Post Your Detail Shop and WIN!

[Nick McKees37]

We're thankful for all the professional detailers that contribute to our forum on a daily basis by sharing knowledge, tips, and tricks for everything car care and detailing.

Post a picture of your detail shop or mobile detail rig and a brief story about how you got started and you will be entered to win an Autogeek bag filled with swag!

Here's an example of what we're looking for. This shop belongs to Robert DiterLizzi of Impressions Fine Automotive Detailing

10 winners will be selected on October 13rd! ​

 

[Nick McKees37]

Ready...set...go!

 

[refreshauto]

Needs to be painted and banners hung up, but this is the shop. I got started when my 2006 Acura was destroyed by a detailer. I then started researching detailing and buffing and found Mikes Detailing Boot Camp. After taking the class I started with it part time until I went full time earlier this year.

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[zmcgovern45]

Bear with me, here comes an abbreviated life story...

I've been a detailing enthusiast since before I could drive... my story is probably similar to many others on here in that my dad was and still is a car guy. He liked to keep his vehicles clean, and it was a weekly thing to pull them out onto the driveway for their regular washing. Once a year or so, they would be clayed and polished with his porter cable machine. I always enjoyed helping, and carried on the routine when I got my first car when I was 16. Most will tell you it was always the cleanest car in the school parking lot... keeping in mind I had no idea what swirl marks were, what the 2 bucket method was, etc etc. (ignorance is bliss!!)

Fast forward to college when the internet was really booming and forums were becoming a normal source of information... I stumbled upon the Autogeek forum and my life was changed forever. I quickly began to realize that the products and tools I had been using all along were capable of so much more. From this day on, my bank account would never be the same... I spent days at a time scouring through Show N Shine threads and other informational articles to soak up as much info as I could. This was all put into practice on my own car as well as vehicles of family and friends.

After college I moved a few hours away from home to begin my engineering career. My girlfriend (now wife) was still pursuing her masters degree, so I was all alone with nothing to do. I happened to find a group of local car enthusiasts on a forum, and one day found someone asking for recommendations on a place for paint correction work. I volunteered to help out, but was caught off guard when they asked how much I charged. I had never considered pursuing detailing as any sort of job, but in the end I asked for a small amount of money to cover my product cost, and spent the weekend polishing some paint without losing any money. To me, it was great! Since I am a photography enthusiast and was well versed in the Autogeek write up format, I documented the process and shared my work on the same local forum where I originally found my first customer. The post received a lot of attention, and all of the sudden I had several people who were asking to drop their cars off with me........ and a business was born.



The rest of the story is much more current, and if you've been following our work here on the forum over the years, it may seem familiar, so I will summarize it drastically...

I began working out of the garage at my apartment. I worked on weekends mostly, and would do everything from your basic detailing to more advanced paint correction work. This went on for a little over a year until we bought our house....

I then worked at our house for a couple of years. By now my services were in high enough demand that I could completely eliminate the basic detailing work and focus solely on paint correction & nano coating work. I would wash cars in the drive way, and work in the garage. My neighbors enjoyed looking at the fancy cars every weekend, but the space was cramped, and the lack of climate control was a real burden with the midwest weather.

At the end of 2015 I was given the opportunity to move into a warehouse space near my home that was owned by some existing clients of mine (realtors). They had used the space for personal storage, but were willing to allow me to rent it out for business use. It was too good of a deal to pass up, so I packed up everything detailing related that I owned and moved into our new shop.

We were busy right from the start, and didn't even have time to clean the place up for a while (notice the clutter all over from the previous resident's remaining storage!)

It has been a wild ride the past 5 years, to say the least... transforming a hobby into a full blown addiction has had its ups and down, but I don't regret any part of it. I am still a full time engineer and part time detailer, and I now have a few part time helpers (close friends of mine) who help me get through our workload each year. While I don't have any plans to make detailing a full time career, it is something I am extremely passionate about and am looking forward to continuing to grow both my business and knowledge, while also passing along as much information to other detailers as I can. Hopefully at least one of you has found my posts on this forum, other forums, and the DI AAP Blog to be helpful!

(If you made it to the end, you should win a prize... thanks for reading!)

