Those are only assumptions because the forum wasn't flooded with zymol or menz details, rather gloss it... If the same happened before when Moe and/or Phil first came, or other sponsors and/or detailers I apologize for the statement, but since I've been here nothing close to this has happened...

I for one know I would personally get sick of it and tell Moe/Phil to stfu (in a nicer way such as above of course ) if he posted 10 threads a day about polishing with 106ff and sealing with Zymol... bla bla bla...

I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the whole forum has become a bunch of documented detail threads, instead of threads teaching people about detailing... you don't teach ANYTHING when you tell me you used Gloss it X polish @ 1200 on the Makita and got x and y results... throw a video of you polishing in there, how much product you apply to the pad, etc. etc., then your detail thread has gone from a usual thread with tons of good looking yet boring and same-as-the-rest photos to something that shows a member here how detailing is done... from there start only posting threads about some big transformations and you've got yourself something worth looking at and being amazed about...

once this is done, some will order $500 worth of stuff and start doing their own thing, others will tip you $40-50 next time you detail their car because they see how much precision and skill actually goes in to doing a high quality detail, but no matter what happens you will not lose business from people who are interested and you'll actually promote high level detailing to the public...

Hope this makes sense

 

The whole issue with the detailing forum is the product cheerleading. Guys used to come on here to ask questions and get help with problems they were having. If you go back to page 5 or 10 of this detailing board, you will see how many DIYers were asking questions. Site sponsors as well as DIYers would try to answer questions to the best of their ability. Certain products may have been mentioned that detailers or other have used specifically to combat an issue. Now the threads are geared towards promoting particular products mainly for an increase in sales or to promote a specific detailing line. I was guilty of it too, until my fiancé told me not to be hypocritical. She went through and counted the number of threads started by detailers and the number started by DIYers. On several pages, it was near 20 threads started by detailers and 5 started by DIYers. Several months ago, that was not the case. The results were the complete opposite.

This forum needs to go back to simply educating others. It needs to be an open discussion where anyone, DIY or detailer can ask a question and get it answered without feeling pressured to use a specific product. Showing hundreds of pictures of a detail is not educating the DIYer. Showing pictures and talking about a certain technique to combat an issue is educational.

The goal here is not to attack Gloss It or any other product line. It is simply to state that posting several threads about the same product is not helpful or warranted.

 

I try my best to answer any questions people have about detailing. In and out of my threads. But now I should make videos of me polishing and go through in extreme detail how to use every product? Seems like a lot of work for many people who might not care but for those who do care they should feel free to ask questions pertaining to car care. I'd be glad to help out in anyway I can.

 

I think that the point everyone is trying to make isn't specifically about Gloss It.

This forum was originally made for the DIYer. The pros were here to offer up advice, and show off some work that they did for other forum members from time to time.

Other posts out there that are of the "write up" nature are typically designated to be educational for those same DIYers, or general members of the forum.

Smoke you said yourself that with your posts you were trying to promote yourself, and Gloss It; good for you. This forum is a very excellent place to try and drum up new business, but it needs to be done in a certain fashion.

A Porsche isn't a flamboyant performance car like a Lamborghini. You take one look at it and the first thing that you think typically isn't about it being ferocious looking, more along the lines of something elegant and purposeful. Think of your posts in much the same fashion.

If you want to promote yourself, teach the guys who come on here to learn. They will respect you for your knowledge, and your ability to share that knowledge, much more than some simple before and after pictures and reflection shots.

It isn't about the product that you are trying to endorse, far from it. The Gloss It brand has fueled this fire because it is the one seen on more than half the posts on the first page right now. It is a little bit excessive. Rather than title every post with "Gloss It this..." or "Gloss It that..." just talk about your detail, and say what products that you used.

Good work and good stuff typically sells itself. Trying to pitch it like Billy Mays makes it seem far less credible than if you simply showed what it did and said that you were generally impressed. Like I said before, less is more.

