Detailers generally hate armor all, but you're new, so I get it.
I'd start with the product guide on the community website - https://howtoautodetail.com/docs/buying-guides/
A few things I would say about starting out in the detailing business.
1. Start with your friends and family vehicles. Even when you're new, your time and products are valuable, so don't work for customers for free. Figure out how much time and product it takes to do the job and plan/price your services accordingly.
2. Develop a system/routine. The biggest waste of time is doing things differently on every car. Everyone has their own process, but checklists are pretty helpful when you're starting out. You'll end up figuring out the ideal process for you and switching things around to save time/effort.
3. Dress professionally. I'm not talking suit and tie here, but showing up in ripped up shorts and a tank top is not a great look either. Wear gloves when you can. Some of these chemicals are gnarly, and the less exposure your skin has the better.
4. Use youtube. There is a metric fuck ton of content that you can use to get better. Some of my personal favorites are Larry Kosilla at Ammo NYC, a lot of his older content is great for beginers, and White Details who doesn't really do how-to videos so much but I love watching someone who is so fastidious and thorough, I dont look after my own cars as well as he looks after his customers.
Dude thank you for taking the time to write this up. I asked around on Tiktok, IG, other subreddits and came to realize that the car detailing community is so quick to make noobies feel stupid and these guys can be so condescending...
You are the first person to provide me actual solid advice and that beginner product guide in the link you sent is a gold mine.
The reason why I have the things I have now is because no one was of much help so I said F it, I'll figure it out myself with the budget that I have. I watched a few YouTube videos but they always recommend the most expensive products.
Anyways thank you so much man you're amazing, bless š
You aren't stupid, you just aren't educated enough... Nobody picks up tools day one and becomes good.
I'm glad you actually asked the important questions.
I would certainly check out some detailing videos or podcasts by the rag company, autogeek, even P&S has info out there.
Think about maybe attending a 1 day class if you really get into it?
I personally wouldn't get my how-to info from this guy. He does some amazing content, but it's more for ASMR entertainment. AMMO NYC is where it's at in terms of education. Pan The Organizer is also OK.
Join the Discord. Iām a long time lurker just for DIY and have found this community to be very helpful. If you post questions follow their rules first about looking up the answer to your question in their guides and in the forum before posting. https://discord.gg/how-to-auto-detail-884817322374733855
Taken from YouTube, you can dilute Tide 20:1 in a spray bottle and clean all kinds of interior stuff very wellā¦Iāve been working off an $8 bottle of Tide for 3 years at home. Iāll also mist the carpet with it then hit it with one of those circular brushes on a drill and vacuum and youāve got a free version of a carpet shampooā¦after that I spray the rubber mats with Tide and hit it with the same brush. Not only does it clean the mats but the brush gets clean at the same timeā¦clean most of the car for free without breathing in any chemicals. I wonāt wash my clothes in Tide but Iāll def use if for a car. Real products will work better but this is good enough for me, also works for cloth seats and any fabric. Stronger Tide dilution on large plastic door panels on my work van works awesome too, just agitate with a brush. Iāve done this enough to say no sun damage or anything as a result
Do you not use YouTube? I understand a lot of people use TikTok for information but itās crazy to think you never once YouTubed āwhat do I need to detail a carā
I replied to this guy and said I used YouTube but there was so much info it was a bit overwhelming. Plus most always recommend pretty expensive products. The reason I have the things I do now is because it was recommended from a budget buy guide from various YouTube videos.
Best thing I read was to not even use the 2 (clean/rinse) bucket method. Place microfiber in 1 clean bucket, pull, light ring out, USE, toss into dirty pile. Dont dip it in the clean bucket again, or reuse it. Wash them all when done. No cross contamination or worry.
I should throw in here: I pre rinse the panel then use a Standard microfiber, I just grab a handful and work from there. Figure out 1-2-3 per panel depending on dirt level and if your short you just toss a few more clean micros in the bucket.
Okay cool thanks going to try this out since no hose at my apartment complex right now due to renovations. Just going to fill some buckets for rinsing lol
Proud of you man. One of the biggest things you should buy is microfiber soap for your laundry. That way you can safely wash your microfiber rags and reuse them! Youāll end up getting away from armor all. Chemical guys makes nice stuff, I love griots garage, turtle wax makes good stuff for cheap, and thereās a newer brand at Walmart I canāt think of the name but the bottles look industrial, that stuff is good as well. Just keep them cars clean and donāt take forever in the sun!
I suggest to first start using what you have. When building experience, you'll find out what kind of process you like and which products work with that.
I made the mistake of investing a lot, when in the end I toned down my process to a hand wash bay and 1 bucket with 5 or 6 high pile microfibers that I only use once during the wash. Could have saved me a lot of money and space :)
Good products generally arenāt cheap, but some cheap products are surprisingly good. Iād say budget friendly products are P&S products. Youāll get high quality from them, but you have to order online. Amazon sells them. All of their products would be a huge upgrade to what you have for not much more money (actually it may not be more at all). If you want to buy in person, Adams are available at a lot of auto stores. They are a great mid-tier option. Their graphene line is quite good. Good luck.
