I'm confused

D

drshine

New member
I have the basic detailing chemicals and I want to upgrade to have higher quality work. Could somebody go through the numbers. Ex. #403. I have no clue what this is or what company. Also I would like everybody's opinion on these items. Also try not to use acronyms. I have no clue what they mean.

Shop Vac - What is strong enough?
Pressure washer - What is strong enough?
Wash - What brand soap?
Wax - What brand?
Polish - What the hell is the difference between polish and wax?
Protectant - What is the strongest?
Carpet Shampoo - What is the best or should I not use shampoo?
Tire Cleaner - What brand?
Drying - I just bought a drying cloth from Advance Auto Parts and it sucks. It is not a chammy or a waffle weave. What kind should I get?

Anything I forgot.

Thanks ahead of time!
 
It is hard to say. Im assuming you are doing this for yourself? This is what i would get.

Shop Vac - I got a 5 gallon on for under 100 and it is very powerful

Pressure washer - I just use the hose

Wash - I have had good luck with Meguiars NXT wash. Its works good and its cheap

Wax - any brand will work. The prep is the importnat part. Alot of people will go with souveran on dark and s100 or p21s on lights. You can really use whatever. Meguiars 26 is pretty decent to and autozone has it for a dollar a jar now.

Polish - Polish removes defects in your paint. Most poeple use multiple steps to polish there paint. paint can remove swirls and scratches.

Protectant - Im not sure of the strongest. I like Adams VRT, you might also like 303 aerospace protectant.

Carpet Shampoo - Im not sure of shampoo. You might want one without suds.
http://www.detailcity.com/showthread.php?t=6916 check that out for carpets

Tire Cleaner - I use All purpose cleaner diluted. you might want to try eagle one a2z wheel cleaner.

Drying -most of us like waffle weaves. Look at our sponsers sites for good quality WW's.

Clay - you will want clay in your regimen. IF you are unfirmilar with clay do a search and find a wealth of knowledge.


Greg
 
greg you summed up it up pretty good.

drshine , there is a sticky thread posted here about great ways for interior cleaning . using oxy clean and all purpose cleaners for a carpet shampoo. works great .

like greg said, polishes have a higher cleaning ability than waxes to get out swirls and scratches . Some polishes use chemicals for this others use abrasives . waxes are for protection. So the best way to prep your car would be a good washing, clay the painted surfaces to remove contaiminents, different stages of polishing then cover with a good sealant and/or wax ..
Aloha
Jon
 
There's some good advice above , all the different products out there can be confusing but its not that bad.

I'd like to suggest that you search this forum and some of the other detailing forums and read read read. The more you read the less confusing things will be. Good luck :dcrules
 
Thanks for all ya'lls help. I have my work cut out for me but I read every post on DC Pro Detailing corner and the one just like this at autopia.org. I can't wait till I have the knowledge like ya'll. I am starting my own business (small business) I'm sick of mowing yards. I will post pictures of the next car I detail.
 
Like I said before, make sure you have the thorough knowledge and experience there with all of the products and process before letting loose on your first customer car. You should definitely know the basic difference between polish and wax before even doing your own car, let alone customers'. To be honest, it doesn't really sound like you know very much about detailing to already be offering your services as professional car care.

I'm telling you this out of experience because I thought that once I had some basic supplies I could just sell my services when I was just starting out. Before I did, I realized that it wouldn't be the right thing to do. It takes a lot more than the basics to do a geniune quality job. Practice on your own vehicles until you are experienced with the equipment and product and process,
 
I have to agree with Zainoshine. If you don't know the difference between a polish and a wax, you definitely aren't ready to start a business. Customers are going to ask you these kinds of things, and you don't want to look stupid.

I also thought I was ready to detail other cars a long time ago, and realized that I needed way more stuff than I had. Now I have at least $1500 worth of supplies, and can handle just about anything that customers can throw my way. You must have the experience and knowledge first though, to know how/when to properly use these products and techniques.
 
First, I'd try to read up on things and get a little more hands-on experience. Once you do, I'd suggest looking at Top Of the Line's products. They're just as good as "boutique" products for most applications (as long as you're not detailing Ferraris or something), and they're available(sp?) for significantly less. You could get started pretty well in detailing by buying a $100 or so shopvac (go for the wallmount one from sears, I've been very happy with mine) and TOL's starter package. The starter package runs around 400 or so with shipping, and will give you everything you need to get started in the detailing business. You can find the package here.
 
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