AeroCleanse
New member
- Nov 17, 2008
- 2,422
- 0
Always used to wash the family cars. Worked at a few dealerships before going out on my own. Now I'm working on starting a class to teach others some of the basics.
Where/How did you learn to detail?
- Thread starter mcpp66
- Start date
CrownKote
New member
- Sep 26, 2009
- 895
- 0
I was noticing that too... Interesting.... very interesting....
Gads, do I fell old (I am)!
Started in the late 50's working as an auto mech (to be PC, thats now a 'tech', LOL) and watching the body guys. One gent helped me learn to use a 'buffer' (rotary), that puppy musta weighed 50 pounds!
As life changes, marriage, lifer military, work, etc. I was out of the loop of detailing, ie using DA's etc. until a few years back. But burned up more than one 'wax pusher' during that time period. Yes, taking your time and the finished isn't really hosed, you can get pretty good results with those machines.
Guess that's my story.
Bill
Started in the late 50's working as an auto mech (to be PC, thats now a 'tech', LOL) and watching the body guys. One gent helped me learn to use a 'buffer' (rotary), that puppy musta weighed 50 pounds!
As life changes, marriage, lifer military, work, etc. I was out of the loop of detailing, ie using DA's etc. until a few years back. But burned up more than one 'wax pusher' during that time period. Yes, taking your time and the finished isn't really hosed, you can get pretty good results with those machines.
Guess that's my story.
Bill
Bates Detailing
New member
- Jan 11, 2011
- 3,074
- 0
daveinsweethome
New member
- Jan 4, 2010
- 476
- 0
i also started in the 50s, with a schwinn. easy gradient. my brother's friend hand painted flames on the fenders. cool. first actual detail was a 1960 ford fairlane. been at it ever since. prepping cars for shows. grand national roadster was my favorite. now in retirement i have started a small business and loving every minute of it. the forums are perfect for my questions although my garage now looks like a minature autogeek warehouse. need to sell some stuff but apparently i have become a hoarder. ask my wife.
BobbyG
New member
- Dec 29, 2009
- 13,211
- 0
Dave, I'm right there with you!
rops:I think Autogeek discovered the woman side of me because I just can refuse a good sale!! :laughing:
I can't wait to bring all my "investments" out of the basement once the weather improves. I'll take a photo or two and post it here but I can't decide what to call it; Investment or Collection.. :laughing: :laughing:
SeaJay's
New member
- Aug 2, 2010
- 3,070
- 0
Dave, I'm right there with you!
I think Autogeek discovered the woman side of me because I just can refuse a good sale!! :laughing:
I can't wait to bring all my "investments" out of the basement once the weather improves. I'll take a photo or two and post it here but I can't decide what to call it; Investment or Collection.. :laughing: :laughing:
It's called an obsession! At least that's what I'm calling it! I got yet another package from AG yesterday...my storage closest is getting full...gonna have to empty out some of my gf's clothes and shoes in the bedroom soon! :righton:
OCDetails
Member
- Mar 3, 2006
- 853
- 0
Thanks. I was going to name it OCDetailing, but the .com site was already taken. The funny thing is how many people assume the OC stands for Orange County. lol You wouldn't believe how many emails and PMs I get from people asking how much it would cost to whatever in southern California. lol
Cruiser57
New member
- Feb 16, 2011
- 38
- 0
Started when I was 14 detailing my dads cars. Then when I got my own cars and started showing them at car shows I learned what judges were looking for. Years of trial and error and lots of practice on my own cars was better than any school. To keep up with technologies and my skills, I network with other detailers and still experiment on our own cars.
mi77915
Member
- Feb 12, 2011
- 139
- 1
I started out just doing what I thought was right. I would go to Walmart and get just about any chemical for cleaning that they had. "Trial-and-error" method for years. Then in 2003, I was surfing the web for "auto detailing schools" and I found a 2 day class that was not too far from where I live (Michigan), so I enrolled and learned a lot of "tricks" and "proper" techniques of the trade. I have been away from detailing for a few years now, so I am trying to get up to speed on the new technologies (ie. new chemicals, methods and equipment).
sterling09
New member
- Jan 28, 2011
- 14
- 0
Started in the late 80's doing cars with my friend for his uncle he owned a mini storage and bought and sold cars.I remember using rm compound in a gallon can and spread it with a paint brush,3m polish, big old polisher and liquid ebony. It is amazing how things have changed over the years.
Blackthorn One
New member
- Mar 19, 2009
- 1,268
- 0
My dad got me started polishing rusty chrome parts when I was 6 years old. I was always amazed how stuff that looked like junk condition could be polished to like new condition. I started washing the family cars by myself at 8 I think(When I was too short to wash any part of the roof without using a step stool ) I started earning money waxing the family cars at 9 I think. By the time I was 13, I had proved myself enough to earn the right to wax my dad's black 57 Chevy. Back in those days, I used Rain Dance for the regular cars, and "Great Reflections" for the 57, since it worked better on black. I always really felt satisfaction making cars that were dull and faded into glossy and rich again. Back in those days I used Armor All for rubber. I even used Armor All on my plastic Batmobile, to give it an extra rich shine.
