THE DYNAMICS OF A CAR DETAILING BUSINESS

First Things First

The Car Detailing business is a secure, well-established growth market!

There are three key plans of action to be taken when starting a car detailing business: registering your business, finding a supplier for the products your business will use and purchasing your equipment.

Hiring a Supplier

You will find that there are a host of automotive detailing suppliers. Call up your local car detailing business and ask them which products they would recommend that you use and why.  Go online and look up car detailing forums and ask on a public board, as well. The bottom line is you might need to try a few to find out which products appeal to you most.  You may need to find this out, too, through trial and error and over time.  Any way you do it; there are so many good products out there to choose from.  With time, you will have the exact products that suit you best.

Buying Your Supplies

You can build an “A” list car detailing kit from the following products:

Wash: Zaino Z7
Clay: Clay Magic Blue Clay (AutoZone or Autodetail.com)
Cleaning: Meguiar's Dual Action Cleaner Polish (CMA)
Swirl Remover: 3M Swirl Mark Remover (CMA)
Glaze/Polish: P21S Paintwork Cleanser Lotion (CMA)
Wax/Protectant: Many choices --
Klasse AIO (CMA) put on 2 coats, decent longevity
Zaino Z5/ZFX (Zainobros.com) put on 3 coats, excellent longevity
P21S Carnauba Wax (CMA) excellent shine, 5-8 weeks durability
Souveran Carnauba Wax (CMA) similar to P21S, $40 more

Tire Cleaner: Eagle One Tire Cleaner (any parts store or CMA)
Wheel Cleaner: Many choices --
Eagle One A2Z (parts store or CMA)
P21S Wheel Gel (CMA)
Sonus Wheel Gel (CMA)
Tire Dressing: Zaino Z16 (Zainobros.com)

Interior Cleaner: Griots Interior Cleaner (Griotsgarage.com)
Leather Dressing: Griot's Leather conditioner or Pinnacle (CMA)
Glass Cleaner: Any product w/#0000 steel wool & microfiber towel

Microfiber towels: CMA all the way. Best, most consistent towels I've ever used. There are cheaper towels available, but the bitter taste of poor quality quickly overwhelms the sweetness of a good deal.

Drying: CMA's Big Blue Drying Towel. 1 single towel will dry our Tahoe without any trouble.

Here's a list of preferred car detailing products common to the car detailing business.

303 Aerospace Protectant (there are an additional 303 products as well!)

AG AutoGlym

AIO Klasse All In One

A2Z Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner

AZ Auto Zone (Auto Parts Store)

BA Black Again

BCS P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo

BF BlackFire detailing product

CB Clay Bar

CD or CCD California Car Duster

CM or PCM Pinnacle Crystal Mist detailing spray

CMA Classic Motoring Accessories (Board Sponsor)

CP Eimann Fabrik Clear Pearl detail spray

CW Cleaner Wax

CWB California Water Blade

EF Eimann Fabrik brand

EFBO Eimann Fabrik Black Opal

EFCC Eimann Fabrik Carpet Cleaner

EFCP Eimann Fabrik Clear Pearl instant detailer

EFCV Eimann Fabrik Clear Vision

EFHI Eimann Fabrik High Intensity cleaner

EFPW Eimann Fabrik Power Wash shampoo

EFSR Eimann Fabrik Spot Remover

EFTR Eimann Fabrik Tar Remover

EO Eagle One

FB Forever Black

FI Meguiars Final Inspection Quick Detailer

FI-II 3M Finesse IT

GC Gold Class (Meguiar's name for various products)

GEPC P21S product, Gloss-Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser

HI Eimann Fabrik High Intensity Cleaner

IG Stoner’s Invisible Glass

IHG 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze

KSG Klasse Sealant Glaze (sometimes referred to as "SG")

LG Liquid Glass

Meguiar's Products, all listed by their "number"

