Detail my car myself, or get a shop to do it?

[Scouzer]

The shop is owned by a friends dad, and he said he'd charge me $300 for the works in and out. I know it's a lot cheaper in the US, but that's a great rate around here, most places charge in the $400-600 range.

I'm thinking about trying to do it myself, but I really blow at this kind of stuff. I'm worried I'll spend a whole day on it and just end up messing the paint up.

I don't own any supplies either, so I'd probably have to spend $100 to get a random orbital and such...thoughts?

 

[nickbits]

what kind of car do you have

 

[Gibson486]

To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

 

[evident]

supplies and tools will be pricey upfront, and you're probably going to mess up. But once you learn and get the technique down, it's worth doing it yourself. Especially if you have a garage you can do all the waxing in.

my biggest problem with detailing my car is that its tough to do the wash and then wax 3 layers in a day and i don't have a garage to put it in. its alot of attention to detail but its worth it! you dont have to go all out like i did and instead just use a one step wax like the meguiars nxt or something to get the protection of wax. it will still look great :thumbsup:
i only do the three step wax once a year, and i apply NXT about every other month or so until it gets too cold and i dont feel like doin it

i suggest a porter cable 7424 as your first buffer. thats what was recommended to me and i'm still a beginner. it does the job very well and it's very hard to screw up your paint with it.

 

[JulesMaximus]

$300 for a detail? Holy fuck that's expensive!!!

I pay $60 for a clay and wax from my local detailer.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
$300 for a detail? Holy fuck that's expensive!!!

I pay $60 for a clay and wax from my local detailer.

That's for shampooing and vacuuming the interior as well.

 

[Audiotherapy]

goes it include engine bay?

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
$300 for a detail? Holy fuck that's expensive!!!

I pay $60 for a clay and wax from my local detailer.

That's for shampooing and vacuuming the interior as well.

I've never had to shampoo the interior of my car...living in SoCal has its advantages.

 

[CRXican]

I would do interior myself. See how much for a wash, polish, wax.

 

[angry hampster]

I find great enjoyment in claying, polishing, and waxing my car on my own. I suggest you do the same, OP.

 

[Scouzer]

Originally posted by: audiotherapy
goes it include engine bay?

nope

$200 just for the outside, maybe i'll go that route, the inside wouldnt be all that tough in comparison.

 

[Kntx]

$300 for the works? I'd do it.

I think that should include:

wash
wax
wheels and tires
wheel wells
inside engine bay
inside door jams
shampoo carpets
open all hidden areas and vacuum
clean all interior panels including hidden areas
treat all interior panels with shiny stuff (some people don't like this)
all moveable pieces get moved around and wiped (e.g. vents)
leather treatment (if applicable)
get in all the little cracks to get built up crud out
vacuum
wash all glass

Maybe an exterior polish. If he's giving you a deal I think it should be included because I'd expect all of the above for $300 in any case.

 

[zerocool84]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
$300 for a detail? Holy fuck that's expensive!!!

I pay $60 for a clay and wax from my local detailer.

That's for shampooing and vacuuming the interior as well.

I've never had to shampoo the interior of my car...living in SoCal has its advantages.

I have man sauce spots all inside my car. Doesn't matter where you live, you're going to get those.

 

[Scouzer]

I booked it for the shop to do it, exterior only. $200 includes everything on the outside, so I'm sure they'll do a good job.

 

[CTrain]

I've seen some car's paint that is so beat up and after a professinal detail, its like a brand new set of paint was applied.
Now those type of job deserves $300.
If your car isn't in that bad shape, you should do it yourself.

 

[exdeath]

What kind of detailing? Usually when you talk about detailing vs. washing and waxing, you're talking about putting the car on 4 jack stands with the wheels off and spending days upon days with a clay bar, electric polisher and a tray full of brushes and making the car cleaner than it ever was when new, to include minor dent removal and paint touch up. That includes undercarriage and wheel wells, picking bugs out of the condenser, etc.

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

Paying 300 bucks to detail an econobox isn't the best financial decision you can make...

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

Paying 300 bucks to detail an econobox isn't the best financial decision you can make...

Neither is neglecting your vehicle until it's so trashed you don't want it anymore, and spend even more money buying a whole new car to get that shiny feeling back. You'll save more in the long run by taking care of what you have and keeping it "new".

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

Paying 300 bucks to detail an econobox isn't the best financial decision you can make...

Neither is neglecting your vehicle until it's so trashed you don't want it anymore, and spend even more money buying a whole new car to get that shiny feeling back.

Yeah that's why they sell claybar and wax at autozone, $10 for everything.

 

[exdeath]

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

Paying 300 bucks to detail an econobox isn't the best financial decision you can make...

Neither is neglecting your vehicle until it's so trashed you don't want it anymore, and spend even more money buying a whole new car to get that shiny feeling back.

Yeah that's why they sell claybar and wax at autozone, $10 for everything.

It takes skill and experience to not wreck your paint with a claybar and polisher, and a LOT of time to do it right. If the $300 includes the level of detail I described above, it's well worth it. More so if you don't already have the tools including the polisher, various pads and compounds, lamps, etc, because those are certainly not $10.

 

[Scouzer]

It looks like this is going on hiatus anyway-- it's going to blizzard the next few days and we'll get 15-25cm of snow. It's going to be hovering around the freezing mark, hardly the time to spend $200 on detailing.

 

[DarkThinker]

Originally posted by: zerocool84

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
$300 for a detail? Holy fuck that's expensive!!!

I pay $60 for a clay and wax from my local detailer.

That's for shampooing and vacuuming the interior as well.

I've never had to shampoo the interior of my car...living in SoCal has its advantages.

I have man sauce spots all inside my car. Doesn't matter where you live, you're going to get those.

Got Clinton?

 

[halik]

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: exdeath

Originally posted by: halik

Originally posted by: Scouzer

Originally posted by: Gibson486
To detail a car or to clean it really well? I took my mazda to be detailed and they wanted $600 (small door dents and a small paint chips and minor scratches).

Clean very well, no paint repair or dent fixing. It is in sore need of a good buff and wax.

06 Pontiac G5 GT

Paying 300 bucks to detail an econobox isn't the best financial decision you can make...

Neither is neglecting your vehicle until it's so trashed you don't want it anymore, and spend even more money buying a whole new car to get that shiny feeling back.

Yeah that's why they sell claybar and wax at autozone, $10 for everything.

It takes skill and experience to not wreck your paint with a claybar and polisher, and a LOT of time to do it right. If the $300 includes the level of detail I described above, it's well worth it. More so if you don't already have the tools including the polisher, various pads and compounds, lamps, etc, because those are certainly not $10.

I'm sure all the above is necessary for a car with $16K msrp :roll:

You must be the guy that hired the supercar detailer to do a $10K job on his $18K renault... because we all know soap, water, claybar and some turtle wax will completely ruin 2 year old seared-on electrostatic paint job.

 

[HannibalX]

Go to Autopia.org and find a local professional to come do it for you. Most shops just have kids working there who don't know what they are doing.