Darvill is in the detailing

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This article was published 27/10/2023 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Darren Darvill’s business had humble beginnings when he first started out, going to, and setting up at his customers’ homes to clean their vehicles.

Fast forward 20 years, and people now come to where Darvill is at his Brandon shop with a showroom and four bays. Two are for detailing, two for tinting windows, and parked up front on display is the latest vehicle or motorcycle that has just been hand polished.

“I went through some tough times in life,” said Darvill, owner-operator of Resurrection Auto Detailing Tint and Protection at 1518 First St. North.

“So, when I was 16, I threw my polisher and some compound in a cardboard box, and I started polishing. At that time, the only work I did was on Harleys, hotrods and boats. So, just toys,” Darvill said as he laughed.

Those toys Darvill worked on, he said, would be the basis of his business today.

“While I was working outside of someone’s house, a neighbour would come over and say things like, ‘Our van needs to be done,’ and then others would say their wife’s or husband’s car needs to be done, too. It was all word of mouth.”

It was simple enough, Darvill added, taking dirty vehicles and returning them to the customers in “like-new condition.” The window-tinting came later as more people started to admire his craftsmanship and he expanded his services.

It’s a career that Darvill didn’t consider when he was attending Assiniboine Community College, taking both automotive mechanics and automotive autobody.

“I was going to be an autobody tech and my stepdad was a mechanic, so I learned that trade. But one of the best things I took from autobody tech was finishing the vehicles and power polishing to get the defects out. That’s what led me to paint defects, and ultimately led me to the detailing world,” said Darvill.

His detailing world was expanding by the time he was in his 20s.

Reacting to a growing customer list, Darvill moved into his first brick and mortar location that was a two-car garage, which only seemed to draw more business.

“We were running that place pretty much 24 hours a day. There were times I’d go to work on Thursday and literally not go home until Tuesday, sleeping on the couch we had in the shop.

“So, I would detail all day, polish and ceramic coat overnight, and detail again the next day.”

By then, he had hired two staff members, and today he works alongside five others to help with detailing and tinting.

Auto detailing is a blanket term that includes window tint protective film, ceramic coating on a vehicle, paint protection to ward off rock chips, and restoring headlights with power polishing.

Boats are included in the services offered, too, with a decontamination wash for the outside, and removing the sand on the inside.

The number of businesses in the car wash and auto detailing industry in Canada has grown 1.7 per cent per year on average between 2017 and 2022, according to IBISWorld, an industry research company that has existed for 50 years.

Additionally, the top three provinces that have the most car wash and auto detailing businesses are Ontario with 1,529, Quebec at 877, and Alberta with 522. Manitoba has 100.

Auto detailing businesses across Canada took a hit during the COVID-19 pandemic when fewer people were travelling and spent less on keeping their vehicles cleaned and maintained.

But revenue is expected to remain strong across the country through to the end of 2023, with projected growth of 6.1 per cent, stated IBIS-World.

Darvill said he understands that many people price-shop for auto detailing, and that is why they brought in budget friendly services for coating, which he maintained, protects the original paint job.

“One thing we’ve been noticing over the last few years, is the lack of paint on most manufacturers — from factory. We’re seeing that most vehicles, they get one paint correction, but after that they don’t have enough clear coat to actually get another paint correction.

“It’s not like the old days when they’d have six coats of clear. It’s typically one coat of clear coat on it. So, now more than ever, it’s very important to protect the paint on the vehicle,” Darvill said.

Though his business is doing the work for people, taking their dirty vehicles, making them clean again, and ensuring they have a mirror-like finish, Darvill had advice for those who just want to drive through the automatic car wash.

“We don’t recommend them because they’re prone to scratching and they break down your clear coat, which means you could have paint failure.

“But a touchless car wash is OK, I guess. So, if people are adamant about going through the automated car wash, we still tell them to try and get a hand wash done once a month.

“The hand wash cleans out the pores from the coating, so think of it like your face. You have to hand scrub your face, right? Protect your investment.”

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» X: @enviromichele