Detailing - Polish and ceramic, what would you expect to pay?

[Jason_NI]

I used to be quite into my detailing, and wouldn't mind spending the odd full weekend to do a full clay/polish and wax session, but as I get older, and the back gets sorer, I think i'm ready to pay someone to do it, at least once a year to make it easier to maintain the car myself!

What would you expect to pay for polish(which i would assume includes clay) and ceramic coating(this is something i've never used personally - was always just wax for me) - and how long would you expect to have the car in with the detailer?

I'd read that ceramic can be a right balls if applied incorrectly, so slight concern about paying someone offering it on the cheap, and them making a hash of it.

I'm based in antrim, and there is a fb guy offering the above service for 150, which seems a bit cheap, as google suggests its more likely to cost a minimum of 300. ( He has quite a lot of good reviews on fb, so not sure if I'm being concerned where theres no need)

Are there recommendations that people have used in Antrim, or close by?

 

[thomas_lad]

@big_pete is the man in the know. Antrim isnt that far from him and you wont get many better than he

£150 does seem quite cheap, and how much do the people reviewing his page really know, if they aren't friends and family just boosting his page. His legit customers probably like - "ohhhhh look its shiny, he has done a great job". at least with Pete, you know from many people on this forum who know what they are talking about, back up his sh!t and have their stuff done by him

 

[big_pete]

You will pay a minimum of £500. £150 wouldn’t even buy the materials needed lol

The process takes between 2 and 3 days depending on the size of the vehicle, it’s paint type and condition.

consider the cost of all the materials needed from start to finish

- prewash
- shampoo
- snowfoam
- wheel cleaner
- tar remover
- fallout remover
- clay
- compounding pads
- polishing pads
- compound
- polis
- panel wipe
- tape
- cloths x 10
- the ceramic kit itself
- tyre dressing
- glass cleaner

 

[CharlySkunkWeed]

Its probably not a full on ceramic coating, you can get ones that last 6months or a year etc. Though if he's doing the polish (as in paint correction) and the "coating", that's not a bad price in my opinion. Certainly beats doing it yourself. I'm also getting too old to be breaking my back buffing a car.

 

[Jason_NI]

"@big_pete is the man in the know. Antrim isnt that far from him and you wont get many better than he

£150 does seem quite cheap, and how much do the people reviewing his page really know, if they aren't friends and family just boosting his page. His legit customers probably like - "ohhhhh look its shiny, he has done a great job". at least with Pete, you know from many people on this forum who know what they are talking about, back up his sh!t and have their stuff done by him"

Yeah, that did go through my head, average joe sees their car go from dull and dirty to nice and shiny, and has no real clue about how well it has actually been done/ plastic properly masked up, and rates it 5 stars.

 

[Jason_NI]

You will pay a minimum of £500. £150 wouldn’t even buy the materials needed lol

The process takes between 2 and 3 days depending on the size of the vehicle, it’s paint type and condition.

consider the cost of all the materials needed from start to finish

- prewash
- shampoo
- snowfoam
- wheel cleaner
- tar remover
- fallout remover
- clay
- compounding pads
- polishing pads
- compound
- polis
- panel wipe
- tape
- cloths x 10
- the ceramic kit itself
- tyre dressing
- glass cleaner

Thanks for replying - I guess he's maybe not using the full ceramic as Charly mentioned above. With the proper cearmic kit, how long should that last, 3-5 years depending on mileage covered?
Also there are a few stone chips on the bonnet, is that something that should be ideally sorted prior to starting the process, have bought the paint, just not got around to doing it yet, or is that something that you could also sort as part of the detail/service?

 

[Eddies]

He's bought a load of the gtechniq easy coat when it's been on offer

 

[big_pete]

Thanks for replying - I guess he's maybe not using the full ceramic as Charly mentioned above. With the proper cearmic kit, how long should that last, 3-5 years depending on mileage covered?
Also there are a few stone chips on the bonnet, is that something that should be ideally sorted prior to starting the process, have bought the paint, just not got around to doing it yet, or is that something that you could also sort as part of the detail/service?

