Craziest detailing "advise" you have heard...

SuperBee364 said:
That was a painful read. Yeesh.
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I don't know what was more painful. Reading his happy posts; his flaming of the guy showing him specific reasons not to do what he was doing; or the 3 or 4 other people that somehow missed the warnings and indicated their desire to try his ideas, too.
 
I can understand the baby diaper idea. In the military, we used baby diapers to spit shine our boots. It really got them glassy. So, wouldnt waxing a car be nearly the same method, ie shouldn't baby diapers be good to remove the wax with?
 
weekendwarrior said:
This is the same guy that only washes his car with water (no soap - regardless of how dirty it is), and a sponge because he says soap strips the wax. I advised him that a lot of dedicated car soaps won't do this, and the soap serves as a lubricant for the wash. Of course he didn't buy this, as he says that "common sense" says any soap will remove wax.
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This is actually true of dish soaps like Ivory. I knew someone who was using that yo wash their car. And the rain cures the wax? What a funny guy. Wouldn't it be more logical to wax in the sun as it would be more likely to "cure" than water, even though it would be a very bad idea.



Anyhow, here are some nutty things I've heard:



My dad always said to never use the brush at a car wash or use the automated car washes that used brushes because it will scratch the paint. I went with him somewhere and he started using the brush at one of these car washes. I asked him what the hell he was doing and he said it cleans the car better.



I've never understood people that degrease the engine while it's at operating temperature.



People that use anything from Armorall.
 
I worked with a now retired firefighter who swore that the best wax to use on the rigs and his personal vehicle was a can of lemon Pledge! :secret
 
DaGonz said:
I worked with a now retired firefighter who swore that the best wax to use on the rigs and his personal vehicle was a can of lemon Pledge! :secret
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Just the other day I had someone suggest Pledge for interior stuff instead of Armor All. I thought that was funny since they're both oil.
 
a guy i used to work with told me there is no need for foam pads when buffing. Simply use your wool and compound, then put on a nice thick coat of carnuba. You see, the carnuba is water repellant so as long as you dont wash the car right away, swirls and holograms wont be an issue.
 
There are people out there who say that you should never wax your car, as it actually does more harm than good. They say you should only wash the car with water as well. A friend back in college used to "brag" about how he followed this regimen, and would say "can you believe that I never wax my pickup, it's 4 years old, and look how good that yellow paint looks"!



The funniest thing about it was the fact that the paint looked like crap, with swirls and oxidation.



:rolleyes:
 
Polygon said:
I've never understood people that degrease the engine while it's at operating temperature.



.
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That is actually recommended. To warm the engine up to operating temperature to aid in the cleaning. This doesn't mean apply while it is running of course.
 
Rob Tomlin said:
There are people out there who say that you should never wax your car, as it actually does more harm than good. They say you should only wash the car with water as well. A friend back in college used to "brag" about how he followed this regimen, and would say "can you believe that I never wax my pickup, it's 4 years old, and look how good that yellow paint looks"!



The funniest thing about it was the fact that the paint looked like crap, with swirls and oxidation.



:rolleyes:
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I got into an argument with a guy 'who knows what he's doing' on another forum. His recipe - wash with water, a brush, no soap, and never, ever wax (wax destroys the clearcoat!). And polishing? Polishing is stupid - you'll ruin your car. Said he has his last car (black) for 6 years and the day he traded it in it looked like it just rolled off the showroom floor. My response? "If you washed with a brush, no soap, and never waxed it in 6 years, give me a couple of hours to do one half the car and not touch the other. It would look so stupid you'd be embarrassed to drive it."



Then I thought I was going to be backed up by another member that said that a car does need to be polished. Until I got to the next sentence that explained that you should never use an abrasive polish on a car less than 3 years old. Only 'chemical cleaner polishes'. Ugh. I gave up after that...
 
bigfish528 said:
a guy around my way stated "it does not matter what products you use as long as you put effort into it" and he was talking about detailing cars without detailing specific products like crisco for tire shine; he was going on about other stuff but as soon as I heard him say that I started thinking what I was going to have for dinner.
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What's up with the crisco tire-shine thing. I've heard of a lady who, right after she washed her car, sprayed PAM on her wheels and tires. She said, "When you want to wash them you just rinse 'em off!" I'd assume this is true, but the hell to causes to the wheel, the tire, let alone the brakes. I'd be scared to drive that car...



God, I wonder what it smells like too... :rofl
 
kompressornsc said:
Then I thought I was going to be backed up by another member that said that a car does need to be polished. Until I got to the next sentence that explained that you should never use an abrasive polish on a car less than 3 years old. Only 'chemical cleaner polishes'. Ugh. I gave up after that...
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Yeesh -- Abrasive polishes are the 'safest' on cars less than 3 years old! -- The CC is thickest then. Silly people.



I can see the reasoning that a new car has minimal marring/swirls which can be taken care of with a non agressive polish -- But after a year , much less 3 -- it can have very severe damage which requires agressive product.
 
When everybody see me applying wax or sealant they say:"you will remove the paint polishing your car so much".this is the most common idea about detailing.they cannot understand the difference between polish/compound/wax/sealant.when the say "polish"they mean all the products that are made for car care.the worst thing that a lot of "professional" detailers and car painters told me is that is impossible to remove the swirls from my car because it is black:wall:wall

also someone told me that it is better for a car to be dirty for long time because the dirt will protect the paint :wall:wall
 
I heard the one about baby diapers. This was in the '80s before there was microfiber. Saw a truck driver waxing his rig with Pledge too, back in the day. Also in the '90s, there was this guy on Wisconsin Public Radio that said waxing was a waste of time, cars all have clear coat now. He didn't keep his show for very long.



Just a couple months back, Autoweek magazine suggested putting a few drops of "salad oil" in your wash water to make your wax job last longer. (1) This sounds crazy, and (2) what is salad oil, exactly? People use all kinds of oil in their salad.
 
[quote name='charlesaferg']What's up with the crisco tire-shine thing. I've heard of a lady who, right after she washed her car, sprayed PAM on her wheels and tires. She said, "When you want to wash them you just rinse 'em off!" I'd assume this is true, but the hell to causes to the wheel, the tire, let alone the brakes. I'd be scared to drive that car...



God, I wonder what it smells like too... :rofl[/QUOTE



I have no idea but I did not say a word I guess you can't change some peoples ways; thats why I don't give advice unless asked for it, saves trouble bet it smelled like bacon in the summer.
 
Neofate said:
Great thread.. I don't have anything to add except I've been told that baby diapers make the best towels for car drying/wax removal and application.



Sigh ;)
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In the old days that was true.
 
itb76 said:
Just a couple months back, Autoweek magazine suggested putting a few drops of "salad oil" in your wash water to make your wax job last longer. (1) This sounds crazy, and (2) what is salad oil, exactly? People use all kinds of oil in their salad.
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Olive oil. Guys around my way used to add just a cap full of olive oil to their wash buckets. The myth was that it made the car shine like crazy. The truth was that it just made the car damn near impossible to dry.



Pledge actually works very well on the clear plastic that separates the gauges from the interior compartment. It hides scratches and scuffs very well and leaves a good shine. Never really tried it on anything else.
 
Worst I've heard is that lard is the best leather protectant.:eek: Talk about gross, but the guy that told me this used it on the leather seats in his early 80's Benz 300D. His logic was that since leather was an animal product that animal fat was best to protect it with.
 
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