Need advice on my first real detail for money!

[Jumper09]

Later this week I will be attempting my first real detail and getting paid. I will be detailing a newer standard cab, shortbox Chevy pickup. Wash, clay wax, interior vac and wipe down, the whole nine yards. Everything pretty much short of polishing. Being my "first" job, what would some of you charge for something like that? I was thinking $75 should be more than fair. But was looking for more opinions on what I should charge. Thanks everyone. Only Megs products will be used for this detail as well. Thanks.

[Wheelzntoys]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

In my area, $75 covers everything your doing except claying and wax.

Be careful with claying, some cars require at least a fine polish afterwards.

[SwunMurrieta]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

If you're not shampooing the carpets and doing stain removal on any upholstery then 75.00 is a good price to me. Thats probably what I would charge.

[Jumper09]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

No stain removal, no shampooing inside just a wipedown and some dog hair removal.I've got Megs interior cleaner and some natural shine for the dash and doors. Then a Thorough vacuum job. Most of the work will be on the outside. Wash, clay, wash again, dry then wax at least one coat. Plus wax the rims and dress the tires and trim.

[rst08tierney]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

I always polish after claying. Forget waxing the rims and polish the vehicle. Your customer will come back. If it comes down time restraints or too much labor , Polish and then use UQW.

Are you working by hand or machine?

[Jumper09]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

All work will be done by hand. I know it should be polished after claying but I don't have the polish or a machine to do it. It is my first detail for money after all and I don't have the funds for such things right now. I will be looking into the new DA Power System afterwords though. Plus thr truck is black and that could be the worst. Hopefully If he likes it after I'm done, Ill get him to come back to me for all his washing in the future. I've done vehicles for family and friends for quite a while now and everyone has loved what I have done so far, so I have high hopes that when I'm done he will push more work my way.

[C8N]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

As already mentioned, claying potentially can leave some marring on soft paint.
If so, you will need to polish it to remove the marring.
If absolute no to polishing, then use the least aggressive clay and don't apply too much pressure when claying.

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

You're going to do all this by hand on a fairly large vehicle - how long do you anticipate it taking? What is your time worth? Multiply hours needed to do the work by your hourly rate and there you have it. In light of that, is $75 fair to you???

[h_bomm]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

If there is a lot of dog hair I would invest in one of those rubber pet hair brushes. I picked one up at walmart a few weeks ago and used it for the first time yesterday, not for dog hair but for my sister in laws long hair and it worked like a charm. I think it was in the 5 dollar range if I'm not mistaken. Wish I would have had it last year when I did do a car with a ton of dog hair... oh well hind sight I guess

[Jumper09]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

To Mr. Stoops, I have thought about how many hours it would take but the owner is a truck driver and won't be around for a couple of days while I work on his truck. It will probably take me most of a day to do as I will be working at my own pace. I have no maching or compound for polishing so that is a no. I have Megs Smooth surface clay kit and quik detailer for claying. The truck is a 2012 Chevy Silverado, Standard cab short bed. It really isn't all that big to me. Does anyone know how soft/hard the paint is on these trucks? I will be working on it on wednesday so I'll try to post pics when I can.

[Jumper09]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

Thanks for the tip on the pet hair brushes. I didn't even know something like that existed. I will have to pick one up before wednesday. I was going to use some rolled up duct tape with the sticky side out. Which I still might do but I will see how well the brush works. I could have more vehicles to do if it works out well. Thanks for all the advice.

[Chase_B]

Re: Need advice on my first real detail for money!

I had my first details last weekend. The first was a black Tahoe that I washed, polished with a DA, shampooed carpets with Mytee Lite ii and other basics included in a detail. The second car he had was a Camry which I only vacuumed the inside, washed an waxed the outside and used some degreaser to clean the engine. It took two of us 5 hours and I charged $220 for both cars and he ended up giving us $250. I'm a newb, but $75 sounds cheap to me even without shampooing the carpets.