Share your Detailing Procedures

[detailbarn]

I did a car the other day while my shop is being remodeled and all my stuff is a mess so nothing was where is was suppose to be. So I had to make trips back and forth to find what I needed. In doing all this I realized how important my rountine is in being efficent. So I'm looking to see if I can't improve or just hear what others are doing. I'd like to hear from Pro's as well as everyone else. When you set out to detail a vehicle what is your procedure , interior first , vacuuming or dusting , or the exterior do you clay when you wash , lets get down to the nitty gritty. Spill the beans , share the details on how you detail...... ok I'll shut up and listen now.


PS . Mobile Detailers please share your procedures too , setup to clean up.


Thanks

 

[ohsoclean]

for the past year i have changed my routine a few times. The best routine i have come up with is this

1- Open all doors, trunk, ash tray , whatever hold garbage or can be open and shut . throw out large loose garbage . Vacuum , dust dash instrament panel , clean vents shifter area cup holder. Shampoo and vacuum , extract matts , set aside to dry , vacuum rest of interior , shampoo and extract. Close all doors windown, as you shut each door do the window leaving trunk for last.

2- Problem areas, bugs , tar major road grime, fog light area grills get thourough cleaning , spray a little soap , bug and tar remover , nylon mesh spunges whatever you use to clean those areas then use now.

3- Thorough wash procudure , wheels first alond with wheel wells.

4-dry. while drying asses paint, wether it need an ssr type product if so how strong or light, if it needs claying or cleaner wax treatment.
5- perform paint cleaning techniques. (tape trim if nec. ) if you think you dont need to then dont . before paint cleaning i dress tires .. to avoid overspray from gettin on paint.

6- wax, how ever many coasts you prefer . i know carnuba needs time alot of time between coats.

7 -exterior windows now that buffer crap wont hit em.

8 -final inspection anything you think need to be re wiped or buffed out a little bit more , evenly distributed tire and trim dressing . replace floor mats into car. pull into diffrent light and one more look over.

this is my process. It works for me . it works very well. Its the most efficient way i have found to personally clean cars and be satisfied .its direct your focused in steps on one part of the car at a time. plus once your into a routine it becomes habit , once it becomes habit its almost like its natural and its get easier you get better and things move faster . Time equals money and this system makes it. thanks i hope it helps

 

[nickis]

I won't go through my entire procedure because not everything would really be useful, but I will share some things I've found helpful in speeding up my details.

First, I always clay with the wash. This alone cuts a lot of work because you just wash a panel down like usual, grab your clay (I keep it right in the wash bucket), and go to town. No wasted time spraying lube or wiping it up, and no extra wash afterwards. Also, I find that by keeping the clay in the wash bucket, if the clay picks up loose dirt or debris, it will fall off when you put it back in the bucket instead of becoming embedded in the clay. One thing I do recommend if you clay with the wash is to keep the car really wet and rinse clayed areas immediately because otherwise you can end up with a residue (maybe this is just regular soap residue you would get if you leave soap on the car, but to me it seems worse when you clay). You can also use a little more soap than usual in the wash solution if the clay sticks.

Another trick I use when doing two coats of wax, is to clean the interior in between them. This makes for a nice change of pace and also gives the first coat of wax some time to sit. It is mostly a mental thing though, doing two coats of wax back to back is just brutal.

I think of the interior in terms of the stuff you are cleaning up. Garbage, then crumbs, then dust and dirt. If you don't work in that order then you will end up stopping to toss garbage while you are vacuuming, picking up crumbs on your dusting rag (that later fall off), etc.

When doing any process, but especially waxing, I think it is important to work in a logical pattern. When I wax, I like to finish one "level" at a time. I start with the hood and roof because I can do those while standing, then move on to the front grill and bumper, side doors and trunk, because I can do all of these sitting on my little camp stool. Finally, I do the ground effects and front spoiler, at the end, kneeling on a blanket. At each level I work in a circle around the car to spend as little time moving from spot to spot as possible. This technique works well for me in terms of time, and it helps me avoid missing spots.

Thats all for now, I will probably add more later if I think of them. I'm interested to see what other people have to add.

 

[dimedrol]

ohsoclean:
Pretty good process almost like me, but what about windows, door jambs, mirrors in sunvisors.

 

[ohsoclean]

doorjambs you do with drying i forgot to add that in there . The windows , you do inside as you finish up the interior and your shuting the doors. the outsdie windows get donw after waxing. I believe i said that in there somewhee but icould be wrong or not expained it thourough. do sun visors with interior too.