Newbie strating detail

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zgoalscorer

New member
Guy whats up scott here from new york. Im starting out with automobile interior detailing. I dont do nothing to the exterior. I learned alot from you guys just checking out the threads. I have questions for you guys cause there are thusands of products out there. What do you you as your main odor remover? do you aloways add a deodorizer to your shampoo? I am hoping to vapor steam the upholstery with no chemicals and if i have to a green product i will be using. Carpets most likely extract most of them except for those not so dirty cars i will use the vapor steamer. How do you guys approach a car with bad cigerette smoke? a car that has vomit? a car that pets peed in? Is there a shampoo that i can use or a deodorizer i can use or add that i can use on every car and keep the guessing out? I know ozone generators but theres gotta be a better way. Zorbx and odoban they are decent but both i sprayed on my hockey equipment and still the hockey equipment odor was there. Same i sprayed it on a teeshirt that stunk like armpit odor just to see and both i sprayed on each arm bit on the shirt and both the odor was still slightly there. There has to be a product that you can use on every car and use it on the carpets and upholstery that clean.
 
There is nothing that will compare to ozone..period. There are 2 major drawbacks to these machines though. One is the price. The other is the smell they produce. I personally like the smell but Ive ran into clients who asked what the hell I sprayed in their car lol. The scent from them lasts a very long time and it's difficult to cover up. However, for cars that stink really bad and is beyond just cleaning it and spraying some air freshener, ozone is the way to go. As for vapor steamers, there are good ones and bad ones out there so make sure and do your homework before you lay down that kind of money. I used to own a Vapor Chief and could almost eliminate a extractor with it (100 psi max). Even with the most powerful steamer on the market, there will be times your still gonna have to resort to chemicals to presoak the really nasty stuff. Also I would suggest a good dry foam for headliners and spot cleaning. I also like to get creative with aerosol dressing before applying the regular dressing by hitting every vent, knob, button, seal, and tight area with it. Just a trick a few pros use. Good luck and welcome to DC :)
 
Thank alot for the reply , really good advice. What do you guys recommend for a headline cleaner? Folex? my extractor soap? Also i would like to hear comments on vapor steaming the upholstery im thinking just about all upholstery will get cleaned real nice with just a vapor steamer no need to soak the seats with the extractor. How do you feel about vapor steaming leathe ris it nessecery or would lexol cleaner and conditioner be enough? ..... Thanks in Adavance
 
Use dry foam such as Blue Coral or Tuff Stuff on headliners. The reason being if you over soak a headliner, it will make the glue release causing it to fall and you'll have a law suit on your hands or an insurance claim at best. I personally use Car Brite Xtra Duty foam. It's the most versatile and strongest foam on the market yet it's safe for any surface. Vapor steamers will clean leather like nothing you've ever seen. That was one of my fav things about the machine. Cloth seats these days are an absolute nightmare and alot of times even steamers won't help. I for one don't suggest an extractor because water stains this new material and the only way to make them look right with an extractor is to evenly soak and extract which is almost impossible. The most effective method I've found for this new seat material is to spray the entire seat down with dry foam and use a foamed wool pad on my DA polisher and scrub the daylights out of the seat with it, then vacuum it. Quick drying time and it looks better than it would with an extractor. I know it sounds a little out there, but it definatly works.
 
Ozone, Ozone, Ozone. Spend the money and get the machine, and do your research on how it works and sell the hell out of it. I charge between $60 - $100 for ozone treatments, but I tell customers if they have the interior detailed and get the ozone treatment as well, I guarantee the results
 
Sound good ..... Thankyou i appreciate the advice fellas. I waas hearing water spots is big on headliners and I guess thats why dry foam is the best. It wont leave watermarks i imagine. Also I was talking to a couple of people and they said alot of the new upholstery is tough like you were saying Mrclean but they said with the right cleaner and a vapor steamer should do a great job. Why do you have to becareful with watermarks on the newer upholstery and not on older cars? So how do you clean newer upholstery and the older ones with the same process? would a vapor steamer not leave water marks on all upholstery being any year car?
 
zgoalscorer said:
Sound good ..... Thankyou i appreciate the advice fellas. I waas hearing water spots is big on headliners and I guess thats why dry foam is the best. It wont leave watermarks i imagine. Also I was talking to a couple of people and they said alot of the new upholstery is tough like you were saying Mrclean but they said with the right cleaner and a vapor steamer should do a great job. Why do you have to becareful with watermarks on the newer upholstery and not on older cars? So how do you clean newer upholstery and the older ones with the same process? would a vapor steamer not leave water marks on all upholstery being any year car?
Click to expand...

Hmm... I would be more concerned with new upholstery simply because it's new, or for your most common every day drivers, the newer the car, the cheaper the fabric.

