Since NOTHING has been done detail wise to protect your new car, a proper detail is the foundation for the rest of its life.

Here's a proper detailing routine for a new car:

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...ar-detail.html

https://www.6speedonline.com/forums/...-car-prep.html

 

Great pics Mo on those links. I ended up getting a new car detail done from a local place - I'm sure there are better detail jobs available since I only spent $150 but so far my car looks great.

Question - I went back and read a lot of old posts, including some of yours, and I think I understand the concept now of how a good detail protects the car going forward. So following up on that, thought I'd ask another possibly stupid question - is there such a thing as a "good" car wash from a commercial place once you've gotten a nice detail job done, or am I basically just ruining the benefits of the detail if I go visit a hand car wash place instead of laboring over it myself?

There's an all hand car wash place local to me which seemed to do a decent job when I was there for regular car washes, but now I'm wondering if the detail I just had done would be wasted if I went back there or some other commercial hand car wash.

Basic connundrum, if I had the time I'd do it myself but frankly I no longer do, and of course I'd rather someone else sweat it out while I just enjoy driving the car.

 

First, great that you read and got educated on proper detailing. You're now ahead of so many people out there that think they understand detailing and know what it's about. You're now empowered to make educated decisions on who to choose for detailing, what products are out there, and how important detailing is for these high-dollar cars.

Second, no such thing as a stupid question You asked a great question that many probably have wondered. Will a commercial car wash ruin the integrity of a good detail. The answer depends on the car wash. For example, there is a Chevron near me that does all-hands washes. For about $20, you can get almost the works. I always wondered how they could do this so I took my truck there. I sat there and watched how they vacuumed, washed, dried, etc. I was impressed. These guys did an awesome job, even at $20 level. They didn't put swirls in my car, the glass was relatively clean, the tire dressing didn't shoot around when I drove, I got my $25, $5 tip, worth and then some. So now, I can refer my clients there that don't have the time to do it themselves. Heck, when I've had a tough week and don't want to spend my time washing my truck on the weekend, I take it there.....strictly market research

One important note: Please don't expect a $20 wash to take the place of a mini detail. I cannot stand it when there are people at the car wash that nit pick every little thing after their car was washed and have the guy to a walk around with them. I think one of these days I'll go up to them and say "hey buddy...you got your $20 worth...if you want a meticulous detail, pony up the money". These guys are washing so many cars in the hot sun everyday. So what if there's a little water spot on the window or a bug on the grill. As long as your car is clean, they didn't miss major things, be happy and move on.

On the flip side, we took my wife's 2-year old Acura with NO SWIRLS for service at the dealer, told them NOT to wash the car, put a sign on the dash in English and Spanish to NOT wash the car, and they did anyway. The swirls that were put into that car just had me beside myself. The service writer realized before I came what they did and when he called me to say the car was ready his remark over the phone "I know you asked not to wash your car, so we just did a quick wipe down". He was lying, and didn't even realize a "quick wipedown" was worse than washing. I knew they washed and just decided it was to be expected when bringing the car there...no point trying to make a point. The fact he was nervous, lied about the thing, and they don't wash our car anymore got MY point across.

So, there are good commercial washes out there, it just takes some looking around. Just make sure you keep up with your routine full details every 4-6 months done by you or a pro.

Hope this answered your question

 

I'm in the LA area but the drive down to OC is nice - think I'll be looking you up Mo for my next detail. Thanks for the answers.

 

Sounds good. Make sure you give me a heads up, I'll make an appointment for both of as at the Chevron I spoke of

 

hi moe, do you still sell zymol products? i'm interested in buying zymol carbon wax and zymol treat conditioner for leather. and what can i use to clean and protect alcantara leather? any suggested product from zymol? thanks

 

Got your email the other day as well...sorry for the long time to reply.

We've decided to take zymol products off the site for the time being.

An alternative to carbon may be p21s 100% carnauba and their paint cleanser.

As for leather, clean with autoglym interior cleaner and use the einszett Leather conditioner.

 

thank you very much for your help. so you don't sell zymol products anymore?

 

We're exploring other options at the moment.

 

understood. do you know other zymol reseller in US, because I want to buy some zymol products.

 

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=Zymol+dealers



D!

 

sorry for my newbie question.

 

Just messing with ya!



D!

 

Thanks D....I never even knew such a site existed. Pretty cool.

 

Yeah, I'm kinda sarcastic sometimes and I found it was great to send to friends when they ask me about things. Because a lot of the time that's what I end up doing to find the answer anyway!