How To Grow a Business and Team. Touchless Wheel Cleaning and How it Works. Episode #952
Pints and Polishing Auto Detailing Podcast
Pints and Polishing Auto Detailing Podcast Apr 28, 2026
How To Grow a Business and Team. Touchless Wheel Cleaning and How it Works. Episode #952
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Concept
touchless wheel cleaning
Touchless wheel cleaning means you clean wheels using products and water instead of scrubbing. It’s meant to lift dirt and brake dust safely. The episode title suggests they’ll explain how it works.
The Acura NSX is a famous sports car from Acura. “First gen” means the original version, and it’s especially rare—so it’s a big deal when a detailer gets to work around one.
If you see a bubble in paint protection film, it can mean something got trapped underneath—often moisture. That trapped moisture can make the film lift or look uneven, and it usually needs attention rather than ignoring it.
They’re talking about using a very small needle to pull trapped air out from under the clear film. The idea is to fix bubbles without tearing everything off—though it’s still a delicate job.
Sometimes the clear protective film doesn’t fully lay flat on the paint. If air or moisture gets trapped underneath, it can show up later and may need to be fixed by the shop.
Sometimes it’s not just air trapped under the film—there can be moisture too. Moisture can cause problems as it dries, and it may mean the install needs attention from the shop.
After a new protective film is installed, the shop should check it again soon after. That way, if anything didn’t stick perfectly, they can fix it early.
Term
PPF vs vinyl wrap quality tradeoff
They frame PPF and vinyl wrap as having similar “reality” in terms of workmanship: mistakes happen, and quality varies by shop. They connect visible defects to the likelihood of a lower-quality install and emphasize the importance of choosing a competent installer.
If the film is too messed up—like it’s lifting or won’t stick flat—sometimes you have to remove that section and put new film on. Small issues might be fixable, but bigger ones usually aren’t.
QC just means the shop double-checks the car before you leave. The goal is to find mistakes early—like spots that were missed—so they can fix them instead of you noticing later.
Abrading just means roughing up or removing the old layer so the new film can stick. It’s often necessary when the paint already has a coating that would otherwise block adhesion.
Polishing the edges means carefully smoothing and finishing the areas around the film so it sits correctly. If the edges aren’t prepped right, they can lift and peel more over time.
A multi-stage issue means it’s probably not just one mistake. There may be multiple things that happened—like what was on the paint before the film and how it was installed—so the fix may take more than one step.
Ceramic coating is a protective layer you apply to your car’s paint. It helps repel water and grime so washing is easier and the paint is better protected.
Tack is how “sticky” the film is when you’re applying it. If it’s tackier, it tends to stick better and can help the installation look cleaner and last longer.
Edge peeling is when the protective film starts to lift at the edges. That usually happens when the film wasn’t installed carefully or the material wasn’t great, and it can be fixed if caught early.
This is about protecting the front of the car, especially the hood. Since that area gets hit by rocks and debris most often, it’s a common place to apply protective film.
Rock chips are little dings or spots in the paint from small rocks hitting the car while you drive. PPF helps protect the paint in the areas most likely to get hit.
“Peel up” means the protective film starts to lift off the paint, usually at the edges. Once it lifts, it can let dirt and moisture underneath and may need to be replaced.
The host frames PPF decisions as two different ownership strategies: a shorter horizon (e.g., ~5 years) focused on protecting the front end for resale, versus a longer horizon (10–15 years) where the film’s long-term durability and adhesive stability matter more. This is essentially a cost/benefit decision based on how long you plan to keep the car.
The Ferrari F40 is a high-performance supercar from Ferrari. Because it’s an older collector car, the outside paint can sometimes start to wear or peel over time. The podcast is also talking about how owners usually buy it for the experience, not guaranteed huge future value.
The Ferrari F50 is a fast, rare supercar made by Ferrari. As it gets older, the paint can sometimes start to peel or fail. The podcast is also pointing out that people usually buy it to enjoy it, not because they expect it to become worth millions.
They’re talking about a Honda CR-V, which is a very common SUV. They’re saying it’s generally easy to work on when you’re applying a coating and doing paint correction.
Paint correction means polishing the paint to remove visible imperfections. They’re saying some Honda paints are easier to polish and improve before adding a coating.
The Honda S2000 is a two-seat sports car designed for fun driving. People often work on it themselves because many parts are relatively accessible. The podcast also suggests that some production years can be more difficult to deal with than others.
They’re pointing out that some parts of the car (the lower panels) are made from hard plastic. That’s important because coatings and cleaners can behave differently on plastic than on painted surfaces.
They’re saying there are special products for the car’s plastic trim. Since plastic isn’t the same as painted paint, you generally want the right product for that surface.
An applicator is what you use to spread the product on the car. The host is saying trim products can come out thicker and look slightly different, which can affect how you apply them.
This is the idea that you have to prep the surface correctly before applying protection. If the surface isn’t cleaned/conditioned the right way, the coating won’t stick as well and won’t last as long.
Not every coating is meant for every surface. A product designed for glass may not work as well on plastic trim (and vice versa) because the bonding and chemistry are different.
Plastic oxidation is what makes exterior plastic trim look faded or gray over time. Sun and weather slowly break down the surface, and cleaners can remove that top layer.
A “prep step” is the intentional cleaning/conditioning work done before the main detailing product or process. Here, the host frames trim cleaning as a quick step that improves results by removing film and helping products bond better, rather than skipping it to save time.
Customer retention just means getting customers to return instead of only relying on new people. If your work is consistent and customers feel taken care of, they’re more likely to book again.
Soap is the first cleaning product you use to start breaking down dirt on the car. Using the right soap (and mixing it correctly) helps clean better without harming the paint.
Instead of scrubbing your wheels, you spray a cleaner on them and let it break down the dirt. Then you rinse it off with water. It’s usually faster and can be gentler on the wheel finish.
AWX is the brand they’re talking about. They’re saying their product or method came first, and then more people started talking about touchless wheel cleaning later.
They’re describing a simple process with two chemical steps. First you use one cleaner to break down the grime, then you use a second product to finish and help the wheel come clean without scrubbing.
In wheel cleaning, “acid” is a strong chemical that helps dissolve brake dust that’s stuck to the wheel. Using too much or too strong of it can increase the risk of damaging the wheel finish.
TRX is a cleaner product the hosts say you use after the acid step. They’re basically saying the two products have to be matched correctly—otherwise you can end up with problems instead of a clean wheel.
A degreaser is a cleaner that helps remove greasy/oily buildup. The hosts are saying that if you crank up chemical strength in multiple steps, you have to be extra careful to avoid ruining the wheel.
Dwell time is how long the cleaner sits on the wheel before you rinse it. The hosts are saying you should keep it from drying out so it can work properly and not leave problems behind.
Term
WX
WX is another product the hosts say they use as part of their wheel-cleaning routine. They mention it alongside TRX as part of the standard method.
Before you spray strong cleaner, you should make sure the wheel isn’t too hot. Heat from driving or braking can make the chemicals behave differently, so cooling or rinsing first helps you work safely and get better results.
Term
degreasing type family
“Degreasing” just means the cleaner is meant to cut through greasy, stubborn buildup. Wheels often have a mix of brake dust and grime that can stick on like a film, so you need a cleaner that can break it down.
Rotors are the metal discs your brakes clamp onto to slow the car down. They can get hot, and the speaker is saying smoke can happen even when the surface isn’t as hot as you might think.
