How to Get More Efficient Doing Paint Corrections/Coatings

davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

Hey everyone,

I recently got my new detailing business started up, and I have started to get some customers lined up for corrections and coatings around my full time job. I just completed my first paying customer's brand new Acura RDX A-spec this past weekend. I require a minimum 1-step correction for any coating job to make sure the surface is properly prepped for the coating, so that is what he got. I used a Flex 3401 with white hybrid force LC pads and Sonax EX 04-06 for the correction, and I used a Griot's 3" DA on the small/complex areas of the car. Here was my process:

Strip wash
Chemical Decontamination using Sonax Fallout Remover
Mechanical Decon using Pinnacle clay bar
1-step correction (but actually needed 2-steps on the doors and hood due to the dealer leaving some deeper scratches)
Paint Prep
Apply 1 coat of Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0

This process took me ~16 hours to complete!! Now, granted, I took my time and did some extra things like the 2-steps on the doors and hood because I wanted my first customer to be happy and help me spread the word about my services, so I know I could have probably knocked it out in about 12-13.. How long would you guys typically take to complete a wash, decon, 1-step, and coating application on a small 2-row SUV like this typically? What are some time-saving tips?

I'll upload some pics soon. Work computer won't let me on imgur. Very happy customer.

Acura RDX A-spec Correction/Coating - Album on Imgur

Billy Baldone · Jan 3, 2020

Sometimes in trying to achieve the results you want with a one step, you take considerably longer because committing to a 2 step, gets the cutting done faster because you are going to polish it one more time to finish it. Typically with a 1 step, you need to manage expectations. A 1 step is not far removed from a paint enhancement. And Joe Metlow tells us to put the light away when doing enhancements and 1 steps. For your process, I would have used an orange pad and HD one. And to address the time directly, it comes with time. You will get more efficient as you do it more. Which also helps you manage customer expectations.

Billy Baldone · Jan 3, 2020

And I just looked at the pics. It’s white. Really good lighting would have saved you a ton of time too, especially on white.

Cruzscarwash · Jan 3, 2020

So I agree, you set the expectation you have set for yourself no that of what the customer wanted it that you explained to them. A 1 step is just that, you do it and your done. All to often I see detailers want to give the best but charge the least and at the end of 16 hrs they are working for less then min wage. You could have done a full 3 stage I'm that time and walked away with better results.

A 1 step for me is about 4 hours. I've done hundreds of cars and have the process down pretty good.

I tell my clients a 1 step is UP to 50% correction, UP to and 2 stage UP to 70% and 3 stage is around 90 and I normally always do a test spot in front of them, show them the difference and say "you can expect the whole car to be similar to this"

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davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

Lighting is one area that I will struggle a little bit with until I get a shop space somewhere and setup some vertical or horizontal lights all the way down the car. For now, I have 3 tripods with 1 scangrip Multimatch R, 1 Scangrip Multimatch 3, and 1 Husky dual 7k lumen light fixture. I also have a scangrip handheld light and a headlamp. For a mobile setup it is honestly a decent lighting situation, but I can't wait to have a "light tunnel" in a shop.

I need to spend some time with some other detailers and watch them make their way around a whole car. I can turn out great work, just have to get faster.

As far as working for less than minimum wage, I wasn't quite that bad off. I charged $750, but still, it's not where I want to be. If I can get to where I'm over $50/hr I will be satisfied, and I know I can do that easily with my current pricing structure. Just need to work at the efficiency a little bit more.

Cruzscarwash · Jan 3, 2020

davidk72008 said:
Lighting is one area that I will struggle a little bit with until I get a shop space somewhere and setup some vertical or horizontal lights all the way down the car. For now, I have 3 tripods with 1 scangrip Multimatch R, 1 Scangrip Multimatch 3, and 1 Husky dual 7k lumen light fixture. I also have a scangrip handheld light and a headlamp. For a mobile setup it is honestly a decent lighting situation, but I can't wait to have a "light tunnel" in a shop.

