Take the plunge or take it to someone else?

[animescreen]

I polish outside. In fact, I do all my detailing outside.

"I don't even have a garage. You can call home and ask my wife...." - Charlie Dainels.

I would love to do outside but Seattle rain and the fact I’m under a sap tree I need to do things like this in garage which is good but if I’m practicing on other car I need to take my main one out in garage and seems it will splattered with sap. Your in Seattle too? What happens when rain season


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[PaulMys]

I would love to do outside but Seattle rain and the fact I’m under a sap tree I need to do things like this in garage which is good but if I’m practicing on other car I need to take my main one out in garage and seems it will splattered with sap. Your in Seattle too? What happens when rain season


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I am not. Check my info under my avatar..............

[Calendyr]

I went DIY route and I’m not Typically that type. I was going to get a coating done and the “pros” I went two were all 1000-1500. I didn’t mind the money but they were all super d!€Ks. So I’d figure I’d spend money on best products and do myself .

I am suprised to read this. I am on pro only forum and everyone who does coating is very profesionnal. In what way were they d#cks?

[Calendyr]

DIY is good because you’ll have the tools to do the same in more cars.
But a Porsche is curvy. Keeping the pad rotation is not super easy, especially for a beginner. A Flex would be great on your car but I feel like the learning curve is a little steeper.
Maybe find someone from this forum that is local to you and can tackle the project with you so you learn for the future and the person will help you get the results you’re after.

This is absolutelly true! I am a pro and I hate working on Porshes when it comes to paint correction. Long throws have a really hard time with them. On Porshes I use a 8mm polisher with a 5.5" pads and even with that I have issues keeping pad rotation on some areas of the car. A Flex 3401 would be a good machine for those... only one I don't have (yet)

[Coatingsarecrack]

I am suprised to read this. I am on pro only forum and everyone who does coating is very profesionnal. In what way were they d#cks?

I did a lot of research into ppf and coatings and went in with a lot of questions. I like to know how things work and understand process. 1st guy just didn’t want to explain and seemed that I bothers him. Someone spends 1500-2500 you should be prepared to talk about process. 2nd guy seemed peeved that I was trying to get discount to do both.

Thing is it’s my money. Worked for it just like he does. Doesn’t need to give a discount, doesn’t stop me from doing business with you. Just as a consumer I like to keep as much of my money as I can. He should respect that.


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[nap3p]

Excellent suggestion! Where are you located nap3p?

Vancouver, WA area


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[Calendyr]

I did a lot of research into ppf and coatings and went in with a lot of questions. I like to know how things work and understand process. 1st guy just didn’t want to explain and seemed that I bothers him. Someone spends 1500-2500 you should be prepared to talk about process. 2nd guy seemed peeved that I was trying to get discount to do both.

Thing is it’s my money. Worked for it just like he does. Doesn’t need to give a discount, doesn’t stop me from doing business with you. Just as a consumer I like to keep as much of my money as I can. He should respect that.


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Ah ok. Well, to be honest with you, some people come to me with questions that make me think they are wasting my time. Asking details about the products and process is one of them. The reason I hate that is that it makes me want to think they are simply trying to figure out how to do it themselves and are wasting my time.

Think of it this way: Would you call your mechanic and ask him what tool he will be using to replace your alternator, what product he will use to for on it and so on? No, you would take the car there and ask him to fix it.

I always explain to my clients the general process (detailed cleaning to make sure there is no dirt anywhere, decontamination of the paint, application of the coating and so on). But when people start asking me what products I use to do each step, my spider sense starts to tingle and I usually cut the conversation short. If you need to know what brand I use to wash the car and then do the decontamination, you are not gonna be one of my clients for sure. Even if you are really interested in buying by services, you would be a problem customer 90% of the time. So depending what questions you asked, it is very likelly what they felt and why they got pissed off.

Detailers are not there to give coating lessons over the phone for free. We all answer a lot of general questions so that our clients understand the general process and give informations about the benefits of the products, but it is definatelly not reasonable to expect us to give detailed explanation about every step we need to take. Think of it, you would not do this with any other specialist (electrician, surgeon, carpenter, etc).

As for discounts, I don't give any either. I hate haggling and I also hate when people try to get stuff for free. The price I show reflects the time it will take and the cost of the products. As a consummer, I always shop around and compare the offer and the price before making a buying decision. But once I decide what I will buy, I don't try to haggle, I feel it is very disrespectful... To me, that is me saying : "I don't think you are worth the price you are asking, so if you want my business, take a pay cut". You will find that most detailers feel the same way I do about this. We work our asses off during the summer time, often 70 hours weeks to make up for the dead season of late fall to early spring. So when I talk to someone and they start haggling, I usually cut the conversation short there too with : "Sorry, those are the prices based on time it takes and product costs". If they are not interested, too bad, already booked 2 to 3 weeks ahead anyways.

