$ How Much Would You Charge ? $

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SuperGlide

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Just curious how much you would charge to polish a wet sanded
metallic gray fiberglass tonneau cover back to a showroom shine ?
It was shot about 4 days ago.
 
Allot of factors come into play. Was it shot smooth or with heavy orange peel, is the paint hard, are there paint defects like debris, runs, etc.. in the paint?

Assuming it was a top notch paint job with min defects to remove and it is for a full size long bed truck, I'd estimate about 5 man hours / $350.

This panel for the Alpine show boat took me about an hour to an hour and 1/2 to wet sand and polish.
joe_sanding.jpg
 
^^ Congrats Joe!! I wish it was worth that much but the market says otherwise.
 
SuperGlide said:
Just curious how much you would charge to polish a wet sanded
metallic gray fiberglass tonneau cover back to a showroom shine ?
It was shot about 4 days ago.
Click to expand...

Just to be clear, are you saying someone else already sanded it, and you're just going to be buffing? Or are you going to be doing the sanding as well?

If you're doing the sanding as well it also makes a difference whether you're going to do the whole thing by hand, or if you're going to damp sand with a DA (for a long, flat surface like a hard tonneau cover machine damp sanding will save you a TON of time, though the abrasives are a bit more expensive up front). And, like Joe said, you'll want to take into account the types of defects you need to remove, the paint hardness, etc.
 
The cover is already wet sanded in decent
condition. Here's what I want to do........
1.Compound with wool pad
2.Polish
3.Finish Polish

Just wondering a ball park figure what you would
charge someone.
 
SuperGlide said:
The cover is already wet sanded in decent
condition. Here's what I want to do........
1.Compound with wool pad
2.Polish
3.Finish Polish

Just wondering a ball park figure what you would
charge someone.
Click to expand...

superior_shine said:
I mis-read sorry. 2 - 2.5 HOURS/ $150-175
Click to expand...

I'm with Joe...

The longest part will be the compounding step, do a great job here and the polishing work will go real fast..

Hit it with M105 a wool pad and a rotary buffer and you can finish out to about 95% perfection then do your finish polishing with a rotary buffer and a light polish and if you want to insure there's no residual swirls down the road do a second step finish polish with a DA Polisher.

Since this is fresh paint, technically you're not supposed to seal it with a wax or a paint sealant for an average of 30 days...

What tools and products do you have or normally use?


Sounds like a fun job! Be sure to work clean, clean your buffing pads really well, clean work area, clean hands, clean clothes, etc.

Also, before and after pictures especially if there's any graphics. If you do a great job you might make the rest of paint on the truck look bad and that would be a good thing, then you'll get the truck to buff out.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Since this is fresh paint, technically you're not supposed to seal it with a wax or a paint sealant for an average of 30 days...
Click to expand...

Indeed. Didn't Meguiar's used to recommend finishing with M80 Speed Glaze on fresh paint since it contains polishing oils that would leave at least some degree of sacrificial protection (albeit extremely short-lived) without interfering with the off-gassing of the curing process?

Of course that being the case 3M Ultrafina SE or Menzerna PO85RD would probably be good options as well, as would M03, M05, or M07 to add to the fresh-paint-safe sacrificial layer of protection...
 
Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Indeed. Didn't Meguiar's used to recommend finishing with M80 Speed Glaze on fresh paint since it contains polishing oils that would leave at least some degree of sacrificial protection (albeit extremely short-lived) without interfering with the off-gassing of the curing process?
Click to expand...

M80 actually contains a "Fresh Paint Safe Protective Polymer" that will provide a skosh of protection.

I wrote a Product Concept Paper back in about 2003 suggesting taking that fresh paint safe protective polymer and isolating out of the M80 and come out with a dedicated Fresh Paint Sealant but the idea was deemed to not have a large enough market to be viable.

The idea of the protective polymer in M80 sounds great but M80 also contains diminishing abrasives, think of a #7 Show Car Glaze type product on steroids.

For the final glazing of fresh paint you don't need or want the diminishing abrasives, just the protective polymers, maybe the polishing oils for the customer pleasing wet look.


Shiny Lil Detlr said:
Of course that being the case M03, M05, or M07 would probably be good options as well.....
Click to expand...

and M81...

M03, M05, M07 and M81 are all non-abrasive "Pure Polishes" that are safe for fresh paint and for use in fresh paint environments.


:xyxthumbs:
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
M80 actually contains a "Fresh Paint Safe Protective Polymer" that will provide a skosh of protection.
Click to expand...

Interesting! I didn't realize there was actually a polymer component to M80, but that's really cool! Too bad your product proposal didn't get picked up, as I'm sure there would be folks in the enthusiast market that would love to have a fresh paint safe sealant available.

and M81...

M03, M05, M07 and M81 are all non-abrasive "Pure Polishes" that are safe for fresh paint and for use in fresh paint environments.


:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...

What's the difference between M81 and the other three pure polishes? I have each of the other three, but can't say I've ever tried Hand Polish. :buffing:
 
Do you know what grit paper they finished sanding it with? That will also be a factor in how long it takes you.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
I'm with Joe...

The longest part will be the compounding step, do a great job here and the polishing work will go real fast..

Hit it with M105 a wool pad and a rotary buffer and you can finish out to about 95% perfection then do your finish polishing with a rotary buffer and a light polish and if you want to insure there's no residual swirls down the road do a second step finish polish with a DA Polisher.

Since this is fresh paint, technically you're not supposed to seal it with a wax or a paint sealant for an average of 30 days...

What tools and products do you have or normally use?


Sounds like a fun job! Be sure to work clean, clean your buffing pads really well, clean work area, clean hands, clean clothes, etc.

Also, before and after pictures especially if there's any graphics. If you do a great job you might make the rest of paint on the truck look bad and that would be a good thing, then you'll get the truck to buff out.


:xyxthumbs:
Click to expand...


Thanks everyone for the feedback so far !

Mike,
I use an older rotary polisher, but that flex is looking real nice :xyxthumbs:
As far as products I use all the major brands playing around with
different pad and polish combo's.

I quoted the customer $100 which is a real fair price, but haven't
heard back, that's why I was wondering what everyone else would
have charged.

Pricing can get real tricky these days, everyone expects a deal
 
I did a 94 reg cab stepside GMC f/s other day,its white and been painted for 3 months, charged him 300.00 to nib trash and knock down sum Peel. Man after I was done I should told him 5-6
 
$100?? For a full compound, polish, and wax from a sanding? That's a deal, even just for a roof!

I once quoted $80 for an interior that was trashed. I didn't get called back. Sometimes you just gotta walk away. The quality of your work determines your prices. If somebody isn't willing to pay for your quality work, then they will get what they pay for elsewhere.
 
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