I get asked a lot what type of certificates I have for detailing. I always answer the same, “There are none.”
Sure there are those small training classes that a few companies put together, but it’s by no means a standardized- true class where the certificates hold any weight or value to the world. Especially if you’re trying to start your own car detailing business.
A lot of times, I see people wanting to get into detailing. Maybe not starting a business which is perfectly fine, but at least enough to take proper car of their own vehicle.
So in this article, I’m going to share a few characteristics you need to become a great detailer. It’s not that I claim myself to be the greatest, far-far from it, but I do consider my skills higher than most detailers.
Self-Taught
You have to love to learn on your own. Which I mean literally. As in you have to go online, go to Google, and start searching for what you need. There are forms out there like AutoGeekOnline or a bunch of YouTube channels that make your life WAY easier to learn.
But you have to take your own time and energy to learn the skill. It’s going to be fun if you like it, but it requires your own time and discipline. You can always pay to go to a class, but more likely than not, you’re only going to do this for fun and will probably not find the value in paying someone to teach you.
Patience
Proper car detailing is not a quick task. Sure there are a bunch of things you can do to speed up the detailing process, but you can’t expect to get amazing results in a few hours.
When you first start, simply washing your car may take you no less than an hour, assuming you’re doing everything the proper way. Not that it’s hard or anything, you’re just not use to doing it the proper way.
So it will require patience to learn, execute, and adapt. Not to mention that if you start to feel rushed, it will show in your work. If you’re cleaning an engine and you start to get tired or bored half way, you’ll see a lot more spots missed once you’re done.
Attention To Detail
As they say, “The devil is in the details.” If you’re going to do this on your personal car, you probably won’t have to worry about is as much as if you were trying to do this as a business.
But one thing people hate is when you hire a detailer and they miss the detailed parts like the seams of the seats. If you’re picky about how your car looks, that’s good. Your eyes will be trained to look in more detailed areas, trying to spot anything that needs additional attention.
Most Have Fun
This should go without saying but you need to have fun while you’re doing this. You shouldn’t get into this hobby if you don’t like it. It’s a lot of time and effort to learn, and money will be spent. You don’t want to lie to yourself just to do it (which I don’t see why you would).