DJJimGreen

Hahahaha yes. Should use Rinseless.

Still not sure which you used lol.

Bought both! .... and a blaster sidekick. I had to get that free shipping...

I'll take a 25% heat reduction any day LOL

It's all too damn hot here. I mean really, I'm trying to figure out whether my stuff is safe in a cabinet in the garage when temps outside get to 115 in the summer and 25 in the winter. I mean, it's in a cabinet...... haha

Two words to keep it cooler inside in summer.

 

Tindow wints.

Even still.. Where I'm located In vegas tint only brings internal car temperatures down from 160F to 120F.... Hahaha

^^bingo. I love the "how much will it cost" question as if I can give them an out the door price without seeing the car.

 

I literally had customers not show up and blow off appts because they wouldn't bring me the car in advance to get a price prior to bringing it, yet they requested an accurate quote prior to getting the job done. They expect me to tell them a blind number and negotiate with me with the vehicle sight unseen.

That's a great point I've never really considered. If they couldn't come in for an estimate, just go with "sight unseen, I'll say 600 dollars." Haha

I was planning on cutting the long handle brush, so I'd say a short would be cool.

Yep... I sure do.

Come on! Hahaha

Also, I tend not to take a job unless I see the car first hand and agree to a price. Mommy cars always demand more time, so that means more money.

 I could only imagine the things you've seen.... hahaha

It is in the works

I saw that. I made a quiet "yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees" at my desk. Hahaha

I have packages with tiered pricing depending on vehicle size. It gives better value for the customer this way and a list of services performed in each package. This helps set expectations as well and I have found customers generally will go for a larger package in most cases.

 

For anything more than a 2 step polish I charge a flat hourly rate, just due to the nature of paint correction work.

 

Also I offer Ala-cart options as well like glass sealant and pulling wheels to fully detail them.

 

Look at what price point others in your area are charging, and how they have their packages. Don't just copy what they have. Develop packages based on what products you use, and can actually perform. Factor in if you are doing this as a mobile business as well. If you are going to be offering to drive to your customer, that demands more money as well.

Good stuff, I appreciate the feedback. I know it's weird, to ask for others pricing, but I'm just trying to get all of my thoughts together as I start to roll out a plan for my business. It's a lot to take in.

Great write up... and now all I want is for Adam's to come out with their version of an opti-coat.

Hey all!

I'm looking to get as much feedback as possible on what is considered "normal pricing" when it comes to the different options that go into a detail. I know a lot comes down to location and what's the going price, but I also wanted to know what YOU charge for different things.

I'm in Vegas and we've got some companies charging anywhere from $200-500 for anything from a detail, to the opti-coat, front bumper sealing, etc. Do most do hourly? Or do you lump it together?

Here's what I'd love feedback on...

What do you charge for:

Basic Wash/Interior Wipe down -

Wash/Clay/Wax

Wash/Wax/Seal/Glaze - 

Wash/Paint Correction/everything else

I'm sure you get the idea.. Anyways, if you could, please shoot me your thoughts.

Thankst

Welcome to the addiction Jim.

Seriously..  I'm noticing this is textbook "snowball effect" .. hahaha

Welcome Jim. And don't be afraid of the machine polisher. If I can do it so can you. Just watch the videos until you have it down pat then watch them some more.

Thanks man. I'm going to cross my fingers and go for it!

 Jim!

Thanks! 

If you didn't break the 'let it dry' or 'spray it on hot paint' rules theres no concern.

Obviously its going to remove whatever wax or sealant was on the paint, in terms of overspray just make sure you flush all the surrounding areas with water and you're fine.

 

The worst case with APC on paint would be the potential for etching, but if you don't see any then you have nothing to worry about. Its not like some symptom will manifest itself later. It either damages the paint or it doesn't so as soon as you're done using it you have your answer as to what its going to do.

Exactly what I was hoping to hear. I didn't see any immediate damage, so I assumed it was ok. There was just a lot of "Don't let it happen!" but not a lot of talk on reprocussion. Thanks!

Hey all!

I'm worrying a bit after reading a bit more about adams all purpose cleaner being put on paint.

