How Long Does it Take You to Detail a Vehicle?

[vanev]

I gotta say.
It takes me such a long time to detail a vehicle.
Even a simple one stage wash and clean can take 4-8 hours, or more.

I work hard and can move pretty fast.
It is not an issue of making more effort.
I feel like I am moving as fast as I can, a professional speed, but am by no means trying to break any speed records.

I am incredibly thorough, OCD level.
I also truly detail every surface and any crack or crevice that is reachable.
The end results are always fantastic, and I would not trade or compromise the final product.

I am interested in taking on more detail work on a professional level.
The biggest reason I have not taken on more work is due to the time factor.
The time factor really is not so much an issue with me, as it is a logistical issue in working out a schedule with a potential customer.

So, how long does it take you to detail a vehicle?

[RTexasF]

That's a wide open question.......how bad is the vehicle inside & out? What are you being paid? There are WAY too many variables here to give a realistic answer. Is this a daily driver Accord or a rare classic car?

There is no good answer to this question.

[Burnt350]

My $300 jobs take about 7-8 hours. That equates to around $42 an hour which is more than I make at my normal job :) so I'm happy with it. I do this as a hobby so I'm not in it to make lots of $$$. It's my mental escape from my hectic work weeks.

[SKorch630]

I've spent 2 hours, and I've spent 12, it all really depends on variables

Customer expectation
Severity of the work to be done (Simple wash and dry? Full correction? Interior only?)

I look at it like this: If I can get an interior done in 2 hours, great, but if it takes me 8, it takes me 8. I'd rather do an exceptional job that takes me 8 hours instead of an okay job that takes me 2 or 4.

[GSKR]

It depends ,it depends what the customer is willing to pay,if it's a production job moderate dirty 1 hr on inter 1 hr prep 2 hr exterior,I stay away from f series pickups ,and tahoes even a considerate production detail is all day on those ,and it's a hit or miss ,some will pay 40 and hr majority won't ,I will accept newer ones and spend a couple of hrs on it.

[Joe@NextLevelDetail]

It's all about how I'm getting paid.

Sometimes you lose witch is always seems to be the case.

A tip I have that helps is ask your self how much do you charge to do a full interior.

How much for a wash

How much for a engine cleaning. Shampoo etc and price it together. If its too high knock off to what is fair and go from there that way you don't say crap I under charged it helps a lot

[Hokie335i]

As others have said it is too broad of a question. Fastest I do a one step is around 7-8 hours but I've spent 40+ hours on a large detail before. All depends..

[GSKR]

U won't make aloft of money detailing hard business to scale while quality can't be sacrificed .know one will do a better job than u stay mobile stay small stay booked u probably keep it 9 to 5 or less in a average market u can do 81500 a year ,and don't kill yourself ,u will feel it when ur 40.

[GSKR]

I could never spend forty hrs on one car unless it's a minimum of 1300 .

[Jomax]

I will have about 2.5 days in this ACURA TL I'm doing for a friend. But it was dirty inside/out. Full interior detail, engine detail, rims (they took 2 hrs scrubbing) and will spot compound the big scratches then do the whole car with M205, then seal it.

But, I wasn't moving fast...

[FinishingTouchA]

U won't make aloft of money detailing hard business to scale while quality can't be sacrificed .know one will do a better job than u stay mobile stay small stay booked u probably keep it 9 to 5 or less in a average market u can do 81500 a year ,and don't kill yourself ,u will feel it when ur 40.

Don't listen to him OP. Detailing is scalable, not quite to the degree of a software company etc. but you can grow for sure. I'll pm you later but just wanna say this here before I go to bed. I'm working on some stuff that will hopefully innovate the detailing industry. Here's a little hint.. Spreadsheets ;)

[oceanside]

U won't make aloft of money detailing hard business to scale while quality can't be sacrificed .know one will do a better job than u stay mobile stay small stay booked u probably keep it 9 to 5 or less in a average market u can do 81500 a year ,and don't kill yourself ,u will feel it when ur 40.

agreed :)

[Natron]

4-12 hours are common numbers for us on full details. We do however get some pretty bad vehicles. We do mostly 1 step polishes with spot correction. Nathan

[silverfox]

A word of wisdom...young detailers better be putting at least 10% away for retirement if they are self employed, and they better sure as heck make sure they can afford their own health care by the time they hit 50...because detailing takes a heavy toll on the body. You may not feel it now, but like athletes...there's a price to pay later in life.


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[Jomax]

4-12 hours are common numbers for us on full details. We do however get some pretty bad vehicles. We do mostly 1 step polishes with spot correction. Nathan

Full detail as in interior aswell? How bad of an interior? Two man team?