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15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

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  • 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

    Okay. First off, my name is Justin, I'm 15, and I detail cars. I'm planning on starting a small business detailing cars for people for the cheap and affordable price of $50. Remember, don't most detailers charge $100-200/car? Well I'm not sure if people would pay me that high, so I'll start at $50. I work by hand, and I don't have a buffer, so I don't think I can do extreme makeovers...hehe.

    This is my detailing process. Please tell me how much people should pay for doing this to their car. I did this process to my aunt's Camry and she payed me $18. I don't want to be mean and charge her $50...=[

    Okay, this is how I clean my car and my parent's cars.

    Step 1: I clean the wheels and tires first with this cheapo microfiber wash mitt from the dollar store using Gold Class Car Wash. Then I take the Meguiar's Super Plush Wash Mitt and dip that into a bucket of Gold Class Car Wash and work my way throughout the vehicle, making sure I don't miss a spot.

    Step 2: I then dry the car with the Absorber. If there is any water left, I use microfiber towels to get them.

    Step 3: I clay the car with Meguiar's Smooth Surface Clay Kit to remove overspray and any other contaminents. I clay every surface, without missing a spot. And I make sure that everything is smooth when I dry it. Then I use Meguiar's Supreme Shine Microfiber to remove everything. After that I check around for any scratches or swirls, and if I see any, I apply ScratchX until the scratch or swirl is completely gone.

    Step 4: I then take a Meguiar's foam applicator pad and apply Gold Class Liquid Wax throughout the whole car, let it haze, and then I remove the wax with microfiber towels.. And I use another microfiber towel to remove any wax leftover.

    Step 5: I look over the vehicle throughly making sure there isn't any leftover wax, if there isn't, I clean the windows with Stoner's Invisible Glass, wipe it with a clean, old tee shirt, and then I use a microfiber towel for the final wipedown.

    Step 6: I then use Meguiar's Hot Shine Tire Spray to dress up the tires.

    Here are some results:











  • #2
    Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

    Not to be rude but your aunt is cheap..

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

      Hey Justin!

      I remember starting out the same way at 15-16. I actually charged $35 for the interior and exterior! Of course, that was 10 years ago.

      I went to work for a small shop near an upscale gated community one summer too. Here I was 16 going in this community and picking up brand new Corvette's, BMW's, and so on. Were those people crazy or what?!?!

      You did a great job on that car!! Keep honing your skills, and as you do, don't be afraid to charge what a job is worth. I remember reading somewhere: "Let no man despise your youth."

      Spend some time around here reading the forum. There are a lot of good people with tons of experience. Whatever you do, stick with Meguiar's.

      Go ahead and try to get a Dual Action Polisher (aka G100, PC, Porter Cable) as soon as possible. You can pick one up online for no more than $100 after shipping. Check your local Lowe's for a closeout Porter Cable PC7336SP. They may still have one for a good price. Study up on it and your abilities will increase exponentially. It's lots of fun too and not at all hard to use.

      There are some great sites that have "detailing guides" that you can read also. If you're interested, try some of the following links or just search the net. Seems like you already know a lot. Never stop learning.


      Edit: Commercial Links Removed. Please read and follow the Forum Rules.


      One of the best and most popular online suppliers for Megs products besides www.meguiars.com is autodetailingsolutions.com He has everything at great prices.

      I think you've got a great idea. Go for it. Word of mouth is the best advertisement. So anyway, that's my two cents. If you already knew all of that then don't mind me. Good luck!

      Jonathan

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

        How long did it take for her car? An "average" car? A difficult car? Divide that into $18 for the hourly rate. And into $50 for your projected rate. Higher rate for difficult or larger SUV, etc.? How long to cover your start-up materials?

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

          In this business, you really need to ask yourself how much would you like to make in income and also think about how much you are spending on materials, product, and machines.

          I'd say $18 is a bit low for the amount of work that you do, but just consider that a "family discount"

          Great job though kid!
          -Brad
          Shine Masters Pasadena, CA
          shine-masters.com

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

            Raise your pirces...

            Next time take some before pictures, some process pictures and and some after pictures and make a little booklet to show prospective customers or build a website and create a little write up on some of the work you've done and then put the website name on a business card or a hand sheet, (paper with your services, prices, business name, website etc.).