-Zach

 

[Eric@CherryOnTop]

Zach wins....

 

[choijw2]

My interests in detailing started when I was in college.

During my senior year in college I lived in this area called "Hell Block" because it's where the parties were 24/7, people screaming, partying all night, throwing beer bottles off the street..... And one day, I got up to my car and someone keyed my hood...... big F word....
I was in college and certainly not had enough luxury to take my car to detailer to remove that big ugly scratch off my hood, in fact, I might not even bothered to fix this if it wasn't for the F word.
To save myself some money, I picked up a used harbor fright rotary polisher just by paying a shipping cost and picked up a 6.5" cutting pad by cobra with a bottle of meguiar's ultimate compound off local auto store.
Funny thing, when I received my polisher.... it had 7" backing plate so I ended up using pad that is too small for backing plate as my first attempt to remove scratch.

Well here goes nothing, I polished my hood with 6.5" pad on 7" backing plate on speed "5" using a ROTARY polisher and you can guess what happened...
I ruined my paint by burning it. What happened was I watched how to polish with DA on youtube and used same logic with rotary polisher, that's how stupid I was back then. It was painful experience, but it got me motivated to learn more about detailing world and the more I learned more I enjoyed detailing cars, seeing paint works without any defects were pure joy.

When I first started to detail for money, I tried so hard to get at least one customer per month, but now I am working on beautiful Ducati motorcycles, jet skies, and working on imported right hand drive Japanese cars on regular bases and I can't thank AGO family enough for all those helps I received. Restoring automotive paint work and seeing happy customer makes me feel absolutely grateful. I still got long way to go and still working out of my home garage, but I finally got myself LLC few months ago and looking forward to grow my business in this long journey.

 

[sharpreflection]

I started detailing when I was a senior in high school. I had a 96 firebird and would spend most of my free time detailing it. One day this guy comes to the door and tells me he always drives by and sees me cleaning my car and asks how much I would charge to do his. I have learned so much since then and always continue to learn better my skills. U never had a dedicated detail rigg till last year. I used to detail out of my house or if I did go mobile I would pack everything into my car. I bought this trailer for $450.00 it is not very attractive but has allowed me to become more mobile and convenient for my customers. I hope to upgrade one day but fir now it is just fine. Thanks to all on this forum and Mike Phillips for all the help and tips. And thank you Autogeekfor selling the awesome products you sell which has taken my level of details from ano the level when I found this site

 

[Jeremy1976]

I started detailing when I was 7 and I got my first BMX bike. I was always very fussy and when my buddies would drop their bikes in the ground I would set mine up against something. I washed and waxes that bike every week. My dad had some Turtle Wax I used. I worked jobs around the house to save up half. Once I saved up half my parents booted the other half. That taught me work ethic, the value of a dollar, and the appreciation for the things I worked hard for.

I continued detailing my bikes and vehicles followed suit as soon as I turned 16 and had money saved for a truck.

My passion has followed me through the years and now I detail professionally part time. My garage is my detail shop and man cave so to speak. It is my relaxation and place of peace detailing and working on vehicles in it.

My garage/detail shop is kind of like my vehicles. I take great pride in keeping it clean and organized, along with adding amenities to it. This year I got it heated and floor resealed, along with new kobalt cabinets, now cord reel, new LED lighting, mat washing station, and a professional grade steam cleaner, Diamond plating is going up in October.

I want to give a shout out and thanks to Nick and AG for doing these giveaways. Speaks volumes for them and the company.

Thanks.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk

 

[Blackdevil77]

You're all living my dream lol. Congratulations to you all in the business and those of you that are starting out. I wish you all the best and luck in the world. Hopefully soon, I'll get my opportunity to start myself.

 

[Brandon Wetch]

Wow this is nice. I got an interesting story as well. I'll take a pic and share my story soon


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk. I'm beginning to feel like a Wax Hog, Wax Hog

 

[Justin at Final Inspection]

Well my story actually begins as a fresh out of high school teenaged boy. I was in need of a full time job as I still hadn't made up my mind about college. My parents went to the local Chevy dealer to buy a new car from a acquaintance of ours. He mentioned that the detail department was looking for another full time person and experience wasn't required and full benefits were offered as well. Me being the typical testosterone fueled boy that I was I was always into cars and actually drove a very nice black Iroc Camaro in high school. Detailing was something that was kinda black magic to me. I had friend in high school who detailed during the summer and had mentioned the money he was making and it always stuck with me!


