Astards-bay

[Madlock]

I was putting my GT500 back into storage for a few more weeks today when I stopped by a local detailing center for a quick exterior hand wash. Nothing fancy - just rinse-off the crap and brake dust so I can park it until the next nice weather break and I happen to have some spare time. The "Assistant Manager" said, "Sure we do hand washes. $25. We can slip you in right now!" I said, "Terrific!"

 

However, rather than heading toward the detailing bay, an attendant drove the car straight into the automated line as another guided his steering to fit the front wheel in the track. After sprinting 30 yards while screaming, "What the hell are you doing?" in as many languages as I thought my be necessary to get them to stop.

 

I either apparently hit the correct one or they thought I was a raving lunatic - because they froze in place and look at me like I'd just crapped on their shoes. A "supervisor" emerged from the shadows shouting, "No, no, no, no...." and a furry of additional words in a second language that was heavily accented by a third.

 

I made the mistake of presuming all was well when all heads nodded in agreement and the attendant inched the car back - and off to the side where buckets and sponges were strewn about. Of course, this was JUST before they grabbed their handheld power washers and blasted the freaking stripe right off my goddamned driver's door.

 

 

 

 

YES - it's relatively easily-fixed, and apart from my own inconvenience ensuring the stripe is replaced properly, it won't be my a nickel of my own $250 or so needed to replace it (about $130 for the sticker and I'm guessing about $120 in labor). A ALSO realize it's my own damn fault or entrusting the work to a place I hadn't fully vetted beforehand - despite being local and having a seemingly robust business.

 

But what pissed me of MOST wasn't the damage, or even the carelessness that caused it - it was that nobody, neither the Owner/Manager nor any employee, thought so much as to offer a simple "I'm sorry.", particularly as the Owner tried to tell me it would be $30 to fix "aftermarket" stripes - and I should try to claim with the dealer that it was a manufacturing defect. He almost hit the floor when I showed him the replacement cost for an entire set of SVT stripes was closer to $1,700 - before labor.

 

"So? It won't be out of your pocket", he said - before I informed him that I also happen to be a Ford shareholder, and whether or not I was, I wasn't about to subsidize his liability by trying to hold an unrelated third party responsible because he doesn't want to be. This is a detailing business for Chrissakes.

 

I dunno - Is it just me - or has pretty-much 90% of the world drifted into a state of getting-by in life doing the absolute minimum they can get away with? When is Charles Darwin going to catch up and give our herd the good culling it really needs?

[ChrisSD]

Only an owner operator mobile detailer who charges $250 for a detail should ever touch your car if you care about it.

 

Sorry about your car. Thank goodness it's just a sticker though- will be good as new once OEM is put back on.

[03reptile]

Ah yes, Madlock, you have discovered the truth. Abdication of personal responsibility is the norm now days. Why not? They only have to observe the sterling example set by our political leaders. So sorry you had to be a victim of untrained idiots. I'm simply incredulous over people who claim to be professional detailers and use a high pressure wand on ANY car. My God, the stupidity over-whelms me. I'd make sure that company pays full boat for the replacement stripe and labor necessary to make your car right. I think you can order the stripes, individually, if I recall correctly from my experience with side-stripe replacement on my old 07. Again sorry for your misfortune. This country truely is circling the drain, and for someone of my years and service to this country, it is terribly depressing.

[ChrisSD]

Even if they did your "hand wash" without blowing off your stripes- they'd use rags that were dropped on the GROUND all day, soaking up rocks, then dry it with "micro fiber" towels with the same rocks in them. You actually made out like a bandit - ripped off stripe - not 5,000 new scratches in the paint.

[Torched10]

man, sad to see that--i probbaly would have had a heart attack. Ive seen similar thing at one of those combined auto wash places where all they do by hand is dry the car off. I had my truck there for a 250 detail job and saw a guy who had a very nice Porsh Turbo watch as his car was pulled off the auto wash line after having a wheel stuck on the track and bent beyond repair,plus having a flat in a 400 tire--i thought he was going to kill somebody--again, no sorry just "Oh that will buff out" Sad. Luckily my car is an extra, so hasnt been in rain yet,and i wash it infrequntly

[ChrisSD]

It would be great if Ford would just allow us to tick off an option : PAINTED STRIPES.

