Ways to become more efficient?

[mfrickman]

I started my own detailing business on the side and have been going steady for the past month. When I first started, I thought I could knock out 3-4 cars a day and booked accordingly.

I was wrong. :laughing:

After trying to figure out a system how to knock out a car quick while still keeping the level of quality I want to build my reputation off of, I've come to a point where I just can't think of what to do to speed up the process any.

One thing that I've pondered is to actually cut out using the foam cannon.

I've noticed that during these nice hot days, I'm rushing like a chicken with it's head cut off to get one side foamed, washed, and rinsed with out it drying on the paint. I cool the surface down well prior to application but the constant beat down the sun gives is too quick for me. Is there any real benefit from foaming a car that isn't really that dirty? I know the purpose of the foam cannon and what not but I feel like it could also sort of be a placebo effect and we're thinking it's helping much more than it actually is.

What's everyone take on this as far as a business stand point and are we looking at that much of a difference with the paint marring or additional scratches from residue that a good rinsing doesn't take off? Also, where in my process can I speed things up or is there any way other than becoming more efficient in my own ways.

1. Wheels & Tires
2. Bugs and Rocker Panels w/ Pinnacle Saf-T Sponge
3. Foam Cannon
4. 2 BM
5. Dry

Thanks in advance, AGers!

 

[WindyCity]

Stop wasting trips back and forth to your rig to get supplies. I have a tray for everything, for example when i kneel down to clean a tire, i have everything to clean the rim, scrub the tire and clean the wheel well. I have an assortment of brushes, 3 spray bottles, wheel brightener in one, and APC strong, and APC weak in the others. plus rags and some tar remover. When its time to move i grab the hose and my custom tray and I am completely done with one wheel and i move to the next.

I have the same thing with dressing the tire, I have tire dressing, undercarriage spray, Tire inflator (i check my customers tires), rags and satin black spray paint with painters tape if i need it. tar remover in that as well just in case i missed some tar.

when I vacuum i have a tray with brushes, all of my different vac attachments, a small trash can for trash.

Same for interior cleaning, dash brushes, cleaners, dressings, leather/upholstery brushes, glass cleaner ETC

Do everything you can to stop back and forth to get things to do the job

And yes stop using the foam gun, huge waste of time that doesnt really doing anything more besides impress people

 

[WindyCity]

Another thing develop a plan or process for detailing. Follow the same routine every time you detail so you are consistent every time and tweak it whenever you find a way to save time or steps.

To make money in detailing you have to knock out the details to compete with the volume shops.

Plus I bring Everything I need to detail, my trailer has a water tank with a hose reel. I simply pull the hose out and start spraying water. takes zero time. when I am done I reel up the hose and it is stored. time wasted......zero. I used to get so frustrated dealing with customers hoses, spigots that leaked....etc... huge time waster

Remember keep analyzing everything to see where you can save time... time that should be spent looking for more customers instead of wasting time looking for supplies

 

[SuperiorAutoLLC]

Stop wasting trips back and forth to your rig to get supplies. I have a tray for everything, for example when i kneel down to clean a tire, i have everything to clean the rim, scrub the tire and clean the wheel well. I have an assortment of brushes, 3 spray bottles, wheel brightener in one, and APC strong, and APC weak in the others. plus rags and some tar remover. When its time to move i grab the hose and my custom tray and I am completely done with one wheel and i move to the next.

I have the same thing with dressing the tire, I have tire dressing, undercarriage spray, Tire inflator (i check my customers tires), rags and satin black spray paint with painters tape if i need it. tar remover in that as well just in case i missed some tar.

when I vacuum i have a tray with brushes, all of my different vac attachments, a small trash can for trash.

Same for interior cleaning, dash brushes, cleaners, dressings, leather/upholstery brushes, glass cleaner ETC

Do everything you can to stop back and forth to get things to do the job

And yes stop using the foam gun, huge waste of time that doesnt really doing anything more besides impress people

:iagree: I do the same thing; trays are awesome. Also consider getting a cart to place your trays IN to wheel everything around the car

 

[mfrickman]

I use a gasoline powered pressure washer that is very low pressure (2200) and I feel like I burn 20 minutes a wash going back and forth between shutting it off and turning it on again. I feel like that is a huge waste of time but I can't really deviate away from that because I can't afford buying an electric pressure washer and a maybe a larger generator. All I have is a 3500 watt.

 

[Bunky]

I use a gasoline powered pressure washer that is very low pressure (2200) and I feel like I burn 20 minutes a wash going back and forth between shutting it off and turning it on again. I feel like that is a huge waste of time but I can't really deviate away from that because I can't afford buying an electric pressure washer and a maybe a larger generator. All I have is a 3500 watt.