So what you consider people being d?cks, to me is just people super busy and not interested in wasting their time. Because in this business, the phone rings a lot more than we can handle. Most of the people that call me do not end up doing business with me because 1) They don't want to wait 2-3 weeks 2) Can't afford my services 3) Are looking for a car wash and can't bother to read the description of my business before they call to bother me. So out of 10 phone calls, I usually book one and I am pretty certain that every detailer who has been in the business for a while will be in the same situation, especially those who are in a position to offer coatings and PPF.

[Coatingsarecrack]

Ah ok. Well, to be honest with you, some people come to me with questions that make me think they are wasting my time. Asking details about the products and process is one of them. The reason I hate that is that it makes me want to think they are simply trying to figure out how to do it themselves and are wasting my time.

Think of it this way: Would you call your mechanic and ask him what tool he will be using to replace your alternator, what product he will use to for on it and so on? No, you would take the car there and ask him to fix it.

I always explain to my clients the general process (detailed cleaning to make sure there is no dirt anywhere, decontamination of the paint, application of the coating and so on). But when people start asking me what products I use to do each step, my spider sense starts to tingle and I usually cut the conversation short. If you need to know what brand I use to wash the car and then do the decontamination, you are not gonna be one of my clients for sure. Even if you are really interested in buying by services, you would be a problem customer 90% of the time. So depending what questions you asked, it is very likelly what they felt and why they got pissed off.

Detailers are not there to give coating lessons over the phone for free. We all answer a lot of general questions so that our clients understand the general process and give informations about the benefits of the products, but it is definatelly not reasonable to expect us to give detailed explanation about every step we need to take. Think of it, you would not do this with any other specialist (electrician, surgeon, carpenter, etc).

As for discounts, I don't give any either. I hate haggling and I also hate when people try to get stuff for free. The price I show reflects the time it will take and the cost of the products. As a consummer, I always shop around and compare the offer and the price before making a buying decision. But once I decide what I will buy, I don't try to haggle, I feel it is very disrespectful... To me, that is me saying : "I don't think you are worth the price you are asking, so if you want my business, take a pay cut". You will find that most detailers feel the same way I do about this. We work our asses off during the summer time, often 70 hours weeks to make up for the dead season of late fall to early spring. So when I talk to someone and they start haggling, I usually cut the conversation short there too with : "Sorry, those are the prices based on time it takes and product costs". If they are not interested, too bad, already booked 2 to 3 weeks ahead anyways.

So what you consider people being d?cks, to me is just people super busy and not interested in wasting their time. Because in this business, the phone rings a lot more than we can handle. Most of the people that call me do not end up doing business with me because 1) They don't want to wait 2-3 weeks 2) Can't afford my services 3) Are looking for a car wash and can't bother to read the description of my business before they call to bother me. So out of 10 phone calls, I usually book one and I am pretty certain that every detailer who has been in the business for a while will be in the same situation, especially those who are in a position to offer coatings and PPF.

You make a lot of assumptions and compare me to people that do things that I don’t. I don’t waste people’s time and was looking to get work done.

Never ask about products as these interaction are what made me get back into detailing. I asked things like what is ceramic coat? How does it protect more than a sealant? Why is process that makes it cost more. All fair questions I feel if I’m about to spend 2-3k

And yes if a mechanic wanted my to buy a new turbo alternator that charges my car faster and better that was 5x of standard alternator I’d ask a lot of questions and you’d be a fool not too. If surgeon was operating on me I’d have a million questions, carpenter replacing my deck yeah questions on process to get an idea on quality of work

And if you dont discount labor that’s good but if you read that was not a determining factor. I work for my money and will always ask for a deal. If you were buying 2 cars from a dealership you would not ask for a discount?

You tell me how you shop but that is just one facet as their are several types of buyers. If you want to cater to ones that only shop as you do.... so be it.

You assuming I’m a chump customer is like me assuming your a hack detailer..... I’ve never seen your work. You never had me try to hirer you.

You sticking up for people in your profession you do not know and we’re not their for interaction is silly.

Their are jerks in every facet of life just like their are good people.

Glad though wasn’t has hard as I thought although I’m sure someone with more experience would have done a better job but happy with my work. Money I saved on coating job I just spent on some Quick Jacks so win/win for me.

Happy detailing,





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[Calendyr]

You make a lot of assumptions and compare me to people that do things that I don’t. I don’t waste people’s time and was looking to get work done.

