First off, thanks for the complement Zaairman. Like many of you, there are only a few people I would let touch my truck. God, RockPick Gipraw, Thumper, 03gtmustang and maybe Red Lariat but I ain't giving him the keys. I can just see burn outs in my truck on his youtube site.

ALL my neighbors think I am a total nut job b./c I spend so much time on my truck and wifes car. To sum it up, one day my buddies wife saw me under my truck spraying Hyperdress. She asked "what the hell I was doing", I said "treating the undercarriage" She said "why"? I didn't have an answer other than, it needed to be done. Then my buddy said, "For Pride"

Which is a pretty good summation for why I do it. For Pride. I can see other people at stop lights ore intersections looking at my truck. Makes a person feel good to have a shinny ride. Funny thing is now, all the people that thought I was nuts are now asking me to help them with their cars and I see them washing and taking better care of them. You see, it starts with the cars, then they may take better care of the yard, then the house, etc. Makes property value stay up and thus forces the economy to stabilize and all the world is in equilibrium. Ok, I got carried away but you get the idea.

Back to the topic, paying someone to detail. I have seen basic details around my place go from 50 to 150 and for full blown show quality detail, upwards of 500+. I know one place that charges by the hour. 2 day jobs are big bucks.

 

Thanks a lot for the compliments guys. Really appreciate it!

 

zero, DIY

 

My neighbors used to think I was nuts, but the last couple years they just seemed to give up on giving funny looks and commenting how much I clean my truck - I have them all fine tuned now I think, heh. I also do annual details of the undercarriage. Stuff not only seems to last longer when well kept, but I just like getting in a brand new off the showroom looking (and smelling) vehicle every time I go for a ride regardless how old the vehicle is.

I remember my first engine detail, neighbor and his kid was mowing the grass and I could hear him say over the lawn mower "it wont run right if the engine isn't clean"...lol. But like I said, I guess they're all used to it now since I don't get any of that anymore and actually some of them ask for me to do theirs now, lol.

 

I look at it this way... Nobody else drives my truck.... nobody else cleans my truck. Both my wifes vehicle, and my truck get the same treatment religously.
Washed every week
Interior cleaned every week
windows cleaned every week
Every vehicle going to the campground washed and detailed (including 31' Travel trailer)
Quick detail after every wash
Tire dressing after every wash
Claybar every 6 months
Polish every 3 months.

Yeah, my neighbors think I'm nuts too. Heck, yesterday, I was under the truck spraying the muffler and tailpipes with high heat black paint. It is when they come up to me and ask how much I charge to detail thier vehicles that really pays off. OBTW.... I worked for Eason's Detail shop for about 3 years... this helps a bunch with the entire process. With experience and help on tough situations from others on the site, I see no need to pay anyone to clean my ride!

 

I do my own detailing. I'm so **** that if I paid somebody else I would probably end up doing it all again when I got it home. Everyone that knows me thinks I'm crazy because waxing the door jams, underhood, trunk, and the inside of the bed is normal to me.

 

Like many of you, I would not dream of paying to have someone else detail it, unless they were RP, Gip, or similar...

to the4x4freak--- Funny you should mention the high temp paint-- I redid my exhaust and rear axle with the stuff tonight...Odd...

Yeah--it takes the neigbors a bit to get used to it, but after awhile, they start asking about prices. (Just note that after a year or so of babying your truck, if you cant wash it for 3 months, they will notice-- I just got the chance to do so yesterday, and several of them asked if I had lost interest for awhile...)

One thing, though-- if you are going to pay for someone to work on your ride, you should definately check out their work first. You dont want a fool messing with your paint.

 

Um, weren't you supposed to paint some stuff on my truck?

 

ummm...Werent you supposed to email me when you got back from Cozumel or wherever???

What's your schedule this week? Email it to me, and we'll work somthing out. (BTW-- what was I going to paint? Your exhaust? Are you still providing the drinks...and if so, remember our conversation about that...and shhh...these others dont need to know.) navyguy@swbell.net

See you later.

 

You're doing something wrong if you need to polish every 3 months.

