Oxidized Mustang

[DetailnByDustn]

Okay this mustang was in bad condition, really bad haha, I got it in the morning of Tuesday and didn't get done with it until Wednesday afternoon.



Process: Total time 12 hours 15 min



Wash with Zip Wax

Dried with MF towels

Wheels cleaned with presoak

Clayed meguairs

Wheels dressed with More Shine and wheels polished with mothers aluminum polish



Correcting Process:

Mothers Professional Line: Rubbing Compound with a 5.5 yellow css pad on PC (6 hours)

Mothers Professional Line: Polish with a blue 5.5 css pad on PC (30 min)



Interior:

Armour all

Invisible Glass

Shop Vac

LGM

Mean Green Degreaser for spot remover



On with the pictures haha



Picture before surface received some compounding

Area after compounding

50/50 Shot area treated and area not treated sorry painters tape moved a little haha

Reflection Shot after compounding haha

How serious the surfaced was oxidized the spoiler was the original color look at the trunk haha

Another reflection shot after compounding right side

Okay After Shots

 

[craigdt]

Nice.



Dont want to be a jerk, but the click and brag section may be more appropriate.

 

[DetailnByDustn]

Nice.



Dont want to be a jerk, but the click and brag section may be more appropriate.

O dang, My mind isn't working correctly tonight I'm pretty tired so sorry!

 

[GoudyL]

Nice. Dont want to be a jerk, but the click and brag section may be more appropriate.

I'd probably have started with the orange pad. Sometimes its not a bad idea to to clean up an area by hand, so that you have some idea of how the paint condition is.



Good work with the masking, very important to do, and lots of folks forget to do it.



After an initial attack with the rubbing compound, you could switch to the Mothers professional machine glaze, and then finish off with the polish. You want to make absolutely sure that the surface is not hazed from the rubbing compound.



Sometimes its best to split a job like this over a day or two, doing the compounding one day, and the polishing on the next.



Now that you've burned off the oxidation, an application of a hand glaze will probably have very impressive results, finish up with layer of Mothers NF Carnauba after applying the glaze.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Correcting Process:

Mothers Professional Line: Rubbing Compound with a 5.5 yellow css pad on PC (6 hours)

Mothers Professional Line: Polish with a blue 5.5 css pad on PC (30 min)

After an initial attack with the rubbing compound, you could switch to the Mothers professional machine glaze, and then finish off with the polish. You want to make absolutely sure that the surface is not hazed from the rubbing compound.

I have no familiarity with those Mother's Products, but going from a lot of time on a yellow pad to a quick pass with a blue pad seems like too big of a jump. As Goudy is noting, you generally want to progress smoothly from coarse to fine, sometimes that is a combination of stepping chemicals and pads.

 

[GoudyL]

That car looks like its got decent amount of compounding haze on it, looking at the picture of the spolier vs the raw the trunk and the side panels.



The layer of opaque oxidation has been removed, but the surface is still absorbing too much light rather than reflecting it. This is probably due to hazing.



Setec is right that there is huge lack of polishing action between spending 6 hours with an abrasive on an abrasive pad, vs 1/12th that time with polish on a very soft pad. The surface is probably about the same as when you finished compounding it.



Rubbing compound should be a pretty quick process, with the goal of removing just enough oxidation so that the polishing compound can make work of whats left.



I'm hate to think of amount of paint removed by the rubbing compound+yellow pad, but I'll bet that a pass over that finish using a white pad with machine glaze, and then a second pass with the polish will greatly improve things.



Otherwise just a pass with the polish on a white pad/black pads will do alot of good and then follow up with a hand glaze (Mothers S&G, Meg's #7 etc) and Mothers NF Carnauba.

 

[DetailnByDustn]

I'd probably have started with the orange pad. Sometimes its not a bad idea to to clean up an area by hand, so that you have some idea of how the paint condition is.



Good work with the masking, very important to do, and lots of folks forget to do it.