Meguiar's #1 Medium Cut Cleaner

Meguiar's #2 Fine Cut Cleaner

Meguiar's #3 Machine Glaze

Meguiar's #4 Heavy Cut Cleaner

Meguiar's #5 New Car Glaze

Meguiar's #6 Cleaner/Wax

Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze

Meguiar's #9 Swirl remover 2.0

Meguiar's #16 Professional Paste Wax

Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant

Meguiar's #26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax

Meguiar's #34 Final Inspection

Meguiar's #36 Hi-Tech Cleaner

Meguiar's #39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner

Meguiar's #40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner

Meguiar's #60 Hi Tech wash

Meguiar's #62 Car Wash Shampoo and Conditioner

Meguiar's #66 Quick Detailer

Meguiar's BSPHP Body Shop Professional Hand Polish

Meguiar's BSPSFP Body Shop Professional Swirl Free Polish

Meguiar's DACP Dual Action Cleaner/Polish

MF Microfiber or Microfiber Towel

MG Meguiars Mirror Glaze product line

MGC Meguiars Gold Class product (includes the whole line: wash, wax, wheel cleaner, etc.)

MSLT Stoner’s More Shine Less Time spray

ND Never Dull Metal Polishing Wads

OP Orbital Polisher

OG One Grand Products

P21S A brand of Detailing Products

PB Pep Boys

PBS Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo

PC Porter Cable (most of the time, in reference to Porter Cable #7424, though the 7428 is often mentioned. 7424 is Dual Action, 7428 is rotary)

PCL P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (same as GEPC)

PI3 or PI-III 3M Perfect it III products

PI II 3M Perfect It 2

PS Pinnacle Souveran

PUPP Platinum Ultimate Paint Protection

QD Quick Detailer

QW Meguiars Quick Wax

ROB Random Orbital Buffer

SG or KSG Klasse Sealant Glaze

SIG Stoners Invisible Glass

SMR Swirl Mark Remover (might be Meguiar's or 3M)

TW Turtle Wax products

UV Ultraviolet Light

WM Wash Mitt

WWB P21S Windshield Wash Booster

Z Zaino (synthetic wax manufactured by Sal Zaino)

Z1 Zaino Show Car Polish LOK PreCleaner and Gloss Enhancer

Z2 Zaino Show Car Polish for Clear Coated Finishes

Z3 Zaino Show Car Polish for Regular Paint

Z5 Zaino Polish for Swirl Marks & Fine Scratches

Z6 Zaino Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray

Z7 Zaino Show Car Wash

Z9 Zaino Leather Soft Spray Cleaner

Z10 Zaino Leather in a Bottle Treatment and Conditioner

Z12 Zaino Clear View Glass Polish

Z14 Zaino Plastic Magic Cleaner & Polish

Z16 Zaino Perfect Tire Gloss

Z18 Zaino ClayBar

ZFX Zaino Flash Cure Accelerator Additive For Z2, Z3, Z5

Purchasing Your Equipment

Car detailing makes a very good and efficient first time business. You can get started without having to buy a lot of fancy, expensive equipment.

The very basics are:

• Pressure washer
  
  
• Wet/dry vacuum
  
  
• Bucket
  
  
• Wash mitt
  
  
• Towels
  
  
• Small soft-bristled brush
  
  
• Upholstery brush and towels

You can buy these supplies from any hardware or automotive parts store.

Once you have a good idea of what you are doing in your car detailing business, consider buying some more advanced equipment. Buy equipment that is more specialized and so you can be certain that your business is well established enough before making a bigger investment in new equipment.

What Exactly Is Involved in Car Detailing?

Let’s take a look at some of the primary details.

Automotive finishes are quite thin and generally range from 4 to 6 mils in total thickness. This includes anti-corrosion coatings. The color coat on a vehicle is typically the thinnest coating.

The exterior paint layer is a clear coat and it is thermo set. This clear finish is only 2 mils thick, and compares to the thickness of a piece of paper.

The car’s bumper and softer parts are all plastic. The plastic is painted with a modified paint that is plasticized to endure the impact of stone chipping.

General Cleaning

In order to do an appropriate paint evaluation on all vehicles, first thoroughly wash, clean and dry. A bug and tar remover will have been used to remove any unwanted stains.

Paint Finish

Along with your customer, conduct a thorough evaluation of the paint finish. This will determine the best care treatment.

This technique works well to promote your services and products when done with the customer. Ask for their input and share your expertise on all of your services and products as it relates to their needs.

Swirl Marks

When evaluating the paint finish, pay careful attention to any swirl marks present on the finish. The reduction of swirl marks will lead to your best service in revealing the vehicle’s shine and beauty.

