# Car detailed to gold standard



## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)




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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

nice job, wonderful look!
how much did they charge, if I can ask?


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi Steve, Shiney blue, but it's still* blue* :lol: :lol: :wink: 
Hoggy.


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

Hoggy said:


> Hi Steve, Shiney blue, but it's still* blue* :lol: :lol: :wink:
> Hoggy.


Never seen a blue taxi in the midland but red taxi is common as muck !


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi Steve, It looks very nice. [smiley=dude.gif] 
Hoggy.


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

:wink: 


kevin#34 said:


> nice job, wonderful look!
> how much did they charge, if I can ask?


Pm'd you.


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## Mr GTS (Dec 17, 2019)

What's 'to gold standard' actually mean? Genuinely interested - thanks.

On the subject, I do my own detailing and am convinced that the whole market is ripping off customers - I don't think it's regulated and they seem to charge as much as they can get away with. I did a full paint correction and detail with Exo and Crystal Serum, on my missis' 718 Boxster, as it was bought a year old and had some minor swirls/scratches - it only really cost me in terms of time and products used. Quotes I got from a couple of detailers to do the same thing were crazy. 
Even just to do the wheels with C5 was silly money. Just saying...


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

Mr GTS said:


> What's 'to gold standard' actually mean? Genuinely interested - thanks.
> 
> On the subject, I do my own detailing and am convinced that the whole market is ripping off customers - I don't think it's regulated and they seem to charge as much as they can get away with. I did a full paint correction and detail with Exo and Crystal Serum, on my missis' 718 Boxster, as it was bought a year old and had some minor swirls/scratches - it only really cost me in terms of time and products used. Quotes I got from a couple of detailers to do the same thing were crazy.
> Even just to do the wheels with C5 was silly money. Just saying...


Stage 1 and 2 polish as the new audi laquer is very hard full.wax polish and cersmic coating. Wheels removed and wheel arch covers, detailed and ceramic coating underneath. Full leather clean and protection with carpet protection. He did my last TT which was cheaper but amazing finish. Also MG at Longbridge ask him to detail their new models before press release, he is the best. Its the skill.and time you pay for, so the price I.payed was not only cheap with a mated rate deduction. I would like to see you do nearly 3 days work on a car and charge less than £400, I paid less than that and I'm not talking £20 less, more.


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## kevin#34 (Jan 8, 2019)

to be honest, for a proper ceramic coating application you need to spend a day just for preparing the car (perfect wash, decontamination..) and also have dedicated tools (orbital machine, pads etc), but I agree with you that prices are going stellar.
Here in Italy, a well known detailer asked me 2500 eur :idea: for coating the whole car (rims included) and detailing the interiors and engine bay


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## Mr GTS (Dec 17, 2019)

merlin c said:


> Mr GTS said:
> 
> 
> > What's 'to gold standard' actually mean? Genuinely interested - thanks.
> ...


Thanks, wasn't really what I was getting at - as work I do myself I don't charge for. I got quoted £600 for four days work to fully detail my missies car. I thought that was daylight robbery. Some detailers are taking the piss with prices, and trying to kid you that it's some dark art, that takes years to attain the 'skills' to do, that's what I am eluding to. A lot of what they do is very easy to do yourself, with the right knowledge and equipment. Like most things in life, you can pay for it to be done professionally or you can do it yourself, with some constraints accepted of course. As someone has rightly said, it's the prep work that really takes time and effort. I treat it as a bit of a hobby and quite enjoy keeping our cars looking like they've just come out if the showroom.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

merlin c said:


> Also MG at Longbridge ask him to detail their new models before press release, he is the best. Its the skill.and time you pay for, so the price I.payed was not only cheap with a mated rate deduction.


When was this, back in the nineties lmao



merlin c said:


> I would like to see you do nearly 3 days work on a car and charge less than £400, I paid less than that and I'm not talking £20 less, more.


There you go jumping the gun again :roll:


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

leopard said:


> merlin c said:
> 
> 
> > Also MG at Longbridge ask him to detail their new models before press release, he is the best. Its the skill.and time you pay for, so the price I.payed was not only cheap with a mated rate deduction.
> ...


There you go, talking without research or knowledge, bless the afflicted.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longbridge_plant






Tell us something we don't know...


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

leopard said:


> https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longbridge_plant
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well as you clearly know everything then your car must look amazing, well done Mr Negative always right xxx


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

merlin c said:


> leopard said:
> 
> 
> > https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longbridge_plant
> ...


Tetchy, tetchy.
Don't spin the crap then lol


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

Hi, Last 2 post deleted, 1 from each of you before it get's out of control. Calm it down, no need for personal remarks.
Hoggy.


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## merlin c (Jan 25, 2012)

Hoggy said:


> Hi, Last 2 post deleted, 1 from each of you before it get's out of control. Calm it down, no need for personal remarks.
> Hoggy.


Aawwww  it was fun, you know I cannot resist certain type's. Point taken H.


