Wholesale Detailing?

Even though I have done hundreds of engines I always hate doing them for some reason. I always try to cover the alternator with a plastic bag as well as the distributor cap in older cars. I prefer cleaning them when they are stone cold and apply a generous amount of degreaser before pressure washing. Make sure to hit it from multiple angles to get all the degreaser and filth off.
 
Engines are a no brainer as long as you have a pressure washer and either compressed air or a leaf blower. I don't think heating up an engine is smart or needed. I prefer them cool and not running when water is present.



Prewash > Presoak > Aggitate > Rinse > Blow > Wipe > Dress > C Ya
 
i'm with David on things . . . . love the:



Prewash > Presoak > Aggitate > Rinse > Blow > Wipe > Dress > C Ya LoL



One thing though . . . . . i wouldn't let the APC soak for 5 minutes . . . . . . most likely the engine will still be warm as it takes a couple hours or more for a engine to completely cool down . . . . . . at 5 minutes of dwell time your APC will be dried up.



Spray it and agitate it a bit and blast it with a pressure washer.



As for a dressing method i have seen and had some success with the spraying of the dressing while everything is still wet and starting the vehicle allowing it to idle for a good 10-15 minutes to get rid of the water and allow the dressing to set.



Might want to do a quick blow down, dress, then start the vehicle for a few minutes, but i'm sure David will comment on this.
 
It's all personally preference I guess as long as the end result is clean and undamaged. Having worked in the Self Serve/Coin-Op Car Wash business for many years, I can personally attest to many(lmore than 50 and we actually posted warning signs) people that caused unneeded damage to their vehicles by cleaning their engines while hot, not blowing them off and while running.
 
Thanks allot guys really! I'm going to cover the alternator and distributor cap if I see one with the engine cold and have at it. Vtec postal and david you guys gave me much needed confidence for that job tomorrow, now I just hope I get their continued business!
 
i am just curious how do you guys go about getting dealer work? i have thought about this just was not sure how to get my foot in the door. sorry for hijack. replys just send in private message so we dont get off track
 
I tried it out on my griots polisher david, amazing. I think I found my one step combo, really took me about 25mins to do the 15 passenger. It wasn't perfect but he was pleased with the results. He's having me come back to do their other ones, hiring someone for about 11 an hour and each van will take us 2 hours. I'm only charging $75 per van about 3 or 4 vans a trip. I can probably knock them out in under 6 hours. This seem average to you guys? First time doing this for a dealer really. I'm using their electricity and water. The engine didn't come out as nice as some of the ones I've seen on here, is there any specific product you guys would recommend? I sprayed the meguiars degreaser and hit it with the pressure washer after I agitated with a brush. Took about 20 mins altogether.
 
jose206 said:
Thanks allot guys really! I'm going to cover the alternator and distributor cap if I see one with the engine cold and have at it. Vtec postal and david you guys gave me much needed confidence for that job tomorrow, now I just hope I get their continued business!
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No problem. Glad we could help.



keep_it_clean said:
i am just curious how do you guys go about getting dealer work? i have thought about this just was not sure how to get my foot in the door. sorry for hijack. replys just send in private message so we dont get off track
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I don't think jose would mind. Have people post up here so we can all gain knowledge about these things. I think in this rough economy, more and more folks will be trying to get some form of dealer/steady work like that as it's constant cash flow even if it's less per job it's money you know you can count on.



toyotaguy said:
keep in mind a super neglected motor will not return to a perfected state!!!!



maintanence is key, neglect is more costly!!!!
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Exactly. Sometimes i feel like a motor didn't come out how i expected it to but the bottom line is you can only do so much with so much . . . .



if the owner failed to maintain it and never cleaned the engine and it's been leaking fluids and what not for a few years it might not ever come out to our standards unless you spend hours on it. Unless you are getting paid to perfect it down to spit shining that last bolt i would say the hell with it as long as it looks appealing to a normal person, that's all that matters.
 
Figured I'd ask here instead of making another thread (or... god forbid... searching!) :p



Barry & David... I'm also in the market for a 1-step polish/seal type of deal preferably with a lot of fillers. I need it for 2 reasons.. current clients who got screwed before and have no paint on their cars to correct, and my new business venture that will go after dealer work as well as the non-boutique detailing market.



