Full detail Time length

3

325iSBimmer

New member
How long does it take on person to detail ur average vehicle in average paint and interior shape.



I find I ussually log in about 5-6 hours. But heres my problem. Its ussually takes like 8-9 hours.



heres why.

I hand wash the vehicle and thuroughly clean the rims and tires and dry the vehicle the best I can. then I move on into the interior hoping that by the time im done inside the outside will be dry in the areas where water likes to hide (mirrors, behind tail lights, seems)

But it seems everytime I go to do the ouside I get water the finds its way out once the PC is vibrating near the panel and then water gets on the pad, smears the polish and just creates a pain in my arse to remove.



How do u pros go about this little issue. cause time is money
 
Takes me 8-9 hours fairly often too, and thats with a Cyclo for polishing. I guess a lot of it has to do with my ever so slightly anal nature, I usually end up taking the seats out and a lot of trim apart. Exterior trim too, sometimes. I like to think that I do the best work in the state, and I focus on a very high end market, so I usually turn 200-300 for 8-9 hours. I spent 6 hours today just working on my own car, and I didn't even touch the interior.
 
I figure 2 hours inside and 2 hours outside. For an average detail on an average car. Tine is money and if the customer wants to spend the extra money I will spend the extra time
 
325iSBimmer said:
How long does it take on person to detail ur average vehicle in average paint and interior shape.



I find I ussually log in about 5-6 hours. But heres my problem. Its ussually takes like 8-9 hours.



heres why.

I hand wash the vehicle and thuroughly clean the rims and tires and dry the vehicle the best I can. then I move on into the interior hoping that by the time im done inside the outside will be dry in the areas where water likes to hide (mirrors, behind tail lights, seems)

But it seems everytime I go to do the ouside I get water the finds its way out once the PC is vibrating near the panel and then water gets on the pad, smears the polish and just creates a pain in my arse to remove.



How do u pros go about this little issue. cause time is money
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If you have one of those shop wacs with the blower, you can get the excess water out with.
 
Dent's & Details said:
I figure 2 hours inside and 2 hours outside. For an average detail on an average car. Tine is money and if the customer wants to spend the extra money I will spend the extra time
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Thats about the same time I allow for the average detail.:xyxthumbs
 
325iSBimmer said:
. . . Its ussually takes like 8-9 hours.. .



I hand wash the vehicle and thuroughly clean the rims and tires and dry the vehicle the best I can.



I move on into the interior hoping that by the time im done inside the outside will be dry in the areas where water likes to hide (mirrors, behind tail lights, seems)



But it seems everytime I go to do the ouside I get water the finds its way out once the PC is vibrating near the panel and then water gets on the pad, smears the polish and just creates a pain in my arse to remove.
Click to expand...



Don't underestimate simple tools such as a $3 brush to clean lug nuts, the proper applicators for certain materials, the containers your products are in. Even where you put your products is important during a detail. If you were to save ten minutes using the lug nut brush, applicators that have the appropriate footprint saving you five minutes and were to place your polish bottles in your back pocket instead of bending down for each section you could spare maybe five more minutes. That is 20 minutes, around $15 in time for me.



By washing then doing the interior you are breaking your stride. I go right at the interior while I have the energy. It's harder (for me) to scrub pedals, vacuum headliners and extract a door panel than polishing almost any part of a vehicle. Also, when you wash then break off to the interior you are not going to remember the defects that you observed while on your first step. Get yourself a small air compressor or a vacuum that has a blowing feature to purge the crevices/seams so you don't have to wait for them to dry. Some days they won't.



Be conscious of where you spend your time on each vehicle. When it is done, replay the job in your mind and decide where you lost valuable minutes on unnecessary tasks, lost products etcetera.



HTH
 
4-6 hours for most cars, 4.5-8 hours for trucks and SUVs depending on size and condition. I have a system down that really helps. I do the vehicles in the same order every time and it speeds it up after a while.
 
Invest in an electric leaf blower. Use this to blow the water out of the nooks and crannies, off tires and wheels and also engine.



Instead of scrubbing wheels buy a pressure washer and a strong wheel cleaner (not one hydroflouric acid based as they can be deadly to you and the car), like Poorboys or Top Of The Lines clear coat safe wheel cleaners. You spray them on, let them dwell a few minutes then rinse them well with your pressure washer.