[Madlock]

Only an owner operator mobile detailer who charges $250 for a detail should ever touch your car if you care about it.

 

Sorry about your car. Thank goodness it's just a sticker though- will be good as new once OEM is put back on.

 

 

That's just a LITTLE extreme - for a car that's actually driven and not owned to be stored or shown, but your point is well-taken. Appreciate the sympathy.

[mullens]

That's why I wash my own car and change my own oil. Nobody will give it the attention and care that I will.

 

And $250 is a bit much for a detail unless your last name is Gates.

[lawdude]

Nobody washes/details my car but me. Been that way ever since 1996 when I left my baby with an outfit that had been handwashing cars for 10 years (or so they said). When I picked up my car it had fine scratches over the entire car. Like I said, nobody but me.

[ChrisSD]

That's why I wash my own car and change my own oil. Nobody will give it the attention and care that I will.

 

And $250 is a bit much for a detail unless your last name is Gates.

 

 

$250 is normal for a professional detail. "Detail" isn't a wash. Detail = Wash, claybar, masking, polishing with orbital, possible compound if scratched, sealant, vacuuming, et al. No one worth a shit will charge less. A "detailed" car better have the rims taken off for cleaning inside and out. I guess it all depends on what "detail" means to you.

 

I'd do this once per year. Car would not have a single scratch or swirl anywhere afterwards even if you hunted for one with a high powered light. Takes my guy around 8 hours.

[mullens]

If you want to pony up 250 bones for a detail more power to you. I'm sure it's a professional 1st class job. I'd just rather do it myself and spend the money on mods I don't need . There's not a whole lot of weather here in So Nv to screw up the finish and when it does rain it stays in the garage. A Chemical Guys glaze and wax every 6 months shines her up like a new penny. A labor of love...

[2sharpie]

Holy Crap !!!!!!!!!! First I'm surprised you even considering having ANYONE but yourself wash your car(for the exact reason ChrisSD stated about their rags).............but after seeing the new Stripe-Delete door, I think I would've Shat myself as I was murdering everyone !!!! Hope you get it taken care of ASAP.

[Madlock]

Holy Crap !!!!!!!!!! First I'm surprised you even considering having ANYONE but yourself wash your car(for the exact reason ChrisSD stated about their rags).............but after seeing the new Stripe-Delete door, I think I would've Shat myself as I was murdering everyone !!!! Hope you get it taken care of ASAP.

 

 

Yeah - I nearly did. So did the Owner when I told him he'd be re-striping all $1,700 worth if the replacement section's color doesn't match true - or when I had the replacement part number on my iPhone while he was still fumbling for excuses rather than even thinking of apologizing.

 

After several iterations of his hemming and hawing - and trying to convince me I should tell Ford it was a defect, I finally told him:

 

"Look. I have no interest in costing you a dime - but my car is going to be repaired to the way it was - and it's going to cost you about $300. It's just that simple. Now, you can either decide to reimburse me for what we both now already know the cost will be and I can go away considering this to be an unfortunate matter that you've resolved in good faith - or you can quibble with somebody in Dearborn over whether or not their sticker should've withstood your power washer when I paid you to wash the car by hand and waste a lot of time before ultimately being made to do what you should've done in the first place."

 

"The choice is yours," I continued. "But you may want to consider the extent to which somebody who was willing to spend $60,000 on a Mustang to amuse himself might have no qualms whatsoever about turning this whole matter into an exorbitantly expensive and hugely time-consuming proposition compared to what it could and should've been."

 

It became like a bad B movie at one point - but since I can't figure out how to explain it without coming-off sounding like Mel Gibson, let's just say I don't expect a problem - and the whole affair has been unfortunate.

[BDrool]

Wow!!! Did you say they were speaking different languages, other than what the local/national language should be? In the infamous words of the Mythbusters, "Here's you problem"...