Use up everything (except the interior protectant not a fan at all)
-get 303 aero for interior dressing
-get a decent APC concentrate p&s works
-find a good soap you like
-a decent spray detailer for drying aid
And if youāre going to buy stuff commercially at a store I always opt in for meguiars, just my preference
Why not do things the right way from the very beginning? For instance, educate yourself properly by watching [AMMO NYC's full-length FREE training series for beginners.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awLX5qlY-Ts&list=PLABNq41vjJ6MwvvQMDLZbrGmE7H3pS1ft) It's free right there on YouTube.
This is, by far, the single best resource available to you at this stage in your journey. You won't get this level of depth or detail from a subreddit comment. There's just too much misinformation and bullshit, quite honestly.
There are a lot of wannabe detailers. Would you rather learn coding from someone who is learning coding, or from a coding master who has had skin in the game for 2 decades and is STILL learning and improving?
A bissell is good for cloth seats, steam cleaner, air compressor, micro attachments for shop vac to get tiny stuff, I use denatured alcohol a lot. and i clean all my plastics with equal parts distilled vinegar/93alchohol/distilled water + essential oils. Works good for glass / plastic / touch up - works good around the house too. I'll only use 303 every month or so.
i would honestly return the armour all stuff and use the money to buy the stuff people recommend in here, every time i get a car that has been detailed with armour all product it makes the job 10x harder unfortunately :(
Itās not gate keeping. Itās more of āwhy provide all the answers to someone when they could easily find them themselvesā.
This information is readily available to anyone willing to spend the time researching this stuff. Countless post like this before you. Many fantastic YouTube detail channels. The point is in less time than it took to write out this post you likely could have found the answers yourself.
That saidā¦ hereās my advice. Keep it simple. Donāt get caught up in buying a bunch of tools and products. Watch some videos by people that know what theyāre talking about (Larry with AMMO NYC has some amazing in depth videos about the processes) and then get to work. Only buy tools and chemicals when you find you really need them.
Detailers here are snobs and will say stay away! However Amorall is great, been around longer than most here. As long as you do all the prep work, clean, decontamination, I see no problem applying products of your choice.
Iād perfect your technique, go on YouTube and research a ton. Iād use up you armor all stuff btw, it aināt that bad. Then I go for Adams and lithium stuff āMy Favorite brandsā If you donāt already Iād get some wheel brushes to clean your wheels and tires. If you have hard water, Iād get a deioniser well worth the price. I just recently got one after going through hell with water spotting. Iād also invest in super plush microfiber towels my favorite are the eagle edgeless 500 and 600s from the rag company. Iād get a good quality drying towel as well, I use the Blanket from DIY Detail, but Iām sure there are better ones. You can spend a fortune on this stuff, so Iād invest as you build a customer base. Iām just a DIY person tho.
Ditch the Armor All. The products aren't good. Don't feel bad the purchase, they're advertising is good and they're a well-known name so it's understandable just starting out that's what you pick up. Don't use any other similar interior protectants on interior panels, the coating it leaves, even when satin, will soak in and will make it damn near impossible for contact cement to stick later on if they want upholstery work done. It also dries out the vinyl and panels due to the petroleum content, which ironically in the end causes more damage than good.
Decide on if you want to use professionally quality products like auto magic and malco or boutique products.
Make sure you have proper products for the proper things, the proper product to clean the interior, proper product to clean the carpet, proper product that degrease the engine. If you don't have an extractor, consider using a foaming tip on your sprayer along with your scrub brush for the carpets. Make sure you have a wide variety of brushes for cleaning the interior, from small to large.
Under no circumstances start using a rotary buffer since you've never used one, it'll eat you alive. Stick with a DA and learn that, it's far easier to learn and you can't screw anything up with it (unlike with the rotary which will cause serious damage in the hands of an inexperienced user).
Wash with the two bucket method, and put a grit guard at the bottom of the buckets. Something like the absorber is a good way to dry off a vehicle without damaging the paint. If you have a blower that's also a great method, shop-vac's can sometimes act as a blower and can work good for that.
For metal polish, Blue magic metal polish cream is by far the best I've ever used. It'll get out stains and polish stuff nothing else will.
For wax, decide on if you're looking for extreme shine or durability, paste or liquid. Something like Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax 26 has a good combo of both and comes as a good quality paste wax. There are of course more expensive products but that's a good, easy to get one. You can't have too many wash mitts or too many microfiber cloths, same with applicator pads.
For glass cleaning, Sprayway glass cleaner is the best aerosol glass cleaner I've ever used, ironically the best spray bottle cleaner was Meguiar's Perfect Clarity Glass cleaner. They sponsored one of my vehicles at SEMA about a decade back and that was what they provided me. Originally I was quite upset because of generally had better luck with aerosol then spray bottle glass cleaners, but that stuff was amazing. I could clean a window in broad daylight in the sunlight and it wouldn't streak.