The speaker describes a practical technique: misting water to keep the surface wet so products don’t dry in place. This is essentially about controlling dwell time and preventing residue/spotting from dried chemicals.
This is about using strong cleaners safely. You do it by making them weaker with dilution, rinsing first, and keeping them wet so they clean without causing damage.
A degreaser is a cleaner that’s meant to dissolve greasy dirt and grime. If you’re worried it might be too strong, dilute it and rinse the wheel first so you don’t damage the surface.
Dilute means you mix the concentrate with water to make it weaker. If you’re worried a cleaner is too strong for your wheels, diluting it is a safer way to start.
Reactivate means you re-wet the cleaner so it keeps working. Many wheel chemicals work best while they’re wet, so if it starts drying, you spray more and then scrub.
Rinsing first means you wash the wheel with water before using stronger cleaner. It helps reduce the chance of damaging the wheel and makes the chemical work more predictably.
They’re talking about detailing Dodge Caravans, which are everyday family vans. Working on vehicles like that helps you practice cleaning methods on real-world dirt.
They’re describing the handheld high-pressure sprayer used to rinse and keep things wet. The point is to stop soap from drying by spraying it again when needed.
Concept
washing in the sun's fullest
Sunlight matters because it can make water dry too fast. If you wash at the hottest time, you may get more water spots or streaks, so timing your wash helps.
A customer interaction system is just a routine for how you message and follow up with customers. It helps you not forget details like when the car is supposed to be cleaned.
Key management just means keeping customer keys safe and organized. If you’re detailing at their home, you need a reliable way to get the car and garage access without losing anything or creating a security risk.
Mobile detailing is when the detailer comes to your house or workplace. Since you’re not at a shop, you usually need better communication and a clear plan for access to the car.
They recommend texting customers to confirm the appointment time. Even if you schedule 9 a.m., people might show up closer to 9:40, so reminders help everyone stay on the same page.
Concept
client communication cadence (phone/text vs never confirming)
They’re arguing about whether you should always confirm with customers instead of just assuming. The safer approach is to check in so there’s less chance of confusion.
A support truck is an extra vehicle used to keep service running when someone is out or when workload spikes. In a detailing business, having spare capacity helps prevent missed appointments and keeps customer service consistent.
When you only have one chance to do a job, being on time matters a lot. If you’re late or miss the appointment, customers notice and it can hurt your reputation.
They’re saying the real key to keeping wealthy clients is being dependable. If you always show up and do what you promise, people feel comfortable letting you handle their property.
They’re saying that in Vegas, wealthy clients and expensive items are common enough that you have to be extra careful. That’s why they use strict steps instead of handling things casually.
They outline a repeatable “process” for handling valuables discovered during detailing—documenting where items were found, photographing placement, and reporting to the right person. This is essentially risk management and quality control tailored to high-value environments.
They mention an estate manager, which is basically the person who runs the property and coordinates who does what. If you communicate through them, you avoid confusion.
Accountability means you don’t just ask someone to do something—you make sure they actually do it. It helps your team stay consistent instead of relying on you to fix everything yourself.
They contrast two leadership styles: pushing work by personally doing it versus leading the team to execute. “Leading by example” is presented as a way to earn trust and motivate consistent effort.
This segment shifts into general business leadership strategy for a service-industry team: hiring, work ethic, scheduling, and setting expectations around effort. The hosts argue that owners often need to work as hard (or harder) than their staff to set the right culture.
The host frames business leadership around rewarding consistent effort—keeping long-term team members, avoiding pay cuts, and providing raises and vacation time. In a detailing business context, this is tied to reducing “headaches” by building a stable, motivated crew.
Here “headaches” just means problems that make work harder. The host is saying most of those problems come from effort and consistency, not from a lack of talent.
Term
$15 an hour
The host discusses wage expectations as part of hiring and retention strategy—specifically referencing $15/hour as an example of pay that may not align with what owners expect from employees. It’s presented as a market-rate discussion rather than a detailing-specific technical topic.
They’re using a higher wage example to make the same point: what you pay affects what you can reasonably expect. The host is saying wages vary by area, so you can’t judge performance without that context.
LIVE
Welcome to the pints and polishing podcast, the most influential and listen to podcast in auto detailing. Welcome to the community.
All right, so we've been playing Jeopardy. And by the time thanks for hitting record goes down to two squares, two squares on the board. Nick, I don't know if you're going to win this or not.
We got two squares lumping your throat looking at PDF for 1000 or touchless wheel cleaning as a mobile detailer for 500 Nick.
Looking at your what's PDF PDF lump in your throat like looking at a PDF and go.
Okay, I don't know what that means. Like scared like you saw some PDF get applied down onto a car. You're looking at what did I say PDF. Yeah, my bad.
PDF like the digital.
I'm like, welcome to Tommy Tech. Welcome to dyslexia. Right. The whole time I thought I would PDF like PDF. Oh, shit. Right.
Yeah, yeah. I don't ever like that's the dyslexia. I never even thought just do one of them. Just this is what we call just thinking too much about how we're going to start the podcast.
Just trying to have fun with just get into a dog trying to have fun with Nick and even here on my notes it says PDF. I'm like what an idiot.
Right. All right, no comment.
Let's let's go lump in your throat looking at PDF for 1000 Nick. Yeah, let's do that. Let's do that one. All right.
So the first time that I probably am speechless walking in, I open a door at my buddy's body shop Scott, I open up the door he's just talking to me right we're just we're just going back through there and he opens up the door and
suddenly I just see that red and I go, Oh, wow. Look at that car. The Acura NSX first gen go to the specialist group check it out. There's underlying I mean there's a reason I was speechless.
Not so great of a car guy and was still speechless knowing hey that's something very rare. Yeah, very rare. So here's one of the greatest parts about our industry is you can pick up things like that a very rare car.
Apparently he set a record on bring your trailer very nice. Nice. I don't know. Right. I mean, some guy had kept it. And then it was his turn right.
He was finished. So he need to dump it off. It's a great part about our industry right you can pick up something so awesome from somebody that's kept something for a long time.
Now that the part about everything is Scott then walks me out afterwards and goes, you know the flip of the coin of our industry is he bought it because he's not sure if it might be his time.
See he's dipped ever since I met him when he you know when he said that he was a when I put into the specialist group he was a detailer at the Honda store.
He's been a guy that's just been in that industry done what we've all done. Right. I've done it. You've done it. We've all done it. Most of us.
But he's starting to get this burn. He's starting to feel things and he goes, man, I'm old. I'm starting to get old. I feel he's got an appointment on when you know he starts going you just go holy shit man.
What's going on? He goes, I don't know man. I just got my daughter's car, not PDF. Right. And and then he wants it coded and he's like I just need to take care of my daughter and at least maybe she'll remember me when I'm gone and go, huh.
I don't know how this jeopardy for PPF turned into this. I guess I didn't know. Well, so what's the question here? That's what well it's just the ironically part of right there's the industry right there's them rolling into it.
So I get his his daughter's CRV freshly PDFed. Yeah.
And and I'm washing I'm drying and I look and I see this little bubble. Now the first one's not so big. Just just maybe what a dime. So what happens when you see a dime size bubble in PPF? What do you do?
My move? Take a picture. Hey, bro, you got an issue here. So you have to you have two things that could happen if there's water trapped under there, then you know you can try to squeegee that out.
