What happened to this board?

[Underdawg736GTC]

I'm guilty of using the search function to answer any questions that I have. I guess maybe that being a newbie on here you kind of get intimidated with all the talent. I know I feel it especially with the CnB section. One thing I noticed in the CnB is that the majority of the vehicles are high end, I don't see too many everyday dd vehicles being transformed into super shiny beasts. I think maybe as a newb that would be intimidating and discouraging to me to spend time doing a write up on a trashed Saturn or a Civic, or a 12 y/o Toyota Corolla that grandma used to go to bingo and church that hasn't seen 1 coat of wax in it's life let alone a detail! I think maybe a lot of folks are put off by that and thinks maybe that since they just detailed a very common dd using what they learned here or elsewhere that they can generate the same responses as those threads with the luxury/classic/exotic write ups.

I'll be the first to admit that I know squat about the detailing profession other then you have the hacks who try to squeeze out the most buck in the fastest time possible and then there are those who see beyond what a hack sees and puts in the time and effort to achieve the best finish no matter what it takes.

4 years ago, knew nothing about detailing. I thought slapping a coat of wax and spraying some tire shine would make my car the bees knees. I joined MOL and then Autopia and both of these sites opened my eyes up on a whole new way to detail a car. My OCD tendencies took over and here I am, always hungry for more!!

Unfortunately with my profession, we get paid in peanuts so it's difficult to try new products from other companies as a lot of them are in the boutique price range and I learn to make the best out of what I have. I'm primarily a Meguiar's and OTC user as they seem to be relatively available if I run out of product and within my price range.

I'm hoping that this summer I can branch out a little from the consumer side and earn some dough on the side detailing friends and family rides so that I can feed this addiction. I hope that within time I can begin to contribute more to this forum, as a newb I just don't want to step on toes by offering bad advice and diminishing the quality of help that sites like this are known for. I guess there's a forum for every taste and style, I picked this one for the quality of content and the knowledge some of the more senior members contribute.

I've heard this place sold out when 3D took over, I don't really see it but then again this is coming from a newb. A little drama is good, I think it promotes a healthy discussion but too much drama will lead to folks looking elsewhere......what ever did happen to that dude from up north who came to the states and hacked the snot out of a Lambo? I learned a lot reading that thread, those who love the art will take the time and effort to prevent someone from screwing up and then there are those who are arrogant to the art who will screw up thinking that they are the next best thing!



Well there's a completely random rant of a newbie!! If I ramble too much, feel free to tell me to shut up! Lol!!

 

[Legacy]

[quote name='MCA']I must warn you in advance as I will digress......



Anyone new to the art-of-car-detailing initially assumes that it is the last step product that brings the pop, shine, gloss, bling, etc to their vehicle. "My car is swirled and scratched to hell, but I want to correct it....so should I use Nu Finish or this Flavor-of-the Month wax that is on VIP/BOGO sale?" Veterans of the art-of-car-detailing will answer that question with a resounding "Who gives a $%^&?" Although that is the correct answer, it is not something the new guys want to hear or care to hear. LSP-talk is sexy - People can recite and brag about having 50 waxes but they can't recall the number of polishes they own. The last step is also the easiest part of the process to understand and perform. It should be no surprise that a high percentage of detailing threads on other forums (including non-detailing oriented forums) revolve around LSPs.



I agree. 90% is in the polishing and 10% in the lsp. The nooob needs to know that the lsp is used to protect the shine he got from polishing. LSP should not mean last step procedure/product, but last step protection.

 

[C. Charles Hahn]

I don’t mean this as disrespect but there sometimes can be an air (stench) of Elitism in postings. Instead of taking a scientific approach and asking for any missing details of the situation, some replies have a negative tone of “what the heck were you thinking?” or “I can’t believe you are asking this?”

Mind sharing some links to recent threads/posts like you're talking about? If there have been any lately, I sure haven't seen them....



Yes, there was a time when that's what Autopia turned into (thankfully, during the period of time when I wasn't around) but that was then, and this is now. With very, very few isolated exceptions I've seen nothing but respect between members here.

I'm guilty of using the search function to answer any questions that I have.

Guilty? There's no reason to feel guilty about taking the initiative to do research, frankly it's often faster to get the answers you're looking for that way than by posting a thread and waiting on someone to reply. By the same token, there's no reason to feel guilty or afraid to post a question if you have time or want a different perspective than you found in previous threads. Often if you do a little research first and find a few answers to what you're wondering, it will help you to refine the questions you ask and make the replies you receive that much more "on point" than they would otherwise have been.

 

[togwt]

[Sometimes I need threads like this to fully remember how it all got started. To the OP thanks for a great post. It really brought into perspective that I need to really start giving back to the place the paved my path for success! I wonder how many others started out here, and don't post as much? I can think of alot]



We should all 'give back' in whatever way we can and helping a neophyte detailer by answering his / her question is one the most fundamental.



Just remember how it was when you first started…

 

[Bunky]

Do you have something against this forum that you'd like to share so we can correct these wrongs and work on making this a better place for you and for all.

I have not started any threads in recent history since I never really got much comment so I just respond to topics of interest.



