# TOGW = The Other Guy's Wax



## Mike Phillips (Jan 26, 2007)

*TOGW = The Other Guy's Wax*

This is called, *TOGW*, pronounced, *togwa*.










*Here's a close-up of TOGW*









*TOGW* stands for *The Other Guy's Wax.*

That is the wax in the cracks and crevices or on trim components or around emblems left by the last guy that buffed out the car. So not only do we have to remove any splatter we get on the car, we also have to remove the other guys wax or his shoddy work will reflect poorly on our work.

*Here's a tip...*

One of the thing I do before taking a job is to inspect the car for the other guy's wax in the cracks, often times this will be from the owner of the car that you're standing there talking to.

Look around any components, especially if they have a gasket under them or a seam with a rubber gasket or white residue on plastic, vinyl or rubber trim. If there's a sunroof, look around the gap for the rubber or fuzzy seal to be creamed-out with polish or wax.

If you find this kind of shoddy work, be sure to take a few pictures of it and also point it out to the owner so they know you know it's there before you even start to work on the car.

Then let them know that you're willing to try to remove the other guy's polish and wax residue as a part of the job but let them know HOW DIFFICULT and TIME CONSUMING it is and that you can't make any promises to get it all off because it's so difficult and time consuming to remove completely especially after it's been there for a while.

If the person you're talking to is the person that normally waxes the car, at a minimum it will bring attention to the fact that in the future they should be more careful and hopefully they'll appreciate your attention to detail as well as figure out you actually do know what you're talking about.

Also, while you're looking for wax in the cracks, take a look for any places some other guy may have burnt the paint off of high points and corners and point this out to the owner BEFORE you work on the car.

This is where an inspection form comes in handy so you can mark any pre-existing problems, point them out to the owner and protect yourself from getting the blame for someone else's mistakes.


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Simple but very informative...as easy to forget.


----------



## Avanti (Jan 17, 2006)

james_death said:


> Simple but very informative...as easy to forget.


I agree to a point, however some customers who call upon a tradesman (not necessarily detailing, I mean home improvements etc) are strongly put off at the quote stage when the person quoting is busy looking at the faults (being critical) of the previous person rather than being positive about themselves and what they have to offer


----------



## james_death (Aug 9, 2010)

Avanti said:


> I agree to a point, however some customers who call upon a tradesman (not necessarily detailing, I mean home improvements etc) are strongly put off at the quote stage when the person quoting is busy looking at the faults (being critical) of the previous person rather than being positive about themselves and what they have to offer


Agree also to a point as 2 seperate fields but get the gist i have never heard one trades man slate another but have heard a few sharp intakes of breath and sigh follwed by UUUHHH gunna cost you...:lol:


----------

