Two years ago, I started a mobile detailing business for less than $500, and last year alone, it made me over $200,000. So today, we’re ditching the van and going back to square one. I’m going to show you everything that I bought when I started for less than $500
But let’s cover the tools first so I can give you an idea of the basics that you need to start your detailing business.
So today, we're ditching the van and going back to square one. I'm going to show you everything that I bought when I started for less than $500.
which you can get at Lowe’s for $100. I like this one a lot. I’ve been using it for several years now, and I haven’t had to replace it. It’s really reliable, gets the job done, and it’s small and compact, perfect for mobile detailers. The pressure washer is also $100.
I like the Ridgid because it has the most suction and power for the price you pay.
So, we’re at $200 so far for the two key items you need for your detailing business. In order to plug anything in, you’re, of course, going to need an extension cord. I recommend getting anything that is 75 to 100 ft. At 50 ft, you’re kind of pushing it. You’re going to have to plug into the client’s power for both your vacuum and your pressure washer. This extension cord, available at Lowe’s, costs anywhere from $30 to $50 for a quality one.
These are each $5 a piece, so $10 for the set. This is for the two-bucket wash method. In case you’re not familiar, one bucket is for soap, the other bucket is for water. This is how you ensure that you don’t scratch the customer’s vehicle when you’re cleaning it. Because you take your wash mitt when it’s dirty and dunk it in the rinse bucket, which just has water, and you put it back in the soap bucket to continue washing. So, that’s two buckets from Lowe’s.
Inside of the bucket is a water hose. This one here is a 50 ft extendable water hose, so this is actually going to extend and become longer once it has water in it. This here is about $30, also from Lowe’s. Quality hose here
So here are the final things that I bought from Lowe's before I show you all of the chemicals that you're going to need to start your business
So, here are all the products that I use from DIY Detail. The reason I like these products is they’re super affordable, easy to use, so even beginners can pick them up, and they produce great results for the price.
On the exterior, we’re going to start by doing a wash. We’re going to use Incredible Suds. You do not need a foam cannon when starting your detailing business. That is an upgrade that you can choose to get later. Instead, use the two-bucket wash method. It’s simple: one bucket for water, one bucket for soap. Two capfuls of Incredible Suds is more than enough to wash the exterior.
Now, for the wheels and tires, we’re going to want to use All Clean. This is an all-purpose cleaner that can be used on the wheels, rims, and the paint. If you do choose to use it on the paint, make sure you’re only using it when the exterior is extra dirty, and don’t let it sit on the paint for too long. This is something just to loosen up that heavy dirt and grime and then spray off with the pressure washer. But you’re going to use this primarily on the wheels and tires. When scrubbing the wheels, you can use this small brush, and when scrubbing the rims, there’s a soft bristle brush that allows you to get in all of the spokes, cracks, and crevices of the rims.
First, we have a handful of brushes, $10 for the interior. Then we have a microfiber wash mitt, the best kind of wash mitt you can get to start, $5. Here is a large drying towel, this was about $7 or $8 at Lowe’s once again. And then I bought a few packs of these six-pack microfiber towels. You need to make sure that you buy microfibers for the interior and for the exterior. These are the kinds of towels that are not going to scratch anything in the vehicle, safest to use on all surfaces. These here are specifically for the interior.
So, everything from Lowe’s is exactly $325, which means that if we’re staying under our $500 budget, we still have another $175 to spend on chemicals. So, without further ado, I’ll show you what I bought online.
Alright, so here we have the chemicals that I ordered online. Now, when I started my detailing business, I bought stuff from Chemical Guys, Armor All, and the store-bought stuff. It’s garbage. Make sure you order online what I tell you to order because everything that you buy in the store is more consumer-grade, so it’s not going to get the results that a professional should get.
Without further ado, let’s open up and see what we got. As soon as I finish showing you all of the chemicals that you can use to start your detailing business, tomorrow I’m also going to show you how I price all of my services to start and how I acquire my customers so that you can start making a full-time income from detailing in just a couple of months.