Help with detailing part time.

[CASH XRS]

Hi all, I know all the senior members here are probably tired of these types of posts, but being my situation is a tad unique to me I guess, I figured I'd share and ask help from you guys.

The details (no pun intended):

Last season (around August) I decided to make some extra cash. So I asked a few friends if anyone wanted me to detail their cars, simply stating I would do my best to make it look good. These involved basic processes with basic materials. I'd clean the wheels with Bleche White wheel cleaner, wash the car with Armor All Wash and Wax, dry the car down 90% with a California Water Blade and the rest with clean microfibers. Then finally wax it up with Meguiar's Cleaner Wax.

Ok, now that I have found this site, I know there is SO much more to learn. I really want this to pick up so I can make more money, but I honestly don't see me doing more than maybe 2 cars per weekend if I'm lucky. With that amount of work, do you think I should set up a legitimate company? Most of the cars I will be doing are friends and/or people I know.

Next set of questions is product. I know there are all types of answers here, but just know this when giving an opinion: Never used power polisher (I hope to learn soon), have never clayed, due to previous note, will not be compounding or anything like that until I learn first hand.

My goal is to fully clay and maybe compound/seal/wax my own car and clay some family members cars first to practice and learn. Maybe even hit up a junkyard for a few practice parts.

So with that in mind, I want to get a nice complete set of materials. I was leaning towards on the simpler side of things for now to start off, here it goes:
-Meguiar's Gold Class car wash
-Meguiar's Clay Bar Kit
-Meg's Kwik Detailer (exterior and interior)
-Meg's Cleaner wax (not sure if this is best or maybe something a little better?)
-I heard Eagle 1 Tire cleaner does a great job?
- Best tire dressing?
- Invisible Glass
-Assorted brushes and microfiber towels

Few product questions:
-What is the best and/or easiest wax to use on wheels? My wheels are powdercoated and I want to protect them as best as possible from dirt
- California Water Blade or the Waffle Weave towels?
-Best mini shop vac for my application?

Here is what I thought of for pricing (all criticism is welcome especially here):

Wash and Wax:
Cars - $30, Small SUVs - $50, Large SUVs, Vans and Trucks - $70

Quick detail (vacuum interior, clean door jambs, fully clean wheels, wash and wax):
Cars - $70, Small SUVs - $90, Large SUVs, Vans and Trucks - $110

Full detail (Quick detail PLUS: Engine bay cleaning, clean seats, carpets and all moldings, clay bar the paint if needed):
Cars - $90, Small SUVs - $110, Large SUVS, Vans and Trucks - $130.


Any other comments and/or suggestions are very welcome. I hope to buy Mike's book sometime soon. Thanks for taking the time to read this insanely long post!!

-Cash

 

[Tundra_10]

Hey I am going to give you some very vague and possibly useless advice on a couple things you mentioned. Hopefully they will steer you in the right direction you are trying to go.

First of all, should you go legit? Well, if you are just doing friends and family and you know they will not care if you absolutely ruin their paint, break or damage something on their cars, and do not care about illegally accepting money and not submitting it to the IRS then no its not necessary. I am just trying to paint the ugliest, worst scenario (you need to as well) because anything and everything can and will happen.

Second, if you want advice on products, there are many people on here that will be able to give you awesome, incredible advice that can tell you more then what you could ever imagine/want. With that being said, you need to give a little more information. What are you looking to do with the products? As in, what is your expected outcome? Are you planning on doing major paint correction or are you looking to simply minimize and hide some scratches that after a couple months will more then likely resurface?

Third, if you are doing this stuff for your friends and family, do not bend yourself over with prices, depending on how much you plan on doing, for your "full detail" you might be talking well over 20hrs of work, depending on the condition of the vehicle. That means you will be making less then $10 an hour on a van or truck. If thats cool with you, roll with it.

Oh and take that california water blade and donate it to goodwill or give it to one of your neighbors.

Hopefully I gave you a little direction and a little help!

 

[tw33k2514]

I think you are a good candidate for Mike Phillips book.

I'd start there before anything else.

 

[habeba86]

I think you are a good candidate for Mike Phillips book.

I'd start there before anything else.

I agree, you seem to have passion and want to learn and that is great! But I would stick to family and friends till you know more, then head out to the real world! :xyxthumbs:

 

[shoeless89]

Like Tundra said, try to ask a more specific questions. You'll get a lot more replies because I think if I replied to this post the best I could I would be 45 min - 1 hour of writing. I would start off in Ask the Expert featuring Mike Phillips - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum
He has a ton of videos and you'll get to know a few products, procedures, and processes. Do some more research and then ask more specific questions. I hope that doesn't come off wrong because myself and everyone else on here are more then happy to help

 

[CASH XRS]

Thanks for the replies so far guys. And I plan on getting the book, and I've also been through that whole section and plan on reading it again and then re-reading it after that haha.

To answer Tundra, my hope is basically to be able to give people's cars a good shine. I know I'm not near paint correction yet. I plan on practicing with my own car the three step process rather than an AIO. So basically I just want to get to claying and waxing properly for now. And down the road, if it calls for it, do the three step process and start getting rid of swirls and some scratches and things like that.

And I'm guessing that means go with the waffle weave Tundra? lol

 

[shoeless89]

When I first started trying to 'detail' my own car I used the waterblade. I really didn't wanna believe it caused any problems because it made things so much easier but after polishing my car to about 90% defect free for the first time and washing my car I could see it effected my paint at least. I would for sure go with some waffle weaves. I reserve mine for windows now :/

 

[CASH XRS]

When I first started trying to 'detail' my own car I used the waterblade. I really didn't wanna believe it caused any problems because it made things so much easier but after polishing my car to about 90% defect free for the first time and washing my car I could see it effected my paint at least. I would for sure go with some waffle weaves. I reserve mine for windows now :/

I gotcha. The more I was reading on things, the more I started to think that the water blade couldn't be good for the paint. So I guess I am learning. There's so much on here to read up on it makes my head spin! haha. I know you can't learn all this stuff over night. I just want to be able to take the surface scratches and swirls out of my car's paint job soon enough!!