We can work chip repair is as part of our packages. If you check out PMG Autocare on Facebook and drop me a line I’m happy to work a price out for you

 

[mark19]

Haha i love seeing these fb adds for we Jimmy mobile detailer will come 3 stage polish your car and cermaic coat or wax it for like 100 quid. The latest one I saw said he can do it while you watch netflix.

Tbh in my opinion they probably do more harm than good! Highly doubt they have insurance or anything either incase something goes wrong. And tbh really think about it would you do all that back breaking work (doing it right) for 150 quid?
I know I wouldn't!

Tbh they prob give it a wash and some sealer to fill in swirls and a shiny looking topper.

Prob better saving extra money and going to a proper business

Just my 2p

 

[Jamesc]

Alot of local "detailers" I've heard offering sub £200 buff and ceramic, are using spray ceramic detailer basically, I've talked to a few/had customers question a few locally what products etc, as Pete says above £150 wouldn't cover the materials never mind time etc. Of a proper ceramic coating.

 

[DC.]

Been there, done that.

I once paid a ‘detailer’ to polish/ceramic coat a car of mine once and I didn’t know the going rate at the time so was surprised at how relatively cheap it was.

Turns out it wasn’t properly polished and hadn’t the ceramic coating correctly applied. I took it to @big_pete and he pretty much laughed when he heard about it all.

Anyone offering a job at £150 odds isn’t worth the hassle - could probably do a similar job yourself if not better. Plus ceramic coatings aren’t something to mess around with.

 

[CharlySkunkWeed]

As I say though, theres a few products can be called ceramic when they're far from it. £150 paint correction and "coating" (not professional ceramic) wouldn't be a stretch. Just don't be expecting an £800 professional job to be done for £150 on Facebook.
I'm sure theres a few on here that detail not as they're main job, but would still do decent work.

 

[111gsi]

Anybody who's ever given their car a really good wash, alloys cleaned, tar removed, hand polish and wax knows it takes a few hours. Imagine paying yourself £9 per hour minimum wage, plus material costs and you won't get much change from £50.

I've only attempted paint "correction" of a full car once, on an old Punto that had faded to pink. Took me all day to get a decent amateur finish.

So for a professional job, paying a skilled person a sensible rate, plus vat, plus rent, plus materials for a correction and ceramic coating, you'd expect to be well into the hundreds, otherwise something's missing. Probably skills, tax and half the materials...

 

[CharlySkunkWeed]

Anybody who's ever given their car a really good wash, alloys cleaned, tar removed, hand polish and wax knows it takes a few hours. Imagine paying yourself £9 per hour minimum wage, plus material costs and you won't get much change from £50.

I've only attempted paint "correction" of a full car once, on an old Punto that had faded to pink. Took me all day to get a decent amateur finish.

So for a professional job, paying a skilled person a sensible rate, plus vat, plus rent, plus materials for a correction and ceramic coating, you'd expect to be well into the hundreds, otherwise something's missing. Probably skills, tax and half the materials...

For sure. I did a leon, give it the works bar the coating (machine polish, sealant, wax). Decon wash, detar, clay, taped all the rubbers and edges.
Damn near killed me. Took a week on and off as I'd to bring it in and out of the garage to do each side and avoid rain etc.

I dont think that's what the Facebook guys would be doing, they likely are just giving it a good wash and polish with a fancy sealant with "ceramic" content.
Which I dont think is necessarily a bad thing, nor do I think it's not worth £150 as long as it's not some melter chancing his arm. Not everyone one wants to pay hundreds for the best, or its maybe not worth it for the car either.

@big_pete what sort of cost difference if you do the full works bar the coating aspect ? Do you do a wax option for example that would save the cost ?

 

[RegalComps]

One thing for sure is this, In this Country anyway, a GOOD Detailer is well underpaid for the work they do! @big_pete would make a great job of your car and leave it much easier to clean going forward ( you will still need general maintenance though)

 

[300trophy]

I will throw my two cents in aswell…

I have been fully mobile for a few months now. I currently offer a paint enhancement package for £150 as an introductory offer until the end of the month (doesn’t include a ‘ceramic coating’ and I’m not Antrim so don’t think the OP is referring to me). Why so cheap? I would like to carry out more of this type of work to go along with the regular maintenance, valeting work I carry out and need a portfolio of work to show potential customers.

