Tips for high end cars?

[Still Learnin]

Ive been chose to detail my cousins husbands brothers cars.. both are a Mercedes Benz. A black ML350 and a silver SL500. I havent seen the cars yet, but my cousin says he gets em detailed regularly at mercedes. i wanna do a great job so i can convert him to let me take care of his cars so i can make some money.

im just starting out in detailing, mainly do it on the side for extra cash. i havent hit past the $150 mark yet like i should but i figured if i get em to try me out and they like the work that ill have a regular customer and then tell em i can make it a bit nicer therefore raising the price.

my question is for you guys that have done cars in this level. (something i can pick up tonite at autozone or walmart)

1. what do you use to dress the dash and interior trim? ive always used some natural shine rubbed in it. then wiped it off with a mf, but those were on civics, toyotas. nothing of this caliber. should i go with some quick interior detailer to get a more factory look? i have megs leather cleaner/conditioner for seats

2. what are things i should pay real attention to? things some peple forget. ive baught brushes to clean in ALL crevices. jams, pedals etc.

3. any tips you can give to helping me out?

my plan of execution are:

wash - clay - nxt wax - wipe down of interior- vaccuum - scrub down on floormats - dress all interior/ exterior - glass

id like to polish it out to remove some swirls on the ml350 but for $125 each, i think he will be good for the work hes paying for but i wanna do a little extra to wow him. should i grab the g110 and 105/205 combo and go to town? if i did go to town. any tips on mercedes paint? they seem to correct pretty easy as ive tried it on my cousins cl500. but i dont wanna end up damaging the paint and not being able to correct it as i dont have all the tools and skills

thank you guys for all your help.. ill be doing this tomorrow and heading down to san diego. i also have another cousins BMW to do on friday. i think this will be the only time ill work on high end cars. its usually been
my aunts camry, or a friends civic or truck, where theyre good with just a wash, but im kinda pushing myself to see personally where i stand and what i can do with these cars. hope this all makes sense. thank you for your time

[CieraSL]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

Well, I don't have much experience with high-end cars, but I'll share with you what I would be looking for if I were the owner.

1. Ask him what kind of look he's wanting. Some people want gloss, and some don't. Be prepared for either.

2. Some areas to pay attention to: the fuel cap area, the area behind the license plate and the lighting area above the license plate, the rain channels in the trunk and under the hood, the weather stripping around the inside of the doors, the trunk, crevices between the seats, exhaust tips, the tops of the windows, check for spots on the headliner and on the A-pillars on the inside of the car, the seat belts, the bottoms of the doors (the area under the interior door panel), and the rearview mirror and cosmetic lights.

3. Give it your very best!

That's all I can think of for now. I'm sure I left out something. Hopefully others will chime in. Good luck, and have fun!

[dpardo]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

For interiors, I always use Meg's Quick Interior Detailer.

Some of the higher-end cars I've used it on include : a Bentley Convertible, BMW M5, supercharged Jag (can't remember the model), and Corvette C6. It has always come out great and, more importantly, the customers were pleased!

As far as things to be careful to not overlook, it helps to make a checklist that you can quickly go through after you think you are finished.

Some of the following are easy to forget, IMO:

1. Roll down the windows slightly to clean the top parts that are sometimes covered by the door frame.

2. With the key in the ignition, you can move the gear selector to clean the top part of the gate (applies only to some cars).

3. The vanity mirrors and headliner.

4. Depending on what method you use to dress the tires, you may have to roll the car slightly forward or back to dress the bottom part of the tires that were inaccessible.

5. Inside the fuel door.

6. The brake, clutch, and accelerator pedals, and the foot rest.

Hope this helps!

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

cierasl and dpardo thanks for all your input! yah ive lately been pulling out license plates and washing in the fuel door. people always ask me why i do it, i tell em lots of people overlook it and theres a gang of **** in there. i also do the windows which i think 90 percent of people dont do the top of the window cause they dont want their window wet since they just cleaned it. for the most part i usually do those, so im glad im doing soemthing right! when you clean door jams do u guys just shoot it with a cleaner than let water trickle down rather than spray it? thats the method im thinking about doing? but if theres a better way im all ears!

i like the check list. cause i know sometimes i do forget things haha. ive looked up pictures of the cars im going to work on and check out other people that have detailed those exact cars so i can see what they clean, and pay attention to. usually the cars i clean are trashed. ive never cleaned a well taken care of car so im just lost on what to look for

Thanks guys your help is greatly appreciated

[akimel]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

I'm not a professional (heck, I'm not even a hack )but for $125 a car I don't think you should try to wow your cousin's husbands' brother (I immediately thought of Dark Helmet's line from "Spaceballs": "I am your father's brother's nephew's cousin's former roommate") by doing any serious polishing. But before applying the coat of NXT, you might go over the car with ColorX (the G110 would make the waxing go faster). The ColorX will clean up the paint and bring some clarity to it, as well as laying down an additional layer of protection. You can then tell your cousin's husband's brother that you gave him two coats of wax. I imagine he only gets one coat from the Mercedes dealer.

