Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

[James76]

hey guys,

I was wondering if there is any major differences between detailing a "normal" car and an exotic, such as a Lambo or something like that. I have been detailing for about three years now on the side and recently started to pick up much more business and a friend with a Lambo asked me about working on their car, which has me a little nervous since I have never had the chance to work on a supercar before. Any advice, tips, warnings would be greatly appreciated.

[DogParkGuy]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

A mistake might cost you thousands to fix.

[BillyJack]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

Envisioning myself in the same situation, two things come to mind:
First, go overboard on the masking. When I have a vehicle with a lot of sharp body lines, I'll run a strip of 1/4" striping tape over the peaks. Also, remember the "least aggressive product to do the job" rule.

Bill

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

Other than things might be more expensive to fix/replace if you damage them, working on a very expensive car really isn't a whole lot different than working on a more modest vehicle. Some exotics have very hard paint, some have incredibly delicate paint. As with less expensive cars, you won't necessarily know what the paint is like until you start working on it.

If ever there was a time to do a test spot, now is it. You don't want to reach for the M105 right away and scare yourself if the car ends up having very delicate paint. We worked on that Ferrari 550 Maranello a few weeks ago with heavily marred paint, and all it took was M205 on a finishing pad via D/A. Other exotics will be decidedly more difficult to correct, but don't just assume that and go aggressive. An aggressive product/pad on this Ferrari would have horribly hazed the paint and there is simply no reason to do that.

Proceed slowly, pay attention to what's happening, and go easy at first. But don't let the car intimidate you. Talk to the owner in depth about their expectations. Explain to them what you'll be doing, and how it effects the paint. Put the owner at ease - don't let them get the feeling that you're intimidated by the car. But by the same token, if you truly are scared to work on the darn thing, maybe you should politely decline the job. Be confident, but be smart about it.

[Bill Davidson]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

Ferrari 550 Maranello a few weeks ago with heavily marred paint, and all it took was M205 on a finishing pad via D/A.

I'd be scared to breathe around it.

Why is there such a difference in the hardness of paints? Why don't all manufacturers use a hard paint? Does soft paint provide any benefit?

[James76]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

Other than things might be more expensive to fix/replace if you damage them, working on a very expensive car really isn't a whole lot different than working on a more modest vehicle. Some exotics have very hard paint, some have incredibly delicate paint. As with less expensive cars, you won't necessarily know what the paint is like until you start working on it.

If ever there was a time to do a test spot, now is it. You don't want to reach for the M105 right away and scare yourself if the car ends up having very delicate paint. We worked on that Ferrari 550 Maranello a few weeks ago with heavily marred paint, and all it took was M205 on a finishing pad via D/A. Other exotics will be decidedly more difficult to correct, but don't just assume that and go aggressive. An aggressive product/pad on this Ferrari would have horribly hazed the paint and there is simply no reason to do that.

Proceed slowly, pay attention to what's happening, and go easy at first. But don't let the car intimidate you. Talk to the owner in depth about their expectations. Explain to them what you'll be doing, and how it effects the paint. Put the owner at ease - don't let them get the feeling that you're intimidated by the car. But by the same token, if you truly are scared to work on the darn thing, maybe you should politely decline the job. Be confident, but be smart about it.

Thanks for the great advice! Starting with the least aggressive products definitely sounds like the best plan. I think I'll need to order an ultra soft applications pad for my D/A Polisher and keep the firmer more aggressive pads on hand in case as you mentioned the paint is really hard. Thanks again!

[James76]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

I'd be scared to breathe around it.

Why is there such a difference in the hardness of paints? Why don't all manufacturers use a hard paint? Does soft paint provide any benefit?

IME softer paint is easier to work with and do paint corrections on, course it is also much easier to mess up, so there is a trade off.

A few years ago Honda had a problem with paint that was way to soft and just about any type of cleaning, no matter how delicate, seemed to leave terrible scratches all over the car.

If I remember correctly, Honda contacted Meguiar's to test their vehicles to see if it really was a problem with the paint, after which they reformulated the paint on rec from Meguiar's staff.

But as to why some paints are hard and some are soft, not sure, I suspect it has something to do with the way they are formulated for different colors and desired effects.

[James76]

Re: Differences between "normal" cars and "exotics"

Envisioning myself in the same situation, two things come to mind:
First, go overboard on the masking. When I have a vehicle with a lot of sharp body lines, I'll run a strip of 1/4" striping tape over the peaks. Also, remember the "least aggressive product to do the job" rule.

Bill

Thanks for the tips. Yeah, plenty of masking tape will be liberally applied! And as you said, start off with the weak sauce and move up from there. thanks again!