I think we need to remember that most people don’t want to/haven’t got the budget to spend several hundreds on the above. I carry out a service which is hassle free for the customer, includes a report of paint depths (should they want it sent to them) and a test spot is carried out to manage expectations

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be working from a unit but Rome wasn’t built in a day as they say and one of the UK’s best, Jim White (White Details) started out machine polishing on people driveways so we all start somewhere.

 

[DC.]

All the best with your venture, @Eddie_ Not easy work.

 

[300trophy]

All the best with your venture, @Eddie_ Not easy work.

Thank you. Have loved every minute of it since going out on my own and wish I had of done it years ago. Have had a few stinkers but I also get to work on some lovely cars and meet interesting people. It’s been great.

 

[Chris100]

Haha i love seeing these fb adds for we Jimmy mobile detailer will come 3 stage polish your car and cermaic coat or wax it for like 100 quid. The latest one I saw said he can do it while you watch netflix.

Tbh in my opinion they probably do more harm than good! Highly doubt they have insurance or anything either incase something goes wrong. And tbh really think about it would you do all that back breaking work (doing it right) for 150 quid?
I know I wouldn't!

Tbh they prob give it a wash and some sealer to fill in swirls and a shiny looking topper.

Prob better saving extra money and going to a proper business

Just my 2p

There is also the other side to the argument, you can still pay £500 plus and get a crap job. Just because someone is charging £100s doesn’t mean they are any good.

I mean unless you stand there and watch them do all the work, or trust them. How do you know all the work has been completed to a good standard or for that matter they have used the products they said they would.

 

[Woodcutter]

90% of people couldn’t tell the difference between a £150 detail and a £800 detail is the reality of it.

 

[Eager]

90% of people couldn’t tell the difference between a £150 detail and a £800 detail is the reality of it.

95% of people don’t care for a detail, a polish or a bit of tyre slick even. It’s a wash to most normal people. RMS view on car ownership/care is very much a minority

 

[ShaunB]

I will throw my two cents in aswell…

I have been fully mobile for a few months now. I currently offer a paint enhancement package for £150 as an introductory offer until the end of the month (doesn’t include a ‘ceramic coating’ and I’m not Antrim so don’t think the OP is referring to me). Why so cheap? I would like to carry out more of this type of work to go along with the regular maintenance, valeting work I carry out and need a portfolio of work to show potential customers.

I think we need to remember that most people don’t want to/haven’t got the budget to spend several hundreds on the above. I carry out a service which is hassle free for the customer, includes a report of paint depths (should they want it sent to them) and a test spot is carried out to manage expectations

Don’t get me wrong, I would love to be working from a unit but Rome wasn’t built in a day as they say and one of the UK’s best, Jim White (White Details) started out machine polishing on people driveways so we all start somewhere.

I'm planning on getting a date booked with you in the next few days for this Eddie.

 

[NickR]

90% of people couldn’t tell the difference between a £150 detail and a £800 detail is the reality of it.

I'm going to be honest here, I have had two cars ceramic coated in the past and several with a paint correction and application of a good wax and trims, glass etc protected by DT Detailing in Ballymoney. I was just as happy with the finish David Tweed left with just the paint correction and wax and it was about a quarter of the price.

I just don't know if I could justify the cost of a ceramic coating again unless it was a car I was going to be keeping long term (unlikely knowing me ) or something a bit special.

 

[111gsi]

Never considered high end paint correction/protection myself.

I'm happy if I've got a car that justifies the outlay on a tin of Bilt Hamber HD wax!

 

[ShaunB]

I'm going to be honest here, I have had two cars ceramic coated in the past and several with a paint correction and application of a good wax and trims, glass etc protected by DT Detailing in Ballymoney. I was just as happy with the finish David Tweed left with just the paint correction and wax and it was about a quarter of the price.

I just don't know if I could justify the cost of a ceramic coating again unless it was a car I was going to be keeping long term (unlikely knowing me ) or something a bit special.

Well yes, depending on how long you will keep the car is a big factor, as is how the car is maintained.
But your quarter of the price wax, will likely only last a quarter of the time of a professional coating at best I'd say.