{"id":29640,"date":"2020-07-08T00:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-08T04:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/?p=29640"},"modified":"2020-06-11T13:57:17","modified_gmt":"2020-06-11T17:57:17","slug":"buff-wax-job-its-not-what-you-think-the-most-misunderstood-part-of-detailing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.detailedimage.com\/Ask-a-Pro\/buff-wax-job-its-not-what-you-think-the-most-misunderstood-part-of-detailing\/","title":{"rendered":"Buff & Wax Job, It’s Not What You Think: The Most Misunderstood Part Of Detailing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people do not realize that clear coats (the top painted layer on most modern cars) are not only easily scratched, but also thin and hard.\u00a0 This is significant because the repair process (polishing) is the most misunderstood<\/strong> part of detailing.<\/p>\n

\"Ibrid-Polishing\"<\/p>\n

“I have some minor scratches; they will buff out really quick?!”<\/p>\n

\"Deep-Scratches\"<\/p>\n

“I know you said you could not fix this with a paint correction (that it will need a repaint), but maybe it can be buffed?!”<\/p>\n

\"Curb-Rash\"<\/p>\n

Many of these scratches you see above in the previous two pictures are not<\/strong> coming out!<\/p>\n

There Is No Such Thing As A Good Or Quick Buff<\/strong><\/p>\n

I will provide a description of what I am doing with a polisher, which makes your paint look better.\u00a0 I am leveling paint with a polisher in a way that is abrading\/shaving paint off to the level of (or below) the scratches in the paint.\u00a0 I may abrade the paint some more if my first attempt was not sufficient.\u00a0 Depending on how aggressive I was leveling the paint to scratch, I will likely need to do a ultra-fine polishing step to repair the damage from my initial polishing.\u00a0 Contrary to somewhat popular belief, I am absolutely not massaging a scratch out.\u00a0 Polishing can often be misinterpreted by a fictional<\/strong> process such as a buff job or wax job.\u00a0 Many people are under the impression that, what is pictured directly above can be fixed safely, completely, and quickly with the use of a polisher.\u00a0 If some have not already guessed, there is often a shock to here not only from many consumers but many (competitors) detailers that the expected cost and time needed for only a predicted 70 to 90 improvement is significantly more than predicted.<\/p>\n

When detailers talk about multiple step paint correction, they are referring to an initial aggressive polishing step that is followed up with a gentler polishing step.\u00a0 Aggressive polishes and pads are used to more effectively remove deeper marring in the paint.\u00a0 Due to how coarse the initial polishing step is, it will leave its own scratch pattern behind.\u00a0 This marring may be barely noticeable without certain lighting, but overall it does affect the clarity and depth of the reflections of your paint.<\/p>\n

In brief, we are slowly abrading away paint, working with material (clear coat) that may not be thicker than a post-it-note.<\/p>\n

There Is No Such Thing As A Good Wax<\/strong><\/p>\n

There was a time I visited an automotive paint shop looking for a compound to fix a scratch on my car.\u00a0 \u00a0The employee looked at the scratch with me and said, “look you don’t want to put compound on your new car, oh no don’t do this (not necessarily bad advice).”\u00a0 But he then randomly started vigorously rubbing his finger over the scratch saying, “It’s rubbing out, see it’s rubbing out!\u00a0 It’s kind of coming out.”\u00a0 If this had happened recently (of course), there would be a proverbial volcanic erupting directive to “never put your hands on car my again!”\u00a0 I was an impressionable new car owner 6+ years ago.\u00a0 What I eventually realized was it was the natural oils from his hands that were in part filing the scratch.\u00a0 He really thought you could massage scratches out of paint.<\/p>\n

Some people (even professionals) still mistakenly believe that if you can grab a rotary and by generating enough heat you can re-flow paint.\u00a0 This is simply not the case!<\/p>\n

Recent inquiries:<\/strong><\/p>\n