DetailKitty
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2013
- 5,068
- 67
Damn... It takes me days to do my MINI!!! :laughing:
How does he do it???
- Thread starter runrun411
- Start date
HateSwirls
New member
- Jun 24, 2013
- 3,632
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I dunno, it would take me 20 plus hours to get the same results he got in only 5.
Go figure. Lol
He's Mike
One thing I'm sure is he doesn't take many breaks, if any.
Go figure. Lol
He's Mike
One thing I'm sure is he doesn't take many breaks, if any.
jankerson
New member
- Oct 13, 2013
- 1,084
- 0
Actually that time is about right. he didn't do the roof and he wasn't doing any error correcting....
Just wash, decontaminate, polish and spray wax.... He didn't clay it, he used a nanoskin wash mit.
Oh he blew out the interior.
So how long does it take just to polish with no error correcting?
Not long I can tell you.....
And spray wax is like 10 mins....
Mike gave the customer what he wanted and I am sure he didn't take many breaks either....
Just wash, decontaminate, polish and spray wax.... He didn't clay it, he used a nanoskin wash mit.
Oh he blew out the interior.
So how long does it take just to polish with no error correcting?
Not long I can tell you.....
And spray wax is like 10 mins....
Mike gave the customer what he wanted and I am sure he didn't take many breaks either....
BrutalNoodle
New member
- Nov 5, 2012
- 1,803
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Talk about coincidence. I've been thinking about "4 hours" on the flight home, as in; it always take me 4 hours-ish when dealing with anything detailing.
No matter if I decided to do a simple waterless wash or going for a correction - say goodbye to 240 minutes.
I've been hexed with a 4 hour curse, that's what it is.
ps
runrun...how are you, my friend! Long time no chat. I hope all is well on your end.
No matter if I decided to do a simple waterless wash or going for a correction - say goodbye to 240 minutes.
I've been hexed with a 4 hour curse, that's what it is.
ps
runrun...how are you, my friend! Long time no chat. I hope all is well on your end.
andrewbmw
New member
- Aug 15, 2013
- 120
- 0
I do production work a lot right now trying to work my way out of it. What I do is wash it 20min. Foam cannon then with PC with nano scrub is 20 min. Rinse. AIO with rupes 2hrs. Interior vaccume 20min. Wipe down stream clean everything 30min. Final bits and inspection 20min. Final amount of time is 3 hours 50min. That's how you do it, and you are working hard.
AuroraDetailing
New member
- Jun 29, 2013
- 209
- 0
It takes me about 5 hours to do a full service detail on a large truck. When you are doing production, you are motivated by getting done fast, so your arms are flying like karate kid. When I was working for my friend, me and him would do three full service details in a day, with about 3 hours devoted to each. I'm doing my own now, and it's 4-5 hours depending on the size of the vehicle when I'm doing it myself.
10 minutes for me to clean the car with an ecowash near-waterless and microfiber towels, and I used to use a BOSS sprayer with my buddy, but now I go cheap and just have a pump chemical sprayer, and I don't see a difference in speed at all, and $10 from Ace Hardware compared to $400+ for the BOSS sprayer, and have to worry about charging it and the ecowash he had with some wax additive was messing up the motor after awhile.
30 min usually on the wheel wells and tires/rims. I just spray tire and wheel cleaner on the tire and rim, and use all purpose cleaner in the wells, then use a short handled brush to do teh outer surfaces, racoon tail brush for the inner part of the rims, and a long handled brush to scrub all under the wheel well, then give a quick light rinse with the ecowash, then wipe it all down with microfibers until it's dry.
It takes me about 45min to an hour at most to do the clay bar on a large vehicle, and that's including the roof. I move pretty fast, and I guess a good reference would be about 10 seconds to do half a windshield. My hand flies the full length of the windshield up and down with lube flying everywhere. Have to go slower around all the little nooks and crannies and more than a few times I've felt like I've nearly ripped my pinky off from getting caught on things. I've been using a clay mitt a lot and it's cut the time down to under 45 min usually, but I find I always have to go over a few spots again with a bar to get everything.
I do a optical grade polish (V38 usually) for the standard detail and takes about 30 min. I used to do the whole vehicle, then wipe it down, but it's tough to get off fast, so I started wiping as I go. Also I thought I would add that I wear an apron with pockets, so the polish is right there when I need to put more on my DA pad, and I keep microfibers in other pockets so there isn't really any stopping during the whole process. And I "wax off" like a mad man too.
Wax or sealant takes literally 5 minutes to apply with a DA, so I won't go too much into that. I let the wax dry, or the sealant cure while I move on to the interior.
