.

 

Well.. maybe I should rephrase that.. you cannot always get rid of swirl marks, and even if you think you did, wait a month and take a look.

And if possible.. throw a rundown of what products you use to achieve a swirlfree look please.

I'm using malco, automagic and 3m products.

I'm going to be working on a black car in the near future ('95 civic) with serious oxidation.

I plan on using 3M #308 compound, some pretty aggressive stuff that can swirl like hell. I'm trying to decide if a white waffle (3M) or a yellow wool would be best (edge). The wool cleans the paint a lot better and it's a lot less messier, but the waffle pad leaves minimal swirling.

Next I plan on going into a blue foam(edge) and green foam(edge) with automagic bc-2.

Apply some 3M wax and the car will look great.. for now.

What do you guys feel I am doing wrong? Should I attack it with a medium grade compound and a medium to heavier grade pad before the BC-2?


Modified by GuNnErGoD at 8:11 PM 11/2/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GuNnErGoD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well.. maybe I should rephrase that.. you cannot always get rid of swirl marks, and even if you think you did, wait a month and take a look.

And if possible.. throw a rundown of what products you use to achieve a swirlfree look please.

I'm using malco, automagic and 3m products.

I'm going to be working on a black car in the near future ('95 civic) with serious oxidation.

I plan on using 3M #308 compound, some pretty aggressive stuff that can swirl like hell. I'm trying to decide if a white waffle (3M) or a yellow wool would be best (edge). The wool cleans the paint a lot better and it's a lot less messier, but the waffle pad leaves minimal swirling.

Next I plan on going into a blue foam(edge) and green foam(edge) with automagic bc-2.

Apply some 3M wax and the car will look great.. for now.

What do you guys feel I am doing wrong? Should I attack it with a medium grade compound and a medium to heavier grade pad before the BC-2?


Modified by GuNnErGoD at 8:11 PM 11/2/2008</TD></TR></TABLE>

my opinion on this is...

it's a stepped process, so if the finish calls for an aggressive compound, like it sounds like will happen with this old civic you have coming up, just use the pad to do that job the best, and leave whatever collateral damage there for the next product to tackle, which should be the bc-2 in your process. i am going to guess you are using a rotary, so one of the other guys might have an opinion on your technique or pad choice for that particular product, but i'm pretty sure i've seen many people use bc-2 up to and including a white pad on dark cars to give you a LSP ready finish. it might even be a gap too large between the compound and bc-2, but considering your pad selection, i think you could do it with what you have. i dunno, rotary guys chime in please.

for a car that is not too far gone, such as a dark car with just alot of webbing and swirls, i can use my PC. i'll use orange pad (or yellow, which some later mercedes call for) and optimum compound. typically it will be damage free after that point, but there might be some slight hazing. optimum compound is amazing. it breaks down so nicely that it almost seems that if the pad could morph with the breakdown rate, it'd be a polish too. at this point, i use optimum polish with an orange pad, then for the dark car i'll use optimum polish with a white pad. at that point it's ready for whatever i want to finish the job and it's 100% mark-free under halogens.

 

well if the car is oxidized as bad as you say you could try a wet sanding step that will break up a lot of that oxidation I just did an old school BMW at work and it turned out real nice, of course I had to do another 4 steps I had to cut it glaze it polish it and wax it took me good part of the day if you plan to wet sand it tho I would recomend a good 1000 or 2500 grit wet sand paper and maybe a palm sander.