the opportunity of my life-help please.... - Page 2

lecchilo · 06-10-08, 08:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by beachcities

Don't get too hyped up, in my opinion. Does not sound like a sure thing at all. One thing I learned early on is to not count my money until it's in my pocket. Don't look at this like the opportunity of your life, if you've got the product, you should be expecting this on a regular basis.

Very true... as I said before, dealers, no matter how luxurious, will not pay you what you're worth, simply because you'll be getting such a high amount of work... so don't go in there expecting too much... this is ok of course, because that bulk will translate into only a minor loss per car as opposed to detailing 1-2 cars/week, and when you count 3-5 cars/week, you'll be even happier.

This is only from my experience with a VERY luxurious dealer... my costs were cut to 85% of what I was used to, but I would get up at 5am, start at 7am, and do 2-3 full details (usually 1-step polishing) in 9-10 hours. I had to quit due to school and other "life stuff" but the job paid great and people were great to work with. the customers were also great tippers and I gained few clients after quitting... a friend works there as the sales manager and he called me for about 1 month asking to come back as people are asking for me.

Lastly, while it will be fine to cut your costs a bit, don't take a job which completely underpays you as a quality detailer. I wouldn't accept anything less than 80-85% of my usual cost.

Best of luck.

pampos · 06-10-08, 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by lecchilo

I doubt they'll go for a high hourly rate but it's possible. You might be a slow detailer (like me) and it's not fair, in a way, to charge at an hourly rate, when someone can do just as good or even better for 2 hours less, meaning $50-100+ less per car.

As for the glazes, I never liked that term and I never will... for me there is a polish, LSP (wax or sealant) and the all-in-one products... no glazes, compounds, etc. So if by glaze you mean all-in-one product, you can definitely do that and then a LSP, but make sure the LSP won't have any bonding issues with the sealant contained in the all-in-one

So i have to polish the paint before the bra installation, and use on the bra an AIO and then an LSP ??
I am a slow detailer too but i guess if i will go to be paid by hour, i have to charge a fair price/hour....

pampos · 06-10-08, 08:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by lecchilo

Very true... as I said before, dealers, no matter how luxurious, will not pay you what you're worth, simply because you'll be getting such a high amount of work... so don't go in there expecting too much... this is ok of course, because that bulk will translate into only a minor loss per car as opposed to detailing 1-2 cars/week, and when you count 3-5 cars/week, you'll be even happier.

This is only from my experience with a VERY luxurious dealer... my costs were cut to 85% of what I was used to, but I would get up at 5am, start at 7am, and do 2-3 full details (usually 1-step polishing) in 9-10 hours. I had to quit due to school and other "life stuff" but the job paid great and people were great to work with. the customers were also great tippers and I gained few clients after quitting... a friend works there as the sales manager and he called me for about 1 month asking to come back as people are asking for me.

Lastly, while it will be fine to cut your costs a bit, don't take a job which completely underpays you as a quality detailer. I wouldn't accept anything less than 80-85% of my usual cost.

Best of luck.

I agree with that and i have it on mind that i will not charge as usual...
But this corporation gives me the opportunity to:
a) have a standard amount of cars that i will have to detail
b)by detailing such cars and for this dealer is all the best for my reputation as a detailer
c)the byers of those cars they will come to me the next time that they would like to ''clean'' their car
All of them are not for sure but just who i am thinking about it...

lecchilo · 06-10-08, 08:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by pampos

So i have to polish the paint before the bra installation, and use on the bra an AIO and then an LSP ??
I am a slow detailer too but i guess if i will go to be paid by hour, i have to charge a fair price/hour....

You definitely should polish the paint before the clear bra, then use a paint cleaner to make sure no fillers remain from the polishing... basically you want bare paint but in perfect condition, before the clear bra goes on. Something like HD cleanse would work well after the polishing.

Once the clear bra is on, I personally only used Menzerna 106ff and SIP with a white LC pad to polish out the swirls... I did use a rotary but very carefully creating no heat... pretty much just moving fast. Basically you want to start with a very very light polish and very light pad.. maybe even a black LC pad with Menz po85rd to see if that will take care of the swirls... if not, I wouldn't go any more abrasive than SIP/white, even that is pushing it IMO.

