"your only as good as your last job"....comes to mind

Or your only as good as long as you don't suck...

I have no horse in the race where everybody is pounding other guy down so they can pound their chest so let me be the only one in this thread that will tell you "Sorry to hear about your trim".

Zoran, I am not pounding him down, nor trying to make myself look good. I am sorry this thread turned into what it did, I don't like to see an ambitious young man thrown in the fire, but the reality is he lit the match, he poured the gas, and he is responsible for all the flack he gets.

The reason the guys that spoke their opinion in this thread did so based on the fact that they do know better, and are very skilled professionals, with good reputations. If they were just some doughballs off the street I would say there might be some chest pumping, but these guys need to protect the integrity of their chosen professions, as well as their markets to avoid incapable service providers from soiling the sanctity of our being .

I feel bad for Holden, but you shouldn't enter the slam dunk competition when you have a 3 inch vertical.

I did not have anybody in particular in mind when writing what I did, I was commenting on what seemed uniform reaction, but now that you say it please read your first sentence and then please read your second one.

In any case enough has been said on the subject, only thing I feel bad about is that guy's trim. We all love our cars.

I stand by both sentences. Sentence one: I'm not
Sentence two: You shouldn't

... and I stand that this is not a competition. It is not about who is better or who is right. It is in the end about professionalism.

In any case, opinions have been voiced and explained, maybe rest of thread can actually turn into content that title is, members benefiting from "Ask the professional detailer" even if it's starter did not turn out to be most professional of them all.

(Am I too obvious in my attempt to turn it into something positive? Somebody stop me, please.)

"Of special interest is the fact that Wayne,owner of Avenue Collision and a detailer par excellence told me that a full detail job done to perfection which may also include a light water sanding with ultra fine paper/or fine rubbing compound followed with a wax/polish and sealers would be around the $400 mark..."
Brian, I honestly skipped certain details in the above quote to get to it's bare essence.... What I should have mentioned is that on the hood there are a few miniscule chips from flying stones and road debris that one gets from being a daily driver.
Wayne was telling me they can fill them up with paint and then add clearcoat, but it will involve some water sanding to "level the doming effect" touch up paint creates.
Honestly, I have had Wayne work on many of my cars and trucks and I never have had complaints with the quality of workmanship his shop does... the real reason I am looking for just a detailer rather than Wayne's shop is I know this is not something they offer as a service, although he will do it for me if I ask.
Hell, for around $700 he'll prep, paint and clear coat the whole front end,I just don't want to go to that level yet!
Hope this clears my earlier thread a little better.

Brian, if I may ask; I have a couple of questions;when you clay bar a car, (after washing it) (A) do I dry it or leave wet.
(B) what shall I use to lubricate the area I am claying? I just want to get the right answer from someone that knows this stuff.
Once the whole car has been clayed I imagine I should wash it again, before I proceed with waxing it.

There is no right answer...

You can dry the car, clay it using a dedicated lubricant, etc or

you can use a product like Meguiar's Last Touch Spray Detailer which is meant to be dilluted 1:1 for a clay bar lube. If you use it full strength on a wet car it will provide more then adequet lubrication on the paint's surface to prevent most marring. 9 times out of 10 this is how I would do it, and having the pleasure of working with Brian, I can assure that his answer would be similar (ps Brian don't call me out for ripping your thread ).

As will just about any facuet of detailing, there is no right or wrong answer just preferance and the mastering of the application of that preference.