First Customer!

[Ironbull]

I have my first appointment this week and I am excited!
went to buy some Meg's clay it ill be my first time using clay!

The car is a never waxed Black Chrysler Sebring only a couple years old.

So clay first or cleaner wax first?

[Alex C.]

Re: First Customer!

Congrats on landing a detail job.

Clay before any paint cleaners. What's gonna be your plan of attack?

[Ironbull]

Re: First Customer!

I was thinking
Gold class wash
dry
Clay bar (windshield also)
cleaner wax
then gold class wax
simple for my first appointment.
Any suggestions?

[Alex C.]

Re: First Customer!

Looks good. KISS

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: First Customer!

Looks like a good plan. Congrats.

[Ironbull]

Re: First Customer!

Thank you guys I can't wait! I am going to take before and after pics!

[RickyMartinZ28]

Re: First Customer!

no need to dry before claying....

[Ironbull]

Re: First Customer!

So leave wet and still use detailer then dry?

[Beejatron]

Re: First Customer!

So leave wet and still use detailer then dry?

Sorta. Leave wet, use detailer with clay. Then, if it hasn't dried already, rinse it then dry. If it started to dry and you are getting water spots, then rewash and dry. Or you can wash, dry, clay with detailer and wipe off detailer as you go. I find it easier just to clay the whole car while its wet and then rewash.

[Hemin8r]

Re: First Customer!

Good for you, congrats. Don't forget to clay the back window as well. I usually dry after washing then clay a section at a time and dry as I go along after claying. Make a good impression on your first customer so you can get some referrals from him/her. Good luck!!

[Mike Phillips]

Re: First Customer!

no need to dry before claying....

Depends upon your preferences and your work environment. Personally I dry the car and then clay it as I don't want or need water drying on any portion of the car while I'm claying for example the hood.

This goes back to how some detailers will wash the car and then rinse it but while it's still wet with rinse water they will dip their clay bar into the car wash and the clay the paint and then rinse the paint again, all of this to try to save time by saving a step.

The problem with the above is if you don't rinse all the dirt off the car carefully before claying it's possible to pick up some kind of abrasive particle still suspended in the water on the car and then you could instill scratches everywhere you rub the clay.

If you're working outside, the sun and any air current is going to make any water on the car dry while you're claying another area, this could cause water spots.

If you pull a wet car into a garage to clay without drying first then your floor will be all wet with water and that makes for a wet mess in your work area.

You can follow RickyMartinZ28's method and not dry the car before claying, maybe perfect your own technique, but if it were me I would wash and dry the car and then clay the paint.

Also, for most cars, the areas that need to be clayed are the horizontal surfaces, roof, hood and trunk lid. Dirt and contaminants tend to settle on the surfaces but fall past the vertical side panels, so claying doesn't take that long and it would be better to have the portions you're not going to clay already dry instead of having water drying on it's own and potentially causing water spots.

As someone already posted,

KISS = Keep it Simple Simon

[Ironbull]

Re: First Customer!

Thank you guys for the advice. I went with the wash dry then clay because I moved the vehicle into the Garage because the sun came out. All went very well and they were very happy with the results. They keep asking me for Business cards because people are interested (haven't thought of a name yet!). I got before and after pics but don't know how to post.

[J. A. Michaels]

Re: First Customer!

Congrats. Sounds like everything went great.