How long should it take for one person....

10 hours or more..

This weekend it took me about 3-4 hours to ONR wash, clay, ONR wash again, clean and dress tires and wheels, AIO by hand, clean and protect the interior and fully condition the leather of a Honda Pilot. I had already vacuumed and shampooed the carpet earlier in the week.

Jenn

I just did my 2010 Camaro, it took me 6 hrs on day 1 and 4 hours on day 2. Day 2 I did rewash the car before I gave the 2nd coat of wax.
So 1 coat of wax and inside, I'd say 8 hours, doing a really good detail, inc. wheel wells, and every little nook and cranny. But that's my car, i don't think anyone doing that for someone would get as detailed as I did. Would like to hear what other do.

There are many variables, the biggest one being your routine. I am very methodical when I detail, I follow the same steps in order, and try to maximize efficiency of movement. Get organized, know where everything is and what your next step is, perfect your technique. Some vehicles are simply dirtier and more beat up than others, these will just take longer. Make decisions quickly, and be prepared to work hard. Pace yourself, again, speed is less important that technique. Discover your most effective 'method' and speed will follow. Last weekend I spent 12+ hours on a badly swirled black Mercury Marauder, and the next day was 6 hours on a 2 year old gold Honda Accord. There is no standard number, and I consider that when I price a job. I haven't been able to break the 5 hour mark on a full thorough detail, the only kind I will do. I constantly analyze what delays some jobs and speeds up others so that I may make adjustments in the future. Make sure you have fun while you're at it, and take lots of pictures! Good luck.

mcpp66 said:

What I don't get, is how the "detailers" in my area can do an entire interior and exterior in 2-3 hours.

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Those are not detailers, they are people that wash cars...

^yea, exactly. It takes a while to do correct a car, and even long to do it right.

Dubbin1 said:

Those are not detailers, they are people that wash cars...

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:iagree:

Agreed on the 'people that wash cars'. Unfortunately there is a market out there for them. Recently I had an older gentleman in a late model Navigator start chatting me up in a parking lot next to my black Suburban which had just been waxed. When I answered his question about how much I charged, he responded with the price his 'car washer' hits him for. I explained to him that doing that to a nearly $60K SUV was like putting rabbit ears on a 62" HDTV. Politely of course!

When I did the E-class I did this weekend, it took me 12 hours to do just the exterior...

Depends on the detailer.

In my case...
oldfart
bad back
perfectionist
spend half a day deciding on what polisher to use
spends 45 min arranging stuff on rolly cart to take out of garage
wash takes at least three hours, some of which time is spent spraying kids and dogs
clay, another hour (at least)
day is over.
Next day (Sunday)
correct paint, day's over, put car and all stuff away.

Next weekend...
wash now dusty car again
examine paint carefully then proceed to jewel.
two coats of Fusion.

Go for Sunday drive.

So it actually takes me two weeks:autowash::buffing::autowash:c7424::cruisin:

Washing, drying, claying then washing again = 2-3hours

Full paint correction using DA = 12-16 hours or;
Full paint correction using Rotary = 8-10 hours

Paint Cleaner, Wax Cleaner, IPA,etc = 15mins-1hour

Sealant/Wax application = 20-30mins

Interior Cleaning = 2-3hours

Interior Stain Removal = 1-2hours

Interior Protection = 20-30mins

Engine Detailing = 1-2hours

Glass/Window & headlight/taillight detailing = 1-2hours

Wheel polishing = 1-4hours (depends if you remove the wheels)

Hmmm..how long did that take? lol

oldmodman said:

Depends on the detailer.

In my case...
oldfart
bad back
perfectionist
spend half a day deciding on what polisher to use
spends 45 min arranging stuff on rolly cart to take out of garage
wash takes at least three hours, some of which time is spent spraying kids and dogs
clay, another hour (at least)
day is over.
Next day (Sunday)
correct paint, day's over, put car and all stuff away.

