Lurking for a few months, ready to interact !

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1CleanG35

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been lurking these forums for a few months as i like to keep my car VERY clean :) lots of great info and I have already learned much just reading FAQs and posts from some of the very informed people here.

last summer folks in my neighbor began to take notice of how clean i kept my car and somehow between July and now Ive detailed 12 cars in my free time on the weekends. my clients have all been very pleased and some blown away by my results but I still want to get better

when i say detail i mean
2bwash/clay/wax exterior
vacuum/clean carpets and seats
clean interior trim
clean interior and exterior glass
clean wheels and tires

so no polishing, no compounding or paint correction as I am not familiar with these techniques (yet). about half of my "clients" have admittedly been friends and family, and because I know I am an amateur I generally only charge them $50-$75 and $100-$120 for my other clients. how much am i under/overvaluing my service?

Generally my supplies are of the wal mart variety. I eventually want to purchase a steamer for cleaning interiors but that wont be until next spring, so now I reply on tuff stuff/megs quick interior detailer. What other options are out there for me until I buy a steam cleaner?

any preferred brushes for cleaning lug nuts and interiors?

thanks in advance, sorry im not a fan of uppercase letters lol
 
Welcome to autogeek , you charge what you.think your work is worth, as for products folax is a good carpet/ cloth seat cleaner you can get at hardware store but it depends on price range you.have and as for the brush a large round glue brush( google it please) is nice but find the brush that make you happy
 
To me, detailing someone elses car is "work." What that means is that I should charge something I would do it again for price wise, but I don't want to feel like I'm making out like a bandit. Since I do customers so rarely I don't have a pricing sheet or $ per hour. I just throw out a price and see if they bite. Clean car, your service list, 100-150. Truck or such 200 or so, but my area is upper middle class. 10 minutes down the road I wouldn't get work for 20 bucks.

Go ahead and use some of your money and get a griots 6" and go to town! It's a ton of fun and adds much more to the paint.

Dump the tuff stuff! I used it all the time and then got to try a quality cleaner. Night and day difference! No doubt!


Welcome!
 
Welcome to AGO!

You're prices seem fair. You'll be able to raise them as you add more value added services like polishing and more intensive interior cleaning.

Stick around a while. Ask questions. There's a bunch of us here and we are all equally crazy about detailing and helping others succeed in this awesome industry.
 
Welcome to AGO :) Prices are good for friends and family but if your going to ever do it full time you will have to raise them some.
 
Welcome aboard and how about some pics of the G35!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
 
Klasse Act said:
Welcome aboard and how about some pics of the G35!

Sent from my SPH-M930 using AG Online
Click to expand...


null_zps79e033ea.jpg
 
Thanks for the warm welcome to what I feel to be a friendly atmosphere already folks. Sorry for the double post

jamesboyy said:
Welcome to autogeek , you charge what you.think your work is worth, as for products folax is a good carpet/ cloth seat cleaner you can get at hardware store but it depends on price range you.have and as for the brush a large round glue brush( google it please) is nice but find the brush that make you happy
Click to expand...

Folex purchased, thank you :props:, also found a detailing brush at *sigh* Wal Mart

davidg said:
To me, detailing someone elses car is "work." What that means is that I should charge something I would do it again for price wise, but I don't want to feel like I'm making out like a bandit. Since I do customers so rarely I don't have a pricing sheet or $ per hour. I just throw out a price and see if they bite. Clean car, your service list, 100-150. Truck or such 200 or so, but my area is upper middle class. 10 minutes down the road I wouldn't get work for 20 bucks.

Go ahead and use some of your money and get a griots 6" and go to town! It's a ton of fun and adds much more to the paint.

Dump the tuff stuff! I used it all the time and then got to try a quality cleaner. Night and day difference! No doubt!


Welcome!
Click to expand...

Im thinking a DA Polisher is one of my next "investments", I hear Griots is one of the big boys in the industry so I will definitely do more research but I was looking at the Porter Cable 7424XP, which machine would be better for someone who has never used one before?

Nicholas@Autowerx said:
Welcome to AGO!

You're prices seem fair. You'll be able to raise them as you add more value added services like polishing and more intensive interior cleaning.

Stick around a while. Ask questions. There's a bunch of us here and we are all equally crazy about detailing and helping others succeed in this awesome industry.
Click to expand...

Pureshine said:
Welcome to AGO Prices are good for friends and family but if your going to ever do it full time you will have to raise them some.
Click to expand...

Yeah because I am an amateur who is just starting to do other folks cars I am trying to be reasonable with them, but I realize with each new tool/product I buy my costs go up as well.

My arsenal right now includes
2 buckets (no grit guards)
Various mf cloths (maybe 15 total)
5 terry cloths
2 wash mitts
2 applicator pads
bug scrubber
the absorber
carpet and upholstery brush
detailing brush for interior
i also have a paint brush i use sometimes for interiors like leather seats and steering wheels. i was inspired by a driveclean youtube video (only done this on my own cars so far, is this ok?)

megs deep crystal car wash
megs gold class rich leather cleaner/conditioner
megs ultimate liquid wax
megs nxt generation tech wax 2.0
megs quick interior detailer
megs supreme shine high gloss protectant (for the folks who like it shiny lol)
megs plastx (does this stuff go bad? this bottle is at least 5 years old)
megs hot rims all wheel & tire
black magic tire shine gel
stoner invisible glass
scotch guard auto (apply after cleaning)
tuff stuff
clay
megs quick detailer
oxi clean (i dump it on the carpets before vacuuming seems to help eliminate odors)

I have already taken some of you alls advice and ordered some folex. Next I need something to clean leather with. Are individual cleaner/conditioners better than the 2n1 product? What other leather cleaners should I be considering? are there any products/tools blatantly MISSING from my arsenal?

Next I also want to buy a shop vac, I have "the shark" home vacuum but the car attachment is honestly not very effective so I find myself at a coin operated vacuum down the street spending $3-$4 at a time to vacuum someone elses car... thats what I call inefficient lol.

Say I've got $50 to spend on a vacuum. What do I need to look for? I see various shop vacs on craiglist for less than that... in fact I found this one for $35 today and I want to go pick it up tomorrow. says it has 3hp and is in very good condition, good deal?
00d0d_fST1lBBrtam_600x450.jpg


I also want a foam gun but It seems like the advice here is its awesome to have but you dont really need one. I want a steamer too but Ill save that for next spring, I also do not own a cordless drill (i know, what type of man am I lol). if this "hobby" gets any bigger I can easily see why I wont want to be charging friends $75 for a detail anymore
 
I'm gonna be really honest and say that I didn't read your whole post. I'll try and help with what I did read.

GG vs. PC:
GG-lifetime warranty, more power (still very safe!), designed for a 6 inch pad (6.5)so you can do more area at once and get more correction.

PC7424xp- 1 year warranty, less power but still enough to get the job done, the staple of free spindle da polishers, tons of attachments like carpet brushes and 3 inch pads (might be an adapter for the GG, you'll have to check or let someone else chime in), designed for a 5 inch (5.5)

Dedicated leather cleaner and sperate conditioner works better in most cases. Better to do one job really well than do two jobs that are just ok.

I have one of the huge shop vacs, and my little rigid blows it away. I love it!

A round thick brush would probably work better than a flat paint brush, but if it's working for you then stick with it.

Might wanna look into cobra or other high quality fm towels. I didn't believe I wanted to spend a lot on them and then picked up a high quality towel and it's amazing!
 
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