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Waxing at a detail shop

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  SteveinMN 
#1 · (Edited)
Good morning. I should have asked this earlier. I am getting the car waxed in 3 hours at a detail shop. If they want to use some sort of machine and not hand wax, should I tell them I want a hand wax (even if it costs more)? Could a machine create swirls like a non-brushless car wash could? This guy is very anal about his work, so I can't imagine he would do anything that would cause swirls, but I thought I would ask your opinions.

Thanks for your input.
 
#2 ·
It's not a simple answer. If the pads are in good shape used correctly it can produce a better shine with virtually no swirls. If the pads are not of good quality or the shop uses them on more than one vehicle, especially if they sit for awhile they can produce swirls. In addition someone who does not know how to use it correctly, such as too much pressure, stay in one area too long, etc can make swirls. The type of wax or protectant used also plays into it, some can not stand up to a machine wax they are made only for hand waxing.

Are you having them use a clay bar too?
 
#5 ·
I personally , would not use a machine , nor want one used on my car . It's a brand new car , the shine is there , no need to beat it out of it :p just protect it . I hate it when I see a car going down the road and you can see the "hologram " swirls .

I have always waxed mine by hand . Like I said , your car has a new finish . It does not need to be compounded , I see no need for a buffer , to big of a risk for me .
 
#7 ·
I'm going to disagree here. I've been around some crazy detail guys for the last fifteen years and learned just enough to be dangerous. If you take your Maserati to a L.A. detail shop and pay for a $500 detail job....they will clay and then use a buffer. If your car has swirl marks (often from hand waxing) it's the buffer that will take them out. Of course it is vital that you know how to to use it properly and that you use good chemicals....but the finest wax jobs I've ever seen...were done with buffers.

User2014, If this guy is as anal as you say he is...I wouldn't worry.
 
#9 ·
Okay... I hate to admit this here, but I let him use a machine to apply, and removed it by hand. He looked me right in the eye and said "you will not get any streaks or swirls, I promise". Looks great and it's so smooth now.

Before they started, they looked everything over really carefully and found two small factory paint imperfections that I never noticed. I am going to try and get the dealer to cover fixing them... they'll probably pull the "you should have found those on delivery" nonsense but it is obvious it is a factory imperfection so I will try to get it fixed now that I know it is there. Otherwise it is going to annoy me every time I look at the car now. :)
 
#11 ·
found two small factory paint imperfections that I never noticed. I am going to try and get the dealer to cover fixing them... they'll probably pull the "you should have found those on delivery" nonsense but it is obvious it is a factory imperfection so I will try to get it fixed now that I know it is there. Otherwise it is going to annoy me every time I look at the car now. :)
You obviously don't have a scratch on your Soul yet, do you? :)

I really would think twice about "fixing" those defects. No body shop is going to be able to reproduce an exact factory finish with the ovens and everything the factory can use. And I don't think you'll find a body shop which will absolutely guarantee that there will be no difference between the paint lots used (always a risk, particularly with metallics). You very well could end up with a different pair of defects to see. Nevermind that 1) lots of dealers do not do their own body work (they farm it out to the chain's body shop which may not see many Kias or to a third party whose quality can be wildly variable). Or 2) that they're doing this at warranty-labor rates, which many manufacturers set at below-market rates.

Honestly, you were skinny, smart, and happy before these "problems" were pointed out to you. Why chance making it worse? I'd learn to pretend the problems weren't there. Save the anguish for the first scratch.
 
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