How Much to start?

C

chromecarz00

New member
Hi All,

I am a somewhat experienced car cleaner (notice lack of the word detailer, I don't dress up anything other than tires, have only used a wax a few times, dont have an orbital, etc)

I was interested in getting more into the detailing world, and out of the armor-all era of my automotive enthusiast career.

I want to get a Megs DA, as well as a number of MF and products such as clay, polishes, one or two waxes, a good foaming gun/foam, brushes, tire cleaners, dressings, and anytihng in between.

I'm not really looking to go professional, but I do want to become what most on here would call a medium-serious detailer.

How much am I looking at spending to do all of this?

Ballpark of course.

Thanks,
 
Best time to price it all (and buy) is now. You can click on any of the vender links

and find out easily. Make a list (check it twice) and find the price! :)
 
One sure way of knowing what you're getting into is to drop in one of the forum's sponsors sites and load what you may think you'll want into their basket. I'm guessing somewhere around $500-$700 for a full complement of enthusiasts' items (including BLGM, vac, etc.)
 
chromecarz00- I'm the last guy to ask about what stuff costs, but if you keep things simple it shouldn't be that bad.



Price out the polisher and two polishing pads, and then start off with just *one* polish and *one* wax (suggestions: 1z Paint Polish or Meg's #80 for the polish, Collinite for the wax). Use the polisher for the polish but do the wax by hand. One bottle of polish and one tin of wax will do countless vehicles as long as you don't use excess product.



Use regular shampoo in the foamgun, DuraGloss is probably the best affordable one IMO.



Don't get specialized cleaners for tires/etc., use APCs instead and mix to the weakest dilution that gets the job done.



You can get great results without getting *nearly* as involved as time spent at Autopia might have you thinking ;)
 
If I were to start over, I would get the cheapest products I could that would deliver acceptable results. That's the mindset you need to be in. When someone looks at someone who's just starting out, they're not looking for top quality. That comes in time.



So, I would look at buying bulk/consumer products from companies like AutoMagic, Meguiar's, 3M - brands like that, that typically deal with mostly body shops and bulk/production detailers.
 
Wash:



Quality CW concentrate

at least 2 5 gal buckets

min at least one grit guard

2-5 wash mitts (depending how anal you are) substitute GS as needed

you mentioned a good foaming gun/foam

quality hose end nozzle (firemans?)

quick connects for these

1/4 turn shutoff

quality hose (3/4 inch)

possible press washer



Wheels and Tires:

various brushes and possibly rim specific cleaner

tire shine

possibly a tire cleaner



Dry:

possibly an electric leaf blower

GFI to plug blower into - if you don't already have one (darwinism)

2 WW MF



Wheel wells:

many possiblities - I use tire shine and a sponge



Interior:

UV protectant

diluted APC for stubborn areas

glass cleaner and glass specific MF

possible Bissell little green machine and carpet cleaner

heavy duty wet/dry vac

brushes for vents etc.

utility MF (lots) for door jambs, wiping dusty surfaces, etc.



Finishing:

clay

polisher (you mentioned Megs DA) various sized pads and backing plate(s)

various polishes

polish and LSP removal specific MFs (10-12)

sealant or wax

QD



This is off the top of my head...I'm sure I forgot some things and others will chime in!
 
When it comes to hose nozzles (and I have a scad of 'em), I've recently gone back to something I used at my old shop: a plastic female disconnect fitting, it looks sorta like a mushroom. I adjust the disconnect's valve to get the type of output I want and use a shutoff mounted between it and the hose-end to control on/off.



Sounds goofy I'm sure, but I really do like it better than my fancy hose nozzles, and it hardly cost anything. Fits in tight wheelwells very easily too. Gee, the cost difference between that and just one of my Griot's nozzles (which I *did* receive as gifts) would buy enough polish to last a long, long time!
 
In my haste of reading the OPs query I overlooked the fact that he's looking for advice to become a a medium-serious detailer who's not really looking to go professional. OOPS! My advice was geared towards someone as myself...just trying to keep my families' cars clean. I demure to those who reply accordingly.
 
Accumulator said:
chromecarz00- I'm the last guy to ask about what stuff costs, but if you keep things simple it shouldn't be that bad.



