Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

[Nick Chapman]

How in the heck do you guys do this?

I've seen more than a few threads here and places like Autopia where people are spending 4-6 hours to wash/clay/buff/polish/wax an entire vehicle.

How in the world do you accomplish this alone?

For me, to do all of the above, it takes a minimum of 8 hours, and most of the time more. It's not uncommon for me to spend 12+ hours on a vehicle from start to finish.

How in the world does one accomplish such a task? The only way I could do something like this is if I were to only make one pass with the buffer and one pass with the DA. I have yet to see a vehicle where it only takes one pass on each machine. Are the results of a 4 hours job on par with my 8-12 hour job? Am I just that slow?

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

You're not slow, you're just more on the perfectionist side.

When it comes to the paint polishing aspect, moving faster doesn't equate to a quality finish, for example moving a DA Polisher and even a Rotary Buffer like a wild man as you go around the car doesn't make the paint look good. Each square inch of paint needs enough time spent on it to level it out and the polish it to a clear, high gloss. This takes time.

There's a huge difference between making cars shiny, (production work), and removing swirls and scratches to create a show car finish.

Production type detailing can be done faster than show car type detailing and you tend and trend towards the latter.

On a personal note, I did a "Production Detail" one time in my life. A friend of mine started a detail business and landed a deal to buff out all the used cars for a local new and used car dealership. He asked me for help to get this new job going so I said "yes". Went to his shop and he pulled in two used cars and we washed, vacuumed, cleaned, polished, dressed, etc. both cars as fast as we could with the focus being all about speed while doing good enough work that the cars looked "detailed".

I hated it. In fact I couldn't do it, I let him know this and volunteered to help find him a helper, (which I did). Some people are just wired differently, that's why you see cars driving around with horrible buffer swirls in the paint, it just doesn't bother the people doing this kind of work, at least not enough to keep them from doing it while at the same time when guys like you see a car like that it makes your skin crawl and your blood boil, especially if it's a "cool" car.

Just make sure when you accept a job that everyone's clear on the quality of work expected and the charge.

If it's production work then have a single charge for the entire job and zip through it as fast as you can and when it comes to the paint polishing, only focus on making the paint shiny, not removing all the swirls, stick to a cleaner/wax and one-step it.

If it's show car work then make sure the owner knows and charge accordingly. IF they want the interior or any other area besides the paint cleaned and detailed then tell them you can do that but it's going to be on a different day and it will be a different charge.

If you have to put your buffer down to wipe seats down and clean interior glass, now the paint isn't being worked on, and since show car detailing is time and work intensive any other part of the car has to be done separately from the paint polishing portion and thus a separate charge.

[Mort Corey]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

Beats me.....a reason I could never detail for a living is that it takes me a good three hours just to do a regular wash. By the time I get out the materials, wash, rinse and dry the car...clean the interior and windows and eliminate the invariable water spots with UQD, etc and then put everything away, the day is half gone. Using the PC over the entire car ends up to be a two day job before I'm happy.

Mort

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

Mike, yeah I understand. But here's a prime example(not trying to single you out justin30513, just using you as an example )

5.5 hours, and even did the interior

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21867

[Mike Phillips]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

5.5 hours, and even did the interior

http://meguiarsonline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21867

Some people are just faster than others?

Could be just a matter of putting into place a lot of "Best Practices", steps that save time and make time.

There was a thread that talked about tips for working faster, not sure how a person would search for it however.

[yalerd]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

it takes me a good three hours just to do a regular wash

It also takes me about that much

[HagFan]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

I've been thinking the same thing, having recently detailed both of my cars as well as my daughter's CRV. The latter is black and got #80 and #21 (after wash, clay) with the DA. The others got Cleaner/Wax instead of #80. I figured the only way to speed it up much would be use a rotary, which I don't own or have experience with.

Since I don't make my living at it, I won't worry about being on the deliberate side. The cars look fantastic, but the real test to me will be how they look at 5 years old.

[Hemin8r]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

Hey Nick, why does it take you so long??
Just kidding, this is a question I ask myself up to this day. I've seen the steps some people list & I can't believe how quick they can get this completed. At times I think I'm just too slow but I think each situiation is different for everyone.
I just worked on a convertible 300zx last night and that was just a quick wash, clay & some 151. That alone took me 4.5 hours. Interior wasn't even touched.

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

I just worked on a convertible 300zx last night and that was just a quick wash, clay & some 151. That alone took me 4.5 hours. Interior wasn't even touched.

Thats about how long it would take me also.

[AeroCleanse]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

It also depends on how bad the car is when you get it.

[Hemin8r]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

Thats about how long it would take me also.

Ok Cool. I don't feel bad then.

[RaskyR1]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

I've done plenty of 2-4 hour complete detail jobs in the past but they were all dealer cars. Not really the type of work I'm proud of but it paid the bills and made the dealers happy. Now I would never be able to do a retail customers car in that short of time but when a dealer is only paying $100-150 you can't afford to spend any more time than that.

crazy but...

I started working at a high volume shop (auto auction) at 15. We had an assembly line set up. 2 guys in the wet stall, 2 guys doing the dry work, and 1 guy buffing and 1 to do the final detailing. Start to finish it was a 45-60 minutes to do a complete car. The worked us long and hard with some 12-15 hr days. Back in those days they had us taking pressure washers to the carpets, we cleaned cloth seat with lacquer thinner, and all buffing was done with a 1 step, rotary, and a wool finishing pad. I look back now and feel ashamed to have cleaned a car like that.



Rasky

[3Fitty]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

Nick,

I'm certainly NO pro (I just figured I was on the "challenged" side) because a standard job on one of my cars takes 8 hours and that does not include and engine detail or the interior. That is simply a modified 5 step:

1. Wash

2. Clay

3. 2-3 passes with 80 or as needed

4. #7

5. 1 coat of NXT 2.0 (second coat on the following day).

I *might* be able to knock this down to 6.5 hours, but I doubt I could get it any faster. However, even this has taken me longer than 8, if I had to make more passes with my G110 in step 3.

[pampos]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

It also depends on how bad the car is when you get it.

I agree on that...if the car has only dust,there are some tiny swirls and the interior needs only a refreshing touch it needs less time than a car full of swirls,RIDS ,washed 5 months ago,black rims from the brake dust and all the mud from the winter stack on arches and a clean hole on the driver's side windscreen just to see where to go....

[Nick Chapman]

Re: Full wash/clay/buff/polish/wax in 4-6 hours?

With me, even a car thats not too bad of shape is still going to take me 8 hours.
Maybe I'm just slow But the cars are perfect as can be when they leave my hands