How much to charge to buff this car?

[I Shine]

I'd you are doing a paint correction meaning multiple steps, I wouldn't charge any less than $500. You are looking at 8-10 hours worth of work there just on the outside alone.

That may sound like alot but when you really get down to figuring out what to charge, it comes down to how much you are worth. I don't care if you aren't insured or not, time is something that can't be replaced and if you are doing quality work and have references to back you it then charge professional pricing.

I am currently not insured but will be by march and I don't cut any slack on pricing. The way I see it is that they are getting a completely professional job the same as someone that is insured and I am spending MY weekend doing it that takes away from my time with my wife and daughter. My time is expensive but my work warrants it. If someone wants the works but doesn't want to pay for it, I send them down the road. Friend or no friend, doesn't matter. Family is different though.

Bottom line, what's your time and work worth?

I totally agree with everything you said but do you get a little nervous working without insurance? I'm starting a detailing business. Up until now I have only detailed family, friends, and my own vehicles. So I haven't been charging much. I do good work but I need to increase my speed.

I'm planning to take pictures to document my skills in hopes of getting new customers. I don't plan on getting insurance right away because I won't be making enough money to justify it at this time. I have a full time job that pays the bills so this is not a make or break venture.

What do you tell customers when they ask about insurance, if they ask at all? I know I will be a little paranoid about accidents that might happen. Like something falling in my garage and leaving a deep scratch.

For now if a mishap was to occur I would pay for the repair out of my own pocket. I don't want to get a bad reputation before I have a chance to get a good one.


Thanks

[jimmyjam]

When estimating the price for your work, as a rule of thumb I'd use between $20 and $25 per hour. It's really up to you what you end up charging however to do a full paint correction and exterior detail plan on spending 6 to 7 hours. If you decide to tackle the interior then add another 2 hours.

[Crazy Amos]

Thanks for the input guys, I really am going to have to go up on my prices. Let me ask you this, I have had several people with daily drivers inquire about buff jobs. most of these have swirls and more all in the paint. These people dont want a 3 step buff job or even a 2 step. They want cheap. What product pad combo would you recommend I use on these daily drivers where the owners just want a cheap buff job to shine it up. I really dont like doing these, because Im never satisfied with the work, but Im going to have to in order to get my name out there. Thanks again

Typically on non oxidized paint I use a white LC pad and an AIO with no fillers that I get from my local detail supplier. It's cheap and they cut me a pretty good break because I have been getting odds and ends from them for awhile.

On oxidized paint I will hit it with the same AIO with an orange LC pad the follow with a white pad.

Pad selection will change though with the different paints you will encounter but most of the time you can get away with the ones I mentioned.

My dad is selling an old dodge van that is heavily oxidized and single stage paint. The first 10 years it was in the family it was waxed and buffed and taken care of but then it got old and he stopped waxing it. The paint is REALLY thin now-I should have used an orange pad to start and follow with a white but I chose to just go with a white and a heavier AIO. Too much surface to cover and we don't really care about it-just want it to have shine. Plus the paint is too thin and very very soft.

I will post some pics when I am done-but it still looks looks like crap. You can see the light spots with the thin paint-it kind looks like a leopard in spots.

[Crazy Amos]

I totally agree with everything you said but do you get a little nervous working without insurance? I'm starting a detailing business. Up until now I have only detailed family, friends, and my own vehicles. So I haven't been charging much. I do good work but I need to increase my speed.

I'm planning to take pictures to document my skills in hopes of getting new customers. I don't plan on getting insurance right away because I won't be making enough money to justify it at this time. I have a full time job that pays the bills so this is not a make or break venture.

What do you tell customers when they ask about insurance, if they ask at all? I know I will be a little paranoid about accidents that might happen. Like something falling in my garage and leaving a deep scratch.

For now if a mishap was to occur I would pay for the repair out of my own pocket. I don't want to get a bad reputation before I have a chance to get a good one.


Thanks

Yep, I do get nervous sometimes but I just take extra precautions and think before I do anything. Try not to leave anything for chance and use extra tape in close corners.

If they ask if I am insured, I tell them no and reassure their car is in good hands. I also let them know if anything were to happen, it would be covered and I would pay for it out of pocket.

Just take your time and use extra precautions. It will take longer but is worth it.

[bodavenport]

Megs UC on a white LC pad or a orange pad is a good one step for light colors heavily swirled, Megs D-151 is also a good one step regardless of color

[Spicy McHaggis]

I totally agree with everything you said but do you get a little nervous working without insurance? I'm starting a detailing business. Up until now I have only detailed family, friends, and my own vehicles. So I haven't been charging much. I do good work but I need to increase my speed.

I'm planning to take pictures to document my skills in hopes of getting new customers. I don't plan on getting insurance right away because I won't be making enough money to justify it at this time. I have a full time job that pays the bills so this is not a make or break venture.