I need to spend some time with some other detailers and watch them make their way around a whole car. I can turn out great work, just have to get faster.

You offered a one step, charged for a 1 step and gave a 2 plus step.

One step is add your polish, work the panel with your passes, wipe and move on. That's it, your not going back your not trying to get extra work out your done, Get out of your own head

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davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

You're right. Thanks for the advice.

When you say it takes you 4 hours for an SUV one-step, does that include wash and decon or just the polishing step?

Cruzscarwash · Jan 3, 2020

davidk72008 said:
You're right. Thanks for the advice.

When you say it takes you 4 hours for an SUV one-step, does that include wash and decon or just the polishing step?

That's for what my clients paid for so for example the polishing and coating and ready to roll in 4 hours.

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Billy Baldone · Jan 3, 2020

David, where do live? Take some actual classes. Mike does road show classes, in addition to the boot camps in Florida. Renny Doyle also does some limited road show type classes.

davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

I live in Birmingham, AL.

I actually recently took Mike's last 3-day class in Florida. It was an extremely informative class, and it is where I decided which tools and products to buy for my business startup. We burned through cars like crazy when I was at that class, but there was about 15 of us working on one at a time lol. I was using the techniques learned in that class when I buffed out this car. I used 5-6 section passes on each section that I worked.

Billy Baldone · Jan 3, 2020

That's awesome. All you really need, is to just do more cars. And be more realistic on the purpose of a 1 step. Also, having more experience with different products helps when it comes to being more efficient. My MIL brought her silver Forrester to me 3 months ago. It had normal dealer swirls and scratches on it. I used my Flex XFE15 with blue HDO pads along with HD ONE. That combo took about 3 hours and got me about 90-95%. Most Asian paints are softer, so one steps net great results. It just comes with having a few different options at your disposal.

davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

Yeah I agree, I should have just polished the panels and moved on instead of trying to achieve perfection. That's my fault, and a mistake that I consciously made in the process. I won't do that going forward. I have another correction tomorrow, so I will focus on keeping moving if he decides to stick with a 1-step.

One other thing that I know kills my time is having to move my lighting stands locations/height, extension cords, and buffer cords. Those parts of my process should get a lot better once I setup somewhere with some permanent lighting. Some battery operated buffers would be nice too, or at least having several outlets around my work station where I can easily move the cord from one outlet to another rather than moving an extension cord around the car all the time.

Mike Phillips · Jan 3, 2020

davidk72008 said:
I live in Birmingham, AL.

I actually recently took Mike's last 3-day class in Florida. It was an extremely informative class, and it is where I decided which tools and products to buy for my business startup.

That would have been this class,

Pictures - September 2019 3-Day Car Detailing Bootcamp Class

davidk72008 said:
We burned through cars like crazy when I was at that class, but there was about 15 of us working on one at a time lol.

With 17 people in the class and always having 2 cars to work on, that would be 8 to 9 people working on each car and that's more than enough "car" for each person to work on when you consider the size of the cars I always bring in.

davidk72008 said:
I was using the techniques learned in that class when I buffed out this car.

I used 5-6 section passes on each section that I worked.

So for the compounding step, I teach using an "average" of 8 section passes but this is determined when you do the Test Spot.

For the polishing step, I teach using an average of 5-6 section passes BECAUSE you're ONLY cleaning up after the more aggressive compounding step.

For using an AIO - I teach using the same technique as using a compound, so back to an average of 8 section passes per section.

There is an actual science to all of this....

Just for clarification.... and ALL the cars you guys buffed out came out looking amazing! And what's amazing about that is these cars were buffed out by TEAMS of people that have all just met each other with different backgrounds and experience.

Mike Phillips · Jan 3, 2020

Hang tight, let me take a stab at your questions...

davidk72008 said:
Hey everyone,

I recently got my new detailing business started up, and I have started to get some customers lined up for corrections and coatings around my full time job.

Congratulations!

davidk72008 said:
I just completed my first paying customer's brand new Acura RDX A-spec this past weekend.