Just a thought.

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

yah im just more into cleaning cars waaay more than the average person. i figured he gets what im going to do to his car but at a fraction of the cost of mercedes. he wont be there tomorrow hes working a long shift they said, hes a doctor and not married so hes got money to spend. thats why i wanna do a great job cause this could make or break it for me.

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

what would i use to polish out emblems? should i just buy chrome polish and a q-tip?

[CieraSL]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

what would i use to polish out emblems? should i just buy chrome polish and a q-tip?

That would probably work. Here's a section from another thread:

08 Lexus RX350. Esoteric Auto Detail

The chrome and emblems got cleaned and protected with Klasse All-In-One.

Before:

After:

Exhaust tip before:

After polishing with M105: Note…that is not polish residue that you see where the plastic trim meets the bumper. It’s actually adhesive (I found it in several areas…perhaps leftover from the body work that had been done on it).

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

yah i looked at that guys thread when he also did a sl500... his emblems look so smoothe. only problem is ill need to pick it up today/tonite.. and have no time for ordering some.. ive heard glass cleaner work wonders on chrome? maybe i should put some on a qtip and hopefully they come out sweet?

[CieraSL]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

If you have some chrome polish then just use that. I think Mother's Chrome Polish or Hot Rims Chrome Polish would work best. Maybe just keep the Klasse All-in-One in mind for future detailing jobs.

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

yah. ive been meaning to buy some chrome polish anyways but im just broke. so i cant dish out alot of money at once and get all the products. but im slowly grabbing things here and there after details so when i do have details to do. i dont got to buy em before hand... but i appreciate all your advice cierasl.. its greatly appreciated

[Details]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

things i always do
1. make it look new, not over dressed and cheese ball. The key to detailing is that ur not suppoesed to notice anything but the car and its various surfaces, ur not supposed to have leather and vinyl shining in ur eyes. jus be very thourough about the job.
2. low gloss interior dressing
3. make sure ur tire shine doesnt sling!!!! high end customers hate this!!
4. they also hate streaky windows!!! this is the one thing that must be absolutely perfect!!! 150%
5. try a new car or leather scent
6. they love it when they get to choose whats used on their cars, what brand, high gloss low gloss, what kind of fragrance,
7. let them customize a detail package jus make sure u price it right
8. presentation is everything! they pay attention to how neat u are when you work, how organized, etc...
9. remeber high end people have an eye for these type of things how do you think they got these cars and why do you think they like these cars!?!?
10. presentation is everything!!! when you show them the finished master peice have the car backed in parked perfectly, radio turned off, maybe even cool the car off for them before they get in and drive off, have seats set back to their setting, mirrors where they were before, and alot of people love carpet stripes!!! simply take a brush and put a nice pattern in the floor matts ( this thought goes along way)
11. put their belongings in a designated spot nice and neat.
12. recomendations for their next detail... how long until and what they should look into next time
13. be blunt about it.... uhuhuhhhhhmmmmmm so how often do you have your cars cleaned? ohh really, well ill give you a call in two weeks from now and come to you and take care of you!!

good luck

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

the customer wont be there since he leaves at 5am for work. maybe he will be there by the time i finish his black suv. and i can actually talk to him... so we'll see.

as for interior i have megs leather cleaner/conditioner, i should be good with some quick interior detail to produce a nice sheen over the dash and other peices of the interior? or would it be too shiney. i have never used it.

as for tire shine. i have usually used hot rims tire shine, and usually try to work in the product so it absorbs into the tires. would i be better off with a gel like high endurance?

[CieraSL]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

Here are some pics of Endurance High Gloss tire gel from a tire shine review from another thread:








And here is a poll on which tire shine people prefer, Hot Shine tire gel or Endurance tire gel: http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32071

Hope this helps!

[Still Learnin]

Re: Tips for high end cars?

thanks for the tip!!!!