Total time for detail?

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mcat12

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Morning everyone. So I'm new and a weekend hobbiest learning from all the great folks here. I've definitely stepped up my game and love the results. Perfecting my hobby as a go along.

So I'm wondering how long it takes everyone to detail? Professionals and hobbiest included. Inside, outside, wheels and tires, engine compartment, etc.

I'm know that 'it depends' fits perfectly here :xyxthumbs: I'm just wondering because it takes me a super long time!

Thanks.
 
Take me a long time too. (i'm old, fat and lazy)

Remember there are people here that make their living with this, so time is $$$.

If you're not worried about production detailing, there really is no reason to worry how long it takes as long as you get the results you desire.

Just an old farts opinion
 
It takes me a long time (2 day period, I am slow) but it has a lot has to do with efficiency and how meticulous you are such as removing wheels to clean them, etc.
 
You will get answers all over the board on this. I will give you an example or two. When we bought my wife's white 128i convertible, it took me about 15 total hour to properly correct the paint,Polish,and apply a coating. The paint was swirled badly by the previous owner, and white is a bit more difficult to chase down swirls, compared to a darker color where they show more easily. I did a 2015 Ford Edge in gray metallic, this vehicle was brand new, so it only required a polish before coating, this took about 10 hours.My wash process is the same, wash,clay,decontaminate,wheels,tires...
 
Right now I take just interior about 3 to 5 hours if super dirty with a helper. If alone maybe 6 to 7 hours. Outside not included. And I have 5 years detailing. I work for a dealershioe but these cars are super clean. The cars Im cleaning are trashy.
 
on average for a solid detail and coating around 8-10hrs without removing the wheels or detailing the interior. I have also done cars that take near 20hrs.
 
I do this for a living so here it goes ,on the job at 8 to 12 then lunch.The second car is from 1 to 5 I always leave a cushion in my mind to get it done faster.on dirty neglected stuff is from 9 to about 2:30 or so and call it a day.Trucks caravans odyssey tahoes I stray away from that ,they have a hard time grasping the amount of money and time it takes to do them.In south fla there is about 85 percent of new cars on the road so washes and waxes are easy to do without killing yourself and I can fit 3 of those in one day.planes and rv if it's a correction I leave the whole week open to those.
 
I'm not into taking the wheels off and spending 40 hrs on a car it would drive me insane.I like everyday to be a different challenge and meeting new clients.on planes I don't mind cause there pretty cool to do and owners will not try to lowball you on the work performed,and sometimes I can't get out of the airport,once they see your work they want it.airplane owners are not impulse decision people they will wait for 3 weeks for you to do it ,a majority of car owners won't . Two different breeds I guess
 
I've got serious back problems. It can take me three days because of the limited number of hours I can work in a day, sometimes four if there is a day in there I can't do anything. If it's a one step polish I can usually get it done in two days. That's the reason I don't do a lot more cars than I do. At present I've got six jobs to do and the weather got real cold and wet so I can't do anything.
As mentioned above if your a hobbyists it's all about the quality and you really shouldn't worry about time.
 
interior/exterior detail usually take 3-4 hours.
AIO adds about an hours
true paint correction usually takes 10ish hours with full detail

i am working on a black BMW Alpina B7 that is pushing 40 hours of paint correction and coating.
 
For me old, slow & fat:

Day 1 Wash, IronX, Dry, Clay, Mask

Day 2 Correction & Polish

Day 3 Wax

I've skipped glazes & sealants (which for me is another day), as I'm using Colinite 476s

Day 4 One week later, Colinite 2nd coat.

Can I have my Aleve back
 
Great info all! Thanks so much.

So im not really worried about how much time i take. Just curious how long it takes others - pros and regular folks. I imagine a pro working at like a pit crew pace vs weekend folks have the luxury to be more meticulous?

Plus im competitive! Interested to see where i stack up lol! And perhaps theres a few tips and tricks that everyone uses to speed up the process? (Example prepping materials beforehand, organizing and have everything on a cart within reach, etc). I definitely think i waste time searching for stuff, refilling bottles, plugging and unplugging, etc.

Heres my lastest detail on my wifes Accord. Its white and hasnt been thoroughly detailed in over a year! Holy cow the level of grey filth was incredible!

Total time: 8-10 hours

Removed floor mats, spray and scrub with CG Fabric Care
Wheel Brite tire spray, scrub and rinse x2
IronX wheels, scrub and rinse x2
Optimum Wash spray over entire car, diluted. Dwell. Water rinse.
Tarminator front and lower panels. Dwell and water rinse.
Pressure wash water only on fan spray to hopefully remove filth, road grime and tar, etc.

*at this point, im amazed at how dirty the car still looks! Need to alter course of action.

Spray panel by panel Optimum, MF wipe down, rinse. (Finally cutting through filth)

*realize that its taking such a long time due to old wax that needs to be removed.

Foam lance with Palmolive and Mr Pink CG wash. Dwell, rinse.
Adams car shampoo - 2 bucket method, rinse.
Dry with waffle towel.
Finish floor mats and hang dry.

Move car into garage and MetroVac blow dry crevices, door jams, etc.
While waiting for exterior to dry, MetroVac vaccum interior.
CG Fabric Care spray interior, scrub.
303 cleaner interior plastic, molding etc.
Collonite 476s exterior, door jams, and wheels.
Remove 476s with MF towels.
303 protectant interior

I had planned on a 2nd coat of Collinite OR CG Black Light but it was 6pm and i was tired. Plus ive read about cure times for Collinite products and decided to plan for another day.

So i did the engine detail the day before. Very basic detail. Tool probably 1 hour.

Id love to find a way to do all if this faster and go play golf!
 
DaveT435 said:
I've got serious back problems. It can take me three days because of the limited number of hours I can work in a day, sometimes four if there is a day in there I can't do anything. If it's a one step polish I can usually get it done in two days. That's the reason I don't do a lot more cars than I do. At present I've got six jobs to do and the weather got real cold and wet so I can't do anything.
As mentioned above if your a hobbyists it's all about the quality and you really shouldn't worry about time.
Click to expand...

I feel your pain brother! Same reason I don't do too many anymore. Didn't do any including my own from June till just recently, to darn hot and my back is an issue too.

It's still to hot, it's 88 down here again today!

So it took me 6 hours or so to do my Rogue over Saturday / Sunday inside and out top to bottom.
 
Dave I just hate it when the TV, gives all those tornado warnings. Glad you were safe, looked nasty.

mcat-12 some really good threads on old wax/sealant removal here, turns out, you don't remove it with chemicals, (as some would have you believe), but it's removed mainly by your DA & polish! I just finished my 2nd coat of Colinite 476s on the exterior good stuff. My applicator was a butter knife, just about a 1/4" tip
 
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