Auto Detailing--

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corvetteguy78

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So i have decided that i'm going to get back into it. I did it for 3 years at a dealership and i'm going to try to make this a part time job maybe a few cars a month for some extra income. It's going to be Mobile and its going to be "just starting out" kind of work.

Here is what i bought so far:

Cyclo Polisher "Time Saver" Value Package (Double Sided)

Cyclo Dual Head Orbital Polisher

I also bought the carpet and upholstery brush attachments to shampoo and clean along with the appropriate shampoos and soap extractors.

I also have your basic Rigid 5HP Shop Vac borrowed from my dad

I will be borrwing my budies air compressor to power clean vents and what not

i have all the tire cleaning supplies as well as window cleaning and rain prevention stuff as well.

I have also have a Karcher 1850PSI power washer borrowed from my dad

All your basic towels, spray bottles etc...

My total cost was $570 bucks. I borrowed what i could to save money and sold a bunch of house hold items on craigslist to pay for the rest.

Ultimately if things work out i'd like to get a portable heated carpet extractor for a more pro style carpet cleaning but they are $$$$$ and i can't even find a used one for less then $1000.

I'd also like to get the Tornador interior cleaning tool(i'll do it by hand for now)

Tornador Air Water Tool Value Package

And get into leather and vinyl repair kits, headlamp cleaning kits etc ....I'll take it once step at a time.

I'll take some before and afters and post them up and you can let me know what you all think.
 
the headlight buffing should give you some good return on investment
2000 grit wet sandpaper and a high speed buffer will get the headlights looking brand new and it really changes the whole appearance of a car on the lot

the detail shop i used to live across from just left the cars dile for a couple hours with the heat on full blast
ghetto fabulous
 
if you are looking to do some real proper paint correction you'll need a high speed rotary buffer, as well as a dual action buffer. look into meguiars flex line of buffers. personally, i would love to have a flex 3401, i already have a rotary buffer. and the orbital polishers like the flex are perfect for removing swirl and holograms left by people who dont actually know how to use a rotary.

the tornado, personally, i never liked those, i understand the benefits, but from my experience, all it did for me was sling shit everywhere and require more work getting the crap that came out of the carpet off of everything else including myself. but, thats just my personal opinion of it, i know guys that swear by it.

good luck, hope it works out for you, i considered doing this as a side thing as well, but i was spoiled by my last detail job with a full shop just for detail that was heated and cooled. i hate working in the cold, couldnt do a mobile detail job.
 
i would advise very high caution using a high speed buffer on the paint
doesnt take much to burn through if you dont know what you're doing...
 
Yeah for a high speed buffer I will be getting a Makita 7in polisher/sander from The Homo Po. But first I want to see how the Cyclo works out on my car which has tons of swirl marks. I've seem some vids of the Cyclo completely wipinfg out the swirls without using a high speed buffer.

The Cyclo is supose to be a bad ass machone
 
i would advise very high caution using a high speed buffer on the paint
doesnt take much to burn through if you dont know what you're doing...

Yeap, i did auto detailing for 3 years at a dealership prepping new and used cars, no worries about burning the paint witha high speed buffer.
 
i would advise very high caution using a high speed buffer on the paint
doesnt take much to burn through if you dont know what you're doing...


qft.

i have seen a lot of very bad things happen due to somebody using a high speed.
thats one of the reasons i need a dual action buffer like the flex, a friend of mine buffed his car and i have to fix it. theres holograms and shit all over the place.
 
qft.

i have seen a lot of very bad things happen due to somebody using a high speed.
thats one of the reasons i need a dual action buffer like the flex, a friend of mine buffed his car and i have to fix it. theres holograms and shit all over the place.

Yeah when i worked at the dealership, (i was more or less of an apprentice under a guy who looked like Shaggy from scooby doo) they had me starting out practicing on old jalopies so I wouldn't burn the new car paint, i actually never had a burned paint experience with buffing cars and i prolly have used a high speed buffer on at least 50+ cars. Most cars aren't going to call for high speed buffing unless they are really in bad shape.
 
My Subaru needs a good cleaning...

price?

I haven't figured out prices yet but in researching it seems allot of places are charing about 200-225 for a full service detail but that's with people driving in and waiting 3 hours or dropping off their cars and getting rides there.

People are always willing to pay more to have you come to them :)

i'm going to be putting together packages for interior and exterior servives.

In all seriousness though i'd power wash, compound and wax, tire dress and shampoo carpets and do windows for $150, at your house.

Just need access to a power outlet and a water spicket ;)
 
I got the power, an air compressor, and a water spicket....and tunes, beer, garage, internet, heat....

What sucks is we are about a month away from snow dropping....plus I'm actually using the subaru as an actual SUV... since I've bought the kayak, it hasn't left the car except to get wet everyday (weather permitting)...and it is making a mess in the back with all the fish smells and mud.
 
I got the power, an air compressor, and a water spicket....and tunes, beer, garage, internet, heat....

What sucks is we are about a month away from snow dropping....plus I'm actually using the subaru as an actual SUV... since I've bought the kayak, it hasn't left the car except to get wet everyday (weather permitting)...and it is making a mess in the back with all the fish smells and mud.

all the more reason to have it cleaned up and out :)

When's good for you :)
 
I paid 125 for a full interior detail and a handwax.




Car came back looking brand new. I work construction and it was filthy!
 
Yeah for a high speed buffer I will be getting a Makita 7in polisher/sander from The Homo Po. But first I want to see how the Cyclo works out on my car which has tons of swirl marks. I've seem some vids of the Cyclo completely wipinfg out the swirls without using a high speed buffer.

The Cyclo is supose to be a bad ass machone

i personally own one.

after i painted my car, i battled sanding marks for weeks. i was using a piece of shit harbor freight buffer and it just wasnt cutting it.

grabbed the cyclo, and one buff later it was looking great. it is a great machine.

have also gone over a few cars with fading/sun damaged clearcoats and it really does do a damn good job of hitting everything from every angle. it was an awesome investment. i didnt have any trouble and im a complete noob when it comes to auto detailing ^_^
 
anytime is good for me, just got to schedule between my fishing time, to getting drunk time....
 
everything should be in today, might have to take you up on that :)

seriously, it's hit. i've washed it maybe 5 times, vacuumed it 2 or 3, and never waxed it in the 3 years i've owned it. it's due for a major service in the cleaning department, and i don't care so much if something bad happens if you have new chemiclas/etc to try out :)
 
anytime is good for me, just got to schedule between my fishing time, to getting drunk time....

I pulled two catfish out of Camp Sloper in Southington over the weekend and then went back a few days ago and pulled out 7 Large Mouth Bass between my buddy and I. They were hitting spinners like it was no bodies business

I started my car yesterday, ran into some problems long story short, girlfriend locked my extension cord in her storage unit so i lost an hour and half and couldn't do my whole car before dark. I took some before pictures i'll get them up after the car is done.

The Cylco really does a great job, I got the hood done, will do the rest of the car today after work. It also does a great job with shampooing the carpets with the cleaning product i bought and the brush attachments. Before and after pics are surprising.
 
Unfortunately i didn't get to take complete before and after pics and by the time i had to take them it was a week later but here is a couple. This is all with the Cyclo polisher, not even waxed or painted sealed
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