Mixed Feelings & Questions After Hood Test

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

Mike goes over Meg's #7 in his single stage thread which may be something to look into. From the last picture, it looks like you're working on an Integra? If so, I'd be fairly cautious about doing any actual wetsanding as the clear is on its last legs. As Mike said, you're most likely just going to have to live with them in the end, and try to do as much covering up on them with a glaze, then after that, just keep up on the waxing.

Are the RIDS localized to just the hood or are they all over the rest of the car as well? If they are just on the hood, you may consider contacting a local bodyshop to see if they would be able to reclear the hood, then proceed in your typical colorsand/buff.

It is a 96' Ford Taurus.

Only the hood looks THAT bad...the trunk has a few bad scratches, but they may be good candidates for my first wetsand .

I will keep glaze in mind as a last resort. I have a bottle of #7...well about 1/2 a bottle i bought from someone used a few weeks back..i might break it out soon for this hood if i have to.

The only other REAL bad spot is on the drivers side doors...they have a nice DEEP scratch going from one door to the other...they are junk yard doors we bought as replacements after an accident a few years back. The insurance company wanted to TOTAL the car even thou only the doors were messed up..and only give my mom peanuts...so we put these on ourself...they are way past the clearcoat thou...maybe even to primer:

I have dealership touch up paint, but thought about trying Dr. Color Chip...not sure what route to go to make it look its best...ideas anyone?


This car really isnt worth the $ to reclear the hood. Its a 96', over 180k miles on it, its not MY car its my moms...and is really a practice car. Since its in SUCH bad shape, its a good car for me to work on and find out...what i can fix, what i cant fix, and in what time frame it will take me to do so. That way when I finally get some clients that want more than a wash/wax, i know what I can and CANT do...I know what to tell them to expect, and i have an idea of the time frame it will take me.

 

[Wills.WindowsAndWheels]

For a Wash and wax... 50 - 65 bucks... but I think I might be a little on the cheap side there ( most cars are so caked up with bugs and tar around here it definitely takes a bit of time to get it wax ready. i'll add 20 or 25 for a glaze as part of a full detail... I do not usually offer it with just a wash n wax due to wanting to strip the paint down before I use it.

Yeah that is a little cheap, I know...ive been doing them for that price with interior (not shampooing but still a good interior cleaning/dressing).

Ive been pondering what to do with a new price/package menu. I'm almost positive I'm going with a handfull of packages...very straightforward and simple...and I'm not gonna cut myself short on money anymore.

Ive given acceptional results with sub-par products on just wash and wax for people for years...for dirt cheap prices (started out at $30 for a car and $40 for trucks/suvs). That was a full wash/wax/tires and rims cleaned...vacuum...interior cleaned/dressed...tires dressed. Ive upped the price some and my sis and I have gotten faster and better...but its still 'eh' money.

Ive upped my product level...upped my ability, now its time to up my price.

I was thinking about my lowest offer of a full wash (2 bucket method of course)....followed by a clay bar...wax...rims/tires cleaned and all exterior trim dressed as well as tires. For all this I was thinking around $125 or so for a car...and between $25-50 more for a large truck/suv.

From there...maybe offer a 2 step process...or maybe just skip to a 3 step and include an engine cleaning/dressing in those packages.

Then have interior as its own option, either a basic wipe down/vacuum kind of clean up..or the full deal....everything cleaned as well as we know how to...everything dressed...and all carpet/seats (if cloth) shampooed...or if its leather than clean/treat them)

Still working on prices for all that in my head...any thoughts on my wash/wax price and what i'm offering for that price? Do you think I should offer just 1 wax, or an option of a wax or sealant...should the price be the same...should i do it by hand or machine?

 

[Da Fats]

Claying can marr most paints and after a brand new black toyota avalon showed surface scratches in the direction I clayed... after I clayed... I am a little more hesitant to offer claying without polishing. I am also offering a Chemical paint cleaning with like pinnacle paint work lotion which strips old LSP's and also has some fillers in it to smooth out the surface when I do a wash and wax Or Griots Paint prep which will not fil at all.

I'd definitely try out Poor Boy's Glazes that I listed above. From what I have read #7 can be oily and get smeary.... Also read it did not play well with a lot of LSP's.

Hope this helps.

I offer 3 levels of packages:
Wash/Vac/Dash -
Wash and wax - no interior

Express interior detail
Express Exterior detail

Complete interior detail
Complete exterior detail

and a hybrid package of One Compete package with one express package for those that want more focus on one area and alower price over the complete detail

Then I individual services a la carte style and offer paint correction on "Ball park pricing" that is zero'd in when the car is physically examined