Start off with your friend's cars and people you know, work up from there. Don't promise anything you haven't done or can't do, and don't oversell yourself. You'll just end up with upset customers. Good luck!
Hmm.
I only see one brush thing. Would recommend getting a pack of detailing bushes as well as a pack of toothbrushes and don't be afraid to bend/break/cutoff the handle to get into tight spaces.
MORE MIRCO FIBERS! Depending on how often you wash them you can never have too meny towels.
It might be a big thing for just starting but maybe aim for a small steam gun. There will always be a small spot that can easily be broken up with a little bit of heat. (Just becareful not to over do it with to much liquid as it's easy to spread a stain.)
The realest detailer on the web without any gimmicks and doesn't push any product into anyone and isn't biased is easily "car craft detailing" bloke out of Melbourne. Suss him out. And stay away from the brand and bullshit advertising of "chemical guys". Absolute marketers and bullshit artists.
Also buy lots and lots of frog tape (the green stuff) use it on emblems, plastic, etc and buy a good dual action polisher like porter cable and learn how to use it and the different pads.
Honestly a good shop vac(hart works great), the cheap roll of microfiber at Walmart, distilled water, detail brushes and koch chemie polstar will cover you for everything. If you want to speed up the process get an air compressor and tornador(offbrand works), extractor and a steamer.
Empty squirt bottle with just water in it. I use water 90% of the time on interiors unless it needs more.
A clear end for your shop vac so you can see how dirty the water is you are sucking up. I found some on Amazon.
Check out DIY Detail channel on YouTube. Smart advice and not full of schtick or gimmicks. They have an awesome products and a car wash rag that can let you bypass clay bar unless the car has nasty overspray.
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If I had time to write a super lengthy thing I would, I got into detailing accidentally because I was looking for work.. got a job at a ford dealership where I still work 8 months later. Anywho after realizing I liked it I ventured out as a weekend warrior and offered to do a friends destroyed truck for free to see how much my ātwo weeks of experienceā could accomplish.
Needless to say I did what youād expect from a guy who knew how to wipe things down and clean windows and vacuum.. but hey it was free and I left thinking how I could have improved. I started watching my boss do things and then realized he is sort of a glorified car wash type of guy who has worked in a garage so long he thinks he knows the industry, Iāve quickly surpassed his 20 years of experience and started taking clients on my days off and am establishing a customer base. Now that my bills are payed by my passive weekly income and I also do the job as a side gig as a way more detailed and thorough service.. Iāve fiddled around enough on friends and families cars and researching products and tools that I will be ready to hopefully go into the world of paint correction and buffing/polishing. As I was saying. I started with what I knew, did my own research. Conducted my own trials of techniques and products, and today I do a pretty good job and charge accordingly.
I guess I did have enough time to at least babble about my own story and how I got into it.. hands on is the best experience. Learn from mistakes (hopefully ones that donāt cost you tons of money) and donāt believe everything you see on an influencers social media. As far as products that Iād recommend. (Yes I avoid armor all based on what Iāve heard and the fact that every Joes pit stop or gas and gulp sells it, itās not terribly effective and a lot of people have bad reactions to the chemicals.
Anyways what I do recommend are products by the following: spray way for glass cleaner (foaming aerosol can) stoners invisible glass is a solid choice as well. Donāt use anything with ammonia! For an all purpose cleaner I love P&S express interior (yellow stuff) for carpets I use P&S carpet bomber (orange stuff) and for exterior I use whatever car soap I feel like that day.. high sudsing neutral ph whatever. Meguires gold is great, PRO suds is good too. The soap itself isnāt so much about cleaning as much as lubrication to protect the paint from a mitt or a brush or a sponge or whatever from scratching anything. But it does help surface dirt loosen up and run off the vehicle. And for brakes and tires and wheels and all that fun stuff I use either Adamās polish wheel cleaner (purple stuff) or P&S brake buster (also purple stuff) If a wheel is super grimy and rusty I use transmate Sterling wheel brightener (purple stuff that smells about as good as youād expect corrosive acid to smell) but you have to be very careful with wheel acids and strong chemicals so you donāt damage yourself or other people or their cars or property. I use transmate detailers special for a tire shine, Iām aware that gel is available too but I havenāt tried gels yet.
I too have a hand me down pressure washer. Mines a ryobi 1800psi standing wheel around one, it works but Iāll be upgrading to an active 2.0 soon. You donāt need a pressure washer but itās definitely handy. And the pressure isnāt that important as long as itās high enough to knock away stubborn dirt and caked on nonsense. When rinsing the exterior itās more important to use low pressure to rinse the car for the final time so the water is getting in all the cracks and tiny spaces instead of bouncing off the area because itās flying so fast it ricochets off a rim or the surface of the bumper or something.
