Allocating the allotted detail timeframe, average times for tasks?

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VincenzaV

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Hi. I am a novice here and a mobile headlight restorer (LLC). I just got into detailing because-1: I do my own car and 2: My customers are asking me for the service and I really like doing it.

I have a 2002 Jaguar XJR that I am doing Friday.

I am learning every day, and LOVE this forum. I have a good selections of tools and equipment from my mobile headlight business, but need more for the full spectrum on the detailing side.

I was polishing my paint with my 7424 and some HD SPEED and he asked me if I would do his car.

Since he (like most every customer), wanted to know price I told him lets consider time first (I know what I need to make to make it worth it to me, so I calculated the hourly figure times 8 hours).

This would be my first detail for a customer that I did not personally know.

I tend to be obsessive compulsive and would err on the side of spending too much time on a car. I know I can't do that and be profitable.

I went over today to inspect the car first.
-It's garaged now
-washed regularly and was relatively clean needing only a waterless wash
-has leaves, dirt in trunk jams, and hood bonnet area
-Leather was rip free and really clean, but had a few minor dirt marks
-Has one dent the size of a golf ball on the trunk, and a handful on the roof/hood
-No obvious signs of failed paint.
-Carpet appeared stain free

I asked him to tell me what bothers him the most about the current state of affairs so I can work harder on those.
Essentially:
-gas cap area/jam
-trunk/hood jam
-wipe off plastic covers in engine compartment
-leather cleaned and conditioned.


So, without dissecting this too much, how would you allocate your 8 hours?

I wash my own car with the two bucket method, properly cleaning the MF wash kit each time, and it takes me 1.5 hrs to wash my car. I really only need the waterless wash on this. He keeps his car washed frequently and it is covered.

Any advice?

Oh, is this order correct:
-waterless wash
-claybar
-wipe down with IPA/water mix
-Polish/AIO product for this case

Thank you guys so much!
 
Engine bay - 0.5 hours
Detrash
APC for all surfaces and agitate
Rinse with graden sprayer
Dressing
Alternately, use blackfire AIO trim & tire and skip most steps

Interior - 2.5 hours
Detrash
dry brush
vacuum
interior detailer for all hard surfaces
Pinnacle cleaner and conditioner for leather
All jambs & gas cap with APC agitation and rinse

Exterior - 5 hours
How are you planning to clean the wheels and arches?
Clean exhaust tips
Waterless wash
Clay
HD speed with 7424
dress all trim

clean glass inside and out

I was pretty generous with time for both interior and exterior. Don't bother with the IPA after claying unless you are using an unorthodox clay lube.
 
WOW!!!!

Audios S6, I cannot thank you enough for a crystal clear, and highly detailed response!

To your question: How are you planning to clean the wheels and arches?

They are factory silver painted wheel, multi spoke (7 spoke if I remember correctly). After the wash,

Tires: Scrubbing the tire with a soaked dedicated tires only MF cloth and a 1-to-1 purple power degreaser to water (careful to NOT get it on the wheel itself) to get any grime, or old dressing off. Rinse with water. Dry.

Wheels: Waterless wash rims with soaked MF, inspect surface and user cleaner wax if time allows since I only have one whole new clay bar and I'll use that for the body. Dry with scratch free MF for wheels only.

Arches (I think you mean wheel well? I use that term so I hope we are on the same page?): Purple Power 1-to-1 spray to get off road grime, rinse, then waterless wash. Once dry, carnauba wax and buff to keep road grime resistant.

For consumables, this is what I have (that I can remember-its not in front of me right now) but I'm not using everything here obviously. Just listing it for your input and advise:
-HD SPEED AIO
-Menzerna Medium Cut 400 polish
-Menzerna Super Finish Fine 500 polish
-Mothers Carnauba wax
-3M Machine polish
-3M Superduty rubbing compound
-105
-205
-Lexol Leather Cleaner
-Lexol Leather Conditioner
-Meguiars Crystal car wash
-Sprayway glass cleaner
-Turtlewax Super Protectant Spray
-Turtlewax Trim Dressing
-3M silicone free tire dressing
-ArmorAll Extreme tire shine (I really like this, but too shiny for his car so I'll be using the 3M)

Equipment:
-PC 7424
-Flex PE-8 with 1"-3" pads of three grades
-Orange/White/Red LC CCS pads (multiple)
-Honda Inverter
-Pop-up tent
-stools
-Various Autogeek-grade MF towels

other stuff I'm forgetting

***Edit***
For the dry brush, that's just to get sand or whatever out of the leather seats, burn do you use the brush anywhere else? I have a white PC brush I will use on the carpet (I'm going to test it on my car first, to make sure it won't do any harm. The reviews on it say it is on the softer side. I got it from Autogeek.

Do you need to brush the leather seats in addition to using the MF and Lexol cleaner, or is a brush something that could scratch them?
 
To save some time, you might consider going rinseless wash instead and clay (well actually nanoskin) as you go. It would save a drying step. Get a hand pump sprayer and fill it with a soapy slick solution.
 