[Madlock]

Wow!!! Did you say they were speaking different languages, other than what the local/national language should be? In the infamous words of the Mythbusters, "Here's you problem"...

 

 

In retrospect, there WAS a whole lot of nodding by the detailer in response to his Assistant Manager - so that may be the case, but it's their problem, as much as they've managed to make it mine for the time being. I just tried to keep my eye on the subtitles.

 

I DO have to admit, however, if I wasn't so certain that I'd eventually only re-stripe the car to OE anyway, I've been secretly wondering how the Cobra Jet decal would look - if I were to just keep the graphic elements and omit all the literal "Cobra Jet" references. Or, even better, the "Supercharged by Ford Racing" for the 5.0. I doubt my wife would even ride with me.

 

[Cdvision]

Honestly dude and I don't mean to sound like a dick....but... you have no one to blame for the damage but yourself for even taking it to a place like that. I wouldn't dream of letting anyone else wash either of my cars let alone a commercial car wash with their gritty rags and dirty water. But I am sorry to hear about the damage to your car and hope you get it sorted out in short order and it is a good op to get the stripes painted on.

[BDrool]

In retrospect, there WAS a whole lot of nodding by the detailer in response to his Assistant Manager - so that may be the case, but it's their problem, as much as they've managed to make it mine for the time being. I just tried to keep my eye on the subtitles.

 

I DO have to admit, however, if I wasn't so certain that I'd eventually only re-stripe the car to OE anyway, I've been secretly wondering how the Cobra Jet decal would look - if I were to just keep the graphic elements and omit all the literal "Cobra Jet" references. Or, even better, the "Supercharged by Ford Racing" for the 5.0. I doubt my wife would even ride with me.

 

 

 

Those look great and what a good idea. The ford racing even gives a bit more to go on with those wheels. Unfortunately, mines black so I might have to pick other colors. However, I have been thinking going aftermarket for a snakeskin print for the stripes instead of the matt black.

[Torched10]

Yeah - I nearly did. So did the Owner when I told him he'd be re-striping all $1,700 worth if the replacement section's color doesn't match true - or when I had the replacement part number on my iPhone while he was still fumbling for excuses rather than even thinking of apologizing.

 

After several iterations of his hemming and hawing - and trying to convince me I should tell Ford it was a defect, I finally told him:

 

"Look. I have no interest in costing you a dime - but my car is going to be repaired to the way it was - and it's going to cost you about $300. It's just that simple. Now, you can either decide to reimburse me for what we both now already know the cost will be and I can go away considering this to be an unfortunate matter that you've resolved in good faith - or you can quibble with somebody in Dearborn over whether or not their sticker should've withstood your power washer when I paid you to wash the car by hand and waste a lot of time before ultimately being made to do what you should've done in the first place."

 

"The choice is yours," I continued. "But you may want to consider the extent to which somebody who was willing to spend $60,000 on a Mustang to amuse himself might have no qualms whatsoever about turning this whole matter into an exorbitantly expensive and hugely time-consuming proposition compared to what it could and should've been."

 

It became like a bad B movie at one point - but since I can't figure out how to explain it without coming-off sounding like Mel Gibson, let's just say I don't expect a problem - and the whole affair has been unfortunate.

 

well said

[Torched10]

In retrospect, there WAS a whole lot of nodding by the detailer in response to his Assistant Manager - so that may be the case, but it's their problem, as much as they've managed to make it mine for the time being. I just tried to keep my eye on the subtitles.

 

I DO have to admit, however, if I wasn't so certain that I'd eventually only re-stripe the car to OE anyway, I've been secretly wondering how the Cobra Jet decal would look - if I were to just keep the graphic elements and omit all the literal "Cobra Jet" references. Or, even better, the "Supercharged by Ford Racing" for the 5.0. I doubt my wife would even ride with me.

