advice on detailing???

4

4x4K1500

New member
Can i get some help on what i should do with these questions?
I'll tell you this much I did about 10 cars last year. Got a job at a dealership and have talked a lot with the detailer now I plan to detail on my own this spring and summer.

1. When doing a detail how long do you usually spend?
2. are 3m and meguiers good products like nxt ok?
3. how about the Liqui tech's finish first which is like liquid glass?
4. Is there like a cheap little steam cleaner I can buy thats good but not 3 grand?
5.is a porter cable 6" DA a good buffer to use?
6.when buffing a car what are your steps?
7. and what products do you use?
8. My main question is when it comes to buffing....when i get a car do i just buff it with my sears 10" buffer to apply the wax and remove it or do i use my PC to do all the waxing?
9. I was thinking on big detail jobs to use 3m's pre wax cleaner, 3m finesseII, then apply NXT? all with the PC
10. My prices I think would go like this wash, wax(with hand or with sears buffer), and sweep would be $30, full detail with engine, wheel wells, tire shine, carpets, mats, interior, windows, extensive buffing $100 or abour $55-65 for people I know, and for vans or Large suvs $125. how do those price sound?

sorry for the long post anyones help would be great
 
Here ya go:
1. Total elapsed time typically 6-8 hours (always exceptions).
2. The 3M Professional and Meguiars Professional lines are great products, as are all of our sponsors. Take advantage of the 10% they are so generous to give us.
3. Never tried either, sealants like UPP, EX-P, and Wolfgang are great.
4. Bissel Little Green Clean Machine, very popular.
5. The 7336 is a great buffer to learn on and can be used to remove some serious defects. Buy one at Lowes.
6. Steps are all if needed: Wash, Clay, compound/polish depending on severity of defects, glaze/pre-wax polish, /sealant/wax.
7. My favorite products are too numerous to list. Click the drop box at PAC and I cant find a company I dislike.
8. The PC is a very effective tool, look through previous threads to see some of the damage corrected by PC.
9. You are best off to apply all compounds/polishes/glazes by PC and all LSPs by hand or PC your choice.
10. Prices seem very cheap, you'll probably charge more once you become more proficient with swirl/scratch removal and total quality of details.
 
1. When doing a detail how long do you usually spend? I spend between 3.5 and 5 hours to do a full detail
2. are 3m and meguiers good products like nxt ok? Yes. Both companies have a full line of products geared towards detailers
3. how about the Liqui tech's finish first which is like liquid glass? It's Ok, but there are better ones available
4. Is there like a cheap little steam cleaner I can buy thats good but not 3 grand? I don't use a steam cleaner, but for a carpet extractor, I would recommend something portable and heats the water. I personally use a Mytee HP60
5.is a porter cable 6" DA a good buffer to use? Excellent buffer but for just a few more dollars you can purchase a Dewalt DW443 orbital which has tons more power for correction, etc.
6.when buffing a car what are your steps? Compound, polish, and apply sealant and/or wax.
7. and what products do you use? I use alot of Stoner products, Einman Fabrik, Klasse, Poorboys. All are excellent depending on the situation
8. My main question is when it comes to buffing....when i get a car do i just buff it with my sears 10" buffer to apply the wax and remove it or do i use my PC to do all the waxing? Both. Depending on the pad and the product, you can do some correction, polishing, and waxing.
9. I was thinking on big detail jobs to use 3m's pre wax cleaner, 3m finesseII, then apply NXT? all with the PC. Sounds like a plan to me.
10. My prices I think would go like this wash, wax(with hand or with sears buffer), and sweep would be $30, full detail with engine, wheel wells, tire shine, carpets, mats, interior, windows, extensive buffing $100 or abour $55-65 for people I know, and for vans or Large suvs $125. how do those price sound? I think they are cheap. Figure out how much you have to make an hour then charge accordingly. I personally have to make $40 per hour so I figure if it takes me 3.5 hours to detail a car, I am charging $150.You will get much quicker the more you detail. Don't give your services away !!

Hope this helps!
 
4X4 where are you located ? The reason I ask is perhaps if your located near a supplier they might have some type of classes you could take to help you out .
 
around youngstown. I have a question when

Using the finesse from 3m do i just apply it with the pc. and then apply the wax by hand?
 
i may end up buying some Sonus products would anyone recommend them?

Or should I use klasse?

I really want to keep my buying online at a limit. So if wat is the best polish and wax to buy retail?
 
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get the porter cable at lowes for 99 bucks. I think it was 112 with tax or something like that. Order a pad kit from one of the vendors here...get the discount.
 
Lowes carries the 7336SP the difference between the SP is it comes with a foam pad.

I use Klasse (both AIO and SG ) and Sonus (Spritz and Glanz) products , I use the Sonus products like a QD follow up after Klasse.
 
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