Hi Ducksfan. I don't have nano skin yet (It "seems" expensive but that's just because I have seen personally how much faster it is yet)

And are you saying rinseless as opposed to waterless? I haven't read the BF instructions yet, but do you "rinse" a waterless wash, but not a "rinseless"?

I just bought this from Autogeek last night and it will be here tomorrow.:

1 BF-120-KIT - BLACKFIRE Wet Diamond Waterless Wash Kit 49.99

It is great for a guy like me with a Jetta wagon and no ability to carry massive amounts of water (I will run by the grocery store and get some distilled and regular water gallons. He said they have a car wash there and I can use it which is great, but I won't always have a customer this nice and a free car wash to use.

So in future jobs I'll use the two bucket/grit guard method (I have that stuff) and waterless, and this cool contained "pressure" washer on Amazon for $100.

It hold 8 gallons and plugs in a cigarette lighter, which I'll convert to run off the Honda. It will have more pressure than my hand pump, but MUCH less than a "real" pressure washer obviously. But it will help to rinse any loose crud off, and rinse at the end, with the two bucket (water gallon) grit guard system in the middle.

I'm in an apartment w/o water access, so even if I had the money for a work vehicle that could hold a water tank and real pressure washer, I wouldn't have a way to fill it. So I am doing a work around that I feel comfortable will minimize scratches.

I'm very conscious of using the correct MF towel, folding it in quarters, and using each of the 8 sides only once.
 
Hustle, and try to limit yourself in some areas which can be hard to do sometimes if your are very detail oriented. Or set time frames for each area and keep an eye on the time to see if you are falling behind. Wheels + can eat up some time, but hopefully since it's pretty well kept it will go quicker. If you have time at the end, then do some little extras.

I almost want to say do the interior first to get it out of the way and you're not trying to do it quickly when you are worn down at the end. That, or last, then if you run long you could come back another day and do a good job on it depending on what he is looking for.

Engine, and wheels and tires first to prevent fouling up your work with cleaner overspray and dirt slinging. Spray wax for the wheels if you have it and want to.

Blow the leaves and junk out of the jams before you wet them if you have a blower or compressor. It won't remove it all, but it will help. Use the power wash they have there for it if you don't. I like to use older microfiber for them because hate trying picking leaves and organic material out of them.

Edit for your edit:
I do use a medium stiff brush with a cleaner on leather seats unless they are really clean. It helps pull the dirt out of the grain and cracks. You may want to test yours first just to make sure yours won't scratch.

I also usually dry brush the carpet and cloth first too. Sometime they will clean up without a cleaner and then just spot clean with a damp towel.
 
I dry brush all carpets and cloths, then vacuum. I use the circular brush attachment on my vacuum for leather.

Ditch the Lexol leather conditioner, it's not meant for coated leather. The pinnacle conditioner is good, so is leather masters protection cream.

By arches, I do mean wheel wells. I'm not sure where you are going to wax in the wheel wells, I'm assuming there is a plastic liner that you would use a dressing on, rather than wax
 
I literally just threw away the Lexol conditioner before I saw your response. It does have a STRONG, UNIQUE smell that I can assume most will not like. The cleaner they make is smell free, so I have a new bottle of that and I tested it on my couch. I'll use that to clean.

I also bought the grey leather PC brush to agitate it with, bought Sonus leather conditioner, Meguiars APC, and a few extra pads.

I feel I have plenty now to do a good job. He saw my car detailed while I was doing paint correction, so he had to be happy with my skill level, so hopefully these additions will help.

I will hustle up front, so then I can slow down and have some extra time.

Do you dry brush with a PC or by hand?
 
Deep cleaning dirty door jambs with a RW or WW is going to eat some towels. Just a heads up. Bring some older towels to the Jag party.

....waiting impatiently to see some pictures!!
 
VincenzaV said:
I literally just threw away the Lexol conditioner before I saw your response. It does have a STRONG, UNIQUE smell that I can assume most will not like. The cleaner they make is smell free, so I have a new bottle of that and I tested it on my couch. I'll use that to clean.

I also bought the grey leather PC brush to agitate it with, bought Sonus leather conditioner, Meguiars APC, and a few extra pads.

I feel I have plenty now to do a good job. He saw my car detailed while I was doing paint correction, so he had to be happy with my skill level, so hopefully these additions will help.

I will hustle up front, so then I can slow down and have some extra time.

Do you dry brush with a PC or by hand?
Click to expand...


I do carpets with a PC and the white cyclo brush. The Aqua cyclo brush would be appropriate for normal cloth seats. Gray cyclo brush for leather and very fine cloth seats, or a horsehair brush by hand.

This set up can be used to dry brush and to agitate your cleaner if you are doing a deep cleaning of carpets or upholstery.
 
Some here use the brushes with their DA and they say it is quite handy. I've been doing it by hand, but it can be a real workout on bad interiors.

I have a Rupes and would have to get one that attaches to the velcro backing plate. I may pick up a PC or HF DA just to put a brush on for this and tire scrubbing.

Speaking of brushes, it's always good to have a bunch of different ones for various tasks. I love brushes and I'm always looking for new and different ones every time I'm in the grocery, hardware, or dollar store.

