- Thread starter
- #21
Ok do you prefer the hondas?
Starting out mobile
- Thread starter mcglockin
- Start date
Ok do you prefer the hondas?
Mike@ShineStruck
New member
- Apr 17, 2015
- 1,482
- 0
DP shop vac
10 gallon air compressor
Tornado black with shop vac attachment
APC
That what I'd prob do instead of buying a steamer..but at the time I only researched steamers vs extractors..for mobile steamer makes more sense..
Tornador sounds like a happy medium on wetness ..but seems like it'd be way quicker then steam clean
10 gallon air compressor
Tornado black with shop vac attachment
APC
That what I'd prob do instead of buying a steamer..but at the time I only researched steamers vs extractors..for mobile steamer makes more sense..
Tornador sounds like a happy medium on wetness ..but seems like it'd be way quicker then steam clean
- Thread starter
- #27
I'm still a newbie at this. The air compressor is for? And what an APC and DP?
Mantilgh
New member
- Dec 6, 2014
- 2,724
- 1
In my opinion rinseless washing is just as fast as a traditional wash, maybe even faster.
I use the same technique with my wash mitt using either wash method. I make a gentle first pass or two, flip the mitt, do the same with the other side of the mitt, rinse the mitt out, and repeat.
Then with rinseless; I obviously don't rinse, then use a wax as you dry product(OCW) as I dry that panel if I'm not using a sealant.
With a wash soap; I have to rinse the vehicle and I also have to blow all the excess water out of the areas while I'm drying.
In my opinion, how gentle or aggressive you are determines the amount of time you spend with either.
I use the same technique with my wash mitt using either wash method. I make a gentle first pass or two, flip the mitt, do the same with the other side of the mitt, rinse the mitt out, and repeat.
Then with rinseless; I obviously don't rinse, then use a wax as you dry product(OCW) as I dry that panel if I'm not using a sealant.
With a wash soap; I have to rinse the vehicle and I also have to blow all the excess water out of the areas while I'm drying.
In my opinion, how gentle or aggressive you are determines the amount of time you spend with either.
Mantilgh
New member
- Dec 6, 2014
- 2,724
- 1
There are a lot of different techniques that can be use for interiors. Spray, scrub, and blot, steam, extrators, air(Tornador), dry brushing, and a combination of all or some of the above.
I think I'm going to move to using a Tornador like nothingface5384 mentioned. It seems like it is fast and effective but does require a good CFM compressor.
I think I'm going to move to using a Tornador like nothingface5384 mentioned. It seems like it is fast and effective but does require a good CFM compressor.
Souldetailer
New member
- Feb 13, 2015
- 673
- 0
Lot of info to take in. I'm getting ready myself to take on the world. Have pressure washer, shop vac.. Next up is steam cleaner, I see no need where I am, to get a water tank. Gonna convert my dirt bike trailer into a mobile madmachine. And let'er rip. Take no prisoners. Be personable and confident. Tell, show the customer that you are worthy of their business, their friends business, and their friends friends business. There have been a few threads about selling yourself, I agree with so many others that YOU are your business and your personal interactions along with quality work will fill your calendar in an instant. Good luck and take care.
Peace,
Darrin
Peace,
Darrin
I have a Chapion generator 499.00 at Costco ( makes more noise but runs on propane)
DeWALT air compressor 699.00
Tornador 150.00 Take the extractor to the junk pile Mytee was my biggest disappointment in my career
35 gal water tank 225.00
ShopVac 50.00 Amazon
Dyson vacuum 225.00
MiTM pressure washer pulse foam cannon 600.00
Is this over your budget yes. However I wish someone would have given me this advice when I started.
DeWALT air compressor 699.00
Tornador 150.00 Take the extractor to the junk pile Mytee was my biggest disappointment in my career
35 gal water tank 225.00
ShopVac 50.00 Amazon
Dyson vacuum 225.00
MiTM pressure washer pulse foam cannon 600.00
Is this over your budget yes. However I wish someone would have given me this advice when I started.
Mantilgh
New member
- Dec 6, 2014
- 2,724
- 1
Change that to I am going with the Tornador Black. The sale got me.
Calendyr
New member
- Jun 9, 2013
- 3,996
- 0
I was in your shoes 4 years ago and made some mistakes along the way.
What I can tell you is that it's easy to spend too much on things that are not really needed.
