Dr.Jones = detail king

[CT9A]

I had the opportunity to have Paul show my Evo some lovin this weekend. Holy shit, the difference is like day and night. These pictures were taken in crappy light and don't do the car justice (sorry Paul). If I have a chance tomorrow I'll try and get some better light at lunch.

[CT9A]

Here are some pics that were taken the day of the detail.
If you're looking to have your car detailed, I woud highly recommend Paul. He spent about 6 hours on my car yesterday just to make sure that it came out perfect. Thanks Paul.

[LeonZ]

6 hours? damn! Too much for me, I have a patience of a constipated ant.

but looks cool.

[DrJones]

6 hours is cutting it short. I try to do it in 4 because most people don't want to wait more than that, but sometimes it just takes a little longer to get it right.

I can easily spend 12-15 hours detailing a car.

[Kwando]

Take as long as you need with my car. :D

[DrJones]

I think i'm going to get a decent camera and some better lighting. It would help to have some good pics to show off. Most people (like you) have no idea how great their car can look with just a little bit of time spent on it.

How does it look in the sun? From what I was able to tell, most the dense swirls would be gone, but there might be some scaterd lighter ones here and there. The paint should also reflect and shine a little more with all the extra light from the sun.

[CT9A]

I think i'm going to get a decent camera and some better lighting. It would help to have some good pics to show off. Most people (like you) have no idea how great their car can look with just a little bit of time spent on it.

How does it look in the sun? From what I was able to tell, most the dense swirls would be gone, but there might be some scaterd lighter ones here and there. The paint should also reflect and shine a little more with all the extra light from the sun.

Car definitely looks 100 times better. Most of the swirls are gone, of course there are still those that were pretty deep. Car looks amazing in the sun, even the girls noticed it :D

[Kwando]

I think i'm going to get a decent camera and some better lighting. It would help to have some good pics to show off. Most people (like you) have no idea how great their car can look with just a little bit of time spent on it.

How does it look in the sun? From what I was able to tell, most the dense swirls would be gone, but there might be some scaterd lighter ones here and there. The paint should also reflect and shine a little more with all the extra light from the sun.


I'm surprise you don't have a nice camera for creating a portfolio for all your work.

[DrJones]

I'm surprise you don't have a nice camera for creating a portfolio for all your work.

Yea. I'm starting to have a lot of people contact me, and I'd like to show them something. Most the people now have seen some of the few good pictures i've taken, or they have a friend who's car they saw in person before and aftwards. It would be nice to have some good pictures of a good assortment of details to show people.

[powder311]

my idea of detailing my car is my girlfriend w/a wash rag or sponge (wash), me with a hose (rinse), and hauling ass for the next five minutes (dry)... works great.. Nice job on the evo though.. You seem to do good work on all the cars i've seen...

[turbo90accord]

i could do a better job in 3 hours its just all a matter of experience i used to work at mercedes benz of littleton so im used to doing show car quality details on a daily basis and in a timely manner.

[DrJones]

i could do a better job in 3 hours its just all a matter of experience i used to work at mercedes benz of littleton so im used to doing show car quality details on a daily basis and in a timely manner.

Thank's for bringing this up... it's a question I get all the time. That being, what is the difference between my detail and one that a detail shop or dealership would do?

I agree 100% that you could of detailed that car in less time and had it looking just as good. But, the nice thing about not working for a shop like that is that I'm not detailing to make a profit. Quantity isn't important to me. I am free to take the time I need to do the job I want. This means that it's not just a quick wash/buff/wax job. While that might look the same, there are many factors that are not. There is a lot more to a detail than just how the car looks right after. How will the car look 2 weeks after, 2 months after? How will the protection last? Where the swirls removed or just covered up? What kind of particles are left on the suface? Does the owner know how to take care of the car now?