After an initial attack with the rubbing compound, you could switch to the Mothers professional machine glaze, and then finish off with the polish. You want to make absolutely sure that the surface is not hazed from the rubbing compound.



Sometimes its best to split a job like this over a day or two, doing the compounding one day, and the polishing on the next.



Now that you've burned off the oxidation, an application of a hand glaze will probably have very impressive results, finish up with layer of Mothers NF Carnauba after applying the glaze.

When I get a little more money ill buy a set of orange pads for the pc, I had to get this done quick and kind of half *** it, So I didnt use the glaze I skipped that step, she only gave me $80 dollars for the whole car :angry, after 8 hours of just polishing on it.

I have no familiarity with those Mother's Products, but going from a lot of time on a yellow pad to a quick pass with a blue pad seems like too big of a jump. As Goudy is noting, you generally want to progress smoothly from coarse to fine, sometimes that is a combination of stepping chemicals and pads.

I agree, like I said to goudy I was in a hurry and she didnt want to much work done to it, I dont know why because it was oxidizing :angry, but I skip the glaze because of that reason. I will never do that again. I have a hard time charging so much for detailing, but I need to get more strict and say I charge $15 a hour and estimate a little higher then what I think, because its always dirtier then you think.

 

[GoudyL]

When I get a little more money ill buy a set of orange pads for the pc, I had to get this done quick and kind of half *** it, So I didnt use the glaze I skipped that step, she only gave me $80 dollars for the whole car :angry, after 8 hours of just polishing on it.







I agree, like I said to goudy I was in a hurry and she didnt want to much work done to it, I dont know why because it was oxidizing :angry, but I skip the glaze because of that reason. I will never do that again. I have a hard time charging so much for detailing, but I need to get more strict and say I charge $15 a hour and estimate a little higher then what I think, because its always dirtier then you think.

This makes no sense. The customer said they didn't want much work done to the car, and indeed they didn't pay for much work to be done to the car. And yet you spent 8 hours doing a half *** job of compounding? Leaving the car with a dull hazed finish and no wax?



I mean there are several problems with that. The main one is that your work is your calling card.



#1, If you don't put out top quality work 100% of the time, why should anyone bring their car to you?



#2, The next clown who applies any polish/cleaner to the car will see a much improved finish, and they will get all the credit for that.



#3, Your best business comes from repeat customers.



#4, You need to bill for your services accordingly. Some stuff like a straight wash/wax you can quote sight unseen. Same thing for basic interior cleaning. But any kind of paint restorative work should be billed hourly. Remember your hourly rate must cover not just your labor, but also chemicals and wear and tear on your equipment.



Like I said, $60 for Basic Hand Wash/wax service.



Wash car and spray clean wheels

Dry and clay the car.

1 coat of Mothers Cleaner Wax/White pad + QD topping



$40 for interior cleaning/



$30/hr for restorative work. And don't quote retorative work without inspecting the car first. :nono

 

[BigJimZ28]

the wheels are painted so .............you should not use aluminum polish on them



IMO I don't see anything in the before pic that would have made me start with a compound.....did you try the polish first?

 

[DetailnByDustn]

This makes no sense. The customer said they didn't want much work done to the car, and indeed they didn't pay for much work to be done to the car. And yet you spent 8 hours doing a half *** job of compounding? Leaving the car with a dull hazed finish and no wax?



I mean there are several problems with that. The main one is that your work is your calling card.



#1, If you don't put out top quality work 100% of the time, why should anyone bring their car to you?



#2, The next clown who applies any polish/cleaner to the car will see a much improved finish, and they will get all the credit for that.



#3, Your best business comes from repeat customers.



#4, You need to bill for your services accordingly. Some stuff like a straight wash/wax you can quote sight unseen. Same thing for basic interior cleaning. But any kind of paint restorative work should be billed hourly. Remember your hourly rate must cover not just your labor, but also chemicals and wear and tear on your equipment.



Like I said, $60 for Basic Hand Wash/wax service.



