One-steps?

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dfoxengr

New member
When people refer to one-steps I get the impression that these are done fairly quickly (saw 40 minutes/car mentioned in another thread), not as many passes as say a polish for correction work. That they're not meant to remove all swirl marks, but just to add some more depth and gloss to neglected paintwork, and remove some water spotting.



When you sell a one-step to your customer, and I see many of you have these in your wash/wax exterior packages on your sites;



How many passes are you making (vertical/horizontal per section count as one pass to me)?



What is your favorite pad/polish to use?



How many minutes does a specific vehicle take you?
 
Apply product to the pad once per section, work it until it breaks down (which can vary depending on environmental conditions, and how the product reacts with the paint). I don't usually count passes, I just watch what the product is doing on the surface.



I can usually one-step a Toyo-baru 86 in ~45 minutes with the Rupes and HD Polish/foam polishing pad.
 
Well I used to tell the customer it will mainly brighten up the finish and add more gloss but there will still most likely be blemishes left behind depending on condition of the paint, and mostly used Optimum GPS. But then I used HD Polish (first time I used it) on a very heavily swirled Gran Marquis and it came out flawless after one pass, so now my one-steps are HD Polish topped with a spray wax/sealant (OCW or Opti-Seal). It only takes 10 - 15 minutes longer than using an AIO product and the results are so much better. I don't tell the customer it will definitely remove all swirls, because it may not on hard paint, but I tell them they *should* see a considerable amount of swirl removal but it's not a garantee as that's not the goal of that particular detail package, but many times all swirls and light blemishes are certainly gone after one pass.



To me one pass is apply product to pad, go over the area I'm working up and down slowly 2 or 3 times or until I feel it's good for what I'm trying to accomplish, varies a little vehicle to vehicle. I usually use an orange or white LC pad, or lately I've been using the orange or blue HF pads since they've been on sale.



That huge Gran Marquis took about an hour and full size SUV's take about 90 minutes with a PC7424XP. That includes waxing/sealing.
 
My level 1(some may refer to it as a 1 step but it is not necessarily 1 step) is about a price point for clients who do not want to spend $1,000+ on full correction. It is priced so that I spend a full day on the exterior. It may mean the paint get SIP or it may end up with only 205/ff/ect. What I use is more a product of the paint and how it responds to whatever I am trying out. A jet black surface may end up with something that can be finessed a bit more or silver paint may look great with SIP and suitable pad that will cut more.



Years ago I had a set product and pad combination that was used for level 1. I charged less and there was less room for changes, but after a while I felt like I could offer more by charging more and playing it by ear, car to car. This enables me to cater each client's service to what they need. Sometimes they ask for something between a level 1 and 2.
 
Most cars, I can do the polishing step with a true one step in 35-45 minutes. Several slow passes under heavy pressure, then a few at a slightly slower speed setting and less pressure. Its enough to remove light defects, reduce heavier ones, remove most water spotting, etc. If there are areas that could really use an extra step, I'll point it out to the customer and let them decide if they want me to do more steps in those areas.
 
Most better quality 1 step AIO contain the same micro diminishing abrasives that polishes do. I don't think my two step process looks much better than when I use an AIO. Anyone who is making money detailing has found a quality AIO and using it often.
 
And for the record there are one-steps as in AIO and some folks refer to one-step polishes as polishes followed by an LSP, more aptly named a polish and wax.
 
rustytruck said:
Most better quality 1 step AIO contain the same micro diminishing abrasives that polishes do.
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While that is true, I most definitely see a difference on darker colors when using a dedicated polish versus an AIO (take HD Speed vs. HD Polish for example -- Polish definitely can cut more than Speed can). So while I do offer and use an AIO as a "base" service, on dark colors especially I opt to use a polish instead.
 
Takes me about 30-45 min to do a true one step. I usually use either Speed, or Polish topped with Opti-Seal. I will usually go with the polish if the paint has a lot of defects.
 
For me a "1-step" is doing 1 correction step with a dedicated polish (not AIO) and whatever pad/tool combo yields the best results with the paint I'm working on. This means I'm going over the car section by section performing a full polishing cycle (average 4-6 passes) or until the polish has broken down (DAT). This on average will take me 2-3 hours to perform on an averaged sized car. I don't consider waxing to be "step" in any of my packages.
 
