The DANGER of chasing PERFECTION when detailing

[@TheLambeh]

Perfect is the enemy of good! To 99% of the population, a car with single stage correction will look "like new". It's easy to get lost in the details when you spend hours staring at a car polishing it I have learned to stop at a "good enough" level rather than chasing perfection.

[@petersmith7126]

Totally agree with you on the 99% part.... I follow a few local car detailers who offer full blown paint correction down to filling in paint chips sanding them back and giving the car a full 3 stage machine polish and yes the cars look absolutely amazing but I'd be terrified to get it done on my daily driver that's parked up in the works car park and even worse the local supermarket.... Even the thought of road rash driving the motorway would terrify me .... Now on something like a classic car restored to concourse condition and trailered from car show to car show I could understand.... I've seen the cars after a proper single stage polish and I'd be over the moon if my car looked that good.

[@kirkoid722]

A great summary in 'improving' your paintwork to the extent that you are happy with. There's very little benefit to removing every scratch for the sacrifice of clear coat. Washing and road use will likely see a scratch or stone chip develop in its place, in no time. Out on the road people will think it's flawless, it's ok for you to know it's not haha! Also good to point out that any glazing product with a wax, or ceramic on its own, will go a long way in helping light to bounce away from the scratch, its harsh edges and depth entirely.

[@harshhell4185]

It’s pretty much OCD. Normal people don’t give a shit. Im not normal 😂

[@David-uu3wq]

Black, and deep metallic blue. The hardest colours to correct. Perfection is indeed a cruel mistress.

[@audieconrad8995]

Gr8 points John. The way I look at it, once a vehicle hits the road, it will NEVER be perfect. And that's not even considering factory flaws and shipping... Shine on you crazy diamond!

[@vinsonhelton7141]

Yes I understand what your saying. A car that gets used everyday I don't try to get perfect when washing and normal detailing. I want it to look pretty good not perfect. I call it managing my time and sanity.

[@SuperlightR400]

If you go after those scratches though you are just leaving your paintwork more vulnerable to future damage. If you then get more scratches in that area you have nothing to work with to remove them. I think it’s best to do the minimal amount of polishing to achieve a significant improvement. It’s diminishing returns the further you go but you are eating deeper into your clear coat protection. My strategy is to just wash and ceramic coat the car throughout the year and then once a year (about spring time) do a wash/polish/ceramic coat to remove any swirls and freshen up the shine. We all have to accept that things get damaged over time it’s just about slowing down the process and keeping it looking good for as long as reasonably possible.

[@decker0373]

Really enjoyed that video Jon. And there are some really good comments below too. I agree, I want my car to look as good as I can get it with my limited time, knowledge and wallet. I know of lots of marks on my car, do 99% of people see them, no. You know when I'm the most happy, 4-5 weeks without a wash and someone says that it doesn't need a wash. 😊. All the best 👍.

[@jonnyshielldetailing]

The RIDS (Random isolated Deep scratches) They are only obviously seen in diffused lighting and yes your right, they do take more time to remove but it depends on the customers budget. You can wet sand from 1500 to finish and only remove around 7 to 9 microns and its less scary than you think but as you said it's hard to know how much clear you have to work with which is why the older pros still use the best guages to test paint which is your eyes. Texture and orange peel will always be the greatest guage for me to stop or go but there's so many variables in this minefield that the enthusiast won't be privy to. Good advice as always is to proceed with caution but the answer is your clients budget really dictates how far your willing to go.

[@peemick]

I tend to look at it as preservation. The less clear that I remove during polishing, the longer the lifespan the car has looking as good as i need it to be. i tend to see improvement as any % of looking better, this also tends to be quicker, especially if your doing it in one day, without a garage. If its perfection your looking for, then you need a show car that your never going to drive

[@petersmith7126]

Totally agree with you

[@Potzii85]

I think the main thing to remember is to properly manage the expectation of the customer. I always do this by saying, a 2-Step will bring you to 70-85% defect removal, a 3-Step will bring you to 85-95% defect correction and a 100% can never be reached with a car, that is driven and enjoyed on the road. The premise should always be on focusing on preservation instead of perfection. The motto should be to polish only somuch as needed, but only as less as possible, to preserve the maximum amount of paint.

