I was challenged last night (experience wise)

S

stangclassic66

New member
Hey All,



As some of you may know, I am currently detailing cars for free to gain more experience with the different types of paints/autos before I officially start working for money. Finding different combos for different types of paints, etc. etc.



I was technically challenged yesterday afternoon. I took up my cousin's 2000 Toyota Camry that hadn't been washed in possibly half a year and never been cleaned/waxed EVER. I started at 2:30pm after I had done a TON of things before, so I was a "little" tired already. NOTE: I've always done my detailing in the morning, so yesterday was a first for me.



My method is to do the stuff I hate first. So I always do the interior. Vacuum, spot remove, brush, wipe, vacuum. I did all 4 seats and floors followed by the dash. Brushed and blew the vents, q-tipped certain areas, cleaned the grime in the cup holders, etc. followed by dressing the dash with leather/vinyl conditioner. A+ job, no problem in 2 hrs. Done at 4:30pm



Exterior has always been my favorite and I save it for last. :) At this point, I am somewhat exhausted but I'm excited as this car is filthy outside. So I do the following: Wash with MF mitt, spray down soap and start claying while car is wet also using a spray bottle w/ water. I also periodically re-wet the car with the hose so it doesn't dry up. I get done with the car and the clay is hideous. Worst i've ever seen. I "THINK" i'm done so I final rinse and dry with MF. I'm tired. I break out the DACP and work the badly scratched areas and am able to get majority of the scratches out. I'm tired.



At these points in ALL my details, I start to feel the areas i've already worked with DACP and ALL of the cars i've done to this point have felt like a wet *****. :D Except this one :eek:. I could NOT believe all the claying I did was NOT enough. My claybar was hideous and this car was still mildly GRITTY. I had to stop. I was so tired and at this point almost CRANKY. I didn't go on further since it was almost 6:15pm and getting dark. I considered the car WASHED and FULL INTERIOR. I called my cousin and told him I would do it RIGHT next Sunday.



It was if reality hit me HARD last night. All kinds of stuff running through my head, including if I could hang in this business. Up to this point, i've been able to do 1 FULL IN & OUT DETAIL a day and get full satisfaction in myself. Last night I "pimped" the interior but failed on exterior due to bad prep and fatigue. My cousin couldn't believe how clean the car was in & out, but I was not happy about it.



Thanks for reading and any comments are WELCOME. :)



Erik
 
First question: Are you doing the exterior by hand, or with a PC?



I'm the first to admit that I'm a wimp, and that if I don't use the PC, it'll take me two days to coarse polish, fine polish, AIO, SG a car.



I simply don' t have the shoulders to go over the car 8 times (4x on, 4x off). Using a PC, doing all 4 steps in an afternoon is not too tiring.



If you aren't using a PC, then I would strongly recommend getting one. If you are using a PC, then a couple of trips a week to the gym would be the only solution.
 
By hand. :) I personally feel I should do it by hand to get used to it because I know I will get customers that will refuse a PC touching their paint. I am getting a PC this week though. :)



Thanks again.



Erik
 
You shouldn't really let the customer tell you that you cant use a PC or a Rotary... You are the professional, they hired you... If they dont want it done right, why dont they just do it themselves??
 
Personally, I can't get near the quality of results by hand that I can get with the PC.



The uniformity of the finish, the elimination of swirls, and the ease of use, is why I use the PC every time I do a car.



I would have to agree with tpgsr: a surgeon would never let the patient determine what equipment to use. And, to be honest, most people who have their cars detailed don't even know what is being done. They simply know that the car goes in dirty, comes out clean, and costs them some $$$ in between.
 
Hey Stang, don't give up. You are headed in the right direction. When claying the car, did you knead the clay to keep using a clean side? When you are done with DACP following up with a good cleaning polish such as VM or AIO will usually provide you with a very slick surface.



I have to tell you DACP really isn't meant to be used by hand. The only human alive that can accomplish this by hand is Scottwax.



When you get your PC start over and I think you will impress yourself. Good luck.
 
*I* would also expect the PC to be a real help in the fatigue department. IMO, that's the biggest benefit to using one. It's not like you can DO stuff with a PC that you CAN'T do by hand, but it makes it much easier. So much so that most people get better results, and much faster. I think you should be able to convince customers that the PC is different from the "buffers" they've heard bad things about.



Something else to keep in mind is the neglected condition of your cousin's car. If a customer brought you something like that, you now know it's more than a one-day job, so you can plan accordingly. And I don't think you'll get TOO many jobs that are *that* badly neglected.
 
Also chiming in, with this kind of experience you now know that tackling a challenging job is an all day affair and must be scheduled as such. Trying to squeeze in one more detail into a busy day when you're half wasted is tough, especially when the detail is free.



As others have said the PC can be a life saver. If you're going to detail for $$ it has to be a "must have" tool. The time it will save you and the results it will deliver are worth far more than the initial cost. Budget a min of $250 for the PC and accessories and expand your pad selection ASAP.



These lessons are good to learn now so you now how to manage your time better. Poor time management skills will kill your profits just as quickly as overpaying for supplies and other expenses.
 
andriver said:
Hey Stang, don't give up. You are headed in the right direction. When claying the car, did you knead the clay to keep using a clean side? When you are done with DACP following up with a good cleaning polish such as VM or AIO will usually provide you with a very slick surface.



I have to tell you DACP really isn't meant to be used by hand. The only human alive that can accomplish this by hand is Scottwax.



When you get your PC start over and I think you will impress yourself. Good luck.
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Thanks Andriver,



No, i'm not giving up. :) I have used clay probably 2 dozen times now, but have never had a car this bad to where I had to go over it twice. I knead the clay after almost every section. I guess fatigue played a major factor yesterday afternoon. I have been able to do about a dozen cars using a 3-step method (DACP/SFP/S100) by hand with no problems. I noticed DACP works better on a warm surface (by hand).



