working by hand vs machine....

[Car Potential]

I think this is a good question in terms of understanding the detailing process 'scientifically'. What are the pros & cons of working by hand vs using a machine? I have been detailing by hand and the results have been great. I have used UC, #7 & #26 and the SUV looks great. Those products have given my Tahoe a very deep black color and minimal swirls are present. Also, I can vary the amount of pressure & speed I use depending on what I am trying to accomplish.

I have found that I apply the products a little lazy since I am working by hand and my arms tire out. But UC rarely needs to be used and #7 & #26 maybe 3 times a year so in that regard it is quite reasonable to 'go to town' when working by hand. And I don't have to tape anything up. But with the machine it provides a fast speed so is it the fast consistent speed the main factor of why using a d/a & rotary work well?

On a final note, I can't understand/appreciate something unless I have tried it out and so maybe working by machine is so much better; I don't know.

[FIREdawg]

Re: working by hand vs machine....

Two most observable things I have noticed since using a DA machine as compared to by hand:

1. Consistency ... using good old fashion elbow grease, I noticed etching/swirling from where I was placing more pressure from where my fingers, knuckles were pressing harder on the foam applicator pad. Using a DA machine eliminated these. Granted I could use less pressure but to properly correct marring and swirls you need pressure to cut away to smooth clear coat.

2. This is a bit obvious ... Time ... what would take days of installment corrections by hand now I can do in an afternoon. More time for admiring the car than looking for imperfections and being frustrated.

[STRIFE]

Re: working by hand vs machine....

i find working by hand is ok, and after a few hrs I just feel beat, cars looked great but I feel it.
I bought a DA, DA foam pads, and some UC or swirkX/GC liquid wax ....without any real experience other than reading about it on MOL...i was able to achieve stunning results in a fraction of the time.
I will avoid working by hand where possible

[Murr1525]

Re: working by hand vs machine....

If your car is in great shape, then just applying a cleaner/polish and wax by hand is ok. It is fixing the defects where the DA is far far far better.

I tend to do my spring detail, and sometimes fall by machine. And then quick inbetween ones (ColorX-Wax) by hand.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: working by hand vs machine....

We've seen plenty of projects that gave great results when only hand work was done. In your case, where you're never allowing the vehicle to deteriorate to a severe level, maintenance is much easier so hand work only becomes a much more viable option. Of course, the hardness or softness of the paint plays a role here too, as very hard paint with pretty severe defects would be a real challenge by hand. Back in the day when all cars had single stage lacquer paint, which tend to be much softer and more workable than a modern catalyzed clear coat, hand work in general was much easier than it is today. From personal experience doing our Saturday Classes for a few years now, a very nice finish can indeed be achieved with Ultimate Compound by hand. With every class I do a demo using Ultimate Compound, Ultimate Polish and Ultimate Wax by hand in one spot, and the same via G110v2 on a spot right next to that. We get all kinds of cars with all kinds of issues at these classes, and the results are always outstanding, as you can see below:


2004 Hyundai Elantra - left side by hand, right side by G110v2


2004 Jeep Liberty


2007(?) BMW 3 Series



Mid 1990's Ford pickup with 250,000 miles on it



1999 Mercedes SL500



2009 Mercedes C Class



Well, you get the idea - it certainly can be done by hand, no doubt about it.


But.......................... yeah, you just knew this was coming...............


For each of those side by side test spots, the energy expended on the hand applied side far exceeded that expended on the machine applied side, and the machine applied side always came out looking better. Sometimes a little better, sometimes quite a bit better. But always with less effort. In all honesty, on even the easiest, most cooperative of these cars, I can't imagine doing the full correction by hand - not when power tools like the G110v2 exist. But again, these cars all required some pretty serious correction, which is a far cry from just applying some #7 and #26 by hand, neither of which require even a fraction of the elbow grease needed to remove heavy swirls, water spots, etc with Ultimate Compound or similar.

It should also be noted that, in the interest of time, all of the test spots shown above and in all other classes are done fairly quickly. Giving more time to the process to even further refine the finish can yield an even higher level of gloss and depth. It's the typical "you get out of it what you put into it" thing.

So, as with anything, there are pluses and minuses to both sides. But Car Potential, since you're in SoCal you might want to come down for one of our Saturday Classes and see for yourself - heck, try for yourself - how different it is to do all this by machine. We've seen expectations change after these classes, including the Corvette who emailed me a few days after taking the class to tell me that he thought his black Corvette looked pretty darn good when he arrived in the morning, but by that afternoon he realized how much work it actually needed.