Here is what I would consider the most important items you should own:
- A good water hose. Don't go for commercial or industrial ones, they are way too heavy and hard to move around. What you want is a light hose that is very long (75 to 100 feet should be good).
- A good vacuum. I like the Rigid Toolbox style one. It has no wheels so it's not moving around on it's own. Also get the better hose and the car detailing kit from Rigid, best buy you can make when starting out.
- Small portable pressure washer. I got one on sale at Walmart when I started out for 50$ and I still prefer it over the 300$ one I purchased recently.
- Lots of microfiber towels. These things are absolutely amazing for cleaning just about everything.
- 3 5 gallons buckets. 1 for wheels, 1 for washing solution, 1 for rinsing your mitt.
- Microfiber mitt for cleaning the car and a second one for the wheels.
- Bisell Little Green Machine or the more specialized one for cars. Not the best extractor around but at that price it can't be beat to start your company.
- Master Blaster Sidekick. This thing is worth it's weight in gold.
- Electrical extensions. At least 1 cord that is heavy gauge and other ones for lighter duties. I suggest 50 feet length for each and get a reel for them if you can.
Now for products, this is where I overspent. I wanted everything but as I started doing details I realized that I was using the same products over and over and some products I never touched.
Absolute necessities (you can use other brands if you want, these are my preferred products but equivalent products are usually available from many other companies):
1. Meguiars APC. This will lets you clean pretty much everything and dilution can be adjusted depending on job. The 1:10 ratio is good for almost everything making it VERY affordable. Even if diluted with Distilled water (like you should).
2. Meguiars Super Degreaser. Excellent for wheels, engines, and super dirty coated leather seats.
3. Meguiars Window Cleaner. This stuff dilutes 1:10 as well, works very well and cost pennies.
4. Meguiars Express Spray Wax. This is almost a miracle product. A must have.
5. A good sealant of your choice. I use Menzerna Power Lock but there are douzens of excellent sealant you can use.
6. A good All-in-One polish/Wax. The 2 best products are HD Speed and Meguiars Paint Reconditionning crème.
7. Isopropyl Alcohol. This is useful for many things including removing tree sap, making a cleaning solution to remove polishing oils and residues.
8. A good water based tire dressing. I like Optimum Opti-bond but many here will tell you that Perl is the best there is.
9. Aquapel. This is a good upsell and it's an amazing product for windshield and windows. Don't let your customers go without it
10. A good car shampoo. I like Meguiars ones but I bet most of them are excellent.
11. Optimum Rinseless Wash and shine. This is a great product that can be used for many things. If the car is not that dirty it can save you quite a bit of time on the cleaning step.
12. Brushes to every kind of work. You will need a brush for carpets, tires, wheels, detailing interior, and so forth.
13. Drying Microfiber towel.
14. A good compound and a good polish
15. A good DA polisher. On a budget you can't go wrong with Griot's Garage 6" one.
16. At least 3 foam pads for each step (cutting/Polishing/Finishing) gets ones that will fit your polisher's backplate.
17. At least 2 buffing bonnets to remove wax/sealant
18. Plenty of spray bottles and squeeze bottles for your products. Best place for this is Janitorial stores. Make sure to get chemical resistant sprayers for your more aggressive products like WHeel Brightener, Degreasers and APCs. Normal sprayers are ok for window cleaner, waxes, quick detailers and the like.
19. Almost forgot Meguiars Wheel brightener! This will remove caked on brake dust like a hot knife through butter.
20. Containers for all your tools and products.
I think that covers the basics. I might have forgotten some items but don't do what I did and try to purchase every product out there
One thing you will want for sure is a good website and nice business cards. I would actually start with that if I were you.
Good luck with your project and keep us informed on how it's progressing.
What I can tell you is that it's easy to spend too much on things that are not really needed.
Here is what I would consider the most important items you should own:
- A good water hose. Don't go for commercial or industrial ones, they are way too heavy and hard to move around. What you want is a light hose that is very long (75 to 100 feet should be good).
- A good vacuum. I like the Rigid Toolbox style one. It has no wheels so it's not moving around on it's own. Also get the better hose and the car detailing kit from Rigid, best buy you can make when starting out.
- Small portable pressure washer. I got one on sale at Walmart when I started out for 50$ and I still prefer it over the 300$ one I purchased recently.
- Lots of microfiber towels. These things are absolutely amazing for cleaning just about everything.
