Can anyone recommend a good and reasonably priced detailer in the Hampton Roads area?

 

I don't have a recommendation, but great signature photo!!

 

Kitty, spend some time with your car. Get to know it. Trust me, you will pick up on what it will take to make the car look great pretty quick and when you get it looking great and people start asking "where did you get your car detailed at", you can say with pride that you did it yourself.

In short, you simply need a good bucket with a soft cloth to wash the car with. Then you can either clay bar the paint or use a clear coat scratch remover product (I personally use 3M Perfect-It II, can be had at the Sherwin Williams store off of Princess Anne, near the railroad tracks) and then a quality wax (I personally use Meguar's Gold Class paste wax). The trick with the 3M product is using lots of fresh cloth to rub the product with. Preferably you should have 1 towel for applying the product and 2-3 more for removing the product (when you start to get some build up, switch to a new spot on the cloth).

I'm sure others will recommend other products. They all have pros and cons to them and you will find that some will give you great results and other products will be nothing but trouble. I like the 3M product as it can also be used on the chrome and the glass. Kinda an all-in-one product.

 

Great advise Thermo!

Kitty, Dave at Innovative Detailing down in the detail section of the forum had mentioned to give him a PM and through his network might be able to hook you (anyone) up with a detailer THAT HE RECOMMENDS in any specific area.

 

Thanks guys!

Thermo,
I do my own hand wash/dry, interior & leather. But I'm worn out after the wash/dry and don't think I'd survive a wax or clay bar (as it is I wash with the mantra "dear God don't let me f@#k this up")

Have been religiously reading the detailing thread for tips and hints-- but nothing in there about the endurance for getting through it all. lol

 

Kitty, Worst case, do the car in stages. Do say the hood and the left fender in the morning, do the right fender and the roof in the afternoon or the next day. Break the car up into chunks and get it done that way.

As for the "oh help me so I don't #$%^ it up", the newer paints are fairly resistant to problems. As long as you are not rubbing circles in the same spot for hours, you are not going to create any issues. You start breaking out power buffers and whatnot, the chance for a problem increases, but you pretty much have to hold the buffer in 1 spot for a few minutes. So, don't fret. Absolute worst case, if you don't mind a drive, come on up and I will help you get the car washed/waxed. It isn't as big of a deal as you think. Getting 2 people on the car, you can probably get it done in a matter of 2 hours or so.

 

Thermo! I had NO idea that you could wax in stages!! Just as soon as the baby stuff settles down, I will probly give that a try--I do have an awesome hubs and a 15yo son with an awesome reach ( I can't reach across the roof) that I can voluntell to help.
I did just realize that you live like a stone's throw from my father-in-law (Leonardtown) and we get up to see him pretty regularly-- I may owe you a cuppa coffee!

Kitty

 

Kitty, whenever you are in leonardtown, let me know. I'm sure we can meet up and go from there. As for the cup of joe, if you can make it a can of Amp, we will be golden. Even though I did 20 years in the navy, still can't drink coffee. Go figure.

 

Will do! What's your Amp color? Mr GoKitty is retired Navy as well, when I mentioned how close you were to 'home' he said "Well, hell I just might know him." -- for a long time I also believed he knew everyone in the Navy too, couldn't go anywhere in the world without running into someone!

Kitty

 

Kitty, I drink the green, purple, red, and even the yellow. As long as it isn't the low sugar ones, I am good.

As for being prior navy, I'm a submariner, so, that probably eliminates me out of a lot of circles. I did Orlando 89-90, Idaho Falls ID 91, Bangor WA 91-02, Pearl Harbor 03-05, and finally Norfolk VA 06-09 (actually worked up at Newport News Shipyard as the COMSUBLANT Shipyard Rep). So, it may be possible that we have crossed paths. NEver know. I did all my time doing either nuclear and/or QA.

 

Hi Kitty
I just thought I would add this in case you are ever in need, I had "Gerry" who is a sub contractor for Auto-Haus on Rt 17 in Yorktown redo my interior on my 1999 XK8 it was worn where you rub on the driver seat. he is a master craftsmen and he spent about 5 hrs on my car but when I got it back it looked like the interior just came off the show room floor.I cant tell you how happy I am with his work, he even got the stains out of the convertible top liner where it folds and rubs against the metal rails. He says if you don't like the job you don't have to pay him, he said no one has ever opted for that option. Just call Auto-Haus they will give you his number or I will send it to you as I have to take my daughters Jeep up to him next week so he can repair two burn holes in the rear seat that one of her friends did before I can list it for sale.

 

Thanks!! I always forget about Auto-Haus even though I drive past it 3 nights a week!. If you can pass his number along that would be great-- If our weather never clears up I'll have to hire someone instead of trying to do it myself (refuse to do outside work @ 40 degrees.)

 

The rain kinda mostly finished and I got a couple hours of almost sunshine so I took advantage of it and went out to clean my Jag and have discovered why I'm so tired before my car is finished.

My day:
Chase the dogs into the yard, close side door, open the attached garage and pull out shop-vac & pressure washer, swap out laundry.
Begin hunt for extension cord-the long one, not the shitty short one. Spouse says it's in the work shop.
Discover that the lock is jammed on workshop door and for once the bay door is locked.
Jimmy open the window and crawl through--mentally voluntell Boy child he has work to do, and determine that the extension cord is not in residence.
Hear the washer go off-balance and readjust the load, find extension cord on the laundry shelf in attached garage-WTF?
Realize the car is still locked and keys are in the house--dodge the mother in law and grab the fob.
Now I'm in business!
Pull out the mats & shake them. Commence to vacuuming interior.
Interrupted by nosy neighor asking about my new Kia.. WTF!? Educate them on the differences between wannabe luxury cars and my real-deal. Neighbor goes away.
Finish the interior only to be mobbed by the puppies that have escaped while Spouse is bringing the grill up front to power wash it-- since I have so conveniently hauled it out and set it up. Promise him death and dismemberment if he gets overspray on the Jag.
Fish the puppies out of the car-lock them back in the yard and re-vaccum interior and floor mats.
Find empty Baby Magic bottle in my car bin, dash back upstairs and dodge daughter hunting for a fresh towel (they're in the wash)
Fill bucket with water & baby soap under the wtfareudoing eyes of the Spouse.
Wash down seats, vinyl bits and door frames.. I like baby soap--it's mild and it smells nice--Don't judge.
Leave doors open so seats can dry-grab a drink and take a little sit-down.
Spray down seats with leather conditioner-let it soak while doing the arm rests on the door with a rag.
Sky clouds up and it starts to sprinkle-go figure! Finish up the seats, steering wheel & console. Sun is out again and Spouse as finished the grill--no overspray thank God--I'm fond of him would hate to have to dismember him. So he kindly hoses the car down, soaps it and refills my bucket so I can do the hand-wash. By the time I'm done with the body it's now sprinkling again and the wind has picked up so I decide to skip doing the wheels and hand drying...
Pack up all the tools, let daughter's boyfriend know I won't need a hand with the wax, wash up and crawl into my lazy boy feeling 100 years old and wouldn't you know it--it's sunny again.

 

I use auto Haus too, Love them.

 

In the event you are still looking for a detailer, try The Gift: Oyster Point City Center in Newport News and 5691 Mooretown Road, Suite B, Williamsburg. Robert is a great guy and you will be pleased with the results.

It's always nice to do things yourself, but if you're like me you don't always have the time.