I would use Bon Ami to clean and polish chrome bicycle wheels that were badly rusted, to restore them so that they looked just like new from 15 feet away. I then waxed them. Back in those days, my parents would only have me wax the cars maybe every 9 months at the most, usually every year at the most, because they didn't want to pay me to do it that often. I would get $50 for the '72 Suburban, and $35 for regular cars. I would of course use cleaner wax always, and every time I would need to polish away the oxidation. My parents didn't believe in maintaining a layer of wax so that the paint never got oxidized in the first place. That always made the job hard. I have come to believe that that is how most people see car care.
Most people are so used to letting a paint job get so neglected that it takes so much work to do it, that they believe that to wax a car is ALWAYS that hard, even when you do it more often, just by using a pure wax to maintain, so they loather doing it. Plus they believe that cars being as expensive as they are should have paint durable enough not to be damaged by the elements over time, and that waxing is just to add a little extra shine only, and to make a car easier to wash.
The Eastwood Company catalog used to come in the mail starting in the 80's, and so I ordered "Auto Detailing For Show and Profit" and "Ultimate Auto Detaiing", both by David H. Jacobs , Jr. , because I wanted to learn better tricks. They were really great books in my opinion, and they introduced me to using Meguiar's products, back in 1987. I then read Hot Rod Detailing, and I was introduced to a guy who had taken community college courses in business, and wanted to start a mobile detailing business, so I did that with him for a while. He was 17 I think, and I was 18. I figured he knew about detailing. He was a hack.
We washed this silver Mercedes in full sunlight in the California sun, had to be 85 degrees easy. We had a difference in opinion as to how to do it. I had always started top down, wheels last, being careful with the water as to not to splash, and if I did, I would just wipe off those spots with a chamois or towel. He wanted to wash the wheels first, but we agreed to wash the rest of the car first. No problem so far. Then I say, ok, we need to dry it right away. He says, No, we wash the wheels first, then we dry the whole car at once. I made the mistake of agreeing to it. It took us maybe 20-30 minutes to do the wheels with Simple Green, as they were severely neglected, and I really had to scrub. Well, in 10 minutes, the water on the car had evaporated and left bad water spots everywhere, which I only appreciated the severity of after we were done with the wheels. Oh yes, it was hard water, too. We spent 2 1/2 to 3 hours polishing the water spots off with Megs #6, which was the wax we were using. Man, I was upset at him, and disappointed with myself for listening to him.
So we could only do one more car that day, which was a fairly well cared for silver Honda. That was easy. He didn't have a car, so he wanted to leave the hose, vacuum, and other detailing stuff in my trunk all the time, which added weight to my car, which I used to deliver Pizzas in at the time, and I didn't want the extra clutter, weight and responsibility of it. I could not stand working with him after a very short time, as he considered himself my boss, even though he knew nowhere near as much as I did about detailing. The day I went over to his place to get my share of the money, my "paycheck" which I asked for in cash, he gives me a check, just to annoy me. It took 1-2 weeks just to get the money from him. He had time to get cash, which was less than $100. I told him I was quitting, and then he tells me I am fired and hands me this little slip of paper, listing reasons for my dismissal, which included "insubordination" and "lack of respect" There was another guy over at his place who was his new "employee", and I had to restrain myself from bursting out laughing at this notice he gave me.
I then attended an ROP class on auto detailing, where I learned to use a rotary. A phenomenal opportunity to gain skill and I very highly recommend that anyone wanting to learn to use a rotary do the same. I worked on cars that were painted at that High School's body shop. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I later went to work for a REAL mobile detailer, who had his own portable soft water supply, on a trailer attached to the back of his pick up truck. I washed and cleaned the interiors, and he let me drive the customer's BMW from the client's work to the covered garage where we were to be working. He was a good guy. He wouldn't let me wax, however, because he said that new people can do less damage cleaning the inside than by detailing the outside.
He didn't use a buffer. All by hand. I did notice however, that all of his client's cars had horrible swirls. I was curious to know if it was all his fault, since he used a sheepskin mitt, and the books I read said that sheepskin mitts can drag dirt across paint, instilling swirls, so I was wondering if that was in fact true. He said, yes, he was the only one who took care of them for a long time. I had my answer. No oxidation on the cars, but plenty of swirls.
The crevice tool on the vacuum he gave me to use had a crack that was about 3-4 inches long, and would cause the vacuum to lose a lot of suction as a result. I was obvious that this problem existed for months without any attention from him. I brought this to his attention and I suggested duct tape as a quick fix. He acted like if was unimportant, and suggested that I fix it if I didn't like it. So I did. I brought some duct tape from home, and wrapped it up. It sure beat having to cover the crack with my hand, just to maintain the suction enough to pick up the dirt. He suggested that after a few months of me working for him, he would get me my own truck and I would then work for him on my own. I couldn't help but think I did not need him in order to work on my own, so I quit.
Since then, I read a few more books, gotten a lot more experience, and I've learned a LOT on this forum.
