How is the best way to do a multiple day detail?

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f150smith

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As much as I like to see my Red F150 Supercrew and my wife's Metallic Silver Cadilac Deville bright and shiny on the outside, the interior spotless and the engine cleaned; over the last year I have had some health issues which have keep me mostly idle. Neither of them have had a serious detail since spring of last year. I've managed to keep them washed, the tires dressed, the interior vacumned and have used some QD on them, but that is about it. They both are showing ample swirls, a few scratches and RIDS and are in need of having the engine cleaned, the carpet and mats shampoed, and a mulitple step polish, sealant and wax on the paint, chrome, glass, etc.

At this time I feel like I could devote maybe 2 or 3 hours a day (most days) over several weeks to get them back in shape.

Besides the obvious of doing the engine of one on one day and the interior on another, how would you go about breaking up the polishing, sealing and waxing of the various panels over mulitple days???

For the most part I have all the tools and chemicals I need including a PC7424, varous pads, polishes, sealants and waxes.

Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
You could start by washing it and claying it. Then do a multi step correction over the course of a few days.
 
Do you have pictures of both vehicles so we could assist you? It's hard for us until we can see what they look like.

My $.02

Stephen
 
I would get all your washing and claying out of the way on the first day. Then you can just do your paint correction as time permits. Are the cars staying in a garage and not being driven during this time? This would change on how you would go about doing this.
 
Like f150smith I'd like to do a full detail job on one of my cars but might have to break it up into more than one session due to time/schedule constraints. So this thread is of interest to me as well.

If, as some suggested, the wash & clay steps are day-1's tasks then what to do about possible dust that accumulated on the vehicle during the night or whatever morning dew might leave behind on your previously-pristine finish?
(my question assumes a non-garaged overnighter)
  • Would a quick (but thorough) car duster pass-over be sufficient before proceeding with compounding, swirl removal, polishing or whatever the next step will be?
  • A quick QD before the next step?
Maybe this step seems trivial but I always like to hear 'best practice' from the pros.
 
My camera is gone with one of my kids til next week so I can't post any pics til they get back.

I know from experience that they are both gonna need a medium grit polish and final polish after I wash and clay. I will do a small sample section before going forward to save from having to redo any of it.

The caddie is garaged at night but still a daily driver as is my truck, but it will not fit inside due to the door height.(older garage) I do have a large tarp that I have and will probably set up for the truck during the process.
 
It's actually very simple. Why? Because that's what I do sometimes now... having a baby, I can only usually do 1 hour a day during the week. So, like they mentioned above, get the washing and claying done one day. If you have to drive it the next day, when you get home, use QD or ONR on a panel or two. Tape it off, do the paint correction with the PC, then seal it, wax it, then you're done for the day. Repeat the process the next day for another 1 or 2 panels. By the end of the week, you should have the whole car done.
 
Sorry for the late reply, I've been behind the computer all day, just typing in a different program.... :props:


As other's stated, just tackle a single panel at a time. In this write-up, I knocked out half of the hood on a 2007 Lincoln Land Yacht in about 30 minutes, extrapolated out that wold be an hour of so for just the hood not counting little things like covering the wiper arms and the plastic facia surround them, wiping off the grill, and hood ornament, little simple things but the time all adds up and that didn't include washing or claying just the hood or the car.

Just working on one panel from start to finish is a lot easier on you and even rewarding as you see your results fairly quickly. Then just do your best to take care of that panel and all the panels you work on as you work around the car.

I've had a lot of seasoned gentlemen attend my classes that do just this and then when they're done they bring there car's back and show me their results and it's always been impressive.

Little bites, bite by bite.


:)
 
I normally never get done with my car in a day because to be honest it just drains me or I start to get ADD and want to do something else, hehe, but I do my correction in segments like left side of the car, then right, then the roof and hood, finally the front and rear. After I do the major correction I will wash the car down with a citrus was to get rid of anything on the car and take a look to see if any areas need to be re done and then go on with my LSPs and all that good stuff. Correction is the part of detailing that I hate the most, takes the most time and I dont enjoy doing it much, but do love the results.
 
Mike.Phillips@Autogeek said:
Sorry for the late reply, I've been behind the computer all day, just typing in a different program.... :props:


As other's stated, just tackle a single panel at a time. In this write-up, I knocked out half of the hood on a 2007 Lincoln Land Yacht in about 30 minutes, extrapolated out that wold be an hour of so for just the hood not counting little things like covering the wiper arms and the plastic facia surround them, wiping off the grill, and hood ornament, little simple things but the time all adds up and that didn't include washing or claying just the hood or the car.

