1 Clean WS6
Detailing Rottweiler
Hey guys!!
It's funny the way life works sometimes. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be subcontracted to perform work for the body shop that did this....
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65518
Heck...I never saw myself doing work for any body shop!! However, thanks to a very kind referral from fellow Autopian GTScott (who is friends with the owner/manager of the shop) as well as the words from the owner of the above 540, John, I have been doing just that!! Turns out it is a win-win situation for both I and the body shop. I get the work, exposure and subsequent referrals and the body shop gets their "VIP" clients taken care of without having to sacrifice any of their own manpower. :up So to Scott I once again say THANK YOU...you are the man!!
So what's it like being an Autopian in a body shop??? Well...it's different. For one this shop is without a doubt a "production environment". It's flat out huge...and busy. Both times I was there I lost track of how many cars rolled in and out of the detail department...my best guess is daumn near close to 40-50 per day. It's staffed by about a dozen or so young men all in their early to mid 20's. The two detail managers are both in their 40's and about as nice as can be. Both managers were very quite the first time I was there (about 2 weeks ago) and just watched me work. The car was an '06 BMW M5 on chrome 20" rims. As I worked they would occasionally stop by and ask a question or two about what products and machine I was using and how I was using them. After a while when they realized that I knew what I was doing and that I had no intention of trying to take their jobs they opened up to me and were very, very cool. The young guys didn't have much to say the first time but all opened up to me today after about 4 hours into the detail. They were all baffled at the way the paint looked without having to use a "high speed".
Nice young men...if nothing but a bit naive.
As far as tools and products all the machines were DeWalt including a fleet of rotaries and a few 443 DA's. The pads looked to be Edge 2000 foam and wool as I could clearly see the quick connect adapters. All the products were 3M according to one of the managers. The micro fiber were cheap, dirty and well used...to me that was the greatest Achilles heel of the shop.
In all it has been a great experience. I have an '05 M3 booked for them next week as well as several future prospects. I'll keep folks updated as time progresses.
Here are pics from today’s detail of an '05 Mercedes CLS55AMG. I wish I had taken some of the M5 but didn't want to throw everyone completely off my first time there.
Enjoy,
Mike
The detail:
Wash with Meg's Gold Class shampoo
Spot clay with Clay Magic clay bar using Meg's #34 as a lube
Polish with Menzerna IP using a LC orange pad and my PC set at 5-6
Polish with Menzerna FPII using a LC white pad and my PC set at 5-6
Wipe down with Meg's #34
Seal with P21S by hand with a foam pad
The hood on this car had a "honey oops" as the wife closed the garage door on it. The only part painted was the hood.
Clear overspray... I wound up having to clay both fenders, the leading edges of the front driver and passenger doors as well as the front fascia and the windshield
The hood was sanded then compounded with a wool pad/rotary combo. No final polishing was done as I was getting paid to do that.
Missed sanding haze....
Holograms...
Compounding haze...
It's funny the way life works sometimes. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be subcontracted to perform work for the body shop that did this....
http://autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=65518
Heck...I never saw myself doing work for any body shop!! However, thanks to a very kind referral from fellow Autopian GTScott (who is friends with the owner/manager of the shop) as well as the words from the owner of the above 540, John, I have been doing just that!! Turns out it is a win-win situation for both I and the body shop. I get the work, exposure and subsequent referrals and the body shop gets their "VIP" clients taken care of without having to sacrifice any of their own manpower. :up So to Scott I once again say THANK YOU...you are the man!!
So what's it like being an Autopian in a body shop??? Well...it's different. For one this shop is without a doubt a "production environment". It's flat out huge...and busy. Both times I was there I lost track of how many cars rolled in and out of the detail department...my best guess is daumn near close to 40-50 per day. It's staffed by about a dozen or so young men all in their early to mid 20's. The two detail managers are both in their 40's and about as nice as can be. Both managers were very quite the first time I was there (about 2 weeks ago) and just watched me work. The car was an '06 BMW M5 on chrome 20" rims. As I worked they would occasionally stop by and ask a question or two about what products and machine I was using and how I was using them. After a while when they realized that I knew what I was doing and that I had no intention of trying to take their jobs they opened up to me and were very, very cool. The young guys didn't have much to say the first time but all opened up to me today after about 4 hours into the detail. They were all baffled at the way the paint looked without having to use a "high speed".
Nice young men...if nothing but a bit naive.As far as tools and products all the machines were DeWalt including a fleet of rotaries and a few 443 DA's. The pads looked to be Edge 2000 foam and wool as I could clearly see the quick connect adapters. All the products were 3M according to one of the managers. The micro fiber were cheap, dirty and well used...to me that was the greatest Achilles heel of the shop.
In all it has been a great experience. I have an '05 M3 booked for them next week as well as several future prospects. I'll keep folks updated as time progresses.
Here are pics from today’s detail of an '05 Mercedes CLS55AMG. I wish I had taken some of the M5 but didn't want to throw everyone completely off my first time there.
Enjoy,
Mike
The detail:
Wash with Meg's Gold Class shampoo
Spot clay with Clay Magic clay bar using Meg's #34 as a lube
Polish with Menzerna IP using a LC orange pad and my PC set at 5-6
Polish with Menzerna FPII using a LC white pad and my PC set at 5-6
Wipe down with Meg's #34
Seal with P21S by hand with a foam pad
The hood on this car had a "honey oops" as the wife closed the garage door on it. The only part painted was the hood.
Clear overspray... I wound up having to clay both fenders, the leading edges of the front driver and passenger doors as well as the front fascia and the windshield
The hood was sanded then compounded with a wool pad/rotary combo. No final polishing was done as I was getting paid to do that.
Missed sanding haze....
Holograms...
Compounding haze...
