Please Post Labor Hours

M

mini1

New member
I see a couple posts with labor hours posted, but I really want to know how long each of these jobs are taking! Please post, in labor hours (per person if you work with with a crew), how long each of these jobs are taking.
 
Most of them are posted in the C&B if they feel the amount of time is somehow relevent to the end results. Alot of times it's not relevent. It takes as long as it takes and it won't be done a second before LOL. To me time is probably the least important aspect of detailing. I can get great results in just a couple of hours on some cars. Other cars it's going to take quite a bit longer. Then you have guys going for perfection that can eat up an entire week. In the end the results are the results.
 
mini1 said:
I see a couple posts with labor hours posted, but I really want to know how long each of these jobs are taking! Please post, in labor hours (per person if you work with with a crew), how long each of these jobs are taking.
Click to expand...



Too many variables really to give out a number because my 1-2 step process is different from one detailer to the next...



A one step can take from 5-8-10-12 depending on the vehicle. Same goes for a 2step, etc...
 
Then explain what exactly you did and how long it took to complete. People are listing chemicals, but nothing else. Time spent (labor hours) is VERY important.
 
what your asking for is something can not be determined until the job is complete. i have spent almost 50 hours on a car, but most of my corrections are done in about 6-10 hours depending on size, shape, color. to many aspects to determine what your asking.
 
mini1 said:
Then explain what exactly you did and how long it took to complete. People are listing chemicals, but nothing else. Time spent (labor hours) is VERY important.
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why do you feel it's VERY important? Every detailer is different. As long as they list the products and processes that should be all that's important. Just because it takes me 8 hours dosen't mean you or anyone else will take 8 hours. Someone else might take 6 hours while another person might need 12 hours or more to achieve the same results. we all work at our own pace.
 
mini1 said:
Then explain what exactly you did and how long it took to complete. People are listing chemicals, but nothing else. Time spent (labor hours) is VERY important.
Click to expand...





Okay I will bite, why is it VERY important? the responses have cleared up the issue imho. Me thinks there is a particular reason why you might want this information as only someone who does not know the process would be this interested in a fact that can vary greatly from person to person effecting the work.



The only person who will really care about this fact and should is the customer paying, and the owner of the service if they have employees who are not efficient with the labor times as it pertains to their pay(hourly versus flat rate).
 
I'm on both sides of the discussion here.... while I know every detailer has a different process and some are simply slower/faster than others, making the time it takes to get results irrelevant, I also agree with mini in a way in that some of the posts I see online list a work time of many many more hours than the same job took me to do (same car) and I would like to know, out of curiosity and also to hopefully better myself, what exactly is done during that time... when I see someone doing a full correction without an interior for 30 hours and 3-4 polishing steps it seems too long to me, so I'd like to know if they're spending a longer time on a panel working the polish, or other stuff...





For example I'll list my last 2-step detail process without interior...



10 minutes... wash/clean wheels, tires and wheel wells... basically I spray apc+ on tires and wheel wells, then P21S on wheels... I do one side at a time... let it sit for 1-2 minutes, then use a brush on the wheels, different brush on tires, and terry towel with TAW (now Prep Wash thanks to SuperBee haha) on wheel wells... this will obviously take anywhere from 10 mins to an hour depending on how dirty the wheels are and what design...



30-45 mins... wash car with 'traditional' 2-bucket method (No Eco $mart guy I don't want to know that it will take me 20 with eco $mart and friendly environment methods!)... so basically it's wash half roof, rinse panel, rinse mitt in rinse bucket, wash other half, etc... depending on car make/model, I'll usually wash half the roof and trunk, then rinse panels and mitt, then half roof and hood, upper side drivers, upper pass, lower driver, lower pass, rear bumper, front bumper...



30-45 mins... clay bar all painted surfaces

0 mins... dry... I dry panel by panel as I clay and since I don't dry between washing and claying drying time goes into claying time...



30-60 mins... test spots... I do 4-5 on the hood, 3-4 on roof, 1-2 on trunk and 1-2 on sides to see what combo would work best before doing the whole car... many times I'll take photos here to show before/after and also keep pulling the car in and out of the garage to see what our friend mr. sun says about the finish, so it takes somewhat long period of time for test spots



~2.5hrs 1st polishing step... this is counting pad spurring and buffing off residue between panels... basically, on an average sedan, like a BMW 3series, there are about 30 sections for me... 4 on roof, 2 trunk, 6 hood, 7 sides (roughly 1 for front fender, 2 for front door, 2 for rear door, 2 for rear panel... these overlap so it's not exactly divided like that) then 2 sections for each bumper... each section takes about 5 mins for the 1-step, to work the polish, buff residue, spur pad quickly, and move on.



~2.5-3hrs 2nd polishing step... same process as first (takes longer if paint requires RO to finish)



1hr wax/sealant and cleanup... after polishing I remove tape, wipe down the entire car, clean out door jambs, etc. from polish dust and residue... this takes about 15 minutes... I then apply KSG in about 5 minutes and let it sit while I do the rest of the work, which is touching up wheels if the didn't dry in certain spots, dressing all exterior plastic (wheel wells, trim, etc.), and polishing exhaust tips... this takes roughly 20-30 mins... after that I wipe off the KSG and clean the glass...



Finished a 2001 328 in about 8.5hrs with the above process...
 
i take several beer brakes so my 6-8 jobs really are 4-5hr jobs. lOL











but yes it depends. most of us get cars that are in pretty good condition with the regular swirling. but there are the cars that come in and have been poorly kept, RIDS everywhere, caked on brake dust, stained carpets, etc which signficantly add hours to a job.
 