RaskyR1 said:
For me a "1-step" is doing 1 correction step with a dedicated polish (not AIO) and whatever pad/tool combo yields the best results with the paint I'm working on. This means I'm going over the car section by section performing a full polishing cycle (average 4-6 passes) or until the polish has broken down (DAT). This on average will take me 2-3 hours to perform on an averaged sized car. I don't consider waxing to be "step" in any of my packages.
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Ditto.



sent using my thumbs, mispelling most words
 
RaskyR1 said:
For me a "1-step" is doing 1 correction step with a dedicated polish (not AIO) and whatever pad/tool combo yields the best results with the paint I'm working on. This means I'm going over the car section by section performing a full polishing cycle (average 4-6 passes) or until the polish has broken down (DAT). This on average will take me 2-3 hours to perform on an averaged sized car. I don't consider waxing to be "step" in any of my packages.
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Exactly!!!!! That is my "one step machine polishing"



Now if we are talking AIO as a one step, then something like optimum poliseal on a black or hydro tangerine pad is hard to beat!
 
I count a "step" as how many times I'm going around the car. If I use an AIO that's 1 step. If I go around the car once and polish it then go around a second time to wax it that is a second step.
 
rustytruck said:
I count a "step" as how many times I'm going around the car. If I use an AIO that's 1 step. If I go around the car once and polish it then go around a second time to wax it that is a second step.
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Does washing, rinsing, drying, clay...all count as steps too? :D



Just bustin your chops! ;)
 
RaskyR1 said:
Does washing, rinsing, drying, clay...all count as steps too? :D



Just bustin your chops! ;)
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I knew I was forgetting something. It felt like I was picking up my polisher way to soon.
 
thats how paul dalton gets to 61 steps or whatever....



pre-rinse

pressure wash off

foam car

wash car

rinse car

spot free rinse car

blow dry car

towel dry car

= 8 steps right there!!!



LOL
 
toyotaguy said:
thats how paul dalton gets to 61 steps or whatever....



pre-rinse

pressure wash off

foam car

wash car

rinse car

spot free rinse car

blow dry car

towel dry car

= 8 steps right there!!!



LOL
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wilder.gif
 
RaskyR1 said:
For me a "1-step" is doing 1 correction step with a dedicated polish (not AIO) and whatever pad/tool combo yields the best results with the paint I'm working on. This means I'm going over the car section by section performing a full polishing cycle (average 4-6 passes) or until the polish has broken down (DAT). This on average will take me 2-3 hours to perform on an averaged sized car. I don't consider waxing to be "step" in any of my packages.
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Exactly the same here. A 1 step correction I use a polish to try to yield the best results I can.
 
I had an interesting mini-discussion with a gentlemen on another forum about this topic. He was flabbergasted that my "1 step polish" takes 45-90 minutes depending on the vehicle. He said that his "1 step" takes 8 hours minimum.



It seems to me that when if I need to do 4-6 different passes with a polish to get the correction I need, I'm would be wasting a lot of time by not using a more aggressive product to cut down on the steps, then finishing with the polish. I could not imagine doing 4-6 passes on 1 panel with polish just to say that I'm within "1 step".



I told him that we were probably missing each other on the difference between a "1 step polish" and a "1 step correction".



He was a bit snooty and said yes we were. :)





Any thoughts on this? It seems like everyone defines 1 step completely different.
 
IHA Mark said:
I had an interesting mini-discussion with a gentlemen on another forum about this topic. He was flabbergasted that my "1 step polish" takes 45-90 minutes depending on the vehicle. He said that his "1 step" takes 8 hours minimum.



It seems to me that when if I need to do 4-6 different passes with a polish to get the correction I need, I'm would be wasting a lot of time by not using a more aggressive product to cut down on the steps, then finishing with the polish. I could not imagine doing 4-6 passes on 1 panel with polish just to say that I'm within "1 step".



I told him that we were probably missing each other on the difference between a "1 step polish" and a "1 step correction".



He was a bit snooty and said yes we were. :)





Any thoughts on this? It seems like everyone defines 1 step completely different.
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I define a one step as working the polish one time/one pass until I feel I've worked it enough, and sometimes full correction is achieved, sometimes not, depends on the paint/defect level and is charged at a flat rate. Correction is different and would most likely be done with more than 1 step unless that's all it takes and is charged by the hour and is worked on however long it takes to achieve full correction.



Yeah different people define it different ways and this is fine as long as your customer knows what to expect and you charge accordingly.
 
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