 

 

Man--id go for the Cobra jet set up. I had a 99 Trans Am pace car from daytona,and it had an incredible amount of markings on it--my wife loved it--it wasnt the car with the lights on top, but a car Pontiac used for all the delars to drive a lap

[bigsnake]

Enjoyed reading this thread, you guy's slay me. My motto is this "leave it dirty till you can wash it yourself" (carefully) !

[BLUE 2010 SHELBY GT 500]

enough said i would say you learned your lesson

[Madlock]

enough said i would say you learned your lesson

 

 

Wasn't so much the stripe - hell, that's an easy fix. It's been the attitude of the place to standing behind it, to the extent of the manager not wanting to give his first name, or the owner's name - crap like that, as if I didn't have it in 5 minutes from their business license information.

 

I've since met with the owner who's at least fessed-up responsibility, but his focus is now entirely upon doing it as cheaply as possible, rather than ensuring it's done well. Of course, he has "an associate" who is willing to do it cheaply - and that's what he wants to pay for. I told him he's not only NOT a repair facility, his staff doesn't get to come within 100 feet of the car. But I really just want the car fixed - and I've already scheduled to have it done at a first-rate facility I know and trust, and I'm just going to hand this joker the bill.

 

The stripe was ultimately $110 - and if he wants to quibble over the difference between $200 and whatever he thinks he can do it for cheaper, I'm fully prepared to be a hard-on - if only to get some jollies, including parking it for a week unfixed at the entrance - along with a huge banner broadside across my Transit Connect for maximum effect.

 

I take very good care and usually do wash my car myself, but I had it out during the clear, warm weather and was rushing to have it back in storage when the weather quickly turned. I take very good care of it, and have had it fully detailed - including clay-bar, but this "nobody should touch the car unless they charge $250" for any car that's not a show-only vehicle is just plain silly - unless bird crap and cinders don't exist anymore either.

[2010KonaBlueGT]

And $250 is a bit much for a detail unless your last name is Gates.

 

 

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD...WATCH FOR FALLING ROCKS!

 

 

Mullens,

 

With all due respect brother, a "detail" is NOT a hand wash! Apples/Oranges. I'll be the first to admit that $250 for a handwash is IN-flippin'-SANE!

 

But a "detail" just STARTS OUT with a hand wash. And that includes the engne bay, all of the door jambs, the trunk and hood jambs, the wheel wells and undercarriage, etc. etc. etc..

 

Then comes the engine compartment "detail" (I detailed cars for a Olds dealership when I first started out in the biz at Carminati Olds/Monterey). Oh, it (the eng. bay) is not just a power wash either...it just STARTS with a power wash. Then a good 'blow job' to keep water spots from showing up. Rubber treatment on ALL of the hoses, including heater hoses and AC lines. A good plastic treatment is applied so all of the plastic parts under the hood look brand new, etc.

 

Then on to the body finish. A good clay-bar treatment (if needed) starts the process. A high quality carnuba wax, hand applied and buffed out to a crystal clear shine. Toothpicks and toothbrushes are used to get the wax out of the nooks and crannys, from along the edges of the stripes, the body creases, tail light seams (where the plastic meets the metal), etc. "DETAILS".

 

It's called a "detail" for a reason!

 

Then a GOOD glass cleaner is used both inside AND outside on all of the glass with viniger and newspaper used on the window glass so it looks like it just came out of the Libby Owens Ford/LOF (glass) plant.

 

A good silicone treatment is sprayed on a shop rag and wiped along every rubber door and window seal to keep it supple and looking like new along with every rubber window seal on the windshield, rear window and side window seals.

 

Oh, but wait just a second....we're only about HALF-WAY done at this point! We still have the interior to detail.

 

Pull out the floor mats, lay 'em on the ground and hose 'em until they're soaked. A bristle brush and a good strong detergent will clean all of the shoe goo off of the mats and the bristles on the brush will "comb" the cut pile and make it look like it's new again. Hang the floor mats up by a corner (I use a hanger with trouser clips on it) and use a garden hose with a spray nozzle on it to rince the mats off with. Start at the top corner and work our way down until there are NO MORE soap suds/bubbles coming off the mat. Allow it to hang there and drip until there are NO more drips, then set it face up on a warm, flat concrete surface to finish the drying process. You will be amazed....

