How Much For A Professional Detail?

V

vinny89GT

It just sounds fast...
I want to get my car professionally detailed soon. The car's paint is in decent condition, but has quite a few swirl marks, some minor scratches, and some overspray on the back of the car.

I went to a local detail place, and they said they would have to wet sand the overspray. They would then do a "chemical clean" to get the swirls out. Then do a teflon wax over that. To do all this they wanted $500!!!

What is the process you professional detailers would use to remove my car of swirls and overspray and how much would you charge?

Thanks,
Vincent
 
I charge $40 per hour. I try not to take vehicles that will take me more than 4-5 hours. Just too much work for this OLD GUY!!!

For what you want done, I'd say $150 - $200.

For the overspray... I'd use a claybar to get it off. Then start from scratch on the paint. Cleaner, polish, sealant, wax, QD.

Wet-sanding? I don't think so.

Chemical cleaning for swirls? Huh????? Sounds like crap to me. :horse:
 
that place is a rip-off. some of their techiniques may be ok, but wetsanding for overspray and a chemical clean for swirls? what is that. they're making tons of money using phrases and words like "chemical clean" to lure people. us can do all this u'reself man. save the money. ive tried to look for a good detailer before for my parents and such and there are none in miami. atleast no reputable ones. finding one is like finding a pin in a hay-stack.

goodluck
 
I would charge about a 4th of that. The best advice I can give you is to find someone on the board here close to you and pay them to do it, or do it yourself. There are just to many hack places out there that charge way to much.

Greg
 
Wet sanding is a extreme measure for removing etching and deeper scratches....Never overspray that I have heard of....Chemical cleaning I've not heard sounds fishy to me...I do a full detail on my cars for about $200 plus depending on what needs to me done.Takes me about 4 to 5 hours...

What part of the counrty / world are you in?

We might have someone close to you here or might be able to help with a reference to help you out.

I swear some detail shops will say anything to get a job and then charge threw the nose!
 
Granted, the detailer is using words and phrases like a snake oil salesman..BUT..Do those of you responding always quote prices based on what was told to you without ever viewing. Based on his question, (Vinny) probably doesnt detail and his describtion is based on what he knows.
That 150.00 to 200.00 detail he is being quoted on here could end up taking eight hours.
 
I charge $25-$30/hr, so there isn't much I can't do on paint for $200-$250.
For $500 every inch of your vehicle will be clean and shiny.
 
3Dog said:
Granted, the detailer is using words and phrases like a snake oil salesman..BUT..Do those of you responding always quote prices based on what was told to you without ever viewing. Based on his question, (Vinny) probably doesnt detail and his describtion is based on what he knows.
That 150.00 to 200.00 detail he is being quoted on here could end up taking eight hours.
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its not soo much how much hes charging, because ive heard of many good shops charging this (online) but never the descriptions they told him of the procedures. thats rediculous.
 
I had never heard of a "chemical clean" either, but I figured it might be something new they were using.

So $150-$200. I'm located in Southeast Virginia, near Virginia Beach. Anyone out there close and interested in making some money?
 
I'd charge a flat rate of $160.00 for your entire vehicle... inside and out.
I'd use clay bar for the swirls and the overspray would come off easily.
I do use a chemical for overspray, but it's paint-safe. The overspray removal
is an additional $20 at my shop. So, $180 for a "Showroom" detail (as we call it) + overspray removal.

If I were you, I'd shop around. Look into shops in neighboring cities. Detailing is worth the drive to get it done right!

Happy driving!
 
Look in the phone book and do alittle leg work . I would charge you about 200 to 250.
Your looking at a full detail plus 2 to 3 hours more for buffing . 500 is alittle high and the chemical cleaner is just probably a polish or compound. I don't know why everyone is soo jumpy about the 2cd hand conversation this guy had. We don't know what was really said and it what context..
 
vinny89GT said:
I had never heard of a "chemical clean" either, but I figured it might be something new they were using.

