Todd's class on high end detailing at Detail Fest

Bunky

Bunky

Detailing Gnosis
Todd, I enjoyed your presentation on high end detailing. I thought some of the discussion was lively and could have been more if given time.
 
Bunky said:
Todd, I enjoyed your presentation on high end detailing. I thought some of the discussion was lively and could have been more if given time.
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Thanks Al. It was certainly a pleasure to teach the class. Orginally it was scheduled for about 40-45 minutes but ended surpassing an hour. I had asked if anybody had any more questions prior to wrapping it up and there where none.

If you have any suggestions on how I could improve it I would be more than willing to listen. :bigups

Thank you for attending :yourrock
 
I emjoyed it too, and took about two pages of notes. I just wish the audio would have been better. I had my speakers all the way up, but ended up with headphones on and it was still tough to hear what was being said.

I would like to have been able to see Todd's powerpoint presentation as well to take notes from.

Really enjoyed it Todd!
 
Todd Helme said:
Thanks Al. It was certainly a pleasure to teach the class. Orginally it was scheduled for about 40-45 minutes but ended surpassing an hour. I had asked if anybody had any more questions prior to wrapping it up and there where none.

If you have any suggestions on how I could improve it I would be more than willing to listen. :bigups

Thank you for attending :yourrock
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I do think some were surprised when many said high end detailing does not mean more profits.

A class on production detailing (right cost model, balance between production vs quality) would be a useful one for next year in addition to yours since it was a full session.
 
Hoytman said:
I emjoyed it too, and took about two pages of notes. I just wish the audio would have been better. I had my speakers all the way up, but ended up with headphones on and it was still tough to hear what was being said.

I would like to have been able to see Todd's powerpoint presentation as well to take notes from.

Really enjoyed it Todd!
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If you have any questions I would be more than willing to answer them here.
 
Tried to hear it on the live feed but coudnt really make out what you were saying Todd, would be awesome if you did a write up on it. Even an outline if you had one would be sweet!
 
Bunky said:
I do think some were surprised when many said high end detailing does not mean more profits.

A class on production detailing (right cost model, balance between production vs quality) would be a useful one for next year in addition to yours since it was a full session.
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Great point Al! I will make sure this idea (for a secondary class) is passed on!

It was a point I had tried to stress, that focusing on high end detailing is something is done because you are passionate about it. It is not always the easiest way to make money and those who focus on running a business (vs. detailing) have the greatest opportunity for profit.

However there are enough of us crazy, OCD, quality first-and-foremost people that simply love this because it is a passion. :bigups

Thanks for the suggestions!
 
classofshine said:
Tried to hear it on the live feed but coudnt really make out what you were saying Todd, would be awesome if you did a write up on it. Even an outline if you had one would be sweet!
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I think it would be very hard to a 'dynamic' write-up because we had a lot of good conversation with extremely valuable input from Renny Doyle (who is a more production based business man) and from Jose Fernandez. However I can certainly work on a write-up that would hopefully lead to some discussion. Anything I can do to help is my pleasure.
 
Todd Helme said:


It was a point I had tried to stress, that focusing on high end detailing is something is done because you are passionate about it. It is not always the easiest way to make money and those who focus on running a business (vs. detailing) have the greatest opportunity for profit.

However there are enough of us crazy, OCD, quality first-and-foremost people that simply love this because it is a passion. :bigups
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:bigups
 
Yea really enjoyed sitting in on this from my office. Picked up some great pointers as some of the things you were stating not to do, I was doing... doh! Immediately corrected them and hope this helps.

Thanks for taking the time to do this Todd. Really wish I was there in person to hear it but hey.. maybe next year =)
 
I enjoyed the class and hearing about your background, hearing your take on high end detailing and such, but I think a few people were looking for tips on landing details on high end cars. In tradition on the forums we always hear "volume or production" detailing and "show car" detailing and most would assume "high end" meant luxury or exotics. If this is the case then would a traditional wash and wax on a luxury car be called high end wash and wax? Nope, still just a wash and wax. I have to give credit where credit is due Todd, your definition of high end detailing was right on par. For those that missed it, would you please post your definition?
 
