Tips for Making Detailing Less Miserable & More Fun

mjlinane said:
Rinseless: https://www.youtube.com/GJ6AM3UC3QI
Click to expand...

Mike, it looks like your rinseless video got blocked due to music copyright.

It does seem to take me some time to do wheels in relation to doing the paint.

When using the master blaster, sometimes you just need to get 95% off and then use a towel to do some clean up but can see a van has some many crevices for water to hide to add time.

For some washing is almost a religious experience (although inefficiency can be a factor) so can take some time if you have the time.

  • Prep time (buckets, hoses, mixing up soap, one for wheels, one for paint)
  • Wheel area clean
  • Pre-treat and/or foam
  • Wash - rinsing can take a lot of time depending if done after each section
  • Drying paint and wheels
  • Using a detail spray if not during drying process
  • Cleaning jambs (doors, truck, hood)
  • Applying tire dressings
  • Cleaning glass
  • Clean up - brushes, mitts, buckets

Quick disconnects help to change sprayers as needed
Pressure washers make rinsing quicker

I do not think the 2 bucket method slows you down much but if you take your mitt and wipe for top of the door down to the bottom of the jamb as in one of the perfect methods that can save time...you can do that with a mitt too in a 2BM process but I think that is just wiping too long before changing or rinsing mitt.

Even if I did the mf towel approach (rather than mitts), I would still wipe to clean any area at least twice to be sure it is clean so that would always add time for me.

In the end you tailor the process to make the vehicle condition. For example, I may not choose to scrub the wells or clean the barrels if done regularly. You can use something like Poorboy's Bold n Bright for one step tire clean/dress.
 
Thanks Al. I believe it is a mobile thing because I can watch on a laptop but not my tablet. I will remake at some point without that background music.
 
Hi Jaddie,

Your tips are spot on and if followed will turn detailing from drudgery into fun with a boatload of satisfaction in the end!! :bigups
 
jaddie guess your vehicles are cleaner than most of the moms mini vans i do so often. i should elaborate a little on the tornado. i use it in conjunction with my mytee extractor when i am attacking bad carpet stains. it busts up stains like nothing i have seen. where i love it is dirty ingrained junk on door panels, dashes and door jams. i follow these with some ultima interior guard and damn it is done , looks great and lasts forever. learned so much about ultima from corey.
 
i don't want this to be an advertisement but switching to blackfire stuff made all the diff for me. I used to hate detailing, particularity the buffing off which I always want to do by hand. I was using a lot of collonite and rejex and it had a miserable buff off, at the end of the day I was beat.

Enter blackfire - the wet diamond and total polish and seal wipe off with one stroke, no dust anywhaere and I'm done in half the time.

But the ability that Crystal seal & Ultima Paint guard have, in that they don't need any buff off is what has changed my detailing life. I am done a lot earlier, but mostly, I don't have that damn dust in logos, fender edges and the like.

I will never use another LSP unless it's a WOWA product.
 
If you dont have one yet, I would suggest investing in a power washer. Doesnt have to be any more than a 1600 or 1800 psi electric unit for washing personal cars, but it would shave a lot of time off. They will also do a lot of the job for you when your cleaning fender wells and wheels/tires.
 
After wasting a lot of time and money on so many products and techniques, environments and methods, here are a couple things that come to mind:

Your shoes are key to not having everything ache at the end of the day, whatever comfortable shoe that works for you, go with that.

For hot weather, at least two fans on stands are essential, one on either side of the car (if you're mobile, take a small blower fan with you)

Staying hydrated keeps you from getting drowsy in hot weather also

The Under Armor line of clothing I find works well, but most moisture wicking type clothing works also

Music is also key to make the time go by and keep your mind from wandering and the day from dragging

Good lighting saves both time and strain, trust me, it's a pain in the ass to think you fixed a panel only to see at a different angle that you didn't do much. Also if you aren't well lit, you strain too much in odd positions to see the defects.

Go with ONR washes instead of traditional washes, I switched several years ago and unless I need to quickly rinse off a filthy car before washing with ONR, I'm not reashing for a hose. Also, it allows you to wash inside and thus out of the sun.
 
Dear Michael

I'm about to watch the second and third of your videos. I watched the wheel one earlier today and enjoyed it.

I had trouble viewing all of them. They'd play for a short while and cut off, but now I've downloaded them and can enjoy them with popcorn.

Thank you for sharing.
 
Don't waste your money on a heavy duty garden hose. All that will do is wear you out dragging that thing around all day
 
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