What made you start detailing?

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Denali2011

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Thought it would be interesting to know how everyone got started detailing (for a living that is) ? I have owned a small Landscaping company for a couple years now and have always had a passion for detailing so my trucks and equipment are in tip top shape. I have not started detailing for a living myself yet only bc I would like to learn so much more before I advertise my services. Being a 20 year old entrepreneur has giving me alot of knowledge for my age! I would like to Thank you all for inspiring me!! Many people don't realize what it takes to make a car shine the right way. Thanks and cant wait to hear your stories!
 
Bought my first newer car, a honda, and realized it has really soft paint and so I researched how to wash it properly, then waxing and it kept leading to more and more research, new information and eventually my own part time business.
 
I was sixteen and had bought my first car a red 1993 Pontiac Le Mans the paint was all faded and my neighbor told me that with some wax it would be red again. Off to Walmart I went and bought some turtle wax (I was sixteen and not educated in products) sure enough it was red again. That is why I have the bug now!
 
A while back I moved my family across the country from Oregon to Texas. Rather than transport my car (would have spent more than it was worth shipping it) I bought what I could afford when we hit the ground in Houston. This ended up being a 19XX Explorer previously owned by a contractor. The thing was a wreck when I picked it up.

Having no personal belongings and living out of a hotel I took my new-to-me ride to a local "express detail" type place. I opted for the middle option... I believe it was under $75. Now, for that price I obviously wasn't expecting perfection... I was expecting it to at least be clean though. This is what I got for that amount of money: The car was run through a car wash, quickly vacuumed, and then LOADED UP with armor all over the ENTIRE INTERIOR. The windows were horribly streaked. The carpet still had large pieces of gravel and dirt everywhere. I was so displeased.

After that experience I knew that if I could apply my car care knowledge and passion towards other people's cars I could far surpass their expectations and deliver a service they would find great value in. A few years passed. I began doing details for family and friends. Word spread... I formed Autowerx a few years later and started doing jobs for "real customers" on the weekends.

I still only detail part time but I love it and I'm continually focused on getting better and better. It's the only thing I have ever done in my entire life in terms of work that has brought me so much satisfaction and fulfillment. The "thanks" I get in the form of tips, smiles, and handshakes from each customer just strengthens my motivation to somehow take Autowerx full time. Someday soon I will get there. Until then I will continue to strengthen my knowledge, refine my techniques, and expand my collection of products so I can deliver a world class experience to every single customer I'm lucky enough to work with.
 
1974 in high school I got a part time job at a large automated car wash. During the summer months I was promoted from the interior bays to be the compound, wax and interior shampoo guy. Had my own bay and did cars by appointment only. For $29.95 RedXray would sweeten up your 50's 60's or new 70's model automobile! A couple years later I was doing paint and collision work at a body shop. The detailing bug has been with me my entire adult life :)
 
I had a '97 Lamborghini Diablo and it needed a detail. I called a local guy that came highly recommended. I was given a price of $225 for a 3 step correction and never haggled. The car came back and looked like crap, except now shiny. After that I said, I'm going to learn how to do it myself. And here I am, a geek
 
I was 10-12 years old went to work for my Dad's shop.

Next I was 21-22 and went to work for my uncles shop.

Now I am a full time college student, looking to start up his own shop.
 
I purchased my own car two years ago and have been detailing ever since. I am a kinda guy who does everything by myself, dont really trust others to touch my car.
 
I was detailing before the word was known. I always loved my toys looking like new since I was a boy. Long before there was the Internet or readily available machine polishers.

You younger guys have no idea how lucky you are. I had my bare hands and old cotton undershirts as detailing tools.

It's a different world now with thousands of choices and now you have machine polishers ready available. To think what I could have done with a machine polisher!
 
When I realized the guys over in the body shop department (I was a wrench turner back in the day) could do more (and better) in 5 min using 'a machine' in the 5 hours I took.

Bill
 
This kind of has some meaning to me. A few years ago I had some major surgeries that forced me to resign from my career that I loved as a firefighter. With disability paying near next to nothing I needed something that I could do to bring in some extra income. One day I felt really good so I decided to clean my car. A few people saw it and offered to pay me to do theirs. I have been growing with it ever since. I'm now recovered and back to working full time and I find that detailing is "zenful" to me and aldo a great way to bring in extra income.

I want to add that during the time that I was starting out I was referred to AGO by a friend. Couldn't be more thankful. I have learned a ton from all of you and look forward to learning even more!