2200 psi? That is more pressure than most electrics. Electrics usually top out around 2000 psi due to power limitations (most are 15A max). It should be enough for cleaning paint safely (fan spray).

 

[mfrickman]

I guess I'll have to look into getting an electric one I can mount into my trailer. I just hate having to turn it on and off while most electrics are on demand.

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[Pureshine]

Stop wasting trips back and forth to your rig to get supplies. I have a tray for everything, for example when i kneel down to clean a tire, i have everything to clean the rim, scrub the tire and clean the wheel well. I have an assortment of brushes, 3 spray bottles, wheel brightener in one, and APC strong, and APC weak in the others. plus rags and some tar remover. When its time to move i grab the hose and my custom tray and I am completely done with one wheel and i move to the next.

I have the same thing with dressing the tire, I have tire dressing, undercarriage spray, Tire inflator (i check my customers tires), rags and satin black spray paint with painters tape if i need it. tar remover in that as well just in case i missed some tar.

when I vacuum i have a tray with brushes, all of my different vac attachments, a small trash can for trash.

Same for interior cleaning, dash brushes, cleaners, dressings, leather/upholstery brushes, glass cleaner ETC

Do everything you can to stop back and forth to get things to do the job

And yes stop using the foam gun, huge waste of time that doesnt really doing anything more besides impress people

I agree with on everything but the foam gun its a great tool when used right. It does help with getting the loose dirt off the car before the 2 bucket wash and helps clean all the hard to reach areas like emblems. Before you call it a waste of time most good detailers use one everyday.

 

[mfrickman]

I love the foam cannon but I'm worried about practicality over cleaning the emblems. My customers are going to notice water spots before they notice a bit of dirt in their emblems.

I love doing the entire car at one time but have started only doing panels at a time but it's so time consuming to switch nozzles during a detail. I guess I just need to experiment to see how much difference I see with not using the foam cannon and just going with 2BM.

Is the foam cannon really giving my customer what it is they're after? Or is it something I can cut out and still achieve the same results?

I guess to each his own.

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[VP Mark]

Why not switch to ONR washes if you are having issues with soap drying? It is by far the quickest and most efficient mobile wash method. Done correctly it is just as safe as 2 bucket method and 3x faster. Customers don't care how you wash their car. They just care about the result.

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[Perfections]

Here's the best advice I can give you, match your services to your customers. Your process sounds like you're doing show cars... Remember you're already doing 10 times better then the average joe. Here's my process.

Arrive at customers, greet them and make sure you're on the same page about the services about to be performed. Ask them if there's any problems areas they'd like you to address. If its something that's not gonna be covered in your normal service, use your judgement to see if its gonna take more then 5 minutes, if so I tell them there's gonna be an extra charge since there problem isn't normally covered with the package they selected. Once you're both on the same page start your setup.

Bring everything you'll need close to the car so you don't waste trips in the middle of your process.

I do wheel wells, then tires then rims. Reason I do rims last is because I don't want them to dry. Once you're done go back to the tire you started on and dress wheel well then tire working your way back around to the last tire you washed.

Next onr wash, clean lower panels with pressure washer if they are jacked.

Move to inside, do wipe down first to throw stuff down to the carpet. Door jams, vacuum, dress interior if that's in your package then last do windows. Windows last incase you got interior protectant on the glass.

Learn to take 2 hours per car do 4 a day. Charge at least 50 bucks a car. 200 a day almost all profit. Upgrade to wax, use optimum spray wax, bang extra money and no real added time, maybe 10 minutes.

Good luck

 

[mfrickman]

So the two minutes I've spent researching ONR I feel like it's too good to be true. I do the 2BM with ONR to do the wash and that's it? Some folks harp on blasting foam over the car for lubrication but 2oz of ONR can handle a wash with no marring or scratching?

I've noticed a lot of people use it on here for it's versatility and I've really got nothing to lose, right?

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[Meticulous-Detail]

How about using the foam gun to wash the car with quick disconnects? I rinse the car down and then use my foam gun and wash mitt at the same time, shooting soap into the mitt while I wash ensuring plenty of soap and lubrication on the panel or section. If you need to rinse simply disconnect foam gun and use the hose nozzle to rinse, reconnect foam gun and continue to wash.

 

[VP Mark]

So the two minutes I've spent researching ONR I feel like it's too good to be true. I do the 2BM with ONR to do the wash and that's it? Some folks harp on blasting foam over the car for lubrication but 2oz of ONR can handle a wash with no marring or scratching?

