$20 per job for product sounds like a lot to me.
A wash, polish, wax/seal probably costs me less than $3 even with the small quantities of products I buy.
Maybe after 20 years in the business, we can suggest some alternatives to lower that cost per job.
All OTC products available at any body & paint supply store and many automotive parts stores.
Wash:
My car wash is 11 cents an ounce.
3 ounces per wash. 33 cents.
Polish:
My polish is 25 cents per ounce.
3 ounces per standard size vehicle. 75 cents.
Sealant:
My sealant is 70 cents an ounce.
1 to 2 ounces per vehicle. $1.40 tops.
Less than $2.50 to do the exterior with "Brand Name" products.
I normally use a sealant, but a wax would be slightly less money
Wax:
My wax is 30 cents an ounce.
1 to 3 ounces per vehicle. 90 cents
If you use a polish/wax combination like Meguiar's #66, you can polish and wax in one process for 20 cents an ounce.
3 to 5 ounces, (which would do a very nasty car), for no more than a dollar.
A "Brand Name" APC costs less than $15 a gallon in a concentrate.
At 4:1, it will clean tires, engines, wheel wells, at 10:1 it works on vinyl, carpet, upholstery.
Diluted 4:1, that gallon gives you 5 gallons of solution at $3 a gallon or 2 cents an ounce.
Diluted 10:1, that gallon gives you 11 gallons of solution at $1.36 a gallon or about 1 cent an ounce.
I also use a "Name Brand" glass cleaner concentrate that costs less than $20 a gallon and makes 11 gallons of solution or $1.82 a gallon. Less than 2 cents an ounce.
Two things.
I don't think you are really saving much by purchasing $1 store products.
The investment in a detail is time/labor, not product.
Note: Although this post ended up being a book, it is not copy protected in any way and you may freely pass it on or throw it in the garbage with my blessings.
A wash, polish, wax/seal probably costs me less than $3 even with the small quantities of products I buy.
Maybe after 20 years in the business, we can suggest some alternatives to lower that cost per job.
All OTC products available at any body & paint supply store and many automotive parts stores.
Wash:
My car wash is 11 cents an ounce.
3 ounces per wash. 33 cents.
Polish:
My polish is 25 cents per ounce.
3 ounces per standard size vehicle. 75 cents.
Sealant:
My sealant is 70 cents an ounce.
1 to 2 ounces per vehicle. $1.40 tops.
Less than $2.50 to do the exterior with "Brand Name" products.
I normally use a sealant, but a wax would be slightly less money
Wax:
My wax is 30 cents an ounce.
1 to 3 ounces per vehicle. 90 cents
If you use a polish/wax combination like Meguiar's #66, you can polish and wax in one process for 20 cents an ounce.
3 to 5 ounces, (which would do a very nasty car), for no more than a dollar.
A "Brand Name" APC costs less than $15 a gallon in a concentrate.
At 4:1, it will clean tires, engines, wheel wells, at 10:1 it works on vinyl, carpet, upholstery.
Diluted 4:1, that gallon gives you 5 gallons of solution at $3 a gallon or 2 cents an ounce.
Diluted 10:1, that gallon gives you 11 gallons of solution at $1.36 a gallon or about 1 cent an ounce.
I also use a "Name Brand" glass cleaner concentrate that costs less than $20 a gallon and makes 11 gallons of solution or $1.82 a gallon. Less than 2 cents an ounce.
Two things.
I don't think you are really saving much by purchasing $1 store products.
The investment in a detail is time/labor, not product.
Note: Although this post ended up being a book, it is not copy protected in any way and you may freely pass it on or throw it in the garbage with my blessings.
