Applying for a small business

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compulady

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I'm about to order Blitz to go over my 3 coats of KSG. Currently I'm using Meguires FI for QD. After I Blitz, I would like to use a QD with some carnuba content.



After researching this on the board, I think I've narrowed it down to EF Clear Pearl. Anyone using this over Blitz? Initially I thought about One Grand Show off but it sounds like it needs some extra effort. I'm already hindered by not having my own driveway and garage.



So, given the above, is EF the best choice or should I consider Pinnacle Crystal Mist or something else?



Thanks in advance.
 
Some have had issues with OG smearing. EF has gotten lots of great feedback with people using it over Blitz. Crystal mist is aperently a little better but the price is much higher so i would go woth the EF.
 
I have yet to use OG Show Off on top of Blitz. I used OG Show Off on top of Souveran with little to no smearing problems. The Clear Pearl is also very good.

Hello Autopia forum members and guests,

As you know, Don has sent me a bottle(new 16 oz. from Tim at http://www.tacscar.com ) of Show Off (a quick detailer containing carnauba, form the makers of Blitz wax) to test and see if I like it. Well heres my view on the product.

The test car is a garaged, weekend warrior, 1999 MB ML320 with burgundy paint. Everything is original. The treatment was NuFinish/RainX wax every 2-3 months, until July 2001. I applied two light coats of souveran, one on July 7, and the second on July 14. The results were great with Souveran and NuFinish as prep one month before the 7th. The paint was shiny, deep, and had that dipped in glass look to it. The car was maintained with the Cali Duster every 3-4 days and weekly Qd with Meguiars (red) (last time applied last week.)

Now after all the background info is done, to the review.
(The testing was done in a garage with 2 out of 3 doors open.)

The truck was driven roughly 80 miles yesterday. There was a VERY light coat of dust on the car. I dusted prior to One Grand Show Off with a Cali. Duster. I the went ahead and applied some Show Off. I sprayed three times lightly to half the hood, wiped, then turned the towel and buffed off. I did this to the other half of the hood. I then misted two times per half of the roof and did what I did to the hood. I then did the other half. I then sprayed another light spray onto the front fender, wiped, and buffed. The upper and lower panels got one spray each, which translates into two sprays per door, one spray for the area between the taillights and the rear door. The trunk lid got two sprays. All this was done in the manner of spray, wipe, and buff. When I got to the glass, I did not need the bottle of show off any more there was enough on the towel to do all the exterior windows of the truck. Just wipe using the wet side and buff using the dry side. Glass came out very clean and shiny.

The total number of sprays I used on the car is 24. The amount of Show off used was about one ounce to one and a half ounces for the ENTIRE exterior of the truck. I used a 100% cotton Cannon towel (white.)

My opinions

The spray bottle is very good, I used the spray setting of the noozle and created a very fine mist when I lightly pressed the trigger. This stuff also smells like candy. Almost wanted to drink it, ALMOST.

The results, much better than Meguiars QD and the slight edge over Clear Pearl. The Show Off (SO) was a little bit thicker and less runny than Clear Pearl. I had to go over the truck again with the towel to get the missed spots that I did not buff completely off. This indicated that it did contain some carnauba in it. The paint is back to being slippery and glossy, not as much as Souveran but darn close. So with the ease of use and results its similar to Clear pearl, SO being a slightly better finish but harder to use than Clear Pearl.

Ease of use: 8.5 out of 10 had to buff a little bit more than other QD's
Smell: 10 out of 10 smells like candy!
Results: 9.5 out of 10 Fantastic finish
Value: 10 out of 10 (in the gallon size)
Overall: 9.0 out of 10

The temperature is 75 degrees.
The humidity is 62 percent.
the time of day afternoon.
Total time spent using SO on paint/glass and cleaning rims with Meguiars QD and another towel: 32 minutes.

One Grand, you have done it to me again, first it was Blitz, now its Show Off. Thanks for showing me the light Don!

Hope this review was informative.

Jason


PS I used SO in the bathroom vanity and metal fixtures last night. It made the countertop in the bathroom shine like crazy and the metal fixtures are sparkling. There were some water spots on the metal fixtures that needed some Klasse AIO to remove, but the results are fantastic.


________________________

The choice is yours. Some experience smearing and a slight haze with the Show Off, but its due to the higher carnauba content. Clear Pearl is loved by almost all users.