Those are all questions that I adress. For instance, with the job I did on the Evo, it would be impossible to do it in 3 hours. If you did you would be doing it wrong. I used 3 coats of Klasse Sealent Glaze, which takes a minimum of 30 minutes between coats. If you do less than that you are not taking advantage of the product, and really it should be closer to an hour between them. Then 2 coats of a natural wax which need a little cure time, that is 30 minutes. That's 2 hours for just the top 2 layers. Now if you could wash the car, clay the car (very few shops do this important step), then buff the car with an abrasive to remove the swirls, and a polish to clean up the paint all in under an hour, then you'd have to be superman.

What does that leave? That leaves a car that doesn't just look amazing right after the detail, because it has the advantages of both a synthetic product, that really adds a reflection to the paint, it also has a natural product that adds depth and wetness. It also has no surface contaminates. There are tons of tiny particles that you can find in the paint of even brand new cars. Industrial fallout, brake dust, small pieces of metal, all sorts of nasty stuff. Clay is the only way to remove this stuff. Doing so makes a huge difference. Just ask anyone who's car I have clayed who has felt the surface before and afterwards. The car also has swirls that removed properly. You always want to use the weakest abrasive that will get the job done. So you start with something small you think will work, if that doesn't do the job, then you can try something tougher. This isn't always the case when you are under time constraints. You either don't go with the tougher product or you use it on everything.

But most importantly, CT9A not only has a car that looks good and will be protected for months to come, he knows how to take care of it. He probably learned more that evening than he ever thought he would. He now knows how he can properly care for the car, so it stays in the shape it is in, and doesn't go back to the shape it was in. That is the most important.

When I detail it's not all about doing the car fast so I can make my few bucks, and just having something that looks nice so the customer walks out happy. I want customers that walk out excited and stuned. People who will still be happy months down the line knowing that their car was done right.

I have had job offers to work at a couple places. Ranging from dealerships to detailing shops. I have turned them all down because I've yet to find one that does the details in this manner. Yes not everyone is concerned about all these things and a lot of people just want their car to look really good right then, but I feel so much better doing a detail in this manner. It simply isn't the way most businesses work. I don't want to have to do the car in a certain ammount of time, I want to be able to do the job in a way in which I see fit.

[Canuck]

Thank's for bringing this up... it's a question I get all the time. That being, what is the difference between my detail and one that a detail shop or dealership would do?

I agree 100% that you could of detailed that car in less time and had it looking just as good. But, the nice thing about not working for a shop like that is that I'm not detailing to make a profit. Quantity isn't important to me. I am free to take the time I need to do the job I want. This means that it's not just a quick wash/buff/wax job. While that might look the same, there are many factors that are not. There is a lot more to a detail than just how the car looks right after. How will the car look 2 weeks after, 2 months after? How will the protection last? Where the swirls removed or just covered up? What kind of particles are left on the suface? Does the owner know how to take care of the car now?

Those are all questions that I adress. For instance, with the job I did on the Evo, it would be impossible to do it in 3 hours. If you did you would be doing it wrong. I used 3 coats of Klasse Sealent Glaze, which takes a minimum of 30 minutes between coats. If you do less than that you are not taking advantage of the product, and really it should be closer to an hour between them. Then 2 coats of a natural wax which need a little cure time, that is 30 minutes. That's 2 hours for just the top 2 layers. Now if you could wash the car, clay the car (very few shops do this important step), then buff the car with an abrasive to remove the swirls, and a polish to clean up the paint all in under an hour, then you'd have to be superman.

What does that leave? That leaves a car that doesn't just look amazing right after the detail, because it has the advantages of both a synthetic product, that really adds a reflection to the paint, it also has a natural product that adds depth and wetness. It also has no surface contaminates. There are tons of tiny particles that you can find in the paint of even brand new cars. Industrial fallout, brake dust, small pieces of metal, all sorts of nasty stuff. Clay is the only way to remove this stuff. Doing so makes a huge difference. Just ask anyone who's car I have clayed who has felt the surface before and afterwards. The car also has swirls that removed properly. You always want to use the weakest abrasive that will get the job done. So you start with something small you think will work, if that doesn't do the job, then you can try something tougher. This isn't always the case when you are under time constraints. You either don't go with the tougher product or you use it on everything.