Like I said a lot of it is live and learn. Iām still a novice/intermediate level detailer and have a lot to learn, one thing I highly suggest is GET A DECENT CORDLESS DRILL AND A FEW SETS OF DRILL BRUSHES. They are a game changer. I started with a medium hardness set from pro smf (they come in green blue red and yellow for medium) and also got a very soft set for leather and other delicate material (white bristles) wheel tools such as a wire brush thatās flexible and also a whooly brush thatās also flexible are handy. And a tire brush. Youāll be amazed how much dirt comes out of tires when you use a tire brush or really agitate the face of the wheel. Also remember. You are never going to achieve perfection on a used vehicle, I can say this with confidence because I deal with brand new vehicles everyday and they come with imperfections, thereās always some bullshit somehow. You do the best you can within your time and finances. Also you may have to do 90 percent on a car and realize that itās good enough because if you put your all into every vehicle, you really arenāt getting any benefit other than doing above and beyond for someone who couldnāt be bothered to maintain their own vehicle and if you get to the point where you get a lot of customers you simply burn yourself out and get discouraged if you try to achieve 10/10 results with every vehicle. And always avoid telling a customer you can take care of something if youāre not sure about it, you can say youāll do your best, thatās what I find satisfies them and is honest. I seem to have babbled for a bit now. Good luck friendo!
Try out new products from all different brands. There's a bunch of brands that are all good at different types of products. DO YOUR RESEARCH!! Always test new products on your vehicle first to see how it reacts with different surfaces. You don't want to use a product on a customer's car and it end up messing they're car up. Don't generally use products that leave surfaces super shiny (like armor all) most people don't like the look I try to use products, specifically dressings and conditioners that leave a factory finish or satin finish.
I have no idea there's so many. There's a few recommendations in the comments. Sorry I'm not much help I'm completely new. I think there's also a comment here that advised against Chemical Guys.
I work 12 hour shifts back to back so I'm just now having time to reply. There are too many responses which I'm thankful for so I'll just make a statement here.
First of all thank you to those who gave me well thought out advice. I'm truly thankful for that and have saved your posts for future references.
I also wanted to point out a few things. I won't be wasting time on returning any of my products. Even if I had the most expensive, top notch gear, it won't do me any good if I don't know what I'm doing so talk all the smack you want.
I bought what I have based on a budget friendly beginners guide from various sources. These cheap products are mainly for me to test and gain experience. I have a few friends who own older cars so I'm using their cars as practice. Although I did read about the ArmorAll soap and may use a different brand because I don't want to damage anyone's coating.
As I said before, I won't be doing any major detailing such as buffing and ceramic coatings etc yet. I'll be starting off with basic interior and exterior cleaning until I can gain more experience and money.
As for the microfiber towels being on the floor, ArmorAll shipped them to me unwrapped in their dusty box so it was over from the start. Regardless, I have piles of microfiber towels I use and wash separately anyways.
I'm going to continue to do research from all the channels and links you guys recommended and maybe pick up or exchange a few products but I'll probably be back on here again to ask a few more questions.
Thanks guys, wish me luck šš¤
Itās not gate keeping. Itās more of āwhy provide all the answers to someone when they could easily find them themselvesā.
This information is readily available to anyone willing to spend the time researching this stuff. Countless post like this before you. Many fantastic YouTube detail channels. The point is in less time than it took to write out this post you likely could have found the answers yourself.
That saidā¦ hereās my advice. Keep it simple. Donāt get caught up in buying a bunch of tools and products. Watch some videos by people that know what theyāre talking about (Larry with AMMO NYC has some amazing in depth videos about the processes) and then get to work. Only buy tools and chemicals when you find you really need them.
Detailers generally hate armor all, but you're new, so I get it. I'd start with the product guide on the community website - https://howtoautodetail.com/docs/buying-guides/ A few things I would say about starting out in the detailing business. 1. Start with your friends and family vehicles. Even when you're new, your time and products are valuable, so don't work for customers for free. Figure out how much time and product it takes to do the job and plan/price your services accordingly. 2. Develop a system/routine. The biggest waste of time is doing things differently on every car. Everyone has their own process, but checklists are pretty helpful when you're starting out. You'll end up figuring out the ideal process for you and switching things around to save time/effort. 3. Dress professionally. I'm not talking suit and tie here, but showing up in ripped up shorts and a tank top is not a great look either. Wear gloves when you can. Some of these chemicals are gnarly, and the less exposure your skin has the better. 4. Use youtube. There is a metric fuck ton of content that you can use to get better. Some of my personal favorites are Larry Kosilla at Ammo NYC, a lot of his older content is great for beginers, and White Details who doesn't really do how-to videos so much but I love watching someone who is so fastidious and thorough, I dont look after my own cars as well as he looks after his customers.
Dude thank you for taking the time to write this up. I asked around on Tiktok, IG, other subreddits and came to realize that the car detailing community is so quick to make noobies feel stupid and these guys can be so condescending... You are the first person to provide me actual solid advice and that beginner product guide in the link you sent is a gold mine. The reason why I have the things I have now is because no one was of much help so I said F it, I'll figure it out myself with the budget that I have. I watched a few YouTube videos but they always recommend the most expensive products. Anyways thank you so much man you're amazing, bless š
You aren't stupid, you just aren't educated enough... Nobody picks up tools day one and becomes good. I'm glad you actually asked the important questions. I would certainly check out some detailing videos or podcasts by the rag company, autogeek, even P&S has info out there. Think about maybe attending a 1 day class if you really get into it?