The problem with water spots on seats is that most people, myself included for a long time, don't think about the fact that you are not just dealing with the fabric on the seat, but the foam padding under the fabric as well. If there are stains from coffee or soda or whatever on the seat that have been there for a while, it's not just in the fabric, it's in the foam. If you over soak it just to get the fabric clean, once the water/cleaner that is in the foam starts to evaporate, it's going to bring whatever caused the stain right back up to the top with it.

I had a customer come in once with a Chevy Equinox (tan clothe interior). She bought it used from the dealer and when she bought it, the seats were nice and clean. A month later, they were dirty and had water stains all over them. I tried to explain this to her but she didn't believe me. I had he watch me clean and extract all her seats like I would normally do to a car that I didn't suspect there was an issue with and lo-and-behold the stains were gone. I told her to bring the car back to me in a couple weeks. She did and the stains were back.

On a side note, why someone would get a tan interior and spill as much sh*t on the seats as the previous owner did is still a mystery to me. Parents, if you have kids that are going to have cola fights in the back seat, get a black interior, or even better, get a black leather interior. OR EVEN BETTER, DON'T complain to me when I have to charge you more to pull 2 liters of soda out of your car!

From there I explained to her that it was going to need more then just a regular shampoo to REALLY get the seats clean, and of course it was going to cost more money. :D

I don't know if what I just said was really relevant to this post, but lack of anything else to do besides look at the snow is making me long winded.
 
That was awesome pal i so understand and appreciate you taking that time to explain. I was thinking of just using my vapor steamer and no chemical at all unless i really need to. Wouldnt that work for just the top layer of the upholstery so if there is stuff in the foam it wont come up cause it wont be getting wet? Carpets i can vapor or extract depending on how bad it is. Floor mats same or pressure wash if i had to. Headliner Im going to go the blue coral route or tuff stuff thanks to Mr. Clean i did go ahead and bought both and tried them both on headliners today and it worked great , i barely touched the none stained parts of the headliner and just lightly rubbed the stains. Worked great. I will be using my vapor steamer and blower for dash and door panels as well as just your old fashioned hand wiping using Pink power from detail king and then dressing it with Detail Kings Pearl Gloss. My biggest thing now is upholstery. Its got me scared sh%t I thought either vapor steam it or if need be extract it now i hear waterspots and that newer cars are harder and stains coming back I can just scream. I dont know what to do. How should I do my cars to be safe and effective should I use the vapor steamer or extract or neither maybe just foam and extract? Dam I just bought all my stuff I feel defeated already, I figured all was good with what I had planned. Again in advance thanks fellas Im trying to learn learn learn before you know it April is here and Its game time :-)
 
I think you are stressing yourself out for no reason. If the seats are not too bad, the foam and the steamer should work just fine. Or even better, just use the foam and a wet MF towel.
If the seats are bad and it's clear that the stains have been there for a while, explain to the customer what the situation is. Using your knowledge will help you dramatically. A five minute conversation with the customer is going to save you hours of frustration down the road. If the customer is asking you to take care of something that you know for a fact is going to take you longer than normal, charge for it, but make sure you can explain WHY you are charging for it. Then it's on them to make the decision. If they don't want t pay, just make it clear that you will get the top clean, but can't guarantee that the stains won't come back.
Here's a good phrase:
"I am not saying that I won't be able to get them out, but I would rather tell you they may come back and have them not return then guarantee you that I can get them out and then have them come back. Either way, your car is going to look a lot better when I am finished."

Remember, it's not your fault that the customer spilled liquid all over their seats for the past three years. Why should you be the one to suffer to do the labor and not get paid properly for it?

I had a customer come in when I first opened who spilled milk in the back seat of the car before Christmas. Since it was so cold, the milk just stayed frozen. She brought the car to me in MARCH! I gave her a quote that was WAY over what I charge for an interior detail. I had to explain to her that my regular interior detail price was for normal wear and tear. To take care of her car, I was going to need to gut the interior and pull the carpet out, Ozone the interior over night, etc. All in all, it took me about 3 days including drying time. (and it made my shop smell terrible the whole time). Why would I tie up a spot in my shop for 3 days and only get $150 for it because they customer thought that it would be a good idea to leave milk all over her car for 3 months?
 
Thanks buddy I understand. What foam is best to use with the steamer you know they say some chemicals are bad to use with a vapor steamer cause of the vapor steamer vaporizing the chemical. Also should i se the same foam with a steamer and if i was just using a mft? thanks in advance
 
guys I know we were talking about foam for seats im thinking this is the way to go Tornador Air Foamer. I could use my biodegradeable non toxic shampoo in there and im all good no worries about areosal with the cans and save money
 
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