So long story short I started at the dealership and then bounced around to various dealers as my experience increased. Eventually managing a couple different detail departments.

Around 2006-7 when I really started getting into correction type work and realized that dealership land wasn't where it was at.

In 2008 I moved to Florida right down the way from Autogeek headquarters! Jackpot! Once I started investing in higher quality products and constantly testing them on my personal rides and doing budget details for friends I knew that this is what I wanted to do.

Thankfully I kept pursuing jobs on the side during off time from my regular full time job. Now I am back in Massachusetts and have been doing double roll as stay at home dad and full time detailer out of my garage pictured below.

Honestly if I hadn't lived near Autogeek I may have never pursued my passion! Fate has a strange way of working things out.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

At the end of 2015 I was given the opportunity to move into a warehouse space near my home that was owned by some existing clients of mine (realtors). They had used the space for personal storage, but were willing to allow me to rent it out for business use. It was too good of a deal to pass up, so I packed up everything detailing related that I owned and moved into our new shop.
I am still a full time engineer and part time detailer, and I now have a few part time helpers (close friends of mine) who help me get through our workload each year.

Now THAT is a cool story, a couple friends and I had a dream of turning our car hobby into a (full-time) business, many years ago, but that never panned out (probably for the best, lol). Thanks for sharing, Zach.

 

[KMG]

After just over 3 years in business doing this, things have certainly come a long way. Even though I am still doing this part time and working full-time for an Engineering Company, I am still working out of my personal garage. I have put a good bit of money into cleaning up and making the space nicer for working out of. Although I have come to the point where I am pretty much out growing this space and in the next year or two we likely be finding another area to work out of.

This is what my garage looked like just before I decided to give part-time detailing a shot. Both of these vehicles were sold off (regret selling the 65 fastback) to free up some space.

Fast forward to what it looks like now. While still far from a fancy shop it is quite a bit better then it was.

It is a constant work in progress. Looking forward to getting another work space with more room however.

 

[LEDetailing]

Zach,

Great story and that new shop is huge. Plenty of room. Heated floors?

 

[LEDetailing]

Jeremy,

I would love a garage like yours. That floor is spotless. Looks like you will have a helper in a few years. Give that kid a Nano and let him go to town! He would be a great wheel and wheel wells guy. Those arms can get into places we could never dream.

 

[Brandon Wetch]

Starting out..... In an Apartment complex parking lot...

These are some of many cars I take care of. I've gotten my hands on every car in this pic multiple times.

I wasn't planning on becoming a professional detailer. My new dream career came to me. Right now I'm starting out. I am planning on going full time with the whole van setup.

It's funny because in my high school years, people asked a question that made me dread hearing it every time.


"What do you want to be, what do you want to do for a living?"




Ugh. Just put me in a fast food franchise, give me orders. A bi-weekly paycheck and I'll be set. No dreams. No life goals, no end-game achievement that I was set for. I just wanted to have a regular job and a regular life.



Years later we got a Camry for free. The paint wax oxidized really bad. But you wouldn't notice that because the hood was crunched up. I got in the habit of washing the car and later I got a machine from harbor freight. I didn't really know how to use the m105 and 205. I never thought of cleaning the pads either. It almost took a week to finish.

Viola! Here's the results:

https://vimeo.com/184133144


My original gear. I also had a gallon of gold class soap from Costco:

As time went on, neighbors would ask "So, do you do this..?"
"You mean you want yours done?"

I started washing and waxing my neighbors cars. It's funny. When I moved in, I rarely talked to my neighbors most are way older than me. We did have some friends that had an SUV, it had a scuff on the door and some paint transfer. She thought the scuff was permanent, so I talked with her and her husband and I said "sure $20 I'll use my machine and if it doesn't work you don't have to pay" I got to work with my machine and it came out perfect. Her husband gave me two twenties. He did not expect it to come out completely, just look a bit better. This made me feel great. I was able to help my neighbors and get paid. I get many telling me they've gone to so many places in Palm Springs and none of them are as precise as I am.

