A MECHNICAL engineer is whipping up bespoke car waxes from the Trossachs that will buff some of the world's most expensive automobiles, from Knightsbridge to Beverly Hills.
John Johnstone, 28, takes care of cars including vintage Ferraris and designer Bugattis and he is rubbing them down in a unique mixture of oils and waxes formulated to order.
The business, Mitchell & King, has proven a runaway success since the Paisley University graduate launched it in November.
Bespoke shampoos take two to three weeks to prepare and range from a £250 for a shampoo in a specially engraved crystal decanter to £1800 for the world's most expensive car shampoo, Gold Rush Rally, which is formulated to a unique fragrance selected by the customer and displayed in a 250ml 24-carat gold dispenser, encrusted with Swarovski crystals. Only five are made per year.
The firm's bespoke car waxes start at £178 per tub depending on if you want an aluminium, crystal or marble recepticle, to £65,000 for a Gold Rush Rally wax which adds gold shimmer to paintwork and comes in the same gold and crystal container as the shampoo but also with 10 round-cut diamonds.
Mr Johnstone, who runs the firm from the Trossachs, acknowledges that with the exception of the odd Bentley or Aston Martin owner, there is not a huge demand for the service locally.
Most clients are the world's megrich, from Russian oligarchs in London and oil millionaires in Norway to the flamboyant motorists of the Hollywood – one of their biggest clients is a Beverly Hills Porsche dealership.
They also deal to agents dotted at boutiques across the globe, in Los Angeles, London, Barcelona, Athens, Seattle, Krakow, Verdal, Johannesburg and, oddly enough, Kirkcaldy.
Mr Johnstone said: "What we tend to find is the client we attract is someone who tends to purchase things that are individual to them, luxury items, and even through to their car care they want to make sure that what they're using is as luxurious and unique as the watch they're wearing or the suit they've just had tailored."
Helen McArdle
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