Re: Detailing article
I had the same quizzical question asked in the form of a comment just recently, specifically about 'detailing' our car.
Recently, I had a minor auto accident when a young man in a large Nissan Navara Ute (you guys call them trucks) gently nudged our car in a low speed impact at an intersection. There was virtually no damage whatsoever to the front of his car, well protected by a metal 'Bull Bar', but the back of our car had some damage, mainly a broken bumper, (and they're virtually all plastic these days) a broken tail light perspex cover, and the boot lid was pushed in a little, as was the rail across the back of the car. All up, not all that much damage at all, but obviously needing repair.
As he was totally at fault, his Insurance Company paid the full cost of the repairs, and oddly, that came in at around 3 Grand, and while that seems a lot, you need to realise here that most of that cost is for the labour costs.
I took the car to the large body repair shop around here, one of the major repair shops in Rockhampton, and the process was that one of the assessors came out, took more than a dozen images of the damage, and then submitted the claim with his cost, and from there, the Insurance Company took over.
The whole process was seamless in fact, and they got back to me relatively quickly, the car went in, and was repaired in five working days, back to pristine.
However, there were two things that did make me smile, if something like this can cause you to smile.
The First Point.
During the process of the assessor taking the images mentioned that it was a pity I had the car damaged just after having it detailed so nicely. I then told him that the car had looked this pristine since the day we first took delivery in 2005.
Now that surprised him, and evidently, he looked a little more closely following that. He wanted to know what products I used and when I mentioned Mothers, he said ... Hmm! Good stuff! He also mentioned that I did a great job and that it must take me ages to keep it looking that good, or as he said, showroom nick.
When I did mentioned how little it did take me in time, he seemed almost disbelieving, so I just mentioned the full work up once, maybe twice a year, with clay as the first step, and he commented on that, saying not many people knew about clay. Once I explained the process I used in between those work ups, especially the use of the Spray Wax for topping up the protection after each wash, and that it only took me fifteen minutes tops, he seemed almost astounded, and surprised that someone would actually go to all that trouble, and when I mentioned that it was no trouble, and just routine, he just mentioned that he'd never seen what is now a 12 year old car looking that good, even after a full detail.
The Second Point
When I went to pick the car up, I mentioned that I had a question for the painters, as they cook their own paint in their own booths. The young lady behind the counter said that perhaps if I asked her, she could give me the answer.
So, I just asked her, mentioning the base coat, the main colour, the Opal, and the clear coat, and what sort of withholding period I should have until I could wax it again, or do any work on it. The look on her face was priceless. She had no idea what I was talking about, so she told me she would get the boss, who turned out to be the same guy who took the images and did the quote.
I mentioned to him that they just got the plastic bumper in the pre paint stage, and then cooked on the colour code for the paint and then the clear coat. He said that no one had ever asked that before, and in fact I was the first person he'd found that actually knew that.
He then mentioned that the paint and the clear would still still be outgassing solvents for a couple of weeks, and that I should leave it for three weeks before applying anything, and when he asked what I would be doing first, I said that it would just be the Pure Carnauba for protection, until the next full work up around Christmas time, other than Spray Wax following the washes. He asked why Carnauba, and I explained I used that because it went down to a hard protective shell to further protect the (softish) Clear, and he, again, seemed stunned that anyone had that sort of knowledge.
They did a wonderful job of the repairs, and you'd never know. The paint being a dark blue with an Opal fleck is matched perfectly.
The original damage to the bumper bar necessitated its complete replacement, and while it was still intact and basically in the same shape all round, you could see the impact point. The paint had what seemed to be shatter marks, like glass that has shattered, and when you looked closely, you could see that the plastic had 'given', caved in, and then sprung back into place, which caused the paint to have that seemingly shattered look.
The whole process was interesting to say the least, as it's been 35 years since my last accident, so I had no idea what the process was going to be like.
They say that things come in threes. I needed new tyres, and got a great deal on 4 new Goodyears. Then I had a low beam headlight bulb go, hey, no problems, as I just changed that myself, but wow, 29 bucks for a light bulb is a bit much. And I'm getting some new velour seat covers for Father's Day next Sunday.
So, sometimes, it not only pays to keep your car 'detailed', but perhaps the best thing to really know in all this is WHY you keep your car detailed'.
I've been away from the forum for a while, but I'm a busy guy these days, and hey, it's true what they say about having more to do after retirement from work than while you're working.
Tony.
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"Old man look at my life, I'm a lot like you were."------Neil Young.
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