# What got you in to detailing?



## Soul boy 68 (Sep 8, 2013)

Morning all and happy Christmas, I didn't sleep much last night, tossing and turning so thought I get up early to have a nice strong espresso so thought let's start this thread. What was it that got you in to detailing, was it your very first brand new car so you thought, right brand new car and I really want to look after it, but how? Was it a friend that got you into it? or Internet research ? A neighbour? An article you have read somewhere? Or was it simply a light bulb that switched on inside your head. For me it was when I got so fed up at seeing all those horrible wash scratches from under the halogen lights when filling up at the forecourt and I thought right, I got a do something about this and I just simply starting watching those you tube videos, the junk man, Larry at AMMO and various other vids then I stumbled on to this site by accident and never looked back. So my friends, while you are sitting at your table drinking coffee or something stronger, just cast your mind back to what got you started in to detailing and incurring the wrath of your other half. :lol:


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## bradleymarky (Nov 29, 2013)

I always kept my cars clean but didnt find this place until i joined a car forum just over 2 years ago, i`ve learned loads by reading and watching videos on here.

My Wife doesnt mind me washing the car but she does moan when i talk about products and what they will do to the car in the long run.

I`ve got quite a few family and friends using the 2 bucket method and they always ask my advice on the matter. It also helps me buy products when i charge my sister in law for cleaning her car :lol:


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## AMD (Dec 30, 2012)

Bought a convertible BMW with rusty wheel hubs, and located a detailer who painted them for me. Reading through the other services he provided, I realised car cleaning had come a long way since TCut and Colour Magic 

So thanks to Rob @ Gleammachine from me, its one of my favourite pastimes now


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## muzzer (Feb 13, 2011)

It was Marc from Heavenly Details 3 month vxr nurburgring detail that showed me what could be acheived. Been here ever since.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

I have always been into cars for as long as I can remember,my friend invited me to his house to try Zymol out,that was 15 years ago now so Zymol was pretty fresh over here,as using my turtle wax was getting tiresome and far from enjoyable as it stunk:lol:.But when my friend applied the HD clense with its chocolate aroma and then Glasur wax by massaging first in the palm of his hand I was hooked,and needed to find out more so was picking his brain for years until I was competent on what products to use in each area.I was then surfing the web one day and came across Detailing World and I have never looked back,*"All True"*.SJ.


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## Clancy (Jul 21, 2013)

Just always seemed to be into it, when I was 16 and for my first motorbike I striped it down and repainted and rebuilt the whole thing so it was immaculate, always wanted it kept looking clean 

When I got my first car it just sort of transfered over, was just using t cut etc but always kept it clean and shiny. Was after joining a car forum I heard of this site and started reading up about better ways etc 

No going back now :thumb:


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## Sicskate (Oct 3, 2012)

I was offered a job for ford direct, didn't really know anything about paint. 

Started off learning to polish with a rotary, the standards were very low, so I didn't have any issues learning. 

A few months into the job I realised how good paint looked once refined. 

I really enjoy the science and characteristics of the whole system, especially now we're playing with lechler paint at the moment, which is very interesting. 

Obviously it snowballed out of control and the interest went from basic cutting to full on corrections, engine building and mechanics.

Been working there 8+ years now


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## warwick (May 17, 2015)

I have OCD with just about everything that needs cleaning and tidying.


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## stonejedi (Feb 2, 2008)

warwick_hunt said:


> I have OCD with just about everything that need cleaning and tidying.


Ain't that the truth.SJ.


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## stangalang (Nov 27, 2009)

Bought the car of my dreams and started looking into a better maintenance routine. Once i found the wealth of products out there, and the price that they could et to, i was hooked


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## Toto (Oct 6, 2014)

I started detailing or valeting as a hobby many years ago, my full time job was a Q guild butcher.
So helping out in a local garage valeting & going to shows and winning with my magazine featured polo.
I then started to get asked to detail other cars for mate's which also won I decided to go pro.
It's taken me years to get to the standard that I am at now many courses for valeting/ detailing wet sanding the whole lot.
So now I make a good living as a full time Detailer I've had my work featured In magazines I am trade assured and get to work on some stunning and rare cars.


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## Steve_6R (Jun 9, 2014)

Couple of mates detailed my Polo for me just after I got it. Loved the results so I got into it.


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## scoobyboy1 (Aug 28, 2006)

Saw this picture about 10 years ago on a Subaru forum im a member on, and remember thinking wow look how shiney that car looks compared to my car, I asked how he got the car so clean and he told me that he used Meguiars products to get that look!!

