Cost to clay bar a car?
#19
08-10-2012, 11:16 PM
Not really the middle of nowhere but certainly not in the big city. North Conway has grown a lot in recent years with more people moving here and also the tourism industry booming. People visit from Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont, Quebec and many surrounding states for many different things including shopping, skiing etc.
The only thing about living in a tourist town is that people come here and act like they run the place when really my household income really doesn't rely on tourists at all. The people that travel here aren't the only ones here to enjoy it.
The only thing about living in a tourist town is that people come here and act like they run the place when really my household income really doesn't rely on tourists at all. The people that travel here aren't the only ones here to enjoy it.
#20
08-11-2012, 02:31 PM
#22
08-21-2012, 04:33 AM
JAMIN:
#23
09-02-2012, 10:53 PM
#24
09-11-2012, 07:57 PM
I don't have a sled anymore. I sold it to buy my G but I stayed right around North Conway while I did.
#25
09-15-2012, 01:12 PM
#26
09-19-2012, 01:18 AM
10 hours of work??? $500+ (I have no idea what pitch is)
also, you shouldnt have gone through an entire claybar on that job. half at most. i usually get 10-15 cars from one clay bar. break it up into 3-4 pieces and keep kneading it over and over again while using on the car. use ONR for a long lasting clay lube, a soap like dawn will degrade the bar rapidly, so use a QD, car wash soap designed NOT to strip wax.
Seriously, you made $10 per hour for manual labor...totally not worth it! detailers need to have more pride in their work and be in the $40-100/hr range pending on the type of work that you do. There is value in this work...dont short change yourself.
also, you shouldnt have gone through an entire claybar on that job. half at most. i usually get 10-15 cars from one clay bar. break it up into 3-4 pieces and keep kneading it over and over again while using on the car. use ONR for a long lasting clay lube, a soap like dawn will degrade the bar rapidly, so use a QD, car wash soap designed NOT to strip wax.
Seriously, you made $10 per hour for manual labor...totally not worth it! detailers need to have more pride in their work and be in the $40-100/hr range pending on the type of work that you do. There is value in this work...dont short change yourself.
#27
09-24-2012, 11:32 AM
#28
09-24-2012, 12:38 PM
That is a ton of work on a large vehicle for not too much money. A thorough clay bar treatment on a larger vehicle like that can easily take 1.5 - 4 hours. If you want to save some time I'd highly recommend you use the NanoSkin AutoScrub Fine Foam Pad. Many detailers are using this step in place of a clay bar and it's saving them hours.
If you want to see what other pros are doing and charging check out our Ask a Pro Blog. Lots of great information there and you can see each author's business website here - http://www.detailedimage.com/Find-a-Detailer/. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help.
Greg @ DI
If you want to see what other pros are doing and charging check out our Ask a Pro Blog. Lots of great information there and you can see each author's business website here - http://www.detailedimage.com/Find-a-Detailer/. Let me know if you have any other questions and I'll be happy to help.
Greg @ DI
#29
11-02-2012, 03:44 PM
While I agree that $10 an hour is too low, $100 is way too high for a side business.
$20 an hour is over $40k a year, so $40/hr (companies bill at 2x hourly as a rule) seems a much more reasonable fee if you think of it as a business. I think even $50/hr would be a decent price to quote people once you establish a customer base.
Granted, 10 hours is a long time but I doubt he was in a hurry and didn't have other cars to do since I'm seeing this as a side thing he does.
So figure it should take 4-5 real hours at $40 an hour, so $160 - $200 in labor. So $200 all in we'll say on the conservative side since he's a friend.
I'm an accountant so this is what I would advise someone in his position if they were to create a business model.
Remember, you build a cost structure based on what a job SHOULD take, delivery schedule is based on how fast or slow you feel like moving
$20 an hour is over $40k a year, so $40/hr (companies bill at 2x hourly as a rule) seems a much more reasonable fee if you think of it as a business. I think even $50/hr would be a decent price to quote people once you establish a customer base.
Granted, 10 hours is a long time but I doubt he was in a hurry and didn't have other cars to do since I'm seeing this as a side thing he does.
So figure it should take 4-5 real hours at $40 an hour, so $160 - $200 in labor. So $200 all in we'll say on the conservative side since he's a friend.
I'm an accountant so this is what I would advise someone in his position if they were to create a business model.
Remember, you build a cost structure based on what a job SHOULD take, delivery schedule is based on how fast or slow you feel like moving
Last edited by jstudrawa; 11-02-2012 at 03:51 PM.
#30
11-02-2012, 04:42 PM
I finished it yesterday and wrote the invoice for $181 including the pitch removal, clay, wax and complete interior detail along with Zaino Leather products and Scotch Gard. My materials alone were about $60 (not including the time and money it costs to go to the store) and it took about 10 hours total. It really looked nice and I was sad to see it leave.
In all honesty, when I do work for friends I charge 50% of my rate of $65/Hr. Immediate family I never charge unless they are asses, then I tell them I don't have time to do their work and they should hire someone. Sometimes we barter which works out too.