Bscott94

3 minutes ago, Bscott94 said:

That's a good point. I appreciate the input. I think it was closer to 3 hours. And If I put my mind to it and worked hard, It would take less time. I took breaks to find supplies and talk to my dad and get a drink so I wasn't really pushing myself. I gave her the family discount. There's a guy up here that does great work from what I have seen and he is offering full exterior detail for $50. I'll look for his Facebook post to see what is included but there is no way I can compete with that. He can't be making any money. 

Found it. This is what someone is offering on Facebook

I’m starting a new 50$ detail deal.

-Exterior wash / no interior work 
-Clay bar work 
-Full hand applied wax 
-Rim and tire clean / shine

1 minute ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

 

Not to pick apart for what is “fair” to you. But $80 for 3-4 hours of work is $20-$26.66/hour BEFORE your expenses. Take supplies out and equipment and you’re realistically working for maybe $10-12/hour and not leaving anything on the table for future growth. 

 

Also, you’re training clients that you can and will work for very little. Once you start that cycle, it’s difficult to break. They’ll tell someone and they’ll come say “hey, you did so and so for $40. Do it for me?” At that point you look bad if you say no. 

 

Throw a discount here and there, but don’t work for free. 

 

Sometimes I will offer a heavily discounted service to a good client if i want to try something. It’s a win for both, but it has to be a client that we trust and have a relationship with. 

 

If you don’t value your time/work, who will?  

That's a good point. I appreciate the input. I think it was closer to 3 hours. And If I put my mind to it and worked hard, It would take less time. I took breaks to find supplies and talk to my dad and get a drink so I wasn't really pushing myself. I gave her the family discount. There's a guy up here that does great work from what I have seen and he is offering full exterior detail for $50. I'll look for his Facebook post to see what is included but there is no way I can compete with that. He can't be making any money. 

I am now following this. I am in the same boat. This isn't my full time job but I'd like to make some money on the side because I enjoy cleaning up cars. I didn't really know where to start. I wanted to jump right in and do everything and make as much money as possible. Shane and a few other suggested that I get some practice in to see how long different tasks take and how much product is used.

My family has a few cars to practice on. I detailed the interior on my aunt's Miata a month or so ago. It took a few hours. I charged $40. I know I need to charge more for that and get a few other supplies so I can properly clean different materials. I detailed the exterior last week for $80. To me, that is fair. 3-4 hours, wash, clay, wax, wheel clean, tire shine, and glass. Again, I need some more supplies for future details. I detailed my cousin's Dart, interior only. She has 2 kids. It was a disaster. I charged $80 and probably should've charged at least $120. Again, more supplies will be needed for others but they were thrilled. My brother asked for a full detail on their Traverse and after last weekend, I think I have a better idea of time and price. 

My suggestion is to detail family and friend's cars and keep track of how long different tasks take and how much product is used. Write everything down and figure out what break even is. I am no pro and I have a ways to go but I am getting started. 

That looks amazing. I thought my Kia Forte was bad but wow. Great work. Hopefully I produce your results and not the first guys. I have loved Lotus since Need for Speed Underground haha

Wow, that is great! I needed to use those items for the car I did last weekend. It was nasty. I got it way better but it was far from perfect. They were happy wit the results though. 

3 minutes ago, falcaineer said:

Nice work, Brandon! And congrats on the house.  First time home owner?

Thank you! Yes, first time home owner. I am so excited to stop throwing away money on rent every month. 

2 hours ago, shane@detailedreflections said:

And I do advocate a paint thickness gauge. Usually I suggest it strongly if you’re detailing for dollars. Once you start taking money for a service, you are responsible for any damage and start dealing with unknown histories. It doesn’t sound like either is the case here. But do remember that less is more. Don’t start with aggressive pads/compounds until you know you need them and understand what they will do. 

Do you have suggestions on a paint thickness gauge? I looked on Amazon and they range from $20-$500. I'd like to spend as little as possible but still have something that works. 

16 minutes ago, pirahnah3 said:

Nice shine on that car! I love me some buttery wax, easy to apply and as you can see awesome shine. 

It's the first time I had used the buttery wax. I love it! So easy and so shiny. 

31 minutes ago, RayS said:

It has taken me about 4 months to transition from my other vendors to Adam's and it has been well worth the journey.  I set myself (read accountant wife) a budget, plus planned the transition as I knew I would run out of products and in some cases, such as wax and shampoo, I gave the old chemicals to someone that I knew would use it and appreciate it and simply couldn't afford Adam's.  It took the wife a month or so to come around and then she started telling me when Adam's was having a sale and she even does the orders for me.

 

If you watch for the sales, especially when there is an additional discount the cost isn't bad it at all and once you get the initial chemical the gallons are the way to go fro the refills.  Your needs and volumes may be different, but for the 5 vehicles I'm taking care of, I'm doing 1-3 orders a month or in the case of July, last night made the 4th order this month.  If you don't have a Foam Gun or Foam Cannon, I highly recommend it with the Adam's Shampoo, it is amazing how much easier it makes the initial wash.

Yeah I am trying to transition to all Adam's. We are closing on our house in a couple weeks so I'm trying not to spend any money until then though. We will have a 2 car garage so I'm going to get it set up to be able to detail on the weekends to make a little cash and feed my Adam's addiction. I have been giving my non Adam's stuff to my dad.

1 minute ago, mc2hill said:

Wow, all by hand!  Congrats Brandon.

Thank you! I am pretty sore. I also detailed in the interior of my cousin's car. She has two small children so it was a disaster. I am so impressed with how easy Adam's products are and how well they work. This was the first "full detail" I have done. I just need some Adam's car shampoo and sponges/brushes/buckets and I will be all Adam's and won't look back. 

