Length of time...

ICEMAN

ICEMAN

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Mike,

It took me almost 30 hours to do only the outside of my 02 Mustang GT. It was my first detail and i did find a few things to make it quicker as i went, but not enough.

My question is, how long, on average, do you spend working in a polish in a 2x2 area. i know everyone says, til its broken down. i think i was really overduing it on the Menzerna SIP, i did work a lil quicker on the Nano Polish.
 
ICEMAN said:
It took me almost 30 hours to do only the outside of my 02 Mustang GT. It was my first detail and i did find a few things to make it quicker as i went, but not enough.
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Out of all the steps you did, which specific step was taking the longest?


ICEMAN said:
My question is, how long, on average, do you spend working in a polish in a 2x2 area.
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Depends upon the tool and the goal.

If I was using a cutting compound with a rotary buffer and a wool pad I would hope to knock out a 2x2 section in about 5-10 minutes including wiping off the residue. 5 minutes if the swirls and scratches are not too deep and the paint is buffing really well, longer if the swirls and scratches are deep and/or the paint is not buffing well.

If I was using a dual action polisher I wouldn't tackle that large of an area. How long it takes depends upon how effectively the swirls and scratches are coming out and how well the pad is rotating. Dry pads rotate better/faster than saturated pads so theres a few factors that affect time.


30 hours for one side of a mid-sized is too long unless your not in a hurry or using some very non-aggressive products.


:)
 
It is hard to say if it really is taking too long or not. There is a lot of different things that can make it take a long time or not.
It could be that it is you first time doing correction work, the paint was that bad, like Mike said maybe the wrong polish for the job. I posted a 03 Z06 on here and it took over 40 hours to do but it was full of acid rain and the guy wanted the car to look like my vette so that is an instance were it would take a long time to do.
 
I can do my Civic SI in 8 hours if I'm hurrying, but that's only about 80 to 85% correction. When I did an 89 'vette that had never been touched I spent 27 hours doing the detail. Twenty of it was polishing alone.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Out of all the steps you did, which specific step was taking the longest? :)
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i..
washed
claybar'd
Menzerna Super Intensive Polish
Menzerna Finish Polish (Nano)
Mothers Carnauba Cleaner Wax (really shines)
Mother Back to Black
Windex Automotive Window Cleaner
Original Bike Spirits Polish on the rims and inner wheel, after Castrol Degreaser

the SIP took the longest, but it was my first time, i sped it up closer to the end and didnt notice it being any worse at all. The SIP took around 8-10 hours (taking my time) the Finish Polish took about 4 hours. Clay took around 4-5 hours, wash was around 2 hours. The SIP killed me, but i think b/c it was my first time, i will get quicker. well see, i have a black Lexus ES to do that has swirls, medium swirls. I have Meg's SwirlX for that car. The stang has Light Swirling that the SIP took care of. Posting up pics of the detail when i finish this post!!!
 
SIP is a medium polish, next time try stepping up to something else like 205 or even 105. 205 first though.

Seeing that you broke a backing plate we now know you own a pc, I would get some 105 and 205, this will speed things up a bit with your pc.
 
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i feel your pain! im at 8 hrs so far on my 01and im just about half way. i have to wait till my next day off to finish it up.
 
loudog2 said:
What tool are you using??
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XP

ASPHALT ROCKET said:
SIP is a medium polish, next time try stepping up to something else like 205 or even 105. 205 first though.

Seeing that you broke a backing plate we now know you own a pc, I would get some 105 and 205, this will speed things up a bit with your pc.
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please post more info on these 2. are they more aggressive? what brand are they? or ink em if you can.

BlackSunshine01 said:
i feel your pain! im at 8 hrs so far on my 01and im just about half way. i have to wait till my next day off to finish it up.
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a lot to tape off. you mod urs at all? we have a catless Xpipe new piping and flowmaster 40's. the original 2 chamber non delta flows.
 
