When Detailing a Car what do you start with?

Camaro2010

Camaro2010

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In the process of detailing a car and it has really bad water spots.
So my question is what would you do first?

What do you start with? Do you detail the car first, correction, wax, trim, windows, interior?
 
Always start by washing the wheels, tires and wheelwells. Then washing the car itself.
 
Start by washing and claying the vehicle. Then I would clean the interior. After that tape off the exterior of the car. Once your done with that start your correction. Once you are finished correcting the vehicle wax or seal it. Then Clean the windows and your done.
 
sullysdetailing said:
Start by washing and claying the vehicle. Then I would clean the interior. After that tape off the exterior of the car. Once your done with that start your correction. Once you are finished correcting the vehicle wax or seal it. Then Clean the windows and your done.
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:iagree:

Correction wise, I always seem to work the hood, roof, trunk/spoiler, front bumper, fender, door, quarter panel, rear bumper. Goes with the flow of the car and makes it easier on me.
 
I wash wells, tires, wheels, body in that order. Clay, tape, correct, exterior trim, tips, lsp. Interior goes plastics, windows, seats, then carpets.

Works for me anyway. :xyxthumbs:
 
sullysdetailing said:
Start by washing and claying the vehicle. Then I would clean the interior. After that tape off the exterior of the car. Once your done with that start your correction. Once you are finished correcting the vehicle wax or seal it. Then Clean the windows and your done.
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zinc02gt said:
:iagree:

Correction wise, I always seem to work the hood, roof, trunk/spoiler, front bumper, fender, door, quarter panel, rear bumper. Goes with the flow of the car and makes it easier on me.
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Irish said:
I wash wells, tires, wheels, body in that order. Clay, tape, correct, exterior trim, tips, lsp. Interior goes plastics, windows, seats, then carpets.

Works for me anyway. :xyxthumbs:
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All good advice.

If you have an engine detail then I start there & flow into everything mentioned above ...... :xyxthumbs:
 
Well with the Pace Car today at the Daytona 500 they started with a "SWIRL MAKING CHAMOIS". I had to Cringe. But I just bit my tongue and watched the guy take this otherwise perfect 2011 Mustang and wipe it down with a chamois that was sitting on the GROUND !!!

5 Minutes Later Richard Petty Drove it around the Tri-Oval to start the race !
 
Wax Gorilla said:
Well with the Pace Car today at the Daytona 500 they started with a "SWIRL MAKING CHAMOIS". I had to Cringe. But I just bit my tongue and watched the guy take this otherwise perfect 2011 Mustang and wipe it down with a chamois that was sitting on the GROUND !!!

5 Minutes Later Richard Petty Drove it around the Tri-Oval to start the race !
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Thats when you pass them your card:xyxthumbs::buffing:
 
Grizzly said:
Always start by washing the wheels, tires and wheelwells. Then washing the car itself.
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Wax Gorilla said:
Always Wheel Wells, Tires, Wheels and bottom lip all the way around the car. If I feel the vehicle is dirty underneath I use a Hayward Cleaning Wand which will reach the entire underside of the vehicle.

Hayward Pool Products Jet Action Cleaning Wand De in Sports Equipment & Outdoor Gear - bizrate. Compare Prices and Read Consumer Reviews
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I am just wondering why you would wash the dirtiest area of the car first.
 
Get the car clean, wash, dry, wipe, whichever works best for your application.

Then if it were me? I always tackle the hardest parts first and if you have Type II water spot etchings, then that's going to be the hardest part to do unless you have milkshake stains in the headliner you haven't told us about. :)

Then I would get some painter's tape, place a tape line down on the hood or trunk lid and do a Test Spot on one side of the tape line and dial-in a process that works perfectly. Then I would duplicate this over the rest of the car.

If I were doing the entire car in one day I would wash and dry the car the day before so it would be completely dry by morning and then I would start working at 8:00am sharp.