 

Very true... ever since I started seeing Gloss it I was turned off from their products... why? because I didn't hear about it from ANYONE I respect online using it and getting great results, but TONS of posts, etc. from the owners and people using solely Gloss it... the fact that none of the detailers I respect online have yet started using or even sampling Gloss It simply reinforced my opinion... I'm still up for getting a free sample of a few GlossIt products and experimenting when I have some free time, but there's no way I will place an order just because the manufacturer says it's the best product out there... I'm saying I'm still up for experimenting simply because I don't want to make this into something against GLoss It... As JEdwards said, this is about the DIY issue of the forum, not any GlossIt issue...

 

And the soap opera continues . . .

 

Before you go off half cocked smoke. I would highly recomend you take some time and read the past posts by pro's here. The general consensus is: If you make money from detailing Provide help, support, advice. Do not use this forum as a showcase of your work. The people here who pay the dues pay nearly 7k a year for that privilege. When you post your work, you are indirectly treading on a right that they have exclusivity to. There are many forums to show case work. Autopia for one. This forum (and i am paraphrasing) is more about helping individuals learn the proper procedures and steps of detailing. Again, as pro's we are tolerated here as long as we don't promote.

I believe what people are getting at is your 50 picture threads are promoting you more than the product. To take your example of bob at auto concierge, He simply upload 4 pics of the finished process. I believe that is the first time i have seen him upload pics.

Phil, Moe, Detailing dynamics, and Rich (forgive me if that is wrong) Are free to post their work, results of their product etc. Since we have not paid for that right, we have been asked to simply contribute with out the stumping for our own company.

Take a look back through the forum read a good number of the threads about this topic. Take some time to understand that Those advertisers here have tried very hard to progress this forum forward in knowledge, content, and professionalism with out the professional pandering seen on most other detailing sections. This forum is geared to the owner learning how to care for his car, not necessarily for the owner to find a pro.

 

Well Said !

 

At the end of the day everyone is trying to make the best living they can, it has been entertaining to me as I watch people get bent and thier feathers ruffled over anyone new coming onto this section of the forum. At first I was VERY wary of Rich and his company because he was coming in and making very bold claims,hell the first post Brian Hare made I commented " that was a lot pics with your website header included " as he was promoting Gloss-it products but it looked like he was promoting himself as well and his posts were commented on consquently.

To really improve your craft(if your a pro or novice)you have to try EVERY product that comes along, if I used what worked for me ten years ago there would be no improvment or evolution of my skills or knowledge which in the end takes food of my table,the only thing that should be questioned on this detailing section is blatant self promotion or posting incorrect detailing techniques ect... no one should feel threatned unless you are lacking confidence in what YOU do and how you do it.

After I commented about a thread Rich @ Gloos-it made he pm'd me and I started to talk with him concerning his products,detailing philosphy and even about other products and detailers on this board. At first he said he would send some products to me to try and if I liked them I would pay for them,well I recieved an invoice and I thought here we go another scammer and smooth talking guy and I even discussed this with Phil as I highly respect his take on things in all aspects of the detailing world because not only does Phil run a top notch e-commerce site but he can also get his *** out there and performs the work as we all know.I found as I got to know Rich better in my conversations with him I had the wrong take about him,anyone who knows me well knows this I do not B.S people and I tell like it is good or bad, so I judged Gloss-it products on thier merit and performance alone which is all you can do,competion is great for everybody here and only those that cannot keep up will be upset and threatned, recently I had a customer tell me a detailer in my market told him that he was better than me and CHEAPER well I cannot worry about that I just need to concentrate on what I do and the rest will take care of itself(side note:the customer of mine replied to my competion " if you are better how come your work truck looks like crap ".

