I have a question for anyone in the metro Detroit area. I want to get my 2011 GT detailed when the weather breaks for good. Has anyone any information about a detailer shop that does a good job? I heard about one in Royal Oak, around Woodward and 11 mile that is rated high, but I am interested in anyone who has had a positive experience at a place that they can recommend. Thanks.

 

Well, I'm not in the Detroit area, but I have a black 06 and also tried to go to a detail shop. My car actually came back more swirled than when I dropped it off. Needless to say, they didn't have the proper pads.

I did some investigation and ended purchasing the stuff to do my own detailing. I went with this package: http://www.autogeek.net/wolfgang-por...l-remover.html

My car has been totally sanded smooth and repainted, but after a year of washing, you're gonna get swirls. I have used this on my new paint and am very happy with the results. Go look at my garage and you can see the results.





My suggestion, do it yourself. You'll then be sure it's done to your standards.

-danny

 

Not to down play you or anything BUT.......

If you keep up on the waxing and buffing you will not get swirls no matter how old the paint is. I had a Celica which I custom painted myself and the paint still looked brand new with no swirls in it after 3 years of it being sprayed.

Also you do give some good tips. That is why i am not trying to downplay you at all.


EDIT: Also if you dont want swirls then do the final waxing by hand. You will never get swirls doing by hand like you will with a buffer.

 

Don't use circular motion when your cleaning or waxing your car. Also I have seen very few places that know how to use a buffer. Some of the nicest work I have seen the car was never touched with a buffer. If you do go to a detail shop ask to look at the owners car or some of the detailers cars. That may give some indication as to the quality of their work. Why don't you want to do it yourself?

 

I have always cleaned and waxed my cars myself, I just thought a "professional" cleaning would be superior, but perhaps it wouldn't based on the swirling issues that you mentioned. It has given me something to think about. thanks.

 

If your in Detroit there is only one place to go for detailing (actually they can come to or you go them doesn’t matter)

www.autolavish.com A friend of mine turned me on to them when they did an AMAZING job on his twin turbo Ford GT. I followed some of their write up's online and had my mind blown.

Its crazy how many "detailers" out there that do more harm then good. If I am going to pay someone to clean my car for me (which I do sometimes) they better knock it out of the park. I can detail a car myself for just the cost of sweat and make it look good, these guys made my car look AMAZING.

Please see this thread on what a "detailer" did to this BMW 7 series and what Autolavish did to save it.
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...iler-can-make/


Here is a good guide to finding the right detailer:
http://www.detailedimage.com/Ask-a-P...onal-detailer/


My car was being shot for a Magazine so I had Mark and Jacob come over to Rehagen Racing and work their magic.

Even in the cell phone shots you can see the car looks STUPID CLEAN. they spent 9-10 hours on my car (that was prolonged because we were also shooting the detail so stopping for pics all the time really slowed the process) and the results were mind blowing. The car looked way better then the day I first saw it at the plant!!!!!

There is one thing I want to say though. Good detailers aren’t cheap. There is no way around it. Quality work demands a premium price and Autolavish has both. In Detailing you get what you pay for. Disclaimer: if you pay cheap you'll get **** work. But paying a high price is NOT a guarantee of quality.

I am not affiliated with Autoloavish and this is no paid endorsement or anything. I am just a TOTALY satisfied customer.
Their customer service is awesome, you won’t find higher quality of work (they are sometimes flown outside the US to do work, they primarily work on exotics, Ferrari, Lambo, Aston Martin, Bugatti) and the price is more then fair for what you get.

Spend the money and I promise you wont be disappointed. A bunch of my buddies came by the shop that day and when they were done cleaning and we all stepped back and looked, no one said a word for like 3 minutes, we were speechless.

if you would like me to hook you up with them let me know.


Now these are just some cell phone pictures from that day (I cant post the real pics yet, stupid media embargo crap)

 

Thanks Stinger, great info, amazing pictures, great "food for thought". I will certainly keep these guys in mind. Thanks again.

 

Dan,

I was there the night AutoLavish did Shaun's car. I spent some time talking with Marc while he was working on the car, and his attention to detail is second to none. I had followed their work before meeting the guys, and after a conversation with them and seeing their work first hand, they sold me.

I had helped Shaun a few months prior get his car cleaned up for something else, and what it looked like then compared to what AL did was just amazing. On top of that, they take the time to answer your questions and help guide you on making sure your ride is properly cared for by you. They'll guide you every step of the way if you ask them, and to me, that's worth more than its weight in gold.

I don't think there's anyone else in the area that can hold a flame to them.