shane@detailedreflections Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 I spent some time today detailing a Mazda 3 this afternoon. This wasn't a magnificent "turn around"'detail as the car was only about a year or so old with 14,000 miles on it. It is a car though that doesn't get detailed and gets little more than cleaned out and the occasional wash. Luckily the finish wasn't swirled when it came to me, so for this one I skipped the polishing. So the work flow for this one goes something like this... - Clean wheels with DWC - Clean tires with Tire & Rubber Cleaner - Strip wash - Iron decon (DWC at 1:1) - Clay - Wash to remove clay residue - Dry with MBR - VRT - Glaze - Sealant - Vacuum and blow out interior - Extract carpets - Clean interior with TID - Clean seats with leather cleaner - Condition with leather conditioner - Glass cleaner - H2O G&G on the wheels - Tire shine on the tires - Two thin coats of Americana I'm pleased with how the car came out, and so was my client. I'll get this one back in the spring for a refresh for the summer. Enjoy! detailingislife, avimore and dancingdan42 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Natch02 Posted November 27, 2016 Share Posted November 27, 2016 Nice job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrianT Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 Looks good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
avimore Posted November 28, 2016 Share Posted November 28, 2016 That turned out really good, well done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PostalTwo Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Very nice thanks for sharing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdfd504 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Awesome job! Looks good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris@Adams Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingdan42 Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 How much do you charge for this level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane@detailedreflections Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 (edited) It varies really on the condition of the car to begin with. This car didn't need to be polished and was in great shape to begin with. That being said, it still took two of us about four hours to complete it. We charged $250 for this particular job. If it needed correction or extensive work, the price would go up proportionately. I'll usually add on $50 or so if we are going to do a simple two step correction for improvement and not perfection. If perfection is the goal, it tends to be hourly rate multiplied by the time spent. If it were a large SUV I'd add $75-100 based on condition. They're much larger so it takes more time and product obviously. But that's a small insight into my pricing among other factors that I weigh when pricing a job. I'm not the cheapest, but also not the highest. If I don't value my work, nobody else will. Edited December 6, 2016 by medic001918 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingdan42 Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Oh, I agree. I'm just totally new so I'm curious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane@detailedreflections Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Oh yeah, not thinking me forgot to thank everyone for the compliments. I try to take a lot of pride in my work and when I work for clients in particular, I tend to be overly critical of my own work. I'll post some more write ups and before and afters as some more scheduled work comes in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane@detailedreflections Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Oh, I agree. I'm just totally new so I'm curious. No problem. Feel free to ask any questions you have from what I used to how I did something. The biggest thing I found when I was learning was to have the right tools for the job. Not every vehicle is maintained as mine are. Where my vehicles rarely (if ever) need a hot water extractor, most client vehicles do. Purchasing one was a great investment in my time savings. The same thing with having multiple polishers. The right one for each spot saves time. And it allows two of us to work a car faster since we follow each other. There's always more to learn. I learn on every car I do. Sometimes it's a silly thing I realize makes a job easier. Other times it's just that "next level" idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancingdan42 Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 No problem. Feel free to ask any questions you have from what I used to how I did something. The biggest thing I found when I was learning was to have the right tools for the job. Not every vehicle is maintained as mine are. Where my vehicles rarely (if ever) need a hot water extractor, most client vehicles do. Purchasing one was a great investment in my time savings. The same thing with having multiple polishers. The right one for each spot saves time. And it allows two of us to work a car faster since we follow each other. There's always more to learn. I learn on every car I do. Sometimes it's a silly thing I realize makes a job easier. Other times it's just that "next level" idea. I'm learning that. Mostly I'm learning how damn much I have to learn. But this forum is absolutely invaluable. As are people like you, Shane. Keep it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shane@detailedreflections Posted December 6, 2016 Author Share Posted December 6, 2016 Thanks for the compliment Dan! It's much appreciated. Especially since I feel like I still have a lot to learn along the way. I'm constantly reading and thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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