- 3 5 gallons buckets. 1 for wheels, 1 for washing solution, 1 for rinsing your mitt.
- Microfiber mitt for cleaning the car and a second one for the wheels.
- Bisell Little Green Machine or the more specialized one for cars. Not the best extractor around but at that price it can't be beat to start your company.
- Master Blaster Sidekick. This thing is worth it's weight in gold.
- Electrical extensions. At least 1 cord that is heavy gauge and other ones for lighter duties. I suggest 50 feet length for each and get a reel for them if you can.
Now for products, this is where I overspent. I wanted everything but as I started doing details I realized that I was using the same products over and over and some products I never touched.
Absolute necessities (you can use other brands if you want, these are my preferred products but equivalent products are usually available from many other companies):
1. Meguiars APC. This will lets you clean pretty much everything and dilution can be adjusted depending on job. The 1:10 ratio is good for almost everything making it VERY affordable. Even if diluted with Distilled water (like you should).
2. Meguiars Super Degreaser. Excellent for wheels, engines, and super dirty coated leather seats.
3. Meguiars Window Cleaner. This stuff dilutes 1:10 as well, works very well and cost pennies.
4. Meguiars Express Spray Wax. This is almost a miracle product. A must have.
5. A good sealant of your choice. I use Menzerna Power Lock but there are douzens of excellent sealant you can use.
6. A good All-in-One polish/Wax. The 2 best products are HD Speed and Meguiars Paint Reconditionning crème.
7. Isopropyl Alcohol. This is useful for many things including removing tree sap, making a cleaning solution to remove polishing oils and residues.
8. A good water based tire dressing. I like Optimum Opti-bond but many here will tell you that Perl is the best there is.
9. Aquapel. This is a good upsell and it's an amazing product for windshield and windows. Don't let your customers go without it
10. A good car shampoo. I like Meguiars ones but I bet most of them are excellent.
11. Optimum Rinseless Wash and shine. This is a great product that can be used for many things. If the car is not that dirty it can save you quite a bit of time on the cleaning step.
12. Brushes to every kind of work. You will need a brush for carpets, tires, wheels, detailing interior, and so forth.
13. Drying Microfiber towel.
14. A good compound and a good polish
15. A good DA polisher. On a budget you can't go wrong with Griot's Garage 6" one.
16. At least 3 foam pads for each step (cutting/Polishing/Finishing) gets ones that will fit your polisher's backplate.
17. At least 2 buffing bonnets to remove wax/sealant
18. Plenty of spray bottles and squeeze bottles for your products. Best place for this is Janitorial stores. Make sure to get chemical resistant sprayers for your more aggressive products like WHeel Brightener, Degreasers and APCs. Normal sprayers are ok for window cleaner, waxes, quick detailers and the like.
19. Almost forgot Meguiars Wheel brightener! This will remove caked on brake dust like a hot knife through butter.
20. Containers for all your tools and products.
I think that covers the basics. I might have forgotten some items but don't do what I did and try to purchase every product out there
One thing you will want for sure is a good website and nice business cards. I would actually start with that if I were you.
Good luck with your project and keep us informed on how it's progressing.
- Thread starter
- #34
I was in your shoes 4 years ago and made some mistakes along the way.
What I can tell you is that it's easy to spend too much on things that are not really needed.
Here is what I would consider the most important items you should own:
- A good water hose. Don't go for commercial or industrial ones, they are way too heavy and hard to move around. What you want is a light hose that is very long (75 to 100 feet should be good).
- A good vacuum. I like the Rigid Toolbox style one. It has no wheels so it's not moving around on it's own. Also get the better hose and the car detailing kit from Rigid, best buy you can make when starting out.
- Small portable pressure washer. I got one on sale at Walmart when I started out for 50$ and I still prefer it over the 300$ one I purchased recently.
- Lots of microfiber towels. These things are absolutely amazing for cleaning just about everything.
- 3 5 gallons buckets. 1 for wheels, 1 for washing solution, 1 for rinsing your mitt.
- Microfiber mitt for cleaning the car and a second one for the wheels.
- Bisell Little Green Machine or the more specialized one for cars. Not the best extractor around but at that price it can't be beat to start your company.
- Master Blaster Sidekick. This thing is worth it's weight in gold.
- Electrical extensions. At least 1 cord that is heavy gauge and other ones for lighter duties. I suggest 50 feet length for each and get a reel for them if you can.
