Man of Honour
I will do it for free but only for favours from the car owner's hot sister.
Can't beat that y0.
*** The Car Cleaning Thread ***
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I will do it for free but only for favours from the car owner's hot sister.
Can't beat that y0.
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[TW]Fox;17130449 said:
I can't hang a door, so I pay a chippie to do it. Actually, I can hang a door, but it will be a sub-par effort. I chose this particular chippie because he's been doing it for 30 years, if a visitor trips over his toolbox and knocks out their teeth, he's covered, his reputation for work over 3 decades is outstanding and he knows what I want...the door hung bang on.
I can machine polish a car, I think I'm pretty good at it now. I've had my work judged (and won, I'm pretty awesome) and commented on by some of the best in the UK. But, I'm not the guy you want to bring back the gleam on that V8 Vantage. I don't have the experience, my knowledge is limited to German and Jap paint and if you insisted I do it, I'd take so long to get it just right *and* ensure safe procedure to such a degree that I'd have to charge something truly extortionate to recover my time.
I'm firmly in the enthusiastic amateur league and that's because I could never go that last crucial 10% on somebody elses car, the motivation on my own cars is understandably higher. I doubt I could actually achieve what the very best pros chuck out, and judging my reaction if somebody made a mess of my car, not sure I'd have the bottle to do it to something precious. My "portfolio" is nothing more than my cars and some friends and family, just a tiny fish in the pond If you count a full strip and detail on the same car as one full job, I've probably done 35-40 cars? I have sat in thousands however.
[TW]Fox;17130449 said:
I couldn't throw wax on top of a car that wasn't primed and ready for it either. But I'm a bit geeky about the whole thing and I'm a big believer that the majority of how good the car looks is not the wax/sealant but the prep. So throwing wax over a car that hasn't been clayed means it hasn't been corrected, so it's just a bit shinier. Not my cup of tea but there is a market for it, I'd regard it more valeting than detailing.
Like Mike said, Peter is an employee and probably doesn't have much say in how things are run. But, the carpet analogy applies to his boss, the process should be explained to the client and the benefits of claying vs cost and overall appearance at the end of the job should be pushed. Unless your're a bit of a gypo, you'll buy the claying...you've called a company to make your car shiney, so why skimp on a basic procedure? Why offer a service without it in the first place? Different market, I guess.
The majority of the big players have a modular system...you start with the basic wash, clay and wax/sealant. Then you sell the correction, the glazes, the higher-end products, metal polishing etc. Then you get the top-ups, the real earner.
[TW]Fox;17130449 said:
This is part of the reason why when I find somebody, I'll pay over the odds, they're like little gems. I travel 50 miles in the wrong direction to have my tyres done for the track, my wheels are still minty factory fresh. One of my cars goes on a transporter for 250 miles each way for servicing and work. If I ever had my car detailed, I'd do the 400 mile drive north and fly back. There are hundreds of guys on DW who will do the job cheaper, but I'm confident my money is better spent up there.
I understand your viewpoint and it's very magnanimous, I have issues with allowing somebody to work on my car with no insurance, very little experience and lacking certain, what I consider, crucial tools. If other people want to take that risk to save a few hundred quid, I can see the attraction, it's just not for me.
If a local kid wanted to paint a side of a barn, he's done one barn before and likes painting barns, I'd let him have a crack...any ****-ups are easily sorted. You burn through my bonnet because I'm doing you a favour and helping you get started, the issue gets complicated. I've cut costs, the "detailer" has cut corners and we will both be out of pocket. Everybody has to start somewhere but all things being equal, my money goes to the guy who took his first bit of profit and bought a PTG and/or insurance.
If you really are that keen and it's one of those wonderful situations where you can financially benefit from a hobby, a couple of hundred pounds is easily justifiable from my viewpoint and should be from the guy who wants to actually make a bit of cash from it. If you are in a postion where you cannot afford what I require, maybe doing a hobby for some spare money should be put on the back burner until you can.
I'm not asking for premises, a HD video of the full detail, a chocolate bourbon and a cup of tea. You don't need your logo embroidered on a polo, a fresh and fascinating scent mysteriously wafting about in the car as I drive away or for you to use a boutique wax squirted from a unicorns horn. I'd just like some of peace of mind and a good job for the price. If you cannot provide these really simple requests in exchange for my money, I won't employ you.