Sent from my SCH-I535 using AG Online
 
My Mom yelled at me when I was ini Jr High school (way back in the late 70's) for using Fantastik on my Dad's RX-7. :eek:

I thought I was doing him a favor.

That's when I at least graduated to turtle wax and I've had the obsession (time permitting) ever since.
 
I was 20 years old just moved back to florida needed a job. Cars were always one of my interests since I was young. One of my buddies put me on to a high end detailer who was hiring. I applied and got the job, but I quickly found out it he was one of those guys who gives you a machine and a product and said use this. Training was not in this guys vocab but he could sell you the stars, but not show you how to buff. One day he came to me and said that I needed to start my own company and be a sub contractor so he wouldn't have to pay any taxes on me. After getting my own license and corporation started I was out of there. I spent all my money on products, machines, and rented a shop. The rest is history.
 
MikeN said:
This kind of has some meaning to me. A few years ago I had some major surgeries that forced me to resign from my career that I loved as a firefighter. With disability paying near next to nothing I needed something that I could do to bring in some extra income. One day I felt really good so I decided to clean my car. A few people saw it and offered to pay me to do theirs. I have been growing with it ever since. I'm now recovered and back to working full time and I find that detailing is "zenful" to me and aldo a great way to bring in extra income.

I want to add that during the time that I was starting out I was referred to AGO by a friend. Couldn't be more thankful. I have learned a ton from all of you and look forward to learning even more!
Click to expand...

Wow, great story! Well, not so great you had to give up firefighting.

rms64 said:
My Mom yelled at me when I was ini Jr High school (way back in the late 70's) for using Fantastik on my Dad's RX-7. :eek: I thought I was doing him a favor.
Click to expand...

Wow, an original RX-7--I hope you didn't mess it up too much. They were available in a really cool blue/purplish color back then. I still remember when Consumer Reports didn't like the car because you could scrape your head on the latch in the glass hatch...
 
When we (my wife and I) moved to the Space Coast here in Florida, I had a Graphics Business where I would match the graphics of RVs to people's tow vehicles. Business started to die down so I started looking for a job. Sure there's jobs, but nothing that you can actually survive on.

In 2005 I started driving over the road (Tractor Trailer w/Sleeper Cab) all lower 48 states. In 2009 the economy hit everyone hard and the shipping industry started changing the way they were doing business which meant, lower miles and less pay. I went from bringing home $1,200 to $600 in 4 years.

I decided to get off the truck and start looking around for another job, at the time we needed an extra vehicle so I borrowed my son's car. I opened the door and the car was trashed out. I didn't know anything about paint correction, first or 3rd stage paints, gel-coats, etc...

As I was cleaning the inside of the car a light bulb went off, “I wonder if there's any mobile businesses out there that do this kind of thing?” After a couple of days searching the Internet, I found several websites with forums and started reading like a crazy man.

I purchased a trailer, pressure washer, 35 gallon water tank, generator, and basically went crazy with my savings. Along my study travels I found this really great informative website with an outstanding forum called Geeks R Us or something like that. I kept researching the Internet, but kept coming back to this geeky forum. I purchased “The Art of Detailing” e-book written by some guy named Mike Phillips.

I think I read the book a dozen times, and as I progressed, I read the book again as if it all started to make more sense. The more I perfected my skills, the more I re-read the book. I look at the forums on a daily basis and have now gotten to where I learn from other people mistakes, not that I still don't make a few here and there in this perfect world we live in, but at least now I can cover my tracks when I oops.

After 4 short, yet very long years I am now back on my feet doing RVs and cars, mostly by referrals only making very close to what I was in 2005, and it's getting better with each month that passes. Could not have come this far if it wasn't for the World Wide Web, and definitely would not have gained knowledge if it weren't for this odd, mainstream place called “Auto Geek”. Now every time I log on to Auto Geek I look at the top of the page and see, “We are Car Care” and this tune from “We are Farmers” insurance echos in my head.

Don't think I would have come as far as I have withing such a short period of time if it wasn't for people who know Car Care as well as this place... Thanks for all your dedicated hard work and mistakes so people like us (Auto Detailers) don't have to make so many mistakes. Now if that ain't a kiss up statement I don't know what is.
 
From my father I learned to keep my car clean.
But I saw a few threads in a car forum from people doing a better clean up, using brushes in vents, drying wheels (some things that I did not do) because of that I started to look for more tips.

I am not consider myself a detailer but I am learning a lot of things for the same reason of previous post.
 
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