Paint Correction

I

imported_DetailDan

New member
On average, how long would you say it takes YOU to correct ONE panel? Obviously there are a lot of variables involved, but everyone should have some type of rough average, or min and max time.



Assuming the following...

True correction (performing wipe downs to insure imperfections are removed)

Full process (compounding to finishing)

Include the time it takes to properly inspect the panel



Lets say no sanding, customer is OK with a DEEP scratch here or there.



Additional finishing step for that extra 2%- 5% gloss isnt necessary. Finishing with something like 106FA, NOT going the extra step to say 85rd.



Lets say the car is black and paint is good to work with, not soft or super hard.
 
Thats a complicated question. How much correction(you sanding or leaving the little DEEP tracer scratches alone)?



How many finishing steps - a finishing step after its pretty close to ready, or an additional step AFTER your finishing step.



What kind of paint? I can murder swirls on a black Subaru and knock down scratches in a couple steps, wheras with other vehicles it takes an additional step and possibly a smaller work section(24x24 vs 14x14 in some cases).



Can we have extra parameters? :)
 
Was trying to keep it simple Mike!



Lets say no sanding, customer is OK with a DEEP scratch here or there.



Additional finishing step for that extra 2%- 5% gloss isnt necessary. Finishing with something like 106FA, NOT going the extra step to say 85rd.



Lets say the car is black and paint is good to work with, not soft or super hard.
 
LOL, sorry Dan, so like a paint that would respond to 105/205 and finish out equally well? Or M105, 106FA



I would say something along the lines of a hood into 4-6 sections, 2-4minutes each 105 hit, 3 minutes a 205 hit(or 3-4 for 106) - something like 35-40 min a hood, working at a very smooth brisk pace. 20-30 min a fender, door the same as a hood assuming you don't change out to small BP and pads for around the door handle or have something ready to go. Add a little over a minute for residue removal and inspection wiping/inspection.



Ideal times speaking here. 205 refining is quite fast because 105 leaves the finish so nice.
 
about 20-30 min on a fender, 60-75 min on a hood - for a three step process from wash, clay, compound, polish, polish, clean, apply and remove sealant
 
Believe me, I know time varies widely. Just looking for an average min- max time for professionals who know what they are doing, vs. others advertising paint corrections in ridiculously short periods of time.



Figured it would be easier to get an average time for one panel, instead of an entire car.



As professional detailers, I feel it would benefit us to be on the same page when it comes to things like this. Wish there were more responses.
 
autoaesthetica said:
Add a little over a minute for residue removal and inspection wiping/inspection... 205 refining is quite fast because 105 leaves the finish so nice.
Click to expand...



Though I've had cases where removing all the M205 oils can take *forever* even when using pretty effective stripping products!
 
two step is about 8 hours on a car, 3 step is about 12-15 when going for more defect removal.

wash, clay, polish twice, clean paint, seal paint, and all the rest (2 step is not going for full paint correction where you do 105/205 but hit the panels 3 times with 105 to remove everything, just once and whatever comes out comes out!)
 
On avg, using a 2 step something like Meguairs Microfiber cutting disc with UNO, M105 or D300 followed polishing or finishing pad with UNO, 106fa, 203s or similar I would say about 60-75 minutes for the hood of a midsize car (altima), fenders and doors 30-45 min ea, 1/4 panels 45 min ea, trunk and rear bumper 60 min, roof 60-75 min
 
I think the question is way too variable, especially considering how weather changes everything with something like SIP or M105. I don't mean this to sound negative though.



Think about it, some people pay for 2 steps they get 2 steps and done because of the detailer. Some people pay for 2 but they get 2 -4 hits or 1 step(basically necessitating 3) then their follow up step. Depends on the detailer as my %85 could be someone elses 99 or vice versa.
 
Hmm.... well, when I sanded and buffed out a full door panel recently it was about 2.5 hours, and that's really on the high end in terms of the amount of work I have to do on any given job. So I guess my answer would be 2.5 hours or less per panel.
 
for me it all depends on how intense I am going

sure I can correct a hood in 45 mins if I really want to in one step but since I do the jewelling process with every step and do more high end work which includes removing every defect on every panel, I might spend six hours on a hood and four hours on a guard. at the end though the panel is an exact copy of what the windscreen looks like with no orange peel



however typical 3 step 90 to 98.5% correction process may mean 1 hour per panel

when I do the last step with my orbital, I'll spend 5 to 10 mins per section, slowing down the opms all the way back to speed 1



all depends on what the customer is paying. the more they pad the more time I spend
 
I think a better question would be how much time is spent per polishing section, polishing section being an area roughly 2'x1' or similar. This is how I typically divide up cars just by looking at them and it gives me a pretty good idea of how long it'll take. In other words, a typical trunk lid (top only, not rear of trunk) on an average sedan, say BMW 3 series, would be 3 sections for me. From putting polish on pad, polishing section with 5-8 passes, wiping off residue and brushing the pad a bit after... takes me roughly 5-7 minutes. So 15-20 mins per top side of the trunk. Generally speaking, I'm usually looking at 3.5-4hrs for each polishing step on an entire 3 series, 4-5hrs for a step that's more aggressive and requires slower speed or maybe smaller sections. Hope that helps.
 
3 to 8 mins per section of 2 x 2 or 3 x 3. the longer ones are three or four minutes of me jewelling with wool, microfibre, foam, rayon etc at 900 then 750 rpm to leave absolutely no marring with the Xpert 1000 or 1500 S1 polishes so that all I'm doing with the remaining one to five steps is gloss, depth, colour and clarity enhancement

And then I glaze with quartz/glass based products on top of that for even more shine
 
For people using, uhm..."normal stuff" via PC it can be a whole different ballgame compared to experts using cutting-edge stuff. Set up the right polisher with the right MF/wool/SurBuf pad and the right product (Uno and M105 come to mind) and you can zip through most tough jobs pretty quickly and easily.



But I've spent literally *HOURS* on a single panel using the PC/M105 approach. Over and over and over.



?!?...But how can that be?!? M105 is so aggressive! What the [hey]....?!?



I was using a PC, 4" pads (including wool ones from Cyclo), plenty of pressure, and I was sure trying to get it done as fast as I could. Not using excessive product, not doing anything "wrong". It just took that long to do the work. And yeah, it did amount to countless passes; I literally lost count.



Had this happen a few times, e.g., 1) oe BMW clear on the '97 M3 and, 2) Glasurit repaint on my pal's Jag. I said "enough already!" on the M3 and switched to a better approach, but my pal's car was a delicate case so I just stuck with slow-but-safe.



For that matter, I can still spend a lot of time doing hard paint, even with the new approaches. But not the endless hours I spent with the PC in the past.
 
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