1000P

Just tried this FK1 product a few weeks back and by moly, this product is still beading well. That's after 2 weeks of non stop rain and ZERO washes in between. Have I mentioned 24/7 open air parking conditions?

While the durability was great, I sensed that there was almost zero shine in it. I just simply didn't like the end result aesthetically. My car is supposed to be blazing red, and there it sat, slick as butter, repelling water like no tomorrow but something was missing.

Fast forward to 2 weeks later, after a good wash, I could see just some faint watermarks that came off rather easily with my AIO, Poorboy's Polish with Sealant. After getting most of the random stains off the bonnet, I slapped on a coat of Soft99 premium carnauba wax and the difference was pretty obvious. The colour was back, the gloss was very apparent, it just looked much better than the 1000P alone.

While 1000P is a 2 thumbs up product in its own right, it reigns in the class of protection, not aesthetics. At least on red.

The role of a LSP

A proper detailing regimen to me, consists of the following steps.

Wash
Clay
Polish
LSP

I've talked to a lot of people, and many many many MANY of them are somehow convinced that the LSP step is the most important determining factor in the shine and gloss department. LSP = last step procedure.

To make things simple, it isn't. In getting optimal results from paintwork, most detailers would agree its somewhere around 80% or even 90%. The final coat of wax does what it does best. It PROTECTS, it doesn't really give a totally mind-blowing look that's radically different from the polishing step. Some products bump up the gloss a little, others mute the metallic flake in the paint.

The main point is that they are supposed to protect, aesthetic bonuses are just that, bonuses. You get your results from the polishing, and you protect it with your LSP.

Here's a pic of a Nissan Latio I did a few days back.



As seen on the picture, the right side of the door has been polished, and no LSP (waxes or sealants) have been applied. In some cases, professional detailers unwillingly apply LSPs because LSPs cause minor optical distortions.

In case you still don't have a clue as to what are LSPs, they are typical waxes and/or sealants.

Wheels

Many people seem to forget about washing their wheels when they wash their car. As a result, brake dust, tar, road grime build up and eventually cake up on the surface of the wheel. Over an extended period of time, you will find that normal washing techniques, tools and products will not be able to get rid of these unsightly stains. What was once silver will look a dirty bronze.

Here's a pic of a severely neglected wheel found on a Mercedes E200. It looks like it has been to hell and back again.



You may not believe it but this is after a concentrated cleaner soak, agitation by brush, shampooed again by normal sponge and a final water rinsing. The only way I think I can bring back this wheel to 'life' is by manual hand polishing but I would have to charge the client extra so..

Machine vs hand polishing

Its no contest as to which is faster, however there seems to be some silly myth that hand polishing is 'safe compared to harmful and harsh machine polishing'.

While it isn't totally untrue, it is definitely misleading. Under proper usage, machine polishing will not 'harm' the paint. If required, it is very possible for me to damage your car paint with my bare hands and yet restore the same damage with a machine. Somehow when it comes to detailing, most people simply forget to use their common sense when reading brochures and leaflets on grooming promotions and such.

What do we do when we encounter a scratch? We polish a localised area around the scratch such that the clearcoat is leveled. Try using your hand to polish away something like say, Audi clearcoat. I'd give you 50 bucks if you can do it successfully without creating more scratches!

Polishing is a process concerning the paint, polish, polishing pad, machine and the user. Of course there are so many variables like applied pressure, speed, user technique and such. My point is, its totally untrue to write off machines as 'harsh' or 'harmful' because they certainly aren't.

So next time you hear somebody who says hand polishing is better than machine polishing, you can conclude a few things. That person's a noob at machine polishing or can't afford a machine. That person doesn't have a readily available power supply. That person simply refuses or is afraid to learn machine polishing. That person is incredibly stupid.

Period.

Business models

A couple of years back I looked at this industry and saw what was going on and was duly "impressed". Almost nobody knows what the workers do to your car, no explanation of process, terminology, defects etc.

All that you understand is you pay a flat fee, you get something unquantifiable like shine, ok I admit at least you do get your car washed and clean but that's the bare minimum standard. My point is, 99% of customers do NOT know what's going behind the scenes and they do not know how to maintain their cars. Grooming centres then charge a premium to provide this maintenance service.

Somehow it reminds me of a conversation that JK and I had with a prison warden before. If you do a great job, the convicts go through prison time and rehabilitate successfully, you break your own rice bowl. Kind of an irony.

I aim to adopt a biz model where the customer knows what's going on, understands what he's gonna get and tells me his expectations. So far, I have underpromised and overdelivered every time so its a good start for me and I hope this trend continues. I dread the day that I will make a mistake, really hope it will not happen on my customers' cars. It will be a very difficult situation but I guess only time will tell.