This can save you up to 30 minutes ( I use an electric power washer with 1650 psi. It is just the right amount of pressure).



The same with wheel wells and tires. Spray the tires down, the wheel wells and let the product work (spray on cool wheels and tires, out of the sun) and then hit them with the pressure washer. If the wheels are hot then do the interior first. Some wheel wells may need a light scrubbing to get them fully clean.



After washing and rinsing blow the car off, remove as much standing water as possible but don't spend more than 20 minutes on this stage. Then use a towel to dry the rest of the car.



At this point I apply dressing to the tires and wheel wells. Proceed with your paint polishing and waxing. In this area you may be using too many products and using too many steps. Can't determine this though unless I would watch you do a car.



For the interior start in the back area first but before you do remove all the mats from front and rear. Clean these first as it gives them time to dry completly. Move the front seats up as far as they go, vacuum the back area well then begin cleaning.



Finish the back area, except dressing, and move to the front.



That's it in a nutshell.



Anthony
 
Scottwax said:
4-6 hours for most cars, 4.5-8 hours for trucks and SUVs depending on size and condition. I have a system down that really helps. I do the vehicles in the same order every time and it speeds it up after a while.
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Care to share your methodology?
 
Anthony mentioned using too many products and too many steps. What I think you need are products that will take care of multiple tasks. Auto Magic just came out with Dress-It-Right. It's water based so you can use it on tires, engines, interior plastics and vinyl, and any other surface you'd whip out a dressing for. I haven't tried it yet, but it's cheap and looks promising. Products like this can save you a lot of time and money if you substitute your designated tire dressing, interior dressing, trim dressing, and rubber dressing for it. The same goes for cleaners. Find an all purpose cleaner you like and use it for every application you can. Stuff like Optimum Car Wax will save you a bunch of time on wax jobs, and if you look at Anthony's work with it, you'll see the results are nothing short of stellar. Most Autopians don't need products like this, as they mostly do their own cars and the occasional detail for money. For them, the extra time and money they spend on several different specialized products is worth that final result and extra satisfaction. When detailing for money, time is money. You can still achieve great results with any product if you do a quality job. Polishing a car with a one-step product will take as much time as one step in a multi-product polishing sequence. Your physical input will not save you as much time as being smart and efficient with product choice and use.
 
Anthony Orosco said:
Invest in an electric leaf blower. Use this to blow the water out of the nooks and crannies, off tires and wheels and also engine.



Instead of scrubbing wheels buy a pressure washer and a strong wheel cleaner (not one hydroflouric acid based as they can be deadly to you and the car), like Poorboys or Top Of The Lines clear coat safe wheel cleaners. You spray them on, let them dwell a few minutes then rinse them well with your pressure washer.



This can save you up to 30 minutes ( I use an electric power washer with 1650 psi. It is just the right amount of pressure).



The same with wheel wells and tires. Spray the tires down, the wheel wells and let the product work (spray on cool wheels and tires, out of the sun) and then hit them with the pressure washer. If the wheels are hot then do the interior first. Some wheel wells may need a light scrubbing to get them fully clean.



After washing and rinsing blow the car off, remove as much standing water as possible but don't spend more than 20 minutes on this stage. Then use a towel to dry the rest of the car.



At this point I apply dressing to the tires and wheel wells. Proceed with your paint polishing and waxing. In this area you may be using too many products and using too many steps. Can't determine this though unless I would watch you do a car.



For the interior start in the back area first but before you do remove all the mats from front and rear. Clean these first as it gives them time to dry completly. Move the front seats up as far as they go, vacuum the back area well then begin cleaning.



Finish the back area, except dressing, and move to the front.



That's it in a nutshell.



Anthony
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I am interested of buying pressure washer. Can you recommand one?
 
You can get a Kercher electric pressure washer at Lowe's or your Costco type store for around $200. It's fine for detailing uses. If you want a gas powered and better built one, those new Briggs and Stratton pressure washers with the project pro nozzles seem like a good value.
 
I bought the cheapie at Home Depot (I forgot the brand already, but it was only 70 bucks). Its worked pretty well for me so far, for cleaning off rims and trim, etc. Its 1300 PSI, a lil low for rims, but not too high for interior trim and stuff (people always seem to bring truly FILTY cars to me, with interior trim that doesn't want to clean up inside of the car).
 
