this is sad...

T

tommyboy70

New member
My friend just got an 03 Silverado color black. I called him and told him not to have the dealer detail truck before purchase but he said it was already too late. Well I got to check the truck out today (he picked it up last nite) and I cant beleive how many scratches are in the truck. They did not apply any wax at all. They only washed it, obviously with a dirty brush because of all the straight scratches. Also it was covered in hard water stains and had some chips, defects or what have you. I was going to zaino it up for him but told him he had better address this issue with the dealer first. Now Im sure they will leave swirl marks that I will have to deal with.
 
Yeah, those dealer installed swirl marks can be a bummer. Why use Zaino to cover them up? Why not use a rubbing compound and actually remove them and then use Zaino?
 
Yep, I see these guys everyday at work. If anyone on this site saw the way they wash cars and the lack of care they give their equipment(towels, pads, mitts, etc) they would faint. What is really scary is that they charge the dealer $120 for every new car!!!! This includes tearing off the plastic when it comes off of the truck and a qd. When the car is delivered to a customer they wash it again(this is included in the $120). So basically a wash and a QD for $120, the interior rarely gets touched. Like you noticed, no wax. Trust me these guys have NO clue what proper paint care is all about. If I were your friend, I would just consider it a lesson learned and fix it myself.
 
I seen the chevy dealer stalls where they wash they have 1 bucket they use for days thats full of soap. But they have one guy that does all the buffing and scratch removal for corvettes.

Get some compound and get rid of the scratchs then apply your favorite zaino blend.
 
I should say that the one exception here would be the BMW dealer. They use all high quality equipment and supplies. Very nice operations, clean, well lit, only experienced detailers can touch the cars. They also have to wear aprons and take everything out of their pockets.
 
Well if I could use compound and a buffer I would. But I dont have any experience in that whatsoever. I just part time detail for friends usually using mothers or meguiars. He just wanted me to zaino it because he wants his truck to look like mine. Maybe someday I can get that experience:D
 
The products you use on the vehicle are only as good as the prepwork you did beforehand. If you apply Zaino to a truck full of swirls then its just going to look like a shiney truck with a lot of swirls. Prep work is the key. If you want to double your money when you detail then you would be well advised to get a machine and learn how to remove swirls. It take about 5 minutes to learn how to use one of those. Just avoid getting the stupid $40 buffers from WalMart. Those are not meant to take out swirls. Drop the hundred bucks on a real machine if you expect to get professional results. If you want the end result to look like a total amature detailed the car then go for the cheap buffer. If you want it to look like a pro did it then you should use the tools the pros use. Your customers will see the difference and your wallet will see the difference when they pay you for the job. Anyone can hand wax their car. Not just everybody has the machine to polish out their swirls and that is what makes you valuable when you have one.
 
Hey there,

I detail vehicles (trade-ins) for a dealer where I live...and I must say that it is pretty good money. I usually average $125 a vehicle. That includes full interior (including shampooing), cleaning motor, and outside (quick wax). I must say that I love cleaning for them because I am in no real hurry...and I know how they want the vehicles cleaned. The guy I deal with tells me everytime he hands me the key to one, "Make it look Brand New!" I usually average about 5 vehicles a week, just from the dealer.
 
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