# Is it price or experience that seals the deal....



## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

*As the title really....the Sl350 was quoted by A N Other and the quote was relatively cheap....too cheap TBH...now me being me had to be a tad nosey and ask who gave the quote of £1*5...and low and behold it was a yocal valeter that had only a few weeks prior to this asked me to train him on machine correction whilst I was at another clients....suffice to say I didnt give any training....so there you have it....the nerve of a few and this may not sit well with some on here but there really is no replacement for experience....you can try and buy your way in or you can earn it....my quote was more than double but as you can guess....experience counted and sealed the deal....

on with the show....

Now the car itself wasnt looking too shabby but the chap lives in St Tropez and he wanted it looking the best it could within the 2 day timescale....on arrival it looked like this....
































































This i couldnt do much with but gave it a go at a bit of plastic welding from behind just to hide it a bit better....










Starting on the wheels with a spot of Rim 7 they really did look a bit worse for wear....just a couple of Rim 7 doing its duty...now as you know this stuff aint cheap but it is a nailed on product for all my details....



















The engine bay had also seen better days....




























It was out with the hoover and a few brushes with Stjarngloss Hjul....and then treated to some Einzett Intensive....it came out looking like this....please note the Intensive hadnt yet fully dried in these pics....




























The boot shuts were the same and again it was down to the vac to sort....nothing special here but just a couple of shots....



















After a thorough degrease and 2bm It was then out with an Iron remover giving these....





































Once rinsed clayed and dried it was time to get cracking with what the aim of the job was....make this motor look like it belonged in St Tropez....

Now these are a few pics in sunlight but you may not see the defects very clearly....




























and when moved into a really tight space because of a quick shower of rain....



















After a quick tickle....




























Some more....























































Quite a lengthy scratch....










Now a not so lengthy scratch...well no scratch....










A couple of the bonnet...



















At this point i will have to apologise for the lack of before and during shots but sometimes you have to draw a line somewhere so here are the final pics of the St Tropez bound SL350....


































































































































































































































Sorry its a bit of a manic write up but the point I am trying to get across is that "Experience is in the making and not in the wallet"

Thanks for checking in on a long over due Reflectology write up....

*​


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## JBirchy (Oct 9, 2010)

Fair play, looks good in the afters!


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## Derekh929 (Aug 28, 2011)

Don't think he will be disappointed with that result looks excellent, you can have all the qyalifications in the world but if not had the experience you got nothing newly trained surgon with better qualifications or one with 25 yr track record but not well qualified you decied


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## CleanDetail (Mar 7, 2009)

Well put Russ :thumb:

You get what you pay for as we all know.


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## Bill58 (Jul 5, 2010)

The guy made the right decision choosing you, great work!


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## Trip tdi (Sep 3, 2008)

That is looking very smart and fresh :thumb:

Great work and transformation from yourself, and the owner must of been over the moon with these results :thumb:


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## steve from wath (Dec 12, 2008)

cracking work agian Russ

can only imagine what the `other ` guy would have made it like

as you say cant buy experience

what was the iron product used?


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## TheMattFinish (Jul 17, 2011)

top work dude as always!


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Great job mate :thumb:


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## tonyy (Jul 26, 2008)

Great work:thumb:


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## Dan J (Jun 18, 2008)

In this trade experience is a must imo.

Nice work russ.


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## bero1306 (Jan 24, 2011)

Everybody has to start somewhere, hense the low price. And he also might of done a great job. :tumbleweed:


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## AaronGTi (Nov 2, 2010)

Nice work pal :thumb:


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## octobersown (Jun 7, 2012)

Great work, how long did this take to complete?


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## dooka (Aug 1, 2006)

And still has plenty of paint :thumb:. Nice work Russ ..


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

Thanks for the comments fellas....



steve from wath said:


> cracking work agian Russ
> 
> can only imagine what the `other ` guy would have made it like
> 
> ...


Bit reluctant to advertise it mate TBH but if you fire me a PM over I will tell you....



bero1306 said:


> Everybody has to start somewhere, hense the low price. *And he also might of done a great job*. :tumbleweed:


The guy who quoted had NEVER picked up a machine before....thats the whole moral of the write up....he approached me for training not long before i did this....about a month later I had a message from him saying he had just completed his first machine job....with DA on a van....



octobersown said:


> Great work, how long did this take to complete?


This was done around 3 months ago so cant really remember the exact time but around 16-18hrs....


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## Soul Hudson (Jul 5, 2011)

Great work looks awesome at in the after shots.


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## waqasr (Oct 22, 2011)

awesome work..car looking mint after your magic. But i noticed you say sl350..but it has an sl600 badge?


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## Hercs74 (Dec 29, 2011)

Nice effort... And I would agree that experience does pay off.. I've only been into detailing since January this year...!!!

I spent a lot of time reading lots of threads and trying to get my head around the basic cleaning process...

I also spent a lot of time with panels from breakers practising with a DA, putting what I read from DW and books to practise and spending a day with Kelly at KDS..

I've only just tried a proper full detail and correction 7 months on...!!!

And still very much to learn.. But the first attempt produced a blinding result 17 hours later...!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Alex S (May 16, 2007)

350 badged as 600 V12? Classic.

Great job, btw.


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## Zein Shehab (Feb 27, 2012)

I'm sure experience is key when you expect quality work. Experience is very clear once you simply ask Russ for help through private messages. I'm sure his experience, skills, and kindness are obvious once any car enthusiast meets him.

Nothing to worry about there, appreciation for quality work will drive every car owner to make the sound,rewarding choice.


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

waqasr said:


> awesome work..car looking mint after your magic. But i noticed you say sl350..but it has an sl600 badge?





Alex S said:


> 350 badged as 600 V12? Classic.
> 
> Great job, btw.


Yeah the guy bought it with the badge already on it and was going to get it changed prior to the detail but it didnt turn up....



Zein Shehab said:


> I'm sure experience is key when you expect quality work. Experience is very clear once you simply ask Russ for help through private messages. I'm sure his experience, skills, and kindness are obvious once any car enthusiast meets him.
> 
> Nothing to worry about there, appreciation for quality work will drive every car owner to make the sound,rewarding choice.


Kind words and not expected Ta....:thumb:


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## greener (May 2, 2011)

Another top job Russ,experience counts!!! novice costs!!!


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

greener said:


> Another top job Russ,experience counts!!! novice costs!!!


Like it....nice....

Hows the BM


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## greener (May 2, 2011)

Reflectology said:


> Like it....nice....
> 
> Hows the BM


had a little front end bump (£5k)with a Bentley at begining of June,but all better now after 2 visits to the bodyshop!. Trying to save up for your services (bodyshop buffer trails and holograms!!) but now under the threat of redundancy at work.

Just a quickie....How long before I can clay and apply any product to the new paint??


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

oooh nasty.....you can do anything you want to the paint really mate with the exception of applying a sealant....I would stick some Permanon on it to get it protected as it lets it breathe....glad you ok though but sorry to hear about the possible redundo...


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## FiestaDan (Jul 10, 2012)

gorgeous car and work


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## J W (Jul 26, 2012)

You get what you pay for, great job


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## Reflectology (Jul 29, 2009)

J W said:


> You get what you pay for, great job


which is the term associated with every trade and so it should....:thumb:


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