the opportunity of my life-help please....

P

pampos

New member
Hi again and sorry for all the questions :o



Today i received a call that maybe it will change my life.It is my big opportunity to add my name on the top and well known detailer's list on my area...

It was a dealer that imports ONLY exotic/luxury cars in Cyprus like Lamborghini,Bentley,Aston Martin,Ferrari,Pagani,Porsche etc etc.We have an appointment on Friday morning to talk about our possible corporation....

This dealer also has a company that install the clear bra on those cars to protect them from stone chips....

Back to the question now : )

He want me to detail the cars before and after the bra's installation....

How i must supposed to handle this??

What is the process on this situation??

I guess i have to polish the paint to perfection first,secondly polish the bra and then applying glazes sealants wax etc or not????

PLEASE HELP ME ON THAT......I have to go there on Friday and tell him as much as i can....

MANY MANY THANKS :bigups
 
Dealers expect production work and will remit payment likewise. Though, they will gladly accept Autopian quality for a production price.



The question is, are you a production man?
 
not necessarily...I doubt this dealer is pushing out 100K+ cars at 5 a day...this might be more autopian/perfection type of work (given the high quality of the cars, IMO)



but I think he is asking about the process of detailing BEFORE and AFTER the clear bra installation....correct?
 
Holden_C04 said:
Dealers expect production work and will remit payment likewise. Though, they will gladly accept Autopian quality for a production price.



The question is, are you a production man?
Click to expand...



I guess not if 'production man' is the man that ''details'' 10 cars per day...



My hope is not only the dealer but also the byers of those cars,because i guess they will ask how and where they have to go to keep this look of their car...

Also the dealer shows me that he knows the difference between a good detailing and a production detail....(at least until Friday that we will talk about the prices) :D.

The good thing is that he don't stock a lot of cars and most of them are already sold before they came to Cyprus.So that means that he can add the cost on the price or something...

The point is how i have to detail a car in such situation?? : )
 
toyotaguy said:
not necessarily...I doubt this dealer is pushing out 100K+ cars at 5 a day...this might be more autopian/perfection type of work (given the high quality of the cars, IMO)



but I think he is asking about the process of detailing BEFORE and AFTER the clear bra installation....correct?
Click to expand...



This what i am thinking about too...



And YES i am asking about the process but i am so happy that i couldn't not to tell you about that opportunity that i have :D:D
 
You would obviously need to correct the paint to as perfect as possible, and then make sure the clearbra installer doesn't marr up the finish, as I've seen it done in person, ruining your hard work. After the bra is on, I find it best to stay away from carnauba as I've seen quite a few discolor the clearbra after spending some time in the sun (this doesn't happen in a day or month haha but in the long run)

Lastly, I like 106ff or SIP with LC white pad on the clear bra every 1-2 months to keep it nice and as swirl-free as possible. I always seal the bra with Klasse SG. Hope that helps.



Oh and definitely talk about pricing and make sure you both completely understand each other. You can probably expect to drop your cheapest price for a certain car by another 10-15% (maybe 20) because you'll be getting high-volume detailing work, but definitely figure out a price you can both agree on. Best of luck man, that sounds like a great opportunity
 
Good luck on your interview on Friday. Remember start high, you can always come down, but you cant go up.
 
pampos said:
Hi again and sorry for all the questions :o



Today i received a call that maybe it will change my life.It is my big opportunity to add my name on the top and well known detailer's list on my area...

It was a dealer that imports ONLY exotic/luxury cars in Cyprus like Lamborghini,Bentley,Aston Martin,Ferrari,Pagani,Porsche etc etc.We have an appointment on Friday morning to talk about our possible corporation....

This dealer also has a company that install the clear bra on those cars to protect them from stone chips....

Back to the question now : )

He want me to detail the cars before and after the bra's installation....

How i must supposed to handle this??

What is the process on this situation??

I guess i have to polish the paint to perfection first,secondly polish the bra and then applying glazes sealants wax etc or not????

PLEASE HELP ME ON THAT......I have to go there on Friday and tell him as much as i can....

MANY MANY THANKS :bigups
Click to expand...



Pampos: I did a Ferrari Challenge Stradale a while back. The owner bought this used car and it had a very bad clear bra that was installed over swirled paint.



I removed all the clear bra material and polished the entire car plus applied Zaino. The new clear bra was installed and the installers used Prep-Sol Wax and Grease Remover over the area they were installing. When they finished, I applied a coat of Zaino to the new clear bra with a pc. It's important not to use a rotary on clear bra material. The rotary generates too much heat and swirls the soft material badly. Just a pc with a quality sealant like Zaino, M21, Wolfgang, etc will suffice. Good luck in this venture. Sounds exciting!



