Starting out a business, help needed!

D

Darkstar752

New member
Ok guys, I've been researching opening a detailing business for an extremely long time. I understand everything, and think it's finally time to buy all my tools for summer. I'll be buying tomorrow or Monday since Phil at Detailers Domain is having a 20% off and has most of the stuff I need, and then some other stuff from Rubbish Boys.





Please give me advice on my potential equipment. Answer any question or suggestion you like, you do not need to answer all of them. Thanks!

Polisher:

Makita 9227



Pads

3M Backing Plate (does this only fit 5.5 inch pads?)

Need suggestions as far as brands and sizes. How many should I get of each?



Microfibers:

A LOT.

Detergent for cleaning.



Polishes:(Need advice to add/drop any)

106FF or 106FA?

PO85RD

SIP (Do I need this with M105 or one or the other?)

M105

PO203S



LSPs:

Collinite 915 or 845

RBOE

BH Auto Balm

I need a suggestion for good-looking, durable wax for customers.



Clay:

Hopefully some Riccardo or BH.

I have some Clay Magic Blue



QD:

Optimum QD



Misc:

EZ Detail Auto Brush

SW Wheel brush

Tire Sponges

Painters Tape

Unigrit Sandpaper (Grit suggestions needed.)

ONR

PB Wheel Sealent

P21S

Anything else?



I have an old 750 PSI pressure washer, an insecticide sprayer and some various OTC products. I appreciate all of yours guys help, and look forward to detailing some cars :thumb:
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Do you have rotary or other machine-polishing experience?
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No, but I am extremely willing to learn. I will be practicing on spare body panels and my own cars before I do so on any clients cars. I realize it is unconventional to start with a rotary, and I need the reliability and power of the Makita over a PC or Flex.



Thanks for the response :2thumbs:
 
Well, best of luck to you. So that would be maybe half a car's worth of panels, and one or two or three machine detailing experiences before you will be working on clients' cars for money? I myself would prefer to have some dozens of details under my belt (on my own cars repeatedly, neighbors, friends, relatives) before I would hang out a shingle, but I'm rather conservative about these kind of things.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Well, best of luck to you. So that would be maybe half a car's worth of panels, and one or two or three machine detailing experiences before you will be working on clients' cars for money? I myself would prefer to have some dozens of details under my belt (on my own cars repeatedly, neighbors, friends, relatives) before I would hang out a shingle, but I'm rather conservative about these kind of things.
Click to expand...



Oh, I forgot to mention, all of my first 4-6 details or more will be relatives, and friends after that. And I definitely won't move on until I feel completely comfortable. Thanks for looking out tho :)
 
I need the reliability and power of the Makita over a PC or Flex.
Click to expand...



Okay, the power is one thing, but a rotary is hardly more reliable than a PC, which is considered just about bulletproof. Also, you need the power? Why is that? You don't have any machine polishing experience but you're sure that a PC doesn't have enough power? Not being argumentative here, just wondering :xyxthumbs
 
A PC is a piece of junk in my opinion. The thing will shake your hands until they're numb. Start with a Cyclo or a Flex, and get yourself a rotary polisher. A rotary is really not a scary thing, some people make it sound like this scary tool that's incredibly hard to use, but it's far from the truth. Learning to use a rotary doesn't take that much time, just a little time with a good professional.





John
 
Darkstar... take this as advice, not as an attack on your skills as a detailer...



First of all, you don't understand everything, and even if you did, understanding is different than doing and having experience... you haven't even touched a machine polisher and you want to buy a Makita... you don't start a business after you learn about detailing... you detail for a couple years then if you really like it and get good at it, you start detailing for money.



Here's my advice... buy a Flex if you want to stay safe with paint correction and if you're really set on starting to work on people's cars that soon after you 'understand everything'... If you're set on the Makita, go for it, but after 3 years I am still learning how to perfectly use the rotary, and I'll probably keep learning for a while...



Also, it's very very hard for many many experienced pros to finish out LSp ready with a rotary, and you want to practice for 2 hours and go for it... bad decision IMO...





Considering you take my advice, along with everyone else's, and actually get some experience before detailing other people's cars, here's my suggestion:



Polisher: Flex RO



Pads: Meg's 8006/9006 and LC 5.5-6" either Flat or CCS



Polishes: Ones you listed are fine to start with... you have everything from very fine finishing to a pretty aggressive cutting polish



LSPs: Meg's #26, P21S, NXT 2.0 are all good looking and fairly long lasting LSPs I use on a regular basis... NXT 2.0 is getting used more and more as I'm getting great results from it



Clay: I use Claymagic red and blue and sometimes Meg's smooth surface kit



QD: I use Meg's #34 or Last touch... love #34!



