Best order to clean a car start to finish?

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rrasi

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I am new to this site but not to detailing...

What is the best order to detail a car start to finish?

Lets say this car is an average condition Sedan with cloth interior, 2009 (4 years old) darker color and has some scratches on it.

example:
1-degrease engine compartment
2-degrease wheels/tires fender well, exhaust tips and undercarriage
3-wash out jambs
4-wash car
5-Butterfly car to dryFeed back please
6-vacuum headliner, seats & carpets
and so forth
7-?
8-?
9-?
10-Compound buff exterior
11-DA polish exterior
ect, ect


So I'm curious, what order do you all think is the fastest and best way to get a car like this done???
Also, how long do you think this might take?
Thanks

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anybody care to offer their opinion?
 
rrasi said:
anybody care to offer their opinion?
Click to expand...


Looks like you posted this over the Labor Day Holiday weekend? Sorry for the late reply but I was offline...

First post: 09-01-2013, 02:36 PM

I'm sure others will see this now and chime in...

I teach a class on this topic at Mobil Tech Expo each year and weather can be a huge factor as to which order you detail a car, (believe it or not), and I also teach the "order" in my detailing boot camp class coming up in about 4 weeks.

See this thread,

Autogeek Class Schedule at Mobil Tech Expo 2013


Note the first class of the day...


I tend to show guys to do the "wet stuff" that will either get the exterior wet again and/or dirty again first. For example, engine, headlights, wheels, tires, then wash car from top down.

If you're doing any type of wet work to the interior, such as wet extraction, then you need to address this at the beginning too as the interior will need "drying time" before you can return the car to the customer.

Also, welcome to AutogeekOnline! :welcome:


:)
 
minorc said:
I normally like to work from inside-out.
Click to expand...

This makes a lot of sense to me since I hate doing insides. Get it over with first. Plus your not messing up anything with your hoses going in and out. Then messy stuff from wheels to engines. Its the un-glamorous stuff most people pay someone else to do (I would imagine) LOLOLOL
 
Hi rarssi .... welcome to the forum. It looks like you already have a decent layout in your example through experience. You figure it out after you have to back up and dry or re-clean an area. For example about 20 years ago I got tired of re-cleaning the windshield when I dressed the dash for UV protection so I flip flopped the procedure. This goes along with Mike's recommendation get the "wet stuff" done first then a top down wash. I also start with the interior because I don't like that part and find myself rushing through it if I do it after polishing. Polishing is hard work and I don't have a lot of energy left after doing a wash, polish, and seal the paint. It also gives the most satisfaction to many of us and we want the customers reaction along with just having enough of the vehicle and wanting it out of the garage. There may be some that prefer the interior, I don't know, but I'm not one of them. I do higher quality interior cleaning when I do it on the front end of the detail.
 
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