Saving Time During a Mobile Wash

ehuth1

ehuth1

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Ok lets say your getting to the job and the car is parked pretty much in a perfect area to just start washing away. Everyone share where they would start and end up to after the drying.

1. Setup your wash buckets (pre-fill) and cleaners for easy access. Try and 5S everything so it's the same everytime :) 2-3min

2. Pre-Rinse 1400psi Pressure Washer All Panels to remove tar, light bugs, any loose mud..... 5min

3. Start with the top and move on to the windshield (clean scmitt if necessary, then get the hood. Next spray all of the soap off and then take care of all the left or right side above the lower rockers (of course checking the scmitt for particulates) Take off the soap per side and Don't forget the front and rear bumpers ;) 5min

4. Next Get the lower rockers from right to left then which ever side is last have your wheel cleaner ready to spray on the wheels and wheel wells. Do one side at a time and be sure to only use the bucket wash if the wheels are last. Get your old brushes out to scrub the inner wells and then move on to tires and lastly wheels. (I spray my tires with a chemical that degreases on spot and doesn't harm any wheel. So I pretty much don't have to touch the tires and barely use any hand on the wheels.) Do this step however you like. Everyone's different. 5min

5. After completing both sides of wheels, tires, fenderwells. It's time to move on and dry the vehicle off. If you have a blower it's good to use it on the mirrors, beds on trucks, wheels, grilles, rubber weather stripping etc.... This will prevent spotting later on while driving. 10min

6. Next I dry the top to bottom with a microfiber drying towel then move onto opening the vehicle up to vacuum and clean windows. Most of the time I go ahead and apply tire, trim, and fenderwell dressing so it can be drying while I'm inside the car. After I'm completely done with the interior I step back and make a circle around the car to check myself and wipe off any residual water, or tire gloss. 15-20min

A little under 50 minutes for me to complete a F-150 Supercrew 4x4 which I based this off of. I want to hear your steps to see if I can shave a few off mine. Thanks ahead of time.

greenetruck.jpg
 
ok ill try to think of how i would shave time on that... now if the vehicle is really realy dirty, theres not much you can do, just take it bit by bit and its gonna be a while. if however its kept fairly clean heres what i would do
fill a wash bucket wiht soap and water, hook up the hose to the pressure washer, shoot the bucket a little to get the soap mixed and foamy.
rinse the whole car down with the pressure washer from a few feet away to get it wet, then if you use a degreaser type product on the wheel wells and tires too if you want, spray it in all 4 and then immediatly follow with the pressure washer. if you need the use ofa presoak(for instance, i use bug squash now) then spray it where needed and then hit it with the pressure washer, just get all the big stuff of.
i then dunk my shmitt and start goiing at it...i can usually get an entire side of a fairly clean vehicle with only that onetrip to the bucket. once it is all soaped, i spray it all off with the pressure washer again and spray and scrub the wheels.
disconnect the hose and let the water flow freely and slowly over the paint to sheet the water off. dump the bucket, clean it out and then turn off the water. i then dry with a Cobra guzzler MF towel. i can do this in a half hour or even less if i am in a hurry
 
I wash in a bay, First i spray on (Now) P21s wheel cleaner, then foamguns the car, fill my Grit Guard with NXT and warm water, High presure washing (6 min) the car. wash the car with the ShMitt, then the wheels with brush, black ShMitt and NXT) High presure wash again (4-6 min) Dry with the Guzzler.

Only black "plastic" on my car is the wheels. so thats a quiky.

Never clocked myself on washing, but my wife says im away "half a day" when i leave to wash.

Times fly when having fun.
 
Sounds just like my times and process!!!

I would charge 60.00 for that ride and I try to get 50.00 per hour. You are right on it too.
 
I have one suggestion for you inconsiterate detailers, if you are going to detail in a parking lot, then kindly get some cones and block off the adjoining spaces. If not, courtesy says you should detail the cars next to it for free , as they are now likely spotted.

I say this, cause in the last week I have seen this happen more than once. It seems like moving car to backlot, or end of parking garage is too much trouble.
 
I would be so mad if my own personal truck was covered with water due to some inconsiderate detailer. Cones are a great idea for a parking lot KILLR. Anyone here have any EPA guidelines in your area opposed to detailing? I use pretty much all biodegradeable chemicals so I'm guessing I'll have to look this up in the GA laws somehow...
 
I quickly smimmed read the first post and a few others. I want to add this about being efficient:

1.) ORGANIZATION
2.) Have a plan of attack and stick to this plan on every vehicle so it becomes second nature and repetitive.
 
Can you even just go to a parking lot and connect to a hose? Actually where would you as I've never seen one in a lot lol? I know our mall has a section cornered off that has some detailers that actually don't look like they have a bad setup and do a pretty decent job on cars unlike that Pronto Wash that roams the garages. But that detailer section blocked off, guy has a huge van and tanks of water with sprayer etc, deffinitley no hose to conenct to.
 
There has been a few threads where some people were talking about using leaf blowers to dry their cars. I found it interesting but I have not tried it with my leaf blower yet. I do use my air compressor to blow water out of places you can't get to with a MF towel. I'm not sure if the leaf blower would save any time but it put be interesting to test it out.
 
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Truls said:
I wash in a bay, First i spray on (Now) P21s wheel cleaner, then foamguns the car, fill my Grit Guard with NXT and warm water, High presure washing (6 min) the car. wash the car with the ShMitt, then the wheels with brush, black ShMitt and NXT) High presure wash again (4-6 min) Dry with the Guzzler.

Only black "plastic" on my car is the wheels. so thats a quiky.

Never clocked myself on washing, but my wife says im away "half a day" when i leave to wash.

Times fly when having fun.
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The place I go to has signs specifying no bucket wash when more customers present....don't you run into that when people come up behind you and start waiting...How do you handle that?
 
Gary Sword said:
There has been a few threads where some people were talking about using leaf blowers to dry their cars. I found it interesting but I have not tried it with my leaf blower yet. I do use my air compressor to blow water out of places you can't get to with a MF towel. I'm not sure if the leaf blower would save any time but it put be interesting to test it out.
Click to expand...

I actually have a seperate leaf blower, Leaf Hawg, for just the car. It works wonders. The only worry with air compressors is oil. Some do not offer oil catch cans and can spit oil onto the finish.
 
id use the compressor if i could, much more precise and more effective IMO
 
killrwheels@autogeek said:
I actually have a seperate leaf blower, Leaf Hawg, for just the car. It works wonders. The only worry with air compressors is oil. Some do not offer oil catch cans and can spit oil onto the finish.
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I have used an air compressor for years and I have never had any oil shot out of one. I'm on my 3rd different air compressor. There was a post a couple of weeks ago where someone tried a gas leaf blower and said they had a problem with oil blowing out on there car. You won't have a problem if it's an electric one but you may have a on a moble detail if you have no where to plug it in. The only thing I worry about with a left blower is sand blasting my car. I think the one I have blows at 150 mph or something like that. It seems like it would be easy to blow sand and small rocks laying around your car right at your car if your not very careful.

killr, do you find it faster to dry your car off using a leaf blower?
 
Gary Sword said:
killr, do you find it faster to dry your car off using a leaf blower?
Click to expand...
My electric blower is much faster then trying to use a towel, for one it gets rid of the water comming out of all teh crevices and window seals that love to drip on our suv's. If your car has fresh lsp on it, the water literally blows off, and it works good on my wheels as I have slots that are edged/jagged that catch towels easily.

I do it for all our cars, less touching = less marring.
 
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