Here's the link: http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/99241-black-ferrari-challenge-stradale.html



Toto
 
i would like to thank all of you...So as i understand :

i shouldn't apply any Glaze or LSP before the bra.

i have to use a final polish to remove the swirls from the bra that maybe caused by installation

i have to apply a synthetic LSP on the bra and not a carnauba wax.

And what is going on with glazes?Is it OK to apply it over the bra or i have to apply it between the sealant(sealant/glaze/sealant)??Or i shouldn't not apply any glaze at all??



Also about the price is it better to tell him a $ per hour price or a fix price for each car??

If you were on my place how much would you ask??(i know that it is a general questions with many variants but if someone of you can tell me it will be helpful)
 
Don't get too hyped up, in my opinion. Does not sound like a sure thing at all. One thing I learned early on is to not count my money until it's in my pocket. Don't look at this like the opportunity of your life, if you've got the product, you should be expecting this on a regular basis.
 
pampos said:
i would like to thank all of you...So as i understand :

i shouldn't apply any Glaze or LSP before the bra.

i have to use a final polish to remove the swirls from the bra that maybe caused by installation

i have to apply a synthetic LSP on the bra and not a carnauba wax.

And what is going on with glazes?Is it OK to apply it over the bra or i have to apply it between the sealant(sealant/glaze/sealant)??Or i shouldn't not apply any glaze at all??



Also about the price is it better to tell him a $ per hour price or a fix price for each car??

If you were on my place how much would you ask??(i know that it is a general questions with many variants but if someone of you can tell me it will be helpful)
Click to expand...



I doubt they'll go for a high hourly rate but it's possible. You might be a slow detailer (like me) and it's not fair, in a way, to charge at an hourly rate, when someone can do just as good or even better for 2 hours less, meaning $50-100+ less per car.



As for the glazes, I never liked that term and I never will... for me there is a polish, LSP (wax or sealant) and the all-in-one products... no glazes, compounds, etc. So if by glaze you mean all-in-one product, you can definitely do that and then a LSP, but make sure the LSP won't have any bonding issues with the sealant contained in the all-in-one
 
beachcities said:
Don't get too hyped up, in my opinion. Does not sound like a sure thing at all. One thing I learned early on is to not count my money until it's in my pocket. Don't look at this like the opportunity of your life, if you've got the product, you should be expecting this on a regular basis.
Click to expand...



Very true... as I said before, dealers, no matter how luxurious, will not pay you what you're worth, simply because you'll be getting such a high amount of work... so don't go in there expecting too much... this is ok of course, because that bulk will translate into only a minor loss per car as opposed to detailing 1-2 cars/week, and when you count 3-5 cars/week, you'll be even happier.



This is only from my experience with a VERY luxurious dealer... my costs were cut to 85% of what I was used to, but I would get up at 5am, start at 7am, and do 2-3 full details (usually 1-step polishing) in 9-10 hours. I had to quit due to school and other "life stuff" but the job paid great and people were great to work with. the customers were also great tippers and I gained few clients after quitting... a friend works there as the sales manager and he called me for about 1 month asking to come back as people are asking for me.



Lastly, while it will be fine to cut your costs a bit, don't take a job which completely underpays you as a quality detailer. I wouldn't accept anything less than 80-85% of my usual cost.



Best of luck.
 
lecchilo said:
I doubt they'll go for a high hourly rate but it's possible. You might be a slow detailer (like me) and it's not fair, in a way, to charge at an hourly rate, when someone can do just as good or even better for 2 hours less, meaning $50-100+ less per car.



As for the glazes, I never liked that term and I never will... for me there is a polish, LSP (wax or sealant) and the all-in-one products... no glazes, compounds, etc. So if by glaze you mean all-in-one product, you can definitely do that and then a LSP, but make sure the LSP won't have any bonding issues with the sealant contained in the all-in-one
Click to expand...



So i have to polish the paint before the bra installation, and use on the bra an AIO and then an LSP ??

I am a slow detailer too but i guess if i will go to be paid by hour, i have to charge a fair price/hour....
 
lecchilo said:
Very true... as I said before, dealers, no matter how luxurious, will not pay you what you're worth, simply because you'll be getting such a high amount of work... so don't go in there expecting too much... this is ok of course, because that bulk will translate into only a minor loss per car as opposed to detailing 1-2 cars/week, and when you count 3-5 cars/week, you'll be even happier.



This is only from my experience with a VERY luxurious dealer... my costs were cut to 85% of what I was used to, but I would get up at 5am, start at 7am, and do 2-3 full details (usually 1-step polishing) in 9-10 hours. I had to quit due to school and other "life stuff" but the job paid great and people were great to work with. the customers were also great tippers and I gained few clients after quitting... a friend works there as the sales manager and he called me for about 1 month asking to come back as people are asking for me.