Price out the polisher and two polishing pads, and then start off with just *one* polish and *one* wax (suggestions: 1z Paint Polish or Meg's #80 for the polish, Collinite for the wax). Use the polisher for the polish but do the wax by hand. One bottle of polish and one tin of wax will do countless vehicles as long as you don't use excess product.



Use regular shampoo in the foamgun, DuraGloss is probably the best affordable one IMO.



Don't get specialized cleaners for tires/etc., use APCs instead and mix to the weakest dilution that gets the job done.



You can get great results without getting *nearly* as involved as time spent at Autopia might have you thinking ;)
Click to expand...



What is APC? And do you mean to mix with water?
 
Boba7523 said:
What is APC? And do you mean to mix with water?
Click to expand...



APC= All Purpose Cleaner. Most every manufacturer sells one, and they come in concentrated form; you dilute them with water to the desired strength.
 
Accumulator said:
APC= All Purpose Cleaner. Most every manufacturer sells one, and they come in concentrated form; you dilute them with water to the desired strength.
Click to expand...



Regular car wash soap such as Meguiars Gold class would work as well for cleaning rims and tires right?
 
Boba7523 said:
Regular car wash soap such as Meguiars Gold class would work as well for cleaning rims and tires right?
Click to expand...



IME it doesn't work very well on tires, they need something stronger. It works fine on wheels *IF* they're nicely LSPed, otherwise it won't be strong enough.



Another approach besides the APC that's worked OK for me is to use a safe/gentle wheel cleaner for both the wheels (un-LSPed) and tires. With wheel cleaners like Griot's and P21s I've done OK diluting them up to 1/3 with water, but this works best when things aren't too dirty. I've even used this to do the (undressed/un-LSPed)wheelwells/etc. It's sorta like using wheel cleaner as the APC.



FWIW, I'm currently using GC shampoo in a sorta-strong mix to do the wheels/wheelwells on my vehicles. I'm using diluted Griot's Rubber Cleaner for the tires and maybe you can find a cheaper brand that' similar. My local autopaint/body supply place sells a house-brand/generic "whitewall cleaner" that isn't bad and it's *really* inexpensive...perhaps you can find something similar.
 
Awesome all, thank you. One more q. A friend wants to get all the swirls and scratches out, there are none that fail hte fingertip test. I recommended him a DA, with a 6" upgrade and what pads/polish are best? its an infiniti G35, dark blue. Thanks!
 
chromecarz00 said:
.. A friend wants to get all the swirls and scratches out, there are none that fail hte fingertip test. I recommended him a DA, with a 6" upgrade and what pads/polish are best? its an infiniti G35, dark blue...
Click to expand...



Noting that I don't know anything about Infiniti paint (hard/soft :confused: ), just because marring won't catch a fingernail that doesn't always mean that somebody will be able to correct it to their satisfaction, even though today's aggressive products do make it more likely.



There are different DA and random orbital polishers, and some (e.g., the Flex 3401) are a *lot* more potent than others (e.g., the PC).



What did you mean by "six inch upgrade"? If you meant the 6" counterweight for the PC, well...OK, I like that too but some people don't think it makes any discernable difference. If, OTOH, you meant 6" *pads*, better rethink that as I'd expect any DA/RO machine short of the Flex 3401 to be hard-pressed to do significant correction with pads that big (but I've never used a UDM or the current Meguiar's or Griot's machines).



Pads/product will depend on what that paint is like, but the general answer is an orange light-cut pad for the serious correction (unless the paint is so hard that it needs a 3.5" PFW pad for the worst of the marring) followed by a white or green polishing pad to refine the finish (unless the paint is so soft that it needs a finishing pad for the final polishing).



For products, I'm a little leery of recommending stuff like M105 or 1Z Pasta Intensiv for beginners. I'd rather people start with something fairly mild like 1Z Paint Polish or Meguiar's #80 even if it's too gentle to do all the correction they'd like. Better safe than sorry IMO.
 
I just got into this recently and probobly in total have spent around $500. I bought a lot more than I actually need though.



I think I have everything I need to do a proper detail aside from a foam gun rotary.



I bought gallon jugs for a few items which in your case might not be needed. I did purchase my items recently using discount codes so that brought the price down substantially. I think 500 is a good rough estimate as to how much you need to get a good little kit
 
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