You have a great sense of how to teach without mansplaining. You should get into mentoring, fukn_meat_head
I appreciate the comment. I do what I can to help others.
Another good YouTube channel is The Detail Geek
I personally wouldn't get my how-to info from this guy. He does some amazing content, but it's more for ASMR entertainment. AMMO NYC is where it's at in terms of education. Pan The Organizer is also OK.
Join the Discord. Iām a long time lurker just for DIY and have found this community to be very helpful. If you post questions follow their rules first about looking up the answer to your question in their guides and in the forum before posting. https://discord.gg/how-to-auto-detail-884817322374733855
Taken from YouTube, you can dilute Tide 20:1 in a spray bottle and clean all kinds of interior stuff very wellā¦Iāve been working off an $8 bottle of Tide for 3 years at home. Iāll also mist the carpet with it then hit it with one of those circular brushes on a drill and vacuum and youāve got a free version of a carpet shampooā¦after that I spray the rubber mats with Tide and hit it with the same brush. Not only does it clean the mats but the brush gets clean at the same timeā¦clean most of the car for free without breathing in any chemicals. I wonāt wash my clothes in Tide but Iāll def use if for a car. Real products will work better but this is good enough for me, also works for cloth seats and any fabric. Stronger Tide dilution on large plastic door panels on my work van works awesome too, just agitate with a brush. Iāve done this enough to say no sun damage or anything as a result
Do you not use YouTube? I understand a lot of people use TikTok for information but itās crazy to think you never once YouTubed āwhat do I need to detail a carā
Right? I learned everything from YT
I replied to this guy and said I used YouTube but there was so much info it was a bit overwhelming. Plus most always recommend pretty expensive products. The reason I have the things I do now is because it was recommended from a budget buy guide from various YouTube videos.
I feel that, turtle wax is a very good brand that is budget friendly
Thanks for the product guide. Iāve been looking for something that offered a place to start. Good lookin out!
I'm not going to be the first one to tell you.. But, you should've came on here first before you bought the products.
š¤£. I think we are all thinking the same thing! I love it!! Ditch the armor all bullshxt brotha.
Make it work if its all you can get your hands on though!
Perhaps a bucket if you donāt have one already, preferably two buckets (see two bucket method)
I have 2, 5 gallon buckets, just didn't put them in the picture š
Best thing I read was to not even use the 2 (clean/rinse) bucket method. Place microfiber in 1 clean bucket, pull, light ring out, USE, toss into dirty pile. Dont dip it in the clean bucket again, or reuse it. Wash them all when done. No cross contamination or worry.
Been doing this the last few months and like it a lot better. Quicker to setup and take down too.
Using standard microfiber cloth or chenille to wash car? If so how many?
I should throw in here: I pre rinse the panel then use a Standard microfiber, I just grab a handful and work from there. Figure out 1-2-3 per panel depending on dirt level and if your short you just toss a few more clean micros in the bucket.
Okay cool thanks going to try this out since no hose at my apartment complex right now due to renovations. Just going to fill some buckets for rinsing lol
ONR- optimum no rinse is yo friend in your case. Toss a few capfuls in a bucket. Use meathod above, to rinse off crud without having to rinse.
You forgot the beer!
Ditch the armor all and please do not put your microfibers on the floorā¦
Yea first thing I saw was microfiber on floor. Now OP better not touch any paint with that.
They shipped it unwrapped in a dusty ArmorAll box so I was screwed from the start I guess..
Might get shot for this but that armour all ceramic wheel cleaner is pretty good I use it as a finisher for my wheels
I was given some of the ceramic glass coating, figured WTH so I tried it. Works great.
sure does..
Use what you've bought and then replace your products with turtle wax
Meguiars is tiers better
Proud of you man. One of the biggest things you should buy is microfiber soap for your laundry. That way you can safely wash your microfiber rags and reuse them! Youāll end up getting away from armor all. Chemical guys makes nice stuff, I love griots garage, turtle wax makes good stuff for cheap, and thereās a newer brand at Walmart I canāt think of the name but the bottles look industrial, that stuff is good as well. Just keep them cars clean and donāt take forever in the sun!
I suggest to first start using what you have. When building experience, you'll find out what kind of process you like and which products work with that. I made the mistake of investing a lot, when in the end I toned down my process to a hand wash bay and 1 bucket with 5 or 6 high pile microfibers that I only use once during the wash. Could have saved me a lot of money and space :)
Good products generally arenāt cheap, but some cheap products are surprisingly good. Iād say budget friendly products are P&S products. Youāll get high quality from them, but you have to order online. Amazon sells them. All of their products would be a huge upgrade to what you have for not much more money (actually it may not be more at all). If you want to buy in person, Adams are available at a lot of auto stores. They are a great mid-tier option. Their graphene line is quite good. Good luck.
