It's about 5 months old and I want to give it it's first full detail here sometime soon. I'm getting a DA for christmas, a cheap craftsman one for now. What do you recommed I use?

I know i'm going to wash and claybar it, but as far as what type of wax/sealant and such. What's your advice?

What do you use to dress the wheelwells?

I'm seriously considering starting a mobile detailing business.. Could you maybe point out some stuff that i should be that you know i would need to get started?

I appreciate the help.. just whenever you get the time, Give me some advice please!

 

First off, I am flattered you want my advice....there are many elders here that will offer their opinions as well and my suggestion is to listen to them all then apply what you hear and get going. Secondly I would spend time reading through the Detail Sticky at the top of the CD section. I would wait until you have the PC DA in your hands before going at your truck...since most of us know what it can do.

I cannot see the photo you posts, it errors out.

Lets start with my questions back to you...
What Pads are you going to go with? Megs? Lake? Which ones are you getting, (colors)
Have you decided to dive in with a certain product line yet? What do you have in stock right now?

If you are serious about getting in this business...it will be a tad overwhelming at first b/c you are going to have to acquire a lot of product, tools of the trade etc. I am somewhat of an exception...I don't run a business but have enough to comfortably set up shop anywhere.

you will prob soon find out what products you like and ones you don't and how they react in various combos like product, pad, speed, results, condition of paint etc. This is not something you can just flip a switch on and boom you are an expert. Case in point. I don't consider myself an pro...more like an advanced enthusiast, but I wouldn't go as far to say expert either. I still have lots to learn and my biggest problem like other OCD'ers is patience. I will give you a good example. Last week during Brain's detail he kept asking me, "how will i know when this product is broken down enough", I couldn't properly put in to words on what the product looks like when its broken down ...what I did was show him on my section and he soon figured it out. This is important to know b/c different products will breakdown differently....You have probably seen in this CD section many posts from elders saying you cannot be an expert in every product. Know a few really well is always the best bet....

Dressing the wheel wells effectively means they have to be cleaned first. I prefer to use something like APC+ or 303Cleaner, both diluted. Spray product on them allow to work down....then using an old cheap MF, I hand wash them. After they are dry, I then apply my dressing of choice, Megs Hyperdressing. Obviously there are many ways to skin a cat. This is just the one I use.

Understand that they are different. A sealent is just that. Seals the polished surface. To help make this point, a good rule of refernce when detailing shoujld always be a base of these parts:
Wash
Clay
Polish with abrasive if needed for paint correction, defects, scratches, leveling
Pure Polish
Seal
LSP (Last Step Product, usually wax)

Seal can be used as an LSP also. As for your question, about which ones...well that depends on a number of factors. Preference. Paint Condition and color, time. Some Sealers need up to 12 hours to effectively work and seal. Wax...again same thing but with one other factor to consider. Durability. Some waxes offer really deep looks, like S100 but it doesn't offer much in the way of longevity of life. Others including Poorboy Natty's also look amazing on certain colors, but again, short life. Megs #26 is very good too. There are many....now that I have used Collinite 845, its my product of choice for winter. It does have some nice depth to it, but its not as "slick" looking as some...but its minor.

I may be rambling and skipping some facts but I am at work right now so i will go back and reread my post again and add to it if needed....and I would recommend that you do some reading here, listen to the elders then apply and start your own OTJ training. Pretty soon I would expect to see some of your posts....and results. We can all learn from each other, that is the beauty of this site. I did....

Cheers

JP

 

Since you're just using a simple Craftsman random orbital, I'd say your best bet will be the Meguiar's 3 step system (cleaner wax, polish, and wax) topped with a coat of NXT. For the wheelwells, use whatever tire shine you have that you'd like to die. My favorite has been the NXT Extreme Shine.

 

I appreciate the information rock, I've been following in here for some time and have learned alot too! I'm not sure about the pads though. I know you have your cutting and polishing pads, but what is really the difference? Where is a good place to start.

What i have now in my "collection" is just about anything you can buy from your local autozone

 

I think you need to check out the search feature-- not saying this to be rude or dismissive, but this has been discussed. Use these more for a specific question.

Also, before you jumo into a mobile detailing biz, you need to get a LOT more experience. You will need to have worked on several colors, a variety of paint conditions, and be willing to look into the EPA regs, city regs, etc. Some factors to consider:
Insurance
Water runoff
Carrying your own supply of water
MSDS sheets for EVERY chemical
etc...


Also, as RR mentioned, the initial investment is HUGE... You should test the waters to see what you can get in your area and see if you can get a steady supply of customers.

 

This might help.

LAKE PADS, VC(Variable Contact)
Yellow Cutting Pad - This stiff pad is the most aggressive of the Lake Country foam pads. You can use this pad to tackle heavy oxidation and paint swirls. The best products to use with this pad are compounds and polishes. I's a strong pad, so it will leave some hazing behind that a softer pad and polish combination can easily remove

Orange Light Cutting Pad - The orange light cutting pad is one of the best pads to have in your arsenal. It feels a little stiffer than a polishing pad, but offers more cutting power. Don't be scared of its cutting ability though as it finishes quite nicely. Every detailing arsenal should have a couple of these pads.

Green Heavy Polishing Pad - The foam of this pad is stiffer than the white polishing pad. It offers stronger cutting capability and can tackle heavier swirls and paint correction. Use the green pad when you need something a little stronger than a regular polishing pad, but you don't feel the need to step up to a cutting pad.

White Polishing Pad - The white pad is your workhorse pad. Having multiples of this pad on hand is almost a requirement. It is very versatile and can be used with polishes and waxes. It has enough bite to work with medium compounds yet is gentle enough to finish without any hazing.

Black Finishing Pad - The soft foam of this pad makes it great for applying waxes or sealants. The foam is soft and will not scratch clearcoat finishes.

Blue Final Finishing and Glazing Pad - he blue foam of this pad is extra soft. It s the softest foam pad out there. It works best for applying glazes like ClearKote's Red Machine Glaze or Vanilla Moose Hand Glaze. They also are great at applying waxes and sealants.

The above was taken from http://www.specialtymotoring.com/laco6cuedvac.html which has very good pad data on it.

 

Great info RR! I added to my own truck care doc I created from posts on this forum.

 

Rock thanks for all the advice.. I'll have pictures up sometime this weekend..

I might have to have my roof repainted.. There's some kind of factory defect i'll have to get a picture of for you

 

This is the best picture i could get



It's like grainy.. i don't know it's bugging me