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I've been detailing cars for 20+ years. I've had some amazing opportunities to take care of many awesome cars, prepare 100 point Duesenbergs for Pebble Beach and work for some well known restorerers and collectors.
But...When I was still wet behind the ears...I bought my first quality Porter Cable polisher around 1996 because I scratched the crap out of the hood of a freshly repainted 964 Turbo!
Some unknown debris got caught in my wash mit and the hood took the hit... it was down low near the hood crest...the owner ran a traditional Colgan bra. I finished washing the car (went every week). Put the bra back on sweating bullets! It covered the damage.
That week I went out and bought a $250.00 polisher, pads, and the correct Meguiars polish.
The next week I took care of the mistake!!
Fast forward 20 years... next mistake and my most expensive to date (knock on wood) [although I'm insured now]. I started installing clear bra paint protection film in the early 2000's.
I had a new 991 C4S and the owner wanted only XPEL 40Mil thick PPF on the headlights. I did the install and the film was a little "long". No problem, just hand trim off the extra 1/8"... 40 Mil is hard to carefully hand trim with a blade. I scored the headlights too!! When I pulled off the excess film the UV coating partially pulled from the lenses too!!
That was a $3,000.00 mistake for new main headlights!
The irony is that this is now a known problem partially "on Porsche's supplier". They went with a new supplier/coating for 991 & up lights... there is now a known delamination problem. NOT recommended to install PPF on the new lights.
Although I openly admit I "cut" the lenses.
Live and learn... sucks to own it, but taking care of the customer is what keeps you in business.
I'll leave this thread with a funny but likely true thought. The difference between an amateur and a professional is that the professional knows how the hide his mistakes.
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