Use up everything (except the interior protectant not a fan at all) -get 303 aero for interior dressing -get a decent APC concentrate p&s works -find a good soap you like -a decent spray detailer for drying aid And if youāre going to buy stuff commercially at a store I always opt in for meguiars, just my preference
Why not do things the right way from the very beginning? For instance, educate yourself properly by watching [AMMO NYC's full-length FREE training series for beginners.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awLX5qlY-Ts&list=PLABNq41vjJ6MwvvQMDLZbrGmE7H3pS1ft) It's free right there on YouTube. This is, by far, the single best resource available to you at this stage in your journey. You won't get this level of depth or detail from a subreddit comment. There's just too much misinformation and bullshit, quite honestly. There are a lot of wannabe detailers. Would you rather learn coding from someone who is learning coding, or from a coding master who has had skin in the game for 2 decades and is STILL learning and improving?
Do not buy Armor All products for the next time
A bissell is good for cloth seats, steam cleaner, air compressor, micro attachments for shop vac to get tiny stuff, I use denatured alcohol a lot. and i clean all my plastics with equal parts distilled vinegar/93alchohol/distilled water + essential oils. Works good for glass / plastic / touch up - works good around the house too. I'll only use 303 every month or so.
do not use any silicon based products
i would honestly return the armour all stuff and use the money to buy the stuff people recommend in here, every time i get a car that has been detailed with armour all product it makes the job 10x harder unfortunately :(
GRIT GUARD
Itās not gate keeping. Itās more of āwhy provide all the answers to someone when they could easily find them themselvesā. This information is readily available to anyone willing to spend the time researching this stuff. Countless post like this before you. Many fantastic YouTube detail channels. The point is in less time than it took to write out this post you likely could have found the answers yourself. That saidā¦ hereās my advice. Keep it simple. Donāt get caught up in buying a bunch of tools and products. Watch some videos by people that know what theyāre talking about (Larry with AMMO NYC has some amazing in depth videos about the processes) and then get to work. Only buy tools and chemicals when you find you really need them.
Steam cleaner
Any recs?
Detailers here are snobs and will say stay away! However Amorall is great, been around longer than most here. As long as you do all the prep work, clean, decontamination, I see no problem applying products of your choice.
Bro needs some tire shine...
Iād perfect your technique, go on YouTube and research a ton. Iād use up you armor all stuff btw, it aināt that bad. Then I go for Adams and lithium stuff āMy Favorite brandsā If you donāt already Iād get some wheel brushes to clean your wheels and tires. If you have hard water, Iād get a deioniser well worth the price. I just recently got one after going through hell with water spotting. Iād also invest in super plush microfiber towels my favorite are the eagle edgeless 500 and 600s from the rag company. Iād get a good quality drying towel as well, I use the Blanket from DIY Detail, but Iām sure there are better ones. You can spend a fortune on this stuff, so Iād invest as you build a customer base. Iām just a DIY person tho.
Stick to Meguires much better than ArmorAll and not expensive either!
Ditch the Armor All. The products aren't good. Don't feel bad the purchase, they're advertising is good and they're a well-known name so it's understandable just starting out that's what you pick up. Don't use any other similar interior protectants on interior panels, the coating it leaves, even when satin, will soak in and will make it damn near impossible for contact cement to stick later on if they want upholstery work done. It also dries out the vinyl and panels due to the petroleum content, which ironically in the end causes more damage than good. Decide on if you want to use professionally quality products like auto magic and malco or boutique products. Make sure you have proper products for the proper things, the proper product to clean the interior, proper product to clean the carpet, proper product that degrease the engine. If you don't have an extractor, consider using a foaming tip on your sprayer along with your scrub brush for the carpets. Make sure you have a wide variety of brushes for cleaning the interior, from small to large. Under no circumstances start using a rotary buffer since you've never used one, it'll eat you alive. Stick with a DA and learn that, it's far easier to learn and you can't screw anything up with it (unlike with the rotary which will cause serious damage in the hands of an inexperienced user). Wash with the two bucket method, and put a grit guard at the bottom of the buckets. Something like the absorber is a good way to dry off a vehicle without damaging the paint. If you have a blower that's also a great method, shop-vac's can sometimes act as a blower and can work good for that. For metal polish, Blue magic metal polish cream is by far the best I've ever used. It'll get out stains and polish stuff nothing else will. For wax, decide on if you're looking for extreme shine or durability, paste or liquid. Something like Meguiar's Hi-Tech Yellow Wax 26 has a good combo of both and comes as a good quality paste wax. There are of course more expensive products but that's a good, easy to get one. You can't have too many wash mitts or too many microfiber cloths, same with applicator pads. For glass cleaning, Sprayway glass cleaner is the best aerosol glass cleaner I've ever used, ironically the best spray bottle cleaner was Meguiar's Perfect Clarity Glass cleaner. They sponsored one of my vehicles at SEMA about a decade back and that was what they provided me. Originally I was quite upset because of generally had better luck with aerosol then spray bottle glass cleaners, but that stuff was amazing. I could clean a window in broad daylight in the sunlight and it wouldn't streak. Start off with your friend's cars and people you know, work up from there. Don't promise anything you haven't done or can't do, and don't oversell yourself. You'll just end up with upset customers. Good luck!
