Detailed a True Red MS3
- Thread starter blue-sun
- Start date
smurfedpro5
Member
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- Protege5
nice how long did it take
The wheels off detail took me just shy of 4 hours start to finish. an exterior only detail is usually a 3.5 hr job for me, but I've done hundreds of cars and have my routine down pat.
mazdaspeedster3
Member
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- Mazdaspeed3. 2008
3.5 just for the outside? I schedule 3 cars a day and do in and outs on all. You get a max of 2 hours for an exterior alone or an interior alone. Oddly here in the Detroit Metro area I get more interior details than exterior. High line cars want exteriors so it all evens out. Dont get very many completes any more.
I don't rush myself when I detail. I do every single car as if it was my own car, which is why I take my take, and 3.5 hours per car also is EVERY single body panel getting the full treatment of buffing to remove all the swirls.
I do many exterior onlys and I prefer it that way. I'm not a fan of cleaning interiors, so I'm ok with that.
I worked for a very brief time at Carmax detailing last year (I quit my office job and wanted to start a detailing business, but it was the dead of winter, so I was gonna do that full time to see if I indeed wanted a detailing business, I didn't) and doing 3 cars in a 10 hours shift the way that I detailed was impossible. They would spot buff the scratches and then toss on some wax.
Sure, if I washed, spot buff, waxed and cleaned out the interior then I could do that in 2 hrs MAYBE.
But to each his own, good luck to you!
Usually $175-$200, car dependant (a large Black SUV is more than a silver Miata)
I've been told that I don't charge enough.
mazdaspeedster3
Member
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- Mazdaspeed3. 2008
$150-200 for an exterior only isnt cheap! If that is a complete then you are cheap. $250 for a complete is average for highlines and not spot wheeling the car, actually digging into the paint every panel. When I was doing it full time I had a partner. One man per side of car made it easy, we could handle 5 cars a day depending on what was wanted/needed. Need to find a younger person and pay them cash under the table for the summer months when you are busiest. No money in it if you take that long and charge a lot in this market. You need to exceed their expectation (minding your own) and make money. Not much money in detailing these days.
mazdaspeedster3
Member
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- Mazdaspeed3. 2008
You do good work, I dont think you will have any problems finding business. Just when you have to pay for a shop, insurance, biz license and supplies it adds up. People dont want to pay big money for details any more. 75% of the public seems to lease now a days anyway cutting it even more. Good shop frontage is big, you can advertise hand washs and vacuum for $10 or whatever and then hit them for a wax or carpet scrub. I had quit detailing fulltime some years ago and got a 9-5 job. I lost that job last Nov. and went right back to detailing. I have been doing corporate accounts though, working through some friends that work in big office buildings/companies. Been doing pick up and delivery. A little more risk but I have stayed bonded and insured so if anything happens I am covered. Driving around cuts a lot of time out of my day though. I can do 2 cars a day. I am an old fart and it is a lot of work.
Pro question for ya, are you cutting or just buffing or both? When you buff are you foam padding to get your swirl marks out? My real question is what are you using to foam pad? I ran out of my old stuff and have been using a Meguires swirl remover I found but would like something MUCH better.
Pro question for ya, are you cutting or just buffing or both? When you buff are you foam padding to get your swirl marks out? My real question is what are you using to foam pad? I ran out of my old stuff and have been using a Meguires swirl remover I found but would like something MUCH better.
walterGT67
Member
Nice job on the wheels.. I'm still a noob on cars, didn't know that it can still look like new. Thought I need to buy new ones to make my wheels look new.
Oh well, I really need to learn a lot..
Great job on that nice car, BTW.(yes)
Oh well, I really need to learn a lot..
Great job on that nice car, BTW.(yes)
ThrillRide
Member
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- Truck
Lake Country is the leading manufacturer of pads. You can buy them all over. Check the sticky; most of the stores carry them.
I don't use a rotary, so I'm just buffing with the polisher/buffer. I use the Meguiars red Cutting pad and it gets 95% of swirls out. I use Meguiars #83, Dual Action Cleaner and Polish. It's a goood combo that has worked wonders for me. I've tried some of the other polishes, Menzerna, 3M, etc and none seem to work as well for me as the DACP/Red Pad combo, but like anything else in life, it boils down to a personal preference. It gets the job done and that's all that matters to me.
Here's an examples of swirls/rotary hazing/oxidation removal being removed with the DACP/Red Pad combo: I even use it to polish up headlights & taillights.
Thanks!
www.autopia.org is a great resource to learn from.
I haven't tried their pads in a while. I had some years ago but used to get the Meguiars Red pad at a local place that I would get the DACP and some other stuff.
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- 2011 Mustang GT
Which machine specifically do you use? Are you talking about one of the bigger buffer/polishers?
Porter Cable 7424 Dual Action Sander & Polisher with a 5" Backing plate.
mazdaspeedster3
Member
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- Mazdaspeed3. 2008
That is similar to what I use. I wasnt referring to an orbital, those are a joke. I have a Makita with a 5" velcro plate. I either use a white wool for lighter oxidation/scratches or yellow for heavier and then a foam pad for polishing/swirl removal.
OIC. I've got a ton of pads, from a wool pad for heavy oxidation to a range of foam pads from soft to heavy.
ThrillRide
Member
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- Truck
Are you only using #83 for paintwork? Only thing I don't like about 83 is that it is full of oils and fillers. I like products like 83 for one step jobs and jobs that I'm not doing full correction on.
You should check out some CCS pads from LC. Best pads in the biz! I like all of theirs tho, from wool to synthetic.
I hadn't realize that there were fillers in 83. Hmm, interesting.
Yeah, I probably should look into them.