Oh, I will be ordering a PC this week. :D



Thanks again.



Erik
 
I always tell people that they will get better results in subsequent visits, provided they don't let it deteriorate to the same level.



Never had a problem with that, either. They are so delighted to get it to that first 80% of clean they don't exactly have the sandwich baggy out to test for surface texture.
 
Accumulator said:
*I* would also expect the PC to be a real help in the fatigue department. IMO, that's the biggest benefit to using one. It's not like you can DO stuff with a PC that you CAN'T do by hand, but it makes it much easier. So much so that most people get better results, and much faster. I think you should be able to convince customers that the PC is different from the "buffers" they've heard bad things about.



Something else to keep in mind is the neglected condition of your cousin's car. If a customer brought you something like that, you now know it's more than a one-day job, so you can plan accordingly. And I don't think you'll get TOO many jobs that are *that* badly neglected.
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Acuumulator, yes. I made a mistake starting it late in the day knowing that the car was very dirty. I had evaluated the car the week before and overestimated myself :(. I've learned a lot from the stuff you guys say and the mistakes I make. I really didn't think I was gonna get as cranky as I did last night. I straight stopped everything, cleaned up my equipment and called my cousin. He was impressed but I was not because I know i'm capable of much more better results.



Erik
 
bretfraz said:
Budget a min of $250 for the PC and accessories and expand your pad selection ASAP.



These lessons are good to learn now so you now how to manage your time better. Poor time management skills will kill your profits just as quickly as overpaying for supplies and other expenses.
Click to expand...



Hello Bretfraz,



Wow, $250? :eek: Do you mind breaking it down? I was hoping for $200 for the PC, backing plate, 1 orange, 2 yellow, 2 white pads.



These lessons are good for me right now. Thus the "FREE" detail. I don't mind it being FREE because I learn so much after each detail that it's worth it and it's close family. I was glad that camry was free because I really could not finish it. I had no will to re-clay it again. I hate going backwards. :)



Erik
 
It's always been my experience to wash the car first and then go back and do the clay. If the truck/car was as filthy as you say it was, then your clay is just going to get all of the stuff off that rinsing and sudsing isn't going to get. Try washing the whole car first with you mitt, rinsing, and then go back and do the clay. I think it might make a difference for you (and save your clay too!)
 
Stangclassic66, I don't know how you pros detail for a living. I did my first detail of someone else's car this weekend (92 Cadillac Eldorado) and wore myself out. It was a gift detail (no $$), and the car was in OK shape for its age, but needed a lot of work. I QEW washed, clayed, DACP, #9, AIO (all with PC) then SG, and NXT by hand. Then did the door jambs, wheel wells, wheels and tires, complete interior cleaning including leather conditioner, vacuum, washed the mats, and just about anything else you can think of. I still didn't have the time to finish everything the way I wanted to and it took me 13 hours!! I didn't even want to look at a car the next day!



The owner couldn't believe his eyes, and I couldn't believe how sore I was.



A tip of my hat to all of you who do this much faster, and every day of the week!!:bow :bow :bow
 
andriver said:
...I have to tell you DACP really isn't meant to be used by hand. The only human alive that can accomplish this by hand is Scottwax.



When you get your PC start over and I think you will impress yourself. Good luck.
Click to expand...

I won't say that I get nearly as good of results using DACP by hand as I would with a PC, but I get better results than I get with anything else I've used by hand. And, yes, it's a lot of work.
 
tchart said:
It's always been my experience to wash the car first and then go back and do the clay. If the truck/car was as filthy as you say it was, then your clay is just going to get all of the stuff off that rinsing and sudsing isn't going to get. Try washing the whole car first with you mitt, rinsing, and then go back and do the clay. I think it might make a difference for you (and save your clay too!)
Click to expand...



I did. Re-read my top post above. No way in heck will I ever clay a car before washing. :eek:



Erik
 
Stang- 250 is pretty easy to do with a PC. 130 for the unit shipped, $20 for a backing plate, at least 3 yellow and 3 white, 3 orange pads, 2 finishing.
 
stangclassic66 said:
Wow, $250? :eek: Do you mind breaking it down? I was hoping for $200 for the PC, backing plate, 1 orange, 2 yellow, 2 white pads.





Erik
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I spent +/- $130 for the PC through Coastal Tool and another +/- $110 for 18 (6 each cutting, polishing, finishing) pads, so Bretfraz isn't far off in his estimate.



You want to make sure you have plenty of pads "just in case." While the foam pads are pretty durable, they are also in a way fragile because if they snag on a sharp piece of trim, they could be torn or shredded. Not to mention that as in the case of the Camry, you might run into a car that's so bad, you might have to change pads several times during the deep polishing/cleaning step, and having to stop often to wash out your pads can waste a lot of time
 
Stang, the PC is the way to go, reduces fatigue and you get consistent results. Coastal tool is a good place to look, but also check out Nick's deal at Detailer's Paradise. He has the PC for $120 and ships free, plus his pad kit is $50. He did have the pads on sale for $7.95 but it looks like the sale is over.



Good luck with starting your detailing business :xyxthumbs
 
Taxlady said:
I won't say that I get nearly as good of results using DACP by hand as I would with a PC, but I get better results than I get with anything else I've used by hand. And, yes, it's a lot of work.
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It is a lot of work, but DACP is the most 'hand use' friendly paint cleaner around and it does state on the bottle that is can be used by hand.



stangclassic66-I try to get as much information about new customer's vehicles as I can in advance so I can have an idea about how much time to budget....and estimating time just comes with experience. Abused vehicles just take longer, no way around it.
 
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