So, in summary...

Last week I ran over wet yellow paint on the freeway (come on now...) and had yellow paint nicely applied to the side of my car.

I read a bit about solutions and in the process, sprayed APC directly on to the car and without dilution. It never dried and I washed it off after, then applied detail spray after washing and everything looks fine. I know I've got to go back and apply some wax but I'm totally curious what the actual affect of spraying APC directly on paint is.

Just ruining a wax job? Messing up the clear coat? I've read everywhere, now reactively, that dilution is the smartest thing to do. But if you don't..... what happens? I'm concerned about overspray elsewhere on the car etc..

Thanks!
Jim

Welcome Jim! What kind of cars are you gonna be detailing?

Well, what's my dream or what's the reality? For now, I'll be practicing on my Challenger. However, my sisters boyfriend owns an exotic/classic car dealer so.... When I get better, I'll be reaching out.

Oh! And thanks for the welcome!

Just starting out and I've spent nearly a grand to get going. Bought the wash kit and polishing kit, plus the interior kit and some brushes/more towels. Now to get going and recognize what I really need... Excited though!

Hey all!

Just wanted to say hello, from Vegas! I've been reading this forum for a while, and finally put in a HUGE order to get started with detailing! I'm ready to go! My only big fear is using the machine polisher for the first time. Eek!

Anywho, hello! Hope to provide feedback at some point!

Hey Jim, there is a search box at the top left of the forum, right underneath the Adam's logo. 

I knew it was something I was missing. Thanks!

Its really not an economic level of cars thing b/c there are plenty of very curvy 'average' cars out there in the world that take some unique approaches to detail every single part.

 

Do you have a specific spot on a specific car that you're trying to figure out or is this just an 'in general' type thing?

Definitely! I knew I couldn't catagorize cars into "economy" and "exotic" but just wanted to try to have a good example of cars with tons of lines. It was really just a "general" type thing. Nothing specific. Maybe it's a bit too general to get tips and tricks, but thought I could throw it out there. A lot of my thoughts revolved around how people polish front bumpers, for example, where there are a ton of sharp edges and smaller areas to work with. By hand? Smaller pads? .... Carefully? Haha.  Thanks in advance.

Hey all!

Newbie Jim here. I feel terrible asking newbie questions, but can't really find a search function for this forum. Maybe I'm blind? Any help would be appreciated.

As I sponge up ALL of the information I can about the detailing field, I thought it might be fun to discuss any best practices experienced folks may have with polishing curves/edges on vehicles.

I read an extension write up about detailing higher end cars and a huge stress was put on the amount of labor that goes into it, due to all of the edges and curves on those vehicles. On more "economy" vehicles, what have you run into and what do you look out for when going through a detail job?

Anything I can read further on the topic?

Thanks!

Jim

It's definitely brushed plastic and not the smooth piano black. Pics to come. I'm on my phone.

Thanks for the warm welcome! I'm excited to start my detailing journey. Anywho, I thought that may have been the answer. It makes complete sense but I didn't know if any of you magicians would have any secrets.

Thanks again!

Honestly there is no "Repair" to scratched plastic. 6-7 years ago this was one of my first questions as well. 

 

The best you can do is mask the scratch. SVRT or Leather Conditioner do good to mask imperfections on scratched plastic depending on where the scratch is (Interior or Exterior).

 

Basically if you think of it a scratch is plastic is caused by removing the plastic. Most plastic is textured on vehicles and the human hand can't create texture like that to repair it. Its a completely different problem from a scratch in clear coat. Since Clear Coat is smooth it can be smoothed out (thats what polishing is, smoothing out the clear) plastic isn't smooth.

Hey all,

It's my first post, so be easy on me. I'm just getting into the detail game and have done some searching on other websites but haven't come to a good conclusion on how to repair scratched plastic surfaces such as trim panels or an unpainted plastic front lip of a car.

Some have said VRT, some say trying to heat it up and even it out. I found that using a heat gun just smooths out the semi-textured surface of the plastic. IS there a solution, or is it pretty much impossible to get scratches filled without buffing the surface?

Thanks!
Jim