Clay & Wash in 20 min?

C

Chronos

New member
So maybe this guy was exaggerating but I once asked him how long it takes him to Wash, Clay, Polish, Seal, and Wax and he said about 5 hours. When I mentioned to this detailer I use a PC, instead of discussing things as comrades it was more like enemies! I asked him how long it takes him to wash and clay and he told me 20 min. I asked him how thats possible but he wouldn't tell me. I also saw him taping up all the plastic parts and seems around the car before detailing and he also didn't tell me anything.



So how is it possible to Clay & Wash in 20 min? How long does it take you guys to do this? It takes me forever!



Here are my steps:

1) Wash w/ PB SSS (~30 -40 min)

2) Dry w/Cobra WW MF (5-10 min)

3) Clay (~45 - 60 min) , Do I kneed too much? I kneed almost every time I use it

4) Wash residue (20-30 min)

5) Dry w/Cobra WW MF (5-10 min)

Just that takes me about 2 hours



6) Each Polish, Glaze, Seal & wipe steps takes me about 45 - 60 min.



I'm not even including wheels cleaning & sealing here. That takes me 2 hours alone (12 spokes)
 
Well I clayed for the first time my '02 Civic 4DR and it probably took about 30-40 minutes. My washes have been taking about 45 mins to an hour (no interior or door jambs included) so it sounds like your on the right track considering my car is pretty small. However, it takes me much longer to polish then it takes you. To remove defects with a compound i spend about 3-4 hours going around the car. The final polish takes about 3 hrs. Waxing is very fast 30 mins tops for a liquid or paste and about 10-15 for a spray.



One thing I don't do is wash the residue after I clay. I just dry the remaining QD with an MF and move on to polish.



-Frank
 
It takes me a minimum of one hour to wash and clay a car. Bare minimum for a basic exterior detail inlcuding one pass of polishing: five hours. A full three pass exterior detail: at least 10 hours.
 
The way some detailers wash and clay that fast, is not always the best method. They rinse, soap down the car, rinse again, and no dry they go immeadiately into the clay. When they clay they use the heaviest clay possible to remove any contaminants in as few strokes as possible. From here they will wax the car to cover anything they missed or scratches left from the heavy clay. If they are going to polish they polish out the scratches or missed spots and it is usually with a product containing fillers to cover it up. The masking tape is something that should be used around plastic molding and trim. If you hit the molding/trim with the polisher you can burn or scuff it. All polish and wax contains solvents that can damage the molding/trim also. The "wax" can also try to a white haze in the pores of the plastic molding/trim. All of these are basically unfixable. You can either cover it up with a dressing and make the molding/trim temporarily black. You can repaint the molding/trim or you can replace it. My guess is that this detailer did it more for speed than anything. The areas that are taped off "should" still be done by hand (within a 1/4"-1/2" of the trim). Some detailers tape it for speed so they can run the polisher right up to the trim and not have to do that small area by hand. This is dangerous if the tape comes up you damage the trim. It is a shame he wouldn't share a little with you. Somewhere, someone shared with him to get him started. I've over 10 years helping/teaching professional detailers and car washes everyday. Feel free Email or PM anything you want to know. If I can help I will and I hope this helps.



Danny Umbrell
 
Being a newb, I may be way off base here, but I've read that some people wash and clay at the same time. That being said, 20 mins still seems ridiculously fast.



Just mi dos pesos.
 
The only way to wash and clay in 20 minutes is to not do it correctly. You can wash the car in less than 10 minutes if you do 4ft by 6ft sections before rinsing the wash medium, and you can clay in 10 minutes if you do long 4 ft strokes with aggressive clay, (it just won't take off all the contaminants)



This is the only way to get your 20 min wash+clay procedure...IMO
 
He probably got off on the wrong foot and assumed you thought he wasn't doing it right. I don't think he's a true detailer if it takes him that amount of time to wash and clay.
 
It takes me 20min to get all my buckets out, get all my drying towels and mitts together, then wash the fender wells and wheels. No way I could ever wash and clay in 20min and it be a quality job. Im not really about getting done as fast as possible though, I enjoy detailing. I can usually stretch out a full detail(engine, paint, underbody, and interior) over the course of 2 days.
 
The detailer is not being very thorough in his job. He is after fast, easy and "NEXT". He rinses, washes, rinses and does not dry the car. Then is using an aggressive clay to remove the contaminants and only makes one pass on any area. It is more for him to be able to say he "clayed" the car. The masking tape is a good thing but I suspect this detailer did it for the wrong reasons. Masking tape on the trim is to protect the trim incase you accidentally get product on the tape instead of the trim and make it have a haze or burn it with the polisher. I suspect he did it so he could run the polisher over the trim and not have to slow down and do it right. I have taught/helped professional detailers and car washes for over 10 years and when I think I have seen it all, they show me something else. LOL



Danny
 
Of course depending upon the contamination of the car and size



Claying only in 20mins on a car in fairly clean shape is possible.

Washing and claying though I doubt it.
 
abbeysdad said:
The race doesn't always go to the swiftest.

A good job is always better than a fast job.
Click to expand...



:xyxthumbs

I could not agree more with you. I have always preached it is better to do it right or not do it at all. If someone doesn't want to pay for right, let them blame someone else for wrong.

A detailer who does not focus on a quality job is also not likey to use quality products either. I can't stress enough how important it is to use quality/professional grade products to achieve the best results.



Danny
 
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