As for the LSP, KSG is a personal preference, but I'm sure a lot of the other stuff will work just fine... I jsut stay away from waxes as I've seen bras turn crappy over a year or so... might be the bra material, might be crappy wax, idk but KSG on one of my client's clear bras has been looking perfect for over 10 months now.

lecchilo · 06-10-08, 08:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by pampos

I agree with that and i have it on mind that i will not charge as usual...
But this corporation gives me the opportunity to:
a) have a standard amount of cars that i will have to detail
b)by detailing such cars and for this dealer is all the best for my reputation as a detailer
c)the byers of those cars they will come to me the next time that they would like to ''clean'' their car
All of them are not for sure but just who i am thinking about it...

You're definitely right... there are many many variables to consider, but the main ones will be the high volume of work... considering that dealer is like the one I worked for, you will have basically a day job with little longer hours if you choose to and you can do it for 4-5 days/week. It's very tiring at times but once you have all your tools/supplies there it's usually a breeze... another big thing, as you mentioned, is forming a client base from that job... it's a great opportunity to communicate with the buyers, and my favorite thing to do was showing the customers the difference between a car I had just polished and a "poor *******", as my friend the sales manager used to call the cars on the showroom floor with a panel or more of the usual swirls/defects used simply for that comparison.

The thing I absolutely loved was how I could work on as many cars as I wanted throughout the day... there was simply a deadline for each specific car to be completed... as long as I completed that car the day before it was being picked up, I could polish a hood of one car, dress the leather of another, then wash the third, etc.
I spent about 3 months polishing the entire inventory (150-160 cars)... I worked about 4-5 days per week and averaged 4-5 hours per car... after that I finally got to work a little less and just take care of cars ready for pickup or new deliveries.

Oh, one thing you should mention is supplies... I got the sales manager to provide ALL the supplies (not tools) for the work because he was able to buy them in huge bulk, meaning huge savings. Feel free to PM me with any questions regarding this if you'd like.

Denzil · 06-10-08, 11:42

I truly wish you the best of luck pampos!

salty · 06-11-08, 01:56

Buy (import) the best products, not necessarily the most expensive and do great work.

Try and charge for 100% money of what its worth, even if it takes a longer to start, and with practice it will come around.

Totoland Mach · 06-11-08, 03:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by pampos

i would like to thank all of you...So as i understand :
i shouldn't apply any Glaze or LSP before the bra.
i have to use a final polish to remove the swirls from the bra that maybe caused by installation
i have to apply a synthetic LSP on the bra and not a carnauba wax.
And what is going on with glazes?Is it OK to apply it over the bra or i have to apply it between the sealant(sealant/glaze/sealant)??Or i shouldn't not apply any glaze at all??

Also about the price is it better to tell him a $ per hour price or a fix price for each car??
If you were on my place how much would you ask??(i know that it is a general questions with many variants but if someone of you can tell me it will be helpful)

Pampos: It doesn't matter what you apply (glaze/carnuba/sealant) in the portion of the car that the bra is going to be installed on. The installer will remove any products with Wax & Grease Remover. What is important is the swirl and scratch removal done by you prior to the bra installation. After the bra is installed, you can use the wax that was applied to the rest of the car and apply it to the bra.

As far as price goes, ask the dealer if you could quote each job. Some will be easier than others and it seems to be a good proposition. It really depends on the dealer. The BMW's I do at a fixed rate per car because that's what the dealer wants. That works well too.

Toto

TH0001 · 06-11-08, 03:55

I had a very well known clear bra guy in south Florida tell me he waxes before putting the clear bra down to keep it from sticking and pulling off paint when they remove it.

Totoland Mach · 06-11-08, 04:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by TH0001

I had a very well known clear bra guy in south Florida tell me he waxes before putting the clear bra down to keep it from sticking and pulling off paint when they remove it.

That's a new one on me Todd. When I did that Challenge Stradale, they removed wax with Prep-Sol before applying the material. Could be the type of bra material that determines what the installation procedure will be.

Hey: I sent you a PM....when you get a second, please respond.

Toto

pampos · 06-11-08, 10:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denzil

I truly wish you the best of luck pampos!

Thanks

JoshVette · 06-11-08, 10:35

As far as the process goes, if it were me I would offer two different packages:

1 I would wash, lightly clay, and only polish the front end and areas being clear bra'd.

After bras installation, I would go back and rewash and polish the entire vehicle and seal.

That would be one option at a higher price.

2 Other option I would offer is wash, lightly clay, polish front end before bras instal. After installation rewash, and seal entire vehicle. This would be a lower cost.

Interior and leather conditioning of course would be on both options.

Good luck with it. Don't sell yourself short.

Josh