how much do you guys tip the car wash guys?

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Bah cheap bastards I am one of the car wash guys, I am the owner of my detail business and I dont get tipped enough. 🙁

By default don't you guys charge abourt $120 to detail the whole car anyway? I know its hard work and all but $120 is paying for your labor.

$120.00 hahaha I can get that for waxing only.😀 Yes your right it is about labor and my time isnt cheap because I am very good at what I do. I also charge more then most cause I take it VERY seriously, I buy special water use special towels and I dont miss appointments. So not only are they paying for my time they are paying for my knowledge and the fact that I dont flake out on these people. I have been doing this for a long time and these people are willing to pay for the quality I deliver.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Bah cheap bastards I am one of the car wash guys, I am the owner of my detail business and I dont get tipped enough. 🙁

By default don't you guys charge abourt $120 to detail the whole car anyway? I know its hard work and all but $120 is paying for your labor.

$120.00 hahaha I can get that for waxing only.😀 Yes your right it is about labor and my time isnt cheap because I am very good at what I do. I also charge more then most cause I take it VERY seriously, I buy special water use special towels and I dont miss appointments. So not only are they paying for my time they are paying for my knowledge and the fact that I dont flake out on these people. I have been doing this for a long time and these people are willing to pay for the quality I deliver.

You do hand buffing or machine? I knew a guy a few years back who hand buffed every car that came through. I guess I should just wait until I get my car repainted b4 I go in for any sort of detailing.

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Bah cheap bastards I am one of the car wash guys, I am the owner of my detail business and I dont get tipped enough. 🙁

By default don't you guys charge abourt $120 to detail the whole car anyway? I know its hard work and all but $120 is paying for your labor.

$120.00 hahaha I can get that for waxing only.😀 Yes your right it is about labor and my time isnt cheap because I am very good at what I do. I also charge more then most cause I take it VERY seriously, I buy special water use special towels and I dont miss appointments. So not only are they paying for my time they are paying for my knowledge and the fact that I dont flake out on these people. I have been doing this for a long time and these people are willing to pay for the quality I deliver.

You do hand buffing or machine? I knew a guy a few years back who hand buffed every car that came through. I guess I should just wait until I get my car repainted b4 I go in for any sort of detailing.

I have both there are different levels of buffing, there is high speed buffing for removing scratches and other things and there is orbital buffing which is just a better way to hand wax. I havent buffed a car with high speed for quite some time now cause my clients are weekly people that dont need it. So I use the orbital buffer to wax cars, it allows the wax to be spread on more evenly and creates a little heat and friction which will work the wax in better. If you guys do your own cars get one of the orbital buffers they are easy to use will save you time and will NOT burn the paint, they also make black cars look much better. Make sure you wax your car about every 3 months also dont believe the hype that a car can go 6 months or a year between waxing, i will say this right now it you go that long between waxing your car will look like it did. most of my clients get there cars waxed once a month.

 

[BooGiMaN]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp

Originally posted by: NutBucket

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Bah cheap bastards I am one of the car wash guys, I am the owner of my detail business and I dont get tipped enough. 🙁

By default don't you guys charge abourt $120 to detail the whole car anyway? I know its hard work and all but $120 is paying for your labor.

$120.00 hahaha I can get that for waxing only.😀 Yes your right it is about labor and my time isnt cheap because I am very good at what I do. I also charge more then most cause I take it VERY seriously, I buy special water use special towels and I dont miss appointments. So not only are they paying for my time they are paying for my knowledge and the fact that I dont flake out on these people. I have been doing this for a long time and these people are willing to pay for the quality I deliver.

You do hand buffing or machine? I knew a guy a few years back who hand buffed every car that came through. I guess I should just wait until I get my car repainted b4 I go in for any sort of detailing.