 

Use a GOOD powerfull vacuum cleaner (I have a shop vac with a 3" hose) to vacuum the carpets in the car. Use a crevice tool on the hose and vacuum the seats real well by "spreading" the folds/seams out to get all of the dirt that gets trapped in the folds of the seats. Make sure to use the crevice tool to get down in between the seat and center console, under the seats, up under the pedels, etc. etc. etc.

 

And a good bristle brush with some all purpose cleaner on the clutch/brake/gas pedel is mandatory too. Don't forget to use that toothbrush too!.

 

Are your carpets dirty? No problem. CLEAN THEM, just like you do with the ones in your house. Get a good carpet cleaning solution and brush in a circular motion. Vacuum the dirty/soapy water up with the wet/dry shop vacuum you used earlier and they'll look like brand new again.

 

Don't forget the dash and center console too. And my suggestion is: DO NOT USE ARMOR ALL on any dash that is textured (which pretty much means ALL OF THEM!). After time the Armor all builds up in the crevices on the textured dash and turns white. It looks like Mono Lake in the summer time (like cracked mud flats!).

 

Me? I use Simple Green like it's going out of style and then a good dash pad protectant (I LOVE "Mothers" products, Mequires is also good). Those pedels I mentioned a minute ago? SImple Green. GREAT stuff.

 

And never...I repeat, never...ever and I mean NEVER use a paper towel on your dash gauge "glass". No matter what "cleaner" you use with it, it doesn't matter. That "glass" is NOT glass. It is plastic and it WILL scratch just looking at it with a paper towel in your hand. I use Monster brand LCD Monitor Display cleaner and a microfiber towel. Same with my Nav & radio touch screen.

 

And we haven't even TOUCHED the headliner yet! It can be a bitch so unless it's filthy, let it go for now. Let a pro do it as it can/will stretch, stain, wrinkle, etc. unless it is a stiff liner backed by something firm.

 

Ya know, I guess my main point of this whole rant is, $250 for a real 'detail job' would be a bargain!

 

You should also expect to leave your car with the detailer for at LEAST a full day, day and a half at least..

 

When I detailed a car it was so we could display the car on the used car lot. It didn't have to be perfect, it just had to look good to the average Joe. It didn't have to be nearly as complete as I have outlined in this post.

 

But there was one time when the boss (GM) had this little hard-body 'thang" that needed a car. We had a car we were going to wholesale out and he came to me and told me to DETAIL it...make it look like new, no expenses spared (he had "ass" on his mind!). It didn't matter what I took, just make it PURTY! I speant a day and a half on that car and when I was done, it DID look like it was brand new. It still ran like crap, but it LOOKED great!

 

She got her car, he got his ass and I got my raise (and a ton of experience)! Win/win for all involved.

 

We have a place here in Co. Springs that advertises "high end detail jobs". It shows a guy using a camel hair brush while detailing the dash board (which is the right way to do it) on a older (65? 66?) Mustang so I'm gonna run past their place and give 'em the white glove inspection. If they pass muster, I'll probably use them when I get to the point of needing a REAL detail. I just flat ass don't have the time, the health (7 back surgeries later) or the motivation to do it myself. Let someone else kill themselves! It's not like I can't afford to pay $250 on a $55,000.oo car!

 

Oh, and just as a FYI...When I had my last "nice car" (a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP) I would give it a regular/weekly complete hand washing every weekend, bar none. But once a year I would go all out and do my *annual* detail job (i.e. "the BIG one"). I would go as far as removing the complete rear tail light assembly's, the headlight & foglight assembly's, the hood vent grilles (very much like the '09+E GT500 hood vents) and all four wheels. That allowed me to get into the areas I couldn't normally reach and/or get into. It also allowed me to thoroughly clean the inside of the rim, the backside of the spokes and all four wheelwells too.

 

I"ve said it befoe and I'll say it again...."It's all in the details".