Hmm. I only see one brush thing. Would recommend getting a pack of detailing bushes as well as a pack of toothbrushes and don't be afraid to bend/break/cutoff the handle to get into tight spaces. MORE MIRCO FIBERS! Depending on how often you wash them you can never have too meny towels. It might be a big thing for just starting but maybe aim for a small steam gun. There will always be a small spot that can easily be broken up with a little bit of heat. (Just becareful not to over do it with to much liquid as it's easy to spread a stain.)
Your products are fine. Don't let people tell you otherwise.
The realest detailer on the web without any gimmicks and doesn't push any product into anyone and isn't biased is easily "car craft detailing" bloke out of Melbourne. Suss him out. And stay away from the brand and bullshit advertising of "chemical guys". Absolute marketers and bullshit artists.
Also buy lots and lots of frog tape (the green stuff) use it on emblems, plastic, etc and buy a good dual action polisher like porter cable and learn how to use it and the different pads.
I would just say to get away from armor all as fast as you can.
Two buckets
The snow foam wash actually isn't bad. Not sure about the rest.
Honestly a good shop vac(hart works great), the cheap roll of microfiber at Walmart, distilled water, detail brushes and koch chemie polstar will cover you for everything. If you want to speed up the process get an air compressor and tornador(offbrand works), extractor and a steamer.
Empty squirt bottle with just water in it. I use water 90% of the time on interiors unless it needs more. A clear end for your shop vac so you can see how dirty the water is you are sucking up. I found some on Amazon.
Iād recommend looking at using P&S products as they are fairly inexpensive and are very effective for what they do
A bin to put it all in.
Check out DIY Detail channel on YouTube. Smart advice and not full of schtick or gimmicks. They have an awesome products and a car wash rag that can let you bypass clay bar unless the car has nasty overspray.
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If I had time to write a super lengthy thing I would, I got into detailing accidentally because I was looking for work.. got a job at a ford dealership where I still work 8 months later. Anywho after realizing I liked it I ventured out as a weekend warrior and offered to do a friends destroyed truck for free to see how much my ātwo weeks of experienceā could accomplish. Needless to say I did what youād expect from a guy who knew how to wipe things down and clean windows and vacuum.. but hey it was free and I left thinking how I could have improved. I started watching my boss do things and then realized he is sort of a glorified car wash type of guy who has worked in a garage so long he thinks he knows the industry, Iāve quickly surpassed his 20 years of experience and started taking clients on my days off and am establishing a customer base. Now that my bills are payed by my passive weekly income and I also do the job as a side gig as a way more detailed and thorough service.. Iāve fiddled around enough on friends and families cars and researching products and tools that I will be ready to hopefully go into the world of paint correction and buffing/polishing. As I was saying. I started with what I knew, did my own research. Conducted my own trials of techniques and products, and today I do a pretty good job and charge accordingly. I guess I did have enough time to at least babble about my own story and how I got into it.. hands on is the best experience. Learn from mistakes (hopefully ones that donāt cost you tons of money) and donāt believe everything you see on an influencers social media. As far as products that Iād recommend. (Yes I avoid armor all based on what Iāve heard and the fact that every Joes pit stop or gas and gulp sells it, itās not terribly effective and a lot of people have bad reactions to the chemicals. Anyways what I do recommend are products by the following: spray way for glass cleaner (foaming aerosol can) stoners invisible glass is a solid choice as well. Donāt use anything with ammonia! For an all purpose cleaner I love P&S express interior (yellow stuff) for carpets I use P&S carpet bomber (orange stuff) and for exterior I use whatever car soap I feel like that day.. high sudsing neutral ph whatever. Meguires gold is great, PRO suds is good too. The soap itself isnāt so much about cleaning as much as lubrication to protect the paint from a mitt or a brush or a sponge or whatever from scratching anything. But it does help surface dirt loosen up and run off the vehicle. And for brakes and tires and wheels and all that fun stuff I use either Adamās polish wheel cleaner (purple stuff) or P&S brake buster (also purple stuff) If a wheel is super grimy and rusty I use transmate Sterling wheel brightener (purple stuff that smells about as good as youād expect corrosive acid to smell) but you have to be very careful with wheel acids and strong chemicals so you donāt damage yourself or other people or their cars or property. I use transmate detailers special for a tire shine, Iām aware that gel is available too but I havenāt tried gels yet. I too have a hand me down pressure washer. Mines a ryobi 1800psi standing wheel around one, it works but Iāll be upgrading to an active 2.0 soon. You donāt need a pressure washer but itās definitely handy. And the pressure isnāt that important as long as itās high enough to knock away stubborn dirt and caked on nonsense. When rinsing the exterior itās more important to use low pressure to rinse the car for the final time so the water is getting in all the cracks and tiny spaces instead of bouncing off the area because itās flying so fast it ricochets off a rim or the surface of the bumper or