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I'm looking for a good detailer in the South Bay (NorCal) as I will be taking delivery of my 05 MCS in two weeks and I'm too lazy to wax the car myself every few months. I have been considering going the CrystalGuard route, and was sold until I learned two things which are of some concern to me:
(1) It was supposed to be $300 for the initial application and regular maintenace to the coat every 3 months, but in fact it is $300 for the initial application and two maintenance visits.
(2) I've heard that CG can make the paint seem a bit darker, and I want to make Hyper Blue as bright as it can be.
Does anyone have any good traditional detailers in the South Bay that they go to regularly? What are the prices like?
I go to AJ's Auto Detailing off of coleman and 880. They are very good and[font=Arial] Thorough. They do lots of high-end cars and are reasonably priced. Their number is 408-947-1111. here's a link th a yahoo map of their location. http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypMap.py?Pyt=...r:regT:1:fbT:0
I'm actually looking for a detail shop that will do the whole Zaino wax solution in the Bay Area. Unfortunately for me, the process is a bit too involved for me at my current location (car port). I tried giving AJ's a call, but the person I talked to there didn't even know what Zaino was. So I'm still in search of a good location to bring my new car in to. Thanks for any replies!
Detailing your MINI with a PCDA takes all the pain out of waxing your car, and with a brand new finish, it won't take much to keep it looking good.
Good luck!
Richard
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlebeau
Hi folks,
I'm looking for a good detailer in the South Bay (NorCal) as I will be taking delivery of my 05 MCS in two weeks and I'm too lazy to wax the car myself every few months. I have been considering going the CrystalGuard route, and was sold until I learned two things which are of some concern to me:
(1) It was supposed to be $300 for the initial application and regular maintenace to the coat every 3 months, but in fact it is $300 for the initial application and two maintenance visits.
(2) I've heard that CG can make the paint seem a bit darker, and I want to make Hyper Blue as bright as it can be.
Does anyone have any good traditional detailers in the South Bay that they go to regularly? What are the prices like?
Thanks!
-mike
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
I usually just do the mini detail and it runs $35.00 and they do a great job. Usually every other one I get an express wax which is a mini detain with some wax for like $55.00 i think. Speaking of AJ's, i need to get my car washed today. MiniBoost is pretty dirty.
Again they do excellent work and pretty reasonable.
Thanks for the info OctaneGuy, yeah I saw your post about the little detailing event, looked very cool. Only 5 hours to LA actually, but then driving back home would negate some of the purpose of the detailing. ;)
That PCDA is intriguing, I hadn't considered that it would be a big problem to do it manually, but I may consider this. Do you use it for applying both wax and polish?
I've heard that using this sort of tool for claybar is bad because it can catch a piece of dirt or something and completely mess up the clear coat. Is this also a concern when waxing/polishing?
There are two tools that looks very similar. The PCDA (Porter Cable Dual Action (Orbital) Polisher and the Porter Cable Rotary Buffer. The PCDA is very safe and friendly and is one of the best and easiest ways to not only apply/remove wax or polish, but it will remove swirlmarks and fine scratches. It's a great beginners tool cause it can't do harm to your finish.
Not exactly sure where you heard about using a PCDA is bad for claybar. Actually not even sure what you mean by that. Heh heh. We claybarred that black MCS and Red MC before doing the DA.
Now the PC Rotary is different all together. That baby will ruin your clear coat, your paint, and everything else if you don't know what you are doing. A Rotary spins in a circle like a drill. A PCDA spins in a random orbit making it impossible to scratch. When combined with the foam pads it provides easy scratch/swirl removal along with the application of wax.
You don't need a PCDA with NXT, but it makes it easier, faster, and provides numerous benefits--even pressure means no chance of scratching compared to when applying by hand & no rubbing taking takes the elbow work out of applying wax, so I figure why not (?). =)
You can fully detail the exterior of the car in about 30 to 40 minutes working by yourself and barely break out a sweat doing so.
It's the best $150 I've spent for my detailing tools and continues to pay off everytime I detail my car or any of my friends.
re: 5 hours
Oh, heh heh, I didn't realize that, but yep, it probably wouldn't be such a good idea. LOL
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlebeau
Thanks for the info OctaneGuy, yeah I saw your post about the little detailing event, looked very cool. Only 5 hours to LA actually, but then driving back home would negate some of the purpose of the detailing. ;)
That PCDA is intriguing, I hadn't considered that it would be a big problem to do it manually, but I may consider this. Do you use it for applying both wax and polish?
I've heard that using this sort of tool for claybar is bad because it can catch a piece of dirt or something and completely mess up the clear coat. Is this also a concern when waxing/polishing?
-mike
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
Thanks for the info, OctaneGuy. Sounds pretty tempting, I'm going to mull it over for a bit, and I've got it on my calendar to decide before the 26th, so I don't miss the great deal.
You're welcome! Good luck and feel free to ask my any questions on this. At our garage clinic, we're always introducing newbies into the world of the PCDA and they are always amazed at how easy it is--though it does require a bit of muscle to use. The other common thing is forgetting to turn the PCDA on while it's against your paint and turning it off before removing it, cause either way will send the NXT flying. LOL.
I've been a big fan of the PCDA after Mike Phillips introduced it to me on my MINI about a year ago! Heh heh, I now offer free detailing to any of my friends/family who buy MINI's. LOL
Good luck!
Richard
Quote:
Originally Posted by mlebeau
Thanks for the info, OctaneGuy. Sounds pretty tempting, I'm going to mull it over for a bit, and I've got it on my calendar to decide before the 26th, so I don't miss the great deal.
-mike
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
I have the 7336sp. The same one that Meguiars has on sale until the end of this month.
Richard
Quote:
Originally Posted by meanboy
Octane guy,
Which porter cable do you have?
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
It probably is. I don't know for a fact, but I can say I learned on the 7335 which seems from all appearances to be the same as my 7336sp. The difference from the 7336 and 7336sp might be in the included accessories.
You still need to buy a backing plate and foam pads since it comes configured as a sander. You are probably right about Sander/Polisher. =) Figure on spending another $30-$40 on top of this to make it usable as a PCDA.
I actually spent $70 last week on 3 foam polishing pads, and 2 cutting pads, and 2 microfiber bonnets, so these things add up quick!
Is 7336 the same as 7336sp? I found one place for $109 plus shipping for a total of $116.00
Okay, I think it means sander/polisher
__________________ 5548 E. La Palma Ave., Anaheim, CA 92807 866 707 9292
Looking for Prima?? Buy Prima at ShowCarSupplies.com
11% off everyday discount code: MINI11NAM 2010 Midnight Black MCCSa
I'm actually looking for a detail shop that will do the whole Zaino wax solution in the Bay Area. Unfortunately for me, the process is a bit too involved for me at my current location (car port). I tried giving AJ's a call, but the person I talked to there didn't even know what Zaino was. So I'm still in search of a good location to bring my new car in to. Thanks for any replies!
Darryl
You might want to give Scott a call at Professional Automotive in Lafayette. He's a real nice guy.
__________________
Ken
Denver, CO
A friend will come and bail you out of jail, but a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun!"