 

When I moved from Cali. to CO in 2006 I gave the car to my son. It only had 70K miles on the odometer (it was a '92!) and it looked like a BRAND NEW car that came right off of the showroom floor. The only wear you could see, if you looked hard enough was on the rubber brake pedal pad.....too easy! I replaced the pad with a new OE/Pontiac brake pedal pad when I gave him the car so you couldn't see ANY wear on the car at all.

 

The moral of this story is: If you want to keep your car "like new"....you have to take a lot of time and elbow grease to kep it that way. And hey, it's mostly all labor and your time is free (to you).

 

 

That's my buck 89 for the day,

Phill Pollard

[2010KonaBlueGT]

I've since met with the owner who's at least fessed-up responsibility, but his focus is now entirely upon doing it as cheaply as possible, rather than ensuring it's done well.

 

 

Is it a Ford dealer?

 

If it is, INSIST on getting the Region Rep involved. He'll change his tune immediately. Especially if he is advocating trying to make it a warranty claim...that my friend, is called "Fraud" and FoMoCo heavily FROWNS upon that kind of action!

 

If it's a Indy, tell him YOU will have the problem fixed yourself, by a Ford dealer, at your expense and then you will bring him the bill for reimbursement.

If he says no, or doesn't want to pay the bill tell him that a Small Claims court judge will decide for him. That's how small claims works, you have to pay the bill and the SC judge will decide who is supposed to pay it.

 

I can tell you from first hand experience that he will gladly get the work done for you, and he'll get it done RIGHT rather than face a small claims court action where he will have to pay actuall damages *and* ALL COURT COSTS (i.e. it will cos him MORE than if he just steps up and gets the job done in the first place).

 

Belive me....Been there done that,

Phill

[mullens]

WARNING: LONG POST AHEAD...WATCH FOR FALLING ROCKS!

 

 

Mullens,

 

With all due respect brother, a "detail" is NOT a hand wash! Apples/Oranges. I'll be the first to admit that $250 for a handwash is IN-flippin'-SANE!

 

But a "detail" just STARTS OUT with a hand wash. And that includes the engne bay, all of the door jambs, the trunk and hood jambs, the wheel wells and undercarriage, etc. etc. etc..

 

Then comes the engine compartment "detail" (I detailed cars for a Olds dealership when I first started out in the biz at Carminati Olds/Monterey). Oh, it (the eng. bay) is not just a power wash either...it just STARTS with a power wash. Then a good 'blow job' to keep water spots from showing up. Rubber treatment on ALL of the hoses, including heater hoses and AC lines. A good plastic treatment is applied so all of the plastic parts under the hood look brand new, etc.

 

Then on to the body finish. A good clay-bar treatment (if needed) starts the process. A high quality carnuba wax, hand applied and buffed out to a crystal clear shine. Toothpicks and toothbrushes are used to get the wax out of the nooks and crannys, from along the edges of the stripes, the body creases, tail light seams (where the plastic meets the metal), etc. "DETAILS".

 

It's called a "detail" for a reason!

 

Then a GOOD glass cleaner is used both inside AND outside on all of the glass with viniger and newspaper used on the window glass so it looks like it just came out of the Libby Owens Ford/LOF (glass) plant.

 

A good silicone treatment is sprayed on a shop rag and wiped along every rubber door and window seal to keep it supple and looking like new along with every rubber window seal on the windshield, rear window and side window seals.

 

Oh, but wait just a second....we're only about HALF-WAY done at this point! We still have the interior to detail.

 

Pull out the floor mats, lay 'em on the ground and hose 'em until they're soaked. A bristle brush and a good strong detergent will clean all of the shoe goo off of the mats and the bristles on the brush will "comb" the cut pile and make it look like it's new again. Hang the floor mats up by a corner (I use a hanger with trouser clips on it) and use a garden hose with a spray nozzle on it to rince the mats off with. Start at the top corner and work our way down until there are NO MORE soap suds/bubbles coming off the mat. Allow it to hang there and drip until there are NO more drips, then set it face up on a warm, flat concrete surface to finish the drying process. You will be amazed....