Just working on one panel from start to finish is a lot easier on you and even rewarding as you see your results fairly quickly. Then just do your best to take care of that panel and all the panels you work on as you work around the car.

I've had a lot of seasoned gentlemen attend my classes that do just this and then when they're done they bring there car's back and show me their results and it's always been impressive.

Little bites, bite by bite.


:)
Click to expand...

So Mike, do you agree with how I do the correction in stages as I noted above? I really value your opinion (expert), so please let me know if I should/should not be doing this... I just don't have enough time anymore :(

agpatel said:
I normally never get done with my car in a day because to be honest it just drains me or I start to get ADD and want to do something else, hehe, but I do my correction in segments like left side of the car, then right, then the roof and hood, finally the front and rear. After I do the major correction I will wash the car down with a citrus was to get rid of anything on the car and take a look to see if any areas need to be re done and then go on with my LSPs and all that good stuff. Correction is the part of detailing that I hate the most, takes the most time and I dont enjoy doing it much, but do love the results.
Click to expand...

Instead of washing with a citrus wash, just do an IPA wipedown after you do a panel. Quicker, easier, and you can see everything. And about correction, I actually just got into this about a month ago. I think I enjoy this part the most... true it takes more time, but it's the most rewarding. I enjoy the hard work to reap the rewards... but to each his own.
 
I just do a citrus was because normally the car has been sitting out for a day or two sense I started to correct to it would need to be washed before I could do a IPA wipe down anyways so I just use a citrus wash to get rid of anything and remove any dust from the car at the same time.
 
Thanks for the input and I appreciate how you phrased it mike, lol instead of just saying a bunch of old farts, lol.

as quoted by mike:

"I've had a lot of "seasoned gentlemen" attend my classes that do just this and then when they're done they bring there car's back and show me their results and it's always been impressive."

So far I have broken it down in small bites by doing:
1.A thorough detailing of both interiors on separate days, with the exception of shampooing the mats and spot cleaning the carpet. Waiting on a nicer day for this.
2.Wiped down the engine compartments with an apc and treated rubber and vinyl with 303.
3.Cleaned all the tires, rims and wheel wells. Applied AIO to the rims, sprayed Armorall in all the wheel wells. Dressed the tires with 303.

The above has been done in hour or so increments over the last 5 days.

Next, I'm going to polish all the chrome on the truck and apply AIO to the paint under the hoods.

When I start the paint correction, I'll do as few or as many panels as I can complete at a time. Prior to starting the next section/s I'll hit them with a QD and then repeat the process. My top coat plans at this point are AIOx2 after the paint correction of each panel and then a coat of Collinite over the AIO when I'm finished with all the sections. I think the combo of AIO and Collinite will give me a long durable finish that I hope will get me thru til next spring. While I have Souveran and it definitely looks better on the truck, I really need more durability at this time
 
A multiple day detail on anybodies car that I'll keep overnight: wash all; clay all; polish all; then protect.
On my car/cars: wash all; clay all; polish one panel at a time and protect so I can drive it. This way I can do a panel at a time at my leisure. When I come back to do another panel within a day or two I'll use PB Spray and Wipe on the next panel and then polish.
 
how can you guys do a panel/section a day if you have to wait 12 hrs between the sealants and wax? let alone multiple layers of sealant and wax...

after 12 hrs(overnight), there would be dusts on the car even if u garage it

what are the options?
- car cover?
- california car duster?
- IPA? (wouldn't this strip the sealant?)
- QD? (this would add small amt of wax on top the sealant though, not good if you want to layer sealant)
- rinseless wash?
- regular wash?
 
agpatel said:
I just do a citrus was because normally the car has been sitting out for a day or two sense I started to correct to it would need to be washed before I could do a IPA wipe down anyways so I just use a citrus wash to get rid of anything and remove any dust from the car at the same time.
Click to expand...

What's a citrus wash?

davidlg16 said:
how can you guys do a panel/section a day if you have to wait 12 hrs between the sealants and wax? let alone multiple layers of sealant and wax...

after 12 hrs(overnight), there would be dusts on the car even if u garage it

what are the options?
- car cover?
- california car duster?
- IPA? (wouldn't this strip the sealant?)
- QD? (this would add small amt of wax on top the sealant though, not good if you want to layer sealant)
- rinseless wash?
- regular wash?
Click to expand...

I'm curious about this, too. When doing 1 or 2 panels a day, isn't that leaving the rest of the car unprotected? (no sealant/wax)
 
Clutch34 said:
I'm curious about this, too. When doing 1 or 2 panels a day, isn't that leaving the rest of the car unprotected? (no sealant/wax)
Click to expand...

I think since the rest of the car hasn't been corrected yet, it's ok to leave it unprotected since you'll correct it later.
 
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