Proffesionl Chemicals

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baseballlover1

New member
Dear Pro's,

I am wondering where you buy all you chemicals, waxes, sealents and other products you use on your clients cars. i am steadily getting a client basis and am about to have to get A LOT more product. Also what do you use on the leathers for cleaning and conditioning?
 
A lot of professional shops I know and have worked at use Car Brite. The shop I opened use products from Rightlook.com with a local supplier for APC and degreasers. I also have a small selection of 'boutique' products for certain clients vehicles. I notice that not too many pros here use Rightlook's stuff, but I've been very happy so far.
 
I believe (anybody, feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) that most serious pros get their chemicals through one of three sources:



carwash/detailing product distributors

automotive paint and body product dealers

factory direct



Any of these can be either brick&mortar or online.



If you have a favorite brand of products you can contact them and ask if they supply bulk chemicals and who your local pro distributors are.



Let’s say, for example, you’ve been buying Meguiar’s Soft Wash Gel in 16 oz bottles at your local Generic Auto Parts store. You might be are surprised to find out that you can buy Meguiar’s #62 wash in gallon jugs around the corner at Bob’s Auto Paint Supplies and you can wander over to the Industrial park at the edge of town and get Meg’s Shampoo Plus in 55 gallon drums at Joe’s Carwash Product Warehouse.



If you live in a major metropolitan area you are likely to have one or more carwash/detailing product distributors near you.



If your town is big enough to have a couple body shops and maybe a car dealership it’s probably big enough to have its own auto paint and body shop supplier.



Either can supply you with bulk chemicals and other supplies. They are also likely to have their own delivery trucks and may bring the products to you. They often do product demonstrations or provide training on their product lines.



It’s pretty much guaranteed that that you’ll have one or more local suppliers for nationally distributed brands like Megiuar’s, 3M, Auto Wax, Car Brite and PRO.



Their are a number of regional manufacturers that sell direct as well as outfits like Chemical Guys who are local in SoCal but ship everywhere, factory direct.





PC.
 
I sell a lot of Optimum, Four Star Professional, and Stoner's to a lot of high volume shops and detailers.
 
I am pretty sure that there would be a couple/few product distributers in my area due to my area having many paint/collision repair shops in town. How would i got about finding one of these product distributers in town. Also, this is a shot in the dark but are there any detailing seminars or training places in VA?
 
baseballlover1 said:
I am pretty sure that there would be a couple/few product distributers in my area due to my area having many paint/collision repair shops in town. How would i got about finding one of these product distributers in town. Also, this is a shot in the dark but are there any detailing seminars or training places in VA?
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To be honest I find most paint and collision supply places to be VERY high on products. The reason is because those shops usually don't care because they are just goign to pass along the prices to the insurance anyway.
 
Yea my main supplier is Car brite. Which is also Vesco Oil which is owned by Valvoline. They Car bright is the professional line of Eagle One. Which is the less effective verion for over the counter sales to everyday folks. I like most of Car brights stuff. Like all lines though some stuff works great others not so much.



I also deal with Productions. Which is the only place to get Phase II. Which is probably the most amazing thing ever invented for detail. Can't call it a compound or a wax... Just a really great all in one product that out performs even 3M perfect lines and cost half as much. I also love their tire shine (Super Stuff) and I can get both lines in 5 gallons or more if I ever need it. (55 gallon drums of tire shine and degreaser are a must in this type of volume)



I still use over the counter Megs Marine/RV line though. Finding out I can get that in gallons has been a life saver on several occasions.
 
baseballlover1 said:
... How would i got about finding one of these product distributers in town. ...?
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For local places you can always start with the phone book. It needs to have business-to-business listings. In our area they have separate consumer and business books. If your town is like ours you might have to go to the library or something to find one.



You can contact the corporate offices of various manufacturers and get the names of your local suppliers. They all have websites, some with dealer locator utilities. Practically all have toll free customer service numbers.



If you wander by a body shop you can pop in and ask them where they buy their compounds and polishes.





PC.
 
IMHO you should stick with what you've been using (the products you use are part of your process and apparently they're working well enough to get you more clients) and charge accordingly. Of course if you can get your established product brands by buying in bulk, thus saving some overhead, by all means go ahead! The name of the game is. after all. profit. I just don't think that buying different chemicals is the answer (unless you find something that works better and takes less time). You're already comfortable and proficient with the chemicals that you currently use thus making you more efficient with them and, once again, your profit is rising.
 
What is available in your area? We have different distributors in CA. than in Ohio. You also have to use what works for you. You can find 100's of polishes, but what makes you money and works well within your comfort zone is important. There are many using boutique type products and paying far too much per oz. than what they could get in gallons for much less with the same results--IMO.



A good distributor DOESN'T just leave you an invoice with a few gallons. More and more are stepping up with actual demos and business assistance. Google around and you will find other areas that discuss such suppliers that assist far beyond a sale.



Rob
 
One thing we're sorta overlooking in this thread is that baseballlover1 is a young guy starting out, who's doing this stuff part-time while going to school. A single gallon of polish/LSP/etc. oughta last him a good long time so AFAIK we're not really talking about buying mass quantities here...



WCD- Good point about how things differ by regions :xyxthumbs
 
Again i agree Accumulator.



Although, I think this youngster would be fine with otc products to start. He obviously doesnt need the type polishes most of us use at this time as he is still learning what products do. Keep the pro products on the back burner or get small sample sized portions for troubleshooting on free time. With what he is doing he would be fine with a shampoo like nxt an apc like simple green and a wax like megs cleaner wax or dcs. If he wants to get himself a nace fancy wax to offer so be it, he has to go through the learning curve as everyone does, save your money till you can answer for yourself what products you want/need. Just my .02.
 
Accumulator said:
... AFAIK we're not really talking about buying mass quantities here...
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Of course, you’re absolutely correct.



Quality is far more important than quantity and the best thing for him is to find vendors with a wide range of great products that will cover all of his needs and the service to help him succeed.



I originally mentioned 55 gallon drums just to point out that there’s a whole world of product distribution that most of the public never sees, and that there are businesses whose entire focus is to serve the professional.





PC.
 
VaSuperShine said:
Again i agree Accumulator.



Although, I think this youngster would be fine with otc products to start. He obviously doesnt need the type polishes most of us use at this time as he is still learning what products do. Keep the pro products on the back burner or get small sample sized portions for troubleshooting on free time. With what he is doing he would be fine with a shampoo like nxt an apc like simple green and a wax like megs cleaner wax or dcs. If he wants to get himself a nace fancy wax to offer so be it, he has to go through the learning curve as everyone does, save your money till you can answer for yourself what products you want/need. Just my .02.
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Yes i completely agree with you... I think that i would like to get a few chemicals that proffesionals use just to try out and see what the differences are beetween the boutiqe (sp) chemicals and proffesional chemicals are.





Also does anyone know of any places or people that offer training like a clinic or something. i looked at the rightlook clinic in San Diego but i dont exactly want to waste a lot of money on a plane ticket (although i know i would learn a hell of a lot). I am looking for something a little closer to VA or on the east coast. thanks
 
I am unaware of training courses in Virginia. However depending on where you are in Va there may be some detailers that might be able to help you.
 
VaSuperShine said:
I am unaware of training courses in Virginia. However depending on where you are in Va there may be some detailers that might be able to help you.
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just out of curiosity, where are you located? i live in roanoke.
 
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