The choice is yours (Clear Pearl or Show Off, but $35 for a gallon of Clear Pearl or $20.48 for Show Off is negligable (sp?.) The difference is only $14 and thats the price someone is willing to pay in order to have the product of their choice.

Well to narrow it down, buy a bottle of Clear Pearl and one of show Off. See which one you like. the bottle you don't like, I am willing to trade something of buy it from you. But you never know if you'll love both of them to death, I know I do.

Jason

Jason
 
Very good review buddy. It's always good to introduce a great car care product to a true enthusiast as yourself. Laters
 
I now really love the OG Show off. Its the first Qd I reach for when a carnauba is used on the car.



Thanks again for showing me the light Don.



Jason
 
I use Clear Pearl over Blitz and Pinnacle paste glaz. Works great and I have no complaints with it what so ever. Nice and slippery/slick after I QD with a MF. No smearing or streaks to date. Since I haven`t used OG Show Off, I cannot offer you any comparisons. I have a gallon of CP from Tacscar, so I`ll be using it for quite a while. Works great on windows also, again, no smearing or streaks with a MF even on glass. Has a nice fruity smell to boot!



TBone :)
 
is awesome over Blitz! You won't be disappointed with it. I am currently using it over Souveran and it performs equally well on that.



I do have the Crystal Mist as well, but cannot justify the price. I really have not seen a significant difference with the Crystal Mist - it works well, but I do not find it to be superior over the CP.
 
Your very welcome Jason. Now you need to try the Wizzard's Mist N shine. Great product but its not economically feasible. Too pricey. I wish they had cheaper gallon prices. Laters
 
What does it take to become a legal business owner?

I'm beginning to get more interest beyond friends and family and would like get some sort of division of personal and business assets as well as some liability insurance.

I was referred to the site LegalZoom by a friend who was laid off and re-hired as an outside consultant, which laid full responsibility and liability of his actions on himself. I think I should be applying for a sole proprietorship DBA, as I won't have any employees besides myself, although it was also suggested to me that an LLC is would be my best option.

So, for you guys who are tax paying insured business owners, what process did you have to go through to become a legal business owner/what sort of business did you apply for?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! :smile:
 
CH.Detailing said:
What does it take to become a legal business owner?

I'm beginning to get more interest beyond friends and family and would like get some sort of division of personal and business assets as well as some liability insurance.

I was referred to the site LegalZoom by a friend who was laid off and re-hired as an outside consultant, which laid full responsibility and liability of his actions on himself. I think I should be applying for a sole proprietorship DBA, as I won't have any employees besides myself, although it was also suggested to me that an LLC is would be my best option.

So, for you guys who are tax paying insured business owners, what process did you have to go through to become a legal business owner/what sort of business did you apply for?

Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! :smile:
Click to expand...
Insurance
What you will need is a garage keepers policy. The amount you purchase should align with the average cost of the vehicles you work on. I would also get your deductable as high as you can be comfortable with. $500-$1,000+ will decrease your premium considerably

Biz License
This can be as simple as a $38 yearly fee. Check with your local municipality for current rates. By doing this you will have to start paying sales tax every quarter(3 months) < same goes for your income tax.

LLC-vs-Sole Proprietorship
In this litigous society we live in an LLC probally is the way to go. Plus if everything falls apart/bankrupt its easier to just bail and have very little responsibilty. Having said that, I beleive a Sole Propriertorship may be the way to go if your working alone without any major overhead


Hope this helps :)
 
Well, after briefly speaking with my insurance agent it seems that I'm not eligible for any coverage. I was told that a garage keeper policy doesn't apply to a mobile business operation, and that the only coverage that could apply to my situation would require me to have been in business for a minimum of three years before qualifying, which didn't make any sense to me.

My options (that I'm aware of) is to establish either a sole proprietorship or an LLC.

Given that I will be the only employee, both situations would be taxed as a sole proprietorship. Since I can't get any insurance, a sole proprietorship would put unlimited liability on my personal assets, unless I can get some sort of written contractual agreement made.

Now, how an LLC would work is what confuses me a bit. It would benefit me as it would put liability with the LLC and not with myself. But, since I would be the only member of the LLC would I have the same liability as I would with a sole proprietorship? How would the money be handled with an LLC? Would I have to set my own wages? How much money should stay with the company, especially because I wouldn't be insured?

I feel like a sole proprietorship with a contractual agreement holding myself harmless from any damage I may inadvertently cause through my work is really the best option for me, although it is certainly the least appetizing for my clients. I believe most of my clients would be okay with this, as I only do work through referrals on a very personal level.
 