You sell diamonds. I'm looking for something a bit special. I notice that down the back of your shop, you have clearly labelled zircons in a sale display. There's now a conflict in my mind about just *how* special that diamond you want to sell me actually is.
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![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
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I wouldnt let anyone loose with with a machine that wasnt covered, but i say it again i would give Mike one and a half to clean and wax it without insurance because whats the worst he can do.
Thats not to save me a hundred quid, i dont care about the hundred quid, but if i could coincide it with one of my 4 trips a year to the IOW, **** it, i'l give someone a bit of work to help them out if it dont put me out.
Thats a bad example but i do get the point now.
That wouldnt bother me in the least either, to carry on your example Tiffany and Graff sell cubic zirc's, i can also sell you a diamond cheaper than a Zirc, a terrible quality diamond, but a diamond none the less.
BMW sell 1 series cars, dosent detract from a 7 series though does it.
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Associate
Like I said, very generous of you. But **** happens, even during a simple wash. Maybe he spills something on your carpets, maybe he leaves something on too long and ruins your wheels, maybe he doesn't protect some critical component in the engine bay etc etc. Worst case scenarios and nothing to do with Mike, it can/has happened though. So, again on a personal level, you want to work on my car, please have adequate cover to you and myself. I don't doubt for a moment that Mike will throw everything he has into it and you'll be over the moon, but I'd rather not chance it.
Ignore the zircons, that's from an uninformed laymans perspective on diamonds vs zircon, I stand corrected. I was just trying to explain the concept, which we both know is used successfully. You don't always sell the Spam fritters at £2 on the same menu as the £85 lobster.
Ignore the zircons, that's from an uninformed laymans perspective on diamonds vs zircon, I stand corrected. I was just trying to explain the concept, which we both know is used successfully. You don't always sell the Spam fritters at £2 on the same menu as the £85 lobster.
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For the record - if it ever got to the stage where I was doing a car a week and averaged £200 a pop, then I would almost certainly invest in some insurance, but at the moment, doing it for fun - that just isn't viable (although, like I've said - the cost reflects this).
I'd say actually it does, really. BMW's are not really posh enough to sell cars by the bucketload at the high end of the market, arguably because they sell cars by the bucketload at the bottom..
Caporegime
[TW]Fox;17131430 said:I should just let Fett speak really
Watched the Sherlock Holmes remake on BBC recently ?
I cant help but read Fetts post in this thread in my mind in a sherlock holmes voice.
It fits so well
Associate
[TW]Fox;17125266 said:
O/T but how come you refer to Pete like this? Some kind of in-joke or a genuine typo?
Soldato
\o/ Fett.
Fox, I get you. You love a good debate and are utterly bewildered why i'd take a job washing cars. Probably some of the rest of you aswell.
I've learnt loads in the last two months and am still learning everyday. I'm now totally capable of handling a machine polisher and the results speak for themselves. I LOVE this job. I've worked in offices for years which bored the **** out of me and it was crap money. I was made redundant at the end of last year and couldn't find another job as they are very hard to come by at the moment, or were back then. The money i've made from this job in the short time i've been doing it has been a lot more than what I used to get paid. That's including the bit i'm putting aside for tax and NI.
This job also allows me to continue with my photography which is also bringing me some money in which is a bonus.
That's why i'm doing this job. Because I love it, it's well paid and you get some very happy customers who are overjoyed with how their car looks which makes me happy in return.
Ohh and your suggestions have been noted. I'm crap at sales. I could have got a job as a telemarketer but that's like selling my soul, even if I could sell it, which I can't. This is why i'm happy working under a guy I trust and who knows what he's doing. I will however suggest people pay more for additional services which will bring me in more money also.
Fox, I get you. You love a good debate and are utterly bewildered why i'd take a job washing cars. Probably some of the rest of you aswell.
I've learnt loads in the last two months and am still learning everyday. I'm now totally capable of handling a machine polisher and the results speak for themselves. I LOVE this job. I've worked in offices for years which bored the **** out of me and it was crap money. I was made redundant at the end of last year and couldn't find another job as they are very hard to come by at the moment, or were back then. The money i've made from this job in the short time i've been doing it has been a lot more than what I used to get paid. That's including the bit i'm putting aside for tax and NI.
This job also allows me to continue with my photography which is also bringing me some money in which is a bonus.
That's why i'm doing this job. Because I love it, it's well paid and you get some very happy customers who are overjoyed with how their car looks which makes me happy in return.