So next day went to Halfords of all places looking for the products that he had used. LOL Ever since then Ive been hooked on getting the same sort of results on my own car, but got 10 years of better knowledge now and learned more in the past 12 month by just reading threads on this site!!!:buffer:


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## camerashy (Feb 9, 2014)

Always been interested in keeping my cars clean but a new car pushed me over the edge!!


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## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

I bought a set of winter wheels, got reading on what products might help with protecting them, stumbled onto this site and the rest is expensive history


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## Rían P (Jun 2, 2014)

I think, I was looking up Corsa project threads which then lead to stmubling upon the 'pink to red' threads. Before DW, I have to admit I used one bucket, a sponge and occasionally fairy liquid, simply because I didn't know any better. I liked to keep the cars clean. They were polished quite frequent with SRP and so were in a way, maintained.

However, after reading through some threads at the beginning, I began to find out about the 2BM, using proper car shampoo, and what swirls are. Fast forward to now, I'm totally obsessed with the whole detailing thing, checking up on the forum every night, and because of my knowledge gained, I now work in a detailing shop selling products! I can't ignore cars with swirls now, it's nearly a curse!

I mightn't drive a new M3 or a Ferrari, but that doesn't mean that I don't take pride in my car. I'm slowly building up a decent collection of what I actually need and so hopefully this love will continue to bloom.

So I must say a huge thank you to Detailing World, both the whole team involved, and the members. It's a great community and I'm proud to be a part of it!

Merry Christmas,
Rían P


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## Juke_Fan (Jul 12, 2014)

Getting my Juke. Before the Juke I had new Corsas (6 in total, got a good discount through work) which I always kept clean but it was always a quick sponge job 

The joy of getting something that wasn't a corsa and was as fun to drive as the Juke is got me into detailing:thumb:


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## Loudandproud205 (Oct 18, 2015)

My uncle was a valets before the term detailer came along showed me a few bits and got me hooked, I've always liked the outside clean but I decided bit the bullet time when I got my Ducati and gain a bit more skill and knowledge as I plan to help other motorcyclists keep there bikes looking great and not many people want to clean them in such depth.


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## suds (Apr 27, 2012)

Bought a heavily oxidised red Volvo, then OCD kicked in when I saw what you can achieve just by hand!!!!


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## robwils (Nov 17, 2013)

Always loved my cars and washed them regularly, then car forums came along and the rest is history.
Its like everything once you start to get info you realise its a huge subject.

Still only feel like I have dabbled, would like to attend a course or two early in new year to learn some more.


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## Tricky Red (Mar 3, 2007)

Mine was Richard from Polished Bliss posting on the old,SEAT car club website. WX51 TXR I think was his user name. Been buying little,bits from them since they formed.

I had always,looked after my cars the best I could beforehand.


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## rob267 (Nov 27, 2015)

I decided to have the front end of my car resprayed because of stone chips. When that was done i started to notice that the rest of the car had marks on it and started seeing swirls in the paint (the beginning of the end😄)

Started to browse the web for tips and tricks and came across dw via seatcupra.net and so began my pursuit of paint and car perfection. Aint achieved it yet but have had fun trying. 
P.s the car has since had a full respray because of my ocd. Lol


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## mayhem85 (May 8, 2012)

I got into detailing as i was never satisfied with the finish of my first car. I had explored all of the halfords range but kept thinking that there must be more to this. I typed in extreme car cleaning and stumbled accross this very site. Thats when the fun really started to begin. Now i can safely say im hooked, merry christmas everyone


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

I'd always washed by hand and used SRP from owning my first car... Then I bought a black car and found this place.


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## NateQ (May 3, 2015)

I have always enjoyed cleaning my car. My first car wash a saxo, I used to clean that with washing up liquid, an old bucket & sponge and dry it off with an oily crusty chamois!!!!

After I got a newer car I realized I had to up my game. I noticed some Autoglym products in a friend’s garage and thought how nice the products looked. I brought a bundle of Autoglym products and then saw a neighbor using snow and that was it, the researching began and I never looked back. There are so many great forums, articles and advice online.


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## Blueberry (Aug 10, 2007)

I used to help my dad clean his car when I was young (he sadly died 34 years ago) but I always like to "clean" my own cars when I learnt to drive.

It wasn't until I bought my Tigra convertible brand new, which I had Diamondbrite applied to, very badly - sealed over water spots, swirls galore (I didn't even know what they were, just knew I didn't like them), that I discovered Detailing World.

I looked on the Internet to try and find out how I could remove the water spots there was Detailing World. I discovered what swirls were AND that they could be removed. My Diamondbrite was duly removed and I got my car looking how it should, from the start. The rest is history.