But the number one thing to do if you're capable is, you know, like tiny tiny syringes, which are hard to come by sometimes but really like pinhole syringes and you can just suck the air out of it like a detailer.
What do you mean? Like, I mean, I didn't put let's say somebody didn't put down the PP. Oh yeah, I mean, I'm just saying the way I could solve it is is that I have those needles on hand and I could just suck the air out of it if there was air and it would
Fluck us through the risk because I'm freaked out when I hear you say that I go wait a second. I'm gonna stick a needle. There's not there's not really that much risk you just come in from the side it's a tiny tiny pinhole and you just kind of suck the air out.
I mean, you're going to see it because obviously it's cured PPF at this point, but you can take the air out of it.
You know, moisture you have to deal a little differently with you can try to you can try to zip it out of there with a squeegee but you know if if if it's a sign of other things that it's this needs to go back to the PPF shop and you know,
More than likely if this was a guy, let's just say he just freshly had it done what you would normally do is he should have a two week checkup that with that shop and go back to that shop and you know point out any problem areas he saw they give it a look over and they handle those issues.
That would be the normal kind of PPF timeline right there.
All right, I'm a guy that wants to try it. I'm going to take walk us through it man I got to take some syringe I get off of where you know how much I forget what the name of them is it's like a, you know, it's like a diabetic needle like you know something like that.
And you can find them at a tractor supply and places like that where you have to like inject animals it's tiny.
I mean I was going to say how big it I mean it seems like tiny am I going to see because you said you're going to see it what am I going to see if I just going to you're going to see you're not poking it you're trying to pull the air out with a syringe you're going to poke a little hole then you're going to suck the air out of it with a syringe what you're
and look if you're not comfortable fresh PPF for your customer should you know again if you didn't apply the PPF they should have a two week follow up with that shop and just go to the shop and say hey we found this we found that and they usually you know handle it for you.
All right so there's a small dime size. It's interesting you mentioned oh it's wide I can't show it to you. But I mean that's on the passenger side or the other ones on the passenger side on the driver side I mean this thing was, I don't know, three or four inches wide, maybe six or so I mean you just go.
Yeah, this screams like I got a deal.
I mean let's call it what it is mistakes happen things like air pockets and water being left behind that dries out over a couple week period that stuff's very normal you know people are human.
They just miss a spot with a squeegee the kind of stuff you're talking about at that point.
You get what you pay for and it sounds like there wasn't a hefty price paid for this and so you're going to get a lot of this and for anybody that you know wants to like jump up and down and say you know all that.
This is probably not the highest quality shop if it is they had a bad day take your vehicle back there have them address the issues pull the panels.
You know redo the area would be I mean the kind of thing you're talking about here that's not going to be fixable that needs to go back and probably be reapplied and.
You know friend or not when I start to see this stuff the first question I would ask anybody is how much you pay for this.
And I'll get my answer 100 out of 100 times and go so you went with the guy that didn't know what he was doing.
That's I mean that's just the reality of that world vinyl wrap tent PPF you know detailing it all has the same reality around it.
Well I think another interesting reality is that I'm so glad you mentioned that about you know do you pull it off what it you know it's what he just coat over it like I'm not going to coat over that.
It's probably going to have to get pulled off right when it's when it's that big dime size is one thing but if it's that big.
Yeah right coming off it's coming off and look some instances of the dime size like if you do really high level installs and you just made an honest mistake that dime size could come back.
You can't let get it to lay down properly even taking all the air out you're pulling the whole hood you're pulling whatever that panel is right so.
What most likely happened like they just missed it they just they just missed it with the squeegee they just said we're going too fast.
Not the right pressure missed the area I mean it's it's all very common stuff but when you're at a high quality shop they would have QC quality control and they would have caught all of this.
Right so it's not that those shops don't make those types of mistakes I mean the big one on the door I'm sure is not a high quality shot mistake but.
I mean things happen it's it's it's a product that takes a lot of human element to get it on the car takes a lot of different things to get it on the car properly knife work different things like that so things happen.
But the reason you go with the high quality shop is when you spot that at your two week check up they go hey we're going to pull this panel we made a mistake we're going to reapply it you know leave the car with us a little extra time here it's our mistake you move on.
But.
It's it's just one of these things man like I can't stress it enough like cheap has a cost and this probably is going to have a cost.
Are they going to stand behind it are they going to make it right can they make it right do they have the talent to actually fix it if they let these massive issues go.
That's that all becomes part of the equation.
All right interesting though interesting right he had showed me before when he was doing you know showing me the beautiful red NSX.
And he showed me a place where the PPF was starting to peel up.
He goes just had a PPF.
They think they was ceramic coating beforehand and that's why there's some of these little places that are peeling up.
This is that on the NSX or on the NSX.
First you know you would immediately go OK.
If you had problems on the NSX makes sense that the the the Civic sorry that not the the RV CRV has has an issue.
No question.
You got to ask a question though right like why would you have coated that in a suit.
I'm sorry you know should you have PPF'd it.
Is that what you should have done.
They would have they should have abraded it off.
I mean they should have polished.
I mean at the very least they should have polished the edges and remove that coating or you know maybe even full correction to get everything off the car and PPF it.
There's there's ways around it.
I would say in all likelihood you're dealing with a multi stage issue here.
High high quality film doesn't have such an issue with ceramic coating.
It's a higher tack.
Everything's better.
The people installing it are higher quality.
But there are ways to just a braid around the edge of the hood.
The door you know the door jam parts.
I mean there's ways to do all of this.
I think this is also another question where again if I look at the guy in person and go how much was paid for all this.
I mean just PPFing and NSX should have been a hefty cost.
Edges peeling is a normal thing like that you can have fixed and whatnot trimming extra things that they didn't see whatever all that stuff's kind of normal which is why you do the check up.
All of these problems point to cheap film and cheap installation.
Would you have would you have you bought it.
Right. Let's say you're the guy that got it off and bring a trailer.
You're going to PPF it or are you going to code it.
Are you going to not do anything.
I probably do the front end.
You know I mean it depends on the shape it's in.
I mean if I bought something that was well-cared.
Low mileage not a lot of rock chips.
I would have just done you know front end hood.
I may with that body style I probably wouldn't be too worried about fenders but at least hood and and you know front bumper and kind of left it alone just to kind of make it the least invasive.
I also don't really have a problem with with the years of NSX you know being PPF it's not it's not like that cars going to be worth like five million dollars or something like that.
You're talking about you know good examples or a couple hundred thousand dollars now which in the collector world is kind of pennies at this point for for great cars.
So yeah I don't have a I just have to see the car.
You know it's kind of one of these things we talk about all the time on this podcast.
If I go hey I'm going to keep this car for long term and you know this PPF is not going to really see much work at all.
It's not going to see the light of day.
It's not going to start to have the adhesive go bad.
I'm probably going to keep this healthy for 10 or 15 years.
If I do everything that I know I do.
I wouldn't have a problem PPF in the car and I've seen full PPF on NSX a lot especially as they went up in value.
I mean that was a car you could easily grab thirty five to fifty five thousand dollars you know five years ago you know five and a half years ago.
I mean it's just just kind of went crazy because it is a great platform.
But yeah I wouldn't be I don't think you can make the wrong choice except for the choice of doing it with somebody cheaply.
I mean that car has too much value stored in it to do kind of what's happened here.
That would be the thing I would avoid.
You don't have I mean so what about the peel up right like do we ever have to think about a car of that age peeling up paint.
