What's your Process/Efficiency Tips?

D

Driven Auto Detail

New member
Since the majority of you that spend time in this area of Autopia are pro's, I think it would be interesting to know what are some of your tips to save time/be more efficient during a full detail. I understand that in general it'll be wash-clay-polish-protect-interior. However, I'm more interested in details: during the wash, do you start with wheels or do those last; do you clay during washing; when doing the interior do you start at the top and work your way down, etc. Overall, just anything that you do that is a time-saver or helps you be more efficient, while still doing quality work.



Thanks,
 
wash, clay, dry, compound, polish, glaze, carnuba, interior

wash, clay, dry, compound, light compound, polish, sealant wax, topper carnuba wax, interior
 
I wash the wheels first, so that I can dry the car off as soon as I finish washing, without worrying about getting spray from rinsing wheels.



I also scrub the wheelwells after I wash the wheels.



If the doorjambs are really bad, I will do them before I wash the car, otherwise I wipe them down after drying the rest of the car.



Interior-wise, I do one side at a time, front, then rear, moving the seats back then forward.



Then I clean all the glass last.
 
Some that I do........



Clay while washing. Works with conventional washing and rinseless.



When washing rinseless style, I do a door, it's jam, and the interior window. Then you're done! You don't have to come back! DP's 4-in-1 does awesome on interior windows.



These two easily saves 15-30 minutes per vehicle.
 
justin30513 said:
Some that I do........



Clay while washing. Works with conventional washing and rinseless.



When washing rinseless style, I do a door, it's jam, and the interior window. Then you're done! You don't have to come back! DP's 4-in-1 does awesome on interior windows.



These two easily saves 15-30 minutes per vehicle.
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HMMM.....you just taught an old dog a new trick!:xyxthumbs
 
justin30513 said:
When washing rinseless style, I do a door, it's jam, and the interior window. Then you're done! You don't have to come back! DP's 4-in-1 does awesome on interior windows.
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That's really interesting. I never thought of using it on the interior windows. I'm definitely going to try that. Thanks!!!
 
1. Pre-Rinse

2. Pre-Soak Wheels, Tires & Wheelwells

3. Rinse Wheels, Tires & Wheelwells

3. Wash Jams

4. Wash Wheels and Wheelwells

5. Wash Engine compartment

6. Wash body

7. Rinse

8. De-bug body

9. Clay

10. Final Clay

11. Final rinse

12. Blow engine & Wipe body dry

13. Blow cracks and crevices

14. Wipe body again

15. Wipe Jams and Engine compartment

16. Final wipe outside

17. De-tar for polish
 
During the winter we like to actually do the shampooing before the wash because that gives us so much more dry time. It is also important to shampoo the mats while your doing your wheels to allow maximum dry time for those as well.
 
I use the four bucket method.. two for the body, two for the tire and wheel assemblies.



I also begin the wash process by cleaning the tire and wheel assemblies. I use a pressure washer for extremely dirty, brake dust encrusted wheels.



I then do the door jambs and the trunk jamb areas and engine compartment.



For very dirty cars, I mix up a "presoak solution" of car wash shampoo and water in a spray bottle and spray the vehicle with it to allow the dirt to "soften".



I also clay while washing. Wash the panel, rinse, apply either a soapy water souution or QD to the panel and clay.



I use a leaf blower to get water out of cracks and crevices.



After the car is washed and dried, I then tape off the plastic mouldings, tail light edges and any edges that could be a problem when polishing. A few minutes if taping saves hours of cleaning them afterwards. I also tape newspaper to the exterior glass to prevent splatter from buffer sling and mask off cloth covertible tops for the same reasons.



I use 33 gallon size trash bags, slit them on edge and use them to cover the wheels to prevent any buffing splatter from landing on clean wheels.
 
Anyone ever washed, then compounded, washed again and the finished with a lighter polish to remove the wash/dry scratches?
 
HenrikP said:
Anyone ever washed, then compounded, washed again and the finished with a lighter polish to remove the wash/dry scratches?
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Why wash after compounding? Thats just adding more work.



Just a few things i do:

I clay while washing sometimes.

If i clay after washing and drying i dont wipe the QD off the panels.

I do the interior while the sealant is setting up.

I dont remove every spec of polish residue after each polishing step.
 
Wash - I save a few mins by using QEW, ONR or DP 4in1.

Clay - this one can be a real time-killer, I like to clay with a QD then leave the QD residue during compounding.

Compound - using a fast cutting compound saves time. Presta is a good example of this - Optimum is not.

Polish - Not a lot of good ways to save time on this step - its the most important one to get right. I like to park the car in a shaded spot thats near the sun - so I can pull it out quickly to inspect my work.