Wash car and spray clean wheels

Dry and clay the car.

1 coat of Mothers Cleaner Wax/White pad + QD topping



$40 for interior cleaning/



$30/hr for restorative work. And don't quote retorative work without inspecting the car first. :nono

Okay let me start over, the owner of this mustang is a good friend of mine that goes to my church, her daughter dropped off the mustang to get it cleaned for mothers day and said to do whatever I wanted to it, and the daughters husband quickly stated "you know like a quick wax" making me think that they didn't want to spend a lot of money on it, So I started work on the car and when I go the car to the car wash got some soap and water and went to it, I noticed the paint was very rigid "not smooth", so I clayed the whole car, after claying the car I noticed that the paint showed spotting, I quickly rinsed the whole car off and dried it off, when I got to the shop the paint was spotted, and the paint looked really dull, so first I look a cleaner wax to the paint, nothing, next I used a machine glaze, nothing, finally I looked at the mothers guide and seen "chemical spotting and oxidation" so I used rubbing compound with a primed pad, after one pass I noticed a huge improvement and went with it, after completing the whole car with a rubbing compound, I went with the polish and finished off with that I said I "half assed it" because of doing that and skipping the machine glaze because the daughter's husband said "he wanted a quick wax" and I didn't want to charge him a lot because he was a good friend, as the wheels go i didn't use a degreaser on them, used polish and it worked so went with it, I thought the were aluminum.



I agree with your pricing Im more in fear that I will scare my customers away saying that it will cost almost double to do their cars now, because I need to charge more for chemicals, labor, and future investments, But I need to get over it and do it anyways am I right?



After all this I made $80 dollars on it, I told her $100 I dont know where she got $80 and she put on the envelope here is the money plus a little extra, Of course being a nice person I didnt say anything because I didnt want to say "you owe me at least $20 more" so I let it be and again she goes to my church, for a regular customer I would of said "you only gave me $80 dollars"

 

[DetailnByDustn]

the wheels are painted so .............you should not use aluminum polish on them



IMO I don't see anything in the before pic that would have made me start with a compound.....did you try the polish first?

I posted the complete story above this post, I did start with a cleaner wax with a css white pad and then to glaze, as wheels go I didnt use a degreaser on them and started using the polish and it worked.

 

[Setec Astronomy]

Sheesh guys, ease up, he's here to learn, and he's doing it.

 

[DetailnByDustn]

Sheesh guys, ease up, he's here to learn, and he's doing it.

haha thanks, I need it though that's the best way to learn from your mistakes, I know no ones perfect but with a lot of practice you can almost get there haha

 

[Joshs2013MSAltimaSL]

Sheesh guys, ease up, he's here to learn, and he's doing it.

I agree. No need to gang up on him.

 

[GoudyL]

Okay let me start over, the owner of this mustang is a good friend of mine that goes to my church, her daughter dropped off the mustang to get it cleaned for mothers day and said to do whatever I wanted to it, and the daughters husband quickly stated "you know like a quick wax" making me think that they didn't want to spend a lot of money on it,

Always get agreement on the bill, and work to be done before you put a finger on the car. This will save you so many headaches you have no idea.



People who are asking for just a "quick wax", don't know what oxidation is. All they are expecting is that you will wash the car, and give it to them shiny.

So I started work on the car and when I go the car to the car wash got some soap and water and went to it, I noticed the paint was very rigid "not smooth", so I clayed the whole car, after claying the car I noticed that the paint showed spotting, I quickly rinsed the whole car off and dried it off, when I got to the shop the paint was spotted, and the paint looked really dull, so first I look a cleaner wax to the paint, nothing, next I used a machine glaze, nothing,

At this point you conclude that its going to need more work that you are billing for. Thinking back to the clean and shiny car concept, put away the chemicals, apply another layer of Cleaner Wax. And then top it with something really shiny.