CH.Detailing said:
Well, after briefly speaking with my insurance agent it seems that I'm not eligible for any coverage. I was told that a garage keeper policy doesn't apply to a mobile business operation, and that the only coverage that could apply to my situation would require me to have been in business for a minimum of three years before qualifying, which didn't make any sense to me.

My options (that I'm aware of) is to establish either a sole proprietorship or an LLC.

Given that I will be the only employee, both situations would be taxed as a sole proprietorship. Since I can't get any insurance, a sole proprietorship would put unlimited liability on my personal assets, unless I can get some sort of written contractual agreement made.

Now, how an LLC would work is what confuses me a bit. It would benefit me as it would put liability with the LLC and not with myself. But, since I would be the only member of the LLC would I have the same liability as I would with a sole proprietorship? How would the money be handled with an LLC? Would I have to set my own wages? How much money should stay with the company, especially because I wouldn't be insured?

I feel like a sole proprietorship with a contractual agreement holding myself harmless from any damage I may inadvertently cause through my work is really the best option for me, although it is certainly the least appetizing for my clients. I believe most of my clients would be okay with this, as I only do work through referrals on a very personal level.
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware you were doing your work mobile. So, no a garage keepers policy is no good for you. What you can do is get bonded. I'm surprised your agent didn't mention this option Da Rules!

I beleive a sole proprietorship will be fine for you. The main reason ppl start an LLC is to protect there assetts in case everything goes south/bankrupt. LLC's are good if you have alot of overhead (Inventory, Mortgage/Long Term Lease, Etc...) and will save you from being sued and losing the shirt off your back :scared:

Being in your shoes, the best thing to do is to save up a couple thousand dollars or more in case say you were to burn thru the paint on a Lambo, or say burn up the trim like Appollo did :o or perhaps screw up something cleaning an engine. This is probally very unlikely to happen, but the longer your in business something will eventually happen. Its a numbers game is all :out:

My hats off to you for trying to do everything the right way. This is very honorable :judge:

I feel like I should keep typing a bunch of jibberish, but thats not my style. If theres anything else I can help you with let me know :Snowman:
 
Well I went back to talk to my insurance agent, and we put together a package that he is going to send out to an insurance brokerage firm. We'll see if I can get any quotes!

The package we put together was the following,

$1,000,000 general liability covering any damage to the garage or property of the client

$100,000 fire damage protection, just a precaution

$10,000 coverage for vehicle damage, it's not alot but should cover replacement of a panel or two. Depending on what I get for quotes I'll probably have this increased to $30,000-$40,000.
 
CH.Detailing said:
Well I went back to talk to my insurance agent, and we put together a package that he is going to send out to an insurance brokerage firm. We'll see if I can get any quotes!

The package we put together was the following,

$1,000,000 general liability covering any damage to the garage or property of the client

$100,000 fire damage protection, just a precaution

$10,000 coverage for vehicle damage, it's not alot but should cover replacement of a panel or two. Depending on what I get for quotes I'll probably have this increased to $30,000-$40,000.
Click to expand...

Well, those numbers don't look right to me. What is this fire policy you speak of? Does it cover paint burn :wizard:

The 1 mill for property damage should drop to 100k max

The $10k for vehicle damage should increase to 100k+

IMPO you need to seek someone elses advice/get a new agent. If this individual is leading you to these numbers he/she is not looking out for your best intrest :2 cents:
 
The $1M general liability is the minimum, as is the $100,000 fire damage. The $10K to cover vehicle damage is not set in stone, I'm just waiting to get some quotes. I'm trying to get a minimalist policy, I just want some sort of coverage.

Remember, I'm a college student who does this for a few months during the summer, if I'm lucky I'll make $8K during a detailing season.
 
CH.Detailing said:
The $1M general liability is the minimum, as is the $100,000 fire damage. The $10K to cover vehicle damage is not set in stone, I'm just waiting to get some quotes. I'm trying to get a minimalist policy, I just want some sort of coverage.

Remember, I'm a college student who does this for a few months during the summer, if I'm lucky I'll make $8K during a detailing season.
Click to expand...

Someone is lying to you and it ain't me :Innocent:


My general liability policy is 250k. Get another quote or better yet, just forget about this coverage your looking into. If your doing most all of your work at a clients house, more then likely they will have all the coverage you will need should something drastic arise. They would probally rather see you have health/disabilty/workmens comp insururance should you hurt yourself on there property :money: :money: :money: :Snowman:
 
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