I require a minimum 1-step correction for any coating job to make sure the surface is properly prepped for the coating, so that is what he got.

This is what I practice and preach. This would be my Package 2 Exterior Detail. It's for cars that DON'T need compounding. If a car needs compounding, this would be Package 3.

davidk72008 said:
I used a Flex 3401 with white hybrid force LC pads and Sonax EX 04-06 for the correction, and I used a Griot's 3" DA on the small/complex areas of the car.

That's a great combo for a one-step polishing job.

davidk72008 said:
Here was my process:

Strip wash
Chemical Decontamination using Sonax Fallout Remover
Mechanical Decon using Pinnacle clay bar
1-step correction (but actually needed 2-steps on the doors and hood due to the dealer leaving some deeper scratches)
Paint Prep
Apply 1 coat of Carpro CQuartz UK 3.0

This process took me ~16 hours to complete!!

That's not too long for a full size SUV - but with experience you can knock it down to about 10 to 12 hours.

2020 Acura RDX A-Spec

Your price is a tick on the low side due to the car being an SUV. Tall vehicles are going to take longer simply to get to the high country. I would recommend adding to your sales info an upcharge for SUVs, Vans and Trucks. I use $300.00 as a guide. You would feel a lot better about putting 16 hours into this SUV for $1000.00 vs $700.00

davidk72008 said:

Now, granted, I took my time and did some extra things like the 2-steps on the doors and hood because I wanted my first customer to be happy and help me spread the word about my services, so I know I could have probably knocked it out in about 12-13..

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And that's the sign of a person that is passionate about doing their best regardless of the price point. Nothing wrong with this if you feel good when you put your head on your pillow at night. But if putting 16 hours into someone else's brand new car makes you feel bad or empty at the end of the day, then

A: Learn to streamline your process and match your service rendered to the price point of the package.

B: Charge more.

There's a third option, and that's turn the work down but all of us that have been in your shoes, that is just starting out, we tend to take every job we can get - it's called starting.

davidk72008 said:

How long would you guys typically take to complete a wash, decon, 1-step, and coating application on a small 2-row SUV like this typically?

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I would call that a full size, you might get away with mid-size, but I would not call that a small SUV.

I shoot for 8 to 10 hours from start to finish. And I'm usually on the 10 hour side. Just depends on the condition of the paint as the machine polishing step chews up time. I figure just under 2 hours to wash the car if the wheels are really dirty. Dirty wheels, if you're going to clean the barrels and really get them clean equals 15 minutes per wheel. Multiplied by 4 equals an hour.

If you're prepped, you can then wash starting at the top and working down and do this in an hour. You have to have all your tools and supplies ready to go including things like a Werner work platform to reach the roof and things like the top, middle of the windshield.

SUVs like this have a LOT of paint real-estate. Even when using the BEAST.

You can only go so fast or you start doing shoddy work. I don't like doing SUVs but they are popular, so it's hard to avoid them. For your one-step polish and ceramic coating work you need to either raise your price or settle for working for less.

Getting your prices higher starts with educating your customer. People don't know how long it takes to do the things you're doing. I would guess most people

A: Don't know how to properly clean a wheel.
B: Don't own the tools to properly clean a wheel.
C: Don't know how long it take just to clean one wheel.

And the above time-line for procedures applies for each step of the process. For example, chemically stripping the paint on the SUV will take you around 45 minutes from start to finish. And - you need GREAT towels.

All-in-all, taking into consideration your passion for perfection, 16 hours isn't "wrong" for doing this type of work, it's just not as rewarding as we all want it to be.

davidk72008 said:

What are some time-saving tips?

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Streamline your process. This means having everything ready to go and ready to use before you start.

All washing tools staged and ready to go.

Microfiber towels inspected and ready to use.

Tools, pads, products staged and ready to use.

Put your phone away.

davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

You're correct, Mike. For those that weren't there, I'm the guy in the gray shirt kneeling behind the Chevelle.

