Thought I wanted to be an Auto Detailer - Wndows Scratched Please Help

[dcjredline]

Trying to stereotype will sometimes make you look like an ASS I suppose. He did alot of hard work already by doing it by hand. I`d bet "gen Yers" since you made it a category wouldn`t usually polish by hand according to your stereotype of them not being hard workers. You can`t put everyone in a box because of when they were born, plenty of lazy old guys who never worked too

 

[BudgetPlan1]

plenty of lazy old guys who never worked too

Kinda funny that when I first read OP I read it as a lotta if work cuz he was old and creaky...i guess cuz I can relate to that.

Took a bit to realize other end of the timeline.

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[EdLancer]

I took his association of second guessing starting a detailing business more due to the fact that he messed up on the glass polishing/ knowledge gaps as opposed to it being hard work. Then again doing any compounding/ polishing by hand is hard work and if you are going to be offering paint correction by hand you probably are not going to be very efficient providing correction to your customers if that is the route you plan on taking.

Continue to build your detailing knowledge/ experience on here by asking for advice, reading articles and watching videos and practicing on your own vehicles and maybe family vehicles and definitely get yourself an entry level DA with some good quality pads.

EdLancer I get people think Gen Y/ Millenials have not as much work ethic however I would like to provide examples of the number of Millenials who have developed lucrative businesses that were started bu Millenials:

- Pinterest
- Facebook
- Instagram
- Theranos
- Dropbox
- Airbnb
- Snapchat
- Asana
- Lyft
- Uber
- Blue Apron

and many many more. Though the work ethic or energy is focused in different areas than many say baby boomers or gen x`ers. Just because Millenials challenge the old school you have to work 16 hours a day to be effective and prove yourself in the workplace does not make there value any less important than Generations before them.

Now I am a Gen Y/ Millenial based on my year of birth however I hold a lot of values of Gen Xers as I was raised by a military man myself but still I see the value in the Millenials I work with and what they bring to the work place which I can see a shift in the last 5-6 years that I have a lot more balance and time to spend with my family then previously and I really attribute that to the shifting of the work force and its not a bad thing.

They might have made their millions with those imaginary intangible services, at the same time they aren`t real industries and the reason why America is in trouble.
I associate those services to lawyers and accountants as parasitic wealth whereas manufacturing produces real wealth and lawyers and accountants just suck it up like parasites !

 

[The Driver]

Doesn`t UC use SMAT like M105 ?
Basically the abrasives don`t break down like DAT. So if SMAT uses aluminum oxide then it can scratch up the glass.

Correct, you can use both 205 and 105 for glass polishing. If you do the KBM method with 205 you CAN haze glass as well.

 

[Rod73]

Hi Guys,
I am very new to auto detailing and possibly wanted to start a business. I wanted first to detail my own vehicle to see how hard the work was, to get some experience and to see how long it would take. I detailed my Ram 1500 quad cab truck this past weekend. I washed it, clayed it, compound, polished and waxed it. Also done the tires and wheels, chrome, and all the plastic trim. I done it all by hand. It took two full days, man was I tired. Now, I am thinking twice about starting a business. Anyway, everything looks great, but the windshield and glass. I cleaned it with clay, compound and window cleaner. At the time it looked good. But as soon as the sun shined through it, it has a white haze that I can`t get out. Did I mess up by using compound? Do I need to go back and polish it? I have tried all kinds of cleaner and alcohol and nothing works. Must be fine scratches left by the compound. Can anyone please tell me what I need to do? Thanks

First off I want to praise you for your humility and openess about your experience and ambition to start detailing. The Auto Detailing business is hard work, and is not for everyone because of labor and/or business challenges. Most of us professionals do some of the detailing by machines. So to read that you have put two days work in detailing by hand shows some real dedication. Even though I did not read the most recent set of comments it seems like you have gotten some good quality advice. It is unfortunate that one outlier, that hollier than thou troll, came on here with no intentions of adding value to the discussion. Some people just go by about their day looking for reasons to be offended, so they can put someone down to feel good about their own life.

As for your questions. For the window, it would be best if you uploaded a picture. My apologies if you just did that. Using a compound it could be a few things. Based upon the product used, my #1 guess is it could be residue from from the product not being completely wiped off. The Ultimate line of Meguiars is their consumer line of products, which the manufacturers are thinking it will be applied by hand. I suspect Ultimate Compound is a bit on the oily side. I know Ultimate Polish has fillers (glaze like) with the abrasives, which helps conceal what is not removed.

Also the glass polish the forum members are referring to is Carpro Ceriglass which also has machine pads dedicated for more aggressive glass defect removal. That might not be necessary in your case. That is / should be Plan D.

If you have a gentle cleaner wax that may fix the problem. If not I might try some rubbing alcohol with a microfiber window towel and gently massage the area affected and reevaluate from their.