I usually start with a vacuum to get most of the stuff, and have good kit from Rigid ( I HIGHLY recommend their car detailing attachments) and the dash brush attachment gets all the dust in the nooks and crannies and even in the vents. (there isn't much more bigger pain in the ass than trying to get wet dust off the vent fins when you are cleaning the dash and panels) After the vacuum, I spray some stain extract, and then use a drill brush on the carpets, which usually throws a lot more dirt and sand everywhere, so have to vacuum again. I used to use a hot water extractor, but only have a steamer for the moment until I get some more extra funds. I have tried the steamer on the panels and dash, and it works great, but I can do it much faster with just the all purpose cleaner and a microfiber, which most of the "dirt" tends to be make up on the steering wheel, turn signal knobs, and the radio. If there are leather seats, I'll use a leather cleaner on them and I have a brush just for seats and can scrub them pretty quickly. AFter I clean everything, I apply the interior dressing, then go back and wipe it all off/rub it in. I usually spend about an hour on the interior, including pulling out the mats and cleaning them too.
Once the interior is done, I'll buff the wax or sealant off, and I use a towel in each hand and go nuts. 10 min max including looking over to check for missed spots.
Then I apply the exterior dressing, and I use the same stuff (Blue Guard II) for the wheels and trim. I'm not a big fan of shiny tires cause it starts looking like ass once is starts fading off. The blue guard makes the tires look brand new with just a light sheen, and I usually wipe them off to make it look nice and even. I use a paint brush to apply it to most of the trim, which works great especially in the vents under the windshield, and a microfiber sponge to get the large areas of trim. I do all the rubber seals on the door also. Then go back and wipe it all off/rub it in. The time it takes me to do this part varies a lot depending on the amount of trim of course, but usually not more than 20 min.
Then I go back and do the interior of the windows.... I hate windows.... I have some nice tools, but it'll look great while you are in there, trying to look from every angle, then as soon as you go outside you see crap that you missed or didn't completely get rid of some streaks.
When I started I was working for my buddy, and he made it a point to do things quickly, mostly cause he was paying me by the hour. I would say it would just apply to any time your arms are moving back and forth, that's what should be moving quickly. Completely unnecessary when doing your own vehicle, and I'll probably take over 4 hours just doing the exterior when I do my own.
10 minutes for me to clean the car with an ecowash near-waterless and microfiber towels, and I used to use a BOSS sprayer with my buddy, but now I go cheap and just have a pump chemical sprayer, and I don't see a difference in speed at all, and $10 from Ace Hardware compared to $400+ for the BOSS sprayer, and have to worry about charging it and the ecowash he had with some wax additive was messing up the motor after awhile.
30 min usually on the wheel wells and tires/rims. I just spray tire and wheel cleaner on the tire and rim, and use all purpose cleaner in the wells, then use a short handled brush to do teh outer surfaces, racoon tail brush for the inner part of the rims, and a long handled brush to scrub all under the wheel well, then give a quick light rinse with the ecowash, then wipe it all down with microfibers until it's dry.
It takes me about 45min to an hour at most to do the clay bar on a large vehicle, and that's including the roof. I move pretty fast, and I guess a good reference would be about 10 seconds to do half a windshield. My hand flies the full length of the windshield up and down with lube flying everywhere. Have to go slower around all the little nooks and crannies and more than a few times I've felt like I've nearly ripped my pinky off from getting caught on things. I've been using a clay mitt a lot and it's cut the time down to under 45 min usually, but I find I always have to go over a few spots again with a bar to get everything.
I do a optical grade polish (V38 usually) for the standard detail and takes about 30 min. I used to do the whole vehicle, then wipe it down, but it's tough to get off fast, so I started wiping as I go. Also I thought I would add that I wear an apron with pockets, so the polish is right there when I need to put more on my DA pad, and I keep microfibers in other pockets so there isn't really any stopping during the whole process. And I "wax off" like a mad man too.
Wax or sealant takes literally 5 minutes to apply with a DA, so I won't go too much into that. I let the wax dry, or the sealant cure while I move on to the interior.