            Read a lot of the information on this forum and learn how to educate your customer and then start out at $85.00 to $95.00 for the kind of work you're doing now.

            Take some profits and invest in a G100/PC and then you can do even better work faster and raise your prices up to $200.00 and more.
            Mike Phillips
            760-515-0444
            showcargarage@gmail.com

            "Find something you like and use it often"

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

              Hi EvoBoy, Good job & keep on waxing.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                I am 14 and my detail partner is 15. I've learned just about everything from this website. Dig deep into old threads, and ask lots of questions, everyone is willing to help. Raise your prices, and figure in how much you would want to make per hour. Don't expect to take profits right away, but save up and invest if your really serious about it. We've invested in a G100, all sorts of products, a $200 canopy, you name it.

                We have business cards, e-mail address, a website, and a steady client list that I'm happy to say is growing. I would suggest working on only refferals, and turn down work that is too difficult for you at this stage. I know it sounds bad, but trust me, you don't want to be in over your head on certain things.

                Things like this (trust me, there's worse out there)



                Document before and after photos and show them to potential customers if they want to see them.

                Read through this thread, it's a few months old but has some valuable information.

                Starting a small detailing business as a side job, that is. I've considered it for a while. Here are the pros and cons I have come up with, and I would like it if y'all could suggest any other pros/cons y'all know of since you do it for a business. Pros: I live next to a very rich community, and since I would be coming to


                As far as what you have for your process, you might want to throw in some DC#2 or #7 as a polish if you wish after claying and using scratch-x or whatever. It looks like a good process for hand use though.
                Happy Corvetting

                1972 Dodge Challenger Rallye project car in the works...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                  I was doing it for her for free, but she gave me $18. So yeaa..it took me 2 hours. I didn't clay or wax the front bumper, too many rock chips. And no, it's not the Camry pictured, that one's mine. Lol. The roof was kinda too high for me, and I didn't have a stool, so I didn't do anything to the roof except wash it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                    Ok.....you did all that to her car by yourself....in 2 hours?? But the pictures you posted are not of the job you described, right?

                    Well, I suppose I'd give a family member a "freebie"....but only ONE. If you did as good of a job on HER car as you did on YOUR car, why then she should be eager to pay you the $50 you want to have you do it again sometime, right??

                    Family member or not, if you did good work and are using Meg's products, why should you not be paid for your time and the cost of products that were used!?? Like I said, reel them in with one "freebie", then they have to pay for your services. If you still feel a bit guilty about that (with family members) knock 10 bucks off the price for them. Heck, knock 20 bucks off the price if you really, REALLY like them. If I were you, that's all the discount I'd offer. Good luck with the new business!

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                      ^ Yup, two hours. I hecka rushed when I was claying because it was getting dark. And it did, so I waxed in the dark using a flashlight. Too my surprise, there wasn't any wax leftover in the morning =]. As I said, I didn't feel like doing anything to the front bumper except washing it because it has SO many rock chips, I'm tellin ya! What I did to her car was wash it once, clay it, and then I looked around for scratches that could be removed by ScratchX, and then I waxed it with GC. And yes, there were some swirls, but my hands were tired. Hmm. Maybe I do need a buffer.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                        I think your did a pretty good job. One note on your process. If you start with the wheels then all the stuff you took off the wheels has a potential for scrating up the rest of the car. Make sure if you do that you ahve a dedicated bucket as wells as the old washmitt. I agree with Mike on your pricing.
                        Danny Jensen, Detail Lab

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                          I dont use the MF mitt I used on the wheels on teh body.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                            I hope you don't mind but I feel like giving out advice to help you in your detailing...

                            1) Charge more, shoot for 40-60/hour depending on where you live...

                            2) When you finish washing and are about to clay, don't worry about drying up all the extra water with microfibers. After you blot the water up from rinsing, go right to claying. The minimal amout of water left on the surface will likely not affect anything. After you clay, make sure the surface is wiped down nicely.

                            3) I do the tires/rims first also, but use a seperate mit/bucket/towel. This way you don't accidently drag the metal dust across the paint.

                            So wash, rinse, clay, dry, polish and seal/wax...
                            Let's make all of the cars shiny!

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: 15 Year Old Detailer Here. Need Some Serious Help.

                              Thanks a lot, haha I just said I don't use the same MF mitt I used on the wheels on the body.

                              Comment

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