Lastly, while it will be fine to cut your costs a bit, don't take a job which completely underpays you as a quality detailer. I wouldn't accept anything less than 80-85% of my usual cost.



Best of luck.
Click to expand...



I agree with that and i have it on mind that i will not charge as usual...

But this corporation gives me the opportunity to:

a) have a standard amount of cars that i will have to detail

b)by detailing such cars and for this dealer is all the best for my reputation as a detailer

c)the byers of those cars they will come to me the next time that they would like to ''clean'' their car

All of them are not for sure but just who i am thinking about it...
 
pampos said:
So i have to polish the paint before the bra installation, and use on the bra an AIO and then an LSP ??

I am a slow detailer too but i guess if i will go to be paid by hour, i have to charge a fair price/hour....
Click to expand...



You definitely should polish the paint before the clear bra, then use a paint cleaner to make sure no fillers remain from the polishing... basically you want bare paint but in perfect condition, before the clear bra goes on. Something like HD cleanse would work well after the polishing.



Once the clear bra is on, I personally only used Menzerna 106ff and SIP with a white LC pad to polish out the swirls... I did use a rotary but very carefully creating no heat... pretty much just moving fast. Basically you want to start with a very very light polish and very light pad.. maybe even a black LC pad with Menz po85rd to see if that will take care of the swirls... if not, I wouldn't go any more abrasive than SIP/white, even that is pushing it IMO.



As for the LSP, KSG is a personal preference, but I'm sure a lot of the other stuff will work just fine... I jsut stay away from waxes as I've seen bras turn crappy over a year or so... might be the bra material, might be crappy wax, idk but KSG on one of my client's clear bras has been looking perfect for over 10 months now.
 
pampos said:
I agree with that and i have it on mind that i will not charge as usual...

But this corporation gives me the opportunity to:

a) have a standard amount of cars that i will have to detail

b)by detailing such cars and for this dealer is all the best for my reputation as a detailer

c)the byers of those cars they will come to me the next time that they would like to ''clean'' their car

All of them are not for sure but just who i am thinking about it...
Click to expand...



You're definitely right... there are many many variables to consider, but the main ones will be the high volume of work... considering that dealer is like the one I worked for, you will have basically a day job with little longer hours if you choose to and you can do it for 4-5 days/week. It's very tiring at times but once you have all your tools/supplies there it's usually a breeze... another big thing, as you mentioned, is forming a client base from that job... it's a great opportunity to communicate with the buyers, and my favorite thing to do was showing the customers the difference between a car I had just polished and a "poor *******", as my friend the sales manager used to call the cars on the showroom floor with a panel or more of the usual swirls/defects used simply for that comparison.



The thing I absolutely loved was how I could work on as many cars as I wanted throughout the day... there was simply a deadline for each specific car to be completed... as long as I completed that car the day before it was being picked up, I could polish a hood of one car, dress the leather of another, then wash the third, etc.

I spent about 3 months polishing the entire inventory (150-160 cars)... I worked about 4-5 days per week and averaged 4-5 hours per car... after that I finally got to work a little less and just take care of cars ready for pickup or new deliveries.



Oh, one thing you should mention is supplies... I got the sales manager to provide ALL the supplies (not tools) for the work because he was able to buy them in huge bulk, meaning huge savings. Feel free to PM me with any questions regarding this if you'd like.
 
Buy (import) the best products, not necessarily the most expensive and do great work.



Try and charge for 100% money of what its worth, even if it takes a longer to start, and with practice it will come around.
 
pampos said:
i would like to thank all of you...So as i understand :

i shouldn't apply any Glaze or LSP before the bra.

i have to use a final polish to remove the swirls from the bra that maybe caused by installation

i have to apply a synthetic LSP on the bra and not a carnauba wax.

And what is going on with glazes?Is it OK to apply it over the bra or i have to apply it between the sealant(sealant/glaze/sealant)??Or i shouldn't not apply any glaze at all??



Also about the price is it better to tell him a $ per hour price or a fix price for each car??

If you were on my place how much would you ask??(i know that it is a general questions with many variants but if someone of you can tell me it will be helpful)
Click to expand...



Pampos: It doesn't matter what you apply (glaze/carnuba/sealant) in the portion of the car that the bra is going to be installed on. The installer will remove any products with Wax & Grease Remover. What is important is the swirl and scratch removal done by you prior to the bra installation. After the bra is installed, you can use the wax that was applied to the rest of the car and apply it to the bra.



As far as price goes, ask the dealer if you could quote each job. Some will be easier than others and it seems to be a good proposition. It really depends on the dealer. The BMW's I do at a fixed rate per car because that's what the dealer wants. That works well too.



Toto
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top