He waited over 3 months, oh joy

[512detail]

This client is my longest regular. I have maintained his two trucks twice a month (except for the occasional delay if he's on vacation etc) since 2013.

He was in New Orleans for two months and then my arm was healing from an injury so I was out of comission for a bit.
Almost 4 months pass...this guy refuses to let anyone else touch his truck.

He said "bring all you got" so I knew I was in for a long day.

Interior:
McCulloch Steamer
Various sized brushes
Tampico brush
Boars hair interior brushes
6.5 hp shop vac
Pet stone

Exterior: started sprinkling but i wanted to clean it up quickly.
Rinse
Pb SSS (1st time using it, wow I want more)
Pinnacle bug and tar pad
D156 as drying aid.
PB glass cleaner

before

before

before

before

before

before

before

for the record i vacuumed the footprint before i left

clean seats

These towels started brand new before this interior job

Pb spray and rinse and various brushes soaked in PB SSS
PB BnB spray
Carrand tire brush
°for the record spray and rinse heavily applied Almost cleaned them without agitation...and always does on my biweekly washes even up to a month in between.

Was dead tired at this point.it was sprinkling and sun was going down

Not perfect overall but a great improvement.

Taking my time..job went from 1230pm to 6. With a much needed smoke break or four in there , haha.

------------

Still looking for ways to improve my efficiency on interiors.

For the most part in my area, a customer will pay good money for an interior job way before they will even pay my (cheap IMO) exterior detail prices...i just HATE doing interiors and this is a part time gig for me 2 days a week max.

Anyways thanks for viewing.

-Brandt K.

 

[tropicsteve]

I love it when people take care of their trucks. nice work Brandt, slow and steady wins the race. (for injuries anyway) :bigups

 

[512detail]

I love it when people take care of their trucks. nice work Brandt, slow and steady wins the race. :bigups

Thanks
Yea his (soon to be ex) wife was great..she always kept her white dodge in great condition and it evened out how bad his ford would be...well now its just him, but i charged him my 'new' prices

This job alone got me a PTG (and a spot in the buyX game) so it's all good

 

[GearHead_1]

Not good with the pet hair, so much work. Looks like the story ended happily. Nice job.

 

[512detail]

Not good with the pet hair, so much work. Looks like the story ended happily. Nice job.

Thanks
Secret weapon...if you have never used it..this is the One interior tool i could not live without

Pet Stone from Rob at TP

ACC needs to pick these up for retail

 

[512detail]

What used to take 30 mins takes literally 5 now with that stone
Used the same one for over 3 years

 

[GearHead_1]

Thanks
Secret weapon...if you have never used it..this is the One interior tool i could not live without

Pet Stone from Rob at TP

ACC needs to pick these up for retail

Like a pumice stone?

 

[512detail]

Like a pumice stone?

Yessir

 

[GearHead_1]

Thanks, I wouldn't have guessed. So... I hadn't heard of these so I looked them up. What can I say, never had a long haired dog? It looks like they were used as a grooming tool that has been repurposed for carpets. Cool

 

[512detail]

Thanks, I wouldn't have guessed.

Its simply amazing. That is all

 

[512detail]

Thanks, I wouldn't have guessed.

I've sold so many of them just after a detail..i used to buy them Just to sell.

People love them

 

[512detail]

Edit..did i say sale? I meant add as material cost to a final sale

 

[Ronkh]

Great work !!

 

[512detail]

Great work !!

Thanks Ron...not perfect but (insert gif) ill be back

 

[Stokdgs]

Brandt -
Another Killer Great Interior !
Super nice Interior in that Ford - you really brought it back to new again..

I know you or was it someone else said earlier that they dont like Interior work ---

Thinking that this is where the Client spends the most time, it would probably be a great idea to just embrace it and make it so good that the Client will be pleased so much, they cant wait to see you again...

Ways to speed up the work ---
How are you doing it now ??

I found that a regular sized black plastic rolling cart - 2 shelves - with one of those light blue trays for putting all your smaller tools in and can go into the vehicle with you, will really speed up the process...

