Videos

For a video of a Total Pros "Do It Yourself" Auto Detailing Class, go to uniontrib.com/more/totalpros

For a podcast interview with Mel Craig of The Total Pros, go to signonradio.com/programs/maynard-garage/

GETTING STARTED

To become a professional-quality detailer – and perhaps make some money detailing neighbors' vehicles – the startup cost for a complete car-care system can be $300 to $400, said Mel Craig, owner of The Total Pros.

Assembling a basic do-it-yourself detailing kit costs about $70 and would consist of a few microfiber towels, a couple of brushes (such as a stubby trim paint brush and a soft-bristle toothbrush) for cleaning crevices and vents, applicator pads and an assortment of cleaners, polishes, waterless wash, polish and wax.

An orbital polisher, almost a necessity to fully activate the chemicals in modern car-care products, starts at about $150.

Deionized water is preferred over tap water. DI, as Craig calls it, has been demineralized to remove calcium, chloride, iron and other elements that cause spotting and, sometimes, corrosion of paint. The Total Pros sells deionized water for 20 cents a gallon.

Press Releases

Car maintenance expert shows it's all in the details

By Mark Maynard
Union-Tribune Staff Writer
2:00 a.m. June 13, 2009

Water rationing won't take the shine from home detailers if Mel Craig has his way. He wants to teach the world to wash and polish a car with 16 ounces – 1 pint – of water.

It sounds impossible, but it can be done, with the proper instruction and tools. Craig demonstrated the techniques recently to a class of do-it-yourselfers at his state-of-the-art The Total Pros Auto Detail Training Center in Oceanside.

His school, sponsored in part by Meguiar's car-care products, is licensed by the state as a vocational school. It is one of three nationwide that focuses on professional training, not just sales of products, Craig said. He teaches a five-day course to become a professional detailer, a monthly three-day "boot camp" to get an overview of the business and a monthly "Do It Yourself" class for anybody who wants to learn correctly how to maintain the finish of a vehicle, inside and out and under the hood.

The class for do-it-yourselfers appeals to a variety of motorists, with a significant number of women and local car-club members participating, Craig said. The class typically has 18 to 25 weekend warriors, but on the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend there were six of us, two women and four middle-aged men who wanted to preserve their collectible or just protect their new-car investment.

Jodi Asher, 41, of San Diego an airplane mechanic for U.S. Airways, recently bought a 2007 Mustang GT convertible with racing stripes that she drove to the class

"I want to keep it in shape," she said. "You don't look very cool driving a dirty car."

Bob Braun, 69, and his wife, Penny, 63, drove from Huntington Beach in their '08 Mustang V-6 convertible

"I like the satisfaction of the finished product, of when you've done something the right way," Bob Braun said.

"We come from the generation that if you own something, you take care of it," Penny Braun said. "Money doesn't grow on trees."

Les Jenkins, 63, lives near The Total Pros shop and is restoring a 1960 Ply-mouth Valiant.

"It has a new paint job and I want to use a paint sealant on it," he said. Paint sealant will protect longer 7/8 three to six months 7/8 than wax, Craig teaches.

The seven-hour class costs $49.95 and includes a continental breakfast and pizza lunch. It begins with about an hour of classroom instruction on how to efficiently detail a vehicle. After that, the class moves to the shop for hands-on use of polishers, brushes and chemicals.

Craig, 51, a lifelong surfing San Diegan, is almost evangelistic in his passion for clean vehicles. He engages and inspires. And he takes the time to answer questions on what can be a very confusing process of using compounds, polishes, waxes, sealants, dressings, cleaners, polishers, buffers, brushes, caddies and other tools.

One of seven brothers, Craig started detailing in San Diego in the 1960s.

"I came on board working with two of my brothers during junior high school and into high school," Craig said. "Once out of the U.S. Army, I started back into detailing as a full-time career and have been detailing for over 30 years now."

Several years ago, he saw a need and a niche for education and training "because so many so-called detailers had no idea what they were actually doing," which is why he started The Total Pros Inc.

Using a PowerPoint presentation, with printouts for note taking, Craig begins the class with the five steps to detailing a vehicle:

  • Prep wash
  • Clay and decontamination
  • Interior detailing: vacuuming, cleaning, dressing
  • Exterior detailing: compounding, polishing, paint protection proces
  • Final wipe and inspection

Not all the steps are necessary each time the vehicle is washed, but if your vehicle hasn't had the benefit of a professional detail in the past year, expect Craig to label its paint as having "severe" damage and be prepared to start from scratch to make the paint shine.

Key to washing a car with a pint of water – mixed with waterless carwash – are a good low-pressure misting system and microfiber towels 7/8 14 to 16 to detail a car, Craig said. The mister can be as elaborate as his rechargeable, low-pressure power washers, or much lower-tech, such as a garden sprayer or a 1-quart trigger-spray bottle. One tip: Always mist lightly so there is no runoff.

The birth of microfiber has revolutionized the detail industry, Craig said. A good towel absorbs the dampened debris without scratching the surface of the vehicle.

"Microfiber is 100 times finer than a human hair, and a good towel will have 250,000 threads per square inch," he said.

In the shop, students learn to smoothly and uniformly use the orbital polishing machines, practicing on Corvette roof sections. The hum of polishers at 5,000 rpm sounded like a small airport.

In San Diego's climate, a good carnauba wax will provide protection for a few weeks, at best, before it evaporates in the heat and erodes from environmental fallout, such as tree sap, industrial pollutants, road grime, bugs, bird waste and more. Paint sealant, like what Jenkins wanted to apply to his Valiant, will protect longer 7/8 three to six months 7/8 than wax, Craig said.

When the class concludes, participants have learned that to do the job correctly requires a big investment of time, effort and patience. And they'll know how to interview a "professional" detailer to be sure their baby will be getting the best treatment.

"You won't leave the class as a professional detailer, but you will be able to put your car through a professional detailing," Craig said.

Contact:
Mel Craig, President
The Total Pros
mel@thetotalpros.com
760.721.8030 x 102