am i slow ? how long does it take you?

T

THERUSE

New member
first of all its great to be back here again. :xyxthumbs



i have been detailing for several years now, and after reading autopia i came to the conclusion that i'm either slow at it, or you guys are really fast.



i started around 10 am, washed, clayed, meguiras fine cut w/ pc, washed, z1 and z5.



finished around 7 pm



how long does it take you guys to detail your car? oh and its a 4 door sedan.



:nixweiss
 
tomciob said:
first of all its great to be back here again. :xyxthumbs



i have been detailing for several years now, and after reading autopia i came to the conclusion that i'm either slow at it, or you guys are really fast.



i started around 10 am, washed, clayed, meguiras fine cut w/ pc, washed, z1 and z5.



finished around 7 pm



how long does it take you guys to detail your car? oh and its a 4 door sedan.



:nixweiss
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I can do my 4 door sedan (Aurora) in about 4-5 hours. That's total exterior (wash, clay, paint cleanser, compound/polish, wax, polish wheels, dress tires and trim), and total interior (vacuum, clean/dress vinyl, clean/protect leather, clean windows, and shampoo carpet).:xyxthumbs



I don't think your main concern should be how quickly you can get it done, your biggest concern should be the final result. If your happy after 10 hours of work then I'd say it was well worth the time.
 
tomciob- You're not alone! Heh heh, this is one of my favorite rant-subjects ;) I take *forever*, and I work fast enough that it's aerobically demanding (and I'm in shape). I have no idea how some people do a car in an hour, it takes me almost that long to do the "dirty bits" (like wheels, wheelwells, doorjambs, under the hood and the undercarriage). And that still leaves the whole rest of the car. Even when you're "done", blowing all the water out of the nooks and crannies can take a LONG time if you want to get it all.



On our sedans (Audi A8 & S8) it takes me about 3 hours to wash and dry them. But then, I don't miss ANYTHING.



I can apply a quick coat of LSP in under half an hour, but if I'm doing a "full detail", I might take several days. EXAMPLE: the S8's main grill has sixty-some slots, and each one has four surfaces, and I'm applying then removing AIO then the LSP to each (and working the seams with a toothpick, etc.), well, just the GRILL can take forever!
 
I jus did my major spring detail yesterday (wash, clay, paint cleaner, polish, gold class, nxt) and it took me a little over 10 hours and thats without a break but i did it all by hand so.... Anyway thats just my time i was happy with the result so i consider it well worth it.
 
I guess I must be getting better. This last time it only took me 5 hours to detail my Jeep. It helps when the vehicle is maintained.
 
tomciob, I'd be thrilled if I could do a complete detail in a mere 9 hours. But my experience is more like Accumulator described; I'm doing lots of work at the Q-tip or toothpick-level. I could probably make the cars look BLING from 6 feet away in just 3-4 hours inside and out. But I'm trying to make it so that it'll look BLING under a magnifying glass -- because I'm prepping for concours shows. Thank God I'm not making a living at this hobby. :lol
 
It takes me from when I start until when I finish. I don't care how long it takes. I polished last May, but still has swirls. I polished again over Thanksgiving and had a lot less swirls. Finally I polished for a club show in March and finally my truck is 97% defect free - there are just a couple of deep scratches on the hard tonneau remaining, except for stone chips everywhere. Aaaaah, nearly there! Now I'm thinking getting a "quality" painter to repair the paint blems everywhere and shoot at least 4 mils of clear on top of everything (maybe the CeramiClear from PPG), then wet sand to remove most of the OP. Then there's the ......, and the ......, and what about the other stuff like repaint paint blems on the underside, polishing the exhaust. Dang, I'll I just realized I'll NEVER be finished - so how that for "too long"?
 
Professionally, I have no choice but to format my methods to do a full detail job in about 3-5 hours depending on the size and condition of the vehicle. That speed comes with experience, and the simple mindset that "if you're slow, there's no dough" .:D If I am being extremely meticulous with a particular vehicle, then it'll take longer. No matter what, I don't leave until the work is up to my standard. :xyxthumbs
 
Sounds about right, tomciob. I take a full day to do a full detail by hand. A PC would go a long way to cutting down the time- hoping to get one for the b-day or xmas this year.
 
i am no where near the level which most people are on when it comes to detailing but even for me an average detail would be around 5-6 hours for a "single day" detail.
 
Full Detail on my Taurus (clay, full exterior, full interior shampooing, etc.) takes just about the whole day, or 6-7 hours. It takes more time if i go down to the Q-tip/toothpick level.
 
Lynn, The only problem I have is with the wife - after I wash and dry she gets a "wedgie" when I break out the UPP or SG and really rolls her eyes and mutters whenever the polish and a PC appear. To her a vehicle is ONLY a means to get her to and from the destination du jour.
 
Small coupe = 3 hours

Midsize Sedan = 4 hours

Small SUV = 5 hours

Large SUV = 6 hours ++



I really jack the price up on SUV's, because I really don't want to do them!



You can spend 3-4 hours just on the interior of an Expedition that is "owned" by a family of 5!!! (old fries, Taco wrappers, sticky gum, etc.)
 
Lynn, The only problem I have is with the wife - after I wash and dry she gets a "wedgie" when I break out the UPP or SG and really rolls her eyes and mutters whenever the polish and a PC appear. To her a vehicle is ONLY a means to get her to and from the destination du jour.
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:bow :bow Amen Brother, Amen. :bow :bow



My wife is the same way. I was working on her Blazer a few weeks ago and she thought it would only take 45-60 mins. I start cracking out bottles of this, cans of that and all hell breaks loose. :shocked

Why can't women just step away and let us work where we like to work.:xyxthumbs



The Beer Man:D :D ;)
 
Full sized, extended cab pick up with a hard tonneau cover. Wash, clay, polish, sealant....about 5 to 6 hours. This includes claying and sealing chrome wheels, treating tires and wheel wells. No engine or interior work...that's another story and another 2 to 4 hours. I don't know if I'm slow. That's just how long it takes for me to do it right.
 
Mrs Gonzo just saw the last reply from WhatNoBeer and she used her favorite comment/threat



"Just remember, at some point you WILL need to go to sleep and I'll be awake then......" She claims to have a Le Crueset frying pan weighing in the order of 20 pounds that requires two hands to lift.





Now you see what I live with (but I love her anyway). Just a work of warning to the wise. :D :shocked
 
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