question about polishing and paint correction.

I was wondering, I see all of these cars that are having paint correction done, and full detailing, what does something like that run? Just a general price range, not looking for specifics because I know it depends on soil level, paint condition etc... thanks..

 

$250-$1,000+ generally

 

thanks. I am trying to learn the process, and I wanted to know what range I should be charging.

 

You should focus on the learning before you focus on the charging....

 

well said.

 

Polishing is a skill that takes a while to get good enough at that you can charge for it. Start with simple wash and wax packages to build a clientele and get a name for yourself. Get a hood from a local wrecking yard or practice on your own car until you can get good results consistently.

 

definatly need to master paint correction before you think about touching a clients car with a buffer. A full detail goes for around 350 to 1000+

 

thanks for the help, but I am not brand new to polishing. I have been using a rotary to buff my cars and friends, but never professionally. I am "learning" to do it the right way and safely. I own a small mobile wash wax business that has been my only income source for a year now and I already have a decent clientbase of around 100 regulars.. I am getting tired of those type of jobs, and that is why I am venturing into the more advanced stuff. The reason I asked about pricing is to get a general Idea of what I will be earning per car, to plan for business cost etc... Thanks for the input though.

 

Best thing to do is see what the guys around are charging and start there. You can always raise your prices a bit at a time as you get busier. I charge around $395 for a single stage polish / sealant and it goes up from there.

 

Where are you located?

 

tampa, fl

 

I just picked up my PC today. Also I got some polish and swirl remover, and some sonus tire/bumper gel. Im gonna work a few of my own cars and then go from there (mainly judging how much time it takes so I can feel out the price.

 

One thing you will find with the pc is that you can do way more correction when doing a one step. With a rotary, once you past green/white pads, chances are you will leave marring or hologramming that will require a second step to clean up so you are limited to what you can accomplish. When I do one steps, I will typically use my PC with a CCS Orange or GI Yellow / White with Power Finish or, depending on the paint condition, M105. I'll be posting a VW I recently did where I used the LC Hydro Cutting pad with M105 and got over 90% correction with one pass and went straight to Colli 845.

 

Ken..good advice there...BTW..what's the Hydro cutting pad? Never heard of it...what's it like and compare to? (sorry to hijack thread..you can pm me if you wish)

 

LC Hydro pads are the new pad LC came out with. They come in two colors Cyan (cutting) and Tangerine (polishing). They are pretty firm pads, pre-polymer I think like the old sonus pads. Suppose to be made for water based polishes so the pads do not soak up the water so the polish can be worked longer and finish down really well.

A PC can do some good corrections, I had, still have, the old PC that I used on my GTI for 3 years till I just now got into rotary. VW clear is rock hard and SIP on a orange pad would do some decent correction. It may take longer but it didnt leave any marring like Ken said.

 

Thanks Ankeet for the response. Is this a pad best used with a pc and not a rotary then? I've got one of the old style sonus pad in blue and like it for a one stepper sometimes with something like Presta UCCL.

 

You can use it on both, read many people using them on a rotary. Personally never used one just held one. Been trying to get one in a trade so I can try it out. I have 2 old blue sonus I use for finishing like 85rd and love them.

 

They are VERY firm. I like them on a car with a lot of flat surface area. I didn't like them that much on my rotary but really liked them on the PC. They are from Classic Motoring.

 

I got this kit today. Pretty cool apparently the warehouse for this website is about 20 miles from my house, so I just went and picked it up. Got all the pads that came with it and I got these polishes..


Ultimate Detailing Machine Car Polisher Kit -- Porter Cable 7424 Alternative

Four Star Light Cut Compound 16 oz.

Four Star Swirl Mark Remover 16 oz.