Car Detailing

[greenday]

I have been doing this for a while, just wondering if anyone else does car detailing. I charge $20 for cleaning the interior and exterior. It's a good deal of work, but I have an appreciation for a clean vehicle, so it is enjoyable for me. Unfortunately, I have only been able to work for my family, but they have a lot of cars, and they do a good deal of driving, so it keeps me busy...but I want to do others people's car someday.It takes me about an hour or two, depending on size, to do the inside and out of a baisic vehicle. I like to photograph my work, but these are all I have (my mom's and her bf) right now. I'll do some interior shots when I can, those look pretty good when I am done. I learned a lot of what I know from a Haynes Detailing manual, which my dad gave to me. I just need to develop a reputation...ya know?

Anyways, here is my mom's bf's '06 F-150 which I did today:






Yes, I know washing cars in the sun is a bad idea, but I had no other place.

And here is my mom's 500, our family has a black ford fettish...lol.


Thanks!

[spitfire]

I didnt for awhile. Then they made a law saying you could only use the water for your yard once a week, or somthing like that. Made good money when doing it too. Cant wait till they lift the law. Its been raining like crazy, so the drought should be over soon.

[bondo]

pretty clean.
one question though, what's up with the dirty tires?
it isn't really "detailing" if you forget the details.......

just a small tip if your going to try to make some money with this.
learn how to clay block,colorsand and buff paintjobs and plastics.
if you can completely detail a car AND make it shine like a mirror then you double your potential for clients.

Originally Posted by spitfire

I didnt for awhile. Then they made a law saying you could only use the water for your yard once a week, or somthing like that. Made good money when doing it too. Cant wait till they lift the law. Its been raining like crazy, so the drought should be over soon.

we're in hurricane season so it should'nt be too long......
up here it rains at 3:00 just about every afternoon.
during july,you can almost set your watch by it.

[spitfire]

Originally Posted by bondo

pretty clean.
one question though, what's up with the dirty tires?
it isn't really "detailing" if you forget the details.......

just a small tip if your going to try to make some money with this.
learn how to clay block,colorsand and buff paintjobs and plastics.
if you can completely detail a car AND make it shine like a mirror then you double your potential for clients.




we're in hurricane season so it should'nt be too long......
up here it rains at 3:00 just about every afternoon.
during july,you can almost set your watch by it.

Agreed. I allways used a clay block and waxed the cars. One more thing i would do is, if your going to take pics of your cars, take a before then after pics. That way you can realy tell a difference.

The best tire shine ive found so far is probly meguirs (did i spell that right?) or armorall. Other than that those two cars do look good. Hows the intiorer?

[texan_idiot25]

Buffing and waxing must be done with care. So you don't swirl that crap. And takes a bit more work with the customer to have the car body out of the sun before doing it, but the results are outstanding:



Left is pre-buff, right is post buff. Then wax and then love...

[greenday]

Originally Posted by bondo

pretty clean.
one question though, what's up with the dirty tires?
it isn't really "detailing" if you forget the details.......

just a small tip if your going to try to make some money with this.
learn how to clay block,colorsand and buff paintjobs and plastics.
if you can completely detail a car AND make it shine like a mirror then you double your potential for clients.

we're in hurricane season so it should'nt be too long......
up here it rains at 3:00 just about every afternoon.
during july,you can almost set your watch by it.

I didn't have my tire brush at the time, and the stuff I use isn't all that good. I know how to do it, you have to get all the "dead" rubber off. I was going to get some clay bars, (kit) but I'm still buying supplies...lol. (I have already spent $60+) Thanks for the suggestions, i learn something new everyday about this stuff, I try to do my best with what I've got, and every now and again I'll buy something or learn something that makes the job a little better. So maybe someday I'll be able to do all that stuff.

Tex, I hear ya on swirling, ugh.

[bondo]

Originally Posted by texan_idiot25

Buffing and waxing must be done with care. So you don't swirl that crap. And takes a bit more work with the customer to have the car body out of the sun before doing it, but the results are outstanding:

yea, i can kinda make out some trees in the paint.
it is ahelluva improvement but with a little practice you can get absolute mirror.

when buffing,85% of the swirls are caused by junk either stuck to or embeded in your paint.
this is where the clay blocking comes in.


before clay,colorsanding and polish

after clay,colorsanding and polish

[texan_idiot25]

That was with a simple buff with glaze, and with my buffer catching fire

I'll get on it soon, the truck needs a good detailing with all my driving. What's your pick of wax, and polish Bondo?

[KITT222]

My dads truck get detailed every so often, but my dad has a friends who will get into the engine compartment with a toothbrush, and cleans every little nook. Too bad I never took a picture. The thing looks AWSOME when clean.

[greenday]

There are some people out there that take it that far. A lot of the fun of having a clean engine is that it is a whole hell of a lot easier to find leaks and problems, as well as it's less of a hassle and more of a pleasure to do regular maintence. I want to get in to engine compartment detaling, but you have to be careful, drowned out your ingntion componentry and you'll either have fun drying them out or have a car that doesn't start...lol. But some stretch-tite wrapping and some car can prevent this. Or you can avoid the stuff all together. Anyway you do it, it is time very well spent, clean is always best.

EDIT: Hey bondo, would you mind explaining to me what "colorsanding" is? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[texan_idiot25]

All the electrical connections under the hood have weather/water proof connectors these days. As long as you don't use high pressure your pretty OK.

Here's a hint though, if you ever soak a connector by chance, spray inside with WD 40 and let it air dry for a minute. WD 40's job is to displace water, so when spraying it into the connector it forces out the water.

[greenday]

Originally Posted by texan_idiot25

All the electrical connections under the hood have weather/water proof connectors these days. As long as you don't use high pressure your pretty OK.

Here's a hint though, if you ever soak a connector by chance, spray inside with WD 40 and let it air dry for a minute. WD 40's job is to displace water, so when spraying it into the connector it forces out the water.

I remeber reading that somewhere in that haynes manual i mentioned. dye electric grease works well also.

[greenday]

I hate to double post, but I thought it was justifiable because I have some more pics for you guys. I did the interior of the same F-150 today. I should have taken some photos beforehand, because let me tell ya, this thing was d-i-r-t-y. (My mom's bf's is a carpenter/construction worker, so he gets in the truck with crud all over him, so you can imagine the dirt) Anyway, before I put all of his personal stuff back in there, I snapped these pictures:





I admit there are a few things I could have done better, (door jambs, for example) but I was working in the sun and I was tiring out pretty fast. (As well as sweating quite profusely) Overall, I am satisfied.

Oh yeah, my supplies:
(which I bought myself)




Thanks!