 

Use a GOOD powerfull vacuum cleaner (I have a shop vac with a 3" hose) to vacuum the carpets in the car. Use a crevice tool on the hose and vacuum the seats real well by "spreading" the folds/seams out to get all of the dirt that gets trapped in the folds of the seats. Make sure to use the crevice tool to get down in between the seat and center console, under the seats, up under the pedels, etc. etc. etc.

 

And a good bristle brush with some all purpose cleaner on the clutch/brake/gas pedel is mandatory too. Don't forget to use that toothbrush too!.

 

Are your carpets dirty? No problem. CLEAN THEM, just like you do with the ones in your house. Get a good carpet cleaning solution and brush in a circular motion. Vacuum the dirty/soapy water up with the wet/dry shop vacuum you used earlier and they'll look like brand new again.

 

Don't forget the dash and center console too. And my suggestion is: DO NOT USE ARMOR ALL on any dash that is textured (which pretty much means ALL OF THEM!). After time the Armor all builds up in the crevices on the textured dash and turns white. It looks like Mono Lake in the summer time (like cracked mud flats!).

 

Me? I use Simple Green like it's going out of style and then a good dash pad protectant (I LOVE "Mothers" products, Mequires is also good). Those pedels I mentioned a minute ago? SImple Green. GREAT stuff.

 

And never...I repeat, never...ever and I mean NEVER use a paper towel on your dash gauge "glass". No matter what "cleaner" you use with it, it doesn't matter. That "glass" is NOT glass. It is plastic and it WILL scratch just looking at it with a paper towel in your hand. I use Monster brand LCD Monitor Display cleaner and a microfiber towel. Same with my Nav & radio touch screen.

 

And we haven't even TOUCHED the headliner yet! It can be a bitch so unless it's filthy, let it go for now. Let a pro do it as it can/will stretch, stain, wrinkle, etc. unless it is a stiff liner backed by something firm.

 

Ya know, I guess my main point of this whole rant is, $250 for a real 'detail job' would be a bargain!

 

You should also expect to leave your car with the detailer for at LEAST a full day, day and a half at least..

 

When I detailed a car it was so we could display the car on the used car lot. It didn't have to be perfect, it just had to look good to the average Joe. It didn't have to be nearly as complete as I have outlined in this post.

 

But there was one time when the boss (GM) had this little hard-body 'thang" that needed a car. We had a car we were going to wholesale out and he came to me and told me to DETAIL it...make it look like new, no expenses spared (he had "ass" on his mind!). It didn't matter what I took, just make it PURTY! I speant a day and a half on that car and when I was done, it DID look like it was brand new. It still ran like crap, but it LOOKED great!

 

She got her car, he got his ass and I got my raise (and a ton of experience)! Win/win for all involved.

 

We have a place here in Co. Springs that advertises "high end detail jobs". It shows a guy using a camel hair brush while detailing the dash board (which is the right way to do it) on a older (65? 66?) Mustang so I'm gonna run past their place and give 'em the white glove inspection. If they pass muster, I'll probably use them when I get to the point of needing a REAL detail. I just flat ass don't have the time, the health (7 back surgeries later) or the motivation to do it myself. Let someone else kill themselves! It's not like I can't afford to pay $250 on a $55,000.oo car!

 

Oh, and just as a FYI...When I had my last "nice car" (a Pontiac Grand Prix GTP) I would give it a regular/weekly complete hand washing every weekend, bar none. But once a year I would go all out and do my *annual* detail job (i.e. "the BIG one"). I would go as far as removing the complete rear tail light assembly's, the headlight & foglight assembly's, the hood vent grilles (very much like the '09+E GT500 hood vents) and all four wheels. That allowed me to get into the areas I couldn't normally reach and/or get into. It also allowed me to thoroughly clean the inside of the rim, the backside of the spokes and all four wheelwells too.

 

I"ve said it befoe and I'll say it again...."It's all in the details".