Also, I agree there was always plenty of "car" to work on during the class. I was exaggerating when I said 15, but I didn't mean for that to come off as a negative comment. I hope it didn't seem that way. I really enjoyed the class, and it was very informative. Highly recommended.

Billy Baldone · Jan 3, 2020

Wow!!! handsome fella you are. LOL I loved Mike's class. So much fun. After the class I bought my Flex XFE15, I really liked it.

davidk72008 · Jan 3, 2020

:laughing:

Mike, you're the man. Thanks for the detailed responses. It sounds like I'm right on par with you on the wash phase, the polishing phase is just where I fell behind. That is due to me "going above and beyond" the scope of the project when I decided to 2-step some of it. That's on me.

For reference, my website lays out my services and prices. Feel free to critique. I just finished up the website last week.

slickobsessiondetailing.com

Thanks guys

Mike Phillips · Jan 3, 2020

davidk72008 said:
You're correct, Mike. For those that weren't there, I'm the guy in the gray shirt kneeling behind the Chevelle.

That Chevelle came out GREAT! We really had some cool cars there to train on. And I'm happy to say, there's no other class like my 3-day class here at Autogeek in Stuart, Florida where absolute strangers to the car owners get to work on so many cool cars.

Yesterday I confirmed a 1964 Impala with a 409 BIG BLOCK for my February class.

davidk72008 said:
Also, I agree there was always plenty of "car" to work on during the class.

I'm sorry to say I never had the time to get all the great action pictures showing your class working on all the cars. Right after the September class, I had to prep for a roadshow and after that SEMA.

davidk72008 said:
I was exaggerating when I said 15, but I didn't mean for that to come off as a negative comment. I hope it didn't seem that way.

I'm a little sensitive to how my classes are positioned BECAUSE I've seen a few people state that in a large class you don't get enough ONE-ON-ONE time with the Instructor but the person saying this has also NEVER been to one of my classes. I make sure EVERYONE gets TONS of one-on-one with me as I walk around the entire time, for 3 days and walk right up to each person and check with them on how they're doing and if they have any questions.

I also stop and share tips and techniques that apply to the person and the tool and the procedure being performed in real-time and PRO-ACTIVELY.

No harm, no foul, I just like to make sure all the hundreds, if not thousands of people that will read this thread into the future have an accurate impression for any class I teach.

And as you witnessed first-hand - we start early, worked late and everyone was on their feet working on cars each day. The ONLY time anyone sat in a chair was to eat lunch and that was kept to about 15 to 20 minutes. That's how I run my classes. I cover so many tools, products and techniques there's simply no way we could get through them all by sitting in chairs looking at a wall. (looking at a slide in a power point presentation).

If a person learns best by sitting in a chair by all means, take any of the other classes on the market.

davidk72008 said:
I really enjoyed the class, and it was very informative. Highly recommended.

Thank you. And you know what? I really enjoyed it to. I love all my classes and that's because as I've been typing for years, I love to do two things,

1: I love detailing cool cars. It's my passion.

2: I love teaching others to detail - I have empathy - I've been in their shoes when first starting out.

You're doing good. Speed comes with practice and practice makes perfect.

Selling yourself at a higher price point is your next challenge.

Mike Phillips · Jan 3, 2020

Billy Baldone said:
Wow!!! handsome fella you are. LOL

I loved Mike's class. So much fun. After the class I bought my Flex XFE15, I really liked it.

The class you attended at GYEON in Colorado was also a lot of fun.

Pictures: Colorado Roadshow Class- Denver Auto Shield

It was also a LOT of work because we only had 4 people in the class. We all had to hustle including me.

But I think you'll agree, we started early and we're doing hands-on the entire day. The picture below is 6:30am

First day of Class is over! 12 hours on total hands-on immersion training.

We start tomorrow at 7:30am. I’m nice to the class and let them have 1 extra hour of sleep before we get into the wetsanding class.

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covered all the tools, products and techniques I advertise

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