Alumni
Former pupils of KDS, many of whom came to us for their very first experience of using a machine polisher (such as the Rupes Bigfoot or Flex rotary) or a nano-coating (such as Gtechniq Crystal Serum), have gone on to do great work.
A few words from past pupils...
Pinnacle Detailing
Oxfordshire
Brothers Lewis and Fraser Barnard came to KDS as amateur detailers in 2015, with a clear intention of opening a business with their new-found skills. We’re delighted that they went on to open Pinnacle Detailing and hope they continue to go from strength to strength. They now have their own unit…
“Hi Jay and Kelly
Myself and my brother have a passion for detailing and want to hopefully start up our own detailing studio. Having a browse on the internet at potential training options we found out that Kelly @ KDS provided such training; we were aware of Kelly and KDS already having followed some of his superb detailing on detailingworld.co.uk! We then enquired and Jay booked us in with Kelly for a few months down the line. Jay was really helpful and made the booking process easy and straightforward, they even accommodated the both of us training with Kelly on a 2 to 1 basis to suit our needs.
We then travelled down to KDS for the course. Kelly was very friendly and welcoming, as were the rest of his team who were working on customers vehicles whilst we were there. It was a real treat to gain knowledge from such an expert in the detailing field and learn lots of new skills and techniques.
We particularly liked Kelly’s approach whereby he would explain certain things but always had the true reasoning behind it so we could understand why we should be doing things a particular way; this really helped the information sink in, and trust me there was a LOT to take in! Another great aspect was the high amount of practice we got using equipment, in particular with the machine polishing and wet sanding – both skills that do require a lot of practice. Having lots of time practising really improved our confidence and understanding of the different machines we could use.
Considering KDS had multiple customer vehicles in at the same time as our training Kelly gave us his 100% attention whilst training and was very professional. On the website there is a general outline of the training and its components and times allocated, however Kelly tailored our training to meet our specific needs so there was an even greater emphasis on machine polishing and wet sanding which we were over the moon about! On the first day, when Kelly had finished training us, we actually ended up staying behind for a few hours and we chatted about lots of aspects of detailing with lots of tips and helpful information about running a detailing business. This extra time Kelly spent with us was really invaluable and his passion really shone through!
After leaving KDS and completing our training we are both using our skills to detail cars for our friends and family, and looking after our own cars to a high standard, we are waiting for a unit to come up in our area to start our business which we hope we can get going next year! One thing we did benefit massively from was training and practising with Gtechniq coatings; this knowledge we took forward and have so far completed two cars with Gtechniq C1 and Exo v2, one being a ’64 reg Audi RS4 and an ’09 Audi RS6! The first car we detailed following the training was a Triumph Stag which a family friend wanted improving for his daughter’s wedding having owned the car for many years, and he said it was the ‘best it had ever looked!’ which gave us a such a buzz that somebody really appreciated our work! Overall I would highly recommend Kelly and KDS for detailing training if you are looking to start a business or alternatively if you are an avid amateur detailer like ourselves!
Worth every penny and takes your knowledge and skill set to a whole new level”
Lewis and Fraser Bernard, Summer 2015
Auto Mystique Car Care (AMCC)
dubai
In April 2014, we welcomed Shane and Zuhair for training at KDS. It’s only been a few short years but, since then (with further guidance and consultancy from KDS), they have designed and opened an exceptional detailing facility. AMCC are now a highly regarded, well established detailing company in the Middle East.
“We have great memories of training at KDS Keltec. Indeed, where we are today is highly attributed to your fantastic training program. Our visit to your unit was the start of great things for us and of course Kelly Harris coming over to Dubai and spending a week with our team was the icing on the cake. We look forward to his next visit, which will be in the very near future. From the entire team at AMCC – Auto Mystique Car Care, we’d like to thank you for propelling us in this direction; we are where we are today largely because of you. We wish your team the very best in the coming year.”
(quote provided January 2017)
Elite Car Detailing
Netherlands
In October 2014, we welcomed Bart van Damme for training at KDS, on our Master Detailer course. His new skills and expertise have since been put to good use, and he now looks after a variety of specialist cars (and dealerships) in the Netherlands where his business – Elite Car Detailing – is “doing great”.
‘household-name’ carcare company
“I recently spent two days training with Kelly focussing on machine polishing techniques and scratch removal. We started with a chat about what I was looking to get out of our time together and Kelly tailored the course to my needs. Over the next two days Kelly built up my knowledge in a step by step manner and new concepts were explained very clearly and were backed up with the science behind them! The KDS team are truly passionate about what they do and Kelly is a master of his craft. I’d highly recommend KDS to anyone!”
Dean, Product Technician, January 2016