What do you tell customers when they ask about insurance, if they ask at all? I know I will be a little paranoid about accidents that might happen. Like something falling in my garage and leaving a deep scratch.

For now if a mishap was to occur I would pay for the repair out of my own pocket. I don't want to get a bad reputation before I have a chance to get a good one.


Thanks

I have never carried insurance for the 4 years that I have had a legitimate business. I don't drive the customer's cars, so I know I'm not doing to crash them, so the worst thing that could happen is me burning through the paint if I decide to try and do something stupid. In 4 years I have never burned through the paint or caused any sort of damage to any car. The way I look at it, if I had insurance for those four years I would have spent 3k to 5k for no reason. If for some reason I do cause damage and a panel needs to be repainted, I know for a fact it won't cost anywhere near what I would have paid for insurance. In my opinion insurance is not necessary if you don't drive the cars. I'd rather pay out of pocket when a mistake happens.

As for the original question...If the customer wants a fully corrected vehicle they have to give me as much time as I need, and I tell them that up front. On full correction jobs, I never quote a price until I'm done. That way I don't get burned if I quote a lower price and it ends up taking a ton of time because that particular vehicle has super hard clear or something. I give the customer an estimate and tell them that it could go up or down significantly depending on how long it actually takes. I have never had a customer not like this way of doing things. In fact there have been several times that it actually ends up taking me less time and the customer gets a lower bill. But you have to know you are worth what you are charging. Also I don't know what you all are doing, but 8-10 hours is nowhere near enough time, at least for me, to get around that car doing a three step correction. I would quote at least 20 hours for a full three step correction on that car. But thats just me.

As far as a one step it always depends on that specific vehicle you are working on. I have had success with many combos including: PowerFinish on a Orange Pad, M205 on a green uber pad, 106FA on a yellow pad. It just all depends on how that paint responds to the combo. Hell I've done a Honda civic that was super swirled and got 95% correction with PO85RD on a green uber pad. That paint was SUPER Soft and easy to correct.

[Mike Phillips]

I'd you are doing a paint correction meaning multiple steps, I wouldn't charge any less than $500. You are looking at 8-10 hours worth of work there just on the outside alone.

I agree.

The pictures showing the condition of the paint on this Camaro make it look horrendous...

Undoing all the damage will be time-consuming and the process of taking the paint from horrendous to a show car finish is an art form that you should charge for.

The owner of the car also needs to be educated on how to "touch" the paint into the future or they'll just undo all your hard work.

In fact, if the owner is just going to take the car to a car wash after you've corrected the paint then just clay it and use a cleaner/wax and charge less and explain to the owner why.

This is why I always teach people to first evaluate the customer and then the car. Find out what their expectations are? Believe it or not, some people think that if they pay big bucks for a professional show car detail that somehow the paint will stay in great shape no matter how they treat it because of the money they paid for the detail work and that's simply not true.

Modern clear coats are scratch-sensitive, they scratch easily and removing the scratches can be difficult and time consuming. Most "Customers" don't know or understand this, your job is to in part explain this to them or they'll simply swirl the car out and blame you.


See this article, the portion about matching your services to your customer. Doesn't matter if you're not new to detailing, the tips apply to all of us no matter how many years we've been detailing and that is to first, evaluate your customer and then match your services to your clients needs.

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business

[Mike Phillips]

Check this out too....

Camaro Clear and my take...

[DaVinciAutoSpa]

Mike had posted before about a friend of his who does 'test spots' as a way to upcharge. I use this a lot.

Most common folks have no clue as to how we accomplish what we do. They don't understand what '2-step' or 'AIO' means. You have to educate them. But to us, this is how we, at least me, decide what to charge.

I had a lady debate about whether she should have her water spots removed. So I did a 'test spot' on the quarter panel, and boom, gone.
She watched me do this. It took a few minutes but she was able to understand how long it would take me to complete the entire car.

Yes I detailed her car. Turned out great.

As for insurance, I didn't have it starting out. I was extra careful, esp. doing engine details. It was always on the back of my mind. now it's just a precaution to have it. When asked, I was honest. People appreciate that.

Good luck.

[Bates Detailing]

Great thread - my prices are about to rise a great deal! I was charging anywhere from 150 to 200 for a 3 step exterior, thinking that was about right.... estimated 8 hours (always takes longer though lol) making it in and around the low 20's an hour. It always seemed like a guaranteed day of work with a descent paycheck for the day. But now I have been making anywhere from 300 to 600 a day when I get a bus to "detail" - they aren't nearly as picky - just want to go from dull to shine. After this thread and knowing what I can make with less stress - I do think I will start tossing out the 300 to 500 dollar price tag. This thread has pushed me to finally make that decision - thanx guys!