davidu

I was thinking of getting my car detailed this weekend. I took it to a cheap car wash last weekend and I think it looks dirtier after they cleaned it. Is there any danger of getting it detailed? One of my coworkers (Porsche owner) told me it can be bad for the paint if you do it too often. I've never had this car detailed, and it's about 2 months old. Also, has the clear bra, not sure if that matters.

Also, any great San Francisco recommendations? Yelp likes these guys: http://www.californiadetailing.com/E...rDetailing.htm

But if someone knows of someone good, I'm all ears. In general, I'm more of a one-man-hero kind of guy, preferring to hire a dude who takes tremendous pride in his work rather than leave myself to the mercy of a big shop.

bimmerzone

I would certainly do it myself

now, when you say waxing, if you mean just carnuaba wax, you can wax as much as you like (usually every couple of months)
its POLISH that is not really good as it takes away some clear coat, but again, on the first time, you really might need polish to do some paint correction (but thats a whole different story)

take a look at my pics (Scroll to bottom)
http://www.bimmerzone.com/detailing_service.htm too bad you are not in PA

healthservices

I would never go to a big shop or large car wash to do a detail. In my mind they do too much volume to be able to pay attention to detail. Some automotive dealers are really good, if you want to go that route.

But I would stick to a smaller shop and see what kind of stuff they put out.

If you are a do it yourselfer I would still give it to a really good detailer once in a while so they can do what you miss on your weekly or monthly rituals.

For some of us the detailer is only a good start, you yourself have to finish the minor details the shop overlooks. In that way I guess I have never found a really good shop if I have to follow up, but i figured they did the majority of the work and for the money that is OK with me..

davidu

Maybe I'm being prejudiced by The Karate Kid (j/k), but I like the look of this guy's shop: http://www.magicdetail.com/about_us.html

I think I'm going to get their "Premium Exterior Detail"

What about my clear bra -- is that an issue? Are they going to remove it or just work around it?

Howitzer

Do it yourself man. Do yourself a favor and video tape yourself doing it and put it on the web. I scored a damn near lifetime supply of Turtle Wax products for how much marketing prowess they gained from my vids on YouTube like 6 months ago using Black Box on my Bimmer!!!!

davidu

After I move to the 'burbs and have a driveway. :-) My crazy neighbors call the the Parking and Traffic Commission when I'm blocking the sidewalk unloading groceries for 2 minutes. I can't imagine the seizure they would have if I tried to actually wash my car in front of my garage.

bimmerzone

LOL... thats some crazy neigbors
I would wash mine every week and hopefully have water flowing their way but thats me....

davidu

Then again, the burbs can be crazy too. At my old house, which was in the 'burbs, I had a neighbor pull a shotgun on our gardner because he was "hurting the trees" (on our property) by his crazy act of trimming them. This was in Olde Del Mar, CA -- home of hippies and surfers. :-)

twobeemers

Ha - niiiiiice. I have a floor drain and hot and cold running water in my garage. I wash my car in the garage year-round (shade in the summer, heater in the winter). Of course I've never had anyone complain about blocking the sidewalk on me, either, so different strokes.

What I don't like with some place is they use a big machine polisher which will put swirl marks in your paint. They cover it up with a layer of glaze and then wax which looks GREAT until you wash it again and the wax starts to degrade, leaving that hazy look that you might be experiencing. Do youself a favor and spend some time on the Griot's site and watch the videos about washing, polishing and waxing your car. You might just decide to have it washed someplace and wax it on the street yourself.

rctmthouse

go to autopia, they have lots of local detailers in your area listed. You can do it yourself with some elbow grease...lots of elbow grease but since you never got it done professionally before, I recommend bringing it to a pro, get it detailed then maintain it at home with proper washes to avoid swirls.