[@skodakatie7341]

A very accurate summary John. Being a keen amateur detailer myself, even having successfully completed your detailing fundamentals course, I want to do my very best when tending to my pride and joy. However chasing perfection, can, and in my case has in the past, lead to disaster, trying to remove that paint scratch, or that mark on the interior trim, can lead to having to replace parts, and or, re paint areas at great expense. For example, I once had a stone chip on my bonnet, not happy with just improving the area of the chip, I kept sanding and applying paint, in an attempt to create some sort of invisible repair, until I burned through the clear coat, costing me £600 for a smart repair, which to be fair did remove any evidence of any stone chip ever being there, but as you rightly say, perfection is not real, and as hard as it may be, we have to learn to say to ourselves, “that is as good as it can be”. After all, detailing isn’t the magic wand some people think it is.

[@stevebridge8668]

The last owner of my (black) MX5 let bird droppings eat into the clear coat on the rear wing. Really noticeable. I’ve chased it out with compounding and polishing to 10% fully corrected, but daren’t go any further for fear of burning through. I’ve learnt to live with it, however it still annoys me every time I clean it!

[@markopolo9936]

I’d say I’m very guilty of falling into this trap. As soon as my car gets a single scuff, I’m out there with the polisher getting it out. Worst thing is my car is my daily driver and has battered paintwork 😂

[@brandonherrera2891]

Wow perfect timing on this video.

[@Mac_F87]

I’ve slowly came to the same place in my car care journey. My cars are usually daily drivers yet I used to want them to look immaculate all the time. The two just don’t go hand in hand. At some point you just accept that our ok is your usual car owners amazing.

[@SnakeDoctor5104]

This is where a good glaze comes in. Use something like Poorboy's Blackhole to take care of some of those light scratches, without having to continually take off clear coat.

[@Killswitch85]

my thought is.. you're only 'competing' with yourself for 99% of the time. Most 'normal' people just see you have a nice clean car and couldnt give a sht about small scratches. Maybe if you go to car shows you might get a handful of people who appreciate the time you probs took to get it looking like it does.

[@Chris-fl9op]

It’s an interesting debate , I suppose it depends on weather it is is a daily driver or show car that doesn’t go out in bad weather is carefully cleaned without scratching and has been painted and finished with 3 coats of lacquer , when I paint a classic motorcycle tank the finish is perfect after 2 clear coats but always apply 3 to allow for buffing etc . The worst cars to detail would be a classic car with original paint having no clear coat ( unless metallic ) 1970,s MGB or Triumph Spitfire for example . Chris

[@jonfrench7133]

Sensible advice re not chasing perfection, in my experience that’s when mistakes happen. A paint depth gauge would take some of the guesswork out and in conversation with the customer best course is probably selective, ie recut specific defeats but don’t try to remedy all. The one on the bonnet i’d be tempted to do because it’s in such a prominent place

[@Joolz1982]

Due to getting a bit too enthusiastic with the sanding and / drill buffing on an old car, and going through the clear coat trying to to get rid of a scratch (learnt my lesson). Now I really just sand stone chips with 3000grit on a pencil rubber. Or use compound by hand to get rid of scratches as best I can / Polish. Like you say you can go too far.

[@79blustone]

It's a world of chances, you could spend hours perfecting for that snap shot in time only to find scratches from the neighbours cat or a stone impact hours later from a drive. I think keeping the clear coat uniform it terms of depth and make best of the net result. It's also psychological, as detailers, we only want the the best but sometimes 80-90 improvment is the thee best

[@stephenclay6852]

I agree with you John. The car is 20 years old and there is no way if you drive it can you bring that to better than new. The only real chance you have is buy the best example you can and have it detailed and paint protection film on the high impact areas or the hole car if the value of the car is worth it.

[@glintautodetailing830]

Where i stand, its not common to have such perfection demanded in the first place (yes its possible he cld point at it IF HE NOTICED IT). But when the stakes are high given paint depth and condition, best i can do is to inform the owner abt the pros and cons - as u explained - and he/she decides, conscents. Otherwise no need for such perfection. Thanks John. 👌

[@markhodgkinson8431]

Living or driving anywhere with country roads/hedges will soon take the edge off perfct paint, for the majority of people a good level if shine will surffice, deeper clear coat surely adds more protection to the paint

[@najuad]

Where did you get those metal shelves from?

[@You-are-right-but]

😊😊😊😊 I detail my car for the following reasons. 1) Its good exercise 2) It's relaxing 3) I end up with a clean car 4) It's cheaper than a carwash

[@Sambigs9112]

💯

[@Markymark1408]

On my car no matter how much I detail it, i can’t get over the stone chips peppered all over the bonnet and front end

[@mclarenjohnf1]

Years ago before detailing got so complicated and before PPF a chap i knew loved his Jag, so much he had it had it washed and stuff weekly and every 2 months he had it buffed. well after a while the clear failed on the boot in several places then he was saying he would book it in and have the boot redone. Being honest the truth was he lost interest and at least 2 years later the car was a dump inside and out then he traded it for a Shogun.