I have both there are different levels of buffing, there is high speed buffing for removing scratches and other things and there is orbital buffing which is just a better way to hand wax. I havent buffed a car with high speed for quite some time now cause my clients are weekly people that dont need it. So I use the orbital buffer to wax cars, it allows the wax to be spread on more evenly and creates a little heat and friction which will work the wax in better. If you guys do your own cars get one of the orbital buffers they are easy to use will save you time and will NOT burn the paint, they also make black cars look much better. Make sure you wax your car about every 3 months also dont believe the hype that a car can go 6 months or a year between waxing, i will say this right now it you go that long between waxing your car will look like it did. most of my clients get there cars waxed once a month.

I want to get my car detailed what should i look for to pick a good place to do it

 

[FoBoT]

how do you tip the rain? 😕

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Thats hard to say unless your in my area I cant say if a place does a good job or not. My business is a mobile company, I would just say look for one in your area with alot of expierience and check to see if they are insured, that way if something goes wrong you are covered. most of my clients come from word of mouth so if you have freinds ask them where they have gone.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
how do you tip the rain? 😕

lol, funny stuff.



Also, what exactly does waxing do for your car?

 

[Mallow]

I take pride in hand sponging my own car.

 

[NutBucket]

Hmm. Maybe I should finally learn how to freakin' wax my car. I can do everything else and have done almost everything else. Another project......

 

[BooGiMaN]

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Thats hard to say unless your in my area I cant say if a place does a good job or not. My business is a mobile company, I would just say look for one in your area with alot of expierience and check to see if they are insured, that way if something goes wrong you are covered. most of my clients come from word of mouth so if you have freinds ask them where they have gone.

Ill be getting another car later this year and i want to really detail the one i have and keep it covered and so on...id love to have it look like when i brought it home from the dealer...can the engine bay be cleaned out..i have heard you shouldnt and i have heard it wont hurt the engine..whats your take on this

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Hmm. Maybe I should finally learn how to freakin' wax my car. I can do everything else and have done almost everything else. Another project......

I find the process of keeping my vehicles clean is kind of fun. Over the years, I've experimented with lots of car wash materials and waxes. I now have some very efficient products on my shelf that I utilize to keep my cars clean. Plus, when you wash & wax your car yourself, you're aware of every little tar drop, sap drop and paint nick that exists on the vehicle.

 

[NumbaJuan]

I always tell em, here?s a little tip for ya?.Don?t bet on the Rams! :Q

 

[T2T III]

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Thats hard to say unless your in my area I cant say if a place does a good job or not. My business is a mobile company, I would just say look for one in your area with alot of expierience and check to see if they are insured, that way if something goes wrong you are covered. most of my clients come from word of mouth so if you have freinds ask them where they have gone.

Ill be getting another car later this year and i want to really detail the one i have and keep it covered and so on...id love to have it look like when i brought it home from the dealer...can the engine bay be cleaned out..i have heard you shouldnt and i have heard it wont hurt the engine..whats your take on this

Cleaning the engine bay should not be a problem. There are some new "orange-based envrionmental-friendly" degreasers on the market that are supposed to work pretty good. Just ensure that the engine is cool when you clean it. Spray some of the degreaser on the block, firewall and fender wells and allow it to soak in for a few minutes. Then, use a good mist of water from the hose to wash everything off.

Most products will recommend that you cover the electrical components with plastic before starting. However, newer vehicles are sealed better and you can usually get by without having to cover anything up. The older cars with leaky distributor caps were a pain in the ass whenever moisture would get under the distributor cap.

If you stay current on the engine cleaning (e.g. - twice a year) - things should stay in pretty good shape under the hood. Grease will never build up to the point that you'd have to scrub it with a brush.

 

[LikeLinus]

Originally posted by: wje

Originally posted by: Doggiedog

Originally posted by: wje

Originally posted by: Doggiedog
Nothing because they usually steal the change in my coinholder anyway.

:Q :Q :Q

It's a big scam. They use they vacuum cleaner to suck up a few coins here and there but by the end of the day, they probably have a mint in the vacuum.

Once I stupidly put $20 worth of quarters in my ashtray nice and neat. When I got my car back, there was NOTHING left. I called the manager out and he and the workers denied it. Since then, I only tip at places I know don't steal my change.

