starting a detail business

I take pride in keeping all my cars looking their best possible, therfore decided to take it to a different level. Realizing I may not be able to put the time into detailing a vehicle when a person is doing as a business I feel I should receive some hands on training. My first question is what do you feel would be the best places to get this training? I've seen one advertised in san diego and one in philadelphia that are both short term. Second question is what is the best equipment and types of equipment needed to start a business. And where can they be purchased, also are there any used equipment sources out their? Third what is the best products to use. I presently use zaino products on my personal vehicles,but this may be cost prohibitative when using them in a business.
In addition this business would be a fixed site, as the weather here is cold six to seven months each year. thank you

nodakta :
Suppliers such as Meguiar's and AutoMagic offer seminars around the country. The info is great and the cost is minimal .
You can use Zaino products for professional work as long as you remember to pass the cost onto the customer .
You can attend seminars at trade shows put on by NAPDR and others .
You can buy DVDs and find VHS tapes used and new . www.adamspolishes.com offers two DVDs, " Adam's Premium Car Care Products " and " PC Polishing Adam's Style ".
www.griotsgarage.com offers " Griot's Garage Professional Random Orbial Instructions " . www.pinnaclewax.com offers " Pinnacle Natural Brilliance ".
Kleen Car and others have a 90 minute DVD on buffing, which I have not seen yet.
I never got to see Gary Kouba's DVD either .
www.showcargarage.com produced " How To Use The PC For Show Car Results " with Mike Phillips .
Meguiars made a VHS that promoted Medallion Paint Sealant as well as one on buffing and wet sanding . Eagle One made a VHS promoting their Visual Perfection wax . Mothers and Kimberly Clark produced a VHS promoting car covers . Rightlook has a 4 DVD set that I have not seen. It got a lukewarm review from one person on this forum .
Toyota provides videos to dealers who detail Toyota Certified Used Cars . You may be able to borrow these as I did .
I recommend AutoMagic's book, " The Six Steps of Reconditioning " .
Brian Angelucci made a CD ROM on boat detailing .
Good to hear you are using Zaino ! Best of luck .
Doug

Doug, I thank you for all the info you provided me. You sound very knowledgable
on all aspects of the auto detail business. Would it be possible for me to visit
your business and receive hands on training? Thank you for your cooperation. k

nodakta-
Thanks for the kind words. If I had a business, I'd be happy to meet with you but unfortunately, I am restricted to enthusiast detailing now. ( My knees act up. )

I recommend that you read the archives of this forum. Highlight and save the tips you want. Use the distilled info in your company operations manual. Best of luck to you .

Doug

If you will contact me directly at buda@detailplus.com I can provide you some incites on how to obtain the knowledge and training you need to become a knowledgeable detailer.

Keep in mind that in order for your hands to "do the job" you have to have the knowledge in your brain. We can give you the knowledge and, if need be, the hands on training to put that knowledge to work.

Vist our website www.detailplus.com to see what we offer in terms of DVD's, Manuals and hands on training.

Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS

hey great ideal on becoming a auto detailer, im sure everyone here knows and has heard of RIGHTLOOK.COM and if you havnt you should check them out, they offer personal training, they also offer a video series you can buy if you cant go in person and dont have that kind of money, i happen to have the 3 set vhs series, it covers interior, exterior and engine cleaning, if you follow their recommendations you will become a very good detailer and probably better then others detailers who have been doing it for a while. well if your interested in buying the video series off me, just email me and let me know, i dont need them as much as you do, ive been detailing for a long while already.

FWIW : Here is a link to a free email newsletter for entrepreneurs .

[www.timothyjschmidt.com]

Best of luck,
Doug

" The trouble with democracy is that sooner or later the people will find out they can vote themselves the treasury and then you have anarchy ".
-Menchen-

Here's a link to a whole library of articles for the pro detailer :

[www.detailassociation.com]

Doug

As well, anyone new or existing in the detail industry will want to consider joining the INTERNATIONAL DETAILING ASSOCIATION, a group of the top professional detailers in the industry and the top suppliers.