[@KiloRomeoOscar]

The debates you have with the inner voice (the OCD) saying "just give it one more hit" then talking yourself out of it after another assessment and comparing it to an unfetled panel "nah that's bloody good enough, don't push it". I was in that headspace today you've just got to know when to call it. I also think that people like us are inclined to push for perfection however I've never seen any paint that is "perfect". Silicone, deep scratches, chips, bad etchings, poor colour match, failing clear coat, burn throughs, old clear coat vs new, we can't remove any of those imperfections.

[@piratezippy]

porsche 911/cayman i love polishing them but hate them as there isn't a flat surface on the dam car....lol Old trick if left a single deep scratch was to smudge with a finger a little clear in the scratch and then sand back and compund and polish it

[@Charlie-gx9lm]

All you need to do is buzz over it to remove the fine swirls and marring, itll look better than 99% of cars on the road 👌 theyre supposed to live outside afterall

[@ForensicDetailing]

yer theres a lot to be said for a quick machine polish with a nice AIO.

[@Audittr2108]

I’ve never bothered with more than a single stage polish unless it’s a localised correction on something like a bird etching. A single stage polish can gets excellent results and you’ll only see any remaining defects if you look under specialist lighting, so don’t look under specialist lighting!

[@ForensicDetailing]

yer I think you cant go too far wrong with that. But I think when a car is older a cut and finish is more efficient if you know one single stage set isnt going to be enough. Also sometimes a really good finishing set can raise the finish. But anything beyond one set become dimishing returns for the time spent.

[@peterowen4456]

I guess, looking at most cars in a typical neighbourhood, any car that is carefully washed regularly and maybe even waxed from time to time will be better looking in terms of condition than 9 out of 10 cars on the road and the average person will notice that. For me I guess it then becomes an issue of perhaps accepting that, with age, there will be some evidence of the ageing process with anything. I think there is also an issue of what you use your car or cars for. You might have a garage queen and you may go for more perfection here than you would on your daily driver. Bit like you and your Golf Jon, which, btw, always looks pretty damn good to me.

[@ostbob4108]

I have 3M film protection. How do I keep the exposed edges from accumulating dirt. Can I Cover with a spray wax, paste wax, ceramic coating or?????

[@ForensicDetailing]

Yes m8

[@nathanstupple3848]

Garage queen status is no good to anyone Clean it enjoy it Don’t search it was not in perfect when the main dealer PDI it . Enjoy your motor. Thanks

[@tripsingh3642]

I have a job seeing that scratch on the camera, I'll doubt the customer will spot it they will blown away by the result

[@MrGymCrazy]

We're a strange breed to begin with, bordering on the obsessive. Most people wouldn't give a second thought to the condition of their paintwork, even how clean it is, let alone what we define as "defects". So from that starting point, and going as far as starting mechanical correction/enhancement , "chasing perfection" is an easy trap to fall into. A flippant instruction to decide, before you start, what finish you'd be happy with, assumes lots of things that, without very sophisticated equipment, you can't possibly know. Anyone with the will and the money, can get hold of the materials and equipment, so your wise words stand as a warning. How many will heed those words, or even go as far as to cover up any mistakes they make, is another thing.

[@scoobylude]

Please can I have your opinion on which polish would you recommend out of scholl s40, Koch chemie p301,merzerna 3800. For a high gloss reflective wet look shine , on a light blue car before adding soft 99 please, and in which order of preference

[@ForensicDetailing]

S40 is pure ultra fine finishing. use this to refine a cut or compunded finish or just to gloss up a surface. P301 is a polish and wax, M301 is the pure abrasive equivalent. This is a finishing polishing is will cut a little bit more than s40 (its closer to S30 if you like). Menz sf3800 is very much like S40 mate. Think of them as the same thing ultra fine finishing. you could use any of these 3 products mate. but M301 bit more traditional finisher. S40 and 3800 ultra fine mate.

[@scoobylude]

@@ForensicDetailing thank you very much for the information , so at the end of the day which would be the one you would go for to achieve what I’m after , that is high gloss wet look , I will be probably be using fusso king of gloss or mirror shine on top thanks again

[@1stfrompuertorico568]

Nice!!! Yes, it always happens

[@karlwarnes6062]

Let that last 1% be or it will drive you mad.

[@Leo31291]

One of the best things I did was sell my Cayman and get a beaten up old MX5. I still enjoy washing it and adding a nice wax but I no longer chase perfection.