When you deliver the car, explain that you applied wax to it, but feel that the paint needs some restoritive work, if they want to get it to look like a brand new car. Otherwise its looking as good as you can get it without doing restorative work.



When you see dull paint, you want to diagnose it as clearcoat hazing, or oxidation. The question is if the clearcoat is clear but has a surface that is not reflecting/transmitting light properly due to scratches or enviromental contamination, or if the paint surface is actually absorbing light. Over time you will develop a feel for this.



Also I hope you weren't applying the machine glaze with the yellow pad, because that is much too harsh. IMHO you'll get the best results with clay if you use it after you've washed and dried off the car.

finally I looked at the mothers guide and seen "chemical spotting and oxidation" so I used rubbing compound with a primed pad, after one pass I noticed a huge improvement

Always test on an inconspicious area. Otherwise you are committing yourself to doing the whole car, or trying to explain why there is an especially shiny spot on the hood. :think:

I agree with your pricing Im more in fear that I will scare my customers away saying that it will cost almost double to do their cars now, because I need to charge more for chemicals, labor, and future investments, But I need to get over it and do it anyways am I right?

Yes and no, you are also greatly overdelivering. I think if you dial back what you do the simple 60/40 pricing scheme will work for you.



Don't do restorative work if you aren't getting paid for restorative work.



Seriously, what you are doing is more than what 90% of detailers would be doing, and you have been using much better chemicals and tools.

After all this I made $80 dollars on it, I told her $100 I dont know where she got $80 and she put on the envelope here is the money plus a little extra, Of course being a nice person I didnt say anything because I didnt want to say "you owe me at least $20 more" so I let it be and again she goes to my church, for a regular customer I would of said "you only gave me $80 dollars"

I'm loving it. Classic envelope confidence trick, the "something extra" is the missing $20 she owes you. Consider yourself lucky that envelope wasn't full of $1 bills or cut up newspaper.



Trust me, if you meet her in church and ask if Jesus loves her, she'll say yes.



-------



At this point, if the husband heard the quote of $100, you can discretely explain the situation to him.



She only had $80 ... blah blah blah, ... but you know that they are the sort of people who wouldn't want to shortchange you, and of course you didn't want to embarras his wife ... blah blah blah ... So could he please make good on the missing $20.



Either you get the $20 or it cost you nothing to learn that these folks are not "good friends".



In my humble experience you are usually better off avoiding situations where you must test if people are good friends or not. Thus never lend money or cosign for friends.



You can avoid this situation if you get agreement on the bill before you start work, and have established the ability and willingness to pay.



This is also time to start thinking about setting up an LLC, and geting a merchant credit card account.



aypal:

 

[DetailnByDustn]

Always get agreement on the bill, and work to be done before you put a finger on the car. This will save you so many headaches you have no idea.



Okay



People who are asking for just a "quick wax", don't know what oxidation is. All they are expecting is that you will wash the car, and give it to them shiny.



At this point you conclude that its going to need more work that you are billing for. Thinking back to the clean and shiny car concept, put away the chemicals, apply another layer of Cleaner Wax. And then top it with something really shiny.



When you deliver the car, explain that you applied wax to it, but feel that the paint needs some restoritive work, if they want to get it to look like a brand new car. Otherwise its looking as good as you can get it without doing restorative work.



Okay



When you see dull paint, you want to diagnose it as clearcoat hazing, or oxidation. The question is if the clearcoat is clear but has a surface that is not reflecting/transmitting light properly due to scratches or enviromental contamination, or if the paint surface is actually absorbing light. Over time you will develop a feel for this.



Also I hope you weren't applying the machine glaze with the yellow pad, because that is much too harsh. IMHO you'll get the best results with clay if you use it after you've washed and dried off the car.



No white css pad with light pressure



Always test on an inconspicious area. Otherwise you are committing yourself to doing the whole car, or trying to explain why there is an especially shiny spot on the hood. :think:



Okay



Yes and no, you are also greatly overdelivering. I think if you dial back what you do the simple 60/40 pricing scheme will work for you.