Bottom line if you try Gloss-it and you think it's crap so be it, I tried it and I think the line is outstanding and I gave Rich my opinion on the extreme cut which I thought needed more cut and to be slightly thicker as to not sling and he said that this kind of feedback helps him greatly to keep the product at the top, remember this is like telling someone his wife is pretty but boy her *** is really big(lol) and he did not get bent or say " you know what you do not know s--t " all of us use a combo of products from every company to get the job done, the other day my neighbor looked in the back of my truck and could not believe all the different stuff I have in there and I told him I use everything you see on almost a daily basis because I need PERFORMANCE every time period.

This is only my opinion on this matter and in talking with Rich who by the way stil runs a production detail shop daily which that alone gives to me the opinion that he knows what we all go through, he started mobile and as business and cash flow increased he moved to a fixed location with tremendous overhead and stress, and I should know after building a huge tuning shop(performance art in gilroy ca) and leaving to re-open my detailing business after big problems with my owner I am just saying take people on the what they do before making a snap judgment(like i almost did).

 

^^All you've told me is that Rich knows how to detail and makes good products... We were all talking about where this forum was going, and coincidentally Rich and Gloss It seemed like the reason the forum was going "bad" in peoples' opinions... based on the details, I never doubted his ability to do a proper, quality job, and I also assumed the polishes were good quality as well... but that's not in question here... it's simply the fact that the forum has been overrun with threads showing hundreds of photos of shiny cars, which provides absolutely no benefit for the detailing forum aside from photos of shiny cars to look at... I respect your opinion and I'm sure Rich has tons of experience and does great detailing work, but that doesn't change what happened on the forum here and what has bothered quite a few people...

 

The Gloss it guys may have a great product and I salute them for it, however they have simply gone overboard on this forum. I would ease up a lil and not use the used car salesman technique. No offense. I still remember the deay I signed on and saw approx 10 messages, one after the other.

Anyhow, good luck.

 

A wax off?

 

" All I said is Rich is good detailer and makes good polishes ", that is the point to be made he is a sponsor who sells product to make money and provide customers with product. If a Porsche owner reads this thread he is going to come to two conclusions, the stuff is good and worth a try or the product is not for me and he will not try it the rest is conjecture............ the only reason anyone is taking notice is Gloss-it is the new kid on the block, I have posted here and other forums my like of Chemical Guys products also stuff I buy from Terry @properautocare, phil @ detailersdomain ect.... I would have posted more pics if I had better computer skills but always without my contact information out of respect for the sponsors here, on some other sites I cannot post anything because they are locked up by one company and nobody had better dare post or there will complaining right away.

This is the first time I have had the the opportunity to post a lengthy response as I am usually working during this time of the day(sore knee) and when I get home after a eight hour plus paint correction I am too pooped to comment. The product Rich sent to me I have recently paid in full for, so there can be no conflict of interest as it pertains to this subject.

When Paul Dalton started getting all the pub on the web the same thing happened to him because people will always be jealous.... always, and to be totaly honest there are things he does as it pertains to pricing I am not really on board with but you can see he is top notch in the field just look at the cars he works on(koenigsegg) which I was supposed to do recently but the order for the car was cancelled (okay I am jealous ) lol.

The great thing and bad about forums is the information that can be gleaned " garbage in garbage out " comes to mind, in the end Gloss-it will be fine as long as Rich makes a quality product.

 

This would be a GREAT idea!! because then everyone wins, maybe at the SEMA show this year.

 

^^ I think you're still missing the point... this is NOT about Gloss IT... it's about the tons of pointless threads documenting detail jobs that are pretty much the same, and coincidentally it was all done by Gloss It products... I can't speak for everyone else, but I am not jealous, nor do I have a reason to be jealous of anything regarding Rich or Gloss It (you could say I'm jealous of his knowledge to actually start up the business and manufacture the quality products, but that's a completely different, irrelevant story)... so again, this is about the flooding of the forum with all the detail threads, and the fact that the threads were solely about Gloss It products used in the details just made it that more annoying...

In short, if I, or others, wanted to see a bunch of glossy cars I can google it... leave the forum for discussion... there is no discussion in the detail threads, just "wow"s and other compliments pretty much..