How to decide on what to charge for Oxidation removal?

[PAB DETAIL]

First of all I would like to say I really like this forum. Bunch of great info & product info.

I was wondering though....How does everyone decide on what to charge for oxidation removal? Do you charge by the ft etc. ? I have my first real big oxidation removal project on a 24' ft boat & just dont really know where to start as far as what to charge him. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

-J

[ScubaCougr]

Most suggest you multiply the estimated time to do the job by your desired hourly rate, plus some for supplies used.

[OCDetails]

For boats I charge by the foot. I'd say about $14 a foot is a fair deal. And gel coat is a little different than paint, so be prepared for that if you haven't dealt with it before. There is a a lot of other surfaces on a boat to deal with too, but if you are just doing an exterior detail then I would charge somewhere within the $10 to $15 per foot range.

[Perfections]

15-25 a ft for severe oxidation removal, 15 a ft for a one step then sealant

[V3AutoDetailing]

I start boats at $15 a foot. But also look at how tall it is. Best way is estimate a time x by what you want to make an hour + supplies.

[RaskyR1]

Oxidation removal on boats sucks IMO and gel coat never seem to buff out as well as automotive paint. I would charge a flat hourly rate if I were you. Keep in mind you'll probably have to do two or more polishing steps depending on how bad it is.

[jbgrant]

Prepare for some extensive time with a rotary and large (~8-10") very high quality wool pad. An aggressive cut compound followed by a light-moderate cut should leave a near-perfect finish even with wool. I just completed a 21.5' 8.5' beam fiberglass that needed moderate oxidation removal and it took about 7 hours of compounding. This did not include the lower 1/3 of the haul which would have been back-breaking. I did the detail work with a 5 and 6" wool on DA, and a 10amp rotary with a large, layered 9 or 10" wool pad for the haul. Came out beautifully. Sealed it with a durable marine sealant in about 3 hours... So happy it's done.

[master detailer]

if itsbad frist wet sand it with 1000 grit .Then buff it. will come out like new and you will not have to work so hard at getting it wright.I do over 100 boats a year in cape coral fl.I charge 20.. a foot and charge 150.00 to 200.00 to wet sand it. will take you about 6 hrs to wet sand it and about 10 to 12 hrs to buff.But it will be like new and last a long time if you put sealer on it after you buff.if you dont wet sand it you will be taking the change of burning the gel coat to get it wright .

[PAB DETAIL]

Thank you all for the quick responses! Im going to take all of this great info & come up with a plan on how much to charge. Ive told several customers before about how much I would charge & I told them right around what all of you have said & they about flipped a lid. I dont think a lot of people know or understand what all oxidation removal involves. Ive done some wet sanding before & that was a very long process but the results were great. Living in the Austin area there isnt very many people that want to pay top dollar for a good detail job. A lot of them want a good detail done at a cheap price & it just doesnt work that away.

Anyways thanks again guys for the feedback & you will definetly see me more on this forum!