Don't do restorative work if you aren't getting paid for restorative work.



Seriously, what you are doing is more than what 90% of detailers would be doing, and you have been using much better chemicals and tools.



Okay



I'm loving it. Classic envelope confidence trick, the "something extra" is the missing $20 she owes you. Consider yourself lucky that envelope wasn't full of $1 bills or cut up newspaper.



Trust me, if you meet her in church and ask if Jesus loves her, she'll say yes.



HAHAHA

-------



At this point, if the husband heard the quote of $100, you can discretely explain the situation to him.



She only had $80 ... blah blah blah, ... but you know that they are the sort of people who wouldn't want to shortchange you, and of course you didn't want to embarras his wife ... blah blah blah ... So could he please make good on the missing $20.



Either you get the $20 or it cost you nothing to learn that these folks are not "good friends".



In my humble experience you are usually better off avoiding situations where you must test if people are good friends or not. Thus never lend money or cosign for friends.



You can avoid this situation if you get agreement on the bill before you start work, and have established the ability and willingness to pay.



Okay



This is also time to start thinking about setting up an LLC, and geting a merchant credit card account.



aypal:

How much is a LLC to start and I can get a account and credit card



Thanks for doing all this

 

[GoudyL]

How much is a LLC to start and I can get a account and credit card



Thanks for doing all this

Talk to a lawyer, and look it up for doing so in your home state. This sort of thing is not that hard to do, but as you start doing this business professionally you want to be doing it the right way



Once you have set up a corporation, you can then get a business checking account, and then a merchant account with a payment processor so you can accept credit cards. etc.



Although its expensive, taking credit cards will solve alot of your billing problems and will become important because customers don't like paying large amounts of cash, and few people lug checkbooks around.

 

[wytstang]

legalzoom.com has what you need to start/get a LLC. Since it's a self help online deal the cost is cheaper then a lawyer but you need to do the filing. I have no clue how to use it just see it advertised on tv and new talk radio.

 

[GoudyL]

legalzoom.com has what you need to start/get a LLC. Since it's a self help online deal the cost is cheaper then a lawyer but you need to do the filing. I have no clue how to use it just see it advertised on tv and new talk radio.

I'd talk with a family friend who is a lawyer, or IMHO spend some time in the library. There are lots of books about starting your own business. In all honesty its just a bunch of forms to fill out with the secretary of state of your state.



However if its the first time you are doing this, it doesn't hurt to have a lawyer. Incorporating small businesses is a very standard process. Heck, you might even be able to trade detailing services for doing the incorporation.

 

[DetailnByDustn]

Talk to a lawyer, and look it up for doing so in your home state. This sort of thing is not that hard to do, but as you start doing this business professionally you want to be doing it the right way



Once you have set up a corporation, you can then get a business checking account, and then a merchant account with a payment processor so you can accept credit cards. etc.



Although its expensive, taking credit cards will solve alot of your billing problems and will become important because customers don't like paying large amounts of cash, and few people lug checkbooks around.

Okay

legalzoom.com has what you need to start/get a LLC. Since it's a self help online deal the cost is cheaper then a lawyer but you need to do the filing. I have no clue how to use it just see it advertised on tv and new talk radio.

Thats a good idea

I'd talk with a family friend who is a lawyer, or IMHO spend some time in the library. There are lots of books about starting your own business. In all honesty its just a bunch of forms to fill out with the secretary of state of your state.



However if its the first time you are doing this, it doesn't hurt to have a lawyer. Incorporating small businesses is a very standard process. Heck, you might even be able to trade detailing services for doing the incorporation.

Great Idea, I might hold off for the time being to actually make a business, I'm kind under the radar as far as paying taxes, mostly get cash and the gov doesn't know about :woot: haha In about 8 months I will not be doing detailing as much, going to highway patrol school, So I might just start small, and maybe one day buy a LLC and work with that. Thanks for all the help, I greatly appreciate it!