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## obelix1 (Jun 14, 2015)

Always liked my car clean and shinny and b4 football was on to live I listened to the radio while cleaning my car and watched the high lights in the evening .


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## ALLR_155528 (May 20, 2014)

Started off cleaning my dads car when I was younger. Then I got my own always like cleaning it and having a clean car both situations using products like turtle wax etc over time it got worse cleaning more often and wanted it cleaner probably about 1year 8months ago found DW can't remember how spend many hours researching and looking on detailimg supplier sites this stage moved onto Autogylm and Meguiars using noodle wash mitt, quick detailer. Next I got my first waxybox my first real experience of detailing products using brands that I had never heard of the rest is history my OCD for a clean car worse than ever nearly £2000 later found all my go to products apart from two


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## dandam (Apr 10, 2011)

I used to spend a lot of time on the forum vwaudiforum.com, and they have a detailing section - anyway there was a link from there to detailing world and I slowly got sucked in !!!

Always have loved my cars, but it was more a case of wonder wheels and srp, then after a short while you realise what you can actually achieve. I don't get to spend as much time on detailing as I used to (3 children who desperately want to help Daddy) but I still love it when I can get a moment to myself.

And of course detailing world is normally a friendly positive forum to be on without too many keyboard warriors !!!


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

probably from owning my first car which i have now, seat ibiza fr 1.8 turbo mk4 and with adding a few mods ive been obsessed with keeping it clean (yeh its black). first thing i ever used was t cut black which actually gave it a nice finish and then seeing sponsors on ibizaoc forum i bought dj red mist tropical and dj need for speed and then found detailingworld after trying to repair stone chips, which i failed and made a mess...the rest followed


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## OvEr_KiLL (Mar 2, 2015)

Natalie said:


> I'd always washed by hand and used SRP from owning my first car... Then I bought a black car and found this place.


and found it harder to keep clean right natalie?


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## turbosnoop (Apr 14, 2015)

Always been obsessed with cars, since I was a child. Always enjoyed being hands on with cleaning and maintainance. Bought my fn2 ctr, and noticed the swirls in the paint were quite bad, all I wanted to do was find a polish for taking these out. However everything else sucked me in, and rightly so, its really took my car "cleaning" to the next level. DW I salute you. You've taught me so much


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## Clarkey-88 (Apr 29, 2014)

I've been washing and polishing cars since I was about 7 or 8 (27 now). My Dad had a Red/Pink Ford Sierra that I used to clean when we'd visit my Grandparents house on Sundays. On the days I wasn't doing my Dads car I'd clean my Grandad's Blue Peugeot 405. I used to use a Turtle Wax Shampoo (zip wax maybe?) and have both Red & Blue bottles of Colour Magic that i'd apply with a couple of rags and stain the hell out of the black trim lol. I remember my Mums friend would pay me £5 to do her Vauxhall Cavalier when she'd come over to visit as well. I always liked the colour of her car as it was metallic, I used to think it was a special colour lol


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## sgllan89 (Apr 7, 2014)

was my first car. my dad bought me a 1996 rover mini cooper to learn to drive in i loved that car. However i got it in the winter time and there was alot of salt on the roads (i live in scotland) so this meant i basically cleaned the car every day to try keep the salt off it. 

After then i just really enjoyed cleaning them and making them look good. It was when i purchased my r56 cooper s i really got into it. i worked for a cleaning company that also did valeting which is where i was introduced to auto smart products and i kinda just went from there.

Still using the autosmart stuff really enjoy working with it cant seem to find anything else i enjoy working with.


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## Titanium Htail (Mar 24, 2012)

At the age of 10 a family friend has a Daimler, he stopped and showed me how to close the door, seemingly I did not know! all that leather.

<<<<I bought this Triumph GT6 new as a teenager, serving petrol plus repairing cars at the
weekend.Had a new red car that I washed every other day with regular shampoo 
never waxed it BC. ( before children )

Products knowledge and technique enable cars to be cleaned and protected now, a great hobby plus achievable.

John Tht.


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## chris.t (Jan 18, 2014)

I spend alot of money on cars and just want them to look at there best plus it keeps me out of the wifes way!!


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## mac1459 (Aug 25, 2011)

from an early age , watching my father take care of the family cars, really kick in when i bought a red vectra b (fading) . then bought a sapphire black car got it professional detailed, thought could i do this , yes i can ,through help of a member on here (k9vnd) got into machine polishing and never looked back , i find it really relaxing .


