glisten
New member
- Oct 23, 2014
- 37
- 0
Hello. My name is James. I am from the frozen tundra known as Minneapolis, MN. I'm 23 years old and just started my detailing business. I have a degree in Theology and Ancient History, so that is why I am detailing cars. :xyxthumbs: I'm married and have a 9 month old son. They are the best people on earth.
I dabble in lots of things- mostly audio and video technology as it relates to music. I love music and have played in bands for years. Actually most of my business experiences have been in the context of music- Djing, cover bands, etc.
Needless to say, a few years ago I got a great job detailing jets. I worked for a company detailing the jets for the boards of some of the most prestigious Fortune 500 companies in the world. I used to detail Gulfstreams and (some) vehicles for Cargill, General Mills, United Health, Bob Dylan, USAF, rich oil folk from the Middle East, NBA, NFL, whatever you name it.
It was great until I learned about illegal practices in the company I worked for in their hiring/contracting procedures. Needless to say, I didn't want to be responsible for some idiot on my crew putting a hole in a wing and not telling anyone until after the plane crashed and it was on the front page of the NYTimes.
So I quit and moved on.
For months I spent time researching what it took to start my own company. Drove my wife mad. I built a website and did some basic marketing and now I'm off. I officially launched Glisten Detailing on July 1st.
I've been averaging a car a day for the past 2 months. Needless to say business has been great.
At the same time, it has been a weird adjustment coming out of aviation detailing:
-Most people learn on a DA. The first polisher I ever touched was the 9237CX2 rotary on the leading edge of a 737'. Before my first day on the aviation job I never used any buffing tool ever.
-In aviation we dry washed everything. Seriously- everything. How was I supposed to know that didn't apply to cars when I did my first Caddy right after doing the owners GV?
- It blows my mind the amount of chemicals considered to be OK to use on the interiors/exteriors of cars. Let's just say you don't use Chemical Guys on a $30,000 floor runner...those jets are so clean all of the time, turned out I actually did not know how to remove a stain.
I've learned a ton this past year in this transition. I feel like my game is picking up and my procedure- for vehicles- is coming together the way I want: budget friendly, yet quality results.
I know I still have a ton to learn. The depth of this forum disgusts me. That's why I am here- to learn, and to cheat. Yes cheat- why should I make mistakes and learn via trial and error when so many others have already done so? ...and documented it? ...and published all of that info here?
Teach me. Here I am.
-James
I dabble in lots of things- mostly audio and video technology as it relates to music. I love music and have played in bands for years. Actually most of my business experiences have been in the context of music- Djing, cover bands, etc.
Needless to say, a few years ago I got a great job detailing jets. I worked for a company detailing the jets for the boards of some of the most prestigious Fortune 500 companies in the world. I used to detail Gulfstreams and (some) vehicles for Cargill, General Mills, United Health, Bob Dylan, USAF, rich oil folk from the Middle East, NBA, NFL, whatever you name it.
It was great until I learned about illegal practices in the company I worked for in their hiring/contracting procedures. Needless to say, I didn't want to be responsible for some idiot on my crew putting a hole in a wing and not telling anyone until after the plane crashed and it was on the front page of the NYTimes.
So I quit and moved on.
For months I spent time researching what it took to start my own company. Drove my wife mad. I built a website and did some basic marketing and now I'm off. I officially launched Glisten Detailing on July 1st.
I've been averaging a car a day for the past 2 months. Needless to say business has been great.
At the same time, it has been a weird adjustment coming out of aviation detailing:
-Most people learn on a DA. The first polisher I ever touched was the 9237CX2 rotary on the leading edge of a 737'. Before my first day on the aviation job I never used any buffing tool ever.
-In aviation we dry washed everything. Seriously- everything. How was I supposed to know that didn't apply to cars when I did my first Caddy right after doing the owners GV?
- It blows my mind the amount of chemicals considered to be OK to use on the interiors/exteriors of cars. Let's just say you don't use Chemical Guys on a $30,000 floor runner...those jets are so clean all of the time, turned out I actually did not know how to remove a stain.
I've learned a ton this past year in this transition. I feel like my game is picking up and my procedure- for vehicles- is coming together the way I want: budget friendly, yet quality results.
I know I still have a ton to learn. The depth of this forum disgusts me. That's why I am here- to learn, and to cheat. Yes cheat- why should I make mistakes and learn via trial and error when so many others have already done so? ...and documented it? ...and published all of that info here?
Teach me. Here I am.
-James
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