DetailingCost
Calculate a cost
Disclosures

How this site makes money

Short version: some links to products earn us a commission. No shop pays us, and nothing we earn changes a number on this site.

Detailing supplies on a workbench: spray bottles, a polishing pad, and folded microfiber cloths.
When a page says a job needs a dual-action polisher and a decent pad, the link to go buy one is usually an affiliate link. That's the whole business model.

What an affiliate link is

Some outbound links to products carry a tracking tag. If you click one and buy something, the retailer pays us a small commission. You pay the same price you would have paid anyway. Those links are marked with rel="sponsored", they open in a new tab, and the tag is sitting right there in the URL if you want to look at it.

Affiliate links are the only revenue on this site today. There are no sponsored posts, no paid placements, and no shop directory listings for sale.

Amazon Associates

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

Detailing Cost participates in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that pays sites a fee for linking to Amazon. When a page recommends a specific tool or product for a DIY job, that link generally goes to Amazon with our tag on it.

A technician laying protective film onto a blue-panelled car body.
Protective film going onto a panel. We link to products like this; we never install them, and no shop pays to appear on this site. Photo: Pexels

What we don't do

We don't install anything. We're not a detailing shop, we don't own one, and we're not affiliated with one. No shop pays to appear here, because no shops appear here. There's no lead-generation form on this site and your details are never sold to an installer, for the simple reason that we never ask for them.

Product brands don't pay for coverage either. If a page names a film or a coating, it's because the price data or the spec sheet called for it.

Why the money can't move the numbers

This is the part that matters, so it's worth being specific about the mechanics. Every cost range on this site is stored as data, separate from the page it appears on, and it's built from published sources listed at the bottom of each hub. Nobody can pay to move a range, because a range isn't a thing anyone can buy, and moving one would mean contradicting the sources printed right next to it.

The commission is the same whether we tell you a job is worth paying for or tell you to do it yourself in your driveway with a $30 kit. On several pages we say exactly that.

Required disclosures

This page exists to comply with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR Part 255 guidelines on endorsements and testimonials in advertising, and with the Amazon Associates Operating Agreement.

Something here look wrong, or a link behaving oddly? Tell us.