How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

[jjhl]

I started washing my car myself after I began to learn detailing. Maybe because I'm a newbie and meticulous about cleaning every single spot, but it literally takes me 2-3 hours just to do a simple rinse, wash, rinse, and dry (2 bucket method + MF mitt + WW MF towels). Doing the interior takes me an additional 1-2 hours. My body feels pretty sore afterwards. I'm wondering how long does it take to wash your car, especially among those who are experienced?

[Murr1525]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

Well, interior is usually a different day for starters.... or different week...

I'd say an hour for me, longer with set up and all. But mine is a daily driver, and rough weather up here, so cant obsess too much...

[The Guz]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

Yeah I agree with Murr. The interior could be another day. You could spend half the day on the interior and washing.

[Eldorado2k]

Using my parents brand new Kia Sorento as the example, it usually takes about 45-50min. if I'm only washing/doing the exterior, including wheels. 1.5 hrs. tops including the interior.
If the vehicle is washed every 7 days it's even quicker.

The way I wash: Rinse the vehicle of course, then grab my mitt and gently go over a single panel i.e. the driver side door, get suds over it from top to bottom, then flip the mitt over and begin the actual 'washing off' of any debris/spots/gunk on that second pass.

Then quickly rinse off both sides of the mitt and do the rear door. Rinse mitt again and move onto the quarter panel. And finally all the glass on that same side without having to be as carefull on the glass. Then rinse off that whole side and proceed to the next.. I do this so quickly that I almost never let go of the nozzle with my left hand. I also dont bother putting my hand inside the mitt because that would slow my process down.

Have you ever tried washing your car at night? You'd be surprised at how forgiving you are about it when you can't see every single imperfection that you can't resist washing off.. But your car still looks 100% better the next morning! Lol.

[vietnik]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

I usually don't go too long in between washes; longer you go more time it obviously takes to get things close to par. My car is a daily driver as well so I don't fuss over the tiniest detail.

With that said, on average I'll spend 30-45 minutes to wash the car including vacuuming the interior and wiping things down. My car produces a lot of brake dust, so I spend more time on the wheels than the actual car. Two bucket method, starting from the top working my way down. I then do the wheels last with the remaining soap in the wash bucket just to save some water. Use two waffle weave towels and if in the mood, D156.

I've gotten things down to a science for the most part with my personal method; I work fast but efficient.

At the end of the day, no matter how much time you spend washing your car, it all comes down to how you want it to look and the kind of results; only you will really know you missed that one small spot. Everybody does things differently and with respect to size of your car, time will always vary.

[Don]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

At the end of the day, no matter how much time you spend washing your car, it all comes down to how you want it to look and the kind of results; only you will really know you missed that one small spot. Everybody does things differently and with respect to size of your car, time will always vary.

About +/- 2 hours is about right for me, my car is also a DD in NE Ohio, so we get some real crappy weather here too. The "details" are what takes me so long IE: door, hood and trunk jambs, underneath the gas cap, wheel wells etc. If it's wearing you out, save the interior for another day like others have said

[Top Gear]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

I have various washing routines for what is needed, but a quick suds wash and blow dry can easily be done in half an hour or less. I don't do a full regimen unless it's really bad, say if I got caught in a rain drive. I agree about doing the interior separately, and a quick solution I've found is to use my leaf blower to quickly blow out the dust/pollen, so that I really only have the protectant/leather step, for which I also have various routine levels. A full-out interior focus could be hours by itself when needed, which mercifully isn't very often. My secret in DD washing is basically to avoid getting dirty in the first place, then match my solution that day to what is needed for the next day or two, not the next month. I try to keep it fun, rather than regularly engaging in day-long exhausting regimens.

[DasBurninator]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

Takes me about an hour to do pull everything out, do wheels, tires, 2 bucket wash, dry the car and cleanup all tools/put everything away.

Then I'll come back and spend another 20-30 minutes dressing tires and trim.

Rinseless washes I have down to about 40 minutes including dressing tires and cleanup.

[Blueline]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

About an hour by myself, two hours if someone helps. (basically have the wash the car twice)

[07gtcs]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

For a bucket wash on my DD if I do the wheels and tires, a good two hours. No idea how you guys can do quality work in 30-45 minutes. Heck that is just work time, does not include set up and putting it all away. My Rinseless technique with Croftgate wash n wax, I can do it in about an hour.

[irvs]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

About an hour to hour and a half for a basic 2BM, Dry, Wash Wheels. This is without any waxing/sealant.

[wifpd4]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

Much like the original poster, for me it takes awhile to wash and dry someone else's car. Usually an hour or more doing the wheels, brushing the tires and cleaning the rims and wheel wells. Two more hours washing and drying the rest of the car. More time spent on door edges and jambs.

Car must be dirt particle free before claying or especially before machine buffing.

I start the day with Tylenol, actually every day.....

my own car, about half that time, but still use the Tylenol.

[Eldorado2k]

Ha that's so true^ If it's someone else's truck that I'm washing/detailing for the 1st time, I can take up to an hour just washing the wheels, tires & wheel wells.
But they come out awesome!

[JustJesus]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

... My body feels pretty sore afterwards. I'm wondering how long does it take to wash your car, especially among those who are experienced?

When I started 6 months ago, I was the same way, 2-3 hours. With practice, my technique was refined. I'm now averaging just over an hour to do the exterior. But, part of this is doing it as the sun comes up, or is going down. Having to fight the sun, with the sun drying the car, makes the process longer for me. I just spent 5 hours doing a friend's car. Rinse, wheels, 2 bucket wash, rinse, dry. Polish three small spots, followed by wax, and QUICK interior vacuum, and two windows cleaned. And my body was beat for two days.

About an hour by myself, two hours if someone helps. (basically have the wash the car twice)

Thanks for the chuckle !

...I start the day with Tylenol...

This was funny....and a great tip! I will definitely be doing this moving forward!!! THANKS

[Top Gear]

Re: How long does it take you to do a car wash by yourself?

Yesterday, I managed to time myself. I'd had some rain driving grime and the wheel wells were covered in junk, so I set out to just spray the wells and the undercarriage off, laying down around the car, not in a hurry.

I then accepted the wheels and tires were totally gunky so I got out my Gold Class Shampoo and stuff just to do that, more thoroughly (and slowly) than usual. Then, I figured I'd do the engine bay with suds-n-mitt, which I did, and then blew it dry with the blower. I started to blow off the wheels and thought I'd do a QW on the body, but as I looked around I saw more QW residue from the previous few days, some pollen, etc, so I figured, what the heck, let's wash the whole car. So, I then did so, and then blew the whole thing dry very thoroughly, including a bit of the interior and the door jambs, and then I put everything up.

So, I really took my time (it was beautiful outside), changed my mind (and wash bucket) several times, seeing how far I was going, pulled out supplies and put them all up, and all of that still only took an hour and a half.

Like I say, if I know what I'm going to to, like a quick suds wash and blow dry, it's usually half an hour.