 

I polish every three months for a reason.... and NO I'm not doing something wrong. I am a supervisor for a truss facility and the ammount of crap floating through the air around the plant, mixing with water from daily thunderstorms, and then baking in the 90+ deg heat of NC, plus the salt air that it is exposed to about once a month for a solid weekend at a time or better constitutes polish every three months. This is a daily driver and I am not afraid to use my truck for what it was intended... A TRUCK. It tows up and down the highway and I drive 70+ miles/ day. The polish is mostly just to take off what wash and quick detail doesn't. The water still beads up and falls off. I just like the feeling of buttery soft paint all the time. If when I am washing, I feel the slightest resistance it gets polished. Notice... no wax. The polish I use does not build like wax.

 

the4by4freek .. what are you using for paint protection?

 

I appreciate the compliments..

here is one for you .. in 2004, I was so busy with customers cars getting ready for the FBody gathering in Atlanta, that I actually paid a friend who runs a mobile detailing business in Atlanta to get my car ready for the show .. I didn't have time, with all the work I had scheduled the week prior to the show .. I had left myself a whole day to work on my car, but the weather didn't cooperate and I lost two days .. SO I ended up paying someone to do a show detail on my formula ..

if you have the desire and the tools, nothing beats the satisfaction of doing it yourself ..

 

Good question... I think that we are all thinking the same thing here...you need to wax-- plus, it'll make washing a bunch easier, not to mention preventing clearcoat failure...

Don't get me wrong-- I am like yourself-- My truck gets used, but on the day off, it gets pampered. It used to get washed weekly, but now it gets washed monthly if its lucky...and waxed every 3 or so months. I definately understand the work truck aspect-- but there are some fundamentals I think you missed...

 

I was using Satin Gloss wax for years. It is a cleaner wax that does an outstanding job. It is easy to apply and can be used as a glaze if applied with a buffer. I don't use buffers unless absolutely necessary. About 2 years ago I found some L&S industries 501 polish. It is fantastic! It leaves the paint in perfect condition. I have used it on several vehicles that I own as well as my 31' fiberglass TT.
I will switch up every now and then and use Meguires NXT. I use a Porter Cable RO polisher for application. NXT is a wax and it does a good job. It gets used about every 6 months. The finish on the truck and my wifes SUV looks wet all the time. It has a deep shine and my daughter actually will use the side of the truck as a mirror. It looks like plastic instead of steel. I constantly get compliments on the condition of the truck and it pays off at trade in time. My 97 Expedition had 198,000 miles on it when I traded it in. It looked better than some of the 03-04 vehicles that were on the lot. The sales manager bought the truck from me cash! I also have a 96 Taurus that my son drives. It looks like a new vehicle also. I think I got it down after 15 years of cleaning vehicles. OBTW... It doesn't take me 5 hrs to clean the truck. I can was the truck in 30 min, polish it in 1 hr and clean the inside in about 45 min (it is black). I have won several car shows and have the trophies to prove it. All the vehicles were daily drivers and all were just as clean as some of the garage queens that were at the show.
Yes the door jambs get cleaned and polished
Yes the back side of the wheels and tires get cleaned and dressed
Yes the engine compartment gets detailed
Yes all the chrome and stainless gets polished (including center caps on wheels)
Yes the wheel wells get cleaned and detailed regularly
Yes the frame gets cleaned and detailed regularly
Keep in mind, this is not in preparation for a show. All of the above do take longer than the 2hrs and 15 min stated above.
I have never had a clear coat failure and I am not worried about that. Usually I buy a vehicle that is a couple of years old that has been taken care of. I then get it home and work over the entire vehicle with my cleaning process. 99% of the time it looks like brand new when I am done. There are occasionally times that the previous owner did something stupid and I can't fix it without re-finishing. I try to avoid those vehicles at all cost but sometimes I might have missed a scratch in a hidden area that I didn't see at the time of purchase. If it had been seen then it would have been discussed at the time of purchase. Most dealers I have seen will fix it if you raise enough stink about it or tell them that you'll walk away. I always get more than what I used or paid for a vehicle at trade in time.