Last Post before my business starts next week

[dtailthis2]

well im finally getting back into detailing. i got an "apprentice day" set up at a local shop to renew my skills, but im so psyched to get going.

The good thing is when i called up some old friends whos cars i detailed over 4 years ago that i was getting back into it, they immediately wanted appointments. And when i told them that im coming to their house, they were even more excited. its gonna be a lot easier this time now that they all have cars that were made in this decade.

Before i go into this detailing shop to get the low down of whats going on these days in the land of car detailing, i just want a few questions answered here so i can ask them again when i get there, so i can compare.

I know the order is clay(not always)/polish/sealant/wax........i used to machine the polish and sealant, and hand apply/remove the wax. What products are good for dark cars? Light cars? What pads do you use for polish and sealant? Obviously a polishing pad and a finishing pad, but what brand and color? Everyone still staying under 1500rpm on the rotary, unless higher speeds are needed for deeper problems? Whats the deal with polishing glass? Foam pads? I never used one, so whats up with them? basically i want to get to the level of Nick over at The Details, but in my area. Not getting to busy, but just enough to supplement my current FT job, so maybe i can buy a house. Who knows, maybe one day i'll just jump in head first and make this a FT job.

Im really just confused with what products to use. Like what gives the warm feeling and what gives the wet look? How do you know when to use each? Can someone post pics of a warm look and a wet look? I read all about poorboys and megs, but i really dont know whats the best one for me. I used to use Ardex when i worked in a shop, so im not really familiar with these items.

So in the end, when i leave this guys place and go on the web to order product, what the hell am i getting????? And who am i getting it from? And yes i read the guide to detailing jndr?man did, but i just want some other opinions.

Thanks DC.

 

[Jngrbrdman]

There are too many products to choose from. I suppose you could go nuts and buy one of everything so you will always have the right product, but that is not practical for a mobile business. If you are going to be working out of your trunk then you need to limit yourself as to which products you need. That is why I suggested the things in that post I made. They are excellent products that are going to look great on just about every car. They may look better on some cars than others and there are certianly other products that may look better on certian cars, but I think they are good enough to be used on any car and impress the owner greatly.

I'm not an expert on pads, but I have the Meguiar's red pad and the cream colored pad. I use the red ones for applying polishes or paint cleaners and the cream colored ones for waxes and sealants. I've got three or four of each pad on hand so I don't have to mix sealant pads with wax pads and so on. Those two pads have done me well and I haven't had any real reason to complain. I'm hoping for the opportunity to try out some new pads in the near future, but we'll see.

If you are going to be working on site out of the trunk of your car, then you really don't have room for many products. I would find a product you like for each aspect of detailing and buy that one. Don't worry about bringing 5 different waxes with you on a job because that will just get confusing. You really have to start somewhere and you can't expect to start at the same level as guys who have been doing it for several years. It took me 3 years of accumulating and trying different products before I had a shelf like this. When you are starting out you just aren't bringing in the money to be able to afford to do much experimenting. Do you buy a $70 jar of wax to see what it looks like or do you buy 4 or 5 jars of S100 for the same price? Customers don't care how much your products cost. They are paying you for the job and you need to be able to control your overhead. Pick some products that work well for you and stick to those for awhile. That would be my suggestion.

(PS... That is just one shelf. There are about 20 different waxes, pre-cleaners and sealants on that one shelf. That one is just for paint care. The polishes and cutting compounds are on a seperate shelf because I ran out of room.)

 

[CharlesW]

It sounds like you have done this before so you will hit the ground running.
Professional deatailing is not my thing, but if I were a mobil detailer, I would have to look long and hard at Poorboy's line of products. They not only seem to work good, they can be applied in the sun as well as the shade. It sems like one of the biggest problems facing mobil detailers would be finding an area to work in. Not having to wait a long time for drying before removal would seem to be a plus, as well.

Charles

 

[CharlesW]

The more I think about this, the more I think I would give Steve, (Poorboy), a call. I'm pretty sure he was a professional detailer, and may still be. He would probably have some recommendations for you.
A nice guy that won't try to push a bunch of products on you.

Charles