How much for a wash and wax no interior?

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Blackthorn One

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As the title says, just wash and apply wax or sealant, no interior detail, no claying, on a brand new Toyota Prius.What is a fair price, would you guys say?
 
Whats the point of waxing or sealing a car without claying it first, all your doing is sealing the contamination and the wax or sealant will not bond to the vehicle.

$50, should take you an hour to do.
 
Grizzly said:
Whats the point of waxing or sealing a car without claying it first, all your doing is sealing the contamination and the wax or sealant will not bond to the vehicle.

$50, should take you an hour to do.
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I couldn't agree more!! :dblthumb2:

I just washed a toyota tundra today very thoroughly(wheels, tires, wheel wells), dressed exterior plastic trim, tires, and wheel wells. I also clayed and sealed. Total $100.
 
Grizzly said:
Whats the point of waxing or sealing a car without claying it first, all your doing is sealing the contamination and the wax or sealant will not bond to the vehicle.

$50, should take you an hour to do.
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The owner claims it doesn't need claying. The owner is also cheap. :) The owner has been told be someone he knows better than me who SEEMS to him to know about detailing, who says that claying isn't necessary, and that clay stains trim, ect. I told him I would do the plastic bag test and then see if it needs it, if yes, then clay, if not, great, no clay. I told him $40 already for wash and wax. I said $60 if clay in addition to wash and wax, and I'd do the rubber. Basically I have to stand by the $40 for the wash and wax, but I thought I would ask for opinions, at least for future jobs. Thank you for your input. I also want to say to the owner that I consulted with other detailers on price, and this is it
 
Sounds like more trouble then it's worth.I would charge him $50 just for the wash and wax.It's a small car.
 
So $60 would be reasonable for was clay and wax only? Also, I was thinking of using WGDGPS or Collinite 915. Frankly, I was thinking of using Natty's red. Would that be appropriate? Would it last? Should I be charging extra for the WGDGPS?
 
I would do Collinite because it is cheap. You know that the customer's know-it-all friend will recommend an OTC wax that contains cleaners and all progress you make will be wiped away. I agree with the others, clay the car. Your price seems fair due to the size of the car. One thing you may want to do is call around to other detail shops in your area and check pricing for similar services.
 
I charge $60 for a wash and wax. I also apply whatever wax/sealant I feel like at the time or if the customer wants something specific I dont charge extra, be it souveran or nattys.

I cant justify up charging a wax unless it's a higher-end boutique wax like swissvax. Souveran is a pretty cheap wax only really worth +/- $60.
 
I also dont charge any extra for a sealant or wax (unless they want both). I give them what they want or what I think will be best. I have "higher" end wax that I use as a selling point that I put on corrected vehicles but I wont put it on a wash and wax job because it is not the easiest to apply. Its RBOE. On the clay matter, Just clay it I can almost guarentee it needs it. I always clay a vehicle even if they arent paying for it. Thats where I want to give the customer the best service. If he isnt paying you for claying it then clay the touching surfaces like the top half of the vehicle. I understand how you want the wax or sealant to adhere properly and all but if they arent paying for it then I clay just the top half of the vehicle. I feel like it just really enhances the simple wash and wax job.

Jon
 
Grizzly said:
Whats the point of waxing or sealing a car without claying it first, all your doing is sealing the contamination and the wax or sealant will not bond to the vehicle.

$50, should take you an hour to do.
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:iagree:that you should clay if there are contaminates on the paint, but saying the wax or sealant will not bond is very questionable. Do you have proof that this is true?
 
$100 and another $35 to $50 to clay it. My wash and wax on a large sedan or small SUV would always run close to 2 hours. I am almost always able to sell additional services. Wax Upgrade full dress of Tires and Plastics. Wiper treatement, Glass Treatment. Mild Interior detail. I cannot remember the last time I did not collect atleast $200 for touching a vehicle.
 
Rsurfer said:
:iagree:that you should clay if there are contaminates on the paint, but saying the wax or sealant will not bond is very questionable. Do you have proof that this is true?
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In my experience it is very important to clay first (even more important is polishing though). I say this because after first trying Autoglym HD I started putting it on all my friends cars (or let them do it themselves), one car was not clayed (even though it needed it, the owner just doesn't care to do it) and the beading/sheeting wasn't even comparable to others. Whether this is a lack of bonding, or that contaminates are hindering those traits, I don't know but I figure the wax just bonds to the contaminates. As is always said, prep is key and I couldn't agree more.
 
A4 1.8tqm said:
In my experience it is very important to clay first (even more important is polishing though). I say this because after first trying Autoglym HD I started putting it on all my friends cars (or let them do it themselves), one car was not clayed (even though it needed it, the owner just doesn't care to do it) and the beading/sheeting wasn't even comparable to others. Whether this is a lack of bonding, or that contaminates are hindering those traits, I don't know but I figure the wax just bonds to the contaminates. As is always said, prep is key and I couldn't agree more.
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:iagree:again. It was not so much the claying as it was the surface contaminates on the paint. If you don't clay or polish at least use a paint cleaner before LSP.
 
I usually charge 40$ wash wax for car, 50$ for truck/suv which includes a quick vacuum/dash sweep/microfibre on the windshield.
It takes about 1 1/2 hour car, 2 hour truck
Pinnacle +10$
Clay 25$ car 30$ truck.
I try to make + 20$ and hour. 20$ for the labor and the + for inventory.
I thought i was cheap but many people have similiar prices...
And if you think about it. Not everyone is disposed to spend 100$+ on car detailling.
 
Blackthorne, your price of 60$ clay and wax is super reasonable
Always figure 20$/hour + generous material cost
 
Blackthornone said:
The owner claims it doesn't need claying. The owner is also cheap. :) The owner has been told be someone he knows better than me who SEEMS to him to know about detailing, who says that claying isn't necessary, and that clay stains trim, ect.
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Wouldn't this be a case for educating the client? It sounds to me that the client is misinformed by someone that really doesn't know what he's talking about. If the client could actually feel the difference between a clayed surface and an unclayed surface he might understand your wanting to clay the vehicle (and charge extra) :hungry:
 
I ususally clay a small panel anyway, and then i show it to the customer, so that way, he can feel the difference without paying for it.

Next time, he will usually take the clay.

But I understand the scepticism of the customer regarding the clay, it is reletively new
 
I usually just offer a complete exterior or interior detail with some extra polishing or hand waxing instead of selant as options. I try not to do just small jobs as I only detail part-time and it's not worth it to me to drag out all my stuff for a quick wash and wax. For $40, unless you need it, I'd tell them what you offer and if they don't like it, then don't do the job (be nice about it of course).

Also if they talk about your work and you only did part of it, it may not look as good as it could of. Just my opinion, you full time detailiers may not want to ignore the business and I understand that.
 
So let me ask a dumb question. If you do just a wash and wax job is that wax just applied quickly with a machine, then wiped off? I only ask because I just ordered a bunch of stuff from AG and have been telling my co-workers about what I want to do with my truck. They of course are interested and may have a very small opportunity to make a few bucks off them, much later on when I become familiar with my gear. So this is good info for me. $20/hr is a great value, IMO, so I'll use their vehicles as "testers" to see how long it takes to do various size cars.
 
Try waxing or sealing a vehicle with a lot of bonded contaminants, its a real pain to apply and even harder to remove.
 
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