rwright said:
I enjoyed the class and hearing about your background, hearing your take on high end detailing and such, but I think a few people were looking for tips on landing details on high end cars. In tradition on the forums we always hear "volume or production" detailing and "show car" detailing and most would assume "high end" meant luxury or exotics. If this is the case then would a traditional wash and wax on a luxury car be called high end wash and wax? Nope, still just a wash and wax. I have to give credit where credit is due Todd, your definition of high end detailing was right on par. For those that missed it, would you please post your definition?
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If that's the case, I would point them to some of Marc/Jacob's many AutoLAVISH write-ups demonstrating "high end" detailing on some fairly pedestrian cars. One that comes to mind in particular is a detail they did on a bone stock VW GTI that went WAY above and beyond the sort of detail most people would give a car like that, especially considering that it was a daily driver:

C-Quartz, GTechniq, and "the cleanest GTI" : Stepping up our game by AutoLavish

There's "detailing high end cars" and there's "high end detailing." Those can be one and the same, or they can be two totally separate things. High end detailing is about the mindset, the approach, and the level of workmanship being put forth.
 
I agree Charlie, trust me. This is the type of detailing I try to focus on, but not every situation allows. The reason for my post was due to hearing people talk about the class and what they expected.
 
Several years ago when I first discovered the other Autopia, I noticed several times people would refer to details as "Autopian details". I took this as meaning you poured your heart and soul into each one and made the car the best it could be. I have sought to make each of my details match that description. Whether we call it an Autopian Detail or High End Detail, I personally feel we need a category between production and show car. I don't know, maybe I just need some rest.
 
rwright said:
I enjoyed the class and hearing about your background, hearing your take on high end detailing and such, but I think a few people were looking for tips on landing details on high end cars. In tradition on the forums we always hear "volume or production" detailing and "show car" detailing and most would assume "high end" meant luxury or exotics. If this is the case then would a traditional wash and wax on a luxury car be called high end wash and wax? Nope, still just a wash and wax. I have to give credit where credit is due Todd, your definition of high end detailing was right on par. For those that missed it, would you please post your definition?
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My definition of high end detailing is simple: Detailing that focuses on quality first.

In the world of detailing there are so many areas that a business can focus on, from moving maximum volume to offering the cheapest rates. It is a niche, which is rarely explored, to focus solely on high end detailing (quality first) detailing.

One thing that I realized as I formatted the class is that there is no magic bullet into getting into doing high-end cars. Many of us who work on them have all different ways that we broke into that particular market all did it differently. Paul Dalton, for example, did a lot of work on dealership cars for little money until he had begun to develop a reputation, Todd Cooperider hooked up with a famous Ferrari shop, Dave Saunders is so passionate about detailing that he is an encyclopedia of knowledge.

It's like asking 30 different millionaires how they made money, you will likely hear 30 different answers. However they will likely have some common themes: hard work, perseverance, dedication.

It's for that reason that I focused more on the tools needed (and those that may become valuable) and tried to hammer in the point that if you want to be a high-end detailer (one who focuses on quality) then you have to educate yourself on all things related to detailing.

Thanks for attending Richard and thank you for the feedback! :yourrock
 
Thanks for the shout out Charlie. The "Cleanest GTI" thread is one of our most successful of all time. On one site, it has over 22k views. It's all about trying to do quality work on enthusiast vehicles. While Ferrari's are awesome, many enthusiasts can better relate to "realistic dream cars" like GTI's, M3's, and Corvettes.

I've also found clients to always be impressed to see the same way we work on a GTI is the same way we work on a Ferrari: quality is quality and paint is paint after all.


I'm disappointed I missed out on the great opportunity to see Todd's presentation, but I'm happy to hear it went well and was well received.
 
MarcHarris said:
Thanks for the shout out Charlie. The "Cleanest GTI" thread is one of our most successful of all time. On one site, it has over 22k views. It's all about trying to do quality work on enthusiast vehicles. While Ferrari's are awesome, many enthusiasts can better relate to "realistic dream cars" like GTI's, M3's, and Corvettes.

I've also found clients to always be impressed to see the same way we work on a GTI is the same way we work on a Ferrari: quality is quality and paint is paint after all.


I'm disappointed I missed out on the great opportunity to see Todd's presentation, but I'm happy to hear it went well and was well received.
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Marc that is a very good point. The vehicles are all basically the same. The process only changes based on desired outcome and a few variables.
I think there is a stigma about working on rare and exotic vehicles. It took alot of work to start convincing people it's not the vehicle but the condition and expected results that dictate price. Quality does not change.

I too would like to hear more on Todd's insight. The middle ground has been a big hurdle. It's very hard to not throw in a full correction when it needs it but not paid for.
 
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