Why are my washes taking so long?

[Tony1]

That is great, if you have lots of time on your hands; which obviously you do. Paying someone to detail your car is about convenience. Most people would rather be spending their time working or doing other important things. Your point is like saying you do not go to McDonald's because you can make a better hamburger at home. You go to McDonald's because you can get pretty darn good burger very quickly without making a mess of your kitchen. One other point; I pay more attention to my customer's cars than my own, because they are paying me for a service, and I want to exceed their expectations.

The people on this site though do their own cars or they wouldn't be here. Detailing to people here is not a chore or hassle but a passion and/or obsession and it's something they would rather do than almost anything else.



Things are getting off topic. The whole point was how long it takes people to wash a car. It takes me a long time because of my attention to detail not bad technique and the reason some get done faster is they pay less attention to detail than I do.

 

[15951]

So, have you ever paid to have your car washed, vacuumed, and waxed like you mentioned? If so, how much did you pay? If you are on this site, I would imagine you care about your car, correct? OK, so maybe you go to a commercial car wash and pay $20-$30 to have your car washed and vacuumed; only to have them scratch up your paint with dirty drying towels, put some greasy mess on your tires, smear your windows, barely wipe your dash, and then put some more greasy stuff on your dash. Would you rather pay $20-$30 for that service, or pay a quality detail company $100 to do the same service only to have the car look as good or better than if you had done it yourself?

Sheesh, I feel like I'm buying Amway here. To answer your question, I wouldn't go to a $20 tunnel wash, nor would I pay $100 for a pro to wash my car. I would much rather keep my $100 and invest 2 hours of my time to make the car look as good as I want to.



It is my opinion that South Florida pros cannot do the job I can for $100. They'll do an "ok" job, and I'll be out $100. Better detailers around here focus on paint correction and don't waste time with maintenance washes.



Frankly, I'm in the "other 99%" of the population that can't/won't afford $400/month to keep my car clean, especially when it would be in the name of my own laziness.

 

[Scottwax]

The people on this site though do their own cars or they wouldn't be here. Detailing to people here is not a chore or hassle but a passion and/or obsession and it's something they would rather do than almost anything else.

On the other hand, you have people who come here, read up on detailing, decide it takes too much stuff and time but have learned enough to help them better decide what detailer to use.

 

[imported_hooked]

What's your drying technique? I see that you use two towels. I've been trying to use both towels at the same time...one in each hand. I'll wipe up the ONR liquid with the first towel and then pick up the left overs with the other one. Don't really know if this speeds things up. I also take about 1.5hrs to wash my car including the jambs and wheels/wells. Some place I could probably cut time out is in the jambs and wheels. My technique there is probably not very efficient.

 

[Accumulator]

The people on this site though do their own cars or they wouldn't be here. Detailing to people here is not a chore or hassle but a passion and/or obsession and it's something they would rather do than almost anything else..

Heh heh, I can't help but post some more of my Autopian Heresy For me it *IS* merely a "chore and a hassle" and I'd rather do other stuff. But it's a chore that needs to be done, and I gotta do it myself to get the results I want and to have the scheduling work out for me. And after building this home garage/shop I'm kinda obligated to DIY it.

What's your drying technique? I see that you use two towels. I've been trying to use both towels at the same time...one in each hand. I'll wipe up the ONR liquid with the first towel and then pick up the left overs with the other one.

I blow most of the water off with the AirWand. Then dry the glass 100% with my WWMF (this dampens the WW a bit, "priming" it). Then, panel-by-panel, I spritz some QD on each panel, hang the QD bottle by its trigger from my rear pocket, and dry the spritzed area with two WWMFs (or sometimes a plush MF mitt followed by a WWMF), using both hands the way you do, and fogging the surface of the panel with my breath before the final wipe.



After most of the drying has been done that way, I wipe off the wheels and tires and then start on the jambs, engine compartment (I'll usually go through a lot of swabs after using towels on the large areas), and trunk, again using QD spritzes before drying. Then I start blowing out the nooks and crannies with the air compressor. When that's done, I wipe out the wheelwells and at least most (if not always *all*) of the undercarriage.