In any case, I'd like something with some correcting power, maybe in the vicinity of M205/LC green or orange/Flex but again, lots of filling ability. I've never really used anything with many fillers in it so I'm a newb when it comes to that.



David is the BC-2 a 1-step polish/seal or more of a sealer? Barry, same question about Ardex Highline.



Oh and Jose what pad did you use with the BC-2 (I'm assuming you used this) on that van and how easy was it to use?



Thanks in advance.
 
lawrencea said:
I know a detailer that loves BC2, and another that loves Megs 151. Either one will do nicely.
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I have 12-16oz. of D151 that I should really start playing with tonight. I used it a few times a while ago and never found a use for it but will start experimenting soon.



I'm more interested to hear what kind of corrective & filling power the BC2, as well as the others mentioned, has compared to either a dedicated polish & sealant/wax or Meg's 151
 
Ivan youre gonna be pretty impressed with D151



I used it the other night for a favor on a dealership car. I made it around the car in about an hour and had some rreally nice correction(I checked with multiple IPA wipedowns)



I used LC flat orange for the pad and had no pad related micromarring , removed with a spray wax and bam done. GM clear



You gotta let me know how it turns out and how you like it.
 
Ivan I just used a lake country orange kompressor pad, I plan on using my ccs pads when I get my backing plate I have on order from ag though. I found it very easy to use and wiping off excess was a breaze, I'm going to have to try wiping off with a spray wax next time just to test out. I was able to get this particular client from a local posting on craigslist.
 
jose206 said:
Ivan I just used a lake country orange kompressor pad, I plan on using my ccs pads when I get my backing plate I have on order from ag though. I found it very easy to use and wiping off excess was a breaze, I'm going to have to try wiping off with a spray wax next time just to test out. I was able to get this particular client from a local posting on craigslist.
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I guess I'll wait for David's more detailed answer on the product, but what are the cutting and sealing capabilities of this product?
 
Because its SMAT, its gonna be a lot pad and application dependent, I was able to cut HEAVY swirls down 80-90 percent on dark GM paint with zero marring from it. On softer paints, it will micromarr a bit so be sure to use a polishing pad or light polishing pad to prevent pad marring.



People report a few weeks with the sealant, it can last pretty well if you just remove with some spray wax.. Removal is a breeze regardless of what you use though.
 
getcha said:
Because its SMAT, its gonna be a lot pad and application dependent, I was able to cut HEAVY swirls down 80-90 percent on dark GM paint with zero marring from it. On softer paints, it will micromarr a bit so be sure to use a polishing pad or light polishing pad to prevent pad marring.



People report a few weeks with the sealant, it can last pretty well if you just remove with some spray wax.. Removal is a breeze regardless of what you use though.
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When you say remove, are you talking about removing residue after polishing a section with 151?
 
Well just a little update now that I talked to the owner last week, meet and worked out a contract. Guy is planning on starting out with moving 30-50 $10-30,000 vehicles until he gets settled and then will try to go back to doing luxury/exotic/higher end vehicles like his last lot in New Jersey.



To start out he wanted the absolute basic on all vehicles and then will progress after the first month getting more things done on certain vehicles.



Basic: *$30 per. Car / $40 per. SUV/Large Vehicle *

-Wash

-Tire Shine

-Jams

-Vacuum/Shampoo Carpets

-Clean All Plastic Panels, Inside all pockets and holding areas

-Wipe down under hood and dress plastics

-Other small misc. production style things on wholesale vehicles.



Then luckly I am building alot of money on add-ons for wet sanding notice panels/scratches and wet sanding/buffing headlights. Seems to be a good deal that in a couple months can really start generating alot of money on its own. Now I see why a lot of detail shops try to get business like this.
 
$30 a car??? Even at a fast pace your looking at 2 hours per vehicle...hopefully you will be able to do some serious upselling with add-ons. I hope it all works out for you, but at $30 a car you are going to need to do ALOT of volume. Keep us updated on how it goes.
 
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