Clay mitt and Buttery Wax did wonders. I'm even more addicted now. 

When looking at it originally, I was thinking it would need heavy polishing. I think revive hand polish would do the trick after getting it cleaned up and waxed though. 

I did the exterior this past weekend. I used APC on the wheels and then washed and clay mitted and applied BW and TS. Products used: Non Adams car wash soap with All Purpose Cleaner in wash bucket, Clay Mitt and Detail Spray, Buttery Wax, Tire Shine, non Adams aerosol glass cleaner

Before

After wash, clay mitt, and dry. Before wax

During wax

After

A few weeks ago I did the interior. It looks like I forgot before pictures. It's wasn't terrible though. Products used: Bissel SpotClean ProHeat, Adam's Interior Detailer

6 hours ago, Rich said:

You don't need to use Detail Spray after the Buttery Wax or any wax unless you want to.  

That what I thought. I figured it would just be for my personal enjoyment but I thought I would ask. 

6 hours ago, Rich said:

I asked the Mrs. what to do. Her reply was ICE.  If you use a steamer you'll end up melting the candy and make matters worse.  Her advice is to freeze it as hard as you can get it, pull it off, then use a comb to pull up any remnants of the sucker, and then clean the rest off with plain old soap and water.  But she says definitely no heat. 

 I don't argue with my wife. ?

I never even though of that. That would make sense. I don't want it to melt and get EVERYWHERE. I'll try ice and report back. I'm detailing the interior on my cousin's car and the exterior of my aunt's car so I can explain the TOMB to my girlfriend lol. 

I have tried searching but I can't find the answer I am looking for. I am going to be using buttery wax on car tomorrow morning. I plan on doing a couple coats of wax. Should I use DS after the wax to make it shine more or would that be pointless? I know BG is the key to shine but I don't have that right now. 

My cousin asked me to detail her car. She has 2 kids that have created a mess. I have a Bissell SpotClean ProHeat that I'll use to get stains out of the seats. She showed me that there is a sucker melted to the carpet under one of the floor mats. Does anyone have suggestions for getting the sucker out of the carpet? I think it might be impossible but I'd like to try my best. 

I bought a St Patty's DS about a month ago and it came with red cap but the twist lid and red cap had fallen out so it spilled during shipment. I also bought the Cars n Coffee DS and they came without the cap but did not spill. I'm not sure if the red cap is an actual seal. I noticed the CnC DS had something inside the cap (foam, maybe?) and if it is closed properly, it won't spill. I don't know if earlier bottles had the foam inside the black cap or not but maybe that is the new way that the bottles seal. Less waste is good, right?

52 minutes ago, mc2hill said:

It does look like clearcoat failure to me, and I would leave it alone and just keep it protected.  Since it is the roof you could put Plasti-dip (or one of the other peelable paints) on the surface to cover it up.  That should last for a couple of years.

3 minutes ago, rrmccabe said:

That is an excellent idea. A matte black or something would tie it in with the trim.

I like that idea as well. Does anyone have prep suggestions for Plasti dip? Just wash it really well? 

I never would have though of that. I'll be grabbing one to add the the detailing collection. That is such a good idea! 

13 hours ago, Velvethelmet said:

 Correcting compound should work fine if you have a machine. Revive if you plan to do by hand. I'm no expert but that just looks like heavy oxidation to me. 

I'll attempt to polish it and see what happens. I'm going to get some quotes on repaint but it likely won't get taken care of for a couple years at best. 

13 hours ago, falcaineer said:

I had paint that looked exactly the same and was told the clear coat was compromised and a repaint required. Ended up selling the car for multiple reasons so never pursued a fix.

 

What kind of car? Might help others get a better idea of common issues, etc.

The car is a 94 Isuzu Trooper. I'll give someone a "like" if they have heard of them/owned one. 

13 hours ago, Chris@Adams said:

Looks like clear coat failure to me, repaint is the only fix. Although wax may keep it from rusting....

Should I clay and polish before applying wax or could that cause further damage? I have Buttery Wax but no applicators. I do have 4" pads that I don't have use for (came with 15mm MB, 5.5" pads OTW) so could I use a white 4" pad to apply wax until we close on the house and I can convince the ol lady to let me crack open the wallet? 

Thanks everyone! I love this forum.

9 hours ago, red94chev said:

I'm not a professional body guy but I believe they typically sand, wipe with some kind of a paint prep solvent, then paint/clear. 

After I posted I started thinking about it and I think you're right. Paint thinner or something I think.

1 hour ago, Velvethelmet said:

 Are you sure the clear is gone?

 

 I'd hit it with some revive just to see what it would do. Then seal it with whatever you like. 

After looking closely, I'm not sure. It could just be crap caked on. I have Heavy Correcting Compound and One Step Polish. Would either of those work or should I try to get some Revive?

1 hour ago, joelilton23 said:

Do you know if your car is single stage or clear over base? If its single stage, you may be able to polish it back up before throwing some protection over it. Seeing pictures will help direct which course to take. 

I'm 99% sure it's clear over base. Clear coat is chipping off of the door so that leads me to believe clear over base. 

I'll post pictures from my phone shortly. 

1 hour ago, red94chev said:

Well the damage is done but you can kind of preserve it from here.  Once the clearcoat is dead, UV eats up the base color pretty fast.  At minimum, try to keep a good layer of protection on it, ceramic coating would probably be best.  You can also wetsand it to remove some of the "loose/dead" clearcoat before coating/sealant to ensure you're actually bonding to athe best surface.

That what I figured. What if I wetsand it and tape it off and spray it with clear? Do I just wetsand, wash, dry, and paint?