Never ask about products as these interaction are what made me get back into detailing. I asked things like what is ceramic coat? How does it protect more than a sealant? Why is process that makes it cost more. All fair questions I feel if I’m about to spend 2-3k

And yes if a mechanic wanted my to buy a new turbo alternator that charges my car faster and better that was 5x of standard alternator I’d ask a lot of questions and you’d be a fool not too. If surgeon was operating on me I’d have a million questions, carpenter replacing my deck yeah questions on process to get an idea on quality of work

And if you dont discount labor that’s good but if you read that was not a determining factor. I work for my money and will always ask for a deal. If you were buying 2 cars from a dealership you would not ask for a discount?

You tell me how you shop but that is just one facet as their are several types of buyers. If you want to cater to ones that only shop as you do.... so be it.

You assuming I’m a chump customer is like me assuming your a hack detailer..... I’ve never seen your work. You never had me try to hirer you.

You sticking up for people in your profession you do not know and we’re not their for interaction is silly.

Their are jerks in every facet of life just like their are good people.

Glad though wasn’t has hard as I thought although I’m sure someone with more experience would have done a better job but happy with my work. Money I saved on coating job I just spent on some Quick Jacks so win/win for me.

Happy detailing,

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I just went on with what you wrote. When you say you asked about the process, to me that is specific details, not how product works. I speak with about 5 to 10 people a day so the questions are pretty much all the same. And when people ask about the process, the questions are usually the ones I mentioned in the previous post. Granted, yours might have been different, since you did not give details I used my experience to fil lin the gap.

Also I am not defending anyone as such, just trying to give you the flip side of the medal. Your experience is as a customer and you never had to deal with customers calling in for ceramic coating services. These calls are usually pretty long and many of them don't pan out. So you have to understand that when we come across someone that seems to be wasting our time, there is a good chance we will want to end the conversation. If 10 people call me during a day and they all take 30 minutes of my time, only to have 1 or 2 book the appointment, that is not good. So I was just explaining to you why you might have thought those guys were d)cks when in fact they just wanted to go on with their day. Detailers are often solo operators, so when you call, you are likelly interrupting a detail, so for us, every minute counts when we are on the phone.

Again, I was not assuming anything about you, just trying to make you understand what we deal with daily.

As for discounts, in the pro detailler community, the rule of thumb is that if someone is asking for discounts, these are the people most likelly to have issues and try to get even more discounts. So a lot of us are not interested in that clientele. Your millage may vary, you could find a good detailler willing to give them, but since good detaillers pretty much have to refuse work, why would we take a pay cut? Usually the people giving out discounts are the ones who can't find clients. Either because they are just starting out or because they don't have a good reputation. That's why you can find people willing to work for peanuts, doing details for 60$.

[Coatingsarecrack]

I just went on with what you wrote. When you say you asked about the process, to me that is specific details, not how product works. I speak with about 5 to 10 people a day so the questions are pretty much all the same. And when people ask about the process, the questions are usually the ones I mentioned in the previous post. Granted, yours might have been different, since you did not give details I used my experience to fil lin the gap.

Also I am not defending anyone as such, just trying to give you the flip side of the medal. Your experience is as a customer and you never had to deal with customers calling in for ceramic coating services. These calls are usually pretty long and many of them don't pan out. So you have to understand that when we come across someone that seems to be wasting our time, there is a good chance we will want to end the conversation. If 10 people call me during a day and they all take 30 minutes of my time, only to have 1 or 2 book the appointment, that is not good. So I was just explaining to you why you might have thought those guys were d)cks when in fact they just wanted to go on with their day. Detailers are often solo operators, so when you call, you are likelly interrupting a detail, so for us, every minute counts when we are on the phone.

Again, I was not assuming anything about you, just trying to make you understand what we deal with daily.

As for discounts, in the pro detailler community, the rule of thumb is that if someone is asking for discounts, these are the people most likelly to have issues and try to get even more discounts. So a lot of us are not interested in that clientele. Your millage may vary, you could find a good detailler willing to give them, but since good detaillers pretty much have to refuse work, why would we take a pay cut? Usually the people giving out discounts are the ones who can't find clients. Either because they are just starting out or because they don't have a good reputation. That's why you can find people willing to work for peanuts, doing details for 60$.

No I get it I work retail and I know most won’t pan out. When I went to get it done I was not versed as I am now and had not done enough research. I just planned on getting a ceramic coat and went to a guy who was referred to me. I basically was their to get price and set appointment. And yes I asked for a deal but not getting one wasn’t going to stop me. Pretty sure he knew I was serious. But just didn’t appreciate the attitude.

I totally understand how you feel from where most consumers come from. I’m just not that guy.


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