ALL IN THE DETAILS
HI-TEK AUTO GARAGE
JOSE of Hi-Tek Garage
Jose is the co-owner and business manager of Hi-Tek Garage, an automotive performance shop that got its start as a hobby more than a decade ago. He’d always keep his own vehicles clean and detailed for car shows back then —that’s how Hi-Tek Garage got its start. Eventually, Jose started detailing vehicles that belonged to friends and family, too. Before he knew it, Jose was a business owner, delivering quality performance, repair, and maintenance services —with detailing as a secondary service —to his Hi-Tek Garage customers. Here’s more about Jose, his work, and why he’s a valued member of our tool reviewing team.
Preparation Meets Execution
Jose starts his day at Hi-Tek Garage with plenty of prep work. Cloths and towels need washing and sorting, and compounds and chemicals need to be carefully chosen and organized. The work area also has to be prepared so it’s very clean and doesn’t have any dust in it. Once all that’s done, the first vehicle he’ll be working on that day can get prepped.
Detailing is a slow process that requires lots of patience and attention to detail —two skills that “can be learned and developed with ease,” says Jose, a former computer and IT specialist who’s been detailing cars for the past 10 to 12 years. When you’re detailing a car, alot of little things add up to big changes. For Jose, quality work involves working patiently on every detail, changing the car’s appearance.
Tackling big projects like detailing and prepping supercars, Lamborghinis and vintage Shelby Cobras, for wrap jobs can be complex and challenging, too. But partnerships have helped Jose broaden the services and products that Hi-Tek Garage offers on jobs like these. The shop now offers vinyl car wraps, for example, from a team that goes by 8BallWraps. “That partnership,” he says, “came out of dealings here at the shop” and makes a wrap job on a Lamborghini much easier.
Hard Work Leads to Great Results!
Choosing the Right Tool for the Job
To get great detailing results, you need a detail cart with all the right tools. Jose says he’s got all the latest ones: “From the smallest cotton swab to the highest quality DA Polisher and everything in between.” The tools of the trade make a difference. It’s one of the reasons Jose’s so good at reviewing them —he uses all the top-quality ones and understands what’s needed for an excellent vehicle finish. “My love for tools probably came from always being taught to work with my hands,” Jose says.
“My father taught me to use tools at a young age and he instilled in me that tools should be well used for their purpose, but tools should be well taken care of, too.” In terms of favorite tools, Jose’s found that the DA Buffer/Polisher and Capri Tools’ Windstorm Blow Gun have both been handy. The buffer/polisher yields great results that Hi-Tek Garage customers appreciate, while the Windstorm’s “adjustability and changeable nozzles are great to blow dust and leaves out of a vehicle before the wash,” he says. After washing, the Windstorm also works really well to blow the water out of the vehicle and remove any dried compound during buffing and glazing.
He likes to use specialty cloths for the best results, along with a wide variety of detailing brushes that can take care of any spots or marks on a vehicle’s surface. Making sure customers get what they want and need matters to Jose and his team.
More Than Just Quality Detailing
