Exterior Detailing Kit
Share
An exterior detail is the easiest thing to sell first, because the customer can see the whole result from the end of the driveway and you never have to touch their belongings. Four containers cover it: soap, wheel cleaner, tire dressing and a finishing spray. Buy them in working sizes, write down what the tier includes, and you have a service you can quote over the phone without seeing the car.
A tier is a promise, not a list of bottles
New detailers price by product and lose money. The chemical cost of an exterior wash is small enough to be a rounding error against your time, so the number you charge should come from how long the car takes and what you have promised. Write the tier down in one sentence for the customer: wheels, tires, wash, dry, dressed rubber, finishing wipe, no interior. Then the argument at handover never happens, because there is nothing to argue about. When you are ready to add the cabin, the professional car interior detailing kit is the next tier up, and the other starter pages are on the bundle guides hub.
Soap, wheels, tires and the finishing wipe
IRS is the soap, and it is a concentrate. P&S rates the concentration at 128 to 1, and describes it as super sudsing and cherry scented, producing a thick long lasting lather with good rinsing qualities that does not leave streaks behind. At that ratio a gallon is a great many cars, which is the point of buying it this way. The maker positions it as strong enough to lift heavy dirt while staying mild enough for everyday washing, and that middle ground is where a service book lives, because you cannot keep three soaps in a van for three grades of dirty.
Knock Off does the wheels. P&S describes it as a non acidic wheel cleaner that removes stubborn brake dust, formulated specifically for wheel cleaning in a high production environment, which is a fair description of what you are running. It is a concentrate as well, and P&S states the dilution varies with the condition of the wheel, so mix it per the label rather than guessing. Strong for the neglected set on the first visit, weaker for the maintenance wash a month later.
The dressing is the one that stops you getting called back. 3D describes the non silicone formula as Body Shop Safe, and a water based dressing will not sling a line of oily spots down a customer's clean flank at the first hard bend the way a cheap solvent one does. A gallon lasts, because a tire takes very little when it goes on with an applicator instead of a trigger. Decant it into a smaller bottle for the van and leave the jug in the garage.
Paint Gloss is the last two minutes of the job and it does more for the handover than anything else in the kit. P&S says it removes dirt, fingerprints, dust and smudges without having to complete a full detail, and describes it as a water based product for spray application to maintain and enhance paint surfaces on freshly detailed or lightly soiled vehicles. Mist it panel by panel over a dried car and wipe it through. It is also listed by P&S as a paint lubricant with their clay putty, so the bottle earns its space twice.
What the tier leaves out
No interior of any kind, and say so plainly when you quote. Door jambs are the gray area, so decide once and put them in writing, because half your customers think a wash includes them and the other half have never looked. No compound and no polish either, since correction is a different skill, a different price and a different amount of risk on someone else's paint. Towels and microfiber detergent are add ons rather than included items, but at service volume towels are a consumable, so buy more than feels sensible and wash them separately from everything else you own. The full shelf, including the sizes not in this kit, is in the Wash Bay.
Ninety minutes, start to handover
Wheels before paint, always. Wheel cleaner that lands on a washed panel is a rewash, and brake dust flicked up by a brush goes everywhere.
- Wheels and tires first, diluted cleaner, brushes, rinsed before anything dries.
- Rinse the whole car top down to carry the loose grit off before a mitt touches it.
- Two buckets, soap, roof down, and rinse the mitt more often than you want to.
- Final rinse, then dry with a clean towel while the car is still standing in the shade rather than out in the sun.
- Dress the tires and the rubber trim.
- Finishing spray over the paint, glass wiped, then walk the car with the owner before you pack up.
Walk the car with the owner at the end, in daylight, and point out what you did rather than waiting to be asked. That two minute habit is what turns one booking into a monthly one.
What working sizes buy you
Three gallons and a pint cover months of Saturdays, and the per car chemical cost drops to less than the fuel to get there. More useful than the money is not running out, since a soap bottle that empties halfway through a booked morning costs you the rest of the day. Pal Automotive items are sold and shipped by Pal Automotive through Shopify Collective, not made or shipped by Sniff and Shift. Stock a spare of whatever you use fastest, which will be the soap.
Questions from new detailers
Should I offer an exterior detail on a car that has never been maintained?
Yes, but quote it as a first visit and say the result will not look like the photos on your page. Neglected paint needs decontamination and correction, and promising a wash will fix it is how you end up doing a free second visit.
Can I use the same wheel cleaner on every wheel?
Dilute it down for anything you are unsure about and test a small area at the back of the rim first. Finishes vary more than people expect, and compatibility beyond what the maker names is not stated on the label.
How do I stop water spots on a hot day?
Work in sections, keep the panel wet until you rinse it, and dry immediately rather than at the end. Park in shade if there is any, and do the roof first so runoff lands on panels you have not dried yet.
Related guides
Pages written for people building a book are under the pro starter cluster, and Explore filters the whole catalog by size. The treats we make in our own kitchen are freeze dried dog treats.
