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So besides the obvious solution of work harder and faster. What are some tips to improve your overall detailing time?
If you are going to detail the engine, interior, and exterior what would be your expected time? I`m usually shooting for no longer than 4 hours depending on the shape of the car.
I would like to get my time down to less then 4 hours on most full jobs. Seems claying and paint cleaning slows me down the most.
Any help would be great!
thanks
I feel your pain. I`m not a pro, but I do some local jobs. I only take cars in very good shape, but if you take a 4 year old car that`s never really been detailed, that paint really needs that separate cleaner step just to get the worst gunk out of the paint. If you`re going for speed you could start with a wash and then, using a fresh bucket of suds, clay while you do a second wash. The trouble with this is, the clay is going to pick up so much dirt you`re going to have to throw it away. For me - I go with a cleaner first like Megs paint cleaner and then clay. THe clay still gets dirty, but it`s tolerable. On a light car you can go right to the sealer, but on a dark car you`re going to have to do an extra polishing step to minimize surface defects so that eats up the hours. I think maybe you should just charge more. If you don`t care about ruining the clay bar - wash, clay (while washing), polish with AOI with a foam pad and maybe throw a quick sealer like EX on there. That should cut your time down considerably.
I have been trying to cut my times as well, I have worked time hungry dealerships for over 16 years and I swear no matter what I try those older neglected cars just need time. I have spent over 15 work hours on one SUV, it actually isn`t uncommon for the suburban/tahoes we get to be completely ignored in every regard, but they gotta look the part for the front line.......average traded in car is about 5-6 hours to really hit everything nice....
i know where your coming from did a F-150 ford last weekend I washed clayed waxed did interior and engine took about 4 1\2 hours but the customer was happy and i was to so i guess thats all that matters
The way I gained speed was by refining my process. Instead of leaning against the wall smoking a cigarette while waiting for the sealant to dry, you can be cleaning the glass or dressing the tires or something like that. If you do things in the right order then the job seems to go faster. I have the process cut down to about 3 hours for a full detail on an average car. Shooting to keep it within 4 hours is a great idea. I think that is a good goal. Time is money in this business. If you do an 80 dollar job in an hour compared to doing it in 3 hours...well, that is easy math to do. You make more money per hour the faster you go.
hmmm, 16 years of experience I musta missed something along the line. Granted, I can take a well maintained car and hit everything in about 3 hours, but my average detail is far from maintained as I said. Where talking the dog/kid puke/```` specials in my area, driven through the local spin and slap every 400 miles for the last 80k miles. These people only vacuum their car when it`s free with the oil change deal, then trade it in when they can`t stand the smell any more, bad thing about dealerships, all the turds come your way.
1) practice
I spent over 4 hours on the first engine I ever detailed. Now I spend an hour or less for that same level of completeness.
2) get the best products and procedures that you can.
using microfibers instead of paper towels on windows saves me a TON of time.
3) more practice and constantly refine your process
Think about what you will be doing and what order you will be doing. I`m working on what would be the best way to load up my car right now! To see what would be the easiest way to get things in and out. :)