Well, things are going well.
Things are going well and I am so grateful for all of those who have reached out to me for work early on and helped me build my business. I want to especially thank those who have left reviews and recommend me to their friends and family!
In the ensuing months I’ve bought a van. a Ford transit connect, the ideal choice for a mobile detailer. I Initially equipped with all my current tools that were barely able to fit in my trusty Corolla that I was using before. By May I installed a generator and was able to do more remote work in offices and apartment buildings. In June I installed reels for my air compressor and pressure washer which allowed me work more efficiently. The rest of the month I kitted it with all sorts of hangers and bottle holders for quick and easy access! Later that month it broke down with a severe coolant leak which took me out of commission for a few days before it was repaired. One coolant T-hose repair later on we are back on the road serving more clients! I was genuinely worried I might have to put things to a pause and be out a few grand, thus setting me back severely! It has been working reliably since then.
By Now I have detailed over 200+ vehicle from small convertible Miatas, motorcycles, Chevy Tahoes, dump trucks, and even a few boats. Some needed a quick once over, many severely neglected. From pet hair of all kinds of breads to cars that transported several small children and the messes they make (a little steam works best on gum removal). I’ve tackled severe tar buildup on the dump truck, washed gel coated boats, debugged trucks from the Dakotas, removed excessive tree sap, and don’t get me started on all those sunscreen stains. If you’ve got these white stains on your black plastic trim and dark leathers that seems to not want to be cleaned, its sunscreen. Yes, there is a way to get most of it off.
I’ve had the opportunity to work on some interesting cars from fancy electric cars like a Lucid, to Nissan GTR’s, a Ford Raptor, and of a few work vehicles. Electric cars are very nice to work on, the interiors are usually minimals, and the floor is quite flat. also don’t have to worry as much about killing the battery (yes I’ve gotten better about turning off the overhead lights while I work on vehicles for several hours at a time). I love working on vehicles that have super adjustable seats that slide and fold up, like the truck class and many minivans and 7 seaters vehicles. I’ve compiled a treasure trove of before and after pictures and videos, and have had the time to make several videos of some of my work. This can be found on this site and social media pages.
I’ve put in effort to trying to be as efficient and quick as possible while still doing a very thorough job. When I first started it would take me at least 5-6 hours to do any vehicle. This involved very inefficient setup where I had to pull everything from my car, find a water spigot, and stumble around for al the tools and products. 6 months in that time to do the same detail is 3-4 hours. This is thanks to the van and the additional tools and products I’ve added over time. The setup in the van has water and quick connects to my pressure washer and air compressor, and all tools and products within reach. I simply plug in power, or turn on my generator, and with a few clicks and Im ready to go. The time has been cut down while improving the quality and thoroughness. 200+ details in and I have learned hat there are many levels to detailing from quick <1 hour details to many out there doing 6+ hour details. I always aim to give most of my clients a good high quality detail in 3-5 hours. That way I can give my clients the best balance of price, quality of detail, and time commitment.
Added some new products to my arsenal, and started getting some better products in bulk. This allows me to do a better job with ease. I now use quality hard mat and plastic trim dressings from Koch chemie and the gold standard Carpet Bomber for carpet and fabric mat shampooing. I am always exploring better products, especially for exterior work. There are some great ceramic products out there and now even some graphene infused waxes coming to market that should result in better details for my clients.
The next few months I hope to continue improving the quality of interior detailing while reducing time spent. As for exterior detailing I plan on incorporate more orbital polishing, reduce wax streaking, and fine tune iron decontamination and claybaring steps! There will be higher quality waxes and water filtrating systems around. the corner!