LangMan37 said:
scott, can you share your system? anything to save time would be good to know.

thanks
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I don't know how much it would help someone who conventionally washes the vehicles because QEW definitely speeds things up in the order I work.



1. Inspect vehicle and discuss options with customer

2. Remove all personal items from vehicles

3. Vacuum, starting in the front, move seats forward and vacuum the back and trunk.

4. Clean all interior surfaces starting in the back (since the seats are already all the way forward).

5. QEW wash exterior, including door/trunk jams, wheels and fenderwells.

6. Remove any tar, clay, etc to prepare paint for polishing. For light claying, I do it as I QEW wash the car.

7. Polish the paint as needed.

8. Dress the wheels and fenderwells so no overspray gets on the freshly waxed paint.

9. Wax/Seal paint.

10. Clean windows with glass cleaner in and out.

11. Dress interior, weather stripping and exterior trim (if using a sealant that requires curing time, you can do the glass and interior/exterior dressing during that time).

12. Inspect vehicle

13. Inform customer the vehicle is ready for them to inspect. Correct anything the customers finds (if anything) immediately.

14. Collect payment and thank customer.



:)
 
themightytimmah said:
....Its 1300 PSI, a lil low for rims, but not too high for interior trim and stuff (people always seem to bring truly FILTY cars to me, with interior trim that doesn't want to clean up inside of the car).
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How do you clean the interior with a pressure washer? Isn't that a little overkill, or are you talking about pulling the floor mats out and doing that with the PW only.



It amazes me that folks can do a complete exterior in 2 hours, but I can see how practice and lots of experience make it possible. Ron and Anthony could you elaborate on how long it actually takes you to do one polishing step on an average sized vehicle?
 
Heh, I take the mats and a lot of trim out (consoles, etc). I see some FILTY cars up here in Maine, so oftentimes its easier to disassemble stuff (I keep a full mechanic's toolkit around) and powerwash it then douse it with Natural Look and let it dry out in the driveway, rather than try to clean it inside of the car.



I just thought of a few time saving tips, I'm not exactly Mr. Efficiency, but it'd take me even longer if I didn't use em :).



1. If the paints in too rough of shape to one-step polish it, then use a first step polish that you know will get the job done in one pass. I.E. use Menzerna PG via cutting pad, rather than IP over several passes. Finish with finishing polish of choice (PO85RD, I can't push it enough, the gloss is truly unreal :)).



2. Get the set of little tips for your vacuum, its only about 20 bucks to get em along with an adaptor for 2.5" hose at Sears. Best 20 bucks I ever spent, efficiency wise.



3. Use Natural Look, its got pretty good cleaning abilities. On fairly clean interiors, I can often get away without using Woolite first, simply by using a rough terry towel and NL.



4. Get a good setup of STRONG chemicals. Although the mild stuff is great for daily use on an Autopian car, you will see FILTY cars as a pro. Using products like Castrol Super clean, Poorboy's Spray + Rinse, NXT wash (pretty harsh, and I mix it strong), etc, will save you a lot of time over using milder products.



5. Use products with a lot of fillers (VM, Meg's stuff, Menzerna FTG, etc). These will save you BIG TIME over polishing every last defect out. In a pefect world, every owner would care enough to get a showcar polishing job, but in the real world, most people just want their car to look glossy and as defect-free as possible.



Although some of this stuff may seem contrary to what we stand for over here, you have to realize that there are some customers willing to pay for perfection, gentle methods, etc. You must be willing to serve them, and kiss their asses (trust me, they are not usually the easiest people to deal with), but you will be repayed bigtime.



The other type of client is the guy who wants his car to look first rate, but doesn't want to pay absurd amounts of money to get the gentlest process possible. This is the type of client that I aim for, they're easy to deal with, and easy to please. I'm plenty capable of pleasing the first guy, I just don't like to :).
 
I have to say I disagree with using fillers to accomplish the job quickly. If you can remove the defects with alittle more effort then do it. That is what we are being paid for.
 
The filler issue may come down to using the least aggressive product possible for the task. I find some truth in the "Are YOU over polishing your paint" thread David B started; it may be best, especially on previously polished vehicles, to use as little aggressiveness as possible. Even though the deeper and harder scratches aren't removed, neither is any clear coat...and the fillers come into play here.
 
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