Why are my washes taking so long?

J

John_K

New member
Hey all,



I've started cleaning cars more frequently than normal now because I'd to like to go into business doing this.



Anyways, I'm currently practicing using ONR and doing a basic exterior wash / dry and it just seems to be taking forever. Today I spent over an hour and a half :soscared: doing the following:



Wheels

Wheel wells

Tire Dressing on wheels

Exterior wash / dry

Door / trunk jam cleaning



IMO, this is taking entirely too long. I do the washes in my garage and primarily on my 3-series. Occasionally, I'll do my fiance's sports car too, and that takes just as long!!



Any suggestions to speed up my time? The equipment I use is:



2 buckets

2 Grit Guards

Variety of wheel brushes (big and small)

Black Magic Tire Wet

MF wash sponge

Two Microfiber towels - both are plush towels. One to soak up most of the water, the other to dry completely. I understand I need to use MF Waffle Weave towels and I have two from Detailed Image heading towards my house right now.

2-3 All Purpose MF and/or Terry Cloths
 
Sounds normal.



Your probably doing a very good job though and not missing anything. Keep in mind it takes a little while to prepare the materials.
 
That sounds about right to me. Doing a really thorough wash to my own car takes about 1.5 hours start to finish. Then another hour or two waxing...depending if I'm using the machine or by hand.
 
Don't worry about how long it takes, just keep doing a good job. Try doing it the some way each time and speed will come. Some times it take me 3 hours to do a SUV Wash/dry,vac ang a QD inside and out.
 
You're not far off, and you'll get a little faster as you get the system down. Keep in mind a small clean car (Mercedes E350) can be done (interior vacuum, interior wipe down, glass, exterior, wheels and wells) in an hour to hour and fifteen minutes, but get into a dirty SUV and you'll easily be an hour and fifteen to an hour and a half, possibly longer depending on the condition of the interior and exterior.
 
maybe increase the frequency of the washes? so it doesnt get as dirty?



I usually do one or two "big" washes a month, and ONR in the garage every 3-7 days. Im anal about my car though....and I now have a beater so the Focus wont get driven as much.



the ONR washes take 15-20 minutes...the "big" washes take 1-2 hours.
 
sounds about right man. and like the others said, dont worry about doing a fast job, worry about doing a thorough job. at least, that's what i am thinking about when i wash mine



=D
 
I usuallly spend an hour or so washing with ONR (Wash and dry panel by panel). Very thorough, take my time. When drying always makign sure to first swipe the area, then QD it.



I could go faster, but I want to focus on quality. Remember, it only takes a second of impatience/inattention to marr the entire vehicle.
 
Takes me about the same, depending how thorough I am (or not). 1-2 hours is about normal for a full wash like you described.
 
Sounds to me like your doing it right... It usually takes me 1.5-2hr to wash my camaro.. I'm super anal about blowing out all the excess water, drying the inside of the rims, ect. IMHO its well worth the time.
 
Thanks for all the replies everyone. The reason I'm concerned about speed as I would like to start my business cleaning cars soon and I know speed is of some importance (quality is #1 of course). You are right though that the car is definitely CLEAN by the time I'm done.



What is ironic, is I feel it takes even longer for my fiance's Sky and it is a smaller car!



Remember, this isn't even including the interior, so I would have to figure that in too.
 
Others have already said it, but I'll throw in my .02 - this is about the right amount of time to do a good job in my opinion.



I do my wheels/tires first, and that along takes a good amount of time with all the brushes, and careful attention to detail.



I've found that when you learn how to do a proper detail, it takes a bit of time. I don't have advice for you on speeding up to do this as a business except for the following - don't be so obsessed with speed that you turn out poor quality like so many other so-called 'detailers' out there today.



Yes, it takes time, but quality is rare in this business. Follow the lead of the pros on this site and I think you'll be headed in the right direction.
 
I agree with the others quality > time, but try this out on day...



Spend 30-45min doing your regular routine. This is obviously going to require you to speed up your motions as well as neglect some of the details you're used to covering, but there is no better way to see the end result of a 30min wash vs. a 1.5hr wash. You'll notice the 30min wash will look 85% of the long wash and probably be good enough if you just can't spend the long time, it will also demonstrate that the last 15% is that true "detail" work is where the skill and lots of time come in.
 