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## Hoggy (May 8, 2002)

merlin c said:


> Hoggy said:
> 
> 
> > Hi, Last 2 post deleted, 1 from each of you before it get's out of control. Calm it down, no need for personal remarks.
> ...


Hi, It gets very difficult to edit if it gets out of control & numerous posts.
Hoggy.


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## BauhauTTS (Jan 8, 2017)

Looks sharp!


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## ross_t_boss (Feb 28, 2017)

Mr GTS said:


> On the subject, I do my own detailing and am convinced that the whole market is ripping off customers - I don't think it's regulated and they seem to charge as much as they can get away with. I did a full paint correction and detail with Exo and Crystal Serum, on my missis' 718 Boxster, as it was bought a year old and had some minor swirls/scratches - it only really cost me in terms of time and products used. Quotes I got from a couple of detailers to do the same thing were crazy.
> Even just to do the wheels with C5 was silly money. Just saying...


Maybe I've missed something or we have a different idea of 'crazy prices'?

Because as someone who has detailed my own car too, it has only convinced me that detailers are charging reasonable prices and on a new car I'm paying for them to do it every time.  Perhaps on a used car or something of lesser value, or I just fancied doing it, then I would do it myself. I'm the same mechanically - some stuff I do, other stuff I could but rather leave in the hands of a trusted mechanic.

I see it like any other trade; if you are doing enough of it, or enjoy it, and are happy to live with some inevitable mistakes in the learning process then you can save a good chunk of money in the long run and as a "one-off" job probably just pay for all the tooling and have a bunch of spare stuff for next time. You also avoid cowboys who charge the 'going rate' but dont deliver and leave you wishing you'd just done it yourself... However, if you can't or don't want to then pay someone who has the right accreditation, experience and premises so you get what your paying for, so to speak.

Personally I was happy to pay for the full Gtechniq package which included machine polish and full interior and wheels etc. I almost paid for bodywork only and do the rest myself, but I ended up wanting PPF on the front end and we did a deal for the whole lot. Having a black car with 20k miles without stone chips and swirls, I have no regrets!


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## Blade Runner (Feb 16, 2018)

ross_t_boss said:


> Mr GTS said:
> 
> 
> > On the subject, I do my own detailing and am convinced that the whole market is ripping off customers - I don't think it's regulated and they seem to charge as much as they can get away with. I did a full paint correction and detail with Exo and Crystal Serum, on my missis' 718 Boxster, as it was bought a year old and had some minor swirls/scratches - it only really cost me in terms of time and products used. Quotes I got from a couple of detailers to do the same thing were crazy.
> ...


I tend to agree with Mr GTS on this one.
I think there is a lot of 'smoke and mirrors' with this "professional detailing" business.
In this thread we have seen reference to a quote for £600 for 4 days work and I have seen many examples of a new car detail (typically 2 days work) for around the same price. I have also seen mention of one quote (I think on here somewhere) for £2000+ for some unspecified "top of the range" treatment taking a jaw dropping 5 days! Just think about that for a minute. If we say a working day is 7 man-hours, and allow for £70 worth of consumables, that's an hourly rate ranging from a reasonable £20 per hour to a ridiculous £55 per hour. After all, these guys are not surgeons or lawyers; they basically clean & polish cars. The only real skill is in the correct use of a DA polisher and you don't even need that for a new car detail.

Having paid for a new car detail on a previous car (Gtechniq crystal serum light + EXO), I decided to do it myself when I got the TT. The whole process took just one day (about 7 hours in total), half of which was thorough preparation. The coating used was Gtechniq C2v3, which is essentially a DIY product. Total cost of materials was about £45 iirc. The end result was excellent and I am convinced that it was as good as on my previous new car. 18 months on, I am just thinking about applying a re-coat.

Like you, I have no issue with paying someone to do something that you don't want to do (or simply don't have the time to do), such as a gardener. However, in that case you know how long it takes to mow your lawn or cut your hedge, so you are only going a pay a gardener that number of hours x his (reasonable) hourly rate. This is what seems to have gone haywire with car detailing.

If you are convinced that your professional guy actually spends 3 days (say 20 man-hours) on your car, then £450-£500 isn't too bad (labour rate about £20/hr). Personally, I am not convinced that anyone _needs_ to spend more than 8 hours fully detailing a new car (bodywork and wheels) and perhaps 12 hours for an older car needing some minor swirl correction.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Blade Runner said:


> I tend to agree with Mr GTS on this one.
> I think there is a lot of 'smoke and mirrors' with this "professional detailing" business.


It's one of these quasi 'professions' with no solid qualifications and built in self importance, a bit like a fecking wood burning stove fitter or plumber to name two...


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## ross_t_boss (Feb 28, 2017)

I've done CSL+EXO on 2 cars myself. I used about £150-180 of products each time (the CSL+EXO 50ml kit is about £80, iron-x a tenner, clay bar same, new mitt and microfibres about £20, Gtechniq interior products about another £30 combined and another tenner for the glass product...)

