How to Make Cost-Effective Chemical Decisions

How to Make Cost-Effective Chemical Decisions

By Steve Ludman

Several waxes provide both a surface cleaning and a protective coating

Selecting products to help you perform in the most proficient, cost-effective manner is a goal every detailer wants to attain, but there is much to consider:

What products do you use? How much do you use? Where do you get it? How much of a quantity do you purchase? Where can it be stored? How long will it last? Will it be safe from theft? Is it environmentally safe?

These questions are complicated by the fact that in the chemical industry recently there have been major changes in product, styling, marketing and quality. There are many choices and products from which to choose.

As a business owner, a detailer must consider chemicals as factors that contribute to both sides of the balance sheet: income you get from the detailing service and expenditures on the chemicals. Here are some basic guidelines to consider when selecting detailing chemicals.

First, consider all alternatives to sources and products that you feel could benefit you. Ask others in your profession what they are doing and how they are using different products, and always be looking for new ways to improve your business.

However, a product that someone else is using successfully may not necessarily work for you. This could be because of many reasons that could range from different water quality to changes in humidity. On the other hand, there may be products that you wouldn't think of using that could be the very ones you need. Going through trial and error with different products and detailing techniques will give you more knowledge and experience as your business grows.

The source matters

There are many sources for detailing chemicals and supplies. Who you do business with should be someone you can trust, feel comfortable with and will deliver what you need when you need it. They should be helpful and courteous, willing to answer questions and if necessary provide samples of products that are new or may help solve a problem.

A basic expectation is that they should provide you with Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on all chemicals and be readily available to answer questions and concerns in a timely fashion. If they can't do that you should look elsewhere.

When putting your chemical list together, consider what you will need to completely clean and detail the vehicle:

Preparation products. Presoaks, tar and sap removers, and wheel and tire cleaners...anything that will get the vehicle ready for washing.

A good carwash soap. An effective cleaner that followed by a thorough rinsing will prepare the surface for a wax coating.

Wax. There are several types of wax. Those that provide a surface cleaner with a protective wax are helpful with vehicles that are three or more years old. Newer vehicles have a stronger clearcoat finish so a good wax without a cleaner will do fine.

Interior cleaners. You will need to use the correct products for the material: cloth, leather, vinyl, plastic, wood or enamel. A good water-based carpet and upholstery cleaner can cover many areas inside a vehicle, but you may also want to carry some multiple-type stain extractor products that can handle grease and oil, blood, ink and water-based stains like coffee.

Finishing chemicals. The final detailing can be done with liquid and/or aerosol dressings for the interior and the exterior trim as well as the wheel wells and tires.

Glass cleaner. Do not forget about a good glass cleaner! The second largest visible portion of a vehicle beside the painted surface is the glass. A quality glass cleaner should be complemented with a good applicator, such as surgical towels, diapers or newspapers.

Products that perform multiple or cross-functional jobs can be cost effective. Products such as all-purpose cleaners and waxes that clean and protect surfaces are beneficial, and detailers should take advantage of these when they can.

Figuring costs

After you have compiled a list of all products needed to detail a car from start to finish, you will need to know how many vehicles your products can clean. For example, if you use on average 1 ounce of carwash soap to clean one vehicle, then a 5-gallon pail will do about 640 vehicles. If the pail of soap costs you $65, then your cost per vehicle for carwash soap is about 10 cents per vehicle.

If you use an aerosol tire dressing that can do 20 tires, and it costs you $2.65 per can, your cost per vehicle is $2.65/20 = 13 cents per tire, times four tires per vehicle = 52 cents.

Now do this for all of the chemicals you use and add them up to give yourself a guideline as to what it will cost you in chemicals per vehicle. There are industry publications on average costs per vehicles with chemicals you can look into to see where you fit in.

Ask your current vendors for additional suggestions and ideas because they are working with many detailers on a daily basis and may know of ways other owners are doing things that could benefit you. Ask your customers. Are they happy, or is there something else they wanted done? Do they have any questions? Customers are a source that is sometimes overlooked. After all, their impression of your work is what's most important

Steve Ludman is the National Product Manager for Stoner, Inc. in Quarryville, PA.

Up in the Air on Aerosols?
The lowdown on bulk vs. aerosol dressings

The final detail: both aerosol and non-aerosol products have their benefits.

Which is better and more cost effective, bulk or aerosol dressings? The answer is they are equally good--they're just different, but a common misconception has been "more" is less expensive. In reality this isn't always so.

Aerosol dressings are designed to produce faster, easier results in less time because they are ready to use and their impact is immediate. There is less labor involved with aerosols than there is with bulk liquids. Bulk dressings require more storage capacity and additional holding containers (spray bottles, applicators and more). There is the labor exercised from pouring the liquid into the containers and applying it to a surface where it usually needs wiping.

Pricing is the other misconception. A 5-gallon pail surely can do more cars than a 12-can case of aerosols! Maybe so, but don't forget the labor and time saved. If you look at the cost per vehicle rather than the cost per product you'll see there isn't that big a difference.

For example, an average vehicle uses 1.5 ounces of dressing per tire. With a 55-gallon drum, you can dress 5,280 tires. If an average price of a drum of dressing is $500, then your cost per tire is $500/5,280 = 9 cents per tire.

To do that many tires with an aerosol can figure an average of 20 tires per can, which would be 264 cans. At an average price of $2.50 per can, $2.50/20= $.125 cents per tire. There is not much of a price difference between the two dressings when you break it down this way.

There is a place for both aerosols and bulk dressings in detailing, but it is an individual choice. The end result of your detail and what your customers think of your work is ultimately what is most important.

--Steve Ludman