I would use Bon Ami to clean and polish chrome bicycle wheels that were badly rusted, to restore them so that they looked just like new from 15 feet away. I then waxed them. Back in those days, my parents would only have me wax the cars maybe every 9 months at the most, usually every year at the most, because they didn't want to pay me to do it that often. I would get $50 for the '72 Suburban, and $35 for regular cars. I would of course use cleaner wax always, and every time I would need to polish away the oxidation. My parents didn't believe in maintaining a layer of wax so that the paint never got oxidized in the first place. That always made the job hard. I have come to believe that that is how most people see car care.
Most people are so used to letting a paint job get so neglected that it takes so much work to do it, that they believe that to wax a car is ALWAYS that hard, even when you do it more often, just by using a pure wax to maintain, so they loather doing it. Plus they believe that cars being as expensive as they are should have paint durable enough not to be damaged by the elements over time, and that waxing is just to add a little extra shine only, and to make a car easier to wash.
The Eastwood Company catalog used to come in the mail starting in the 80's, and so I ordered "Auto Detailing For Show and Profit" and "Ultimate Auto Detaiing", both by David H. Jacobs , Jr. , because I wanted to learn better tricks. They were really great books in my opinion, and they introduced me to using Meguiar's products, back in 1987. I then read Hot Rod Detailing, and I was introduced to a guy who had taken community college courses in business, and wanted to start a mobile detailing business, so I did that with him for a while. He was 17 I think, and I was 18. I figured he knew about detailing. He was a hack.
We washed this silver Mercedes in full sunlight in the California sun, had to be 85 degrees easy. We had a difference in opinion as to how to do it. I had always started top down, wheels last, being careful with the water as to not to splash, and if I did, I would just wipe off those spots with a chamois or towel. He wanted to wash the wheels first, but we agreed to wash the rest of the car first. No problem so far. Then I say, ok, we need to dry it right away. He says, No, we wash the wheels first, then we dry the whole car at once. I made the mistake of agreeing to it. It took us maybe 20-30 minutes to do the wheels with Simple Green, as they were severely neglected, and I really had to scrub. Well, in 10 minutes, the water on the car had evaporated and left bad water spots everywhere, which I only appreciated the severity of after we were done with the wheels. Oh yes, it was hard water, too. We spent 2 1/2 to 3 hours polishing the water spots off with Megs #6, which was the wax we were using. Man, I was upset at him, and disappointed with myself for listening to him.
So we could only do one more car that day, which was a fairly well cared for silver Honda. That was easy. He didn't have a car, so he wanted to leave the hose, vacuum, and other detailing stuff in my trunk all the time, which added weight to my car, which I used to deliver Pizzas in at the time, and I didn't want the extra clutter, weight and responsibility of it. I could not stand working with him after a very short time, as he considered himself my boss, even though he knew nowhere near as much as I did about detailing. The day I went over to his place to get my share of the money, my "paycheck" which I asked for in cash, he gives me a check, just to annoy me. It took 1-2 weeks just to get the money from him. He had time to get cash, which was less than $100. I told him I was quitting, and then he tells me I am fired and hands me this little slip of paper, listing reasons for my dismissal, which included "insubordination" and "lack of respect" There was another guy over at his place who was his new "employee", and I had to restrain myself from bursting out laughing at this notice he gave me.
I then attended an ROP class on auto detailing, where I learned to use a rotary. A phenomenal opportunity to gain skill and I very highly recommend that anyone wanting to learn to use a rotary do the same. I worked on cars that were painted at that High School's body shop. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.
I later went to work for a REAL mobile detailer, who had his own portable soft water supply, on a trailer attached to the back of his pick up truck. I washed and cleaned the interiors, and he let me drive the customer's BMW from the client's work to the covered garage where we were to be working. He was a good guy. He wouldn't let me wax, however, because he said that new people can do less damage cleaning the inside than by detailing the outside.
He didn't use a buffer. All by hand. I did notice however, that all of his client's cars had horrible swirls. I was curious to know if it was all his fault, since he used a sheepskin mitt, and the books I read said that sheepskin mitts can drag dirt across paint, instilling swirls, so I was wondering if that was in fact true. He said, yes, he was the only one who took care of them for a long time. I had my answer. No oxidation on the cars, but plenty of swirls.
The crevice tool on the vacuum he gave me to use had a crack that was about 3-4 inches long, and would cause the vacuum to lose a lot of suction as a result. I was obvious that this problem existed for months without any attention from him. I brought this to his attention and I suggested duct tape as a quick fix. He acted like if was unimportant, and suggested that I fix it if I didn't like it. So I did. I brought some duct tape from home, and wrapped it up. It sure beat having to cover the crack with my hand, just to maintain the suction enough to pick up the dirt. He suggested that after a few months of me working for him, he would get me my own truck and I would then work for him on my own. I couldn't help but think I did not need him in order to work on my own, so I quit.
Since then, I read a few more books, gotten a lot more experience, and I've learned a LOT on this forum.
Last edited:
Started on my own back when I was 16 or 17. Kept my vehicles "clean" until I was about 22, then I started polishing my rides by machine. A few years back I met RickRack and RyDawg, they have taught me more than I ever cared to know. Now I work with them on a daily basis, its a great experience to get to work with two of the best in the industry on a daily basis.