[eforty6_m3]

Hello fellow BMW enthusiasts,

Some of you may recognize my username, as I've been a forum member for many years. The reason for this thread is that I'm looking to potentially start a dry ice cleaning business (for automobiles), in hopes of pursuing my passion and leaving behind a dead-end desk job.

As this is a relatively new process in the automotive space (been around in commercial/industrial cleaning for decades), I'm not sure what the level of familiarity is with this process, but, honestly, it's amazing. If you are curious about learning about it, check out the Youtube pages for Scott Ales (the Dryce man) and R20 motorsports...bunch of great footage highlighting what this can do for vehicles.

And so I'm reaching out to potentially start building relationships and gauging interest from potential clients. I've been in IT for just about 15 years and as I near age 40 (turned 38 in March), I decided it was time for me to make a change in my life. I've got 2 young boys at home (5 and 3) and a wife who fully supports me, so back in April I started off on this venture and am hoping to see it to fruition, where I am (hopefully) able to soon open my own dry ice cleaning business in southeastern MA. Got a few more steps in the process before that happens, but I'd like to see what the interest level is from you guys (and perhaps any other friends/connections you have that you could share with me).

While I don't have a website yet (still trying to come up with a business name), check out the drycenation site in the meantime! I can answer (or at the very least, try to) any question(s) that may come up in terms of the process and what is involved.

It's certainly not a cheap one, nor is this for everybody, I am fully aware of that. And there are naysayers, which I get. But I've trained in this process and done it firsthand and it's simply incredible. I believe there is a market for this service and am hoping that this business takes off and becomes full-time, so I can leave my current IT job, where I've been fairly unhappy for a few years now.

So, in summary, I'm simply trying to network and hopefully build up some interest in my potential business so I don't lose my wife and/or house if it goes belly up! haha (but seriously!).

Here are some examples of before/after shots from some other colleagues:











Reach out and PM me if you've got any interest, questions, leads, etc. Thank you very much for your time! And if you aren't interested, feel free to ignore and continue living your life. That's totally fine, too!

-Shaun

[eforty6_m3]

bump....entICED Garage, coming soon!

[eforty6_m3]

An update for anyone interested/following along:

After months of waiting, we are finally in our building! Still lots of work ahead, but this was a huge step for @enticedgarage and I’m still hoping to open up shop sometime in Q1. Stay tuned for more updates!
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#dryice #dryicecleaning #dryiceblasting #autodetailing #detailing #detailersofinstagram #dryce #drycenation #entICEDgarage @enticedgarage https://www.facebook.com/entICEDgarage/

[eforty6_m3]

Some big developments since I last posted. Lift was installed, electrical work was completed and the compressor system was setup and plumbed, so we've got air!!

We should have our first delivery of dry ice tomorrow. If you're interested and local, reach out and we'll get you on the schedule!

Not sure how to embed Flickr videos (I tried every option, couldn't get it to work), but here's a link to the compressor startup:

https://flic.kr/p/2n6Gmzv

















My temporary workspace:

[billnchristy]

Congrats man! We used to use dry ice to clean our stamping tools. It does an amazing job. I hope you wear muffs and plugs when doing the work, the machine we had was obscenely loud, though it was portable, is yours contained in the little building?

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by billnchristy

Congrats man! We used to use dry ice to clean our stamping tools. It does an amazing job. I hope you wear muffs and plugs when doing the work, the machine we had was obscenely loud, though it was portable, is yours contained in the little building?

Thank you!!

Oh I've got ear muffs (one with bluetooth and one without) and face/eye protection...all the good stuff.

Mine is not portable...the machine weighs about 250lbs so it's not going anywhere!

[eforty6_m3]

Had our first client vehicle (1979 Mercedes Benz 300CD) in recently for engine bay, wheel well, undercarriage and some other miscellaneous cleaning.





BEFORE























DURING












Couldn't see these paint marks before! And originality is key for many clients...we don't want to knock off these sort of marks or stickers that are original to the vehicle if we can help it.









AFTER

[billnchristy]

Amazing work man! Like she's brand new, especially up north! This venture could be quite lucrative but you gotta get the word out. Hopefully this guy shows all his friends. You should make a display and hit up cars and coffee and other car shows. Word of mouth should make this a hit!

Best of luck and I hope that Kaeser gives you a long troublefree life. We had them at the automotive supplier and while I wasn't big on them at first, I am a believer now. They're expensive but pretty damn reliable machines.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by billnchristy

Amazing work man! Like she's brand new, especially up north! This venture could be quite lucrative but you gotta get the word out. Hopefully this guy shows all his friends. You should make a display and hit up cars and coffee and other car shows. Word of mouth should make this a hit!

Best of luck and I hope that Kaeser gives you a long troublefree life. We had them at the automotive supplier and while I wasn't big on them at first, I am a believer now. They're expensive but pretty damn reliable machines.

That is the goal! I'm going to design a pamphlet/brochure that I can hand out at various car events that will help illustrate just how effective this process is.

Thanks for the kind words and support!

[eforty6_m3]

Some shop updates:

Took a new approach and stole this idea from another dry ice provider...using painters drop cloths (canvas) to take the brunt of the dirt-catching duties, rather than constantly dirty up my concrete floors. They're cheap enough so I can keep these in place until they get really dirty, then toss them in the dumpster and replace them with fresh ones. Rinse and repeat:



Top coat was put down in the parking lot at the shop at the end of May, and the parking spaces were striped and numbered:














In terms of business, had some cool developments. A local Porsche/McLaren mechanic dropped off a motor from an air-cooled Porsche to get cleaned up while it was out of the car:











Then, my shop neighbor talked one of his customers into getting his Ferrari Mondial cleaned up a bit in preparation for some custom exhaust work:











Had this Alfa Spider in for an engine bay detail early last month:



BEFORE









AFTER













Had a bunch of ice left over, so I got to cleaning. A client had dropped off a set of euro taillights for his E36 M3 that were pretty gunked up. They cleaned up very well and the dry ice brought the gaskets back to new: