My first "commercial" detail

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Huot25

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So, I've been detailing my own vehicles and family vehicles for the past 10 or so years, and I've really started to step up my game over the past 2 years. To supplement my income I’d decided to start detailing on the weekends. This was my first paid “client” (my uncle). The truck was more dusty than truly dirty. Only has 10,000 so the interior wasn’t as trashed as some vehicles; still, it took me 8 hours to complete the project.

PRODUCTS

Wheels and Wheel Wells
Megs SuperDegreaser
3D BDX
Carpro Perl 3:1 (Two coats on tires)

Paint
Washed using CG Mr. Pink
Chemical Decon - 3D BDX
Mechanical Decon - Griots Garage Clay
Single coat of Collinite 845

Engine Bay
Megs Superdegreaser
Carpro Perl 3:1

Interior
Cleaned using Megs APC 10:1 and various brushes.

Glass
Megs D120 10:1

I didn't have time to take photos as I worked so there are not "in-progress" shots. I hope to take some of those during future details.

BEFORE

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AFTER

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I think the project took longer than it should have. I definitely felt like I wasted time thinking “OK, what comes next” trying to make sure I didn’t miss anything or having to back track once I realized I did miss something. Overall I am happy with the outcome, but I know there is always room for improvement.

In the future I want to add HD Speed AIO as part of the process (if needed).

Thoughts or feedback are always welcome! Thanks for looking.
 
Huot25 said:
So, I've been detailing my own vehicles and family vehicles for the past 10 or so years, and I've really started to step up my game over the past 2 years. To supplement my income I’d decided to start detailing on the weekends. This was my first paid “client” (my uncle). The truck was more dusty than truly dirty. Only has 10,000 so the interior wasn’t as trashed as some vehicles; still, it took me 8 hours to complete the project.

PRODUCTS

Wheels and Wheel Wells
Megs SuperDegreaser
3D BDX
Carpro Perl 3:1 (Two coats on tires)

Paint
Washed using CG Mr. Pink
Chemical Decon - 3D BDX
Mechanical Decon - Griots Garage Clay
Single coat of Collinite 845

Engine Bay
Megs Superdegreaser
Carpro Perl 3:1

Interior
Cleaned using Megs APC 10:1 and various brushes.

Glass
Megs D120 10:1

I think the project took longer than it should have. I definitely felt like I wasted time thinking “OK, what comes next” trying to make sure I didn’t miss anything or having to back track once I realized I did miss something. Overall I am happy with the outcome, but I know there is always room for improvement.

In the future I want to add HD Speed AIO as part of the process (if needed).

Thoughts or feedback are always welcome! Thanks for looking.
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Good looking truck! Cool color. Volcano type red or some type of brown? Likely the latter. I like it a lot.

In terms of time, welcome to the learning curve right? :) Which buffer(s) do you use? I lead with the Flex 3401 as it's a speed demon for me. Read about it for a while and decided to try and wish I did so years ago.

I ventured into the weekend thing this year and found the best thing for me was to track time for each step on every vehicle I do and keep notes on the condition as that of course will vary. Doing so has helped me estimate the time each one will need. It also helped me track my time to see where my opportunities were/are.

I don't bid out every vehicle differently, but I do note in my pricing that the costs are starting points and depending on condition more time may be needed and that prices could vary. A completely hammered F150 would have taken you longer IMO. That said I would approach it differently thus perhaps not but it's still a factor that needs considered.

Did you polish the paint too? perhaps I missed it. F150's have very tough paint. Your uncles truck looked pretty good and it would likely work well. If hammered it may require a bit of time with HD Speed and/or the use of an orange pad. I've had bad ones that I simply used Meg's ulitmate compound on to cut through the tough stuff quickly then made another pass with HD Speed. The polish pass didn't take nearly as long as it works great. HD Speed is awesome stuff and is part of my go-to for light to medium corrections where a 1 step / AIO is used. Good stuff for sure.
 
Nice job! Lighting is a big thing when detailing and your setup looks great!
 
pdqgp said:
Good looking truck! Cool color. Volcano type red or some type of brown? Likely the latter. I like it a lot.

In terms of time, welcome to the learning curve right? :) Which buffer(s) do you use? I lead with the Flex 3401 as it's a speed demon for me. Read about it for a while and decided to try and wish I did so years ago.

I ventured into the weekend thing this year and found the best thing for me was to track time for each step on every vehicle I do and keep notes on the condition as that of course will vary. Doing so has helped me estimate the time each one will need. It also helped me track my time to see where my opportunities were/are.

I don't bid out every vehicle differently, but I do note in my pricing that the costs are starting points and depending on condition more time may be needed and that prices could vary. A completely hammered F150 would have taken you longer IMO. That said I would approach it differently thus perhaps not but it's still a factor that needs considered.

Did you polish the paint too? perhaps I missed it. F150's have very tough paint. Your uncles truck looked pretty good and it would likely work well. If hammered it may require a bit of time with HD Speed and/or the use of an orange pad. I've had bad ones that I simply used Meg's ulitmate compound on to cut through the tough stuff quickly then made another pass with HD Speed. The polish pass didn't take nearly as long as it works great. HD Speed is awesome stuff and is part of my go-to for light to medium corrections where a 1 step / AIO is used. Good stuff for sure.
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good idea on tracking time, I'll have to do that next time I have a another detail job. No poishing. The truck really didn't need it. My uncle doesn't wash his truck except for touch less washes, and that's few and far between. 10k and I think the truck Had only been washed a handful of times. The color is a dark metallic maroon, it's a really nice color.

Jeremy1976 said:
Nice job! Lighting is a big thing when detailing and your setup looks great!
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i wish that was my permanent setup! That's my in-laws space. I am in the process of building a house with a 28x26 garage which I plan to setup for detailing. I'll probably go with the same lights that they having in the garage pictured above unless someone has a set of lights they recommend for general lighting. I plan to get a few spot lights for polish work once I'm in my own space.
 
Fantastic work! Truck really look's great! Now it's up to that uncle to keep it that way!
 
pdqgp said:
Good looking truck! Cool color. Volcano type red or some type of brown? Likely the latter. I like it a lot.

In terms of time, welcome to the learning curve right? :) Which buffer(s) do you use? I lead with the Flex 3401 as it's a speed demon for me. Read about it for a while and decided to try and wish I did so years ago.

I ventured into the weekend thing this year and found the best thing for me was to track time for each step on every vehicle I do and keep notes on the condition as that of course will vary. Doing so has helped me estimate the time each one will need. It also helped me track my time to see where my opportunities were/are.

I don't bid out every vehicle differently, but I do note in my pricing that the costs are starting points and depending on condition more time may be needed and that prices could vary. A completely hammered F150 would have taken you longer IMO. That said I would approach it differently thus perhaps not but it's still a factor that needs considered.

Did you polish the paint too? perhaps I missed it. F150's have very tough paint. Your uncles truck looked pretty good and it would likely work well. If hammered it may require a bit of time with HD Speed and/or the use of an orange pad. I've had bad ones that I simply used Meg's ulitmate compound on to cut through the tough stuff quickly then made another pass with HD Speed. The polish pass didn't take nearly as long as it works great. HD Speed is awesome stuff and is part of my go-to for light to medium corrections where a 1 step / AIO is used. Good stuff for sure.
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Just realized I half answered your questions. Trying to reply on my phone with two screaming kids, lol. I have a Griots Garage 6 that I got earlier in the year. If things pick-up, then I will definitely look into a Flex or something with a little more power than the GG6.

I have starting prices for different sized vehicles and then depending upon the condition of the car and what I think it would take, I come up with an adjusted price that the customer is comfortable paying. Compact sedans start at $150, full size sedans, most SUV's and single cab trucks $200, and then 4 door trucks and larger SUV's $250. This is full inside and out including engine bay. Most full-time detail shops are charging slightly more, but since this is just a weekend gig and I am just starting out I've adjusted my prices a bit. Once I start including an AIO with the detail I might bump up the prices a bit or give the customer the option to include it or not.

pro 4x said:
Fantastic work! Truck really look's great! Now it's up to that uncle to keep it that way!
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Thank you! I already know that he won't keep it up. Its stored outside 24/7 and he wont wash it by hand...but he said he will have me do it again in a few months. No washing means fewer swirls, so it's a win in that regard :xyxthumbs:
 
1) Seriously fantastic job. Fist time batting and you've pretty much hit it out of the park. :applause:


2)
Huot25 said:
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People have no idea what a difference how well-cleaned & dressed undercarriage adds to the overall aesthetic. Most would either respond with a funny or puzzled look when mentioned.

Again, well done sir.


3) Your work deserves to be in the Show & Shine section. :coolgleam:
 
Looks awesome and I'm mega jealous of that garage! :-p

As far as time, I do similar types of work occasionally. I just did an F250 a few weeks ago. I rinseless washed it then ran over the paint with Poorboy's World polish with Caranuba blue Poorboy’s Polish with Carnauba (BLUE): A Quality Poorboy Polish & Protectant For Dark Paints! poorboys blue polish, dark polish, car polish, clear. Then I went back over it with a single coat of 845. I used a Porter Cable machine to make application thin and even, and also quick. I rinseless washed the wheels and tires and sprayed the wheels with Optimum Car Wax, dressed the tires with Poorboy's World Bold n' Bright gel. Cleaned the glass with Meguiars D120. The whole job took me 2 hours and put $125 in my pocket. I don't do the interior for this guy, he takes care of it himself, I charge more when I do interior services. Yes, I prefer doing the big correction jobs, but these little winter prep jobs yield more money for the time invested, and I still have the rest of my Sunday to spend with the family.

As far as time savings, I would leave out the chemical and mechanical decon if I were you. If you're not planning on polishing the paint at all you run the risk of marring it with the clay and then you're giving the customer back a vehicle that's in worse condition than when he left it. Or you're eating the time and product cost it takes you to fix the problem you created. I also consider engine compartment detailing to be an add-on service not included with what people think of as a "full detail."

I think you will save a lot of time in the future going with rinseless washing. If cars are completely filthy, a hit of the pressure washer followed by a rinseless still takes less time than a traditional bucket wash. For further time savings, I take some of the rinseless solution in a separate bucket and soak a couple of all purpose microfibers. These work great for wiping down any and all interior surfaces. A truck with 10k miles shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to vacuum out and wipe down completely with this method, and you spare yourself the caustic chemicals inside the truck.

But the truck looks great and I'm sure the owner was thrilled cos I'm sure it didn't look that good when he picked it up, so kudos to you! :buffing:
 
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