Black Velvet Detailing: 08 Escalade HORROR!

I

iRace559

New member
Hey guys! This is one of my first few professional details so bear with my newb-ness. This was by far the worst paint I've ever experienced in my life. This 2008 murdered out Escalade was extremely tricky. The majority of the car was re-painted but at different times. So, some paint was extremely hard and some was soft. It was a nightmare trying to re-figre out polish combinations for different panels. There were still wet-sanding marks on the car from the body shop:thx



I did my best and spent close to 3 days working on this truck to get it to about %95. I did this detail for next to nothing and probably lost money doing it, but I really wanted to prove to this guy I was a hard worker. ( A friend of a friend, with a bunch of nice cars)



Heres a short list of supplies I used(I'm sure I'm leaving out a bunch).



CG Maxi-Suds

CG CUT 1.0

CG CUT 1.5

CG CUT 2.0

Menzerna Power Finish

Menzera Final Finish

LC CCS Yellow,Orange,Green Pads.

Pinacle Signature Series 2 Paste Wax

CG Acrylic Wheel Sealant







I was really focused on getting this truck done so there aren't too many pictures.





As you can see in this pictures, I was up-against some extreme damage. This was pretty much the same for every panel on the car. Some panels corrected easier than others due to paint variances.

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Notice the wetsanding marks?

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After hours and hours of polishing.:buffing:

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There were still a few deep scratches here and there that wouldn't come out, but overall the car made a complete transformation

(Before tire shine and wheel sealant)

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After

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I'm glad I spent the time working on this because as a result, I have a few other cars lined up thanks to this guy. Just out of curiosity, how much would you charge for a correction like this? If you don't feel comfortable posting you can PM me. I'd really appreciate it.



Thanks,



Chris
 
If I owned that truck, I would expect that job to cost around $500, which isn't nearly enough given that you spent 3 days on it. Even though the work is fantastic, most people won't pay adequately for work on a daily driver.



I'm constantly amazed at you guys when you say you spent 2-3 days on a correction. I hope you're getting paid for it!!
 
I would have been overly ecstatic to have made $500 on a job like this, considering that's 5x more than I made. It's hard to charge that much when your first starting out though.
 
you only charged him $100 for a 3 day correction?? wow thats nuts, as others said min. $500 with a full interior and exterior. but it probably wouldnt take me 3 days, maybe 8 hours depending on who's helping me



very nice work BTW, you should raise your prices immediately
 
wow man. Great work. That was a incredible turn around but i would suggest you raise your price.



some corrections take time but in time you will find what technique works for you and be able to shave time off your corrections.
 
holy ****, that's amazing work, brother!!! Yes, you lost money on it-but the car came out spectacular and it's safe to assume birds of a feather. I would look at it as a marketing expense and feel confident knowing his friends will be calling soon.





In the future I would bid $55/hour and expect about $200 upfront for THAT LEVEL of correction.
 
Nice work, but like others have said, don't sell yourself short. Thats great work and you definitely showed you have the ability to do take on a challenge so it would be totally fair to expect $500+ for that type of job. Only knock I would say is it looks like you went a tad heavy on the tire dressing... unless thats the look the customer requested.
 
bogi094 said:
where does it say he did it for $100?
Click to expand...



When someone mentioned 500 at least for that job, the OP said that was 5x more than he got paid.



OP Great work one the truck! I might try CG cut product since your results are so good.
 
I commend you for doing the work for cheap.



If that is what it took to get your foot in the door, that may have been wise. As long as they understand what it will cost in the future, you may have repeat business from that customer.



Well done though, tricky vehicle for sure. Great job!
 
looks like some good work, but WAY too cheap. If you wanted to do that car for cheap - you should have charged $300+
 
tssdetailing said:
holy ****, that's amazing work, brother!!! Yes, you lost money on it-but the car came out spectacular and it's safe to assume birds of a feather. I would look at it as a marketing expense and feel confident knowing his friends will be calling soon.





In the future I would bid $55/hour and expect about $200 upfront for THAT LEVEL of correction.
Click to expand...



I agree, excellent work! Keep it up!
 
If you truly were doing a "special" the first time around to build business, I recommend very clearly educating this customer accordingly. All he knows is that he needed his vehicle "detailed", and three days and $100 later, it's done. He might feel like you're trying to rip him off if you triple (or more) the price the next time around.



The "birds of a feather" thing can work in unintended ways as well. I have a guy that pressure washes my house for great prices, and does good work. I tell my friends how good and inexpensive it is to use him. If he quotes one of them a high price, they're going to feel like he's trying to rip them off, even if he's worth the extra $$.



Just an alternative point of view. I would NEVER give someone an unrealistically low price on quality work unless they were absolutely crystal clear that they were getting a one-time deal of the century. I would also ask them to book the next one at time of completion, and make it clear what your expectations are based on the favor you did for them this time around.
 
I agree with the others, excellent job on the Escalade and you should have charged a lot more. Don't make the same mistake I did when I first started out doing jobs for not much money. You only get price shoppers at those prices.
 
Amazing job on that SUV. I would raise your prices ASAP though. If you build any kind of client base this year, and than spring rolls around and your 3 or 4 times more expensive, any work you did will be "wasted". This has been my experience anyways.
 
Thank you for all the positive feedback guys. I really appreciate it.



I made sure the customer understood that this was way under what I would normally charge to do this. Hopefully it brings me some more business, which it should.
 
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