StadiumDetail said:
I agree with the others quality > time, but try this out on day...



Spend 30-45min doing your regular routine. This is obviously going to require you to speed up your motions as well as neglect some of the details you're used to covering, but there is no better way to see the end result of a 30min wash vs. a 1.5hr wash. You'll notice the 30min wash will look 85% of the long wash and probably be good enough if you just can't spend the long time, it will also demonstrate that the last 15% is that true "detail" work is where the skill and lots of time come in.
Click to expand...

Great idea! I think I will give that a shot, but based on what the group is telling me in this thread that I should stay the course and focus on quality as the top priority over time as speed should increase once I get better.



I made the mistake of paying $75 for a "detail" awhile ago (couple years back) and there were parts still not clean...Including the engine bay, wheel wells, etc.



I don't want to be one of those guys! Thanks again all.
 
I agree with most everybody else. An hour and a half seems about right. I do work on used cars for 3 places locally, and you are doing what I like to call a "delivery wash" for cars being sold / sent to auction.



These are the steps I take. If done right, you should be able to get a regualr car done in under an hour.



First, find a compression sprayer

Most people will have an old one laying around from weed killer or pestecide. Mix your degreaser in this, just be careful not to use too much.



Then get a couple long handled, soft bristle brushes, and a spoke brush.



Rinse the car with water



Take your compression sprayer, and walk around it spraying the wells, tires, and wheels. I also like to spray the lower panels, rubber trim, & bumpers. ( this will strip off wax )



Quickly use your long handled brush on the trim, panels, and bumpers. Then scrub the wells, and end with the tires.



You may need to rinse off the degreaser off the trim & panels as you go.



End with a pressure wash on the wells / tires.



If the wheels are chrome, I use acid after this step.



Then do the door jambs. Open all the doors, then spray with degreaser. Use your spoke brush to get in the jambs. Use the other long handled brush for larger exposed surfaces. Rinse with water as you go.



Do your normal wash & dry. I like to use wash / wax soap to speed things up. Especially if I used degreaser on the trim & panels.



Spray tire dressing when finished



The dressing overspray & door jambs can be finished with quick detailer, and a cloth.





Hopefully this helps. It is the only advice I can give at the moment, I am in somewhat of a hurry.



Good luck!
 
I wish I could do a wash in 1.5 hours. To do what you did takes me twice as long. I don't see how some people here can do the washes in the time they say they can. I'm not doing it for money so I don't really care but there is no way I could wash a car to my standards in 30 min like some say they can.
 
My girlfriend recently bought a white 08 clk 350 with 20k and a couple weeks back we had a warm saturday in NY, well I spent 2-3 hours just cleaning the exterior. The rims were so flithy and everything showed up on white, that it took awhile. She chilled in a lawn chair and got some color while I worked!! haha-needless to say she returned the favor later that night by taking me out for sushi and home for dessert!!!
 
nygoat03 said:
My girlfriend recently bought a white 08 clk 350 with 20k and a couple weeks back we had a warm saturday in NY, well I spent 2-3 hours just cleaning the exterior. The rims were so flithy and everything showed up on white, that it took awhile. She chilled in a lawn chair and got some color while I worked!! haha-needless to say she returned the favor later that night by taking me out for sushi and home for dessert!!!
Click to expand...

Sushi is good stuff!! My wife-to-be and I love going out and trying new dishes!
 
Just a quick example for you...



My dad came to me a bit ago and asked me to give him a quick wash on his black car. This is a car that I do regular details, wheels (inside of wheels too) are kept up, regular waxing, and had a full paint polish less than 5Kmi ago, it was also clean other than road dust and a lot of tire sling. To wash, wheels, wheel wells, dry with towels and compressed air, and a quick spray wax for a final wipe took me 25min.



This is by no means a detail, the equipment is already set up from my other details today and the car is impecable, but for your personal vehicle you should be able to do a simple wash in 30min or so. If this was a detail prep, or a regular vehicle off the street it would take me minimum 1hr but more than likely more.
 
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