 

When I moved from Cali. to CO in 2006 I gave the car to my son. It only had 70K miles on the odometer (it was a '92!) and it looked like a BRAND NEW car that came right off of the showroom floor. The only wear you could see, if you looked hard enough was on the rubber brake pedal pad.....too easy! I replaced the pad with a new OE/Pontiac brake pedal pad when I gave him the car so you couldn't see ANY wear on the car at all.

 

The moral of this story is: If you want to keep your car "like new"....you have to take a lot of time and elbow grease to kep it that way. And hey, it's mostly all labor and your time is free (to you).

 

 

That's my buck 89 for the day,

Phill Pollard

 

Geez Phill all you had to say was you think it's worth it. You forgot the DNA testing on the carpets for bacteria.

 

I've had 20+ new cars (yes I'm old) and they all looked like the day I bought them when they were sold/traded and never spent $250 on a detail (yes I'm cheap.) I guess it's personal preference but the day I take apart my tail lights and clean behind them is when I check myself in to car rehab.

Enjoy..

[SVT NAJA]

Geez Phill all you had to say was you think it's worth it. You forgot the DNA testing on the carpets for bacteria.

 

I've had 20+ new cars (yes I'm old) and they all looked like the day I bought them when they were sold/traded and never spent $250 on a detail (yes I'm cheap.) I guess it's personal preference but the day I take apart my tail lights and clean behind them is when I check myself in to car rehab.

Enjoy..

 

 

You mean we're NOT in car rehab??? I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere.

[Madlock]

Is it a Ford dealer?

 

 

No, no, no... It was just a local "Auto Spa". I just wanted any ambient dirt/dust rinsed-off before it went back in the lock-up for a couple of weeks is all so it wouldn't crudify into bona fide schmeg.

 

Obviously, despite all the nodding that went-on, something in the translation of "Hand Wash" from English to Korean - and then Spanish went off the rails. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody wound-up getting a hand job instead - all I know is it wasn't me. More like a prostate check.

 

This is the shop owner - who just wants to cheap his way out of it. I've explained several times that I have no interest in costing him an extra nickel - but the car WILL be restored to as it was through an established vendor I feel confident with - not the brother-in-law of a cousin who was the low bidder for the job at the family circle. See? Mel Gibson. Told ya.

 

 

 

[Cdvision]

No, no, no... It was just a local "Auto Spa". I just wanted any ambient dirt/dust rinsed-off before it went back in the lock-up for a couple of weeks is all so it wouldn't crudify into bona fide schmeg.

 

Obviously, despite all the nodding that went-on, something in the translation of "Hand Wash" from English to Korean - and then Spanish went off the rails. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody wound-up getting a hand job instead - all I know is it wasn't me. More like a prostate check.

 

 

Well from the sounds of it there was no happy ending for anyone. Lol

[TrakRat]

Sorry Madlock,

 

Around here $250 is on the low side for a detail.

 

It is hit and miss wherever you go. I had my F350 serviced at a FORD DEALER and they washed the truck with a brush. The truck was black and I kept the paint in pristine shape, but when I got it back home it looked like they had washed it with Brillo. I immediately called the Svc Mgr and they paid a detail shop to polish out every last mark. I made it clear that "a magical glaze" that washed off in a week wouldn't cut it.

[Shelby.GT500]

Sometimes you just do not have time to wash the car yourself. If you leave it dirty until you have time to wash it, could actually damage the paint even worse. I'm lucky that there is a 100% hand wash close to where I live but there is a specific time I go, right when they open in the morning. Thats when the guys just arrived work energized, the owner is there supervising, the water, sponges, towels, and micro fiber cloths all fresh. Now if you go pass 11 am, that is when the guys are excited to go to lunch so they rush the job, temperature is getting hot exposing your wet car under the sun, the person is hot as well affecting his work, the sponges and towels are dirty and the owner is out for lunch. Now if you go in the afternoon, you are just asking for it. The guys are tired, everything is dirty, everybody wants to go home, the owner is already at home.