how much can you do in 10-14 hours of detailing ?

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aderet

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i think that i am doing something wrong in term of my timing and quality\quantity of my labour for a day and i will explain ( with my bad English (-: ).

usually a daily detailing job for me is something like 10-14 hours including preparing taping and clay (straight )-deepens on the size of the car and the LSP (coating or a simple sealant ).
in those 10-14 hours i am doing 1-2 polishing steps max.
most of my Colleague claim that they can do one step in 4 hours and 2 steps in 6-7 hours and so.
i know from a fact that i am using a better gear and products then the most of them,i am using FLEX 3401 as a machine,"scholl concepts" s20,A15',S30,"menzerna" FG400,SF4000, "RUPES UHS" AND a very quality pads from scholl concepts,LC and menzerna.
in general i am tending to work on a long steps\working cycle per PANEL and i am NOT wasting any time,i am working like a machine with no rest at all.

99% of my Reviews are excellent (I'm doing it for a living) but i feel Frustrated because i am sure that i can do so much more in 10-14 hours,not mention the pain after 14 hours labour.

i don't have my own place whats makes 2-3 days to work on a car just not worth Economic.
any ideas about something wrong that i am doing about my "rhythm" quality\quantity ?

is that the time to switch to a rotary machine ?
 
Geez, that is a loaded question. It really depends on how bad the car is, clear coat hardness, experience, ect..

You need to try some products that either cut faster or finish better. The Optimum Hyper system is great for two steps. Products like HD Adapt are amazing for one steps, even on hard clear systems.
 
I have used D156 on a few different UK coated cars with no issues whatsoever. As a suggestion, I'd recommend trying a wash with Hydrofoam. Cleans good and leaves behind added protection. I also recently used Hydro2 Lite and liked that as well.
 
OP.
You remind me of, well, me.

I posted this thread recently.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...67-how-long-does-take-you-detail-vehicle.html
This to see, like yourself, if I was doing anything wrong or maybe even faster ways of completing a detail.

Quite honestly, I don't think you are doing anything wrong or that you are slow.
I have done this in form or another for over 25 years.
The fact is, to truly detail a vehicle by the highest standards in the profession and by a true definition of a detail is in fact heavily labor intensive and takes an enormous amount of time.
That is not to say some cannot do it in a faster time frame, but I will put up your results, or my results, against anyone who does it in half the time.

The issue then becomes matters of logistics.
Yes I can produce stunning results, but the average customer cannot go three days without their car.
I understand this of course, but I do think if the average customer really understood what a true detail is, and the retained, and even added, value it brings to the car over years and years, I think more would except the time frame as normal.
 
That is hard to answer but I will try ;)

3-4 hours per step when polishing is pretty much on the money for me. But we are talking ONLY the polishing step. So you have to take into account the washing, and decontamination also.

So let's say you want to do a 2 step (compound+polish) depending on the size of the vehicle 7-8 hours to do both steps should be sufficient. Washing the car takes me about 1h-1h30. Including the wheels. Claying about 30-60 minutes. So if I don't do an interior detail and don't wax or seal afterwards, 10-11 hours to do a 2 step. Of course it's better to seal or wax so add at least and other hour to do that and you are at 12 hours.

My typical detail is an interior detail + exterior with a 1 step. This usually takes me over 12 hours. The interior is usually 4-5 hours for me. I use D151 for 1 step. Next season I will try something new, I will do the whole car before wiping off the product. This is something I read in the forum about 2 weeks ago. This should save me a little bit of time not having to put down the buffer and all.

Knowledge of the time it takes will come with experience. Also over time you should become faster. But detailing takes time, especially in the interior, some cars have so many nooks and crannies, it's crazy ;)
 
The old adage "the work performed fills the time allotted" used to be how i did things. Not anymore.

Basically what i am saying is that if i had a customer who dropped the vehicle off to me in the morning for a wash, 1 step and wax/sealant i would work on it until they came to pick it up! For me a wash 1 step polish and wax might be 3 hours. However i would do more because i had the vehicle for the entire day. Not anymore...the customer is getting what they paid for now...3 hours and are told it will be ready at noon!

