Wish me luck

[Don M]

I'm of in a few minutes to detail the leather interiors of a Porsche Cayenne (tan) and Land Rover (brown). They are only a few years old, so let's hope they're in good condition (I'm ready if they're not, but it would be easier if they are).

I believe this is a test, I'm being judged on how well I do the interiors of the cars before I am given the go ahead for paint correction. I'm hoping to impress the owner's of the cars enough to get some good referrals.

[rms64]

Good luck!

Not sure how your customer will be able to "judge" your paint correction capabilities based on your interior work? Maybe offer to demonstrate a test spot for 'em?

Anyway, looking forward to results!

[70fastback]

When I read the title of your thread, I thought you were going to tell everyone you decided to break into the bottle of Turtle Wax your father bought...

Good luck on the interior!!!

[FUNX650]

Depending on your upcoming evaluation of the vehicles'
leather-appointments' condition: good/not so good;
(sounds like you "bid" a job sight unseen)...

What products have you chosen for these
vehicles' leather detailing-tasks? TIA.


Bob

[Ebg18t]

Good luck!

Not sure how your customer will be able to "judge" your paint correction capabilities based on your interior work? Maybe offer to demonstrate a test spot for 'em?

Anyway, looking forward to results!

I was thinking the same thing. How can an interior detail judge your paint correction skills?

[VP Mark]

If someone can't even do a decent job cleaning and protecting the interior of a nice vehicle, they probably have no idea how to work the expensive paint. I can see that point of view from a consumer.

[Ccrew]

I was thinking the same thing. How can an interior detail judge your paint correction skills?

If you don't get any leather dressing on the outside

[RPM_BR]

I would use Ultima Interior Guard Plus, and then explain the customer that I coated the leather instead of conditioning it. I would also carry on the explaining that leather nowadays are more like plastics and vinyl than leather the way we used to know, since there is a membrane on top of it that behaves more like a plastic/vinyl cover than leather, therefore you don't need a product that penetrates the leather like a conditioner, but a product that makes a protective barrier, like a sealant/coating.
I would also add that is easier to clean the stains, like a greasy pizza box or something from a drive thru.
The UIGP is a fantastic product. Since I coated my own car with it, I spill something in my own car's leather seats and clean it up effortessly in front of the customer.
It works every time for me, and the customer thinks I'm a knowledgeable detailer

[Don M]

Depending on your upcoming evaluation of the vehicles'
leather-appointments' condition: good/not so good;
(sounds like you "bid" a job sight unseen)...

What products have you chosen for these
vehicles' leather detailing-tasks? TIA.


Bob

I admit it, I did bid them sight unseen, but I gave him a price range from 'Good Condition' to 'Really bad Condition.' The Land Rover fell into the "Pretty Good Condition" and the Porsche was in "getting there, but I've seen worse condition."

Since money was an object in my selecting a product to use on the cars, I primarily used Mother's VLR Which I must say made quick work of the Land Rover's Dark Brown leather with just using MF towels as the applicator and removal tools. While it was an easy job, there was a LOT of real estate inside that SUV and it took me three hours (plus a bit) to make sure every inch of the leather was cleaned & treated. What little dirt I did pull out of the Rover was contained in a single MF towel. There wasn't a need to liberally apply the VLR so there wasn't much to wipe off which kept me from loading up multiple towels. It did however have more debris on the carpeting that needed swept up than the Porsche and of course there was the prerequisite toy car hidden under the seat. While working the interior of the Rover, I also had a chance to look at the paint (white) closely and it seemed to be in excellent condition - no swirling that I could see. Needless to say I was surprised, you could easily get away with using a one-step cleaner wax on this car and having it turn out great. I did the interior windows (it was sprinkling on me so I didn't do the exterior glass) and I was done with the Rover

Next up was the Porsche. It was a car of many contrasts. White paint and a tan interior, it seemed to be well taken care of. There was very little dirt/debris on the floors and dashboard, the windows were clean. Here comes the contrast part ... the leather seats and the carpet/floor mats were terribly dirty and stained. There was a lot of transfer staining primarily on the driver's seat and nearly as much on the front passenger seat. They had a child seat in the car and it was apparent that Jr. wasn't the most careful with his juice (or whatever) cup, as there were some pretty nasty stains on the rear seat. There was what looked like a teething cookie under the child seat, but it hit the trashcan like it was a rock, it might have been there a while. Although the Porsche was a smaller vehicle it took me at least a half hour longer to clean and treat the interior and 6 microfiber towels were soiled during the cleaning. For this car, I used a scrub pad to clean the stains off the leather & door handles ... everywhere that had built up grime, so all 6 towels were just from product and slurry removal. Needless to say, the Porsche took a lot more cleaner than did the Rover. For the center console of the Porsche, I used Meguiar's Quick Interior Detailer/Cleaner because while the VLR did a good job of cleaning, it left smears that wouldn't wipe off on highly polished surfaces like faux wood and smooth dark surfaces, so a quick spritz of the Megs and all was right with the world the console turned out clean with a subtle natural looking gloss. The interior glass was cleaned & polished and I was done. Amazingly, the paint on this car was also in excellent condition and IMO, doesn't need any more than a one-step cleaner/wax. The client seemed really happy that all of the staining (except for 1, one-inch juice stain) was removed. A few other people looked at the Porsche, and I got some approving looks and head nods, so I'm guessing that they were pleased with the results. They seemed like a nice group of people, they just didn't talk much and the client even gave me a nice COLD Dos Equis while I was working ... don't worry it was just one and I drank it SLOW, however I guzzled over 8 bottles of water during the detail, it was in the high 80s, low 90s in the sun and HUMID, so I was leaving DNA all over the place (I sweat like a pig)
I checked my blood sugar when I got home and it was 107, the lowest I've ever seen it be (I was smart and ate and brought some orange juice for about midpoint in the detail so I wouldn't crash).

All in all, a nice experience and did I mention the house and neighborhood?!? Gorgeous. An awesome view, a 4+ car garage WIDE driveway with a turn around. His garage was almost bigger than my house.

Sorry no pics, but the camera wouldn't have shown any difference on the Land Rover and the Porsche was done inside the garage where there wasn't enough light for pics. That and I still don't have a camera that will talk to my computer.

[Ebg18t]

Sounds like you did an awesome job.

Did they book the exterior details yet?