My apologies for the long winded review...

I got my car detailed on Friday in preparation for the trip to VIR. My car had not been washed in six months and was covered in grime. Also, my last car wash experience was a bad one since they put some swirl marks on my car, so I was eager to fix that.

I called the folks at Funktion Auto and they recommended Billy of Amazing Results. I scheduled a time earlier in the week for a Friday appointment @ 4pm. The morning of the appointment, he called and mentioned that he wouldn't be able to make our 4pm appointment due to an earlier appointment switching cars on him and ending up having to do extra work for it. I was a little perturbed when he said he couldn't be there until about 6pm, but he was apologetic and reassured me that he would come out ASAP and still do a great job for me. The delay pushed him into rush hour territory and he had to travel from Herndon to Alexandria to get to me, so he didn't arrive until about 7pm. Punctuality is important to me, but he was very apologetic and got to work right away. The last thing I wanted was for him to rush the job before sunset, so I was paying extra attention to him while he was working. He also brought his assistant Jessica which made things go a little more quickly.

It's also worth mentioning that you don't need to have a water source if you don't have access to one since he keeps a large water tank in the back of his SUV. He does not charge extra to bring his own water.

So, I basically paid him for the following: wash exterior, clay bar, liquid wax, vaccuum interior, clean interior glass. My interior was pretty good shape, so no need for him to detail the interior.

He didn't mind that I was watching the whole time since it was my first detailing experience and wanted to learn. He basically told me all of his tips and wasn't concerned about me taking his washing secrets and never calling him back. I had pleasant conversations with both he and Jessica as they are very friendly. Once he started working I began to lose my skepticism. He was very attentive and borderline OCD about my car which should definitely be a requisite characteristic for a detailer. He said he basically views his clients car as if it were his own. I am not suprised he is friends with Steve Pilkington of Funktion Auto who is meticulous with his suspension work.

Everything was applied and washed by hand and with care. After the wax, he and Jessica walked the car maybe half a dozen times to look for any missed spots.

The whole process took about 1.5 hours. The cost was $100 + tip.

Personally, I think the results are amazing. I know my car didn't need a ton of work since I don't drive it very often, but I'd say the end result is much better than when the car was new! So, long story short, I highly recommend Billy @ Amazing Results for detailing work. His website is in the works, so as of now, I only have his phone number which is 703-678-6900. I will be adding him to the DCMM Useful Links thread.

 

Here are some photos

 

$100 and he comes to you? sign me up.

 

Looks nice !

Not to burst your bubble, but have you looked at the paint in direct sunlight ?

The reason I ask... I didn't see any mention of a polishing step (or three) in that post. Nor any mention of a R/O buffer.

Now... given that price, and if he met your expectations, I'd say that's a good deal. But for those out there who are like me and OCD about your car, the polish and buffer are essential for beautiful, swirl-free paint.

If you don't want to DIY, give Jeremy1026 a buzz. He's good and does detailing for a fair price. He's in the Baltimore area, for those of you DCMMers who don't know him.

Again, PP, that does look good in the pics.

 

It looks awesome as far as i can tell!

 

Thanks everybody for the compliments.

CR&PW&JB, true that I don't know a whole lot about detailing. But, I think you're right, I may have left out one step. I will call him to get a clarification. But I know for sure that he did not use a buffer. He mentioned that he does that as well, but might be a little more expensive and I thought for my purposes, it is just fine. My car is so new that there aren't a whole lot of swirls that he had to deal with. I think he used some kind of rub on polish but I thought that was just the wax that he sponged on a waited to dry before rubbing/washing it off.

But thanks for the tip on Jeremy1026...I didn't realize he was a detailer! I haven't seen him around here for a while...I hope he still comes out to our events sometime.

 

Jeremy is cool.

 

Yeah, like I said, that was a fair price for detailing without polishing. I'm telling you, if I did a full detailing like I do my own MINIs, I would charge $300 for it, it's that much work.

And also, like I said, most people aren't as insanely OCD as I am about the MINIs. So unless you inspect your paint very closely in direct sunlight or high intensity bulb, you might not even notice most swirls and light scratches.

I just wasn't sure what your expectations were regarding a professional detail job.

Again, your MINI is beautiful (and CLEAN) !!

 

thank ya! I will say this though, i have seen some show cars where the surface is so insanely smooth and perfect that it looks wet. i would like to try to do that for my MINI someday

 

what's his leadtime like? I need my car done for Sat

 

I wonder if he will come to DC.. it will be very nice to have GyPsy clean for once ...

 

I think he should be able to accommodate that. Give him a shout.

Marina, not sure if he'll go into DC. Do you have a place for him to set up? His name and contact number are in the Useful Links sticky

 

Larry , there are garages in DC.. you know

Yes I have a garage that fits two MINIs (guess which ones are always in )

 

The pictures look great. I don't use an power buffer unless there is something that needs extra work. In general I think the less buffing with a R/O buffer, the thicker the paint is going to stay. Buffing the heck out of it with R/O buffer every time you wax is just going to wear in the long run. Do what it takes to keep the swirls out by using proper, clean microfibers.

I thought your first paragraph I quoted was humorous!

You were so eager to get the swirl marks out that you hadn't washed it in six months? If that is eager, you must have a government job...

 

You would have to use a R/O buffer fifty times to do any kind of damage to your paint. These are not the old style buffers, you know.

I use the buffer on mine once a year, not every time I wax. And if you know anything about me (if you hang out in the Detailing forum), you know I use only the best microfiber wash mitts and towels. But it is impossible to keep swirls out of your paint's finish.

And that's not extra work. You can't remove those without a buffer, unless you use a very abrasive polish by hand.

Spend some time in the detailing forum. You sound like you'd fit in well there.

 

Looks good! 1.5 hours for all that is pretty quick...as it normally takes me two hours to just wash the car and wheels (wheels take forever for some reason)!

Do you know what type/brand of products he used? I wonder what he might charge for a full clay bar, light oxidation and swirl remover with a porter cable and full wax (with my preferred products)? It's been too hot for me to do all that work on Ambrosia myself since we don't have a garage but all the more reason for me to do it asap and get her protected!

 

Thanks, Ambrosia I am not sure what type of products he used. I think one of the products was Meguires. And, another one is some kind of 3M thing. I think he even used a diluted orange cleaner for some parts as well. Also, I only asked him to do a basic wash of the wheels as I was paranoid of him screwing up my Volks, so maybe that saved a little time. I'm sorry I don't know how much he'd charge for full wax and buff, etc. I asked him for a brochure but he had just run out of them :(