You could peel paint.
There's no doubt about it.
I mean you could peel paint when it when it has to come off there.
That's why I said I would look at there's two two routes of ownership here.
If I go hey I'm going to keep this thing for five years.
I mean and I want to drive it and I want to make sure the front end doesn't get torn up so I can resell it.
Throw some PPF on it.
Throw some coating on the rest of the body call today.
I mean it's really simple in that way.
But if I'm going to keep it 10 15 years it's going to be a long term thing.
I always wanted to own this car.
You know PPF it.
It paint comes off it comes off but 10 to 15 years you got your money's worth right like you you got you're not really holding that car thinking it's going to go to five million bucks or something like that.
I mean it's not an F 40 or an F 50 or things like that.
I mean this is this is supposed to be a driver's car.
It's what it is.
It's not I guess you can turn them into collector's pieces but I wouldn't view that car that way personally.
Well yeah I get it.
I understand why.
All right let's go to the real car of really where you know most of us would see and that's that CRV.
Right CRV is an interesting Honda white the Honda white from what I used to remember.
Well it was kind of a breeze now when when you think of Honda paint and applying a ceramic coating actually think of it and go this is one of the easiest cars that I think I ever have worked on.
It was it was one of them.
It was so I mean you just load tray.
That's what I did was tray just loaded on the applicator and you could feel what I loved about it.
This is what everybody talks about the feeling of that paint afterwards seemed to be pronounced on the Honda paint.
Yeah Honda is easy to work on especially if you want to correct it out.
I mean you get into some rough years with Honda Honda Blacks on S 2000 stuff like that get pretty finicky.
But a white paint you know quick one step throw tray on there.
You're going to get every I mean especially modern Honda paint pretty easy to work with.
You know again you can get into some rough Honda years but that's not that's not where we're at today.
But yeah I mean there's no doubt that would be an easy easy installation.
All right on the lower panels of the CRV is some kind of like hard plastic.
Right. And I know we've seen questions inside the specialist group.
It's just why I wanted to bring it up.
Right. If we're going to go hit that hard plastic there's a reason that we've come out with trim.
But people will ask the question which is why I'm asking the question.
Well I'm putting on tray.
Do I need to just stop right down here at this bottom part or can I just throw tray on it.
Should I save it for trim or where do I go there.
I think when there's a tool at your disposal can you do things.
Sure. I mean you I mean Tray is not going to have some adverse reaction with trim or something like that.
I'm not going to ever say that.
But if you ever use trim you'll notice two things.
It drips out a little thicker onto your applicator and it's a slightly you'll see kind of a color to it which tells you it's a different formula.
I just think you're going to see things with trim.
You know again use trim cleaner than use trim ceramic coating.
I don't care how new your car is.
The thing about using trim cleaner is it's a prep you know for the surface.
Go ahead and lay trim on top of it.
I just think when you have tools we kind of get this question about glass all the time.
Can I just throw this coating on glass.
It's like there's just different things that allow a certain coating to work a little better on on the platform it's designed for.
Trim is designed for plastics and for trim pieces and things like that.
It's just going to give you more longevity.
And like I said if you've never dripped it on to an applicator you can see that it's a little thicker and that it has a slightly a hint of a color to it because of the different ingredients.
It's just a no brainer to use trim in my opinion.
And there's a different level like what you said of the no brainer part but also the level of I think expertise is the wrong word.
But specialists you know we love professionalism great is using because I think some people will just hey I put cleanse on and I washed the car.
Why do I need to use trim cleaner.
Well it's actually some science and trim cleaner.
There's some chemistry in it.
And you also got to think too let's just go into the natural of it.
Hey I'm taking a product I'm spraying and I'm specifically rubbing and working an area.
You know I'm washing I'm not necessarily digging into the you know and we're not digging every little part.
I mean you're not going to get every little part.
And if you ever notice if you guys ever notice on trim cleaner there's a tiny touch of abrasive like type of of of feel to it.
You know you can kind of sometimes you'll see some white dots you know when you're using it.
It's kind of taken off that plastic oxidation whether it's new or it's old.
There's just always some type of film on trim whether that's oxidation or it's kind of oily from something.
It's just it's just a prep step.
And the other thing is it allows it to bond a little better.
That's why I always tell people even if you're doing wash and stack it doesn't take me any time to just take wipe around the car.
You know like just take wipe around the car get into some areas like you said kind of inspect what's going on prep the areas.
It's just kind of one of those steps that I'm not really going to trade anything for something that takes me five six seven ten minutes.
You know what I mean like I'm just not going to be like well I'll skip this I'm going to save all this time.
It's not hours you know prepping the trim is not going to be you know 15 hours added to the job.
It's like just take the couple minutes.
Yeah. All right so let's move on over to touch this wheel cleaning as a mobile detailer for 500.
OK now I get to set it up with another story and it gets bored and yells at me.
But I got to meet Rob.
We went up to Kansas City not meet.
I mean see him again Rob is our distributor at Casey Auto Care.
Yeah. And went to Q 39 for the continual debate that I love to have if people want to go back to early recordings.
We should go around to different parts of the area whether it's here in the Midwest or South Carolina is a great place to talk about barbecue Florida for some reason people in Florida think they have good barbecue.
Not sure how they come up with that idea.
But you know barbecue is a fun thing to talk about.
And so you know we love my wife loves burn ins or something about those.
I'm not a wasn't a huge burn in fan previously because of that fat cap.
You know I I didn't used to eat fat.
I would be the guy that would cut it off of my steak or cut it out.
Nick and I as as we first started talking he couldn't believe the steak choices that I would choose because he would go no ribeye man.
What the hell's wrong with you.
I'm like yeah I just don't eat the fat.
Well I started eating burn ins.
Wow.
Wow.
Q 39 in Kansas City amazing.
So Rob and I are sitting down there.
I am drinking a boulevard beer in in light of Kansas City boulevards out of Kansas City.
I'm drinking space camper today.
We set down to drink some boulevard beers.
We had boulevard wheat and great beer up there.
I had another IPA and we're sitting there talking when I say Rob just kind of tell me about what's going on in your store.
Love to hear about Kansas City.
Love to hear about your guys here your customers.
I think it's awesome inside the specialist group we had somebody go.
Hey I love Rob.
He's a great guy.
He really takes care of me.
So he's a customer of Rob that also listens is wonderful.
I love this and he loved it.
It's a great moment.
Here we are and we go Rob.
What's the one thing that people come in and say what are they.
Oh without a doubt.
Well what's new.
The thing for every detail or the thing that most of us all do so we can go.
All right this is the place this has regular people around that come in looking and they want to know what's new.
But I said so Rob what what is it that most people and what who has the most success.
Now he said which makes sense.
Overland Park is a very nice area.
He talked about the mobile detailers have great success.
A lot of great success in Overland Park.
Right.
It's awesome to hear about that.
Oh we had an interesting conversation about you know customer retention gaining customers all that.
But I said what what is it that most people really want.
What what what do they come in looking for.
Without a doubt.
Number one is soap.
Yep.
Makes sense.
Yeah.
It's really kind of the first thing that you do.
Okay.
But number two that was probably the most interesting series where I want to put it in neutral and talk about it.
Is the mobile detailers there that are going around.
Well some of them have started to hear about this touchless way of cleaning wheels.
They go oh yeah it makes sense.
Yeah I mean we just came out with basically and Nick pushed me so hard right like pushed and pushed to go.
