Hello from Northern Virginia

**Vjeszczi** · 08-01-2010, 01:42 PM

I have recently been bit by the bug and have now what I believe a decent base to see if this is something I may want to invest more money into. (IE a PC or Flex) Currently I am doing everything by hand and the cars I have done (Accord and Jetta) the owners have been thrilled with the results. Admittedly they were co workers, so they may have been humoring me. It has been taking me around 6-8 hours thus far to get a car done.

I am still working on the process and what I can do to speed things up. Right now I am doing exterior and interior work to the best of my ability with what I have.

Exterior:

Rinseless wash with ONR 2 bucket system
Wheels and wells with the Wolfgang tire care kit. This seems to be one of my bigger trouble spots as I am having difficulty getting the wheels as clean as I think they should be. Mainly brake dust residue in the corners of the wheels (Running out of wheel cleaner, have Sonax on the way)
Clay with Pinnacle Ultra Poly Clay and ONR clay lube
Finishing off with the Klasse Twins
Stoners Invisble Glass for windows/mirrors

The vehicles I am working on are people's daily drivers so I am not currently topping with any wax in lieu of the durability the Klasse twins afford.

Interior:

Vinelyx for interior trim, and door seals, don't particularly care for the result that this gives me. (Will be switching to APC which is on the way)
Lexol for leather interiors. (Will be trying APC for this as well when it arrives)
Trying to locate some Folex for carpets
I have a crazy large shop vac that I am using for vacuuming, sometimes getting an electric hookup is difficult. I have a Black and Decker hand vac that I use, but the battery doesn't last long enough.
Quick detailier with ONR for door, hood, and trunk jambs

All in all I have been having a good time with it, it's a lot of work, but I like seeing the way the cars look after I finish with them, and so far the smiles of the people that see their cars all shiny again. One guy actually giggled.

My biggest constraint from doing this more is that I have a full time job and a family. So taking 6-8 hours out of a weekend day to go detail a car may prove more than my wife is willing to put up with, we shall see.

If there are any other detailers in Northern Virginia, I would love to hear from you!

Oh I have a co worker with an H2 that I am trying to line up, if anyone has any tips for exceptionally large vehicles, please let me know.

Thanks for reading

**detail viking** · 08-02-2010, 04:15 AM

Welcome! U can find folex at Home Depot.

**ASPHALT ROCKET** · 08-02-2010, 05:08 AM

Welcome, from NOVA also.

**Meghan** · 08-02-2010, 07:08 AM

Weclome to the forum!

**twistedframe** · 08-02-2010, 09:37 PM

Welcome, NOVA here as well.

Mike Phillips · 08-12-2010, 02:25 PM

Welcome to Autogeek Online!

Originally Posted by Vjeszczi

Oh I have a co worker with an H2 that I am trying to line up, if anyone has any tips for exceptionally large vehicles, please let me know.

Thanks for reading

Two tips... make sure you charge enough for a behemoth like an H2 and read this,

A few tips on starting a part-time detailing business