My third detail. Audi S4. 56k warning

[Richard's Detailing]

It was tougher than I thought! Black 2000 Audi S4. Took 6.5 hours. Lots of rock chips all over the front bumper and hood. rocker panels also took a lot of hit. Swirls all over the car plus deep scratches in some spots. There was hard water etching all over the car.

My questions:
If I need to do another black car, should I expect to put more hours into it and charge extra or stay with my current price and still do my normal 3 passes (2 SSR 2.5 and 1 SSR1) on the car?

How can I remove those hard water etchings? It's not noticeable from 2-3 feet away but if you really try and look for them, you'll see them.

Wash
Rinse
Dry
Clay entire car
Rinse
Dry - blowing water from tight crevices with canned air.
SSR 2.5 - 2 passes
SSR 1
PB PwC
PB EX
Nattys Blue

I made 2 passes with orange pad and ssr 2.5 and 1 pass of ssr 1 using white pad. I applied PB PwC, PB EX and nattys blue. Cleaned exterior and interior windows, door jambs, and vacuumed interior.

I was able to remove most of the imperfections out but some of the scratches were deep and those hard water etching were deep into the paint. Maybe if I did 2-4 more passes with SSR 2.5 and orange pad it could have removed more of the imperfections. But then it would mean an extra 2 hours and more chemicals. Plus I'm not sure how much paint is left on the car. I only charged $130 for this one but the owner gave me $150. Do you guys think it's a fair price for I what I did to the car?

My body is getting use to this now. It only hurt for a couple of hours after detailing and then I was fine. Last time it took me 2 days to recover.

Before

Before

After

50/50 shot

50/50

Before

After PB SSR 2.5 and PB SSR 1

Afters:

 

[Poorboy]

this car is seriously abused and you definitely gave them more than their moneys worth :bow:bow

those etchings on the hood are permanent ...don't ask me how I know :wall

Yes, you should charge more for black, but only if the customers expectations are very high. You should discuss every detail before quoting or starting, so that you and the customer have a clear understanding on what the final results will be. Happy customer = $$$$$$$

 

[audiboy]

Nice job! Where's the engine pics? That 2.7L bi-turbo is a beast.

 

[Troy@Protekt]

Well done. :bigups

So Poorboy; How do you know those etchings on the hood are permanent?

 

[Poorboy]

Well done. :bigups

So Poorboy; How do you know those etchings on the hood are permanent?

if I told you , I'd have to kill you, then Sheila would be mad at me :yikes:

 

[Richard's Detailing]

I'll ask the onwer to take an engine pic. It's very dirty as well and I told him I can detail it and his interior some other day. It's a very nice car. The S4 is now in his garage. It hasn't seen the garage for at least 3 years.

I looked around here on how much they charge for an engine detail but I really can't find an answer. What do they normally cost? I dont feel comfortable using garden hose or pressure washer so everything will be done by hand.

 

[OCDinPDX]

Very nice work. :bigups

That clay was trashed! :yikes:

 

[tmacsad]

You the man DUDE! :bigups

 

[sal329]

Looks great. 6.5 hours for $130 is way to cheap. $130 is a wash, clay, AIO, wax, interior vacuum and protectant

 

[OCDinPDX]

Looks great. 6.5 hours for $130 is way to cheap. $130 is a wash, clay, AIO, wax, interior vacuum and protectant

I'm afraid I must agree...especially for such quality work.

 

[OCDinPDX]

I'll ask the onwer to take an engine pic. It's very dirty as well and I told him I can detail it and his interior some other day. It's a very nice car. The S4 is now in his garage. It hasn't seen the garage for at least 3 years.

I looked around here on how much they charge for an engine detail but I really can't find an answer. What do they normally cost? I dont feel comfortable using garden hose or pressure washer so everything will be done by hand.

I offer three levels of "clean-up" and ball the engine detail in with the two top-level details. I'll do a la carte but I don't like it as it's a pain in the @$$ for me to price out.

 

[Ronkh]

Very nice.