I usually start with a vacuum to get most of the stuff, and have good kit from Rigid ( I HIGHLY recommend their car detailing attachments) and the dash brush attachment gets all the dust in the nooks and crannies and even in the vents. (there isn't much more bigger pain in the ass than trying to get wet dust off the vent fins when you are cleaning the dash and panels) After the vacuum, I spray some stain extract, and then use a drill brush on the carpets, which usually throws a lot more dirt and sand everywhere, so have to vacuum again. I used to use a hot water extractor, but only have a steamer for the moment until I get some more extra funds. I have tried the steamer on the panels and dash, and it works great, but I can do it much faster with just the all purpose cleaner and a microfiber, which most of the "dirt" tends to be make up on the steering wheel, turn signal knobs, and the radio. If there are leather seats, I'll use a leather cleaner on them and I have a brush just for seats and can scrub them pretty quickly. AFter I clean everything, I apply the interior dressing, then go back and wipe it all off/rub it in. I usually spend about an hour on the interior, including pulling out the mats and cleaning them too.
Once the interior is done, I'll buff the wax or sealant off, and I use a towel in each hand and go nuts. 10 min max including looking over to check for missed spots.
Then I apply the exterior dressing, and I use the same stuff (Blue Guard II) for the wheels and trim. I'm not a big fan of shiny tires cause it starts looking like ass once is starts fading off. The blue guard makes the tires look brand new with just a light sheen, and I usually wipe them off to make it look nice and even. I use a paint brush to apply it to most of the trim, which works great especially in the vents under the windshield, and a microfiber sponge to get the large areas of trim. I do all the rubber seals on the door also. Then go back and wipe it all off/rub it in. The time it takes me to do this part varies a lot depending on the amount of trim of course, but usually not more than 20 min.
Then I go back and do the interior of the windows.... I hate windows.... I have some nice tools, but it'll look great while you are in there, trying to look from every angle, then as soon as you go outside you see crap that you missed or didn't completely get rid of some streaks.
When I started I was working for my buddy, and he made it a point to do things quickly, mostly cause he was paying me by the hour. I would say it would just apply to any time your arms are moving back and forth, that's what should be moving quickly. Completely unnecessary when doing your own vehicle, and I'll probably take over 4 hours just doing the exterior when I do my own.
AuroraDetailing
New member
- Jun 29, 2013
- 209
- 0
For a large truck I charge $275 and another $75 for sealant. In Hawaii my buddy was charging $350 and $100. I bought the hand held steamer from Autogeek that was $100. I was going back and forth between getting the steamer or a hot water extractor, but then saw this one for a good price and had a lot of attachments. The only drawback I would say it has is the small reservoir. But I haven't had to refill more than once on the nastiest interiors I've done. I primarily just use the flat blade attachment, and it came with some terry cloth socks for it, but I just wrap a microfiber around it. I find that the steamer is great at pushing the stains down through the upholstery, and the microfiber wipes up some from the surface, but on the carpets, I think a hot water extractor would be better, especially now that I moved back to denver and they have so much Mag salt on everything, and a steamer wouldn't really remove the salt. But for spills on the seats, a hot water extractor is kind of a pain because if it's a big spill, the dirtiness goes deep into the seat and you just keep sucking up more and more crap from within the seat, and you end up really soaking the seat from repeated treatments. The steamer is also perfect for any sticky stuff anywhere. I don't think there is a better way for that.
Oh and I never really had a chance to show off my "detailing rig", but this was my vehicle for doing my mobile detailing. The trunk was HUGE and could probably fit 4 bodies in it. It technically belonged to my missus because we traded her vehicle for it, and we split up and she traded it for a POS 02 Expedition. I'm a little heart broken over it... People would just come talk to me about the car and I would hand them a business card. Made it pretty easy for marketing!
I just have to show it off a little hehe:
And from inside the car: (I used Meguiars M105, M205, then Wolfgang Deep Gloss Sealant 3.0)
HateSwirls
New member
- Jun 24, 2013
- 3,632
- 0
One reason it takes me two days on avg. to do an avg. size car is I'm so freaking anal, sometimes it drives me crazy, like OK, looks fine move on. Lol
On this car Mike did would take me an entire weekend if I washed, clayed, two step correction and lsp.
I'd use my rotary for sure on something this size , I've done a few of these, not an easy task even if you skipped out on the roof.
I could however get it done in one day if only doing a one stepper.
On this car Mike did would take me an entire weekend if I washed, clayed, two step correction and lsp.
I'd use my rotary for sure on something this size , I've done a few of these, not an easy task even if you skipped out on the roof.
I could however get it done in one day if only doing a one stepper.
WRAPT C5Z06
New member
- Nov 12, 2009
- 12,615
- 0
I suspect Mike worked in very large sections with only a 2-3 section passes.
It would have been nice to see some AFTER close ups like the BEFORE. Not that much correction was expected, but it would have been nice to see.
