How long does it take you?

[Kinalyx]

Depends on a few things, but if its been a while, ill spend 30 to 45 minutes on each wheel as well. My wheels have a lip behind the spokes, and i have extremely dusty brembo brakes, it can take quite a while and a bunch of passes to get them truly clean.

After that, if im foaming, and doing a 2 bucket wash, it takes about another hour and a half including drying.

On a side note, i highly recommend doing the Gary Dean wash method for rinseless washes. I am able to completely finish the car in under 30 minutes using this method, minus the wheels of course.

Shawn

 

[Hoosiers]

I washed my RX last weekend and it took me around 2.5 hours. I spent an hour on the wheels, wheel wells, and tires right at the start and then moved on to washing. I'm pretty short so I have to get on and off the Werner platform twice on each side of the roof, and then move it to the other side of the car. It doesn't help that I'm not very nimble nor graceful these days, so I take *great* care which may add a little more time. Did a 2 bucket wash, spent extra time on the bug filled nose, rinsed it thoroughly and finished off with Hydro Blue. Ran out of daylight when trying to dry and finished that up in the garage to include washing/drying the door-jams and dressing the tires with VRP. By the way, I used Griots PFMs for the first time and was blown away!!! Picked up a double pack from AG on a whim...I'll definitely be getting more to replace the ww's.

 

[TMQ]

LOL, yeah this adds to it. This weekend being outside all weekend probably what took me the longest is every neighbor, every single one on each side of me then directly across the street and on each side of them came over to chat. Plus I have a Labrador who was out with me and like playing in the hose as well. So yeah it probably took me longer than if I just buckled down and got busy.

That's funny!

As for me, I have no friends! They see me washing---they lock their doors! Grin

tom

 

[TMQ]

I just do it as a hobby, never really timed it. I usually do bucket washes, setup, wash wheels, car, dry, about 45 minutes. Probably an hour if I use the foam cannon. I stopped using grit guards, got tired of scrubbing the mitt. When I was looking into RW's and saw some videos using multiple MF towels, I started using multiple mitts. After a panel flip it, another panel, toss in a bucket grab a fresh one. On the rare occasion the car is dirty, one mitt per panel. That's my weekly wash. Then all the extra's after.

Sorry for asking, but I noticed you said you spend 45-60mins. drying with a shop vac?

I am finding myself doing just that! Just I used thick microfiber towels instead.

tom

 

[TMQ]

LOL, yeah this adds to it. This weekend being outside all weekend probably what took me the longest is every neighbor, every single one on each side of me then directly across the street and on each side of them came over to chat. Plus I have a Labrador who was out with me and like playing in the hose as well. So yeah it probably took me longer than if I just buckled down and got busy.

That's funny!

As for me, I have no friends! They see me washing---they lock their doors! Grin

tom

 

[Ruben12]

I have also wondered the same thing haha. I usually take about two hours cleaning the wheels and the body of the car. I guess i'm not the only one.

 

[Route246]

I just do it as a hobby, never really timed it. I usually do bucket washes, setup, wash wheels, car, dry, about 45 minutes. Probably an hour if I use the foam cannon. I stopped using grit guards, got tired of scrubbing the mitt. When I was looking into RW's and saw some videos using multiple MF towels, I started using multiple mitts. After a panel flip it, another panel, toss in a bucket grab a fresh one. On the rare occasion the car is dirty, one mitt per panel. That's my weekly wash. Then all the extra's after.

Sorry for asking, but I noticed you said you spend 45-60mins. drying with a shop vac?

I am a hobbyist. My two-bucket wash is now done with a very soft boar's hair "broom" type brush on a pole. I use a mitt to get the areas that the "broom" misses.

One key thing that I do is use ONR&W as a drying agent which leaves the paint very slick. One the horizontal surfaces I use Optimum spray wax which leaves it even slicker. I do this weekly. I don't know why more people don't use a wax-enhanced drying agent after every wash? This is confounding. To me, wax-enhanced drying agents are like brushing your teeth. It kills the bacteria after eating that would otherwise cause tooth decay. Adding a little wax after each wash allows your paint to resist dirt, road muck and dust better between washes, mostly it makes your next wash so much easier. I wash and wax regularly so wax lifetime is never a factor.

Subsequent wash cycles are trivial because of the slick paint, requiring almost nothing more than a light rinse, wash with shampoo and a light rinse to remove the suds. Quick session with the leaf blower takes care of 90% of the water and drying with ONR&W+OptimumWax is nothing more than a casual wipe down. Both Optimum products are sprayed on from a spray bottle. The longest phase is with the leaf blower, or at least seems that way. I used to use V7 and still like it because it is more slick than the Optimum products but Optimum stresses UV protection so I switched.

I finish this off by doing the windows with Meguiars window cleaner, the one that supposedly stains. I never experienced those stains, BTW.

 

[PaulMys]

Prior to my current vehicle, I never had one that I cared enough about to wash it much. And never waxed one. Just would dip scrub brushes in a single bucket with a squirt of turtle wax soap mixed in, scrub the vehicle down and then rinse it off.

Now, using three buckets and two sets of washboarded grit guards...

I spend about 30 minutes foam gunning the tire/wheel one at a time, brushing the wheel, scrubbing the spokes with a mitt, and then rinsing it off. Then another 30-45 min. using the foam gun on each section/side of the body and a mitt, and finally another 45-60min. drying it off with a shop vac and then towels.

...we're not even into the time of waxing, sealing, wheels, plastics, interior, etc.

For doing one car, should it take 2 hours just to wash/dry it or am I doing something wrong? I'm looking at blocking out an entire weekend day just to do the wax, seal, etc. in the near future. Is that what pretty much everyone does or, again, am I going about this wrong??

Thanks

-Emt1581

So you are just talking maintenance wash then.

IMO, 2 hours is a bit long. I can wash/dry my Ram in less than 45 minutes. Wheels/wheel wells take another 15, and all glass another 10 or so.

That being said, if you are enjoying the process, who cares about time?

 

[Route246]

So you are just talking maintenance wash then.

IMO, 2 hours is a bit long. I can wash/dry my Ram in less than 45 minutes. Wheels/wheel wells take another 15, and all glass another 10 or so.

That being said, if you are enjoying the process, who cares about time?

Nice take. "Enjoying the process" is the reason most of us are here, right? Prior to taking detailing serious, washing the cars was an ordeal and job I didn't care for. A friend of mine got me interested in the chemical science and the results spoke for themselves. Now, I look forward to Saturday mornings and can't wait to get started.