I just do not want to see too many on Autopia be like those forum that disappeared that seemed to have too focused on other personalities and forums rather than detailing (hater's club) or get like Detail City was in its pre-acquisition days.



Charlie asked about signs of elitism. I cannot pinpoint it myself but just do not see many lurkers jumping on and posting. If I figure it out, I will let you know.

 

[imported_MCA]

Mind sharing some links to recent threads/posts like you're talking about? If there have been any lately, I sure haven't seen them....



Yes, there was a time when that's what Autopia turned into (thankfully, during the period of time when I wasn't around) but that was then, and this is now. With very, very few isolated exceptions I've seen nothing but respect between members here.

Hi Charlie - I don't have any specific threads that I can recall but I will see it here and there - It's definitely on the very rare side though. I do see the great respect that members have for each other...it's the primary reason why Autopia (and not the others) is on my browser home tabs

 

[Smoked Tails]

I'm guilty of using the search function to answer any questions that I have. I guess maybe that being a newbie on here you kind of get intimidated with all the talent. I know I feel it especially with the CnB section. One thing I noticed in the CnB is that the majority of the vehicles are high end, I don't see too many everyday dd vehicles being transformed into super shiny beasts. I think maybe as a newb that would be intimidating and discouraging to me to spend time doing a write up on a trashed Saturn or a Civic, or a 12 y/o Toyota Corolla that grandma used to go to bingo and church that hasn't seen 1 coat of wax in it's life let alone a detail! I think maybe a lot of folks are put off by that and thinks maybe that since they just detailed a very common dd using what they learned here or elsewhere that they can generate the same responses as those threads with the luxury/classic/exotic write ups.

I'm a lurker to a horrible degree and I haven't even lurked any detailing forums in a few years. I learned what I thought I needed to know to maintain my rides. Now, I left my car without a good detail regime for too long and the itch has started again. Like Underdawg, I also like the weekend warrior CnBs. I trust the pros on here that they can take their full expertise and apply it to the task at hand to deliver truly outstanding results. I usually skip the exotics, I go for the DDs, muscle cars and other things that are more interesting than reading how bad Aston Martin is at finishing a vehicle. It's not in my wheel house and not reading them reduces my urges to keep up with the Johnsons.



My lack of contribution is simple, I think. I don't really have anything to add to a conversation here. I'm somewhere between a decent apprentice and a new journeyman. The things I've learned have been from the wonderful pool of talented contributors here. When I'm seeking things out now, it's more relevant to what I think I need to know to improve. I need to either get another DA of some sort or really learn my rotary more. I'm not bad with it, but my time investment compared to others here is too great. Same goes with washing, but as I start getting more purpose specific tools my time required to wash the ride is going down. Also, detailing in the UK without a garage completely sucks this year. I'm not a 100% sure, but I think there's been four or five days since the beginning of April that it hasn't rained....



Another thing is that I think the innovation has slightly dipped. We're not really a frontier town. Polymer development has slowed down a bit and has allowed for the enthusiast to catch up and learn the new school. (Purely my take on the matter, I'm sure others will disagree.) Once you understand how marring occurs, how to avoid it and the fundamentals of abrasion based correction there's going to be a decline of "hunger" to improve. It's really just optimizing at that point. The nerd in me wants to hear the communities thoughts on wash media for rinseless/waterless washes, but also realizes that it's too subjective of a subject to get the info I'd really like. I've now got some products on the way to conduct those trials. That's a contribution I look forward to making.



You see, I've been half baking these things for a few years now. Knowing that process was important and products less so, I didn't spend a bunch on tools/equipment. I don't buy cheap MFs though. My buckets didn't match, one was two gallons and kind of rectangular and the other was a round three gallon kitchen bucket. My "grit guard" was a wire mesh kitchen strainer/colander cut down slightly to fit the bucket. My wheel brush was one of those spongey bottle/cup cleaners. The DA I used to use was a Craftsman sander that happened to have a 5" round velcro backing plate. (It really hated hard clear, I gave it away.) What I'm getting at is that the products don't matter so much if you're not in a hurry and you approach it analytically. This is a lesson I learned back before I think most of the changes happened here.



Either way, I still love this board and do browse others to get multiple points of view and food for thought for one of the things I greatly enjoy. There's a boatload of information to be had here and I don't see a problem really.



Those of you who still are doing it here, thank you. To the superstars of three or four years back, thank you.



If you're detailing a hammered 96 Explorer Sport this weekend, please slow down and take some pictures as I'd love to see them.

 

[Matt Cardoni]

I'm pretty new to posting on this forum, but I would say it is my favorite. As others have mentioned, the quantity of posts here may not be as high as some of the others, but I feel the quality is superior. I especially like how when people ask for help, the answers given seem to have some thought put behind them. On some of the others, it seems that others get caught up in pushing a new product for every issue someone has. In some places I kinda feel like others would look down on me because I don't have 10 different kinds of $100+ a tub waxes in my collection. Here people seem to want to help you work with what you have.

I've never met any of the pros on here, but all seem happy to help us minor league players out so we can one day move up to the big time.