Seeing the before and after process on these cars really feels like an accomplishment, and it makes people so happy!




Well like I said, I live in a complex. After doing so many jobs, I accumulated more gear. This is in my room.

I have a reputation in the Rivera Gardens complex. Sometimes I'll get a message from one of my clients, they are going somewhere and want a quick detail. I spray and wipe and it looks sharp for their arrival. I get paid and the customer is happy.

Something hilarious happened just a few days ago. A visitor was at the gate near my car and he said "Hey the lady said shout out to this guy always cleaning his car that could open the gate"


I set down by soap water bucket I was about to use on my car, and let him in.


I think I found my calling.

- Mr. Slick




Sent from my Potato using Tapatalk.

 

[Brandon Wetch]

I keep editing this because of all the auto- incorrect mistakes (Thanks, Apple...)


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[Brandon Wetch]

Hey it looks like everyone's going to win a basket


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[ViperGuy21]

My 'mobile rig':



I say 'mobile rig' because it is simply just my first, and so far, only car. My story really starts right before I turned 16 and was about to get the above 2004 Acura TSX as my first car. My parents told me that I would not be allowed to modify my car or work on it in any way because I would just break something. As a car guy, this broke my heart. I was planning on a slight(1"-2")drop with coils, cat-back, and a long pipe cold air intake for starters.

At this point I was faced with the dilemma of how to make MY car stand out. How could I make MY car special?

So I decided I would just make it special and make it stand out by making it shiny.

Now, to do this shining-it-up thing I asked for some GOOD car cleaning stuff and received a mop bucket, MEGS deep crystal wash, Armor All original protectant, glass cleaner, and a couple other things.

None of these products were any good, but I had no clue then.

I happened to come across MEGS Ultimate Compound and Ultimate Polish one day when I was looking at the MEGS website. So, after sorta figuring out what they were, I went and spent a WHOPPING(at the time it seemed like a ton)$40 on those two and something that was called a 'clay kit'.

I figured I could use the UC and UP with the Turtle Wax 'buffer' I found in the garage.

After washing, claying, 'compounding' and 'polishing', and waxing with MEGS ULW, the car looked AMAZING!

The thing was, I enjoy doing it!

Soon I was online trying to find out more about this magical world of auto detailing. I ran into Chemical Guys at first(of course)and got totally sucked in. I bought a bunch of their products, and started trying 'sealants', different 'detail sprays', etc...

After a while I decided I wanted to get a proper machine and really do some detailing work. I ended up asking for a GG6" for my 17th birthday along with the range of Chemical Guys Hexlogic pads. I then ordered a few more hex pads, the V-Line of polishes and a couple other things to make my car look 'absolutely AMAZING!'

After my first paint correction and full detail I ended up finding AGO. My whole detailing world got turned upside down(and my wallet emptied).

I learned a TON from this forum, Autopia, and a few of the good You-tubers(Larry Kosilla is one good example). I then started buying more and more products, winning a few contests, and building up my arsenal while simultaneously building my detailing knowledge.

Next thing I know is my car really does look seriously spectacular, I'm getting more complements on it than ever before, and some people are starting to ask me if I would make their car look awesome too!

My passion for detailing continued to grow, and over this last summer(when I started taking jobs)I got to work on a bunch of different cars and even made a decent chunk of change.

In one summer I worked on cars ranging from a 2010 Porsche 997 GT3, to a newish Honda Accord, to a 1931 Ford Model A that represents a large university in Texas at all major university events.

This brings us to now. I am 18 and a full time pre-med college student who loves to detail. I actually manage to fit all my detailing gear in the trunk with only my vacuum in the backseat.

I love detailing, and plan to continue it for the rest of my life, at least as a hobby. I love the fact that at age 18, I can basically run my own 'business' just on the side to make money. This way, I don't have to get an actual job, or have a boss. What is even better is that I enjoy what I do!

So that is how I got into detailing and where it has taken me so far.

Thanks for the awesome giveaway Nick! AGO ROCKS!!!!!!!!

 

[Brandon Wetch]

Looks like there's still room for one more entry and everyone will still win.

9 entries but 10 will be selected.

- Mr. Slick.