And all the rest of the tools, towels, chemicals, bottles, etc..,, you will need are in the cart so you don't have to back and forth anywhere to get something else...

The cart rolls around with you around the vehicle so its not more than hopefully a little lean and an arms length away...

You think about the job, what you will need to have, what you might need to have, and load it up in a way that it's easy to manage and there is even a bucket on the end hanging, etc., to throw all your dirty towels in, that you will sort out later for the wash...

You will have long, 50 foot or so 12awg cords already laid out and plugged in to your electrical equipment, which has long enough hoses to go anywhere on that row or even rows From One Side.... This is where the smaller 1.5" hoses on the MetroVac shine for their small size and flexibility... The power of their vac's does no way impede your ability to remove ALL the dirt out of anywhere.. These vac's really Suck...

You vac will have a vacuum tool/s, a crevice tool, and a couple more brush tools for those places that need this...

Your last thing will be a couple spray bottles of different glass cleaner and of course the right towels, so as you finish all the interior you wash the windows as you get out so nothing gets touched again.. You have a long plastic tool with that triangular head that takes microfiber bonnets for washing the curved down hard to get to back glass... You use that same tool with a clean microfiber or cotton towel wrapped over it to go over the glass right after you cleaned it with you cleaner..

I like to work down from the headliner and last thing is the final vacuum of all the floor areas that you stepped on if needed.. A little brush like the Tuff Shine tire brush or smaller ones make those nice lines in the carpet after if you like to do that...

Once you find your best natural rhythm for you, just keep thinking of little ways to further refine it, so that after awhile, its just more a reflex to load the cart the carrying tray, etc., and you can do Anything much more efficiently which will free up time you might need to then do the Exterior...

You are doing GREAT !!!
Dan F

 

[512detail]

Dan...once again than you for your kind words.
You take the extra time to fully respond to threads, provided suggestions, and present an overall impression of 'generally giving a damn'- a quality long since lost in mine and subsequent generations.
Thank you...

I use my steamer plus these brushes

And i have used the triangle glass thing for many years and love it.

I don't have a cart at this point. I don't have enough space in my own garage and I've tried to make due without it on my mobile jobs so far.
I got a little basket divider thing from walmart a few years ago

I can fit all my brushes, pet stone, glass cleaner, QID and towels in there and just kind of move it across each seat as i go.

Towels go in the wheel bucket i empyy and use after for the wheels of course

Perhaps it could use some tweaks but honestly I don't see myself getting a detail cart any time soon.

A more powerful steamer would be nice but this little bad boy...best $160 i ever spent in 2013.

 

[Stokdgs]

Brandt,

Thanks for your kind words !

You have some good things there - I have about all of them and then some, but I have been doing this a whole lot longer...

Here is a good brush I use the heck out of and buy a bunch at a time, so I dont run out when I really need one ---

Auto Detailing Supplies, Chemicals, Equipment, Accessories and more.

The black plastic cart I use has 1 top shelf and 1 bottom shelf, and it breaks down to 2 trays, 4 legs, 4 wheels, that can be stored flat easily..

Let me see if I can find out where I bought those things years ago...
Dan F

 

[Stokdgs]

Brandt,
Well sorry, I cannot locate the exact plastic cart store where I purchased mine a zillion years ago..

However, here is a nice one from Sears Craftsman - Craftsman.com

Its very similar to the 2 have had for years...
Perhaps Sears will have a 20% off coupon thing going on or something to make it even less dinero...
Dan F

 

[JustJesus]

.i just HATE doing interiors and this is a part time gig for me 2 days a week max.

I haven't done much "interior detailing" except for basic wipe downs and vacuuming. I think I might learn to hate it as well. I actually started on my daily driver on Sunday. Man. Wow. I spent THREE hours on it, and didn't even make it past the rear cargo area! It was a mess. Looks pretty good, though.

Thanks for this post. Looks like I'll be adding a few things off your tool inventory, like the pet stone!

I've been eyeing one of those Bissell Little Green Machines, but now you got me thinking about the McCulloch. I had no clue steamers could be so cheap (relatively speaking).

Oh, and nice work!

 

[mjlinane]

Excellent work!