Dry ice detailing/cleaning

[Sublime00]

Has anyone gotten dry ice detailing/cleaning ? What was your experience ?

I was thinking of getting an undercarriage detail done on an older car. Pricing seems to be all over the place, though. The brief research i did approximates $250 per hour ?

Any recommendations for a place in the tristate area ? Or Florida?

[dgoldenz]

$250 an hour seems pretty expensive. Is a doctor going to be detailing your car?

[Sublime00]

Originally Posted by dgoldenz

$250 an hour seems pretty expensive. Is a doctor going to be detailing your car?

I don't know man, that's what Google says.

Sounds ridiculous to me as well.

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by Sublime00

I don't know man, that's what Google says.

Sounds ridiculous to me as well.

The equipment is quite expensive and it is a tedious job. I could see hourly rates being expensive.

[chassis]

What does the guy doing the work make - $20 per hour? There’s $20 accounted for.

What is the total quantity of dry ice used? Maybe $50. Up to $70 now.

$10 for overhead.

That leaves more than 50% profit. It sounds like good work if you can get it.

What does dry ice detailing do better than other methods?

[M-technik-3]

This guy was/still a memeber and had an E90 now has E46 M3 He started a place along RI/MA border.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...6/post-9495336

I was plannng on bringing my E36 M3 out there for a good cleaning after my engine swap is done. Doesn't Veloce1600 the BT seller that sells E91 predominatly have a set up in NY?

[jkoral]

Wow, didn't know anything about this, results are amazing. If I had an older special car, I would be interested.

[Sublime00]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

This guy was/still a memeber and had an E90 now has E46 M3 He started a place along RI/MA border.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...6/post-9495336

I was plannng on bringing my E36 M3 out there for a good cleaning after my engine swap is done. Doesn't Veloce1600 the BT seller that sells E91 predominatly have a set up in NY?

I might need to take my e36 here as well.

Results seem great across the board, trouble is getting a good rate.

[M-technik-3]

They have been using ice blasting for fire restoration in homes for years to get rid of smoke damage. That's where I noticed it, surprised it took so long to make jump to cars.

Cost comes into play at how much is the dry ice costing as well most places don't have a means to make the ice.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by chassis

What does the guy doing the work make - $20 per hour? There’s $20 accounted for.

What is the total quantity of dry ice used? Maybe $50. Up to $70 now.

$10 for overhead.

That leaves more than 50% profit. It sounds like good work if you can get it.

What does dry ice detailing do better than other methods?

This doesn't really portray a totally accurate picture. Dry ice is expensive in the Boston/Metro area. The equipment is VERY expensive. Lots of electricity used during the cleaning, which is tedious and requires many, many hours.

Significant barrier(s) to entry, sure!

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

This guy was/still a memeber and had an E90 now has E46 M3 He started a place along RI/MA border.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/...6/post-9495336

I was plannng on bringing my E36 M3 out there for a good cleaning after my engine swap is done. Doesn't Veloce1600 the BT seller that sells E91 predominatly have a set up in NY?

Thanks for the shout!

Would be happy to answer any questions that anyone has about the process and what it is (and isn't) capable of! Cheers!

https://instagram.com/enticedgarage

https://facebook.com/enticedgarage

http://www.enticedgarage.com/

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by eforty6_m3

This doesn't really portray a totally accurate picture. Dry ice is expensive in the Boston/Metro area. The equipment is VERY expensive. Lots of electricity used during the cleaning, which is tedious and requires many, many hours.

Significant barrier(s) to entry, sure!

For instance this small unit is $10k. Goes way up from there for larger equipment. You also need high capacity quality compressor, air dryer, etc.

https://www.ics-dryice.com/en/produc...22-ic-022-plus

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by M3WC

For instance this small unit is $10k. Goes way up from there for larger equipment. You also need high capacity quality compressor, air dryer, etc.

https://www.ics-dryice.com/en/produc...22-ic-022-plus

Bingo, and this machine won't get the job done on its own. Far too small. You need a machine that is capable of varying sizing of the Dry Ice pellets, and a greater PSI range. You can't change many of the preferences on that small,"cheap" machine.

On my machine, you can change the size of the pellets within a specific range, control the psi within a specific range, and also the volume of ice being used within a specific range. Not that there's anything wrong with that machine, it certainly has a place, but its uses are far more limited than the larger, more capable machine that I am!

And you nailed it. You need lots and lots of (dry) air, which requires a high-quality and high-performing air compressor, as well as a dryer and wet and dry tanks. Lots goes into this. Not as simple as many people may think.

[OkieSnuffBox]

Originally Posted by eforty6_m3

Bingo, and this machine won't get the job done on its own. Far too small. You need a machine that is capable of varying sizing of the Dry Ice pellets, and a greater PSI range. You can't change many of the preferences on that small,"cheap" machine.

On my machine, you can change the size of the pellets within a specific range, control the psi within a specific range, and also the volume of ice being used within a specific range. Not that there's anything wrong with that machine, it certainly has a place, but its uses are far more limited than the larger, more capable machine that I am!

And you nailed it. You need lots and lots of (dry) air, which requires a high-quality and high-performing air compressor, as well as a dryer and wet and dry tanks. Lots goes into this. Not as simple as many people may think.

Yeah, the person who said $10 overhead is laughably small. There is the space you rent/own, business insurance, electricity, water, taxes, if you have at least one other employee to help you answer the phone/run social media/take on smaller detailing jobs, etc.

And all those expenses don't go away if you don't book X number of jobs per week.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about winter damage/rust this far south.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by OkieSnuffBox

Yeah, the person who said $10 overhead is laughably small. There is the space you rent/own, business insurance, electricity, water, taxes, if you have at least one other employee to help you answer the phone/run social media/take on smaller detailing jobs, etc.

And all those expenses don't go away if you don't book X number of jobs per week.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about winter damage/rust this far south.

Bingo!!! On all counts. Thanks for chiming in!

[chris719]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Wow, didn't know anything about this, results are amazing. If I had an older special car, I would be interested.

Holy shit, the amount of dirt that blasts into the air is amazing. The shots of his tables and countertops covered were crazy. At first, I was wondering why he was wearing a Tyvek suit and full respirator. Now I wonder why the guys in other videos I've seen aren't...

[RM7]

Originally Posted by chris719

Holy shit, the amount of dirt that blasts into the air is amazing. The shots of his tables and countertops covered were crazy. At first, I was wondering why he was wearing a Tyvek suit and full respirator. Now I wonder why the guys in other videos I've seen aren't...

And the fact that he’s still using degreaser and water on the finer stuff.

[M3WC]

Originally Posted by chris719

Holy shit, the amount of dirt that blasts into the air is amazing. The shots of his tables and countertops covered were crazy. At first, I was wondering why he was wearing a Tyvek suit and full respirator. Now I wonder why the guys in other videos I've seen aren't...

To be honest I think Larry missed the mark of truly showing what Dry ice cleaning can do. He should have just visited a shop with a proper setup and seen what an experienced operator can do.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by M3WC

To be honest I think Larry missed the mark of truly showing what Dry ice cleaning can do. He should have just visited a shop with a proper setup and seen what an experienced operator can do.