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## DrH (Oct 25, 2015)

Always kept my cars clean.
In the late 80's I had a mint XR3I, a couple of mates had mint Rs turbos? They both used to belong to the RS owners club. I went along to a few shows. Always used MER polish in those days.
Back before wheel arch liners and the wheel arches were shiny from the paint on them.

Along came kids a couple of wifes and in more recent time a couple of new cars. Always kept the cars clean but not up to the XR3I.

Always have washed by hand with rinse, was rinse, dry so have had minimum swirls over the years, my old neighbour would polish the hell out of his Merc which was swirl city. Had a Focus in Panther Black which always looked good. At this point was using Autoglym and Mequiers.

So 20 months ago after having a 1 car family for a while we went back to 2 cars.
Bought nothing fancy but a Fiesta Metal, which reminds of my XR3i so much.

Found this website and watched loads of online videos, did not join until recently.
Again in Panther Black. I have tried and am chuffed with using Angelwax products which has taken it to another level.
Always since my XR3I have I kept my cars very clean including inside, engine bay and under the arches. So I guess for too many years to mention


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## J4KE45 (Sep 7, 2014)

As you mentioned above, it was my first brand new Golf MK7 that done the trick for me. Always used to keep my previous car clean, but that was just from the local polish shop. First car, took a trip down halfords, started out with 1 bucket and some autoglym shampoo, and went from there really, buying more and more every weekend with more and more videos! quickly spiraled! :lol:


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## tigerspill (Nov 28, 2015)

I have just decided I hate my cars looking dirty and being difficult to clean.
Keeping them well waxed makes this so much easier


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## Spinonit (Nov 10, 2013)

In essence, DW got me into detailing, but I've always kept my cars clean - cleaner than the average joe public anyway. My first car (in 1985) was a 1975 Mk1 Ford Escort Mexico (RS pack)which had been kept pretty clean, so I tried to keep and improve on that. Used to go to the monthly (as I recall) RS Owners Club meetings in Dartford, Kent - before the M25 opened! Obviously, you see meticulously owned cars at things like that, plus I attended the yearly show and I loved how clean the cars looked, particularly underneath and under the bonnet.

So, I used to clean my engine bay almost daily using water and a toothbrush, but I never really knew of detailing products, just basic stuff like Turtlewax.

It was quite some time later that I tried Megs stuff from Halfords and never went back - that is until joining this forum, where I learned so much more, bought my first proper polisher (DAS6 Pro), watched Junkman's videos and found Autosmart's Tardis, which in turn led me to become an Autosmart franchisee. Obviously I now use their products, which I really like.


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## warren (Mar 23, 2010)

Compliments of the season all:thumb: I bought my first motorbike in 1981 Suzuki ER 50 loved it...stripped engine casings back then used wet an dry to polish them up.Then used a toothbrush with autosol to polish up the carb..that's where it all started for me.got it from my dad who was a clean freak with his car..He had a cortina 1600E and would be out till the sun went down cleaning it.everybody in the area in swansea knew how he was with his car..:thumb:


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## Oldsparky (Jun 18, 2014)

When we bought my wife a nearly new polo I got a cheap deal on lifeshine (!!) It came with a bag of autoglym bits which I had little idea what to do with. I'd never even heard of SRP! 

So a quick Google got me to detailing world. I must admit I felt a bit foolish when I read about dealer supplied coatings! 

So it all started I'm an engineer so I like to do things by the book so I took a while just getting the car clean using TBM away went the sponge leather and old tea towels and microfiber of all sorts arrived!

That's a couple of years back now I've now got a bunch of wax pressure washer foam gun and a DA and a ton of other stuff

I owe all the folk here a massive thanks as they have inspired and advised me. Cars are clean now and I even get asked for advice occasionally! I still consider myself an enthusiastic cleaner who hopes one day to become a proper detailer!


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## graham1970 (Oct 7, 2012)

I just wanted to keep my car clean,then when googleing shampoo I came across DW.What struck me was that each stage is part of an overall process... Needless to say I was hooked😀


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## Natalie (Jan 19, 2011)

OvEr_KiLL said:


> and found it harder to keep clean right natalie?


Haha definitely, went to red then silver after it.
Have just got another black one, I must be mad! :wall:


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## alfajim (May 4, 2011)

Ever since passing my test, I've cleaned my car on a Sunday. I remember someone on a Renault forum had a yellow megane that they'd zymol cleaner waxed. It looked fantastic so I thought I'll have some of that. Had a brief falling out with detailing when I had a fabia for 18 months. Then I got the alfa and from the forum I found my way back to detailing work. Never looked back and think my first purchase was megs #16 as it was popular back then.