Hey man I don't even want to touch the wheel.
I want to spray this on and then I want to rinse it off.
But the first ones right Nick you had to push back right.
No it's not enough.
Not doing it.
I ain't touching a wheel.
So here we are.
Success in mobile detailing 2026.
A lot of mobile detailers are looking for a touchless option on wheel cleaning.
What's our touchless option for wheel cleaning.
Let's go over this.
Yeah so we've seen a resurgence.
I mean part of the reason AWX was born out of long before anybody was talking about this on the Internet that's gotten so popular in the last year.
I just told Marty I was we needed an acid.
I needed an acid for me.
Like it wasn't really much deeper.
His back was getting sore.
That was actually the conversation.
I was like I'm not doing that.
I'm not scrubbing every wheel anymore.
His left knee you know.
We had this idea that you know we remember acids and we remember working with good acids and bad acids.
I mean we worked with both of you around long enough.
And you know this is an interesting thing when when a guy walks into a store or they contact us by email or send a text or a DM because they're reading on certain Facebook groups and they're seeing certain tiktoks and Instagram talking about a two step method to you know have a touchless wheel cleaning.
There's a couple things left out.
I bet when people walk into Rob's store and other places of what a touchless wheel cleaning looks like and it's very basic.
You use an acid you dilute it you know however you want to dilute it and then you come over top of that acid with something like TRX and you're gonna have pretty close to a touchless situation.
Now the part that's kind of been left out of this of where it's born on Facebook groups and this and that is touchless is going to be dictated by how aggressively you want to use an acid.
And what kind of product to use following the acid like TRX because if I use a super hot acid then I use a super hot degreaser.
What do you think my chances are of burning a wheel because now I have double trouble on the wheel.
Super high got too high chemicals on the opposite end of the spectrum that I'm having to control everything right.
I have to control that nothing dries meaning nothing.
So and when you run up against a really dirty wheel it's going to take power in both of those products to really make a touchless by the sounds of it.
You know your conversation with Rob is that you know most of these guys asking for touchless are not willing to accept the risk of an acid.
And so to me you're out of the touchless game.
There's one way to clean wheels in a touchless manner and it's going to have the name acid in it at some point in your process acid is going to be involved.
So let's talk about that that process of how acid is involved.
OK so people can go to the hyper clean YouTube channel.
You you do it.
We we've just gusted here but I know people are tuned in now and you just intrigued them.
So let's go over then how I go to a wheel to say I'm a mobile detailer.
It's the first thing I need to do to make sure I can use acid or not use acid right there.
There's some things that I should whether it's I'm looking at a wheel I'm touching it.
We know what are some things that I should do as a mobile detailer and we could go in general but you know he specifically was talking about mobile detailers and touchless.
So I want to use a WX and I want to use TRX which he calls the standard.
This is what I loved about Robbie.
He goes listen when people come in and talk about wheel cleaning and tire cleaning I send them to TRX.
He considers TRX the standard the very basis that you should ever go off of.
He doesn't see anybody else in the market with a product like that.
So touch the wheel with your hand if it's hot to the touch.
You know you're you better give it a thorough rinse before you put anything hot and it goes for any chemical.
I mean you know when you start talking about working with powerful heavy cleaning like an acid like you know a TRX which is you know in the degreasing type family.
You got to make sure that the wheels not hot for mobile detailers that becomes a problem.
So you might have to rinse it.
You know you might have to cool it down.
You might have to really start thinking about where did I park this vehicle.
Is my customer just got home from driving around town for 40 minutes.
You got to risk with acid at that point.
Now you got to cool that wheel down as fast as possible.
But I actually showed in our initial AWX video that I had smoke coming off my rotors from backing my car out.
But I could touch all the parts of the wheel and it wasn't hot.
It was just you know the residual from the brakes kind of getting the rotor hot.
So I mean I put my hand in the video.
I put my hand everywhere and go I'm completely safe to use an acid.
Even though when I started to rinse you could see some smoke coming off the rotor.
That doesn't always mean it's as hot as you.
So I touched all parts of the wheel to make sure it wasn't hot and I just went to work.
I mean it's really that simple but there's also a thing on top of that.
You can't let stuff dry.
Like you know we see posts.
I get questions.
Guys there is not a chemical in the world period.
I'm working on a car that I like to see drying on the surface.
I don't care if it's pH neutral soap.
I don't care if it's a drying aid.
I don't.
It's just a habit you don't want to get into.
Especially if you're mobile.
Right.
I know we're hanging our hat on mobile detail because that's what we were talking about with Rob and you just go.
I absolutely agree.
Absolutely.
There's so many times.
I used to if I was going around the car I used to come back and just mist it up in the air.
You just got to get some water out there so stuff doesn't dry.
Fuego.
I'm always even though right you said pH neutral.
Fuego for me is always that way.
Right.
I'm just I'm just anxious even though I know I'm still anxious because of what it can you
know we know it's doing something so it's working.
So I'm always like yeah I don't ever just don't let chemicals dry.
I mean it's not always avoidable.
You're going to have things happen.
But the rule of thumb is I think people get a little too comfortable because they don't
understand chemicals and chemicals get into their worst and most dangerous state dried.
That's like that's when they're at their worst.
Okay.
So if you're ever uncomfortable with an acid there's two ways to combat this or you know
a product like TRX you're like I haven't used you know a degreasing type of product on my
car before.
Cool.
Dilute the hell out of it and rinse the area first.
I mean just again maybe it'll take you a little bit more elbow grease whatever but I'm just
a safe and sorry guy which is why when people see me like just working in the camera setup
you'll see me go back and I'll be like oh well the tire dried and I just go spray another
round of TRX reactivate it and then I start to scrub right because I'm just going to reactivate
what's on there.
You know I'm just oh it's starting to dry.
Let me throw some tea.
I just don't think about I just have a mindset of I know how chemicals work their best.
They work their best when they're activated when they're wet that's when they're doing
their job but if you're ever nervous dilute stuff more than you think give yourself some
wiggle room and there's nothing wrong with rinsing your wheel first.
There's not I mean there's nothing wrong with that.
Yeah it's going to dilute your product even more but it's okay to just be like extra safe
because you're a little anxious and then as you get more comfortable you can start to
work different ways and look when I started with acids you never really thought about
throwing it on a dry wheel because you knew you knew what could happen.
But we didn't have like AWX and all that kind of stuff like we had some really raw acids.
That matter of fact I mean very few companies build anymore to that level because there's
a danger just in building the shit.
You know so you got to realize don't get so comfortable and I don't care if you're using
foam wash.
I just don't think you should be comfortable with anything drying on the surface and I
understand that's a little bit like you know overkill but I just think it's better to be
that way.
Well it's process I mean we talk about product process purpose I mean part of making sure
the product and your purpose is in line is having the right process.
You can't let it you just can't I mean you're right like I got joked I'll just randomly
spray water around just so I make sure that it doesn't.
Yep.
If I'm trying to get a little more dwell time right I mean it doesn't matter what I'm working
on.
I we you were talking about 8 of X and I even use use the analogy if we get right.
So whatever it is you're working on as a mobile detailer.
Hey and guess what if you're a mobile detailer the two people you're listening to have what
over 40 now what 40 it's a long time 44 45 years of mobile detailing experience combined.