Agreed!!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It would have been nice to see some AFTER close ups like the BEFORE. Not that much correction was expected, but it would have been nice to see.
Agreed!!!!
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I'm glad Mike did that write up. Production work can look pretty good. One thing to keep in mind is, most people don't look at the paint like an ocd detailer. The tend to stand a long ways back and look at the bigger picture. I've only had a couple of customers get close and check paint from different angles.
I use an aio with light colored cars and a polish then spray wax with dark cars. Usually I use 205 with the most aggressive pad I can get away with, without leaving haze.
I use an aio with light colored cars and a polish then spray wax with dark cars. Usually I use 205 with the most aggressive pad I can get away with, without leaving haze.
Dr_Pain
New member
- Nov 28, 2012
- 2,196
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allenk4
In time out
- Mar 12, 2013
- 4,845
- 0
Mike's comment from the original thread
"I buffed out he hood really good and did 5-6 section passes over the rest of the body including the lowest portions of the body panels and front and rear quarter panels."
It takes me about 3.5 hours to do a 2bm wash , dry, qd, then spray wax, r about 4.5-5 hours to do the same except not to the spray wax but instead a paste or liquid wax. And this doesnt even include my wheels, I do them over my lunch at work with a rinseless as the wheels take me about 45 min. Maybe because its black and its my truck not someone elses, but it takes forever. keep in mind, this is w/o doing any sort of correction.
my question is if people take a few days to do a full correction, does that mean the vehicle gets washed each "session" as well as drives around for a few days w/o any protection?
my question is if people take a few days to do a full correction, does that mean the vehicle gets washed each "session" as well as drives around for a few days w/o any protection?
DetailKitty
Well-known member
- Jul 17, 2013
- 5,068
- 67
For me personally, I wash, clay and correct day 1.
Day 2 is usually sealant coat #1.
Since all my sealants need 12 hours to cure,
Day 3 is sealant coat #2.
Once the car is washed and clayed, it doesn't leave the garage until it's completely finished. No driving in between.
Just reading a little bit of the thread he basically sums a large part of it and hitting on key points and giving a solution. "2-step where the focus of your attention is in the first step, removing "some" of the shallow swirls and scratches while restoring clarity to the clear coat and the second step is using a spray-on wax to seal the paint."
It also helped that the owner thought it wasn't that bad so this goes hand in hand with what Mike has and preached about customer evaluation. In this case he was dealing with a customer who would be quite happy with a lot of results (being sensitive here) which goes with understanding your customer and their expectations. The customer thinking their car isn't that bad, meanwhile its a disaster in our eyes helps to his/our benefit. "Part of detailing cars is under promising but over delivering. This starts by you not promising to create a swirl and scratch free finish. Period. " This works perfect with this customers. Trashed, yet thinks its not that bad. They will be amazed with with a lot.
none the less, amazing work!!!
It also helped that the owner thought it wasn't that bad so this goes hand in hand with what Mike has and preached about customer evaluation. In this case he was dealing with a customer who would be quite happy with a lot of results (being sensitive here) which goes with understanding your customer and their expectations. The customer thinking their car isn't that bad, meanwhile its a disaster in our eyes helps to his/our benefit. "Part of detailing cars is under promising but over delivering. This starts by you not promising to create a swirl and scratch free finish. Period. " This works perfect with this customers. Trashed, yet thinks its not that bad. They will be amazed with with a lot.
none the less, amazing work!!!
brondondolon
New member
- Nov 12, 2013
- 1,254
- 0
One thing that saves a ton of time is good organization. Think of how much time you waste thinking "where the hell did i put that clean MF or wax or spray or what ever"
For me one thing that shaves off some time is not being so OCD when drying. I mean sure get all the water spots but IMO its not nessasary to spend 45 min drying the car. I do a quick dry and then move on to coating the trim or doing the windows. This way by the time im done doing that all the little bit of water left over has dried up.
Im not saying that some of my methods will shave off 4 hours of time but every sec adds up.
To be honest this whole time ive thought that maybe ive been doing something wrong because it will take me 2 days some times one whole day to do my truck lol im glad to know im not alone hahaha
For me one thing that shaves off some time is not being so OCD when drying. I mean sure get all the water spots but IMO its not nessasary to spend 45 min drying the car. I do a quick dry and then move on to coating the trim or doing the windows. This way by the time im done doing that all the little bit of water left over has dried up.
Im not saying that some of my methods will shave off 4 hours of time but every sec adds up.
To be honest this whole time ive thought that maybe ive been doing something wrong because it will take me 2 days some times one whole day to do my truck lol im glad to know im not alone hahaha