It’s like a spa day for vehicles when they come to the Haydens. From the inside out, cars, trucks and SUVs enjoy a deep clean, sparkling finish and a weather-prepped undercarriage. Some even leave the shop with sunglasses.
Chad Hayden is the owner of Hayden Auto Detailing; his son Drake owns Hayden Ceramic and Detail; and Ed Hayden, dad to Chad, grandfather to Drake, helps out both.
The first business began 26 years ago. Chad Hayden sat down for an interview with The Era and admitted in the moment, he was a little shocked to realize he had missed, or rather not noticed, the 25th anniversary had flown past.
“I started in 1998, but really it started when I was 15 and tinting windows in my front yard. Friends would want theirs done, and then one day I bought the building up the road. My mother was not happy,” he said. The brick and mortar location has changed several times over the years; but the $5,000 investment all those years ago was well worth it. “Tinting is what has funded all this; it’s been a blessing.” And tinting is not only for vehicles. Hayden has had many contracts to tint windows at other businesses around the area.
He added that he was able to buy the business that his son has taken over because of the tinting and detail shop.
“Three years ago, I bought the ceramic business and Drake went to a three-day course by Detail King in Pittsburgh to get certified. The suppliers will not let you use their products unless you are trained and know what you are doing, so he did it,” Hayden said. The ceramic and detail business has been lucrative for the 21-year-old.
Ceramic coating of a vehicle varies in cost, but it means not having to wax the vehicle again for the next nine years. The process takes approximately 24 to 48 hours for preparation to bake to pickup. The Haydens also recently started undercoating vehicles. The undercoat process starts with getting the underneath completely clean. Then the fluid film undercoat is applied. The Haydens are one of the few, maybe the only, shop left in the area who can do these applications all year.
If your vehicle is in need of some love, contact the Hayden businesses for an estimate. For tinting call Chad at (814) 366-2070 or by email at Chadwick_hayden@yahoo.com; for ceramic, undercoating or detailing, contact Drake at (814) 366-2722 or by email at Dphayden2002@gmail.com. The shop is located at 46 N. Kendall Ave. in Bradford.