Seal or Wax - I like to wipe it off with a spray wax like Aquawax or OCW. It speeds up the removal and adds a little extra kick.

Windows - I use Poli-Seal to remove any crap that washing didnt get or splatter that I kicked up during compounding. It also adds a "rain-x" like film to make the windows bead. This is a lot quicker than cleaning with glass cleaner then rain-x-ing.



Interior - I fill a bucket with a little bit of water (maybe 12-18oz) then toss in 2-3oz of Woolite. You can dip a towel in it and use that to clean leather and vinyl. I keep a Magic Eraser in the bucket for any grimy spots that the towel alone won't clean easily.

Interior crevices, cracks, etc - I soak the area in a little water/woolite solution then use a vacuum attachment with a brush on it. This cleans the crap out around shift boots and the like much faster and better than using a toothpick.

Carpets - Spray with folex, use a PC brush attachment to agitate, vacuum then extract. A good extractor speeds this process immensly but costs big bucks.
 
So wait a minute.....



When I am claying with a QD, I can leave the QD on the car? Then just go over the left over, dried up QD, with my compound/polish?



Never thought of that really.........

Guess I learn something all the time...
 
Big Things:

- Changing or Search for products frequently

- Washing after Clay, leave the residue and wipe it down with S&W or QEW for polishing.

- Doing 1 Step per Panel

- Moving Lights/Cords for every single step.

- Trying to do Polish Residue Clean Up



For now on I'll say divide the vehicle in 5 or 3 parts (Front, Mid, Back)

1) Wheels/Jam/Wells

2) Body Clean, Waterless Bucket Wash & Clay with Waterless Wash via Spray Bottle (QEW)

3) Let it Dry, Prep for Paintwork & Inspect Anything



Front: Compound (Pad Switch) Polish (PS) via Rotary, Wax via PC

Move to Mid (Top or Bottom Sides), then Back End

- Smear product on sections to avoid start/go



That's what I think really needs to improve on my end.
 
TexasTB said:
So wait a minute.....



When I am claying with a QD, I can leave the QD on the car? Then just go over the left over, dried up QD, with my compound/polish?



Never thought of that really.........

Guess I learn something all the time...
Click to expand...



You can if your clay doesn't seem to leave much residue. Then again, you can wipe it down in a few wipes that take about 5 seconds, helps to make sure absolutely no dirt is on the paint
 
SilvaBimma said:
Big Things:

- Doing 1 Step per Panel
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are you saying this is a problem of yours. Do you guys do the compound step and the final polish step on the panel before going to the next??



I usually compound the whole car, then do a final polish over the whole car...



is this an efficient way?



what do you guys do??



Thanks



Jim
 
Interior, clean:

• carpets,

• dash,

• headliner,

• trim,

• seats,

• under seats,

• storage bins,

• card trays,

• cup holders,

• steering column,

• rear window area,

• trunk, and

• engine bay.



Dress/condition:

• dash,

• trim,

• seats,

• under seats,

• storage bins,

• card trays,

• cup holders,

• steering column,

• rear window area,

• all applicable pieces in the engine bay, and

• all trim and plastics in the trunk.



Exterior Wash/clean:

• tires,

• wheels,

• wheel well,

• front grill,

• exhaust,

• door trim,

• door wells, and

• sunroof.



Claybar:

• body work,

• windows, and

• wheels and exhaust, as needed.



Compound/Polish:

• Find the appropriate compound/polish to remove swirling

• Then step down to either finish polish or to a light polish then finish polish

• This will include taping off the car, windows, tires, wheels, exterior trim

• Clean/polish all exposed metal/chrome/polished aluminum



Wax and sealant:

• 2 coats of sealant base just on top of the prepped paint (12 hours apart)

• Two coats of wax on top of the sealant at least (2 hours apart).

• 2 coats of sealant on wheels



Exterior dressing:

• Dress all black plastic,

• Rubberized interior trim,

• Rubber door/hood/trunk seals, and

• Seal all polished metal/chrome/aluminum.
 
Don't dry your car if you're planning on detailing the exterior. Waste of time.



Final wipe / detail the car down once really really good instead of 2 or more times.



For people that have shops - detail everything possible in sun light, instead of inside. I've seen 1000's of cases where people spend tons of time detailing the car inside the shop and think that the car looks good until they pull it outside. Do it outside(where it counts) and do it right the 1st time.
 
David Fermani said:
Don't dry your car if you're planning on detailing the exterior. Waste of time.



Final wipe / detail the car down once really really good instead of 2 or more times.



For people that have shops - detail everything possible in sun light, instead of inside. I've seen 1000's of cases where people spend tons of time detailing the car inside the shop and think that the car looks good until they pull it outside. Do it outside(where it counts) and do it right the 1st time.
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:2thumbs: :2thumbs: :2thumbs:
 
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