Any new car benefits from paint correction. My RS had 3 hours with a DA, straight from the dealer. To this average eye it looked good but under a lamp certainly not perfect. That is standard issue for a "real" detailer, it's not about acceptable to the average picky consumer it's about perfection. The 335d I did, 2x Golf's I've helped with and my MK2 TTRS were all 'acceptable' but would have benefitted from correction, but beyond my DIY skills and what I wanted to spend. They still looked great but certainly not concourse.

No doubt there are many "detailers" waiting to charge professional rates and deliver to DIY standard, and I can understand animosity towards that. But I'm talking about those that establish a company, get the training and certification, have a premises you could perform surgery in, and use products that can't be purchased by anyone without that (GTechqnique CS Ultra for example) and have insurance and warranty if they f**k up or it. Suddenly yes, you do need 14-18 hrs to do a car, products are 20% of the cost, VAT is another 20% because they are a legitimate company and not dan the detailer from round the corner in his transit. And they won't bother working for £20/hr because they are worth more than 30k/yr salary and know it.

Here's my car: https://www.exclusivecarcare.co.uk/ulti ... audi-ttrs/

That is (and the finish shows it) another level from a 7-10hr job in your garage with CSL. You pays your money and makes your choice. But yeah I would agree, if you pay £650 and don't get that level of professional service, you have probably been mugged.

I should add the risks of this investment - I recently had a wild boar and messed up the passenger front and side - it was the size of a large dog - I've had a bit of a fight but looks like the insurer and going to pay out to have all the PPF re-done but I may have to pay for the parts that need re-doing with CSU. Hoping the detailer can be a bit less professional now and do me a deal to include that :lol:


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## Blade Runner (Feb 16, 2018)

I think we will just have to agree to disagree. 
It would be a sad indictment on the car industry if _every_ brand new car needed an abrasive paint correction.
I have seen several "new car detail" specifications and none of them included it on a car straight from the factory.
There is evidently a spectrum amongst detailers (and indeed car owners) and you must be referring to the extreme perfectionist end of it. I still think, like Leopard, that this is a pseudo profession.


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## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

These professional detailing outfits seem to charge what they like IMO. I took our SQ5 to one local to me just after we bought it, as it had done just over 1,000 miles/3 months old and Audi had been washing it with a bucker/sponge whilst it sat on the forecourt (nothing new there sadly)&#8230; so, lots of swirl marks and fine scratches... I was a bit pushed for time, hence thought 'I'll let someone else do all the work this time'. Well, they quoted me several hundred pounds for paint correction, etc. and wanted my car for 3 days to do it... so...

I walked away and did it myself with a rotary polisher and Chemical Guys pads/cutting and polishing compounds. Took me a morning to decontaminate the paint work and prepare for the hard bit, which took me only an afternoon. I then applied a Gtechniq ceramic coating, left it overnight in the garage, then another of their hydrophobic coatings over that the next morning. I then did the wheels, just taking them off one at a time and even ceramic coated the exhaust tips. Interior was sealed with Gyeon products... job done for a quarter of what I was quoted and interestingly, I did most of this on my own and in under 2 days... the car BTW looked flawless and remains so.

I get why people go to these detailers, as not everyone has the time or can be bothered to DIY, but nowadays, all you need to know is on the interweb and the products are easy to source (cleanyourcar.co.uk)&#8230; just... most just rip you off IMO. Not unlike taking your car to Audi for servicing when an independent does the same thing for a third of the price


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## no name (Feb 16, 2014)

Polishers....

This is Britain, an hours driving on the grubby wet roads and the car looks like shite again.

£5 Kosovan carwash each week. 

^ps Love that colour Mark, your car is the nuts 8) 8)


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## Mark Pred (Feb 1, 2017)

Cheers - it took a leap of faith when I ordered it in Riviera Blue, but boy is it special! I've had the car nearly two years and never get bored of it and the positive comments I get about the colour never cease. Just makes choosing the colour for my next car (TTRS) a toughie - I'm currently thinking of Porsche Miami Blue this time, but Porsche Mexico Blue is also tempting. Hoping to place the order before the autumn this year, assuming they still make the TT by then.


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## Blade Runner (Feb 16, 2018)

Mark Pred said:


> Cheers - it took a leap of faith when I ordered it in Riviera Blue, but boy is it special! I've had the car nearly two years and never get bored of it and the positive comments I get about the colour never cease. Just makes choosing the colour for my next car (TTRS) a toughie - I'm currently thinking of Porsche Miami Blue this time, but Porsche Mexico Blue is also tempting. Hoping to place the order before the autumn this year, assuming they still make the TT by then.


I know we are going a bit off-track here, but your car does look great. A lad at our squash club has a 718 Cayman in Miami blue and it looks absolutely stunning - with the black accents, of course. I assumed that was pretty much the same colour as your Riviera blue but maybe not quite? You obviously get lots of compliments on the colour but have you had any "unwanted attention"? Presumably not if you are considering a similar colour for the TTRS... Probably just my paranoia!


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