Removing the water spots our of a 2010 Camaro, assuming there on at least all the horizontal surfaces is a solid detailing project that will take you most of the day.

If you're new to detailing, maybe just do your test spot and tackle a single panel from start to finish, like the hood. Then time yourself and see how long it takes to go from when you first walk out into your clean garage with your washed and dried car and start taping off any trim or edges and continue timing yourself till you make your final wipe to remove the wax.

That will give you an idea as to how long it will take to do the entire car.

Doing just the hood will take you a minimum of about 3 hours from start to finish and that's if your fast at this kind of work and your good at this kind of work, (that's 2 things), and you don't lollygag.

My guess would be for the average person, not a Pro Detailer, it would take from a low of 3 hours to a high of around 6 hours to get to where you've,

  1. Tested and proven a system
  2. Duplicated the cleaning step to the entire hood - cleaning means removing the defects
  3. Polished the entire hood to a high gloss
  4. Sealed the paint with a car wax or paint sealant
  5. Wiped the wax or sealant off
  6. Removed any painter's tape
  7. Made a final wipe
Just a suggestion.... tackling an entire car and trying to buff it out from start to finish in one day can be done but it can often turn out to be a bigger job and take longer than most people think.

:)
 
Wax Gorilla said:
Well with the Pace Car today at the Daytona 500 they started with a "SWIRL MAKING CHAMOIS". I had to Cringe. But I just bit my tongue and watched the guy take this otherwise perfect 2011 Mustang and wipe it down with a chamois that was sitting on the GROUND !!!

5 Minutes Later Richard Petty Drove it around the Tri-Oval to start the race !
Click to expand...

Ouch! :awman: :eek:
 
I'd wash from the top down, then clay, then inspect. I'd do a test area on the hood or truck, then move onto the rest of the car, doing one section of a time. Once correction is done, I would start at the front corner of the car and apply ultima paint guard plus.
 
I like to do:

Interior
Door jams
Engine (if I'm doing the engine)
Wheel wells, tires, wheels, bottom trim
Wash (clean the trim, fuel cap area, and behind the license plate at this time)
Clay
Wash again
Prep/polish
Wax or sealant
Windows
Tire shine
Anything else that needs to be done (metal polishing, trim, etc.)
 
SportEL said:
I am just wondering why you would wash the dirtiest area of the car first.
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This is so you don't get crap from the wheels back onto the car when you spray them later. Of course you are using seperate tools to wash the wheels. So you
1.-Rinse the entire car.
2.-Wash the wheels with your wheel brushes etc.
3.-Rinse the wheels
4.-Wash the car starting from the top down
5.-etc etc
 
John and I do this:

1. Wash the body
2. Use leftover wash water in combination with a wheel cleaner and do the wheels, tires and wheel wells.
3. Clay if necessary (which is usual) then rinse the car again.
4. Dry the car and do a quick wipe-down on the door jams to reduce water seepage during the correction.
5. Knock out the interior if we've been hired to do it.
6. Inspect the paint under proper lighting and decide on a pad/product combination and tape off.
7. Correct the paint
8. Dress the tires and plastics
9. Clean the windows
10. Do a few laps around the vehicle to make sure we didn't forget anything.
 
If I'm doing a full detail I wash the wheels using a separate bucket of suds then move on to the rest of the vehicle from the top down. I give it a quick dry with a leaf blower then these are the basic steps. If you intend to detail the engine compartment then do this before washing.

1. Clay
2. Paint correction
3. IPA wipe
4. Sealant
5. Wax
6. Interior
 
This is a great thread!! I too have been wondering what the most time-efficient way to detail your car is. And of course what the best way that makes sense is.
 
Unless you're working inside of a shop, I don't suggest washing the car until the interior is finished. Do 95% of the interior and then prep the car. Wind and flying interior debris can land on the paint and could cause mayhem on your polishing session.

OR- Prep car and do the correction 1st, then do the interior and then re-rewash for inspection/LSP.
 
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