Ohh and your suggestions have been noted. I'm crap at sales. I could have got a job as a telemarketer but that's like selling my soul, even if I could sell it, which I can't. This is why i'm happy working under a guy I trust and who knows what he's doing. I will however suggest people pay more for additional services which will bring me in more money also.
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Soldato
Nice - live it.
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I'd like to stress, again, this is not personal but I obviously have my reservations about you doing a Bentley or 911 correction because, with all your best intentions, something could go wrong. If you strike through, because you have no idea of the history of the car and no depth readings, on, say a front wing, you must have the cash to rectify this as per your agreement with the client. Let's say you've agreed £200. The client takes the first £200, but wants a Bentley dealer to sort it out. You are now looking at a hefty chunk of money that you can source to sort this out.
The car comes back and he's still not happy. What then? To cut to the chase, you have the money ready for a repair. Why not take that emergency client repair fund and buy insurance instead?
By all accounts, it seems you have a market for this on the IOW and have quite a few cars lined up on the back of one piece of work, so wouldn't you feel happier having that safety net in place? If the market is that rich, you could gently increase your prices tomorrow, selling your service with full insurance.
As a customer, I like to be talked through the process. If I didn't have a clue what claying is, I can't think of a better selling point than an actual example. Your boss has someone booked in but is waivering on the claying. He tells the client Peter will show you the benefits.
Right this way sir, I've clayed this 6"x6" section...if you'd care to run your finger from the unclayed section to here...I'm struggling to think how anyone who has already called you out to make their car "nice" is going to say no after feeling the difference. Throw in the term "bonded contaminants". Win. Anyway, good luck and all, the most successful guys in this game are the ones that love doing it, day in, day out and treat every customer car as their own.
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Just a quick question sorry for not reading all the thread but just so much to read - but have a couple of question.
1 Can you use clay on plastic i wish to do my motorcycle ?
2 Is there a written in sand brand most people use ?
3 My motorcycle is metallic silver not sure it this needs to be known on choosing the clay ?
4 Sorry for my ignorance
1 Can you use clay on plastic i wish to do my motorcycle ?
2 Is there a written in sand brand most people use ?
3 My motorcycle is metallic silver not sure it this needs to be known on choosing the clay ?
4 Sorry for my ignorance
Soldato
What's a PTG?
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.one. Clay can be used on nearly anything. Meguiars do a quick clay kit which is available in Halfords and dead easy to use for a first timer.
PTG = Paint thickness gauge. A mostly useless piece of kit that tells you the total thickness of the whole paint (Primer, Paint and Lacquer) when you are only interested in one value - the Lacquer. Whilst you can use the value it gives to guess the thickness of the lacquer, there are always large debates on ways to work out the lacquer thickness. Some say the outside thickness minus door shut thickness will leave you with the lacquer thickness. Others say it'll be two thirds of the total reading.
Professionals tend to use more advanced PTGs which can tell you the thickness of the lacquer on its own. These are useful.
PTG = Paint thickness gauge. A mostly useless piece of kit that tells you the total thickness of the whole paint (Primer, Paint and Lacquer) when you are only interested in one value - the Lacquer. Whilst you can use the value it gives to guess the thickness of the lacquer, there are always large debates on ways to work out the lacquer thickness. Some say the outside thickness minus door shut thickness will leave you with the lacquer thickness. Others say it'll be two thirds of the total reading.
Professionals tend to use more advanced PTGs which can tell you the thickness of the lacquer on its own. These are useful.
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Soldato
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How are people cleaning their cars in hose pipe ban areas? My car is swirl free and I want to wash it this weekend, I was thinking two buckets each with their own sponge but soapy water in one and clean water in the other and clean it panel by panel
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[TW]Fox;17133908 said:
Other than giving you a very vague idea based on what people tell you (something that was being criticised earlier), what real use is there knowing the entire thickness of all three 'layers' of paint? Most also leaves you guessing completely on plastic or CF surfaces.
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Well i suppose that means if you are going to buy one, you might as well buy the all singing all dancing version that tells you what you need to know.
Also i must have missed that bit about offering to pay for a strike through, Fett is right, you really wouldnt want to be doing that on a Bentley or a Porsche.
I would either tell them its down to them in exchange for a cheap job or get the bit of insurance.
Also i must have missed that bit about offering to pay for a strike through, Fett is right, you really wouldnt want to be doing that on a Bentley or a Porsche.
I would either tell them its down to them in exchange for a cheap job or get the bit of insurance.
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