Some good looking work in here. For most cars I do, pricing starts at $1000 and goes up from there, that's just for the paint. Wheels, glass, interior are extra.

 

How long does it usually take you?

 

That depends on the car, how bad it is and how much correction I'm doing. For a new car, with the normal dealer installed swirl option, probably 15-20 hours. That includes a wash, full decon, compound/polish and 2 layers of the coating.

The more complicated the body lines are, size of the car, if it has stripes/decals all can add time and cost to a job.

I'm doing a Z06 right now, that's pretty hammered. Doing paint, wheels off cleaning coating, cleaning/coating the brake calipers, wheel wells, glass, interior and taking half the car apart to do it. I will probably have 40 hours in this thing easy. This customer wants his car to be at a certain level and it will take some time to get it there.

I'm kinda in a niche' market so to speak. I normally don't do just a wash/wax jobs.

Please don't think that I look down on guys that do that type of work because I don't. I've just found the market that I want to be in and pretty much stay in it.

I'm a huge advocate of charging what you are worth, regardless of what level you are at. If you do really good work you should be getting paid for it. If someone isn't willing to pay for it, don't do it cheaper because you are ******* yourself in the long run.

A huge problem in the detailing industry is people try to compete on price. This hurts everyone. Let's say I quote a job at $1000, then the next guy says he will do it for $800, then another guy says he will do it for $500....well you get the idea.

When competing on pricing one of two things will happen. 1. If you are doing it to make a profit, you aren't going to be in business very long because the amount of money you are making vs. the amount of time you are spending. 2. The quality of your work is going to start going down hill because you know you aren't making money and will hurry through the job to get to the next one. Both of these are both bad for business.

Sorry to the short rant.

 

^ Excellent post and it was a big help.

 

LilJayV10, is automotive detailing/ paint corrections your main job/ business or is it on the side?

If it's on the side how do you advertise your work ?
How do you reach out to the type of clients you are going after?

Meaning like me personally I'm trying to reach out to nice sedans and sports cars. I have no interest in doing junk and no interest in doing these massive 4 door trucks and have turned down a few. Am I wrong in that?

 

I just bought a 17 Black Silverado and it's got water spot etching, swirls and holograms from the shitty dealer detailer sitting on the lot for the last year. The guy quoted me $1500 for complete exterior correction on all paint, chrome and glass with a 5 year coating. If you don't like doing trucks, charge more lol.
but I do still have the Camaro that is getting painted in the future and I might be using this guy again if I'm happy with the service.

 

I do it on the side. I have my own business. I work at a performance shop as my "regular" job. 95% of my work is from word of mouth.

When I started out doing this about 7 years ago, I started out doing my cars, friends/family cars. As I started to learn more I started my own business and started doing "normal/regular cars"

I was very fortunate to become friends some some really good people in the business and was accepted into the CQuartz Finest Installer program 4-5 years ago.

Through time, meeting more people and finding my "niche" so to speak I've started doing more and more expensive cars.

Since I have a full time job I have the luxury to pick and choose what I do. If I did this full time and had employees my business model would be different. I would be doing more "well my employees would be doing " more "wash/wax" jobs but would still charge more than anyone around here probably.

There's nothing wrong with picking and choosing what cars you want to work on as long as it makes sense business wise if you are doing it for a living.

I will say that I spend A LOT of timing educating people when it comes to what type of work do and how it's different than most "detail" shops. Most people want clean and shiny. They don't see the scratches, swirls, RIDS, bird etching, etc. Those are the people that go through Mike's Car wash 3-4 times a week. Those people aren't likely to spend a lot of money for a professional detail UNLESS they care about their car and they realize what type of damage they are doing.

Explaining the process to them, what products you use and why does 2 things. 1. It helps them better understand the cost because of the time that is involved 2. It also helps your credibility because you are knowledgeable about the industry and the process. There are so many junk *** gimmick detail supplies and hack detailers out there right now it's pathetic.

If you are just starting out, it takes time. It takes time for people to learn who you are. It takes time to separate yourself from everyone else. It takes time to get really good at it. I am constantly learning on every car I do. Regardless of how good a car looks, I want the next one to look better.

Hopefully this answered some of your questions.

 

Again, another helpful post.

You nailed it about the gimmick products and hack detailers out there. I have spent some time correcting other people's junk work for sure.
Also you're right about some people not even seeing the scratches, marring, micro swirls ect. and I also turn the people away that think I just do a wash and wax.

About my background, detailing is not my primary job. Like you I started out with friends and family vehicles and have been doing this for the past 16 years. It just gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling making paint look deep and rich and not until lately ( past couple years) I have been wanting to push my work to make some good side money with something I like doing. I have been getting random messages of late for ceramic coating but I would like a steady flow of a car or two a week. I do consider myself to be very good but just need to find the crowd that's willing to spend on this kind of work and that will appreciate like I do.

I also agree that every car I do I learn from and want the next to look that much better.

I will ask this...... do you give buddy discounts? Meaning giving close friends and family a cost break.

Here is a 2016 SS I did a few weeks ago. Today I did my brother's 2017 Gt350 that turned out absolutley beautiful and I will post pictures when I get them.

 

98cayenne ta, are you from ohio?

 

No, Minnesota

 

Car looks great man. I like that color. To answer your question I do give discounts for family and close friends. I mean close friends, not just somebody that I know.

 

That SS looks great did you do a full correction? I first picked up a rotary in 1975 when I started in body/paint/collision (now retired). It was an easy transition to detailing (weekend warrior) after hanging up my paint guns. In the bodyshop world, cutting paint you'll have rooster tails of compound coming off the wool pad flying everywhere whereas with the detail side, no spatter, no dust just a total cleaner environment. Some say painters do not make good detailers, I have to disagree. Painters know automotive finishes and paint systems. Once you get them out of the 'production" mindset of sanding, masking, shooting etc. detailing becomes second nature especially if you have years of experience swinging a heavy rotary. I'm really picky on the cars that I choose to do a full correction. Most people are shocked at the cost and time it takes, so that trims down the work opportunities which I'm fine with... I'm old

The soft Porsche black and the super soft Harley Davidson blacks have always been a challenge

 

yes I did do a full correction on the SS.
I use both a rotary and a da.
You're not kidding about the softness of porsche's.
I did a Porsche a few years ago and boy o boy was that a absolute challenge to get to finish down nice.

 

Yep... the one in the photo, I was glad it was a convertible

The owner had never washed the Porsche, super low millage never rained on. He would go out in the garage with detail spray and a terrycloth wiping the dust off Since the car had never been wet I did a waterless wash and IIRC I used Menz SF-4500 with a black pad. That was all I needed to cut the swirls and rids out, it was that soft! I finished using a gold jeweling pad with the Menz.

 

Some good stuff going on in this thread. Nice work guys.

 

I do a lot of black cars.......

 

Nice work LilJayV10, what did you think about working with that Porsche paint?

 

Some of the hardest paint I've ever worked on.

 

 

The Cayenne black is one of the softest paint systems ever developed ... given many a detailers sleepless nights