Recomendation

Hi Guys,
Been a lurker for ages, finally signed up.

I am looking for reputable mechanic to keep the maintanance up on pride and joy. I am also looking for a good detailer to get rid of the swirl marks on my car.
I am in Melbourne and I dont really care if I have to travel, but would like reasonable prices.

Thanks guys
Pete

welcome Peter. a lot of us melbournites, myself included, go to Worx Auto who happens to be a forum sponsor as well.

what area are you in?

Ok cool, I'm in Narre Warren. Will check out worx.

Now to find a detailer who will remove swirly whirly marks on my car.
Thanks

Hello mate! I would look at http://www.finalinspection.com.au/
Most detailers you will find will not get hardly any marks out. Damien at Final inspection will get it looking new for you.

wow!!!! 988 bucks it would cost for a detail just by looking at their prices and what my car requires, dont think I can afford that much at present, I'm sure their work is exceptional though, but leaving the car there for 4 days does not excite me too much either......need my car for work!!!

Reasonable detail that removes all the swirl marks can easily be done in a single day. Of course there are people that want their car absolutely flawless and are prepared to pay a detailer to work on it for up to 20 or 30 hours, inside and out.

$250 would get the job done to your satisfaction, particularly if they dont have to detail the interior as well.

Check out TWD (The Weekend Detailer) who is a member and a sponsor here. His work is great and he may be able to recommend someone in Melbourne. Look at his posts and you will find hundreds of before and after pictures of his work.

Here is an example of one of his recent jobs:

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=922191

And try not to use just anyone. I went to a local detailer this morning to book in my friend's car. The detailer said he does not hand wash the car, but puts it through their automatic car wash. I couldn't get out of there fast enough.

You could pick up some products and learn to do it yourself if you've got the interest.

You'd save on cash, but it also won't happen overnight.

Doing it yourself would be so much cheaper. It's quite intensive labour but the results are so rewarding!

Originally Posted by Worx

Hello mate! I would look at http://www.finalinspection.com.au/
Most detailers you will find will not get hardly any marks out. Damien at Final inspection will get it looking new for you.

He'll also be very open about what you should do before he details the car, I've some paint chips that need to be cleaned up, he looked at the car and advised me to get that work done before taking the car to him.

Anyone who turns away business so the customer will be happy with the final result deserves all the credit I can give them.

Thanks guys, I think I may have just found someone, going to show him the car tonight.

So I got 2 quotes to fix up my swirls, one was 550 and the other 280.
Major difference was that the cheaper will be done in 3 hours or so, the other will be all day.

The cheaper does not do any seals just straight up cut and polish the 550 guy uses a seal. How important is this?

Really. If you want a job done in under 4 hours, it's not going to do much. Three passes of a car takes more than 4 hours when done right. It takes more time than you think to cut all the swirl marks from a car.

You will find they will use silicone products and other items like that, that will cover swirl and light marks, but after 6 or so washes it will just look the same. Also most detailers will put holograms into your paint work. Lets hope they know what they are doing. Good luck.

Originally Posted by petere46

So I got 2 quotes to fix up my swirls, one was 550 and the other 280.
Major difference was that the cheaper will be done in 3 hours or so, the other will be all day.

The cheaper does not do any seals just straight up cut and polish the 550 guy uses a seal. How important is this?

G'day petere46

You are paying someone to remove a layer of finish off your car and replace it with something else. Hoping it will look "like new."

Cutting a car is easy to do badly, usually a good job takes longer.

Sometimes you get what you pay for.

Good luck with it.

Graham

oh man!!!! this is confusing.....I will ring both see what they use

Originally Posted by petere46

oh man!!!! this is confusing.....I will ring both see what they use

I pasted on the best advise I could. It is very hard to find a good detailer. Anyone can sell stuff, if it is good is one other thing. I would go off reviews in this case.

call me an idiot but I did not check out reviews, will do now

Also keep in mind if he uses a rotary machine it is much, much quicker than using a random orbital.

I would not dream of using a rotary because I don't have the skill, but a professional may well use a rotary and do the same job as I could achieve with a random orbital but in one third of the time. However, everyone here would agree that a rotary in the wrong hands can burn through your clear coat and paint in a few seconds.

As to seal, when the car is cut and polished you will need to apply a sealer or wax or both. Up to you. But you absolutely must not leave it unprotected. Laying a coat of wax on the car is no big deal. One hour or less and you are done. Same with most sealers. You apply it, wait a while and wipe it off.

When your car is polished, seal and/or waxed, the only thing that should touch your clear coat is microfibre cloths or mitts. This way you will not be causing more swirl marks.

specs and pics of car! welcome btw

ok thanks guys for the inputs, I am going with the more expensive as I found no reviews on the cheap one and a heap of excellent reviews for the expensive one. I should have done my homework earlier.
I have spoken to him also and he advised he definitely does not use any fillers or silicone to achieve the results. He said theres no point being a detailer if your going to use fillers. Thats not fixing swirls but only masking them.

Plenty of Cowboy detainers out there