But most importantly, CT9A not only has a car that looks good and will be protected for months to come, he knows how to take care of it. He probably learned more that evening than he ever thought he would. He now knows how he can properly care for the car, so it stays in the shape it is in, and doesn't go back to the shape it was in. That is the most important.

When I detail it's not all about doing the car fast so I can make my few bucks, and just having something that looks nice so the customer walks out happy. I want customers that walk out excited and stuned. People who will still be happy months down the line knowing that their car was done right.

I have had job offers to work at a couple places. Ranging from dealerships to detailing shops. I have turned them all down because I've yet to find one that does the details in this manner. Yes not everyone is concerned about all these things and a lot of people just want their car to look really good right then, but I feel so much better doing a detail in this manner. It simply isn't the way most businesses work. I don't want to have to do the car in a certain ammount of time, I want to be able to do the job in a way in which I see fit.


Paul knows what he is doing. I would rather him take the time to do it right than the half ass jobs that I have gotten at dealerships or volume detailing shops.

[stu]

Yeah, saying you could do a better job in less time is a pretty strong statement.

[Bedlam]

Yea. I'm starting to have a lot of people contact me, and I'd like to show them something. Most the people now have seen some of the few good pictures i've taken, or they have a friend who's car they saw in person before and aftwards. It would be nice to have some good pictures of a good assortment of details to show people.

If you ever want high res pictures of any of the work you have done on my cars let me know. I think I definately got some pictures that showed off the evo a lot better. After you were done there wasnt a single swirl left on that thing.. :)

Besides that..just another thumbs up to Dr J here..hes a cool guy, can help you learn how to make (and keep) your car looking its best.

Leo: if you put in the time to make it right the first time, you wont have to spend nearly as much time keeping up on it. Just changing my drying and washing methods a little bit after Paul worked on my car..kept the shine around all summer.

-Bedlam

[Bedlam]

Yeah, saying you could do a better job in less time is a pretty strong statement.

Actually..its an incorrect statement. If you didnt see the car in person, before the detail..to know exactly what the conditions of the paint where..saying you could make it look that good in that amount of time would mean you just plan on doing some hack job just like they do at most stealerships and auctions..glorified "makeup artist." Paul however, likes to take the time to do things the right way.

I could take some of that quality "color matching wax" and just bury the problems on my del Sol instead of adressing them..and cover all of that with a nice sealant that may make the car look good for a few days. I could prolly also do that in a big hurry..the del Sol is a very small car.

I'd never say that I could get the results that he accomplishes at all..I dont have my own buffer (however its really tempting me now) and nowhere near the experience. My roomie works at an auction..and details cars ALL day..I'm sure he is getting pretty damn handy with a buffer too..however, they work they do, compared to the work paul does are 2 different things entirely.

Anyway...I think he got me hooked on the whole detailing thing..I cant wait to get a car that needs it again.. :) *stab* DrJones for getting me started!

-Bedlam

[CT9A]

i could do a better job in 3 hours its just all a matter of experience i used to work at mercedes benz of littleton so im used to doing show car quality details on a daily basis and in a timely manner.
Whatever. :rolleyes:

Paul did an amazing job on my car. In addition like Paul mentioned, he taught me how to keep the car looking like it did when he was finished. I know for a fact that there is no way that I could have taken my car to a Benz dealership (or any other shop for that matter) and had this kind of job and knowledge in 3 hours. Paul knows what he's doing, he may not be the fastest or the best out there, but you need to give the man credit for what he is capable of.

On a side note, I never realised that there were so many steps involved in detailing a car.

[LeonZ]

Leo: if you put in the time to make it right the first time, you wont have to spend nearly as much time keeping up on it. Just changing my drying and washing methods a little bit after Paul worked on my car..kept the shine around all summer.

-Bedlam

I hear ya. Now that my car is actually colorful, unlike the silver accord, I need to learn some skillz.