What to do if you have a deadline to do a job?

Most the time I have a deadline for myself so I can keep my profits in my original bid without eating the time.

If its a full detail I work interior first
-Compressed air blow all cracks / crannies hard to reach areas at 90 psi
-Deep vacuum.
-Interior wipe down with some D103 in MF towel(s)
-Assortment of brushes around buttons,dash,console
-Go back with steamer to hit problematic areas
-Agitate carpets with D103 and carpet brush then spot treat with steam and blot dry with MF towel(s)
-Dress everything and proctect with UV protectant then spray some scent
-Windows

Exterior
-Wheels,tires,wheel wells first
-Wash from top to bottom one panel at a time
-Trim restore (if needed)
-Clay if needed
-Wash again
-Seal or wax
-Quick detail spray over the top for any areas that my forearms might have smeared some sweat on
-Windows


This would be my process without paint correction and the one I follow the most. Everyone is different and uses what works for them and this is what is efficient for me.

andy2485 said:

this siutation was different... the interior was horrible!!! dirt everywhere! the owner did not take care of the car. i had about 4 hours, like i said this lady wasn't picky at all, in fact she would have been happy with just a vac. as i was saying, dirt everywhere. i vacuumed for 2 hours

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Well sometimes you have to just pass. It is after all your name on the line. If I know I can't get the results I want or my standard because they gave me a time frame that is one that I the professional know cannot be done. I don't take the work. Word of mouth gets out and it can hurt ya.

T3 AutoDetails said:

Most the time I have a deadline for myself so I can keep my profits in my original bid without eating the time.

If its a full detail I work interior first
-Compressed air blow all cracks / crannies hard to reach areas at 90 psi
-Deep vacuum.
-Interior wipe down with some D103 in MF towel(s)
-Assortment of brushes around buttons,dash,console
-Go back with steamer to hit problematic areas
-Agitate carpets with D103 and carpet brush then spot treat with steam and blot dry with MF towel(s)
-Dress everything and proctect with UV protectant then spray some scent
-Windows

Exterior
-Wheels,tires,wheel wells first
-Wash from top to bottom one panel at a time
-Trim restore (if needed)
-Clay if needed
-Wash again
-Seal or wax
-Quick detail spray over the top for any areas that my forearms might have smeared some sweat on
-Windows


This would be my process without paint correction and the one I follow the most. Everyone is different and uses what works for them and this is what is efficient for me.

Click to expand...

Why don't you use the steamer from the start and don't use d103?

Sent from my LG-LG855 using AG Online

Phathooddetail said:

Why don't you use the steamer from the start and don't use d103?

Sent from my LG-LG855 using AG Online

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Because my steamer is still heating (takes 11 minutes) but I normally let it warm up for 20 for less water drip and use the idle time as stated above. And I do use D103 just not directly on the surface I normally put a good 4-5 squirts in a MF towel and run it over vinyls and plastics along with areas that would normally be a pain.

The D103 method I use is just to pick up what ever comes up I go back and address problematic areas with steam and the proper abrasive brush to remove sctuffs,stains,grime. If it's really tough I have leather (If leather) or carpet cleaner specific to the task needing attention.

Like I stated above, This is only my process and there are a million different ways to do it. This is just my way and it is fastest for me to ensure I don't miss anything while maintaining a certain standard of quality.

I can bang out a express detail in about an 1-2 hours the later being bigger vehicles using this method so i'm sticking with it. I put some before and after pictures up in the show and shine away back and only had 2 hours to do a trashed interior and get rid of the smoke smell.

If you count the time it takes to set up and get a few pics it was really only an hour and a half. I will see if I can find it so you can see with the process above how well it worked out in such a crunch.

Edit: Here you go, This was using the same process but was only an interior job on a tight time frame. Results speak for themselves in such a short amount of time.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/65818-ford-escape-interior-detail.html

I usually give a window of time to cover unforeseen issues- if I can see that it's going to exceed by quite a bit I get a hold of the customer to let them know what the issue is and we then form a game plan on how to proceed.