work times on cars?

350z00m

350z00m

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today i did a 2010 nissan 370z.. black.. did a 1 step then sealed it wit WGDGPS 3.0. too me about 4-5 hrs? is that normal.... i feel like the PCXP is slowing me down. if i wanna do 2-3 cars a day whats the best way? how long does it take u guys to do a 1 stepper?


Jay
 
Does that time include the whole detail or just the PC work?
 
whole detail.. from wash to wipe of lsp
 
That sounds like a normal range for a one-step if you're hustling...

You can't move the polisher faster to speed things up or you won't get adequate cleaning and polishing.

A Flex 3401 would give you more power to work sections faster without swirls.

:)
 
It took me 7 hours two weeks ago on a Saturday. :buffing: I washed and clayed the night before (2 hours). I have to stop taking a step back and admiring my work.
 
Only way to speed that up would be go with Poli-seal or XMT 360.
 
the car wasnt really dirty.... and the paint wasnt that bad.. there were dealer installed swirls an scratches... but nothing major...
 
Perfections said:
Only way to speed that up would be go with Poli-seal or XMT 360.
Click to expand...

used it before... didnt like the end result.... so i used Meg UC with Orange ccs pad... came out lsp ready.. was very happy

Jay
 
350z00m said:
today i did a 2010 nissan 370z.. black.. did a 1 step then sealed it wit WGDGPS 3.0. too me about 4-5 hrs? is that normal.... i feel like the PCXP is slowing me down. if i wanna do 2-3 cars a day whats the best way? how long does it take u guys to do a 1 stepper?


Jay
Click to expand...
It uasilly take me bout 1 1/2 to wash, dress tires, vacumm, clean dash/vents, and clean the glass.. So if you add clay and sealant another hour.... Did you shampoo or just vacumm? 370z are fairly small inside so a shampoo shouldn't take that long, unless well you knw we've all had'em "scary dirty"
 
That's actually pretty quick if you ask me.

I typically take 4-5 hours just to do a full detail (no paint correction or polishing). I do tend to take my time and I probably go over board. If I really wanted to do it quick I can get it done in about 3 hours, but again I'm a perfectionist and I want to ensure that the job is done to be the best of my ability.
 
DARK HORSE said:
WOW, that sounds like your are "SPEEDY" to me... Takes me much longer to do a detail.
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:iagree: I agree with Dark Horse, that is pretty fast, I am way too particular on detailing, it takes me about a good 8 hours plus on a full detail and that is busting my butt, I could not imagine doing 2-3 cars a day (full detail) but we all have different styles of detailing, I wont turn it over to my customer until I can step back and thats enough, it looks good.
 
SeaJay's said:
That's actually pretty quick if you ask me.

I typically take 4-5 hours just to do a full detail (no paint correction or polishing). I do tend to take my time and I probably go over board. If I really wanted to do it quick I can get it done in about 3 hours, but again I'm a perfectionist and I want to ensure that the job is done to be the best of my ability.
Click to expand...

:iagree:
 
Takes me about 6+ hours for a full detail, and its a new car. I don't even want to think how long it would take to clean a dirty one LOL.
 
When talking about how long it takes to detail a car, there's going to be a wide range of times because there's a huge difference between

  • Show car quality work
  • Working on your own car (you care about it and thus take more time)
  • Production work

Someone doing production work may just want to do what's necessary to meet their customer's expectations and what they're willing to pay for.

If you're charging $99.00 to detail a car, hopefully you're not over-promising and under delivering. It would be better to under promise and then over deliver or at least meet the minimum expectations.

Trying to know out 2, 3, 4 cars in one day is realistic if it's real "Express Details", it also helps if they're all in the same location to cut down driving time.

I don't do production work but I know how it's done... speed means cutting corners, usually in quality...

Of course the condition of the car is a HUGE factor... there's a huge difference between doing a quickie detail to a new car in excellent condition and doing a quickie detail to an older car that's been neglected.


:)
 
well the car i did was a BRAND NEW car 2010 8) preaty clean in and out and its a fairly small car. I washed and clayed and rinsed. dried every crevice. Vaced inside(clean) windows with Stoners IG. ten i started doin the 1 step with XMT 360 and put on a cloat of WGDGPS 3.0 as lsp. polished exhaust, dressed the wheels and trims( PB TR). so 5 hrs was quick?? i looked ver the car ever panel while polishing t make sure i was happy witht he step before moving on to the next panel. end result...the customer was VERY VERY happy with the results.... considering he only paid a 100 bucks..... i think he got more then what he paid for but thats just me. 8)


Jay
 
That sounds about right. I just did the whole thing on my car - interior, exterior, clay, paint cleaner and two coats of BFWD. Took me 7 hours!!
 
Hey Mike..... $99.00 for a complete detail is cheap! Our complete details start at $249.00. Of course, we'll spend all day, 8 - 10 hours on a car before we return it to our clients.
 
350z00m said:
well the car i did was a BRAND NEW car 2010 8) pretty clean in and out and its a fairly small car.
Click to expand...

Those little details like it was a brand new car do make a difference in how long it takes to detail and the kind of replies you'll get from forum members and you can see/read. :D


350z00m said:
considering he only paid a 100 bucks.....

Jay
Click to expand...

For just a guess I was pretty close... :D


Midnight1700 said:
Hey Mike..... $99.00 for a complete detail is cheap!
Click to expand...

Just throwing out a round number for mobile production work, I've seen prices of $69.99 for a mid-size car and "heard" other detailers talk about even lower prices for a complete detail.

Prices like these usually mean very low quality work and inexpensive products but keep in mind, there's a portion of the market that just wants a quickie and that's all they'll pay... closer to a thorough car wash than a real detail job.

Pro detailers that can educate the customers looking for quality can separate themselves by the quality of work they do and this includes higher prices...


:)
 
Mike, this is so true! There are "detailers" around here that say they will detail any car for $39.00. This really creates confusion in peoples minds when a "Professional Detailer" comes along as quotes $300.00 or so. One of the first things I try to do is educate people about what a true detail really consists of. Some seem to understand, while others just want their car cleaned.

OH, by the way..... I was really disappointed that I couldn't make it to the SEMA show this year. I was really hoping to stop by and meet you. Well, at least I did see some pictures of you and the person who I did my training with. I'm already planning to be there next year for sure!
 
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