Always study the paint condition while in bright light. Swirl marks will appear in bright light even on light colored cars, using this technique.

Use the palm of your hand to assess the smoothness of the finish. If the finish feels rough to your touch, this means that contaminants have bonded to the finish.

Also take note that surface stains, black marks, or water-run marks can appear to be under the paint and this will show up as a result of surface contaminants.

Swirl Removal

A variety of vehicles will have several different finishes all on the same vehicle.

Hand use of the swirl removable works best. Where there are softer coatings, such as the lower body panels and bumper areas, start with the less aggressive removals or compounds. You want to just cut into the swirl and nothing more. The harder the paint, the harder the cleaning agent can be used.

Use of Clay Bars

Clay bars work well with dark vehicles that have not been detailed properly.

Once you have washed the vehicle, use a one step liquid wax to apply to the exterior paint. This will give you the additional lubrication necessary for the clay bar cleaning process.

Clay bars are combined with a liquid spray lubricant. This will prevent the clay from sticking where the spray lubricant thins out. Using the clay bar will safely remove all surface contaminants.

Clay bars come in two types: mild cleaning and heavier cleaning formulations.

A medium grit clay bar will work well with vehicles that are more than three years in age and that may be in poor condition. A milder clay bar works well on a well-maintained vehicle where maximum gloss is wanted.  This is especially true of darker finishes.

Once you have completed the clay bar process, feel for a good smooth finish. The clay must be kneaded after applying to each panel in order to remove all contaminants.

Know Your Products and Services

Car Detailing – Vehicle Is New or Well Maintained

Find out the vehicle’s manufacturer’s date. The day the vehicle rolled off the assembly line and not the day it was picked up. Look for this information on the inside of the driver’s doorjamb or just under the car hood, in front of the radiator.

As a rule most vehicles on a dealer’s lot will be two months old after the date of manufacture.  The vehicle needs this amount of time for the paint to properly cure before applying wax.

Apply liquid or paste wax directly onto the washed surface. This will maintain the water resistance the new finish had.

Apply the paste wax as thin and uniformly as possible for best results. You can apply liquid wax heavier than a paste. Four fluid ounces are generally required to wax a mid-size car.

As the wax begins to dry it will start to change from translucent to white. At this point wipe off all excess before moving onto the next section.

Tell your customers that new cars should be washed every two weeks to prevent build up of road tars and pollution stains. Using a carnauba detailer after a wash will also boost the shine and protection of the wax.

Car Detailing – Vehicle Is Two to Five Years Old

A vehicle that has not had any kind of detailing service for a few years can need special care and a lot depends on the climate or where the vehicle was kept.

Look for obvious signs of neglect such as paint degradation. There will be lack of water beading and rinse water will just lie flat on a horizontal surface.

Look for two specific problems on the outer clear coat:

• The surface clear coat resin will begin to break down.  This is called polymer scission and ultra violet rays will begin this process.
  
  
• Look for damage caused by acid rain, local pollution, soil and road grime and minerals.  These will etch the upper paint surface of a car.

A very dull appearance replaces the once clear finish and there will be a series of light swirl marks on the finish, as well.

To remedy this, deep clean the car. Apply a pre-wax cleaner or swirl remover to take care of the surface contamination. For the swirl marks, use a scratch and swirl remover as a pre-wax. Apply a paste or liquid wax immediately.

Car Detailing – Vehicle Is More Than Five Years of Age, With Little Car-Care

Even the worst neglected cars can be brought back to life with special care!

The car itself provides plenty of ammunition. Bodies have better corrosion details and finishes are made to last and of better quality. Wax and polish formulations are superior and easier to use, as well, so this provides more than enough to work with to get good results!

With the older vehicles, take special time and careful attention to the evaluation process. The condition of the car needs to be properly assessed before applying product. Besides obvious wear and tear, look for build up of tar and other assorted grime to have built up over time. You will definitely need to work with stubborn spots, as well.

Specialty cleaners should be used prior to waxing, such as a polishing compound. These work well to remove tougher stains and they will minimize the effects of deeper scratches.

In all cases, be very mindful that automotive exteriors and finishes will change just as car-care requirements do.

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