Now for products, this is where I overspent. I wanted everything but as I started doing details I realized that I was using the same products over and over and some products I never touched.
Absolute necessities (you can use other brands if you want, these are my preferred products but equivalent products are usually available from many other companies):
1. Meguiars APC. This will lets you clean pretty much everything and dilution can be adjusted depending on job. The 1:10 ratio is good for almost everything making it VERY affordable. Even if diluted with Distilled water (like you should).
2. Meguiars Super Degreaser. Excellent for wheels, engines, and super dirty coated leather seats.
3. Meguiars Window Cleaner. This stuff dilutes 1:10 as well, works very well and cost pennies.
4. Meguiars Express Spray Wax. This is almost a miracle product. A must have.
5. A good sealant of your choice. I use Menzerna Power Lock but there are douzens of excellent sealant you can use.
6. A good All-in-One polish/Wax. The 2 best products are HD Speed and Meguiars Paint Reconditionning crème.
7. Isopropyl Alcohol. This is useful for many things including removing tree sap, making a cleaning solution to remove polishing oils and residues.
8. A good water based tire dressing. I like Optimum Opti-bond but many here will tell you that Perl is the best there is.
9. Aquapel. This is a good upsell and it's an amazing product for windshield and windows. Don't let your customers go without it
10. A good car shampoo. I like Meguiars ones but I bet most of them are excellent.
11. Optimum Rinseless Wash and shine. This is a great product that can be used for many things. If the car is not that dirty it can save you quite a bit of time on the cleaning step.
12. Brushes to every kind of work. You will need a brush for carpets, tires, wheels, detailing interior, and so forth.
13. Drying Microfiber towel.
14. A good compound and a good polish
15. A good DA polisher. On a budget you can't go wrong with Griot's Garage 6" one.
16. At least 3 foam pads for each step (cutting/Polishing/Finishing) gets ones that will fit your polisher's backplate.
17. At least 2 buffing bonnets to remove wax/sealant
18. Plenty of spray bottles and squeeze bottles for your products. Best place for this is Janitorial stores. Make sure to get chemical resistant sprayers for your more aggressive products like WHeel Brightener, Degreasers and APCs. Normal sprayers are ok for window cleaner, waxes, quick detailers and the like.
19. Almost forgot Meguiars Wheel brightener! This will remove caked on brake dust like a hot knife through butter.
20. Containers for all your tools and products.
I think that covers the basics. I might have forgotten some items but don't do what I did and try to purchase every product out there
One thing you will want for sure is a good website and nice business cards. I would actually start with that if I were you.
Good luck with your project and keep us informed on how it's progressing.
Thank you very much for all the information. Exactly what I was looking for with the products. I know I'll have the tendency to buy a bunch of stuff and it will never get used. And I know there's multi use products out there. As for all the equipment thank you ver
y much again. The advice from experienced individuals is in invaluable. Thank you again and I will keep you updated!
- Thread starter
- #35
Definetly appreciate the advice! You use the shop vac and a dyson? And I plan on staying away from the mytee for now, too expensive for me just starting out. Thank you!
Mike@ShineStruck
New member
- Apr 17, 2015
- 1,482
- 0
To much overspray on everything,I do ext first then knock out the glass and clean door jambs.While I'm washing the car intially I will roll down glass and wash door panels.its a much quicker process.Then interior cleaning I keep sprays at a minimum,for carpets I use foam cleaners then condition seats and polish wood and chrome accents on the inside 3 hrs or so I'm done.you want to be able to do one task one time and not repeating.
water tank is so needed,it makes detailing whole lot quicker.fleet acts are a great source of steady income,let's say you have 18 trucks to do ,you will take forever without a tank.when pulling up to residential client house your gonna waste time hooking up a hose and chatting with customer for 15 min,by then with a tank you could of washed the car already.need a tank.
Eldorado2k
Well-known member
- Nov 9, 2015
- 14,545
- 645
You're still gonna have to chat it up to some level, because you're gonna need the keys to the vehicle
There is no way a rinseless is quicker and deos a relatively good job versus traditional.unless the car is super clean that warrants a wipe down.If I had to use rinseless on every car I touched with love bugs I might add I would quit the game and how are you able to clean wheels to perfection.I think you said you have been doing this for a year,I'm not being rude by any means,but you will soon find out your gonna need a water tank at some point.