This thread has inspired me. Feel free to scold me for the coffee stains on my detailing van's cupholders.



Pre service inspection



P1040463.gif


P1040464.gif




Start @ 12:59PM



P1040468.gif




Washed with ONR and clayed with Clearkote



P1040471.gif




Start polishing @ 1:34 PM



P1040472.gif




M105 w/ Wooly Bully, M85 w/ Foam, 3M Ultrafina w/ Blue on a PC, Collinite Insulator



P1050473.gif


P1050474.gif




Finished @ 3:47 PM



P1050476.gif
 
EcoAutoCT said:
Give or take.
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Can you go into a bit more detail... according to your time, you did 3-step polishing in less than 2.5hrs... that's about 45 mins per step over the entire car right? How big is your work area when you polish and how long do you work the polish? I was saying some go slow but damn if this isn't the complete opposite... I honestly don't know how to say I don't believe you in a nice way haha... good work, would've taken me at least 8-10
 
I'm not one for lengthy posts and tons of photos, so I'm not sure how much more detail I can go into?



I work the heavy cuts in a shoulder width area, just prior to dusting and med/light cuts I expand the area by 50%. I don't know how long each section takes as it's variable and just takes what it takes- could be affected by how much product I apply, surface temp, paint condition, etc.
 
EcoAutoCT said:
I'm not one for lengthy posts and tons of photos, so I'm not sure how much more detail I can go into?



I work the heavy cuts in a shoulder width area, just prior to dusting and med/light cuts I expand the area by 50%. I don't know how long each section takes as it's variable and just takes what it takes- could be affected by how much product I apply, surface temp, paint condition, etc.
Click to expand...



Gotcha.. keep it up.
 
lecchilo said:
I'm on both sides of the discussion here.... while I know every detailer has a different process and some are simply slower/faster than others, making the time it takes to get results irrelevant, I also agree with mini in a way in that some of the posts I see online list a work time of many many more hours than the same job took me to do (same car) and I would like to know, out of curiosity and also to hopefully better myself, what exactly is done during that time... when I see someone doing a full correction without an interior for 30 hours and 3-4 polishing steps it seems too long to me, so I'd like to know if they're spending a longer time on a panel working the polish, or other stuff...





For example I'll list my last 2-step detail process without interior...



10 minutes... wash/clean wheels, tires and wheel wells... basically I spray apc+ on tires and wheel wells, then P21S on wheels... I do one side at a time... let it sit for 1-2 minutes, then use a brush on the wheels, different brush on tires, and terry towel with TAW (now Prep Wash thanks to SuperBee haha) on wheel wells... this will obviously take anywhere from 10 mins to an hour depending on how dirty the wheels are and what design...



30-45 mins... wash car with 'traditional' 2-bucket method (No Eco guy I don't want to know that it will take me 20 with eco and friendly environment methods!)... so basically it's wash half roof, rinse panel, rinse mitt in rinse bucket, wash other half, etc... depending on car make/model, I'll usually wash half the roof and trunk, then rinse panels and mitt, then half roof and hood, upper side drivers, upper pass, lower driver, lower pass, rear bumper, front bumper...



30-45 mins... clay bar all painted surfaces

0 mins... dry... I dry panel by panel as I clay and since I don't dry between washing and claying drying time goes into claying time...



30-60 mins... test spots... I do 4-5 on the hood, 3-4 on roof, 1-2 on trunk and 1-2 on sides to see what combo would work best before doing the whole car... many times I'll take photos here to show before/after and also keep pulling the car in and out of the garage to see what our friend mr. sun says about the finish, so it takes somewhat long period of time for test spots



~2.5hrs 1st polishing step... this is counting pad spurring and buffing off residue between panels... basically, on an average sedan, like a BMW 3series, there are about 30 sections for me... 4 on roof, 2 trunk, 6 hood, 7 sides (roughly 1 for front fender, 2 for front door, 2 for rear door, 2 for rear panel... these overlap so it's not exactly divided like that) then 2 sections for each bumper... each section takes about 5 mins for the 1-step, to work the polish, buff residue, spur pad quickly, and move on.



~2.5-3hrs 2nd polishing step... same process as first (takes longer if paint requires RO to finish)



1hr wax/sealant and cleanup... after polishing I remove tape, wipe down the entire car, clean out door jambs, etc. from polish dust and residue... this takes about 15 minutes... I then apply KSG in about 5 minutes and let it sit while I do the rest of the work, which is touching up wheels if the didn't dry in certain spots, dressing all exterior plastic (wheel wells, trim, etc.), and polishing exhaust tips... this takes roughly 20-30 mins... after that I wipe off the KSG and clean the glass...



Finished a 2001 328 in about 8.5hrs with the above process...
Click to expand...



thats abour my time frame as well, involving those steps..
 
Just a few weeks ago you hadn't even touched a buffer and now you've moved on to 8.5 hour 3 step details. Pretty impressive.
 
Jakerooni said:
why do you feel it's VERY important? Every detailer is different. As long as they list the products and processes that should be all that's important. Just because it takes me 8 hours dosen't mean you or anyone else will take 8 hours. Someone else might take 6 hours while another person might need 12 hours or more to achieve the same results. we all work at our own pace.
Click to expand...



Exactly. The tone of the inquiry is a bit odd.



For me, My average job is 5-6 hours.



This one was 5.5, FWIW. However, I don't go to the Autopian level of 10-20 hour OCD (no market for it).



http://www.autopia.org/forum/click-brag/117843-otc-04-996-carrera-cabriolet.html



100% correction takes FOREVER.
 
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