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## ECB (Dec 19, 2014)

When I was about 14/15 my dad bought an old Mazda 323 off a local farm that was red with the intention of us getting an Mot on it and selling it on. He did all the oily bits and I cleaned it up. The paint had gone proper milky and he showed me how to use a rotary polisher on it to correct it. In hindsight I probably did a terrible job not knowing what I was really doing but seeing the car after was sweet. Every sense then I've loved a clean "shiny" car.


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## Gorselea (Oct 28, 2015)

When I was 11/12, I found a bottle of turtle wax in the garage and decided I'd try it on my dads montego. It came up a treat. But there was no talk of clay bars and or iron x back then.:lol:

Have had a fair few cars and bikes that over the years and have mostly been using AG SRP and Simoniz wax. Until I recently found this forum that is. Definitely loads still to learn, but have taken swirls out of the wifes car with a rotary polisher. It looks so much better, I've now been asked to do most family members cars:buffer:


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## AS_BO (Sep 29, 2013)

I've always been fanatical about cars, when I was a kid I used to go around the estate where I lived and ask if people wanted me to wash their cars for some extra pocket money. Back then it was turtle wax zip wax shampoo, a bucket and a sponge but I always chucked clean water over the car to rinse and then dry with my Dad's chamois leather.

Then I got a car of my own and modified them. Pride came into play so I liked to keep them clean with the usual range of AutoGlym from halfords - that was it really. Then my mate took me to a place called NE Detailing and it changed the way I approached cleaning cars forever! I walked into their studio to find a concourse Escort Cosworth which had been prepped for a show and it blew my mind. I left that day with about £200 of products, having pestered the life out of the lads there about what they used and how they did it. It was them that pointed me in the direction of DW and it's been a pleasure to be a part of this community.

If I ever want to come on just for a bit craic, or I have a question (because everyday is a school day) or just to admire all of your hard work it never fails to provide and amaze me. Thanks guys and gals, one of only 2 communities that I check in on at least once a day. 🏻️DW


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## Kriminal (Jan 11, 2007)

Just doing a Google about cleaning cars when I was looking for a bit of knowledge on where to buy Meguiars stuff in the UK....

....and then Google chucked me in to THIS site, and I've been paranoid ever since! :wall:  :thumb:


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## Daniel C (Jul 17, 2010)

A friend told me I should be using 2 buckets so I googled it and found this place. The rest is history....


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## shine247 (Mar 1, 2010)

Although it is a good number of years ago now it started when I bought a used Golf tdi. It was good condition but looked like it had been cleaned with a brillo. I knew about buffing and was going to get a da. A friend who had been a valeter and still did a bit said not to waste my time on a da and go straight for a rotary. I read Dave kg's guide on here which must have taught me well as my practice panel was the wing of the said golf. Did the whole car, sold it not long after, first person to see it bought it.


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## dave-g (Nov 14, 2009)

I was walking around a local motor show when I was 14, and saw the autoglym stand, went home and starting looking at what else was out there and sort of went from there!

Found this site many years later after finding some poorboys on the Internet :lol:


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## k3v_F (May 7, 2008)

I think I came across Detailing World when I was polishing the rocker cover on an old Escort. It was a few years before I actually signed upto the forum. I'm glad I did, there is an unbelievable amount of shared knowledge on this forum and it makes me feel normal when my neighbours are judging me haha!!


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## fozzy (Oct 22, 2009)

I bought a black car and got sick of it never looking REALLY clean with that dripping wet wax look. A quick google search later and here I am


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## TheMilko2905 (Sep 22, 2011)

Initially it was an excuse to get out the house, away from my now ex-wife.
Then the Internet became readily available to the working man and I started searching around for polish products. I then joined a few different car owners forums and attended a few meets, got chatting to others who liked clean cars and then found myself on DW, the rest is history. Which is a similar story to my savings, their history too, cus I keep stocking up on products. Lol

Whilst my signature has s join date of sept 2011, I did have another username, but changed all my accesses / usernames / pin no.s / ID after separating, didn't want the ex checking up on me


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## chrisgreen (Mar 30, 2012)

It was cleaning the family cars with my dad as a kid that got me into detailing, and instilled a discipline in me to keep my own cars clean, like he always did.


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## SuperMin (Jan 30, 2016)

Just bought my dream car a month ago :car: and found this awesome site just looking for the best car wax to use.... spent all my Christmas money on car products. Been out there every weekend keeping the car clean and I'm hooked. Now also doing my other half's car. Everyone thinks I've gone mad! :doublesho

:newbie:


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