Detailing Question About Prices

B

bbquer

New member
If a person uses a QD spray everyday to keep the car clean.. (since not everyone washes their car everyday)

even if there's only a little dirt.. there's bound to be some dirt not cleaned away and trapped by the QD.. since QDs contains wax, right ?





After mulitple QDs over a week.. the dirt gets layered by QD wax.

Then when the time comes for the weekly wash, normal car wash will not be about to get rid of the trapped dirt since the wax in te QD has trapped it...





So is QD really that wise ?

Just thinking...
 
I only use a QD after a good wash. If your car is just sitting in a garage for a few days and gets dusty, it's okay to QD. Even though some QD's have lubricants, I wouldn't use it on a dirty car- the only exception for me is when removing bird droppings- I keep a bottle of Meguiar FI in the trunk, although I heard that club soda or seltzer water without salt is also good to remove droppings.

I don't think there is that much wax that it will trap dirt if you QD the car daily after driving, I would be more afraid of scratches. I find the lubricant in FI and Eagle One Wipe and Shine will probably get most of the dirt and they have no wax in them;)
 
Irvin -- not a bad theory. I would think it would be applicable in the case of <em class='bbc'>non-layering[/i] products, such as carnuba wax. Here, new wax (contained in the QD) can mix in with the old wax (this is why you cannot "layer" waxes, at least in the same way as sealants that cure).

Many people on this site use products that <em class='bbc'>cure[/i]. The idea is that once cured, the products seal up and are not much penetrated, at least by mild substances like wax (bird bombs are a different matter). So, although you might have fine dirt mixed in with the wax in the QD, the belief would be that the dirt would not mix in much, if at all, with the underlying sealant. Then, as DK points out, the next washing will hopefully remove the QD, while leaving the sealant largely untouched. In any event, one should not be QDing an actually dirty car.
 
Remember that one of the primary functions of quick detailers is to safely remove dust, bird bombs and bug debris. It gives you very little actual wax. Remember that this trace amount of wax will quickly dissolve in a few days or with a simple car wash. Hence, no layering of wax over dirt will result. Laters.
 
Ok I have never detailed for a profit. I am looking at doing a few this summer to help pay for more supplies. My question is what would be an average price for..... Interior clean up minus shampoo. Exterior would most likely be Dawn wash with clay bar and some minor correction using a medium to fine Meguiars polish with a PC 7424xp. Finishing with AutoGlym or a couple coats of Zaino. The first vehicle would be a Black 2007 Ford Explorer with the 3rd row seating. I'm not looking to get rich just want a fair price for my time and products used, to be able to fund more products. :biggrin:
 
I charge by the hour. So I just estimate the number of hours and multiply it by my rate.

When I first started detailing, I charged $20 per hour. (about 5 years ago). Now I charge $40-$45 per hour depending on the vehicle.:biggrin:
 
Sounds about right, It also depends where you live. Check around see if anyother detailing places are around. Check their prices. Where i live i charge between $150.00-$200.00 so he's close in price.
 
Regardless of how you choose to detail keep in mind that you must present value to your customer.

If you are new to detailing then you are likely not very good at it (in terms of high level professional quality) because of a lack of experience and it will likely take longer to complete tasks.

As you 'pay your dues' you experience will allow you to charge more and complete the work in less time. I remember polishing a car out, spending ten hours or more on it, and was thrilled to get 100 dollars.
 
Right. And that's where I'm coming from being my first paid job. Well we agreed on $125. I figure I can have it looking very nice inside and out in 5 hours so $25/hour for the first job is ok with me. like I hit on before I did not offer anywhere near complete paint correction nor do I have the products to do that at the moment so 5 hours should be reasonable. Thanks for all the input guys!:biggrin:
 
th0001 said:
Regardless of how you choose to detail keep in mind that you must present value to your customer.

If you are new to detailing then you are likely not very good at it (in terms of high level professional quality) because of a lack of experience and it will likely take longer to complete tasks.

As you 'pay your dues' you experience will allow you to charge more and complete the work in less time. I remember polishing a car out, spending ten hours or more on it, and was thrilled to get 100 dollars.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

OP: I haven't been doing this for many years but quickly you will understand what your work is valued at +/- what the market allows and end up with a solid hourly rate, which is THE way to go for most jobs.

In the beginning I really didnt care what I was getting paid, just getting one more car under my belt, one more type of paint finish to work on and learn from plus the possibility of word of moth from the owner was well worth it for me.
 
Im on the same boat as OP, but I believe I got way more supplies than he has, and Im chaging the same to start. so far my family members have me washed their audis n bmws, they're impressed now n like me to do paint corrections on them. so start at the bottom to the top, ( don't wash that way) lol


don't mean to jack this thread.
 
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