cfd135
New member
- Sep 16, 2009
- 50
- 0
Hello to everybody here. I recently found this site and look forward to searching through it.
I have been involved in detailing since I was a young teen, my first '"real" job was at the local body shop, sweeping floors, prepping panels and somehow detailing cars. I haven't done it for profit since then until recently. For years I was working in the towing industry, and would frequently enter the equipment I operated into Show and Shine competitions at regional trade shows. Although I was competing with either trucks that had paint jobs running into the tens of thousands of dollars, or trucks that had no or very little "working" miles compared to mine, I was able to consistently win the judges approvals, winning several first, second, and third place finishes. This was done of course by having everything be completely clean and polished. The other guys never seemed to be able to figure out that even new or extravagant paint won't help you when your door jambs and wheel wells are filthy.
I have always obsessed with my personal vehicles, which has been increasingly challenging with three children and a dog, but rules and structure keep things in order most of the time. I have been using Griot's Garage products almost exclusively for seven years, and am very satisfied with the results. I currently own a black 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 2500, and my wife drives a 2005 Volvo S60 2.5T, silver. The Suburban looks incredibly like a Secret Service vehicle, and since I am also a firefighter I have low profile style warning lights and antennas, so it is a great head turner and conversation starter, not to mention left lane-clearer! One of the nicer compliments I recieved was " I have never seen black paint look like that before". This was at 80,000 miles. I have discovered that keeping vehicles(or any thing else) clean isn't something you do once every now and then, but a way of life. My detailing method has been a combination of product, technique and observation, and I believe that balance among these items needs to be achieved for the best results.
In 2007 I began working in management, and for the first time in my adult life, did not have a company truck to polish and shine. I began to focus my efforts in my off time towards detailing for profit. After years of having people jokingly(or so I thought) ask when I would do their car or truck, I decided it was time to accomodate them.
I only detail on weekends by appointment only in my 2.5 car garage. In addition to passenger cars, I also polish "big rigs", primarily Peterbilt and Kenworth tractors. The biggest challenge I have encountered so far is effective time management. Again, with my opinion towards "clean" being a lifestyle, I have struggled in trying to detail for people who don't have the same perspective I do towards keeping their cars clean.
This has resulted in what I, and friends I have in the business, have determined to be too long of a time frame to produce the finished product.
I aim to reduce the amount of time it takes me currently to perform a full detail(5-6 hours min for a car), to something more reasonable and thus profitable. Some have told me I am overdoing it and am spending too much time on items that most customers wont even know about, that's just not acceptable to me to compromise. I know that most of my delays can be traced back to the Griot's system, which was not designed with the professional detailer in mind, either in terms of profitability or speed of use. The reason I continue to use their products is the knowledge, familiarity, and excellent results that I achieve.
Well that's certainly enough about me, thanks for the site, it's time for me to find more efficient solutions to get the job done!
I have been involved in detailing since I was a young teen, my first '"real" job was at the local body shop, sweeping floors, prepping panels and somehow detailing cars. I haven't done it for profit since then until recently. For years I was working in the towing industry, and would frequently enter the equipment I operated into Show and Shine competitions at regional trade shows. Although I was competing with either trucks that had paint jobs running into the tens of thousands of dollars, or trucks that had no or very little "working" miles compared to mine, I was able to consistently win the judges approvals, winning several first, second, and third place finishes. This was done of course by having everything be completely clean and polished. The other guys never seemed to be able to figure out that even new or extravagant paint won't help you when your door jambs and wheel wells are filthy.
I have always obsessed with my personal vehicles, which has been increasingly challenging with three children and a dog, but rules and structure keep things in order most of the time. I have been using Griot's Garage products almost exclusively for seven years, and am very satisfied with the results. I currently own a black 2004 Chevrolet Suburban 2500, and my wife drives a 2005 Volvo S60 2.5T, silver. The Suburban looks incredibly like a Secret Service vehicle, and since I am also a firefighter I have low profile style warning lights and antennas, so it is a great head turner and conversation starter, not to mention left lane-clearer! One of the nicer compliments I recieved was " I have never seen black paint look like that before". This was at 80,000 miles. I have discovered that keeping vehicles(or any thing else) clean isn't something you do once every now and then, but a way of life. My detailing method has been a combination of product, technique and observation, and I believe that balance among these items needs to be achieved for the best results.
In 2007 I began working in management, and for the first time in my adult life, did not have a company truck to polish and shine. I began to focus my efforts in my off time towards detailing for profit. After years of having people jokingly(or so I thought) ask when I would do their car or truck, I decided it was time to accomodate them.
I only detail on weekends by appointment only in my 2.5 car garage. In addition to passenger cars, I also polish "big rigs", primarily Peterbilt and Kenworth tractors. The biggest challenge I have encountered so far is effective time management. Again, with my opinion towards "clean" being a lifestyle, I have struggled in trying to detail for people who don't have the same perspective I do towards keeping their cars clean.
This has resulted in what I, and friends I have in the business, have determined to be too long of a time frame to produce the finished product.
I aim to reduce the amount of time it takes me currently to perform a full detail(5-6 hours min for a car), to something more reasonable and thus profitable. Some have told me I am overdoing it and am spending too much time on items that most customers wont even know about, that's just not acceptable to me to compromise. I know that most of my delays can be traced back to the Griot's system, which was not designed with the professional detailer in mind, either in terms of profitability or speed of use. The reason I continue to use their products is the knowledge, familiarity, and excellent results that I achieve.
Well that's certainly enough about me, thanks for the site, it's time for me to find more efficient solutions to get the job done!
