Hello everyone, my son 15 year old son is planning on starting a car wash this summer with his friend. He plans on washing and vacuuming fairly high-end cars, such as Mercedes and BMW. He is going to buy all of his materials on his own, and organize a business schedule. Does anyone have some suggestions for his business and/or the materials that he will need? I'm sure he will appreciate the feedback.
Thanks

-George

 

Spend a lot of time on autopia.org ... and practice on your cars!

Materials can get expensive quick, but are usually worth it.

 

I have been doing the same thing to raise a little extra cash during the summer and school year. Is he planned on doing just a wash or trying to detail the cars, such as claying, waxing, or polishing? I started out by cleaning a few cars that are in the family such as grandparents, aunts, and uncles, just to get the technique down, but if he works hard and charges a good price, info about him should spread by word of mouth.

I'm 18 and have been cleaning cars for about 2 years, so if you want more info on some good beginner detailing kits or if he wants to ask any questions feel free to PM me.

Christian

 

Have him buy products that will be in constant need, like wheel cleaner, shampoo, glass cleaner etc. in gallon sizes. Otherwise he will have dozens of 8 and 16oz bottles everywhere constantly filling them up.

Get plenty of microfiber towels, multiple drying waffle weaves, dozens of all purpose MF etc. Running out of towels is a huge problem as washing them takes time and care.

Have him do your cars and be a total paint in the ass when it comes to critique... trust me it works!

 

He should join detailingbliss.com it's a forum dedicated to car washing & detailing. It is very informative about every aspect of the industry and the members are really helpful and will answer any questions he may have. I joined and have learned a lot.

 

Listen to Smoke George..he won't steer you wrong.

 

Thanks, I have already had him wash my car, my wifes car, and the grandparents cars. He seems to get the basic ideas, like wash from the bottom up, and dry from the top down. Should he go get the highest quality brand, or start off cheaper? He uses Griots on my car, is that perfect for every car?

 

Whoaaaaa

Thats a big no-no, you NEVER wash car from the bottom up. The lower half has more grime than any other part of the car.

You wash from the top to the bottom, start with the cleanest part of the car using a fresh mitt and let the suds run down the paint, further emulsifying the grime below.

Continuously clean the mitt with a grit guard bucket insert in your rinse dedicated bucket before moving onto another panel.

Starting at the bottom will only contaminate your wash mitt more, and as you proceed to clean the less grime ridden parts of the car like the roof and hood you will be carrying over some of that lower panel dirt!

This is how you properly wash a car, and how your son should learn to do it. Its called the 2 bucket method, Mike Phillips demonstrates the process perfectly here, have your son watch it and master it as it will be the most important thing for his business.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...client=safari#

 

lol Yea, what Smoke said, you actually wash a car from the top down.

I suggest him taking a quick detailing course, or going to learn at an actual car wash before striking out on his own. And once he does that; dont forget to take out an insurance policy against damage or something.

I was partner in a detail place/carwash and a worker chipped the leather on an Audi R8's handbrake, the owner was pissed and yea...

Like the other guy said, buy gallon size generic products from chemical companies. And don't use expensive products on cheap cars

 

I am no professional. But I have detailed my own cars for years.

The one bit of advice I would give is to buy products that can be used on multiple surfaces.

For example.

This P21S product can be used on any surface other than interior and paint. Great for engine cleaning, rocker panels, inside wheel wells, etc.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/p21s-...degreaser.aspx

This product does an amazing job at cleaning all interior surfaces like vinyl and leather.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/1zein...itpremium.aspx

This is a great all around auto wash and it is pretty inexpensive.

http://www.detailersdomain.com/adams...s-carwash.aspx

These are the basics. He can basically start his business with these.