How did you get your start in detailing?

T

TheJeepGuy

New member
Just curious how everyone got their start in automobile detailing, and how many people do more vehicles than just the ones they own. I started detailing before I even had a driver's license! Friends, neighbors, and family started bringing their vehicles to me, and word got around that I was very good and reasonably priced, so by the time I was a junior in high school, I had enough money to rent a little shop and a strong enough customer base to keep me busy every night after school and on weekends. Once out of school, I was offered a job at a dealership as their detail/prep manager and took it but in some ways wish I hadn't, since most new car stores operate the same way...Give you a big pipe dream and rarely follow thru on it. But I digress...I have always liked cars, so I eventually got into repairing and service, and now am general manager of a larger independent (read: used cars) dealership, and I'm quite happy.

Like I mentioned, I've been out of the loop a bit, but this site has far exceeded anything I've ever seen on the web previously regarding the topic of detailing. I've learned more here in a couple hours than I knew my whole life previously. Reading thru the threads on here and looking at everyone's vehicles has gotten me more motivated again to get back into keeping my personal vehicle in shape and has gotten to be almost an obsession! I've already wiped it down with quick detailer before leaving work to go home, or out with friends, etc. Something I haven't really ever done before. It's funny...I feel "dirty" if my vehicle isn't 100% perfect now!



I just find it interesting to see how everyone got their start.
 
I got fed up with my paint looking like this:

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So I bought a PC and a crapload of products to get this:

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Then I decided to spread the wealth since I enjoy doing this kind of stuff :)



I'm on a special request type of thing. I don't do plain wash and wax, only corrections. I don't mind if I get a solid customer base at all. This is just a hobby turned into a side cash type of thing :clap:
 
I learned how to detail when I worked at a high end car wash. Everything went downhill from there...................
 
I detailed my way through college. Even after I got my degree I kept detailing on the side for extra cash. Then got fed up with GM's crap and decided to open my own shop. Been fun ever since.
 
My dad was a kinda weekend warrior guy. Looking back on it his techniques were not very good, but the vehicles stayed in reasonable condition none the less. I just kinda got sucked into it and as my love of cars (and our garage) grew, so did my likeness to detailing.



I Discovered autopia and it went all down hill from there. Now i have a small fortune in detailing supplies, 6 immaculate cars that turn heads, and a really enjoyable hobby that i use to make some extra cash in the summer time.
 
My mother and her sister took good care of their (very cool) cars. In pics from my childhood you can see the spotless doorjambs :D



Heh heh, my father was far less into it until he finally bought *himself* a few cool cars in his 70s. But he took really good care of all his other stuff, and I just grew up believing you should take good care of things.
 
eyezack87 said:
Then I decided to spread the wealth since I enjoy doing this kind of stuff :)



I'm on a special request type of thing. I don't do plain wash and wax, only corrections. I don't mind if I get a solid customer base at all. This is just a hobby turned into a side cash type of thing :clap:
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I used to wash my car and clean the interior, and wax the car when I was younger. I wouldn't call it detailing... Back in 03, I bought a used 2002 MB C240 (Black) with dealer installed swirls. I found autopia when I was trying to find out how to get rid of them, and the rest is history. I now "detail" my cars instead of clean them. I've done other people's cars for father's day presents, things like that. But I have never charged anyone or have really done this for money. I think the time that I would put into it would not justify the money I would make doing it... Hell, I just spent the weekend on my car, let alone spend the time on their car!!! But every once in a while, a challenge will drive up into the driveway, and I'll get the urge to help...
 
That's what prevented me from making it a real lucrative carreer. I'd spend way too much time on one vehicle, and wouldn't let it go till it met my satisfaction. I'd typically turn down dealer work because they didn't want to pay enough for a perfect job, and I hated having to do something just "good enough". Even though the volume might have been there, $80 for a complete car is just an insult for the amount of work needed to make it decent. I could get many times more than that on one retail customer that wanted his car or truck done to show quality, but the customers were fewer and further between.
 
I got a voucher for a complete detail from my girlfriend's parents, went to the shop to fix the date and saw, that they are looking for a new detailer. Few words later i started there...



ok...the shop was crap, i had to change to another one on after a short while.
 
When I got my license to drive, I quickly worked out a deal with the parents to let me use the newer cars, as long as I cleaned them up. Not really detailing, but at the time thought I was hot stuff. Chicks used to love sliding on the Amour-All seats as I flew around corners ;) Always kept the cars clean, usually well waxed.

Didn't know what a swirl was until maybe 2 years ago when bought the 325 for the wife. Got a flex for B-day number 42 in August, and the line for family members on Sundays is a few weeks out. I spent 9 hours on one neice's Honda Accord last Sunday. The disease has definately taken root.
 
I went to school for autobody repair and my instructor told me i would never make it in the business because i was too maticulous, i was assigned to to do a project and he he always found me buffing a hood for practice. He even said he would never get his car done by me but after a visit to autopia a few yrs back and found out what real detailing is and he saw my work now he's a regular full detail customer. never say what u wont do huh
 
I always took care of my car(s) and my parent's cars by hand, polishing waxing etc - not sophisticated in my detailing in any way. FFWD years later and I'm surfing the internet when I come across what I now know to be a clip from a detailing BB.



In this blurb the guy is talking about removing tags from towels and making sure the ends of the nylon string used to stitch the towel are not exposed as they can mar the paint. So I'm thinking WOW! I'm not the only one this anal about cleaning their car? So I read on and find other links to detailing BB and quickly become overwhelmed with all these products, machines, pads, techniques etc. I find a detail supply shop in Newport Beach, Ca that gives weekend seminars on using clay, DAPs, and rotary polishers. In this class they take a black Audi that looked like it had gone through 500 of those swirl-O-matic automated car washes and was blown away with how it was back to show room condition after the guy hit it with the rotary polisher - BAM that's when I was hooked (again) and ready to try all these new techniques and products.



Now I have a small arsenal of products 2 machines and tons of experience. Just to give you an idea, back in my day there was no clay, no DAPs, just rotaries and wool bonnets. One thing that hasn't changed though -- still use good 'ol 100% terry cotton towels (Im talking bath quality not bulk auto zone quality towels) never jumped on the MF or waffle weave band wagon.
 
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