Learn about the dynamics of a owning a car detailing business and car wash services
First Things First ... The Car Detailing business is a secure, well-established growth market!
There are three key plans of action to be taken when starting a car detailing business: registering your business, finding a supplier for the products your business will use and purchasing your equipment.
Hiring a Supplier
You will find that there are a host of automotive detailing suppliers. Call up your local car detailing business and ask them which products they would recommend that you use and why. Go online and look up car detailing forums and ask on a public board, as well. The bottom line is you might need to try a few to find out which products appeal to you most. You may need to find this out, too, through trial and error and over time. Any way you do it; there are so many good products out there to choose from. With time, you will have the exact products that suit you best.
Buying Your Supplies
You can build an A list car detailing kit from the following products:
Wash: Zaino Z7
Clay: Clay Magic Blue Clay (AutoZone or Autodetail.com)Cleaning: Meguiar's Dual Action Cleaner Polish (CMA)
Swirl Remover: 3M Swirl Mark Remover (CMA)Glaze/Polish: P21S Paintwork Cleanser Lotion (CMA)
Wax/Protectant: Many choices --Klasse AIO (CMA) put on 2 coats, decent longevity
Zaino Z5/ZFX (Zainobros.com) put on 3 coats, excellent longevity
P21S Carnauba Wax (CMA) excellent shine, 5-8 weeks durability
Souveran Carnauba Wax (CMA) similar to P21S, $40 moreTire Cleaner: Eagle One Tire Cleaner (any parts store or CMA)
Wheel Cleaner: Many choices --Eagle One A2Z (parts store or CMA)
P21S Wheel Gel (CMASonus Wheel Gel (CMA)
Tire Dressing: Zaino Z16 (Zainobros.com)Interior Cleaner: Griots Interior Cleaner (Griotsgarage.com)
Leather Dressing: Griot's Leather conditioner or Pinnacle (CMA) Glass Cleaner: Any product w/#0000 steel wool & microfiber towel
Microfiber towels: CMA all the way. Best, most consistent towels I've ever used. There are cheaper towels available, but the bitter taste of poor quality quickly overwhelms the sweetness of a good deal.
Drying: CMA's Big Blue Drying Towel. 1 single towel will dry our Tahoe without any trouble.
Many other products can be bought for your car detailing business... Car detail kits from which you can make vinyls and decals...
Here's a list of preferred car detailing products common to the car detailing business.
303 Aerospace Protectant (there are an additional 303 products as well!)AG AutoGlym
AIO Klasse All In OneA2Z Eagle One A2Z Wheel Cleaner
AZ Auto Zone (Auto Parts Store) BA Black Again
BCS P21S Bodywork Conditioning Shampoo BF BlackFire detailing product
CB Clay Bar CD or CCD California Car Duster
CM or PCM Pinnacle Crystal Mist detailing spray CMA Classic Motoring Accessories (Board Sponsor)
CP Eimann Fabrik Clear Pearl detail spray CW Cleaner Wax
CWB California Water Blade EF Eimann Fabrik brand
EFBO Eimann Fabrik Black Opal EFCC Eimann Fabrik Carpet Cleaner
EFCP Eimann Fabrik Clear Pearl instant detailer EFCV Eimann Fabrik Clear Vision
EFHI Eimann Fabrik High Intensity cleaner EFPW Eimann Fabrik Power Wash shampoo
EFSR Eimann Fabrik Spot Remover EFTR Eimann Fabrik Tar Remover
EO Eagle One FB Forever Black
FI Meguiars Final Inspection Quick Detailer FI-II 3M Finesse IT
GC Gold Class (Meguiar's name for various products)GEPC P21S product, Gloss-Enhancing Paintwork Cleanser
HI Eimann Fabrik High Intensity Cleaner IG Stoners Invisible Glass
IHG 3M's Imperial Hand Glaze KSG
Klasse Sealant Glaze (sometimes referred to as "SG")
LG Liquid Glass Meguiar's Products, all listed by their "number"
Meguiar's #1 Medium Cut Cleaner
Meguiar's #2 Fine Cut Cleaner
Meguiar's #3 Machine Glaze
Meguiar's #4 Heavy Cut Cleaner
Meguiar's #5 New Car Glaze
Meguiar's #6 Cleaner/Wax
Meguiar's #7 Show Car Glaze
Meguiar's #9 Swirl remover 2.0
Meguiar's #16 Professional Paste Wax
Meguiar's #20 Polymer Sealant
Meguiar's #26 Hi Tech Yellow Wax
Meguiar's #34 Final Inspection
Meguiar's #36 Hi-Tech Cleaner
Meguiar's #39 Heavy Duty Vinyl Cleaner
Meguiar's #40 Vinyl & Rubber Cleaner/Conditioner
Meguiar's #60 Hi Tech wash
Meguiar's #62 Car Wash Shampoo and Conditioner
Meguiar's #66 Quick Detailer
Meguiar's BSPHP Body Shop Professional Hand Polish
Meguiar's BSPSFP Body Shop Professional Swirl Free Polish
Meguiar's DACP Dual Action Cleaner/Polish
MF Microfiber or Microfiber Towel
MG Meguiars Mirror Glaze product lineMGC Meguiars Gold Class product (includes the whole line: wash, wax, wheel cleaner, etc.)
MSLT Stoners More Shine Less Time spray
ND Never Dull Metal Polishing Wads
OP Orbital Polisher
OG One Grand Products
P21S A brand of Detailing Products
PB Pep Boys
PBS Pinnacle Bodywork Shampoo
PC Porter Cable (most of the time, in reference to Porter Cable #7424, though the 7428 is often mentioned. 7424 is Dual Action, 7428 is rotary)
PCL P21S Paintwork Cleansing Lotion (same as GEPC)
PI3 or PI-III 3M Perfect it III products
PI II 3M Perfect It 2
PS Pinnacle Souveran
PUPP Platinum Ultimate Paint Protection
QD Quick Detailer
QW Meguiars Quick WaxROB Random Orbital Buffer
SG or KSG Klasse Sealant Glaze
SIG Stoners Invisible Glass
SMR Swirl Mark Remover (might be Meguiar's or 3M)
TW Turtle Wax products
UV Ultraviolet Light
WM Wash Mitt
WWB P21S Windshield Wash Booster
Z Zaino (synthetic wax manufactured by Sal Zaino)
Z1 Zaino Show Car Polish LOK PreCleaner and Gloss Enhancer
Z2 Zaino Show Car Polish for Clear Coated Finishes
Z3 Zaino Show Car Polish for Regular Paint
Z5 Zaino Polish for Swirl Marks & Fine Scratches
Z6 Zaino Ultra Clean Gloss Enhancer Spray
Z7 Zaino Show Car Wash
Z9 Zaino Leather Soft Spray Cleaner
Z10 Zaino Leather in a Bottle Treatment and Conditioner
Z12 Zaino Clear View Glass Polish
Z14 Zaino Plastic Magic Cleaner & Polish
Z16 Zaino Perfect Tire Gloss
Z18 Zaino ClayBar
ZFX Zaino Flash Cure Accelerator Additive For Z2, Z3, Z5