possibly starting detailing business......
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From: Palmetto, Florida
possibly starting detailing business...... Me and my friend have been throwing around the idea of starting our own "private" detailing business. I live in a higher scale neighborhood and almost everyone has a porsche, hummer, corvette, bmw, jaguar etc...... I have experience detailing cars by hand, but I would like to get a porter cable 7424 and some zaino and stuff like that. I dont think we will go too in depth with the detailing as far as removing really bad scratches and trying to restore really bad paint, just because of liability reasons. We just want to do the usual clay bar, polish, wax, sealant type of business. I know I need the polisher, and the pads which I believe come from lake county, but my main concern is what all should I buy as far as polishes, waxes, etc. I need some tips from you guys on what is really good stuff to use, I have always heard good things about zaino, but what all is out there and what all should I get. Also need recommendations on carpet stain removers, leather conditioners, tire shine, interior cleaner, and wheel cleaner and chrome polish. Any recommmendations would be awesome, and are welcome. Thanks
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Joined: Jul 2003
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From: Amarillo, Texas
In my detailing business:
I find myself using Menzerna polishes most often with Lake Country light cutting and polishing pads. I also use Poorboy's polish, Klasse AIO, and Zaino ZPC.
303 Carpet Cleaner is really good;
Zaino Z9 and Z10 are what I use for leather and interior. You might also check Leatherique, Leathermaster, and Lexol;
Zaino Z16, Meguiar's Natural Shine, Adam's VRT, Armor All original, etc. for tires, rubber, wheel wells, etc.
I use diluted all-purpose cleaner for wheels, tires, wells, interiors, etc. - diluted as necessary for the job (never use on uncoated wheels);
Flitz, Mother's, NXT All Metal, etc. for polishing metal.
Waxes and sealants are largely personal preference. *I* prefer Zaino Z2 Pro for a sealant and Pinnacle Souveran for a carnauba wax. There are tons of great choices out there. I suggest carrying a few choices for different situations, customers, prices, etc.
I find myself using Menzerna polishes most often with Lake Country light cutting and polishing pads. I also use Poorboy's polish, Klasse AIO, and Zaino ZPC.
303 Carpet Cleaner is really good;
Zaino Z9 and Z10 are what I use for leather and interior. You might also check Leatherique, Leathermaster, and Lexol;
Zaino Z16, Meguiar's Natural Shine, Adam's VRT, Armor All original, etc. for tires, rubber, wheel wells, etc.
I use diluted all-purpose cleaner for wheels, tires, wells, interiors, etc. - diluted as necessary for the job (never use on uncoated wheels);
Flitz, Mother's, NXT All Metal, etc. for polishing metal.
Waxes and sealants are largely personal preference. *I* prefer Zaino Z2 Pro for a sealant and Pinnacle Souveran for a carnauba wax. There are tons of great choices out there. I suggest carrying a few choices for different situations, customers, prices, etc.
formerly mystic-t/a (changed 02/05/2013)
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From: Oakley, CA
First off, good luck!
What I use and would recomend:
Buffer: PC
Pads: Propel
Polishes: Optimum Car Polish (easy to work with), Optimum Car Compound, Poorboys SSR2.5
Waxes & Sealant: Pretty much all I use now is Chemical Guys Top Coat Sealant or their paste wax
QD: Chemical Guys Pro-Detailer
Leather: Chemical Guys Leather Conditioner and Leather Cleaner
Carpet: Really dont have much of a preference, but most of them work good.
Int. Dressing: CGs VRT Dressing or 303
Tires/wheel wells: Armor All
Wheel and tire cleaner: Eagle 1 All Wheel and Tire Cleaner
Windows: CGs window cleaner
Metal: NXT All Metal Polysh
Car Soap: NXT
Also must have a lot of microfiber for both drying and mult. purpose (wax, polish, etc).
And practice a lot with the buffer before you really go into it. You might also wanna just start off with friends and family so you can get the hang of it and figure out your strong and weak areas. This will also help with the speed. With the type of customer base it seems you will have you will want to take your time and have attention to detail and that is how you will get repeat customers.
What I use and would recomend:
Buffer: PC
Pads: Propel
Polishes: Optimum Car Polish (easy to work with), Optimum Car Compound, Poorboys SSR2.5
Waxes & Sealant: Pretty much all I use now is Chemical Guys Top Coat Sealant or their paste wax
QD: Chemical Guys Pro-Detailer
Leather: Chemical Guys Leather Conditioner and Leather Cleaner
Carpet: Really dont have much of a preference, but most of them work good.
Int. Dressing: CGs VRT Dressing or 303
Tires/wheel wells: Armor All
Wheel and tire cleaner: Eagle 1 All Wheel and Tire Cleaner
Windows: CGs window cleaner
Metal: NXT All Metal Polysh
Car Soap: NXT
Also must have a lot of microfiber for both drying and mult. purpose (wax, polish, etc).
And practice a lot with the buffer before you really go into it. You might also wanna just start off with friends and family so you can get the hang of it and figure out your strong and weak areas. This will also help with the speed. With the type of customer base it seems you will have you will want to take your time and have attention to detail and that is how you will get repeat customers.
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From: Palmetto, Florida
thank you guys for the responses, they are both exactly what i am looking for. I am gonna practice alot with the pc before using it on a cusotmers car, and for the first month or so I will do everything by hand.
