Who offers undercarriage detailing and undercoating?

L

LeadingEdgeDetail

New member
Just wondering, since the obvious $$$ possibilities of having a shop with a hoist. I don't see a problem getting cars from bodyshops and dealerships that want undercoating, and anyone of my regular detail customers would love to get their udnercarriage cleaned and protected.



I see $6000+ per month easily acheivable.



Why don't I see this more often?
 
Undercoating can be profitable it normally takes between 4-6 cans (32 fl/oz) depending on the vehicle. The best types of lifts are the role on type, not the arm extension types. Because the arms tend to get in the way of spraying. Can be messy too, customers pick up on that easily, but real simple to clean off.
 
I think it'd be great for some of you pros to start doing this, even if the undercoating was just a quickie, cosmetic sort of thing. I recently cleaned up a pretty nasty Blazer- it has lots of frame/undercarriage visible; a little time spent with some good undercoating (Eastwood Black Heavy Duty Anti-Rust) made a world of difference in the appearance and did provide a little corrosion protection too. Didn't even need a lift.



A *proper* undercoating job (like I did on the RX-7, also without using a lift) is a much more involved undertaking, but the quickie approach on SUVs might be worth thinking about. I did it because I just couldn't imagine *not* doing it, would've looked weird to have a spotless body on top of a crappy looking, exposed frame.



If you use an undercoating gun you'll need a compressor, but you can get the stuff in spray cans too. Pros/cons to both approaches.
 
We use compressed air, with a spray gun. Works nice, just have to make sure you spray the gun clean after you are done every time (no biggy). Accumlator can't believe you did one without a lift, it sucks with a lift at times, cramps your neck, plus the mess that gets all over you. We have one long sleeved shirt we use when we spray. The shirt needless to say can stand up on it's own with all the overspray on it. Might sell it to the Government as a new form of bullet proof vest.
 
autoprecise1 said:
Accumlator can't believe you did one without a lift, it sucks with a lift at times, cramps your neck, plus the mess that gets all over you. We have one long sleeved shirt we use when we spray....
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Yeah, lying on my back isn't the fun way to do this stuff, sure makes me miss having a lift! Have to reposition the jackstands to get those spots *right* when I'm at the "should be finished" point too. I have "undercoating clothes" and I wear a face shield and respirator; not fun in the summer heat (no way do I want to do this job *inside* the shop, I'd never believe it was clean again) but it beats getting the stuff all over you let alone breathing it in.
 
Not sure if this would work or not but just an idea. Get in good with a local shop with a lift. Either have them advertise that they do undercoating and let them mark it up a little to make some money or just advertise it yourself and just pay the shop a little to borrow the lift. Just some suggestions, hope they help!
 
Good idea about the mark up. But two problems I know of when this happens.

1. The other people in the shop complain about the smell and say they are getting a headace from the stuff.

2. The undercoat lift and walls start to get black speckles then it turns into black sheets of undercoat all over the lift, walls, and floors.

(You also don't want to get in trouble with OSHA)



Your idea will work if the shop is not concerned about the two things listed above.
 
hhhhmm didn't think about that. I have never really had experience with the stuff myself though. Umm maybe you can find a well ventalated or open shop and just hope they dont care about the look of the lift and the floor? hehe. I may have to come up another idea some other time. :)
 
I planned on opening up a rust, paint and fab protection business for several years. If you're already doing buisness with dealership(detailing), it's almost an automatic in. I have a very good friend that has an shop in Kalamazoo, MI and it's called Great Lakes Chemical. They do between $3-4 Million per year in just protection applications. They strictly use the Dupont system and are having great luck with it. Dupont's system doesn't require any hole drilling for appying sealants to innner panels like most systems.



They have a building dedicated to just undercoating/sound deadening with 3 or 4 hoists(they are all drive up style). They use plastic on their walls and each month they replace it. That way it never damages their walls.

If you would like more information on the product, process and/or take a tour of their shop, let me know and I can arrange it. They also have the most state of the art reconditioning system I've ever seen too. Each bay is a what every detailer dreams of detailing a vehicle in. I can explain more if anyone is interested.
 
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