Then I move the vehicle back and forth while riding the brakes to wipe the surface rust off the brake rotors. Then I spray the wheel barrels with FK146 and rewipe them *VERY* carefully to get any of that surface rust that might have settled there (gotta be careful not to instill marring).



Then I inspect for the inevitable little drips that've happened while I was finishing up.



The above is how I dry after a regular, maintenance-type wash. If I'll be doing correction or some big "full detail" afterwards I do it differently, ditto if the car is already basically spotless and I'm just giving it a quickie wash to clean off dust/etc. that others would merely QD/CCD/ONR.

 

[efnfast]

For me it *IS* merely a "chore and a hassle" and I'd rather do other stuff.

Hang him. :bat

 

[Dan]

Hang him. :bat

Haha... yeah. I love cleaning my car, one of my favorite things to do. Being in the garage, cleaning, polishing, waxing is my relaxing time.

 

[Accumulator]

Yeah, I know...and I can remember when it was kinda fun. [Heck], I remember when doing oil changes and messing with carburetors was my idea of fun.



I'm not saying there's no sense of satisfaction in a job well-done, but, eh.... :nixweiss These days I put detailing in the same category as shining shoes and sharpening cutlery. If I could just wave my magic wand (or maybe a magic checkbook ) and always have a perfectly detailed vehicle without ever doing anything, that'd be swell by me.

 

[efnfast]

Yeah, I know...and I can remember when it was kinda fun. [Heck], I remember when doing oil changes and messing with carburetors was my idea of fun.



I'm not saying there's no sense of satisfaction in a job well-done, but, eh.... :nixweiss These days I put detailing in the same category as shining shoes and sharpening cutlery. If I could just wave my magic wand (or maybe a magic checkbook ) and always have a perfectly detailed vehicle without ever doing anything, that'd be swell by me.

:dig



:bat:bat:bat:bat



:rules:

 

[Tony1]

Heh heh, I can't help but post some more of my Autopian Heresy For me it *IS* merely a "chore and a hassle" and I'd rather do other stuff. But it's a chore that needs to be done, and I gotta do it myself to get the results I want and to have the scheduling work out for me. And after building this home garage/shop I'm kinda obligated to DIY it.

You spend a lot of time on a detailing forum for someone that considers detailing a chore and a hassle. Don't understand that:think:

 

[Kean]

You spend a lot of time on a detailing forum for someone that considers detailing a chore and a hassle. Don't understand that:think:

....for some, the enjoyment/satisfaction is more in the end result than the process that gets you there. I can understand that.



I think of it this way... Some people really like gardening and probably find it relaxing. Personally, I generally consider it a hassle. However, I still appreciate the end result of my hard work and like how it looks/feels when my lawn(s) and gardens(s) are well maintained. I may not necessarily enjoy performing the steps that get me there but I can still take an interest in the subject and discuss/share with others.

 

[Accumulator]

Kean- Heh heh, yeah....I've been slaving over some landscaping recently and it's sure not my idea of fun!



But yeah#2, it's just like having a perfectly maintained, spotless vehicle. My property, my clothes, my dogs, you name it and I'm all about doing it right.

You spend a lot of time on a detailing forum for someone that considers detailing a chore and a hassle. Don't understand that:think:

Heh heh, yeah...I spend a lot more time posting than I do detailing Which is OK as the vehicles don't need all that much any more.



Eh, I like discussing topics I'm familiar with, and especially offering advice to newbies...advice that can save them time and frustration. I often think it's kinda a carry-over from/continuation of my teaching.



If there were internet forums like Autopia for other topics I'm interested in *THAT WERE AS NICE AS AUTOPIA*, I'd be posting about other stuff too, but I spend enough time here already! E.G., I liked posting about non-detailing stuff on the (apparently now-defunct) Detailing the Man forums. Most internet forums just aren't, uhm...my kind of places for various reasons.



Maybe I oughta try to jump-start the threads about exercise, books, and other non-detailing stuff :think: They never seem to stay active for long....