I've noticed a lot of people use it on here for it's versatility and I've really got nothing to lose, right?

Sent from my DROID RAZR using AG Online

It is too good but it is true. You will thank optimum forever after your first ONR wash. I rarely find a vehicle too dirty to onr wash. It is truly one of the pillars of my business.

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[mfrickman]

It is too good but it is true. You will thank optimum forever after your first ONR wash. I rarely find a vehicle too dirty to onr wash. It is truly one of the pillars of my business.

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If you don't mind sharing Mark, what exactly is your process when you use ONR? I'm so skeptical about it but it seems to be pretty awesome.

 

[mfrickman]

Also, it seems like it doesn't favor a lot of dirt. Should a basic 2BM be my go-to with ONR for maintenance clean ups?

 

[random]

I agree with on everything but the foam gun its a great tool when used right. It does help with getting the loose dirt off the car before the 2 bucket wash and helps clean all the hard to reach areas like emblems. Before you call it a waste of time most good detailers use one everyday.

If the dirt is loose, then a quick pre-wash using your hose set on a forceful spray setting (or a pressure washer) would spray it off. I think what you mean is that the foam gun is good for soaking so that dirt that's stuck can come off more easily, much like pre-soaking dishes before washing them.

Also, it seems like it doesn't favor a lot of dirt. Should a basic 2BM be my go-to with ONR for maintenance clean ups?

If there's a lot of dirt, then IMO it's more critical about the pre-wash and rinse. A lot of dirt can be sprayed right off beforehand, or even use a foam gun/cannon before that. Then ONR wash then becomes pretty trivial because there's not much dirt.

If there's not much dirt, an ONR wash is great for maintenance washes.

In general for dirty vehicles, I think the pre-rinse/wash is probably the most important thing to have an effective wash afterwards.

 

[mfrickman]

If the dirt is loose, then a quick pre-wash using your hose set on a forceful spray setting (or a pressure washer) would spray it off. I think what you mean is that the foam gun is good for soaking so that dirt that's stuck can come off more easily, much like pre-soaking dishes before washing them.

I understand where he's going with that but is the pre-soak that helpful if it's drying before I have the time to put the pressure washer down and get my wash mitt out of the bucket? I can't even get proper staying time because the foam is literally drying that fast. I've had to use quick detailer in the past because of the streaking that is being left behind even after a rinse. Like I said, I love my foam cannon. Not only is it cool as hell but when the weather cooperates I really do feel like I get a great wash out of it. I haven't really done any experimenting though. I went from my bad ways of the past strictly to the 2BM with a foam cannon/foam gun. Haven't tried the 2BM without the cannon or gun.

I really think it's going to boil down to toying with my own vehicles to see if I will get any swirls or scratches from not using a foam pre-soak. If I get comfortable with it, I'll can the foam cannon and switch to strictly 2BM for filthy cars and stick to ONR for maintenance and well-maintained cars.

I hate I'm finding out about this ONR stuff now. I have a very well maintained SS Impala that I'm doing next week and would love to use ONR on it. Oh well, maybe next time.

 

[jrs1418]

I use a similar method/product to ONR. If you're worries about scratches/marring you can pressure wash the whole car quickly to knock off the stuff that doesn't liquefy, then with a garden sprayer spray the ONR on top of the water to help soften it, then 2BM the rest, finish with a MF. I usually keep one side a little moist for the areas that might have dried and are hard to buff off.

That, or get a helper.

 

[Antihero47]

I understand where he's going with that but is the pre-soak that helpful if it's drying before I have the time to put the pressure washer down and get my wash mitt out of the bucket? I can't even get proper staying time because the foam is literally drying that fast. I've had to use quick detailer in the past because of the streaking that is being left behind even after a rinse. Like I said, I love my foam cannon. Not only is it cool as hell but when the weather cooperates I really do feel like I get a great wash out of it. I haven't really done any experimenting though. I went from my bad ways of the past strictly to the 2BM with a foam cannon/foam gun. Haven't tried the 2BM without the cannon or gun.

I really think it's going to boil down to toying with my own vehicles to see if I will get any swirls or scratches from not using a foam pre-soak. If I get comfortable with it, I'll can the foam cannon and switch to strictly 2BM for filthy cars and stick to ONR for maintenance and well-maintained cars.

I hate I'm finding out about this ONR stuff now. I have a very well maintained SS Impala that I'm doing next week and would love to use ONR on it. Oh well, maybe next time.

Are you washing the cars in a shaded area and allowing the cars to cool? Your not attempting to do a two bucket wash in 80+ degree sunshine on the whole car are you? You'd really only be able to do it panel by panel or else its going to dry.