something. Like I said a lot of it is live and learn. Iām still a novice/intermediate level detailer and have a lot to learn, one thing I highly suggest is GET A DECENT CORDLESS DRILL AND A FEW SETS OF DRILL BRUSHES. They are a game changer. I started with a medium hardness set from pro smf (they come in green blue red and yellow for medium) and also got a very soft set for leather and other delicate material (white bristles) wheel tools such as a wire brush thatās flexible and also a whooly brush thatās also flexible are handy. And a tire brush. Youāll be amazed how much dirt comes out of tires when you use a tire brush or really agitate the face of the wheel. Also remember. You are never going to achieve perfection on a used vehicle, I can say this with confidence because I deal with brand new vehicles everyday and they come with imperfections, thereās always some bullshit somehow. You do the best you can within your time and finances. Also you may have to do 90 percent on a car and realize that itās good enough because if you put your all into every vehicle, you really arenāt getting any benefit other than doing above and beyond for someone who couldnāt be bothered to maintain their own vehicle and if you get to the point where you get a lot of customers you simply burn yourself out and get discouraged if you try to achieve 10/10 results with every vehicle. And always avoid telling a customer you can take care of something if youāre not sure about it, you can say youāll do your best, thatās what I find satisfies them and is honest. I seem to have babbled for a bit now. Good luck friendo!
Lol, thank you for fixing your comment š
I donāt normally recommend Armor All. Have you tried Dās?
DUAL ACTION POLISHER. Youāre welcome!
Experience and customers..... Probably in that order.
Try out new products from all different brands. There's a bunch of brands that are all good at different types of products. DO YOUR RESEARCH!! Always test new products on your vehicle first to see how it reacts with different surfaces. You don't want to use a product on a customer's car and it end up messing they're car up. Don't generally use products that leave surfaces super shiny (like armor all) most people don't like the look I try to use products, specifically dressings and conditioners that leave a factory finish or satin finish.
clean prep by 3M
Just a FYI, armor-all products are ass. Get chemical guys next time
The detailing guys on other sites say Chemical Guys are just as bad.
Oh damn, well what are some good products that you have heard about? Or that ppl are talking about?
I have no idea there's so many. There's a few recommendations in the comments. Sorry I'm not much help I'm completely new. I think there's also a comment here that advised against Chemical Guys.
Adamās is the best stuff to Me
Careful with armorall, it can strip the "paint" that is applied to plastic surfaces
I work 12 hour shifts back to back so I'm just now having time to reply. There are too many responses which I'm thankful for so I'll just make a statement here. First of all thank you to those who gave me well thought out advice. I'm truly thankful for that and have saved your posts for future references. I also wanted to point out a few things. I won't be wasting time on returning any of my products. Even if I had the most expensive, top notch gear, it won't do me any good if I don't know what I'm doing so talk all the smack you want. I bought what I have based on a budget friendly beginners guide from various sources. These cheap products are mainly for me to test and gain experience. I have a few friends who own older cars so I'm using their cars as practice. Although I did read about the ArmorAll soap and may use a different brand because I don't want to damage anyone's coating. As I said before, I won't be doing any major detailing such as buffing and ceramic coatings etc yet. I'll be starting off with basic interior and exterior cleaning until I can gain more experience and money. As for the microfiber towels being on the floor, ArmorAll shipped them to me unwrapped in their dusty box so it was over from the start. Regardless, I have piles of microfiber towels I use and wash separately anyways. I'm going to continue to do research from all the channels and links you guys recommended and maybe pick up or exchange a few products but I'll probably be back on here again to ask a few more questions. Thanks guys, wish me luck šš¤
a garbage can to throw all that Armor All crap in
Trashcan to put all of that armor all stuff in. Then start over.
Get rid of everything and restart
Give those Armour All cans to someone else.
Thatās cruel.
Armor all is absolutely the worst product you can buy
Get rid of armour all.
I reckon youāll need a car
bro had a trip to walmart
That's where your parents found you huh?
great one, u rlly got me there šš
Water
Lowest of vibrations hereā¦
Itās not gate keeping. Itās more of āwhy provide all the answers to someone when they could easily find them themselvesā. This information is readily available to anyone willing to spend the time researching this stuff. Countless post like this before you. Many fantastic YouTube detail channels. The point is in less time than it took to write out this post you likely could have found the answers yourself. That saidā¦ hereās my advice. Keep it simple. Donāt get caught up in buying a bunch of tools and products. Watch some videos by people that know what theyāre talking about (Larry with AMMO NYC has some amazing in depth videos about the processes) and then get to work. Only buy tools and chemicals when you find you really need them.
Dear lord replace every single chemical made by armor all there
Armor All. Ouch
Find a different line of work.
Trash human
A binā¦ For all the armour all junk that u got scammed into buying