For $50 a year you will get more than you money's worth from this association of detailers all over the world.

Check out their website: www.the-ida.com

They also have their own Forum on www.mobileworks.com

Join this fraternity of detailers, you are all welcome.

Regards

Here is a link to another library of pro detailing articles :

[www.detailinglibrary.com]

Doug

Hi.
I am starting my own detail shop here in Alberta, Canada starting July 1/09.
I am very interested in taking courses on polishing but have been unsuccessful in finding anything in Alberta.
I would be interested in hearing from anyone who currently details in this area. As I am always looking for new ideas.

You could try contacting Meguiar's and AutoMagic to see when they hold seminars in your area. Other suppliers offer training too.

Here is a re-posting of info on DVDs, which can substitute for training in person :
Good luck !
Doug


DVDs on detailing are available from----
www.autodetailingsolutions.com , which has the Mike Phillips Corvette buffing video at $24.95. I believe this to be the video New Again rated highly.

www.adamspolishes.com , which sells a PC polisher DVD for $10 and gives away a free detailing DVD with every order.

www.autogeek.net , which has a DVD by Pinnacle for $9.99 ( $7.99 with an order ).

www.rightlook.com

And of course there is Gary Kouba's new DVD,

" Buffing With Confidence " is an 82 minute DVD on rotary buffing, $49.99 from www.kleencarauto.com or www.danase.com

www.adamspolishes.com provided their free DVD with my order. It is well-made and entertaining. The procedures are enthusiast-oriented and therefore more time-consuming than the professional steps I follow. Adam cautions that some modern German cars have computer gizmos that can go haywire if you get them wet during engine washing. Adam recommends using only microfiber towels and scrapping the cotton.
Adam's other DVD, " PC POLISHING ", shows how to wrap a large micro towel over the foam pad to buff out dried wax. We get to follow the complete claying, polishing and waxing of a cobwebbed black Mercedes.

In " How To Use the PC For Show Car Results ", Mike Phillips improves the finish of a 1960 black Corvette. Along the way, he demonstrates techniques such as doing a test spot to make sure your procedure works before buffing the whole car, using automotive tape to tape off seams and any high character lines you don't want to buff. He even tapes over his wedding ring to avoid scratching the car. You get a long movie for your money but it is somewhat repetitious. Nicely made and authoritative.

The Pinnacle DVD follows the complete detailing of a black Yukon. As is the habit on all of these DVDs, the methods are best-suited to driveway enthusiasts.
Both the blotting and wiping systems of drying the paint are demonstrated.
These DVDs serve a need but I'd like to see a pro DVD showing a car being done with the best equipment in minimum time. There are no surprise endings in these movies-The hero succeeds and they always seem to end with perfect-looking black cars in the sun as music plays in the background. If only real life were like that (LOL).

Griot's Garage is now giving away their 15 minute DVD on car polishing . www.griotsgarage.com
I assume their Detailing Handbook is still offered free in black and white as a download...



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/27/2009 02:36AM by Doug Delmont.

wow. Ive taken about 5 hours just to go through this one post for all the websites making notes. I have been detailing for 5 years through my dad's private dealership and now working on luxury motor coaches but i still wouldn't call myself a professional. I am begginning to create my own buisness as well. After learning about all the products that i wouldn't have seen or bought over the counter, i feel like my experience level went down even farther haha. For all the people contributing to the forum, thanks alot! You've been very helpful and i'm definately going to stick around.

Don't hide your email so we can contact you personally.

Contact me at info@the-ida.com

Regards
Bud Abraham
INTERNATIONAL DETAILING ASSOCIATION

Sorry. I didn't go through the options yet since i had just joined. My work e-mail can be seen now.

Go to detailking.com. They have tons of videos and resources there that help a lot.

J&B Detailing
[www.jbdetailing.com]
Columbia, SC 29201