 

[black03mach]

fogging the surface of the panel with my breath before the final wipe.

why do you fog surface with your breath? Or were you being facetious:doh

 

[John_K]

Holy toledo this thread blew up! I didn't expect my first detail related thread to become such a hit.



A little insight into my background and maybe it can answer why things take so long for me:



-I have been using ONR for about a month now.

-I'm wanting to start a business on the side detailing cars but want to perfect the basics before I go into more technical things such as waxing, polishing, etc. before I even get near a customer's car.

-I am probably taking my time a little too much, and my prep isn't perfected yet.

-I recently got two MASSIVE Waffle Weave towels from Detailed Image, so this should speed up my drying time significantly



Should I use one waffle weave to "blot" the wet areas, and then use the other to wipe it dry? I tried an Autozone Waffle weave before and didn't have great results, but those towels are significantly "cheaper" in quality.



John

 

[Accumulator]

why do you fog surface with your breath? Or were you being facetious:doh

NO, no...I was serious. The little bit of condensation seems to make *any* wipe-off go a little better. I do it with LSPs as well as when drying. About the only time I don't do it is when buffing off polish residue.

..

-I have been using ONR for about a month now.

-I'm wanting to start a business on the side detailing cars but want to perfect the basics before I go into more technical things such as waxing, polishing, etc. before I even get near a customer's car...

Actually, I could argue that washing is one of the hardest things to do properly (i.e., without instilling marring)! IMO polishing and waxing aren't all that tough once you get the hang of it, but it's easy to put some little scratches in during the course of *any* wash and for me that's the biggest, or at least the "root" problem. If you can avoid instilling marring, you won't have to do much polishing.

-I am probably taking my time a little too much, and my prep isn't perfected yet.

Better to take your time and not mar the paint than save a few minutes and have to polish (well, IMO).

-I recently got two MASSIVE Waffle Weave towels from Detailed Image, so this should speed up my drying time significantly



Should I use one waffle weave to "blot" the wet areas, and then use the other to wipe it dry? I tried an Autozone Waffle weave before and didn't have great results, but those towels are significantly "cheaper" in quality.

That would probably be safer than just wiping with both. But I gotta admit that I never seem to do all that much blotting as it's just soooo inefficient time-wise (gee, sounds like I'm disregarding my own advice there, huh? ).

 

[John_K]

Thanks for the reply Accumulator. Maybe I am thinking too deep into this, but I'm glad to see I'm at least on the right track!

 

[Accumulator]

Maybe I am thinking too deep into this, but I'm glad to see I'm at least on the right track!

Heh heh, IMO washing/drying is one areas where people are *NOT* prone to overthinking it...quite the opposite



EDIT: See, this is exactly why I like posting about this stuff even if I don't really love *doing* the work in question What's worth (over) thinking about vs. what should you just jump into? What should you think about and why? The actual detailing can be a "Trojan Horse", so to speak...

 

[mikenap]

Heh heh, IMO washing/drying is one areas where people are *NOT* prone to overthinking it...quite the opposite



EDIT: See, this is exactly why I like posting about this stuff even if I don't really love *doing* the work in question What's worth (over) thinking about vs. what should you just jump into? What should you think about and why? The actual detailing can be a "Trojan Horse", so to speak...

Lol, I for one would miss Accumulator's helpful posts. Seems like he usually has an insightful response to most questions and a polite way of getting his points across. Now if Autopia would only impose a "smiley tax" on him, we'd be set!

 

[Accumulator]

..Now if Autopia would only impose a "smiley tax" on him, we'd be set!

Heh heh...yeah, my wife sorta about my liberal use of the emoticons too.

 

[efnfast]

Should I use one waffle weave to "blot" the wet areas, and then use the other to wipe it dry? I tried an Autozone Waffle weave before and didn't have great results, but those towels are significantly "cheaper" in quality.



John

I blot and blot and blot and just never am satisfied with the blot method.

Normally what i do is spray some QD onto my waffle weave (M135) wipe the area with a few gentle passes, then finish up with soft microfiber