How can I detail more efficently?

HEY FRANK,

I'm interested on how long on avg. your guys spend on a complete detail. Also broken down with just interior and just exterior. I spend about 2 hours(on avg for mid size car) just on the interior, that includes crapet extraction and leather leaning and conditioning. What kills me is the exterior. I can spend 6 hours (some less and some a lot more) just buffing, polishing and LSP, along with windows, rims, tires, and exhaust tips. Though most cars that I buff I get once a year and they get all spiderwebbed and scratched up. My own car I can do a exterior on in about 3 hours. Mind you, I'm not looking to sacrfice quiality, I just think I spend to much time in my detail process.



Chubs
 
I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I was wondering how you guys clean up during/after the detail. Do you clean up and put your products up as soon as you finish with them or just leave it all for the end? And if you've tried both, which seems better?
 
If you have a rolling cart or plastic storage unit(s) on casters, it can help. Just roll them up to the vicinity of the vehicle with all your products ready to go. Grab them as you need them. I clean up pads promptly after the complete detail is done although it's not an absolute priority.
 
This thread rocks. I have the same problem, but luckyily most of my customers are the kind that love top notch work and really appreciate swirl free finsihes. For example, I spent 10 hours on this Porsche 911 Turbo that wasn't even in terrible shape. I did use only my PC though. Granted, he and I talked quite a bit and it took me 3 hours for the washing and claying...the paint would not stop making sandpaper noises:lol:. Back on topic though...I need to become more efficeint with the polishing phase, and I think that'll only come with more and more experience. I'm gong to assume you are kind of like me and essentially "new" to serious detailing: I've been doing it since March. I'm sure though, as one gets used to evaluating paints and working wiht the machines more and more, that things will work much faster.
 
Setec- Hope I didn't come across wrong; you and I are in complete agreement on this ;)



Porkanbeans- I put things away as a) they're no longer needed (finish claying, put clay away) and/or b) as I progress through the job (finish interior/exterior, put that stuff away).



My rolling cart has all sorts of spray bottles hooked to it by the spray handles, but products that get "shelved" go back on the shelves ASAP so the top tray of the cart isn't too crowded. And I like the wash buckets and stuff like that out from underfoot when I'm doing the rest of the detail. Often, I'll even clean up the floor after the wash phase and generally tidy the shop before I start on the polishing.



Sometimes taking a brief break to tidy the shop can refresh you for the next phase of the job, and it's not really wasted time since you'll have to do the tidying up at some point anyhow.



Mitchubishievo- Yeah, being able to go straight to the products/approaches that are required can save time. The *biggest* time-saver for polishing is the rotary, but all the usual cautions apply.
 
Accumulator said:
Setec- Hope I didn't come across wrong; you and I are in complete agreement on this ;)



Porkanbeans- I put things away as a) they're no longer needed (finish claying, put clay away) and/or b) as I progress through the job (finish interior/exterior, put that stuff away).



My rolling cart has all sorts of spray bottles hooked to it by the spray handles, but products that get "shelved" go back on the shelves ASAP so the top tray of the cart isn't too crowded. And I like the wash buckets and stuff like that out from underfoot when I'm doing the rest of the detail. Often, I'll even clean up the floor after the wash phase and generally tidy the shop before I start on the polishing.



Sometimes taking a brief break to tidy the shop can refresh you for the next phase of the job, and it's not really wasted time since you'll have to do the tidying up at some point anyhow.



Mitchubishievo- Yeah, being able to go straight to the products/approaches that are required can save time. The *biggest* time-saver for polishing is the rotary, but all the usual cautions apply.
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That's exactly what I do. As soon as I am done with something, it goes into "ready to be loaded" mode. :)



I also stop when the exterior is washed and the interior is completed (just before starting polishing). I take this time to eat a sandwich and a protein bar, it only takes a few minutes, but sure helps out during the course of the detail.



I also typically use my blower to blow out the client's garage (when it's available), it's an additional step that saves me time in the long run. Making sure my work area is clean keeps the possibility of dust or dirt contaminating a pad during polishing to a minimum.



Detailing out of the back of a Honda Civic can be time consuming in and of itself. I wish I had a dedicated "rig" so that I didn't have to play tetris with my supplies in the trunk, but that "rig" would cost $, the very thing I don't want to spend. :)
 
Chubs said:
HEY FRANK, I'm interested on how long on avg. your guys spend on a complete detail. Also broken down with just interior and just exterior.
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Actually, I'm a one man mobile detailing business. My detailing process and time spent isn't that much different from any other professional detailer, except that I bring my business to my customers. I go out to each customer’s home and personally detail their cars. I try to get to at least two average size cars or one SUV a day. An average car that I detail on a regular basis (about 2 to 3 times a year) takes about 4 hours to complete. That's about 1 1/2 hours on the interior and 2 1/2 hours on the exterior of most of my customers cars. SUV's take between 5 and 6 hours depending on size.



For example, a HUMMER takes about 2 hours to wash and thoroughly clean the exterior. Polishing and waxing the exterior takes about 2 hours. Cleaning and protecting the interior takes about 2 hours and I usually spend another 2 hours taking care of all the other small details involved with that type of vehicle, such as; polishing and waxing all painted surfaces under the hood and dressing all of the wheels wells. All totaled, that size vehicle takes about 8 hours to do a complete detailing.
 
twopu said:
Don't get me wrong, I don't want to sacrifice quality for speed. There are just great detailers on the board that can get a job done in half the time without sacrificing quality. I know the primary reason is just EXPERIENCE. I was just looking for tips/suggestions to be more efficient.
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Yes, the primary reason is EXPERIENCE. However, until a person gains the necessary experience, then it's important for them to understand that there is a fine line between becoming more efficient by either taking short-cuts or by actually improving the process.



Think about it; in order to maintain the same level of quality, you have to follow the same step-by-step process. And in order to follow the same step-by-step process, you have to allow more than enough time to do the job right.



With detailing, the focus should always be on doing the job right. That's basically what it's all about. Taking short-cuts in order to speed up the process, never really improves the process. Improving the process is always a result of careful planning and follow-up.



The key is to learn how to improve the process and at the same time also improve the overall finished appearance of each vehicle.
 
Sometimes you can become more efficient by *changing* the process, such as eliminating unnecessary steps. One example is the way some of us have been experimenting with *not* buffing off compound residue after every polishing step- e.g., I'll do a panel with 3M PI-III RC and the rotary, leave the almost dry compound on, and immediately follow with the same product using the Cyclo. *Then* I buff off the residue. This worked great on the black rent-a-Suburban- all it needed subsequently was a pass with Meg's #80 and it was ready to LSP. Others do something similar by first using a wool pad and then immediately following with a foam pad before buffing.
 
Accumulator said:
Sometimes you can become more efficient by *changing* the process, such as eliminating unnecessary steps. One example is the way some of us have been experimenting with *not* buffing off compound residue after every polishing step
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Good point. I sometimes do the same thing when applying various paint cleaners by hand.
 
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