In terms of the business of detailing: this experience is a lessonand a blessing. I would not base your decision soley on your very first detail either way. Btw we all get faster with experience. Still it can be hard work, you have to have some passion for it. I would wait a year, get better at detailing. Than if you believe this is what you want to do buy Renny Doyle`s book about starting a detailing business. Especially read the part where he is asking you this question. Understand the business is usually more challenging to us and the reason why so many detailers don`t make it.

Hopefully this was helpful.

 

[nickclark08]

They saw a need for a service they could offer, and created a market niche for it. Isn`t that what business is all about?

There`s a politics thread for this kind of discussion - A new member`s thread asking for help isn`t the best place to bemoan the lack of american manufacturing.

They might have made their millions with those imaginary intangible services, at the same time they aren`t real industries and the reason why America is in trouble.
I associate those services to lawyers and accountants as parasitic wealth whereas manufacturing produces real wealth and lawyers and accountants just suck it up like parasites !

 

[Accumulator]

Correct, you can use both 205 and 105 for glass polishing. If you do the KBM method with 205 you CAN haze glass as well.

Any tips on what glass is vulnerable to the hazing?

I`d *NEVER* use this kind of stuff on the Jag`s TriPlex, but it sure didn`t hurt anything I`ve tried it on. Not that I do a vast assortment of vehicles or anything! Heh heh, quite the opposite really...

There`s a politics thread for this kind of discussion - A new member`s thread asking for help...

Considering the audience can be critical. I sincerely hope we haven`t sent bburdette off with a bad taste in his mouth. I can think of a few (now) well-regarded members here who absolutely rubbed some of us the wrong way at one point...sure glad they stuck around and got settled in here, turned out to be OK guys after all and have made some good contributions.

I shudder to think how my younger self would`ve come across here

 

[Mary B]

I can think of a few (now) well-regarded members here who absolutely rubbed some of us the wrong way at one point...sure glad they stuck around and got settled in here, turned out to be OK guys after all and have made some good contributions.

GIRLS TOO !

 

[RaydiantDetail]

They might have made their millions with those imaginary intangible services, at the same time they aren`t real industries and the reason why America is in trouble.
I associate those services to lawyers and accountants as parasitic wealth whereas manufacturing produces real wealth and lawyers and accountants just suck it up like parasites !

My wife is an accountant by trade. My nickname for her is parasite. Lol

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[notime]

I cleaned up the outside of a front window today with a Mr. Clean Magic Erasure. Something working well once doesn`t mean everything. But, it definitely means I`ll be trying it again.

Oh, i used it with GTechniq W2 universal cleaner cut 1:10. You could probably cut it even more. It`s pretty potent stuff. I wouldn`t use it on interior plastic at stronger than 1:50.

 

[valleyguy1]

They might have made their millions with those imaginary intangible services, at the same time they aren`t real industries and the reason why America is in trouble.
I associate those services to lawyers and accountants as parasitic wealth whereas manufacturing produces real wealth and lawyers and accountants just suck it up like parasites !

This one I had to respond to. I work in manufacturing, but the computer and internet companies create jobs the same as manufacturing. These jobs allow employees to spend and create work for service industries, like accountants, lawyers, and even DETAILERS. The computer and internet is making the world slowly transition from a manufacturing age to whatever we`re going to. Pretty soon robots will be doing all the manufacturing.

Sorry for the hijack. I`m a baby boomer, and yes detailing is A LOT OF WORK, but it beats running a marathon for excercise, in my mind.

 

[Accumulator]

NoTime- With the cleaner used at that concentration, how much of the effectiveness do you ascribe to the Magic Eraser`s abrasiveness?

GIRLS TOO !

Yeah, but none of the gals here ever rubbed me the wrong way

My wife is an accountant by trade...

As is my best friend. Never thought of Accountants as being parasites...(my BS was in Acct.).

And, heh heh, nice that you two can joke about the Parasite thing

 

[notime]

I don`t know. I used it because you have to use some liquid with the pad and my experience is chems work better than water. You could use glass cleaner. But, this stuff at 1:50 is pretty strong. I won`t use it any stronger on an interior wipe down.

Something you should know. That`s a saturated 1:50 (Not soaking wet, but moderately wrung out. Or, with the Magic Erasure, sprayed kind of heavy.). I don`t know if it would work as well with a spray and wipe dry (When cleaning with a MF).

 

[Accumulator]

notime- Ah, OK...thanks for explaining. (It`s not something I`ll ever deal with, but I *was* curious!)

 

[notime]

Yeah sorry, I just don`t have enough experience with these pads (and the different variations of them) to know how much is the physical removal of the pads vs. the chems. I know they take off black heal (rubber?) marks from vinyl that chems won`t remove (at least the chems I would use on vinyl).

 

[Accumulator]

notime- Yeah, I always assume that the Magic Erasers are pretty aggressive, even the "gentle" ones. The few times I`ve tested them on potential applications I`ve usually found them to be too abrasive for those jobs. E.g., the vinyl surfaces in most of my vehicles are *very* fragile, can`t use `em on such jobs.