The problem with doing more than requested is they come to pick it up after 8-10 hours of "work" and is now their expectation for 3 hours work i am now doing.

I'm not getting away from the original question. My 10-14 hours is constant work done much more efficiently but DOES include breaks for hydration and at least one mini meal. And it is now a full interior and a cut, buff and seal! My point is that i have learned to only do the work requested and more efficiently but don't fiscally waste time or expense doing more than you need to. And it is always determined by what the customer requests!
 
ADERET it takes me 2hrs TOPS to do a one step and washing NO interior. BTW I only do claying if I'm dealing with over spray. When working tho, if I don't have another car afterwards I sometime find myself working and doing little extra things til the customer comes
 
vanev said:
OP.
You remind me of, well, me.

I posted this thread recently.
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...67-how-long-does-take-you-detail-vehicle.html
This to see, like yourself, if I was doing anything wrong or maybe even faster ways of completing a detail.

Quite honestly, I don't think you are doing anything wrong or that you are slow.
I have done this in form or another for over 25 years.
The fact is, to truly detail a vehicle by the highest standards in the profession and by a true definition of a detail is in fact heavily labor intensive and takes an enormous amount of time.
That is not to say some cannot do it in a faster time frame, but I will put up your results, or my results, against anyone who does it in half the time.

The issue then becomes matters of logistics.
Yes I can produce stunning results, but the average customer cannot go three days without their car.
I understand this of course, but I do think if the average customer really understood what a true detail is, and the retained, and even added, value it brings to the car over years and years, I think more would except the time frame as normal.
Click to expand...
Hope you dont mind, but im going to borrow one of your quotes. for a meme.
thanks:xyxthumbs:
 
IcingOnTheWhip said:
ADERET it takes me 2hrs TOPS to do a one step and washing NO interior. BTW I only do claying if I'm dealing with over spray. When working tho, if I don't have another car afterwards I sometime find myself working and doing little extra things til the customer comes
Click to expand...

That is Impressive!

Before & After Photos Please
 
OP, can you please break down how long every step in your process takes?

It may help determine if there is any specific step that is slowing you down.
 
I take just as much time I am a perfectionist, I treat the vehicle like its mine own.
 
In my humble opinion if the cars your working on are usually in pretty bad condition I would recommend a rotary at least for compounding. I'm starting to use a rotary more and more. It saves me a lot of time.
 
this tahoe took about 5 hours for exterior detail.

used same flex you are using, clay mitt, and 3D HD speed on orange LC pad, and wolfgang sealant.


you should look into other products.
 
It takes me almost 8 hours to do a simple wash and dry lol.
Washing , Drying , Blow dry, wipe the door jams, wipe the windows, wheels , dress tires.
 
EvolutionDetail said:
It takes me almost 8 hours to do a simple wash and dry lol.
Washing , Drying , Blow dry, wipe the door jams, wipe the windows, wheels , dress tires.
Click to expand...
That is way too much time just to wash and dry. Don't know if you are a full time detailer but at that rate I don't see how you can make any money just saying one car a day

Sent from my QMV7B using Tapatalk
 
I don't think your time is to far off if you are being very thorough.

If you are working hard and systematically, then you may be doing all that you can do so long as you feel you are being fairly paid for the time you put in for your results.

You may be doing more work than your friends and cleaning up better after. Like polishing all surfaces, not just what you can go over with using one polisher and pad size. Or maybe they are not taping off and cleaning up much after.

Have you watched them do any machine work or seen their results?

You can write your process out and look it over to see if you need to make adjustments.

Edit: And don't over do 1 steps. Let the customer know what can, and cannot, be done with what you consider a 1 step. Give them a "test spot" of what your true 2 step can do.
 
IcingOnTheWhip said:
I don't have any before n after of one steps. But a one step shouldn't take that long at all. And 2 hours I do it might be a truck. A car usually takes a little over an hour to wash n one step
Click to expand...

Wow, do you do any prep? What machine and how many passes per section?

I've been thinking about adding a package with a light machine cleaning step with no scratch removal. Just better cleaning for better LSP performance.
 
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