Misc: please practice sanding even more than rotary if you decide to go the route you plan on going without listening to advice here...

you should buy something like TAW to use on initial washes to remove previous wax/sealant as well as clean some tougher areas on the car...

all purpose cleaner is necessary for a lot of stuff

dressings for exterior trim

glass cleaner

metal/aluminum polish



That's all I can think of off the top of my head now...





ps.. in case you didn't know, your parents, uncles, cousins and friends will equally hate you when you burn their paint or trim and can't fix it...



pss... this is all coming from someone who started polishing with a rotary at first, went to PC, then Flex, then ended up with Makita and G110 for business... I put about 20-30 hrs into rotary polishing before touching anyone else's car... I never made a mistake but I took a lot, if not all, cautionary measures to have it that way... good luck man
 
Bostonsfavson said:
Okay, the power is one thing, but a rotary is hardly more reliable than a PC, which is considered just about bulletproof. Also, you need the power? Why is that? You don't have any machine polishing experience but you're sure that a PC doesn't have enough power? Not being argumentative here, just wondering :xyxthumbs
Click to expand...



Don't worry, it's cool :cool:



I realize the PC is good, and I respect that, I will probably pick one up sometime during the summer. However, I do need the speed the Makita or Flex offers, and the power to cut through a badly swirled Mercedes clearcoat. And the Makita is known for an incredibly reliable reputation, and ease of use compared to others, which is why I am picking it.



Thanks for the response :)
 
Dark, another thing you need to realize is that just because you can cut through that clearcoat with the Makita doesn't mean you should... experience not only allows you to control the machine good enough to actually do the work but also teaches you about different paint types and how much paint you're removing...



I hate to say it but I don't see much other than a "how do I fix this" thread coming from this... for your sake, practice on junk panels a long time before you touch an actual car.
 
JohnKleven said:
A PC is a piece of junk in my opinion. The thing will shake your hands until they're numb. Start with a Cyclo or a Flex, and get yourself a rotary polisher. A rotary is really not a scary thing, some people make it sound like this scary tool that's incredibly hard to use, but it's far from the truth. Learning to use a rotary doesn't take that much time, just a little time with a good professional.





John
Click to expand...



Basically what I was thinking. Thanks for the advice :)



lecchilo said:
Darkstar... take this as advice, not as an attack on your skills as a detailer...



First of all, you don't understand everything, and even if you did, understanding is different than doing and having experience... you haven't even touched a machine polisher and you want to buy a Makita... you don't start a business after you learn about detailing... you detail for a couple years then if you really like it and get good at it, you start detailing for money.



Here's my advice... buy a Flex if you want to stay safe with paint correction and if you're really set on starting to work on people's cars that soon after you 'understand everything'... If you're set on the Makita, go for it, but after 3 years I am still learning how to perfectly use the rotary, and I'll probably keep learning for a while...



Also, it's very very hard for many many experienced pros to finish out LSp ready with a rotary, and you want to practice for 2 hours and go for it... bad decision IMO...





Considering you take my advice, along with everyone else's, and actually get some experience before detailing other people's cars, here's my suggestion:



Polisher: Flex RO



Pads: Meg's 8006/9006 and LC 5.5-6" either Flat or CCS



Polishes: Ones you listed are fine to start with... you have everything from very fine finishing to a pretty aggressive cutting polish



LSPs: Meg's #26, P21S, NXT 2.0 are all good looking and fairly long lasting LSPs I use on a regular basis... NXT 2.0 is getting used more and more as I'm getting great results from it



Clay: I use Claymagic red and blue and sometimes Meg's smooth surface kit



QD: I use Meg's #34 or Last touch... love #34!



Misc: please practice sanding even more than rotary if you decide to go the route you plan on going without listening to advice here...

you should buy something like TAW to use on initial washes to remove previous wax/sealant as well as clean some tougher areas on the car...

all purpose cleaner is necessary for a lot of stuff

dressings for exterior trim

glass cleaner

metal/aluminum polish



That's all I can think of off the top of my head now...





ps.. in case you didn't know, your parents, uncles, cousins and friends will equally hate you when you burn their paint or trim and can't fix it...



pss... this is all coming from someone who started polishing with a rotary at first, went to PC, then Flex, then ended up with Makita and G110 for business... I put about 20-30 hrs into rotary polishing before touching anyone else's car... I never made a mistake but I took a lot, if not all, cautionary measures to have it that way... good luck man
Click to expand...



Thanks for the advice man :up:



Yea, I don't think I'm going the wetsanding route anymore. Thank you though for taking the time to type out everything though, I will consider the Flex very throughly. If I had the money, I would buy both. I probably will end up with the Flex, just the reliability with backing plates and wear scares me. Thanks for the advice :thumb:
 
I would atleast get some experience with some type of polisher, any polisher, before I threw down in excess of $1000 on something that I may not enjoy.



