HI GUYS & gals DAVE from NewZealand

[laserracer]

Just stoppin in to say hi . Im from hamilton in the north island of new zealand about 1.5 hours from auckland. Hamilton is a beautiful river city with the waikato river winding its way through the city crossed with various traffic bridges along its path

ive been a mobile detailer for 10 years now WOW when you write it down it seems like a long time i have a passion for nice cars (CLEAN ONES) like to meet people and work outside but hate the rain and the 0 degree frosts in winter. Im 50 years old, married ,1 child ,

like to race cars and boats .

CHEERS Dave

[imported_Dave1]

Just stoppin in to say hi . Im from hamilton in the north island of new zealand about 1.5 hours from auckland. Hamilton is a beautiful river city with the waikato river winding its way through the city crossed with various traffic bridges along its path

ive been a mobile detailer for 10 years now WOW when you write it down it seems like a long time i have a passion for nice cars (CLEAN ONES) like to meet people and work outside but hate the rain and the 0 degree frosts in winter. Im 50 years old, married ,1 child ,

like to race cars and boats .

CHEERS Dave

Hey Dave.......:xyxthumbs



Post some pictures of the countryside with a few of your detailed cars if you can......:welcome

[awahl63]

Hey Dave...welcome!

[laserracer]

Hi guys cheers for the welcome heres some pics of hamilton the last pic is of south island lakes in a place called nelson

[SVR]

Howdy racer man



Does NZ have the boutique range of products to buy like Australia does or is it all industrial gear.

[davekt]

Hi Dave and welcome to Autopia.



Dave

[laserracer]

thanks guys hope you liked the pics will try and get some detail pics soon



SVR we have both boutiqe and industrial i was useing carbrite products and have used malco at moment im using premium grooming products which are nz based they make there own

for a polish i use wicked products from the states great on dark coloured cars

im always open to trying new products i believe it helps you keep up with technology



I tend to detail a lot of new mercedes,bmw,hsv, jag,lotus,high end cars mostly black

most of my customers are regular weekly, fortnightly, monthly, and its all payment on the day no accounts



cheers dave

[SVR]

do you have any site links for me

malco is a top industrial brand but not sure about carbrite



seen wicked products at repco victor harbour (deep south of SA) but it really put me off

it probably has fillers in it.

[laserracer]

sorry no links whats your setup ? are you mobile or stationary ??

[markathome]

Hello Dave and everyone else,



I`ve just joined today as I`m new to detailing and looking for advice.



I`m Mark and from the UK but now in Palmerston North, New Zealand.



As I`m a novice it seems best for me to start with a Porter-Cable and not a rotary. Where do I get one from in NZ? Import like everyone around the world? Is there an alternative to PC?



What do you use Dave?



I looked at waxit.com.au and they suggest a Bosch 400AEX sander but is this too many rpm? I phoned and asked Meguiars and they didn`t know about machine polishers except to say Rupes are good. But thats a rotary.



Next is the products, Meguiars is available but I assume expensive for the results. A Meguiars retailer suggested 3M products. I would like to try Poorboys but that would require importing.



Dave, what and where can you suggest I source my start up equipment. I only want to remove swirls and holograms on my cars and if I get good enough go into business doing it. I`m prepared for investment as I have to start somewhere and no point in buying rubbish from the start.



So, do I import or is there a world outside Repco/Supercheap as thats for the retail market and they can`t help in Palmy for what I want to do.



:xyxthumbs

thanks in advance,

Mark

[laserracer]

HI MARK i will try and help i use a rotary but i dont actually use it very much as most of my valets are on new high end cars. just about all the work i do is by hand i will give you the number of my supplier his name is des harris he is co owner in a firm called premium

grooming products he should be able to help you on both counts 0274754383 tell him dave from INSIDE OUT gave you his number i dont know if they have a branch in palmy

but if not ask him to send you a price list and they can probably courier it to you

hope this helps

cheers dave

[markathome]

Thanks Dave, I`ll try Des - where is he based?

Whats your professional opinion of Mobile Hands car grooming franchise? There is one for sale (on TradeMe) in Palmy but I tend to think why pay a franchise fee if you can do it yourself...but there are loads of groomers and does a franchise give an advantage?

What`s your opinion of detailing in NZ, my research indicates not happening but I`m sure there is a market for swirl free, wet look shine cars.

[laserracer]

hamilton stay away from franchises just my opinion others may disagree the biggest dis advantage of franchises is you are always paying them money that could be in your bank account the problem is most car owners dont know what swirl marks are so your market is confined to car buffs car clubs and people that really like there cars to look the part

if buying a generator 6 kva or more honda are the best you dont need a big vehical

all my stuff fits in a honda odyssey thats genie, 200litre watertank , vac, waterblaster,etc

[SVR]

I`m stationary in an 850 sq metre facility.

[imported_TonyFromOz]

Mark.


As I`m a novice it seems best for me to start with a Porter-Cable and not a rotary. Where do I get one from in NZ? Import like everyone around the world? Is there an alternative to PC?



The Porter Cable is undoubtedly a fine tool for the work involved in detailing.

The minor problem that a lot of people from Australia, and in your case New Zealand, have is that the supply of electrical power is different.



My background is an Aircraft Electrical Trades Technician in the Royal Australian Air Force, where I served for 25 years, the last 6 years teaching the electrical trade.



So when Australians see our American friends having so much success with the PC, the idea immediately springs to mind about getting one of them. Reluctant as I am to caution against it, I do think you should be aware of some of the other requirements and some of the other things that are not readily (or easily for that fact) understood.



True, you may be able to obtain a PC, but unlike other Companies who do make tools that can be used for this application, the PC is only made in the US specifically for US usage. Hence the tool works on the American Power supply of 115 Volts and 60 Hz.



So having paid for the PC, you now also have to purchase a transformer power unit to step down the voltage from your 230/240 in NZ to the PC`s 115. In doing so, the current is stepped up by the same proportion.

No problem there, as it`s just Power in equals Power out. The problem lies in the frequency of that delivered power. In the US, it is 60 Hz, and in NZ, it`s only 50 Hz. This might seem negligible surely, and will make little difference you might think. Not so.

The tool now runs just that little bit slower, and you may think that this is also of little consequence, but you will read here on this Forum that you run the PC on a certain speed with a certain coloured pad to achieve a certain result. As the tool now runs slower, those marks are different, and the results achieved may differ.



So, in the long run, cruise forums that will recommend a tool specific to your power requirements, and in nearly every case, you should be able to obtain the correct tool for a lot cheaper, and with less hassle than the PC which is absolutely ideal for use in the US, but not in Countries where the power is not the same.



See how it`s not easy to explain. To that end, I hope I have shown you some of the differences.



Sorry to take so much space.



Tony.