Yeah I mean when I started at a wholesaler I worked at that facility and then you know
the company I worked with after that they were mobile dodge caravans buffers in the back
I mean you know color chip mixing in the back all that kind of stuff so it's just one of
these things and you know my guys get taught this I mean guys when it's when my guys are
out somewhere and there's no shade coverage and it's 115 degrees like we have ways of
you know somebody's got that pressure washer wand in their hand at all times and it's like
hey give a spray here give a spray there that windows starting to dry with soap on it give
it a spray like you know so it's not like it's always the most comfortable position 115 on
blacktop and we don't have to deal with the elements but this goes for anything you know
some of you guys are washing in your own driveway and you have to wash when the sun's at its
fullest because that's the only time you can wash your car in the summertime and you know
you got to work the same angles but I'm with you like I just for some reason it's always
been in the back of my head and I'm glad that it is is like I'm just going to make sure
that everything has a little bit of moisture around it like you know as best of my ability
you know the reason I can still say I'm a pro detailer even Nick still she says we're
playing we're playing out the pasture you know is because we're sitting there and Rob
and I are actually talking about we get into a conversation about you know customer
interaction about you know detailers and how they like to talk to their customers or
using a system or texting and calling and and it was ironic because as I'm sitting there
talking to him I go crap I forgot to talk to my customer that we're supposed to be cleaning
this weekend right you go wow like damn now you understand the first part of this episode
right like how does somebody mess that up well I want to ask you and this is just to
chase the rabbit here for a second what is the what's the percentage chances that you could
have customers and never talk to my whole business is based around that I mean that's
my that's my entire business that doesn't happen overnight you know people need to understand
that that's not something that that happened a minute one in my business but I have customers
now that I haven't seen in person in two years like you know just haven't come across each other
haven't bumped into each other we have keys you know our big thing is key management you
know we have to manage all these keys we have certain homes that we you know have garage door
openers too because they don't have a key code to get in their garage so I think when
you when you're talking about a one-off detail communication becomes key you know you want
to make sure that you're staying in touch the more you have a relationship with customers
especially mobile what you'll realize is the ones that become valuable to your business
and you become the most valuable to them as the ones you never have to talk to you know
they have keys in their vehicle or you have keys I mean we have a lot of accounts where
the keys stay in the car 24 seven and so then one of our checkpoints before we take the
car back is please tell me you didn't magically take that that Ferrari key out of its spot
did you but we've had those incidents where we've had to track down a key that we put our
hands on that we shouldn't have and so I think it's a lot of finding out what what best works
for your clientele I mean when I first started probably when you first started I didn't have a
lot of clients that would leave keys in their car and I didn't have a lot of clients that would
hand me keys but 15 years in man I think all of our value and our customer base and our
growing customer base is this is my sales pitch now we pick a day we pick a time and you
don't really have to see us like whatever you're doing in your house or this is an extra five
cars for you or 10 code whatever it is for them but you know my one-off appointments
that the people drop off at the shop I call it the day prior you know and I just send them
a text and say hey we're still on for the 9 a.m. drop off and what you'll find out is
they appreciate that but there's also another level to it they're probably not going to
get here right at 9 o'clock you know you and I were on a phone call what two weeks ago or
a week and a half ago and I was like well this guy was really bothering me how this needs
to be dropped off at 9 and it was like 940 before I got it but you know little reminders
and things like that at all about your customer base I think that becomes very individualized.
So you're right I'll back up a little bit I don't mean ever talk like talk face to face
but I mean ever communicate with them yeah I guess some people that are on a once a year
hey we left the Christmas gift for you.
Wonderful great so I'm so glad you said that because we had a discussion and had a moment
over should somebody ever just allow a customer to never you never pick up the phone you never
check in you never confirm whether that's text whether that's phone call and this was
our discussion you know like should you do that you get to a point you're right like you
could eventually if you have the weather like they have in Vegas yep sunny always you know
he complains about wind every once in a while yeah but you know do you how do you get to
right this this is the joke that's the prod I get it you got rain and you got people that
that want to do stuff but walk some people through because they might be going wait I
could get to a point that I I never talked to somebody and oh oh that means that I've
got to be the one that's responsible to show up at the time and have the team planned and
all this stuff dot dot dot dot dot yep it's kind of an interesting you know I don't think
about this much you know because you kind of take for granted running something for so long
but one of the things a lot of this is earned you know a lot of this is earned I mean it's
just becomes one of those things like if you just by all the stuff that you could just go
appearance the amount of times you show up the referrals right we have we have customers
the my longest running customers some that have been there for 15 10 to 15 years there
are certain customers we've never missed an appointment we've never called off for vacation
for any of that so the first seven years of my business I never took a vacation so for
seven years I know for sure when I was still around the routes at all times and around
the business at all times and doing all you know being around all my guys the whole time
we never if somebody needed a day off or whatever then that just went to someone else right like
hey you know you got to take your day off you got a doctor's appointment we still got out
to that customer and that's largely what I did when I started hiring people I've always
run a support truck an extra truck that I had access to and if somebody had to take the
day off which is perfectly fine they have vacation days then I just ran or you know two
guys picked up the pace and said hey we'll get that we'll start earlier here and we'll
pick those accounts up there but that's just a maintenance thing if you're doing one off
details men all the time your schedule becomes even more important because you have one
shot to make a good impression right but the same goes for building the relationships if
if you're constantly late or you have date you all well I got the I got a cold so I'm
not going to show up or you know I had a family thing happen like all that sounds like no
big deal but it's also why you don't have keys to the place you don't have a garage door
opener you have to constantly communicate because you didn't build the trust of these guys never
miss and so I have a client of mine that's a huge car collection that has lots and lots
and lots of zero has one of the biggest yachts in the world matter of fact I mean that's how
many zeros he has next to his name and they probably have five to six hundred vendors that
they have to work with on their estate throughout a year this is what they told me we were the
only ones they never had to worry about didn't have to work I mean we sometimes we roll up
and that's all I mean like you just go well what does that mean so as I got to know these
guys as friends they're like you guys just show up you do what you say you're going to
do if we find if we spot things someone dropped a limitless credit card in between the seats
we had a process my guys took a photo of where they found it they took a photo of putting
it in the cup holder we found a two hundred fifty thousand dollar watch we found a hundred
thousand dollar watch there's a five hundred thousand dollar handbag in there these all
sounds like crazy numbers but in a city like Vegas it's not a crazy number so we had to
have all these processes of we didn't want we even for a long time if we saw one dollar
we would take a picture of where we saw it then put it in the cup holder take a picture
and we would send it to whoever was responsible for talking to us could be an estate manager
could be an assistant things like that all that stuff built trust but most guys don't
get to that point because they don't show up enough right showing up like I said every
Friday at seven a.m. at that customer right that's how I got the guy from that we still
cleaning this weekend from 2003 yep that's 23 years yep and you go you didn't make a
lot this weekend you're right but 23 years and I haven't really talked to him much in
the past ten years he was actually in Vegas it worked out perfect he was like oh I'm in
Vegas I want to be back till Sunday can your guy come then I was like yeah he'll be there
at six right I I got to enjoy another beer and to have the stress you know relieve
I mean it's it's we undervalue the simple I mean that's just that's just kind of what
we do as people is we undervalue most people don't show up they don't show up on time they