I have three regular style scrub brushes with different bristle stiffness, a couple spoke/barrel brushes, lugnut brush, wheel face brush, 1" round paint brushes, set of Wheel Woolies, a couple different styled XXL tooth brushes, fingernail cleaner style brushes, couple different wheel well brushes, and maybe some others I'm forgetting. They all come in handy for certain jobs.
 
Great tips guys, I really CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH for your support.

I will try my best to take pics (I need them...) of the before/after of really dirty areas, leather seats with a tapeline before/after, and the paint.

One blessing/curse of doing a car as you all know and experience is the random person stopping you to ask "Do you detail cars for a living?" This is great! I get customers this way for my headlight business, but it also sucks because I like to talk as it is, and keeping on timeline can be stressful.

I was thinking I'd fully do the exterior first (wash,clay, polish, wax), then the interior-because I would be more tired from standing, then I can focus on the rest sitting inside for most of the interior.

Is there a golden rule that I don't know yet on the order of doing things looking at the big picture? Like:
-Engine (only doing jams and plastics, he is completely cool with this)
-Body (top,down)
-Wheels/tires
-Interior
-Interior glass
-Trunk

The complex I'm doing it at is a very nice waterfront community. My customer had remarked that once I do his Jag, everyone would be coming up to me to want me to do their car next. They have two dog groomers that come there and basically get all the business.

Me thinking from a prospect perspective, I'd like to have the outside done soonest, because then I'd attract the positive attention from prospects for the longest amount of time (I'm there 8 hours remember). I for instance, would want to talk to a car detailer when they JUST got on the job. I would want to see them doing their stuff when the work is looking almost done.


***EDIT***
I can understand the brush-love. I only have a few, but plan on expanding mine as well.
 
"I was pretty generous with time for both interior and exterior. Don't bother with the IPA after claying unless you are using an unorthodox clay lube."

-I plan on using a Meguiars quick detailer as that's what came with this kit. Is that ok to polish over after wiping dry with a MF?
 
VincenzaV said:
"I was pretty generous with time for both interior and exterior. Don't bother with the IPA after claying unless you are using an unorthodox clay lube."

-I plan on using a Meguiars quick detailer as that's what came with this kit. Is that ok to polish over after wiping dry with a MF?
Click to expand...

That is fine to polish over.
 
Well I did the detail and the customer was very happy! I spent the full 8 hours, by myself and had to hustle to stay on task. Audios S6's time table helped a lot!

I though about taking pictures, but only did the leather before/after, I was really flying to try and stay on my time table.



He bought the detail for his wife's 65th Birthday. She saw the XJR and said "It looks brand new..."which is a great response. I got paid and tipped which was unexpected and appreciated. I learned some very valuable things:

-A PC as your main polisher works, but just barely. I NEED a Flex 3401!!! That would be SO MUCH FASTER. The dry brush before vacuum REALLY made difference and the same white brush for the carpet with the shampoo was amazingly effective.

-Megiar's D101 is amazing stuff. I GET the cult following now. It made the tires look deep black, ready for dressing, cleaned the trouble spots on the leather that the Lexol couldn't touch, make quick work of stubborn stains on the inside door panels, carpet, etc.... Truly a versatile APC and I will ALWAYS have a 10:1 AND Full strength bottle on hand.

-Honestly, I should of brought my flash light with me for the consult since I saw it the day before in the parking garage. There was ambient light, it wasn't a full enclosed parking garage, but still-bad on me, it was WAY dirtier in the daylight adding a lot of time I didn't plan on using.

-The BF waterless wash is amazing. He regularly washed his car, so this was perfect for this car. In fact, after the WW, he came out to check on the car and thought I already buffed it (due to the gloss of the WW and the car's maintained condition). The garden sprayer bottle I got with the kit was awesome. Bought another one from Lowes for the APC

-I NEED the small pressure washer kit from Amazon. WW is not for everything, all the time. Even a consumer grade pressure washer is better than none at all.

-Making a check list of what we discussed bothered him when it was dirty, was smart. He went right for those spots, like the gas cap area that was filled with greasy, leave filled junky goo. As soon as he walked up on the car, he walked right over to the gas cap, flipped it open to check it out and said, "Wow...you really are detail oriented". That made me feel great.

He said we was going to a party with friend and wanted to have some of my cards to pass out. I was also able to give another card out to a guy that came up and compliment my work and asked for a card.

I am in school full time and trying to find a balance between THAT and doing my headlight restorations and now detailing. I love working for myself and this stuff. Thanks for taking an interest and helping me so much!
 
Thanks Mantilgh!

-I'm so glad they were happy. I tend to look at all the things I wanted to get into, but couldn't because of lack of time. I worked from 8am-4:30pm without a lunch or bathroom break. Not sustainable, I know. I did drink plenty of water and Gatorade. It was a great learning experience for me that answered a lot of questions:
-time
-cost and price
-customers expectations
-equipment performance (Honda EU 2000 ran perfectly for 6-7 hours continuous out of the 8 hours)
-what I still need

etc...
 
So how much per hour, if you want to share? I only do it as a hobby and only exteriors. Some I do for beers, so I'm not making money on it, just gaining experience.
 
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