You never know. You just might not like doing this all once it comes down to it. And if you dont, youll be out over $1000. The resale market for this hobby/business is not all that great imo. I dont think theres very many products that gain value over time, especially chemicals. It will even be ahrd to sell products for retail since someone can usually find it at a discoutned price on some other website. So youll be taking a loss if you find out you dont really like it.



Atleast if try something out you wont possibly be wasting $1000 and youll gain some experience.
 
Dsoto87 said:
I would atleast get some experience with some type of polisher, any polisher, before I threw down in excess of $1000 on something that I may not enjoy.



You never know. You just might not like doing this all once it comes down to it. And if you dont, youll be out over $1000. The resale market for this hobby/business is not all that great imo. I dont think theres very many products that gain value over time, especially chemicals. It will even be ahrd to sell products for retail since someone can usually find it at a discoutned price on some other website. So youll be taking a loss if you find out you dont really like it.



Atleast if try something out you wont possibly be wasting $1000 and youll gain some experience.
Click to expand...



Yea I know what you mean. I've spent hours just sitting outside working with just OTC products, perfecting every last inch of the car, because for some reason, it's fun to me. I love transforming cars. If I can get good at this, it may be a serious career path choice in my future, I love it that much.



Thanks for looking out :xyxthumbs:
 
Well in that case, ill give my opinion again.



I only use the pc and its been sufficient so far. This is not my only job though. Its hardly a job at all for me actually. Just something to make some money on my days off. In the future though, I would like to upgrade my machine.



IMO, if your only going to be working with one machine get the flex da. Ive seen many pros here talk about how even after x amount of years polishing, they still cant finish down 100% hologram free. What they end up doing is finishing down on a pc. To avoid buying two machines, just go with the flex. It has more than enough power to break down traditional polishes like menzerna but at the same time you wont get hologramming due to the machine still orbiting. Many pros here have put down their rotary and now use primarily the flex.
 
Dsoto87 said:
Well in that case, ill give my opinion again.



I only use the pc and its been sufficient so far. This is not my only job though. Its hardly a job at all for me actually. Just something to make some money on my days off. In the future though, I would like to upgrade my machine.



IMO, if your only going to be working with one machine get the flex da. Ive seen many pros here talk about how even after x amount of years polishing, they still cant finish down 100% hologram free. What they end up doing is finishing down on a pc. To avoid buying two machines, just go with the flex. It has more than enough power to break down traditional polishes like menzerna but at the same time you wont get hologramming due to the machine still orbiting. Many pros here have put down their rotary and now use primarily the flex.
Click to expand...



Hmmm. I'm debating with myself as if whether to buy a Flex and a Makita later, or a PC and Makita now. I've seen torn-up backing plates and some various other problems with the Flex, and it only has 1 pad size, which scares me.



This is making it very hard, before I was dead set on a Makita. I figured if I used a finishing step properly to eliminate the holograms left by the polish before, I would be fine. Hmmm. :faint:
 
my advice, tape up the car before using a rotary and take your time doing it, it's your best insurance, and it'll save you a lot of time getting polish out of cracks and crevices.



I myself started out with a PC, got the hang of it and the different pads and speeds, then I got a Makita and was a nervous wreck using it. Now I use my Makita like nothing but I've used it on many cars now, and I researched everything for almost a year before buying a single detailing product.
 
RZJZA80 said:
my advice, tape up the car before using a rotary and take your time doing it, it's your best insurance, and it'll save you a lot of time getting polish out of cracks and crevices.



I myself started out with a PC, got the hang of it and the different pads and speeds, then I got a Makita and was a nervous wreck using it. Now I use my Makita like nothing but I've used it on many cars now, and I researched everything for almost a year before buying a single detailing product.
Click to expand...



So do you think I could start out using a Makita? And I'm coming up on maybe 9 months or so of research, I haven't used anything besides OTC stuff yet so it's exciting for me. I want to make cars look as good as they possibly can. And I will definitely tape up everything I can, messing up is the last thing I ever want to do.
 
Darkstar752 said:
So do you think I could start out using a Makita? And I'm coming up on maybe 9 months or so of research, I haven't used anything besides OTC stuff yet so it's exciting for me. I want to make cars look as good as they possibly can. And I will definitely tape up everything I can, messing up is the last thing I ever want to do.
Click to expand...



I wouldn't recommend learning on a Makita. A rotary can be hard to control, it will grab at times and yank you back and forth, so great care must be taken at all times. A PC you can use just one hand if you want and it will be fine, but you will learn the proper way to break down compounds, polishes, etc. and spread them evenly for best results. I would say if the PC can't give you the desired results, then look to a Makita, and go from there.
 
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