1969, the year The Beatles performed their last live concert , the GTO Judge was street boss, and Richard Nixon was sworn in as President. Fifteen year old Ken Chance overheard some guys at school talking about making money working at a local car wash. He asked questions and a month later, he was working for $1.50 an hour and having fun working at auto detailing.
Enter the car wash’s manager, LeRoy. A mountain of a man who’s physique resembled George Foreman and who spoke softly and quietly unless provoked, and no one dared provoke LeRoy! His strength was evident when he would single-handedly push large sedans through the car wash whenever a chain broke or popped loose. And in 1969, the only plastic on cars were the AM radio dials, it normally took 3-4 men to push one.
Next to the main wash facility a two-bay shop housed the “auto detailing” operation where LeRoy busily buffed and waxed cars. A chef’s style apron exposed his black, glistening-from-sweat, mass of muscular brawn. A 10″ rotary polisher slowly moved over the car wash owner’s ’69 Lincoln Continental. Thanks to LeRoy, the Lincoln’s black paint looked like a mirror and the reflection of the sun off the chrome bumpers could blind you. “I wanna be able to make a car look like that!” said the inner voice of Ken’s impressionable brain. And the rest, as they say, is history
Today
Fast forward to the infamous Texas winter of 2021 when Ken searched over four counties around Dripping Springs for an auto detailing shop to become home to his growing business. By the time Spring had sprung, he was no further along than when he started. No one wanted to rent to a car detailing business, except for a handful of industrial parks located far off the main roadways.
On a hunch, Ken walked in to Fowler Automotive on US 290 in Dripping Springs and asked the owner if he might be interested in renting out one of three large bays for detailing vehicles. Charlie Fowler had owned the shop for some 25 years and told Ken he was planning on retiring that summer and wanted to rent the entire shop. His shop, all 3,000 square feet, plus an office and waiting room, was way more than Ken needed, but doors opened and shut to the point where it was obvious that Charlie’s shop would become home to Ken’s expanding auto detail business in Dripping Springs.
On August 2, 2021, Dripping Auto Pros opened its doors and the community responded by coming in for car detailing, ceramic coating, window tint and PPF. Ken was able to realize his dream of making cars, and trucks, shine like that 1969 Lincoln. LeRoy would be proud!
Training and Certifications
Paint Correction
Rupes Paint Correction & Enhancement Training
Ken received advanced paint correction and paint enhancement training from Todd Helme of Rupes, USA. Todd is a world renown paint correction expert whose clients are a literal “Who’s Who” of international auto concours shows. Rupes is the world leader in automotive paint polishing equipment and is the brand of polishers used at Dripping Auto Pros, as well as Rupes polish and polishing pads.
Gloss University
Several of the auto detailing and paint correction industry leaders formed Gloss University in 2018 to teach advanced paint correction techniques to detailers across the globe. The instructor of this advanced training include:
Jason Kilmer, co-owner of KxK Dynamics. Jason is a five-time Ridler Award winner whose paint correction skills are sought the world over by collectors and auto show enthusiasts. Jason taught Ken how to wet-sand aftermarket and OEM automotive paint to provide a flawless finish.
Eron Knox, co-owner of KxK Dynamics and owner of Red’s Detail Center in Atlanta, GA. Eron, aka “Knoxie”, is a sought after master of paint correction and ceramic coating. With over 25 years of paint correction expertise, including wet-sanding and rotary polishing, Knoxie helped Ken refine his rotary buffing skills to the highest level.
David Patterson, is the CEO of Oberk Car Care, a specialty line of automotive paint correction & enhancement polishes and pads. David has over 30 years of experience in the automotive paint correction & enhancement space, and trained Ken on polish chemistry and pad engineering. This level of training ensures your vehicle is polished correctly to maximize paint defect removal and longevity of your vehicle’s paint.
Ceramic Coating
Gtechniq
Dripping Auto Pros is a certified installer of Gtechniq’s professional grade Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic Coating, which is quite the accomplishment, because Gtechniq limits the number of certified installers of Crystal Serum Ultra to ensure quality in professional ceramic coating installations. While some auto detailers might offer Gtechiq’s consumer grade Crystal Serum Lite, only two auto detailing shops in the Austin area are certified to offer their 9 year rated Crystal Serum Ultra professional coating – and one of them is Dripping Auto Pros.
SystemX
Dripping Auto Pros is a certified installer of the SystemX line of automotive, aviation, marine and industrial ceramic coatings. Made in the USA, SystemX offers a 6 year and lifetime rated and warrantied ceramic coating.
Driven by old-school values
Ken’s strong work ethic was instilled by his father and mother who were raised during the Great Depression and WWII. He started his first job mowing lawns as a 11 year-old and has applied the same principle to all of his endeavors: “Treat each customer as if they were your family, and perform the work as if it was for yourself.”
This is the very foundation of Dripping Auto Pros, and is the keystone of our company’s culture. Your vehicle will be cared for as if it were Ken’s own and it will have to meet his exacting auto detailing standards before it is returned to you.
If you’re in Dripping Springs, Austin, Driftwood, Bee Cave, Henly or Wimberley, Dripping Auto Pros is here to serve your car and truck detailing needs.
Dripping Auto Pros is conveniently located at 3401 U.S. 290 in Dripping Springs, Texas 78620. Stop by to say “hello” for a warm Texas welcome!