I feel for you with regards to getting $20 in quarters ripped off. 🙁
But, I find it hard to believe that someone would go through the vacuum at the end of the day and pick out the change. Yuck! Then again, it might be better than "dumpster diving" for some people.

My wife made a notation about car washes a while back. Here in Northern Virginia, all the people working at car washes look like ex-cons. In Pennsylvania (in the country), mostly teenagers were working at the car washes.

I don't feel bad for you cause who the hell can fit 100 quarters into an ashtray?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Thats hard to say unless your in my area I cant say if a place does a good job or not. My business is a mobile company, I would just say look for one in your area with alot of expierience and check to see if they are insured, that way if something goes wrong you are covered. most of my clients come from word of mouth so if you have freinds ask them where they have gone.

Ill be getting another car later this year and i want to really detail the one i have and keep it covered and so on...id love to have it look like when i brought it home from the dealer...can the engine bay be cleaned out..i have heard you shouldnt and i have heard it wont hurt the engine..whats your take on this

Engine bay, easy as can be my freind, go get some engine degreaser the foamy stuff works well. You can go to a coin op car wash place that has pressure washers to clean it just dont drive to far to one and get the engine too hot. Spray the degreaser on and let it sit for a bit then wash it off. Those coin op places do have engine degreaser and you can use that if you like but I like the foam stuff better. if the car is a new car most dirt is going to be dust from the raod anyhow so the degreaser wont have to work to hard. Do not worry about covering and electrical parts they are sealed now a days anyhow. now here is the best little trick for engines, after you wash the engine and its cool enough spray the entire engine with tire dressing and just let it dry it will make all the plastic and hoses look shiny and new. 😉



Here is another tip for you self car wash guys get a 200mph Toro blower to dry the car and blow water out of those hard to get to places, they work really well I use one myself after you blow the car off a bit with the blower then dry it the rest of the way. I use microfiber towels for drying.

 

[Stark]

I tip the guy $1 if they do an ok job, $2 if they do a good job. And I tip the guy who gives me my keys. I used to try those drive through places at gas stations, but going to a real carwash makes the car look soooo much better. Plus it usually motivates you to clean out all the papers and crap that accumulate in the drivers compartment. 😛

 

[Dulanic]

Originally posted by: BooGiMaN

Originally posted by: WaTaGuMp
Thats hard to say unless your in my area I cant say if a place does a good job or not. My business is a mobile company, I would just say look for one in your area with alot of expierience and check to see if they are insured, that way if something goes wrong you are covered. most of my clients come from word of mouth so if you have freinds ask them where they have gone.

Ill be getting another car later this year and i want to really detail the one i have and keep it covered and so on...id love to have it look like when i brought it home from the dealer...can the engine bay be cleaned out..i have heard you shouldnt and i have heard it wont hurt the engine..whats your take on this

I will never wash my engine for one reason... its a 94 firebird... very common for the optispark to get water in it and ruin it... so Ill never wash mine. But thats a defect in the design and Im sure most cars will have no problem.

 

[brtspears2]

Its a good place to get rid of all my pennies. Place in cupholder. Problem solved.

 

[NutBucket]

Originally posted by: wje

Originally posted by: NutBucket
Hmm. Maybe I should finally learn how to freakin' wax my car. I can do everything else and have done almost everything else. Another project......

I find the process of keeping my vehicles clean is kind of fun. Over the years, I've experimented with lots of car wash materials and waxes. I now have some very efficient products on my shelf that I utilize to keep my cars clean. Plus, when you wash & wax your car yourself, you're aware of every little tar drop, sap drop and paint nick that exists on the vehicle.

Oh I get a kick out of detailing the interior. Armor All, vacuuming, etc. I'm actually gonna buy a steam cleaner pretty soon just for my upholstery. (Its a bit dirty these days, to my eyes) Someone care to point in the right direction of that forum everyone refers to for auto detailing?

 

[imported_Mike]

i dont take my car to get washed much...rather wash it myself. Last time i did take it in, i got the $20 combo deal as well, but all they did was a normal wash which was $15, so i just drove off. I was supposed to get a wax and a bunch of other stuff.