ADN SPRING 2023 web

from their software have been super helpful
to all shops at all levels across the board
for that reason.
RD: There's where knowing your numbers
comes in, because then you can get
into being just a wash service. …[We tried
it where customers] paid a-flat per month
per car, but it was a high number even
back then, and there's maybe five markets
in the entire country that could withstand
such charges. Then understanding that
you have to be connected, so we didn't sell
the membership, our customers did. We
made it very sought-after…
DG: Are there any
?
upcoming trends for
vehicles you think will
impact the detailing
industry? I looked at car
trends for 2023 and there were
lots of things going on and
proposed.
RD: Jason's got a really good answer. I was
just talking to the Griot’s guys when they
were here. You'd be a person on this because
you're now on the front-line of what's
happening with the paints and so forth.
JR: I wrote three things that are trending
that are going to definitely impact detailers.
The first one, which I've been tracking
for about six years now, is the paint
thickness. So, paint thickness coming out
of the car factories as a trend is getting
thinner and thinner every new model
year and I don't know when they're going
to stop. But it is definitely getting thinner
and thinner. For example, a few weeks
ago we had a class at my academy and
a rental car, it was a brand-new Toyota
Tacoma truck and it had 3.2 Mils on
it. Which 3 Mils, for those people that
know, is like a line in the sand. Where
you're going to say, “I'm not going to
do anything aggressive on this paint.”
So this was a brand-new car. It had 50
something miles on it. So, it was scary. So
that's one trend that I think every detailer
and I personally have been on a soapbox
just every chance I get trying to tell
people, because all of our products and
procedures are getting more aggressive.
So, the polishing systems are all getting
stronger and stronger, compounds are
getting stronger, pads are getting better
and faster, tools are getting stronger.
If you combine those two trends,
our systems are getting more effective
and efficient and faster
and deeper and better. And
then the paint's getting thinner
and thinner. We as a detailing
community, if every
time we touch a car, if we thin
out the paint that much further,
it's a setup for people to burn
through paint and I predict that
the incidents of detailers burning
through paint or damaging paint while
they're trying to repair paint is going to
increase. So, for me that's trend number
one.
The other trend that's happening is the
car factories are beginning to experiment
and explore with ceramic-infused clearcoat.
So, the aftermarket and the detailers
that are, you know, having a heyday, riding
this wave with paint coatings, it's happening
that the car factories are going to
kick out cars with that kind of protection
built into the clearcoat. I still think there'll
be a market for aftermarket detailing and
putting on extra protection on top of that.
But it is going to make ‘muddy waters’ in
terms of what the consumer and the car
owner believes, because they're going to
think, “Well, I already have this protection
from the factory. Why do I need your extra
protection?” So that's one other thing.
And then the third thing I wrote is
robots, because at Automechanika in Europe,
and even at SEMA, I’m seeing more
and more companies that are developing
technology that are robotic, automated,
sanding and polishing systems. If you kind
of look into the future and you take that
and extrapolate it further into the crystal
ball, I do see in our future that there are
going to be detailing stations that you'll
be able to drive-in and have robots polish
your car. I think it's coming…
Justin Labato
RD: What we're seeing in the trainings,
for instance, is [my wife Diane] just went
and bought a new Mazda and she had
three exact make/models with option
packages exactly the same… same color
and she went through and took our paint
gauge to the dealership. Two of the vehicles
had under 3 Mils average, brand
new. [The one she bought] was the only
one that had a little over in that 3.1 to
3.2 range. So, you know, both Jason and
I have had conversations about this and
so you're going to see this ...I think I think
people are starting to wake up, but there’s
still an audience that is selling perfection
at all costs and I think that's you know,
it's costly. You know they think we're
old-fashioned, but what they don't understand
is that it's not old-fashioned, we're
putting science behind the words. So, for
instance, we've got Michal Hill. Michael
Hill is a physicist, and he’s part of our
group. He does a lot of testing. Mercedes
Benz is coming out with their new AMG
model, and he says the clearcoat is again
infused with ceramics. They're going to
start marketing that very thin, but very
hard. Well, that's a deadly combination
because people are going to get aggressive
with it to get things out, but they're not
going to realize they can go through very
easily. I echo that with Jason.
Number 2, is, I think, the trend and
we're going all over the country this next
year, and it's called Coatings, Coffees and
Profits. And one of the things that we're
really trying to propel to shops is basically
machine-less services. More and more,
especially as the economy is now starting
to really struggle, we're really pushing seasonal
coatings instead of just going out
and doing these ridiculous claim coatings
and services that don't need a tool, touch
to paint is for two reasons: A. lot of people
don't know the difference. B. You're
seeing these really thin paint systems and
then, lastly, it's very attractive to the consumer
because your price point can be
far more attractive. Yet you get the
protection and added benefit of
shine and perfection. You’re going
to see the more progressive
shops and again not necessarily
the addicted-to-shine shops,
I’m talking about people who
are really looking at the market,
what they can sell and what people
will buy. The entrepreneurs
are going to see there's great value in
selling services that don't even include
touching paint with a machine, and it
could be exactly what Justin said. Again,
your quarterly or your, your seasonal
updates, I love that, and you know that's
what we're pushing in in these new events,
get the paint perfect, go ahead, do all the
paint correction and once that's done with
the base coating that you put on, now it's
all about cleansing that coating and then
putting another layer on seasonally to
protect that coating. So, I think that's a
trend that you're going to start, hopefully
seeing, because I think it's badly needed.
The other thing that I think is really
cool is the trend is there's a lot more
entrepreneurial-based businesses coming
into play, meaning that there are people
coming in the new generation of shops.
They're not addicted to the shine, like
the current or past generations. They are
looking at this as a business opportunity
and honestly, it's propelling our industry
at a level that is amazing, and so finally
we're starting to draw those, and that's
when you draw in those types of people
what it's doing too is its taking and changing
the current and smart people in the
industry, the ones who are really watching
carefully. It's taking some of those ‘oldway
thinkers’ and turning them into entrepreneurial
thinkers, and it's really cool.
JL: Back in regard to the thin paint subject,
I have a term that I use called “repair
value” and once you start to have
little meat on the bone, there's less “repair
value.” You can't revisit that area, that
designated area for any type of repair.
You know it's going back to the, “I got
a scratch on my hood. Can you get that
out?” Well, yes, we can get it out and we
24 | AUTO DETAILING NEWS | VOL. 8, NO. 2 • SUMMER 2023