mdkxtreme

OK so for a first customer, you'd polish and rid of all those imperfections. Two months later, he/she returns for another detail and some swirls have appeared. And this customer has the potential of keep coming back, maybe in 2-3 months interval. Of course you're not gonna use a polish every time the customer returns because it'll eat waaaay too much of the clear coat.

Question is, how do you guys detail it so that it hides the swirls, or at least make it look like you actually did something to the car? I'm sure you can always use glazes and wax to fill in the swirls right?

I have a customer that potentially will return to me for details and I'm definitely not gonna polish it again fearing that I will deplete too much clear coat over time. What are your suggestions for me to do and what products do you recommend so that the customer's car will look good without the use of polish?

csmeance

A detailer I used actually spent the time (at no cost) to teach me how to properly wash and take care of the vehicle right after the first detail. As well he told me not to go to wash and wax places on the side of the road nor let the dealer wash it. As well, he told me exactly what your concerns were, I should either take care of it properly or forget it all together, if I ruin it after he fixes it, the next guy will have to take off more paint, and over time there won't be any left!

Basically he informed me of what could and would happen, as well a good line he used was "the clear on this car is about as thick as a sheet of paper, the more you take sand paper to it, the thinner it gets, and one day nothing will be left!"

exceldetail

Polish once/twice annually, cleanse paint once/twice annually.

Jesstzn

I do the same as post #2 but I have a couple customers that lease cars and don't seem to care about them so I will only polish out once a year because some of the stuff is a little deep.

But education is the best. A lot I reccommend the mitts & towels to use and where to get them ( Excel) and in some cases I ask Patrick to confirm they ordered just to see if they were all talk or not.

exceldetail

If I dont fully maintain the car for my clients, I usually end up coming back to a disaster several months later. Inevitably they take it through the tunnel washes or so called, "brushless" (Anything but a sheepskin in my book, is about as bad as a brush, lol) washes and it just mars/swirls the crap out of the CC.
I appreciate Dale in forwarding product selections back to me. Now theres a friend. He's a real treat to speak with on the phone as well.......and a man who definetley knows his stuff.

ANC297

iTrader: (2)

I believe they are called Swirl In a Whirl. l0l.

n0rm

iTrader: (6)

My customers don't come back

Seriously as csmeance mentioned I educate them on how to maintain the finish after I'm done correcting it.

Some customers don't care as they're only keeping the car for 2 -3 years and want it looking it's best all the time.

mdkxtreme

Hm, I like the part where you educate them. Kind of like your own disclaimer on polishes. But not everyone has the time to wash and maintain their own cars. What if you educate them, they understand, but still doesn't have the time to wash their own cars and decides to take it to a hand/auto car wash?

I guess I'll educate my customer a lot more so he/she understands.

Jesstzn

Another thing about educating them and telling them what causes the paint issues is if they do it again then there is less chance they start saying "Your detail didn't last any longer than the el-cheapo detail I got from the other guy". Makes them realize they are cuasing the issues.

04yfz

I always offer a nice write up with a process and product recommendations so my clients can keep their car looking great and virtually swirl free. If a car comes in in good shape, I always do a couple extra services free of charge if the detail takes me less time than usual.

Denzil

iTrader: (1)

Most of my clients just want their vehicles regularly maintained (as in wash & wax) despite the swirls (which is fine by me ).