Walmart Detailers Meeting ...

V

Volvolove

New member
So i'm in walmart buying a headlight bulb for my dad's honda accord (hey, it was an excuse to drive my bimmer) and of course, the automotive stuff is right by the detailing stuff ... so i look again to make sure that there really isn't that much worthwhile at Walmart. As i stroll up, some walmart worker is leading some poor younger guy over to show him the bonnets and whatnot for the $20 orbital buffer he had in his cart. I'm listening as he starts praising Turtle Wax and saying how its always been a topnotch product and its great for the money ... (i'm cringing right now, almost broke the lightbulb).



Now, out of nowhere ... another guy rounds the corner and joins the conversation. Apparently, he's a friend of the Walmart employee ... so it was a joint effort leading this guy on the wrong path. I had a smile on my face as the newcomer starts complaining about all the "frilly" procuts on the shelves. He said to keep it simple .... and proceeded to point out none other than Turtle Wax RUBBING COMPOUND! Yeah, he says, go over your truck with this then throw on some Nu Finish and it'll look like its brand new paint! By now i'm thinkin yeah, from 15 feet away, but don't get with a few feet to see all the marring!



By now, i chime in and say i detail a few cars, and Scratch-X is very good stuff to be used by hand ... basically the best stuff on the wall. I explained how its made to break down by hand and is effective for what its made to do. But NOO, the guy picks up some TW rubbing compoud and polishing compound and hands it to the poor guy. So by now the kid is questioning if he really needs the machine. My idol, this the TW/NuFinish pro ... explains that machines aren't better than by hand, just a little faster, but he tells him to make sure he puts the rubbing compoud on by hand "to really rub it into the paint" (ouch, those words hurt) then buff it off w/ the machine.



I had enough and told them both the TW stuff is really abrasive and will cause a lot of damage that will have to be dealt with, and again recommend Scratch-X and going to the local harley store for some S100. Blank Stares. Guy put back the TW stuff (thankfully) and they both started to complain about acids in wheel cleaners and my hero said to put COKE as in the soda ... on his wheels ... i was speechless now. Almost mentioned the website, but didn't for some reason. I was scared for the guy/ almost laughing ... the guy tried to sell me on Nu Finish ... how its so easy and the best thing out there ... "i leave it on for a day or so, and pull it off and it looks brand new" My heat skipped a few beats within those 15 min ....



then i walked outside and saw my Bimmer ... clad in her Einszett polish/wax blanket ... and was glad i found this website!



sry that was long ... had to tell someone else who would sympathize.



alex
 
I'm suprised he could find anyone in WalMart to talk to. The sales staff is usually harder to find than good product.



In all fairness tho, they do sell some pretty good stuff at a good price, you just have to be careful.
 
Wal-Mart stock really sucks these days, no good products. way too much crap, no quality. I used to buy mits and other products from there but the chenille mits and sheeepskin mits suck. Everything is black magic and i don't care for any of their products. i do like NXT.
 
they don't sell NXT at Walmarts around here ... went to recomment it to my new friends and realized that there was none
 
In their own way, they were helping the customer as best as they could based on their knowledge of paint care.

You have to remember that not everyone is as knowledgable as those on this forum! :)
 
Oh, wow! Great (sad) story, Volvolove. It's sad to see follks pretending to be knowledgeable when they haven't a clue. :( Sounds like you did an admirable job of controlling yourself -- It must have been awfully difficult.



Autonova, I'm also noticing that this "Blackmagic" label is also overtaking our rinky-dinky town's WalMart. What's up with that??
 
Same in Vegas. Black Magic is all over the place. It looks like it sells well unfortunately. As 6 cyls said, they are selling to the best of their knowledge. They might not have a clue, but they do have a job to keep. Not meant as a flame, just stating the facts.



Just my $.02.



Trent
 
Who cares about these people. Listening to that "expert" = Getting a new paint job because he's "really rubbing" the TW compound and took away all the paint and getting new exterior trims because Nu Finish already ate it all up :). Hope the stuff I said makes sense.
 
I used the TW compound with a PC and a yellow pad recently ... see my posting under Click and Brag .. mind you it wasn't under Walmart advice.
 
Under Wal-Mart advice I used coke to wash my wheels. I liked the results but its too many carbs for my wheels' taste. Maybe I'll try diet next time.



Happy 4th of July everyone.
 
From my understanding, Black Magic products are owned by Bondo (or one of its affiliates/parents) and since wally world already sells Bondo stuff, they prolly just figured what the heck and started selling the Black Magic stuff too. In all fairness though, some of the stuff isn't too bad. I've gotten some of the Black Magic tire brushes and some foam applicators, and they dont seem too bad. I tried their wax once too, wasn't aweful, reminded me a lot of the Rain-X wax actually.
 
A little while back when I first started reading this forum, I went to wallymart and purchased a few things including a black magic drying shammy. Dont ask me why, when Ive always used the absorber and I decided to try something new.



Today, a few weeks later I took the shammy out of the plastic package and was about to opt the sealed plastic bag it was in when I noticed something unusual. The borders of the shammy were sewn and overlaped. To me, this looks like nothing but trouble, so I used my big blue Mf to finish the job.



I definitely will look close before I buy a BM product again
 
AutoNova said:
I used to buy mitts and other products from there but the chenille mitts and sheepskin mitts suck.
Click to expand...



Oh...? I've had decent luck with the sheepskin mitts from Wal-Marts in my area. Maybe they market a different brand up here in Canada. :nixweiss They may not be the "best" out there, but they definately don't suck.
 
Most of the stuff I get at Wal-Mart for detailing, with the exception of the Eurow sheepskin mitts, are not specific detailing products at all, some really :scared: stuff there in that category. They are good for basic maintenance items such as coolant and oil however. Lots of unconventional items that can be used in detailing, isopropyl alcohol and cooking oil sprayers for example, can be found there.
 
TW rubbing compound should be taken out of walmart...and off the shelves everywhere. I've had enough bad experience with people saying it was worse then before.



I'm happy I have met people that use Gold Class, and all they want is something to help with swirling, and I show them #9. :)
 
Wow, never ever saw anything like #9 in a Wal-Mart. Hmm..closest thing was a small bottle of 3m RC
 
You should've grabbed them all and dragged them out to look at your car....then dragged them to the employees' cars and let the customer decide who to listen to.



re: getting the Isopropyl alcohol at Walmart....up here in Canada it was $0.97 at Zellers and $1.79 at Walmart!
 
I'm not at all bashing Black Magic. Haven't tried it. What I don't like is that it's knocking other good products off the shelf. For instance, I used to at least be able to get Megs car was there. But no more. It seems that they've significantly reduced the diversity of their detailing aisle, now that BM consumes about 1/3 of the space.
 
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