State your name and Professional Occupation...

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fredcandetail

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Very curious to see what turns out of this ...
I see a lot of people post, comment and give advice and curious to know if it comes from hands on experience, something that was read or just shooting the sheeet advice...

I'll go first ...

Name is Fred been detailing now full time for about 5 years, 10 years total that included weekends and by appointment. Was in Real Estate 5 years ago till it crashed now I have a mobile truck on the road doing washes and a brick and mortar shop for details.

I consider myself a professional detailer and a master with the rotary and DA. Having done thousands of cars I think I've seen and done it all including burning paint :(
 
My name is Ben, and I am an automotive technician. I have been detailing for 4 years, and over the last 1-1/2 I have been gearing up to start a side business.
 
Name is Kris. Been detailing for almost 11 years now all together. 6 years part time, 5 full time 6 days a week. Got my own business in March of 2007 (Northeast Detailing), and have ran it successfully with tremendous retail growth since.

Fred, me and you are very similar in experience! Before I had my business I used to load trucks for True Value on a 4/10 shift. Had fridays and saturdays off which enabled me to learn the art of detailing on the side. :dblthumb2:
 
Dave here, I am a maintenance mechanic at a manufacturing plant and run a small mobile detailing business on the side of that for the past 3 years.
 
Jeremy here...got into detailing back in '96 and did it as a hobby/on the side up until almost 2 years ago when I decided to do it full time. It's definitely been full time ever since.
 
Good to meet y'all fellas!
Looks like we all kinda dabbled on the side detailing thEn went for it!
Glad it's worked out!!!
 
My name is Ron, I am a career firefighter and I have a detailing venture on the side. I am a clean car fanatic and have been detailing for 20+ years.
 
Eric, Ive been detailing my own cars for years. Every once in a wile I would do a friends car. Decided to make a business out of it a little over a month ago. Havent seen a lot of business yet, but I'm sticking with it. I work on the weekends. I work at Sams club/Walmart for a marketing company doing "product demonstrations"... I'm a glorafied sample guy lol
 
My name is Chris, I am currently a head detailer at a Chevrolet dealership in northern Illinois. I am also a part time student (major in business and minor in Law Enforcement). Once I complete my current schooling I play on continuing my education in detailing :) and applying to medical school - but, who knows, I'm always changing things; variety is the spice of life.
 
Mike here. Active duty Air Force vehicle mechanic. Have 3 years under my belt and look forward to many more. Also do many cars on my free time to support my wax addiction.
 
Bill I have detailed my own cars and by appointment for the last 10 years. I was laid off from my job in law enforcement a few months back so I started a mobile detailing business starting off a little slower then I would hope but I expect that for winter time in Colorado.
 
Have been a car nut for as long as I can remember. Started checking out the detailing scene as far as the internet goes back in 05. Attended a Meguiars Road Show here in Indy with Mike Phillips and been hooked ever since. Did mostly friends and family cars up until recently. Retired from a 37 yr career in trucking at the end of September and decided to open my own appointment only detail shop. Playing with the idea of going mobile in the spring. Just returned from my first visit to SEMA and pumped up and ready to go.
Paul S
 
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Name is Mark. I am retired. In my past life I was a Facility/Maintenance Supervisor in hospital equipment manufacturing facility. Had 27 maintenance employees. Detailing is a hobby maintaining my wife's black Cadillac DTS Performance model. Since I screwed up her old Caddy by using rotary I had to learn how to properly maintain this one using GV110V2 and this site sure helped.
Thanks everyone for great help!
 
Bobby G,

Professional Occupation

Mechanical Engineer.

I design and build manufacturing equipment to produce consumer products. I manage direct employees and several suppliers to coordinate the build and qualification of this equipment then oversee it's installation in various manufacturing centers globally.

I also design and develop products for consumer use.

Former Life

I started to do autobody work in the early to mid 70's and dabbled in custom paint work and did some pretty interesting paint jobs on both cars and motorcycles. I sprayed lacquer's enamels, and urethane's. I also sprayed allot of paint made by Metalflake Paint Company which includes:


  • MetalFlake®
  • Glowble®
  • Eerie-Dess®
  • Spindrift®
  • StarPearl®
  • Flip Flop®
  • MicroGlow®
I really enjoyed some of the custom jobs. Laying down a nice Pearlescent Finish with contrasting webbing picking up various major colors on the car products some dazzling results! The "aroma" of these products made me "feel" pretty good while applying them. There was little protection for the bodyman in those days unlike now.

Detailing was sort of a side component of painting but you had to know what to do and when. Wet sanding with the proper grit of paper and what products to use to bring the finish to the desired glow was a real challenge and all had to be performed using a rotary polisher.

If I told you I never screwed up a paint job with a rotary I'd be BSing you. Several times I did learn the hard way and because of this took my time and proceed cautiously learning the required skills as I went along.

Detailing has always been a hobby or obsession. Now I take care of my own vehicles, family members, and close friends. During the warmer months I perform about 5 details monthly, winter months it drops to about 2 as I only maintain my own...

It's great to see some guys my age chime in!!
 
Bio-Anatomy Teacher / Football Coach.

Detailing purely as a hobby, but wouldn't mind eventually making a few bucks on the weekends to at least break even on the product purchases.

After taking an interest in restoring a 10 year old BMW, I discovered just how far you could go in bringing a cars appearance back to life, I honestly had no idea someone could accomplish things in their own garage that I had thought only a professional could do.

Currently maintain my car, but have reached the point where I think I could work on others with confidence.
 
That's awesome to see the diversity of occupations!
There were a few of y'all that mentioned you were just getting started and I hope it all works out! One little thing I did and still do is personally hand out business cards with a smile I'll see a MB or an RV or big truck that looks like a pita to clean and I'll just casually walk up and say "that's a nice car! I own a mobile detail and car wash service and if you ever need some help or need to get your car really cleaned up check us out" and walk away.. Nothing stalkerish or "ohhhhh dammmmmm that's a Ferrari" type thing just kinda the act as if attitude. People with money that drive nice cars don't want lurkers and gawkers in their homes so just pretend you've been there and if you do get that high end car PHOTOS!
Anyhow good to see and know all you guys and thanks for your countless replies and posts, it's good to know just a tad bit more of personal background... There are a few more that I'd like to hear from...let's see if we can get this thread to 10 pages with the forum members! You never know when you might come across someone you might be able to network with!
 
Hi all my name is Karim Khan and i am 30 years old and i am from the beautiful island of Trinidad and Tobago located in the Caribbean.

I work for our National Petroleum Marketing Company as the Lubricant Brand Coordinator which i enjoy. The pay is great and it gives me the abality to On weekends I run an appointment only mobile detailing business. Detailing is not so much a business but its my passion.
 
Ed here and owner of Art of Shine. I am a full time law enforcement officer and also a retired E7 from the military. I began detailing 20 plus years ago for a Porsche/Audi dealership then moved on as a private detailer for some rich and famous folks. Good ole days!

I started my current company about 2 years ago. I strictly market full paint corrections since that is the only way to generate a decent profit on a part time basis, in the market that I serve.

Taking care of my own corral of cars and one airplane is nearly a full time job in itself. I am married and have two dogs. I like dry martini's and long walks on the beach.
 
Hey all. I'm my name is Brandon. I'm 23. I am an A&P. I work on airplanes. Love my job. It's a blast. Nothing like getting behind a tiller and taxing down the runway lol.
 
Jason here. I was a part time detailer and worked in inside sales for a water filtration company. Was laid off in June so I have been a full time detailer since then. With winter coming it maybe time to look for a part time job or a seasonal one.
 
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