Driving your detailing dollars further (Part 2)
Welcome to part two of the Gloss Guru Blog series on driving your detailing dollars further.
In this second part I’ll be mentioning a way to make your pads last longer though some of you may already be doing it. It’s nothing new. Also about how to reduce your chemical supply costs so much lower price per litre which everyone would love right? Last but certainly not least, smarter ways to shop for supplies that perhaps your already doing or have never actually considered. It’s not about being a cheapskate or tight arse it’s about thinking bigger and operating your business smarter.
I hope that this blog and all others I create are very helpful to all of you out there who are putting in alot of effort to build a detailing business such as Ryan from Tropix Detailing in Cairns, a great young guy only in his early twenties who is a real go getter and already has a workshop and staff. I was not that good at his age that’s for sure, was just three years into detailing as a fun hobby and four years away from becoming a professional detailer.
It is my goal with these blogs to help people where I can by providing some wisdom learned over hundreds of thousands of hours of research, real world experience and to see people in this industry not just survive but thrive in business and discover what it is like to truly succeed
OKAY HERE WE GO
BUYING IN BULK
CERTAIN CLEANING PRODUCTS ARE AVAILABLE IN 1000 LITRE IBC CONTAINERS
FRANCHISES/BIGGER THINKING DETAILERS
If you own and operate a detailing franchise or your someone wanting to have a very successful detailing business with staff not franchisees and want to think bigger and operate smarter then purchasing one thousand litre IBC containers of at least a few main cleaning chemicals like car wash shampoo, de-waxers/traffic film removers, all purpose cleaner and other commonly used chemicals that are available in those sizes from most manufacturers around Australia is an absolute no brainer and is exactly what I would be doing if I was to go back in business doing detailing as well as window tint and PPF
But fear not as I have zero intention of going back in business detailing cars on my own or with staff, I have new things to achieve for the industry as today I am far more driven to providing product testing services, detailing training and of course supplying Australia, New Zealand and eventually other countries with the most durable, versatile, unique and best polishing pads I can source globally and have made from almost any material if it works.
The cost savings with purchasing these products in 1000 litre IBC’s can be significant once you get past the initial purchase price
At between $2000 and $5000 per 1000 litre container, you could be purchasing products for as cheap as $2.50 to $5.00 or $7.50 per litre compared to $15 to $40 per litre or even more depending on the brand, whether it’s a bulk supplier or a bespoke high end brand having their products sold online via pro detailing suppliers. However my advice is to purchase the chemicals from a manufacturer in your own state and ideally your city or nearest major city to you as shipping costs can be high to get these containers from one state to another especially when it’s a few states away.
Here are some links to chemical manufacturers in a few states who do 1000 litre containers, a simple google search can find you many chemical companies in each state
NSW
OMIKRON
FINGERTENS
Fingertens.com.au
VICTORIA
FINAL INSPECTION CAR CARE
finalinspection.com.au
At the bottom of the page of each twenty litre chemical it states their available in 1000 litre IBC’s
PROMAX TECHNOLOGIES
promaxtech.com.au
SPRINT CLEANING CHEMICALS
sprintcleaningproducts.com.au/pages/wholesale
QUEENSLAND
Sierra Chemicals
OTHER OPTIONS TO SAVE ON COSTS WITHOUT COMPROMISING ON QUALITY
The next best options are to purchase 200 litre containers which are certainly more commonly purchased by car washes and dealerships than detailers but if your seriously about starting a franchise then buying in 200 litres at minimum and decanting into twenty litre containers to supply your franchisees vans/vehicles with product is the way to go in order to save majorly on cost. Yes buying in that size or 1000 litres is a much higher price to pay but once you have them, they will last far longer and especially if their highly concentrated
SWITCHING TO ULTRA CONCENTRATES
However another great option are “ULTRA CONCENTRATES” - I believe that these were originally developed and available from Cleaning systems Inc under their LUSTRA brand in the USA
3D products make some as well called Nano Drums and Nano Pails in 1.89 and 3.78 litre sizes.
The reason that many manufacturers do not make these kinds of products that are so strongly concentrated is that they are afraid of people misusing the products by not diluting them enough and therefore potentially damaging surfaces on customer vehicles due to their very high strength at very light dilutions then blaming them for the damage and ending up in legal proceedings potentially.
However in my opinion ultra concentrates are the way to go as you will see some products make up to 50 to 200 litres of product depending on the size of the container you can buy and how dilutable they are. The main gain of buying these products is reduced shipping costs as the containers are smaller and not made up of mostly water and a small to moderate amount of chemicals which is the case with many twenty litre containers of professional chemicals
My mentor or as I call him my go to guru made a leather cleaner for me whilst in his american factory and made an ultra concentrated version of it for me which I still have ten litres of after using it for two years in my detailing business until I shut up shop in 2019 when I decided to start offering training, testing plus polishing pad development and sales
LUSTRA BRAND BY CLEANING SYSTEMS INC USA
LUSTRA C-FORCE ULTRA CONCENTRATED CERAMIC
EXTENDING PAD LIFE BY DOWNSIZING THEM
When your wool and microfiber pads fibers start freying around the outside of the centre hole and the very outside edge of the pad, the velcro starts coming unglued or separating a little from the foam interface layer, rather than throwing the pads away, try this trick
Reduce the size of the pad from it’s original size to the next size down. Whilst this may come across to some as being a tight arse to save on cost by extending pad life even more and pushing the absolute most of out it, there is nothing wrong with being frugal, smart and getting the most value for money out of your pad supply costs by using them for as long as possible even if they get cut down multiple times. Let’s say the pad is 130 mm in diameter. You can cut the pad down to a 100 mm or 4 inch size for any machines that you can attach a 3 1/2 inch backing plate to, I even custom cut my pads down in size to match when necessary by trimming the diameter of the flexible urethane layer down.
There are 6 to 32 mm diameter wad punch kits available as well as 50 mm (2 inch) and 75 mm punches you can get which allow you to downsize the pads to remove the area of the pad where it is freying, starting to wear or has failed like the outside edge of the velcro where sometimes they separate from the foam interface layer on certain wool pads. They will give you a perfect pad again and this can be done from one to multiple times before you throw the pad away
ONE MORE PRODUCT I RECOMMEND THAT IS SUPER ECONOMICAL
ZNR - THE MOST CONCENTRATED RINSELESS WASH