Does anyone actually work professionally in a detail shop

[Wc3]

I'm interested in getting into the business, how did you guys get hired? Did you have experience already when applying or did you learn as you go?

[Jeff Wagner]

Go to Mike Phillips boot camp class and you will get what you need to get into the business. I took the class and yes i detail full time now. Best thing i ever did. I never owned a buffer before the class and check out what i have done in less than a year. I am only one of thousands in here who detail professionally.

https://www.facebook.com/ArtistryAutoDetailing

Artistry Auto Detailing (http://www.artistryautodetailing.com/artistry-auto-detailing.html)

[Don M]

I was always interested in keeping my cars clean, but I never had a clue what I was doing. While looking for a shop to rust-proof my Camaro, I happened upon a shop that did both rustproofing and detailing. I got started talking to the owner, who showed me the car he was currently working on. When I saw the results he was getting (using Meguiars compounds, polishes and waxes) I knew I wanted to learn how he did it. I began asking questions and he let me run his buffer over the hood of the car he was working on (he used GEM orbital buffers).

I learned the very basics from him, but 20 years later, I really accelerated my learning curve when the internet really kicked in and I picked up a PC. So after being on at least 3 different Internet forums and watching hours of videos from multiple sources - including that guy who is famous on YouTube for his How-To videos, I feel that I can probably better the results that my former boss gets (as long as I don't get impatient).

[conman1395]

I was on autogeek for two years and had plenty of experience on my own before I got hired almost two months ago. I submitted an application saying that what all I have experience with and then did an interview. Pretty much the same as other jobs I've had.

[Mike Phillips]

Go to Mike Phillips boot camp class and you will get what you need to get into the business. I took the class and yes i detail full time now.

Best thing i ever did.

I never owned a buffer before the class and check out what i have done in less than a year. I am only one of thousands in here who detail professionally.






Thanks for the kind words Jeff.... it was great having you here at our boat detailing class too....


Marine 31 Boat Detailing Class Pictures - April 18th, 2015 (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/marine-31-boat-detailing-classes/90968-marine-31-boat-detailing-class-pictures-april-18th-2015-a.html)


Here's Jeff.....

http://www.marine31online.com/gallery/data/531/Marine_31_Boat_Detailing_Class_020.jpg



:dblthumb2:

[Jeff Wagner]

Mike i had a blast at the boat detailing class. I am pretty much ready to polish and protect anything now. This weekends boot camp class marks the one year mark for me taking it. A few months after is when i made the career change and quit my job to detail full time. You have some amazing cool cars once again for the class. Have fun!

[Kengo123]

Getting a job in a detail shop should be no harder than getting a job at McDonald's. They are generally entry level jobs

[North26]

I began asking questions and he let me run his buffer over the hood of the car he was working on (he used GEM orbital buffers).

I find it strange that a professional detailer would use such a machine. When my father was younger, in the early 70s, he worked at a Ford dealership detailing. He has told me even they used to use a type of rotary.

Personally I couldn't detail a whole car without at least a PC and 3" backing plate as well. I would throw a fit if I was limited to a polisher that had a fixed 8" pad. :cry: Props to that guy!

I realize that single stage is easier to correct but did he achieve good results with the GEM?

[North26]

Getting a job in a detail shop should be no harder than getting a job at McDonald's. They are generally entry level jobs

True. Throughout H.S. I worked at several dealerships detailing. A RV place and a Cadillac dealership (I was part detailer/courtesy washer/lot attendant). The RV place was terrible. I was a part maid on the interiors and the exteriors all we did was wash and then apply literally watered down paint protection. I had a co-worker who was a salesman, he was putting himself through nursing school nice guy. Anyways the paint protection cost was $2000 and went up from there. I nearly had a heart attack. But they would sell 110+ brand new Tiffan Motorhomes a month so I guess they have that going for them.

At the Cadillac place it was marginally better. Mostly because I got to drive CTS-V's once a week. But the detailing there was economy class. You think that buying/leasing a $50,000+ car would entitle a good detail. But nope. New cars got a basic interior, wash and spray wax. For a paint correction it was a rotary and wool followed by some cheap wax. And don't get me started on courtesy washes...

[Loonysup]

At the Cadillac place it was marginally better. Mostly because I got to drive CTS-V's once a week. But the detailing there was economy class. You think that buying/leasing a $50,000+ car would entitle a good detail. But nope. New cars got a basic interior, wash and spray wax. For a paint correction it was a rotary and wool followed by some cheap wax. And don't get me started on courtesy washes...


I worked on the wash rack of a Cadillac dealership a couple summers when I was in college (my dad was the General Manager). The stuff that went on back there would make your skin crawl. Needless to say I never allow any dealership to wash my car.


David

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Don M]

I find it strange that a professional detailer would use such a machine. When my father was younger, in the early 70s, he worked at a Ford dealership detailing. He has told me even they used to use a type of rotary.

Personally I couldn't detail a whole car without at least a PC and 3" backing plate as well. I would throw a fit if I was limited to a polisher that had a fixed 8" pad. :cry: Props to that guy!

I realize that single stage is easier to correct but did he achieve good results with the GEM?


Yes, his shop is very successful with the middle/upper end clientele. He does a 5-step correction & seal that I would say is up to Auto Geek standards, with all but his compound being Meguiar's products. Swirls and scratches are nonexistent and the finish is near perfect and 90+ percent of his business is in newer / higher end cars and sports cars, although I have seen him take an abused car to new again more than once. It takes him and another detailer working on one car two days to complete a 5-step, so he's not blowing through anything in a hurry. I don't think he even has a rotary in the shop (he didn't when I was there).