Hello from Seattle

S

Seattle_Chef

New member
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
Messages
36
Reaction score
0
Hello all,
I am from Seattle and I am thinking of starting a mobile detailing business. I'm not sure if it will come to anything, but I am sure to at least learn how to care for my Scion xB better than I do now. I have been interested in this field of work for a long time but have not ever really put much time into researching it. I'm in a pretty good location of the city to reach many areas with relative ease. After reading a bit on your site and the fact that I live 1/4 mile from Lake Union, I will also look at including boats to my services.

I look forward to learning a lot, and expanding my horizons a bit. :) If I do start something up it will be a weekend thing only. I work in a very affluent area of the city and have access to folks that would most likely grow to depend on a service such as this.

Anyone have any suggestions on a good weekender starter kit? Or a link to a good thread about such a thing?

~Chef~ :hungry:
 
:welcome: To Autogeek Online!! :dblthumb2:
 
Stick with the basics

Basic steps in order are:

  • Wash
  • Clay
  • Paint Correction & Polish
  • Seal
  • Wax

Detailing can be and should be enjoyable especially it it's a hobby, otherwise why do it!

There are literally hundreds of products available but if you choose from the nice products offered through Autogeek you'll quickly learn that detailing is allot simplier than it may seem to see those improvements.

I prefer to put my own package together.

Here's some great information that will help you if you need it.


Polishes

 
Thanks for stopping by Bobby G! I have read a few posts you have chimed in on and admire your insight on this business.
 
I see you don't include much in the way of interior stuff, is this something that is not really a big part of the business?
 
Flash Gordon said:
With the ppl your going to encounter, it's a HUGH part of this business
Click to expand...

I would think it would be, here especially. Rain and snow are the devil on the interior of our cars.

I was looking at interior gear and the pricing ranges from around $500 to $2000... it's so hard to really know what to go with on this front. I would like to keep it as portable as possible because I have a small vehicle and will be working out of it for the most part for a good while.
 
Seattle_Chef said:
I would think it would be, here especially. Rain and snow are the devil on the interior of our cars.

I was looking at interior gear and the pricing ranges from around $500 to $2000... it's so hard to really know what to go with on this front. I would like to keep it as portable as possible because I have a small vehicle and will be working out of it for the most part for a good while.
Click to expand...

I work from a hatchback. I feel your pain


:D
 
Seattle_Chef said:
I see you don't include much in the way of interior stuff, is this something that is not really a big part of the business?
Click to expand...

That's a good point! :dblthumb2:

Many concentrate on the exterior but as Flash pointed out the interior is a very important part of customer satisfaction and the area they'll see the most....:props:
 
So, here is the basic plan as I see it... or at least for now haha.

Saturday: This is the day I would work on my new clients and the 1 off individual washes. People that are either going to be long term clients or just need a single/trial run of my services.

Sunday: this is the day I will dedicate to my long term clients. My plan will be to set up a service schedule, a package deal if you will to maintain a clean daily driver. Either weekly or biweekly touch up services, depending on season or viability of the service. I would imagine these will be quick run through services. If they have need of a more detailed service I would schedule a Saturday appointment.

What do you guys think of this type of option setup? Again, this is very early planning stages and just brainstorming a bit.
 
Seattle_Chef said:
So, here is the basic plan as I see it... or at least for now haha.

Saturday: This is the day I would work on my new clients and the 1 off individual washes. People that are either going to be long term clients or just need a single/trial run of my services.

Sunday: this is the day I will dedicate to my long term clients. My plan will be to set up a service schedule, a package deal if you will to maintain a clean daily driver. Either weekly or biweekly touch up services, depending on season or viability of the service. I would imagine these will be quick run through services. If they have need of a more detailed service I would schedule a Saturday appointment.

What do you guys think of this type of option setup? Again, this is very early planning stages and just brainstorming a bit.
Click to expand...

Sounds like as good of plan as any

Plan to spend around 2 hours (or more) to do a proper wash/interior clean, so don't shoot your foot off with a lowball price

Do you work days during the week? Are you a Chef?
 
Yes, I work days, Monday- Friday. I usually get home around 3pm. And Yes, I am a chef.
 
Cooking is VERY easy, so I figure I am getting the better end of this deal :)
 
Like everything, you need the right tool for the job, but that doesn't mean it has to be the best tool out there either. In my case, I use a 10" Chef's knife for most jobs. Most home cooks use an 8" knife and do very well with it. Probably not as fast or as quick as I might be able to do the job, but they get along just fine, and create amazing results.

With that in mind... do you need a hot water extractor, or can one use a combination of a shop vac, portable electric kettle and Clearer X?

If the later is true, how much time and effort are being lost due to lack of investment in the extractor? To me everything comes with a price tag, and my time is very valuable, however If I only have 2 cars [average sized cars that have not been cleaned in 3 months] to do and it might cut my time by say 30 minutes a car... well I might suck it up and save up for 6 months for the extractor or wait until I need to do 6 cars in the same day.

Same holds true for all these fancy tools, like pressure washers, foam guns, and the list goes on. Do these things really cut the time it takes to do the job down by much, and and if so... which are going to give you the best return on investment?

Am I getting across my point very well?

What would you like to learn about cooking first? :)
 
Seattle_Chef said:
Like everything, you need the right tool for the job, but that doesn't mean it has to be the best tool out there either. In my case, I use a 10" Chef's knife for most jobs. Most home cooks use an 8" knife and do very well with it. Probably not as fast or as quick as I might be able to do the job, but they get along just fine, and create amazing results.

With that in mind... do you need a hot water extractor, or can one use a combination of a shop vac, portable electric kettle and Clearer X?

If the later is true, how much time and effort are being lost due to lack of investment in the extractor? To me everything comes with a price tag, and my time is very valuable, however If I only have 2 cars [average sized cars that have not been cleaned in 3 months] to do and it might cut my time by say 30 minutes a car... well I might suck it up and save up for 6 months for the extractor or wait until I need to do 6 cars in the same day.

Same holds true for all these fancy tools, like pressure washers, foam guns, and the list goes on. Do these things really cut the time it takes to do the job down by much, and and if so... which are going to give you the best return on investment?

Am I getting across my point very well?

What would you like to learn about cooking first? :)
Click to expand...

Your doing fine

You got me on the electric kettle and Clearer X. Are those some type of cooking utensils?

An extractor would be nice to have, but I feel you can achieve the same results with warm water, the right chemicals, brushes, towels, 5hp shop vac and 1 jar of elbow grease. As far as time savings goes, I don't think so

Same holds true for a steamer

A pressure washer would be nice, but definitly not needed. The only time I use mine is when I have a truck with mud caked in the fenderwells

Foam cannons are a waste of both time and money, so scratch that one off the list for sure


Instead of using water with my tomato soup, I use milk. Have you ever heard of anyone doing this? My wife thought I was crazy the first time she saw me do this. I feel it adds a thickness and is better for your body
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top