So $150-$200. I'm located in Southeast Virginia, near Virginia Beach. Anyone out there close and interested in making some money?
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its not that i havent heard of chemical cleaning. sure. everything is a chemical cleaning. we use chemicals to clean wheels, bug splatter, ect. as for paint, a "chemical clean" would be something to clean away film, oxidation, wax and make the paint clean and ready for protection. but chemical for defects/swirls/scratches, where something abrasive is the only way to "remove". that makes noo sense. its not something new they're using. its a tricky way of pursuading u to give u're money "away" to them.

and again. is if we had some sort of detail police i would prosecute those freaks till the end for even thinking of wetsanding to remove overspray. thats like the last resort. read on, and see a lot of the before and afters and u'll see what exactly was done to remove the defects and what not was used.

sorry for ranting
 
vinny89GT
You need to explain why there is over spray on your veh? was it to close to another job or repainted?. If it was repainted most paint shops "feather" the paint to blend the color from old to new and if you remove this feathering you will see a distinct line or color difference. More info plse.

wet sand the over spray. only in a extreme case you would ever think of "wet sanding over spray" I agree with the majority on using CLAY the clay method and that would be only after a cleaner Polishes has failed.......remember use the least aggressive method first. But as of wet sanding over spray I have seen and done this in the past but I refer to it as Block Sanding and MUST be done with the utmost extreme caution, one slip and you just bought a paint job.

"chemical clean" this just might be this persons interpretation of a cleaner polish, it might be his way of selling a very basic method we as Amateurs and Pro's use on a daily basis. If it is possible I'd like to hear what his "chemical clean" method is.

As far as his pricing this is way out of line for just an exterior detailing, His over head must be out of control.
 
I had a car in yesterday that looked like overspray (even on the windows!), but at closer look, was blow in touch up work, with a mixture of paint & clear instead of layering. Unfixable.
And if your overspray has an activator in it, it can be difficult.
 
I had my back bumper repainted about 4 months ago by a buddy of mine for cheap. He did a good job matching the paint, but some of the clear coat ended up on my trunk lid and wing. The paint was not blended, it was just not masked off correctly.

Vincent.
 
I think a lot of people have made some REALLY valid points in this thread. The first being that no one on this board can really give you a great recommendation as to what needs to be done to your car because no one has seen it. It's really difficult to make a detailed paint care recommendation sight unseen (i.e. technique & time required). There may be something you are accidentally misrepresenting. The second point is shop around. Talk to people you know who have had their car detailed and get their opinoins of the work and go to the shops rated "good" and get some estimates. Like any product or service some are good and some are bad. Some are expensive and some are cheap.
 
Vinny, do you have any shots of the car?
Ones showing the most troublesome areas may give some of the members a better idea.

"J"
 
Beercan31 said:
vinny89GT
You need to explain why there is over spray on your veh? was it to close to another job or repainted?. If it was repainted most paint shops "feather" the paint to blend the color from old to new and if you remove this feathering you will see a distinct line or color difference. More info plse.

wet sand the over spray. only in a extreme case you would ever think of "wet sanding over spray" I agree with the majority on using CLAY the clay method and that would be only after a cleaner Polishes has failed.......remember use the least aggressive method first. But as of wet sanding over spray I have seen and done this in the past but I refer to it as Block Sanding and MUST be done with the utmost extreme caution, one slip and you just bought a paint job.

"chemical clean" this just might be this persons interpretation of a cleaner polish, it might be his way of selling a very basic method we as Amateurs and Pro's use on a daily basis. If it is possible I'd like to hear what his "chemical clean" method is.

As far as his pricing this is way out of line for just an exterior detailing, His over head must be out of control.
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Great post Beercan, You can't clay overspray from a repaint, maybe level the paint but not clay it. You can clay overspary from say a spray pan can, undercoating, sap, etc. All of you guys are quoting a job and telling a member what he should pay and you haven't seen the car. I think what they are describing is a chemical cleaner to remove oils, waxes, silicones to ensure proper bonding of waxes and sealants. Pointless to me, but other deatilers use products like this. I thought this was "Professional Auto Deatiling" forum. Everyone is so quick to jump on high prices. The guys car could be a bomb. :ermm:


Mikeyc said:
I think a lot of people have made some REALLY valid points in this thread. The first being that no one on this board can really give you a great recommendation as to what needs to be done to your car because no one has seen it. It's really difficult to make a detailed paint care recommendation sight unseen (i.e. technique & time required). There may be something you are accidentally misrepresenting. The second point is shop around. Talk to people you know who have had their car detailed and get their opinoins of the work and go to the shops rated "good" and get some estimates. Like any product or service some are good and some are bad. Some are expensive and some are cheap.
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Like a professional would do. Like when people say, "O, it's not that bad"...Yea then they drop the car off and it's filthy nasty.
 
The car is by no means a "bomb."

I tried to take photos of the overspray, but it is almost unnoticable unless the light hits it just right, or your run your hand over the spots.

Vincent

stangwithcobrabumper25mk.jpg

stangwithcobrabumper87ba.jpg
 
joyriide1113 said:
its not soo much how much hes charging, because ive heard of many good shops charging this (online) but never the descriptions they told him of the procedures. thats rediculous.
Click to expand...

Joyride did you get my pm?
 
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