ICEMAN said:
a lot to tape off. you mod urs at all? we have a catless Xpipe new piping and flowmaster 40's. the original 2 chamber non delta flows.
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yup. 2"drop w/ sportlines for now, going to h&r ss springs,kyb shocks/struts, borla stinger exhaust, sct x-cal 3 tuner, hid conversion, tinted lamps, crystal clear fogs, 03 cobra wheels (going to 315 rear very soon), maximum motorsports full length sub frame cons. but i really wanna buy a mcah or 99-01 cobra now
 
105 and 205 are made by Meguiars. They are pad dependent, so that will determine how aggressive they are. M105 is their compound but depending on the pad you use it will finish better than any other compound out there. M205 with certains pads can be an AIO if that is what you are looking for, or you can make it just as mild as SIP or slightly more aggressive per pad choice . Right now those would be the two best compound/polishes for a pc user.
 
30 hours for one side of a mid-sized is too long unless your not in a hurry or using some very non-aggressive products.

Mike, I think you mis-read the op post. It was 30hrs. for the exterior.
 
ASPHALT ROCKET said:
105 and 205 are made by Meguiars. They are pad dependent, so that will determine how aggressive they are. M105 is their compound but depending on the pad you use it will finish better than any other compound out there. M205 with certains pads can be an AIO if that is what you are looking for, or you can make it just as mild as SIP or slightly more aggressive per pad choice . Right now those would be the two best compound/polishes for a pc user.
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Asphalt, I don't think you can call M205 an AIO as it leaves no protection like XMT360 or Klasse. Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe you meant that M205 can be a 1 stepper with different pads.
 
Rsurfer said:
Asphalt, I don't think you can call M205 an AIO as it leaves no protection like XMT360 or Klasse. Correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe you meant that M205 can be a 1 stepper with different pads.
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thats what i took it as.

Thanks for all the info people!!
 
ICEMAN said:
XP
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And... which pads?

The XP certainly has enough power to do some serious correction work as long as you're sticking with the smaller range pads for good rotation and you're using good technique, i.e.

  • Hold pad fast whenever you can
  • Slow arm movement
  • Don't work too large of an area at one time
  • Firm pressure but keep the pad rotating
  • Don't under use or overuse your SMR
:)
 
I was using an Orange Lake Country Pad with the SIP and the White Lake Country Pad with the Finish Polish. I used the Meg's SwirlX and the Yellow Lake Country Pad on the front bumper (bug spots) and they didnt come off, pics below of the before... most are still there, just hidden a lil more.

all they lighter gray spots...

3921029515_8665d906e5_b.jpg
 
After one has done a few vehicles, they will start detailing vehicles more quickly. ESPECIALLY when one has more detailing products to use. Trust me, I know!!! LOL :dblthumb2: Time will always vary due to what the clients want their vehicles to look like. Many people just want a quicky kinda things. That is where YOU will have to know how to sell your service. I'm doing that right now with this white Lexus LS 430. He is a very impressed person and very happy with my work. Also, once you have worked on vehicles, you will be able to find things that WERE DONE to their vehicle. The Lexus did have some bosy work done to it and the owner never knew and he has had t since new. Yes. He did advise me some people keyed his Lexus a few years back. He just did not know that the people he took it too repainted some of it. The place did a good job but, I did catch it. he he he I'm also having to add an additional $50 to the work I've done on the sedan. He knows is coming as well. Again, he is very happy with the work and that someone points out the problems he has come across to make the car better.

Stephen
 
Iceman, go lightly on those bumpers. A flexing agent is used on plastic bumpers and cannot take heat as well as paint over metal. Many have experienced paint wrinkle when being too aggressive on plastic bumpers. Try using a paint decontamination before getting too aggressive with your pad and polish.
 
Rsurfer said:
Iceman, go lightly on those bumpers. A flexing agent is used on plastic bumpers and cannot take heat as well as paint over metal. Many have experienced paint wrinkle when being too aggressive on plastic bumpers. Try using a paint decontamination before getting too aggressive with your pad and polish.
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i didnt forget about that and was very careful! i will try that and a few other things.
 
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