don't show up consistently and that's how you earn these accounts I mean really what
comes down to is every opportunity in the last 15 years they had someone else before
me and when you hear why'd you hire me well we needed a new guy a new guy just stopped
coming around well if I come around the next 15 years some of these accounts are five
figures a month six figures a year I don't know man pretty good deal I mean now does
it have its times of inconvenience yeah man I mean there's times that you don't want to
be doing this and you know we've learned the holidays of each customer and go they don't
really like people around their big July 4th people so that week we're going to kind of
tell them hey enjoy your July 4th and we will catch you next week yeah you have to learn
that kind of stuff but you learn that by being around you know when I I can tell you I look
at Christmas now I'm like hey I know the customers of ours that don't want people around they
don't have to ask us anymore we just know we just inform them hey we're taking the Christmas
week off and they're like that's great you know we got cool they think we're taking the
week off some of my guys want to work with other customers but I knowing all that stuff
and reading the situation it's really not that difficult you know but you do have to
pay attention you have to be around and also everybody listening to me say this got to
realize this is 15 years this was not year two you know I had I guess said first seven
years of my business I never took a day off and whether that's right for you or you want
to do that that's your call but I didn't go on my first vacation for seven years and
you know really since then I'm not not a big vacation guy so we just don't miss days all
my guys get vacation time don't get me wrong if they take it I'm all good with it we'll
figure it out if they don't take it they get paid at the end of the year so they get those
days no matter what all right let's throw in neutral and let's like hang out for there
for a second didn't expect this coming let's finish the episode on that which you just
talked about because we talk about purpose and so many people want to talk about business
well there's one part about business and that is how far do you go how hard do you push
I saw something this weekend every single one of us who's watched a sporting event has also
seen this there's a team that's winning and there's a team that's losing it's towards the
end of the game and who's still pressing hard right who's still going after it if if you're
on the team that's losing is your teams backing off most of them maybe though if you're lucky
you got a leader and if that leader strong enough even though they're losing that leader
is still pushing as hard as he can to try to try we got to do this we got a score we got
to go hmm that's unique it's unique we can all see it we can all go hey if that person has it
they have it if they don't have it well that's why the rest of the team is that way you remember
right maybe you were that guy Nick as you were the you were the middle linebacker you said right
like you pushed you were the leader right so so you know there's that part of athletics
we can all see it not every one of us were athletic and we weren't you know going up into
sports not all of us are that way but we can look at that moment we can look at the aggressiveness
and we can take it and we can look at this analogy but you and I love the analogy of
sports to business you're the leader you're the leader of the team and it's not about
winning or losing right now I don't mean it that way I just mean how hard do you go till
five o'clock six o'clock seven o'clock when's your shutoff time versus everybody else and
how do you lead your team is it lead by example I'm the guy that's gonna push and I'm the guy
that's gonna go do or are you the guy that lets people get out you know let's go let's do
and here's here's where I want to bring it into perspective we talked about my buddy Scott I was
over to shop it had been about a month ago and and I he got on to some of his guys that were
over there doing something I said you know what what just kind of because we're buddies like hey
what you know what and he was telling me like hey they weren't really doing everything that I asked
them to do so I had to get on them when I go that was a week you and I talked about there's weaknesses
of me as a leader that that was 100% me as a weakness as a leader I wouldn't keep people accountable
hey man I asked you to do that now I need you to go do it and I'm gonna keep you accountable to do
it versus me I was more the guy like we talked about the analogy of the sports player I'm just
gonna go do it I'm gonna push and do it myself past the six seven o'clock instead of leading my
team to get them to do something you see the you see the analogy and then I want to just talk about
that from a business concept you know what what's your thought process on that as a leader
it's one of the things and I can only I mean obviously we're in a certain industry right what I see a
lot of people do is they hire and then they don't work as hard you know I see people that talk about
days off and my guys want a ton of days off and and I don't take a lot of days off and I go I don't
know I looked at your Facebook you're off quite a bit too right like so I've always just kind of felt
one way if I want my team to put in all this work I really need to put in more work than them to get
them to the certain level that I expect and so my guys know I have some guys that start at 4am I got
guys to go all the way to six many of you who reach out to me I work late into the night so I'm
available you know I'm I'm I'm always switched on and it's not like some kind of badge of honor or
something like that it's just I think it's respect to the people that work with you and work for you
that if you're asking them to work you should probably work just as hard I think that's hard for
people they think they're gonna hire people when you go harder harder right yeah I mean I I've always
I I put more hours in weekly than any guy that works for me I mean by a landslide I mean that's
that's but that's just always been I guess just a mindset I don't mind working you know I get accused
of being a workaholic at times but I feel like you signed up for this and I think that's kind of one
of the things that a lot of people don't admit to themselves when they come a business owner so if you
got a guy and you're bitching about how many days he has off and then you lie to yourself and say I
don't take a lot of days off but if I analyze it I go you've been off a lot there's guys I know
specifically in my life whether it's in there out of detailing that have taken more days off in 2026
that I've taken in 15 years I'm not judging them for it some of them do well and some of them have
great results and some of them don't but you know I just always felt like being around my business
is what I signed up for and I never had an issue with the hours I don't think everybody's built that
way and that's fine too but you got to realize that's probably gonna get you to only a certain point
you know and you know expecting more out of your business and you're willing to put in becomes one
of those things like I was never one of these guys like once I make this much that I'm not gonna
really work that much because that's all I really need I'm just not built that way I just want to
make my business is better I want to have it's not even like I you know me well enough I don't buy a
whole bunch of stuff it's not like some type of thing where I'm trying to go like buy a new car
or whatever I just it's the scoreboard I follow is are we doing better than we did this time last year
are we doing better than last month where are we at it's just I like the metrics I like to work
I see why some people don't like that I think it makes you it makes it really tough to like lead a team
of people because they see you not working hard so they're not gonna work hard
but nobody wants to work let's be real right yeah it's always I mean if they have to pay you it's
called a job I mean it's not a hobby right like yeah we'd all rather you know I'd rather be fishing
I'd rather be golfing I'd rather be you know whatever it is your hobby is everybody would rather do
that but they have to pay you because it's a job you know that's why they pay you that's why they I
mean for those that don't know like I'm an employee of both of our businesses like VR I'm an employee
of hyper clean I'm an employee now I own shares of those companies and so I can get some but there's
too many people that don't realize like when you're running a company of the sizes that I'm a part of
I'm getting a paycheck just like my team's getting a paycheck so what am I getting the paycheck to do
and I think because small business owners largely don't cut themselves paychecks they take little dribs
and drabs out of that business account that's even if they have a business account they don't see them
as a team member of their own of their own business and so there's things I'm responsible for like
there's still customers of mine pretty much a lot of customers they only communicate with me now they
say hi and they know my team members names and they're friendly with them and they give them Christmas
you know gifts like they're they're on my team they only communicate with me meaning like if it's a phone
or text message type of interaction so take that over five trucks and bunch of guys and bunch of customers
look dude my phone starts at 4am it just that's that's when it starts I just never saw it as that big a deal
it's just never been this big of a deal to me I think a lot of people it's a big deal of like well I got to
work these hours I just never looked at it that way so there's a coach this this this weekend yelling
out at his players show me you want it there you go man I love that I love it and at the same time