Next weekend...
wash now dusty car again
examine paint carefully then proceed to jewel.
two coats of Fusion.

Go for Sunday drive.

So it actually takes me two weeks:autowash::buffing::autowash:c7424::cruisin:

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Hey!! I resemble that remark :iagree:!!!! oke:

The car is another major factor in it... If the paint is in horrible condition then it will take longer if it is in fair to good condition then not so long. A few weeks ago I did a full correction and interior with my friend (LincolnZepher2006) on a guys lexus and the paint alone took 12 hrs with both of us using a buffer at the same time

So I guess what im saying is it all depends

It also depends on the expected finish of the car. When I do a sports car or show car, the owner expects nothing less than this:



Not a single swirl remaining, no marring, not a single hologram. Obviously, this cannot be done in 4 hours.

The key wording here is "full paint correction". Many, if not most, of the cars I see can be corrected to "customer" acceptable levels with just one level of polish. If that doesn't get it, once around with something like Meg's 105, can bring the paint up to snuff 90% of the time. I notice that a lot of the posting stories here are all about those "perfection correction" jobs. Understandably, we as detailers love those jobs, and rightfully so. I love a perfect paint job as much as the next guy (or gal) but let's be real here, most of the time we are not getting paid to do full, complete and total correction. If you are doing that much work and not getting paid for it you will not be here next year. I think that is one of the most important keys to success as a detailer....knowing when to step away from each aspect of the detail. Our anal qualities as detailers is what got us into this bizz in the first place, and it can be the downfall of us all if not managed properly.
That said, a full detail with clay, polish, and protection of some form, and the interior detailed, should never take ten hours. Not that it didn't take that long when I first started. Which to be honest, wasn't that long ago. You really need to have a S.O.P. to get things moving and keep them moving. It has to be military style or you are not going to be able to do two cars a day. I believe those are the days when I am "making it". SO many expenses to keep up with. Insurance, tools, chemicals, advertising, repairs, upkeep, man the list goes on and on.
Is a two hour detail a " car wash" ? Maybe...a darn good one though! How about an "express detail". A very profitable offering for me. Wash, vac, glass, quick interior cleaning, dress tires and go. Hour and a half maybe less, for somewhere around $125. Can't beat it. Could not have done it with out training. Renny Doyle, Rightlook, someone who haas ben there done that. That's the key!
Just so I don't totally piss everyone off...Could I spend ten or twelve hours doing my own truck or car...without a doubt!!! But that's loving every stinkin second of it!

Dubbin1 said:

Those are not detailers, they are people that wash cars...

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Pretty much sums it up!

It takes me an average of 10 hours for a complete detail; inside, outside, engine compartment, tires & wheels, trunk, floor mats, glass, and trim etc...

mcpp66 said:

....to do a full detail by himself (or herself)? I'm speaking of a wash, clay, an all-over paint correction, and a thorough cleaning of the interior (vacuuming, cleaning the dash, using a hot-water extractor, etc)? As far as the type of car, lets just assume we're speaking of your typical 4-door sedan?

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I always separate paint polishing from everything else, that's because polishing paint is an art form, not merely a grinding process. As soon as you start to rush... quality will fall off.

Most of my exterior paint polishing for a single car runs a minimum of about 8 hours, depending on how bad the paint is, to an average of 12 to 14 hours and this assumes the car was washed at least the day before so when I start to work on it, it's already dry and ready to tape-off.

When it comes to production type work, that is anything that's not show car work, then you can speed thing up and a person shouldn't be doing a multiple-step process for production detailing, they should be using a one-step cleaner/wax. This starts by not over-promising your customer you're gong to remove all the swirls and scratches but instead you're going to make the paint shiny again.

If this is all your own stuff, like you're Camaro then take your time and do whatever detailing related job you doing to the best of your ability, not as fast as you can unless it's for a car that you don't care that much about.