Is the Meguiar's cleaner wax a good AIO? It's what I have been using on the cars I clean. Also, for getting into the topic of compounding, should I start off with something like a Meg's Swirl X to get the idea down and then jump to their Ultimate Compound?

 

[215Detailing]

Hey I am going to give you some very vague and possibly useless advice on a couple things you mentioned. Hopefully they will steer you in the right direction you are trying to go.

First of all, should you go legit? Well, if you are just doing friends and family and you know they will not care if you absolutely ruin their paint, break or damage something on their cars, and do not care about illegally accepting money and not submitting it to the IRS then no its not necessary. I am just trying to paint the ugliest, worst scenario (you need to as well) because anything and everything can and will happen.

Second, if you want advice on products, there are many people on here that will be able to give you awesome, incredible advice that can tell you more then what you could ever imagine/want. With that being said, you need to give a little more information. What are you looking to do with the products? As in, what is your expected outcome? Are you planning on doing major paint correction or are you looking to simply minimize and hide some scratches that after a couple months will more then likely resurface?

Third, if you are doing this stuff for your friends and family, do not bend yourself over with prices, depending on how much you plan on doing, for your "full detail" you might be talking well over 20hrs of work, depending on the condition of the vehicle. That means you will be making less then $10 an hour on a van or truck. If thats cool with you, roll with it.

Oh and take that california water blade and donate it to goodwill or give it to one of your neighbors.

Hopefully I gave you a little direction and a little help!

Not to sure but this MAY HELP**********


Operating Losses: Prove Your Hobby Is a Business | Nolo.com

Tax - Hobby Expenses - H&R Block

 

[Robert8194]

You definitely came to the right place to ask questions. You will get some good practical, real world advice about making money detailing and an incredible amount of information on products. Mike's book is a great place to start. The videos on this and other cites are a great help. Go to one of Mike's classes if at all possible.

Now for my two cents. Tundra's advice on insurance and taxes is spot on. If you are going to try to make money, you need to be legit with business license etc. Even with family and friends, it is kind of risky to detail for pay without insurance. This is my personal opinion and not intended as legal advice.

As far as products are concerned, everything you mention seems to be over the counter type products. There is nothing wrong with them and they probably do a good job. If they work for you, great. I do a lot of detailing but none for money. The one thing most people notice is that I don't use anything they can buy locally. Using the products sold here on AG may very well make a difference in the effort required or the final result. A positive side effect is people think you are professional because you use professional products that they don't have. Good luck with your venture.

 

[ThirdgenTa]

I gotcha. The more I was reading on things, the more I started to think that the water blade couldn't be good for the paint. So I guess I am learning. There's so much on here to read up on it makes my head spin! haha. I know you can't learn all this stuff over night. I just want to be able to take the surface scratches and swirls out of my car's paint job soon enough!!

Is the Meguiar's cleaner wax a good AIO? It's what I have been using on the cars I clean. Also, for getting into the topic of compounding, should I start off with something like a Meg's Swirl X to get the idea down and then jump to their Ultimate Compound?

There is a video on youtube where they took 3 identicle black vehicles. They were all polished and corrected the same by a professional detailer. They ran one through an automatic car wash, one through a traditional car wash and the last one they used the california water blade to dry.
The one with the most swirls was the one they used the water blade on.

After a regular wash you can still use the water blade for windows if you don't plan on using glass cleaner.

 

[CASH XRS]

As far as products are concerned, everything you mention seems to be over the counter type products. There is nothing wrong with them and they probably do a good job. If they work for you, great. I do a lot of detailing but none for money. The one thing most people notice is that I don't use anything they can buy locally. Using the products sold here on AG may very well make a difference in the effort required or the final result. A positive side effect is people think you are professional because you use professional products that they don't have. Good luck with your venture.

I guess I'll need to read up on stuff alot more than. I've been so used to using all the over the counter stuff and all the things on here are very new to me. Time to keep studying lol.

 

[noname1]

There is a video on youtube where they took 3 identicle black vehicles. They were all polished and corrected the same by a professional detailer. They ran one through an automatic car wash, one through a traditional car wash and the last one they used the california water blade to dry.
The one with the most swirls was the one they used the water blade on.

After a regular wash you can still use the water blade for windows if you don't plan on
using glass cleaner.

I have used the water blade on my 84 vette for about 3 years now. I have not noticed any swirl marks on it ever. Maybe they were using it wrong, I don't know. I use Adams Products maybe that is the difference, the quality of the products you are using. This is just my .02 cents worth.

 

[Robert8194]

I guess I'll need to read up on stuff alot more than. I've been so used to using all the over the counter stuff and all the things on here are very new to me. Time to keep studying lol.

It can be overwhelming. The vast array of products AG carries is amazing. Walking through their warehouse is a true experience. Keep studying and reading the forum and you will get some idea about what you want to use. You are definitely on the right track. There are a lot of great people on the forum to help. I don't think any of the "senior" people will get tired of your questions.

 

[ThirdgenTa]

I have used the water blade on my 84 vette for about 3 years now. I have not noticed any swirl marks on it ever. Maybe they were using it wrong, I don't know. I use Adams Products maybe that is the difference, the quality of the products you are using. This is just my .02 cents worth.

What do the products have to do with anything? Maybe you haven't swirled your car because it could have a harder clear coat. Mine is very soft and if you look at it the wrong way it gets swirls. That's why I use a leaf blower to dry it now.