I'm concerned right I love it because I'm a guy that's like you always wanted it okay I got no
problem showing I'm going to I'm full tilt as much as I can too not at 4 o'clock don't kid yourself
not me yeah I was gonna say let's not me let me no problem with that no problem I like my mornings
no problem you know I do tend to work later than most people but I don't start as early as most people
some of the early times you and I talked right the very first time sure you called me was like after
8 now I'm sitting in my living room working on episodes you know and then talking to a prospective
customer Nick wasn't a customer this is a prospective customer phone call so I'm at 8
something o'clock working on videos and talking to a prospective customer here right people leave
before me except on Friday you know so I get the phone call like we're talking to like 3 o'clock
and it's like yeah man I gotta get to Kansas City yeah otherwise on the 637 o'clock a lot of times
you know I do put in my hours because I've always felt lead by example and I've always felt show me
you want it I really have felt that inside like hey man if you want it you're gonna do it right
like and here's where that coach got it wrong you knew in practice they didn't have it right so
you know I don't mind these types of conversations but I'll tell you one thing I learned way too late
way too late in my hiring process but I could say I can get on with a business owner and I can tell
now within 30 seconds if I hire somebody we're gonna know it pretty quick the only thing that matters
to me is effort if you give I mean look I got guys on my team been on my team a decade that make
mistakes they shouldn't make still they give me effort they're gonna work with me as long as they
want to work like I'm never gonna get rid of them I'm never gonna cut their pay they're gonna get a raise
every year they still get the vacation time as long as I got effort I can do anything so I've always
just felt like I never felt like I was the most talented guy I never felt like I had every secret
or I had some secret talent everyone did not have I just knew if I gave the effort I can make
something happen I didn't know if I was gonna make anything happen but I felt like I could make
something happen I still feel that way today I mean the vast majority of the headaches I think
we've experienced at at hyper clean behind the scenes all comes down to the effort of somebody
somebody gives effort I'm kind of good I don't really think much deeper than that and so that's
that's all I really do I mean if anybody wants to know my secret it's not some paint correction
secret it's not some you know talent secret I just gave the effort and you know some years
were better than others sometimes I felt like I took a step back when I thought I should be taking
a couple steps forward but for 15 years nobody had to question whether I gave effort and the
shit kind of all worked out alright so that's you and I as like leaders right as the owners I
want to I want to take this and we'll close out the conversation with this when I because
I've heard it from people why pay them fill in the blank I can't believe they do this yeah
why don't they show me they want it they don't even show me their worth fill in the blank
$15 an hour right you actually just hit the nail on the head of I've never heard an owner
that was paying top of the market to their team say I wish they'd show me I only have
ever heard that when somebody who's when they tell me what they're paying I go whoa not man
that's not and look there's nothing wrong with paying 15 bucks an hour if that's what your
area is I doubt that it probably is many places at this point on in 2026 right but let's just
use 20 bucks an hour 20 bucks an hour is new 10 bucks an hour so the guy and gal you're
getting a 20 bucks an hour you can think whatever you want I know from my good and bad experiences
you're getting a certain type of person usually at that price and so you got to live with
what you're paying and I think you and I have heard you and I've known each other now seven
years six years and business together basically there's just certain terminology you hear out
of a business owner's mouth that you already know what the problem is and it isn't the worker
you go oh man it's the wrong thing to say like it's not out of judgment you don't say it out
of judgment you just go now man I've been down this road I've heard all this stuff before
yeah man it's it's and I want to tell everybody this because it gets really lost on the internet
it was hard to hire in 2010 it was hard to hire in 2015 in 2025 and in 2026 never been easy to hire
just to prove this there were companies that have paid billions of dollars out to try to learn how
to hire starting in 1975 stop listening to it's harder today I was there as a business owner in
2010 it was hard to hire I also worked for people trying to hire entry-level blue collar for 12 years
prior to that you know what it was tough to hire same people so your pappy your grandma your uncle
you who tries to say it's harder today it's always been hard to hire entry-level blue collar
go ask a roofing company how easy it was to hire 25 years ago it wasn't easy it's just not easy to
hire these positions but if your effort is questioned as the owner it's even entirely more
difficult to hire because they go and I'm just telling you how these people in the economy thing
I ain't gonna make him rich if he ain't gonna work so why even give him that my guys don't
have to question man they need something for me I'm there and that's the other thing Marty's seen
some of the situations I've had to bail people out of and what I'm talking about bail people out
of I'm talking about five figure problems that I went go I'll handle this for you just keep going
to work okay so if you think I don't know or you think I'm BSing or I'm trying to sugarcoat all that
it's always been difficult it'll always be difficult and your pappy telling you it wasn't
difficult 25 years ago he he didn't really hire that many people he wasn't really in charge of
anything so you should probably look at your pappy a little different wasn't really the boss the way
he told you he was it's always been difficult when you pay less than everyone else it becomes damn
near impossible so if people saw the kind of checks I had to cut to my guys every week and
some of them still owe me lots of money that I have to eat I just got to do what I got to do to
move the shit forward and I think we are in a really really difficult time because everybody's
been told this shit of owning a business is easy and I wish it were I mean I really wish it were
a lot easier but I don't have that magic bullet if if if you don't work a lot and you expect everybody
else to work a lot that's not gonna that's not gonna work out it's just not gonna happen now
you can go well this guy down here the part you left out is he's been doing it for 32 years
yeah 32 years man he's got some things in place and some people in place but that always gets
left out when somebody goes well you know my father-in-law well how long is he on the concrete
business you know it's like their 42nd year yeah but you're six years in there's a little different
you know what I'm saying like that that's that's kind of the backstory you never hear when people
try to like judge someone else's business you're like well what's the backstory you know what I mean
oh you didn't tell me that all of his superintendents make 200 grand a year you're trying to pay 11 bucks
an hour I mean it's a little bit different very different very different all right thanks everybody
for listening go over to the hyper clean specialist group on Facebook there's a place where you can
interact with people like mine didn't like you that are interested in cars a lot of great cars
being posted on there more than just mine a lot of really cool cars and some plps no pdfs though
no pdfs of plps yeah that was a strange start to the pod but you might find some ppf yeah there
we go talk to you guys next week
About this episode
A lively, meandering conversation kicks off with jokes and a rare first-gen Acura NSX sighting before shifting into real-world PPF troubleshooting. The hosts break down what to do when bubbles, peeling edges, or trapped moisture show up after paint protection film installation, stressing the importance of a proper two-week checkup and going back to the installer. They also dig into how cheap film and rushed labor create problems, and how quality control, rework, and honest communication separate good shops from bad ones.
In this episode, Marshall and Nick engage in a lively discussion covering a range of topics from car detailing challenges to business leadership insights.
They share personal anecdotes, industry knowledge, and practical solutions for common detailing issues. The conversation also delves into the dynamics of running a business, emphasizing the importance of effort, consistency, and building trust with clients.
Chapters:
[0:00] Jeopardy and PDF Confusion Marshall and Nick humorously discuss a mix-up between PDF and PPF, highlighting the challenges of dyslexia.
[1:17] The Acura NSX Experience Marshall shares his awe at seeing a rare Acura NSX, discussing its value and emotional impact.[2:46] Detailing Challenges and Solutions The hosts delve into car detailing intricacies, focusing on PPF bubbles and quality workmanship.
[20:35] Touchless Wheel Cleaning Marshall and Nick explore touchless wheel cleaning, balancing effectiveness and safety.
[35:11] Business and Leadership Insights The conversation shifts to business strategies, emphasizing effort, consistency, and client trust.[59:30] Hiring and Workforce Challenges The hosts address hiring challenges, fair compensation, and managing a reliable team.
[64:33] Closing Thoughts and Community Engagement Marshall encourages listeners to join the Hyper Clean Specialist group on Facebook.
