About how long does a full detail take you ?

[BrandonB56]

Im just wondering since i started my first full detail this weekend.

About how long does it take you to do a full detail.

as for me i started last night around 6

 

here is a little list of what i did

 

First( 2 hours)

I cleaned all four wheels and fenders

rinsed the wheels and tires down

sprayed fenders with apc

scrubed fenders with fender brush

scrubed tire trim

cleaned inside wheel with my drill

used green wheel cleaner and wheel brush on rims

then applied a coat of vrt

all on each wheel

 

id say this took me just under two hours

 

i then called it a night

washing: ( about 3 hours)

this morning i started around 12

first i rinsed the entire car very well

broke out the foam gun

rinsed it down again

did one more pass with the foam gun

then went to work with the 2 bucket wash system

drying:20 mins ( + 30 more mins if i were to completely dry)

i used the " pooling " ( i think its called ) water hose technique

i then pulled my car under cover

Broke out the leaf blower

by then the car was 95% dry

 

After that i clayed all the car ( including glass) : 5-6 hours

i went through about a bottle of detail spray ( is that normal)

i think the man reason that took me so long was because i had to tape off so many vinyl stripes on my car

 

Racing stripes

hockey stripes

rear black out

and gill inserts

 

tomorrow i will get back up

do kind of a semi wash on the car

and then use swirl an haze remover, revive polish and a coat of americana paste wax

 

clean all the interior windshields and all of the dash carpet leather etc

I feel like im taking to long ( but i know its all worth it )

Edit: my car is about 2 months old

 

any opinions / advice

and again please post on how long your full detail goes on

Edited January 16, 2011 by BrandonB56

[w0lfy]

depending on the size & condition of int/ext. between 8 to 24 hours......

 

the DS, you will get more use to how much needs to be sprayed and eventually use less just from practice; rule of thumb if you not sure spray more but yes for future orders buy DS by the gallons.

 

the key to speed is to get into a routine that works for YOU ( i clean interiors first on clients cars, mostly cause i like having only the paint & glass to work on at te end), its like everything the more you do it (full Detail) the faster you will get & may even pick up a few tricks from yerself as you go.

[03silvss]

ya i usually go slow and take my time, i dont go at it very hard so ill do my interiour till im satisfied , wash the truck and get it clayed then the next work on getting my exterior nice. so 2 slack days

[dipolley]

Got to agree with Wolfy on the Detail Spray; I have gotten to the point that I only buy by the gallon. And it smells sooooooo good. If you went through an entire bottle already you will need more when you you polish and wax. But not much more. I suppose you could just spray your pads with waterless wash or just water to reactivate the polishes and wax. Can I get a ruling on this?

 

If this is your first run, then a full weekend is a good time frame. As you get more experience you can get most of that done in a day. Before a show I get the exterior done first and vacuum the interior. The polishing of the trim and interior cleaning that can be handled on site is doen when I get to the show. Any over spray, you guessed it, detail spray. It is your best friend. Did I mention the smell?

 

If this is your first full detail, expect your hands to hurt by about Monday at 10 AM.

[mc2hill]

I like to start in the late afternoon. Do the wheels, then wash the car. After drying it, I will pull it into the garage for claying. Let it sit overnight, then begin the polishing in the AM. Depends on the condition of the paint and/or the level of correction wanted on how long this can take - maybe a few hours, maybe all day. If you're topping MSW with Americana, you will have to factor in the 'cure' time (min 12 hours) for the MSW.

[BrianT]

My Ram takes about 6 hours! Clay, SHR,MFP, MSW! Mind you 6 hours is outside only. I wipe the truck down completely after each application of product as well.

[1anonly]

Brandon, this is a question that will get you many different anwsers. The length of time of a detail will depend on how picky you are and what equipment you have. Since your car is 2 months old, it shouldn't be too swirled up. My first question is, do you have FMP? A 2 month old car probably doesn't need SHR. The FMP should be all you need. Also do you have a PC or are you doing this by hand? I see that you're planning on using Revive, so I'm guessing that you don't have a PC. Doing it by hand will make your arm hang, but it can be done. I would start with a 2x2 foot area and work it with the SHR (or FMP) check it out after a pass or two. If the area looks like what you are looking for then continue on with the rest of the car. As for a time frame, it's hard to say. A typical detail for me takes about 14 hours. (My details include 2 passes of SHR and FMP with a PC. Revive, then 2 Americana coats. Interiors take me around 2 hours tops because the cars I do have pretty clean insides to begin) The car that I won "Best Detail for 2010" took me 16 hours and that was with a little help.

 

Once you have your car's paint near perfect, the time to detail it will be less. Also the more you work on your car, the more efficient you will become. I can remember the first couple times I washed my car. I took over a hour to wash and dry it. Now I can do it in 20 minutes tops.

[JJ1o87]

Usually 24 hours for me. But don't go by me I seem to be the slow poke in the group.

[1FAST SS]

I don't think there is a timeline on how long it should take to complete. It is all about whether you are satisfied with the results. It doesn't matter if it takes me 10 hours or if you can accomplish the same results in 8 hours. All that matters is the results.

[Team Adam's]

For a vehicle in relatively good condition 6 hours +/-

 

For a vehicle in bad shape and wanting a FULL detail.... upwards of 3 days or more.

[w0lfy]

I don't think there is a timeline on how long it should take to complete. It is all about whether you are satisfied with the results. It doesn't matter if it takes me 10 hours or if you can accomplish the same results in 8 hours. All that matters is the results.

 

 

Mickey while this is true of personal cars (like junkman said @ clinic takes him three weeks lol), in a business mode most customers will be expecting @ least a close estimate of time required; just a side thought as i kno you r thinking of doing this part time

[dipolley]

For a vehicle in relatively good condition 6 hours +/-

 

For a vehicle in bad shape and wanting a FULL detail.... upwards of 3 days or more.

 

Ad if it is black?

[Doug123]

I think the first time for a detail takes the longest, esp. if the car is not new. The first time I worked on my 'pre-owned' HHR it took about 16 hours, with about 6 hrs. on the claying - ugh! (and it wasn't even finished)

 

It really needed the claying, and I went though almost a whole bottle of DS with just that process, and I am very fussy about a perfectly smooth finish- I always check and recheck my claying - I don't assume I got it all. The sandwich baggie test really works.

 

Nowdays, the claying is really fast, because the finish is SO much cleaner all the time. I have probably cut that time down by 3-4 hrs. It also was my poor PC technique that took way more time too. Now my technique has improved a bit, thanks to seeing Dylan demoing the products at a clinic. Now I get better results and it takes less time to get them. Also, now, with much better wash techniques, I swirl up the finish much less, so I have less to fix.

 

This is part science and part art, getting to know techniques, tools, and products and how to use each one in the best way. That is part of the enjoyment, and also, the stunning results!

[Kustom_FX]

For a vehicle in relatively good condition 6 hours +/-

 

For a vehicle in bad shape and wanting a FULL detail.... upwards of 3 days or more.

 

Yep the Mazda when I first got my PC Kit, took me about 36 TOTAL hours over 5 days, (I had to work a day in there) for full (well 97%) paint correction, engine, and interior.

 

The SS took me 4 days and I even skipped the machine work on 90% of the roof (I need a work platform). So like Dylan and everyone has said,it all depends on condition.

 

Hope this helps!

[Chris@Adams]

Depending on condition and how particular you are it could take hours or days!

[Budrun]

For exterior only about 8 hours. Thats clay, Swirl and haze, fine machine, machine was, and hand wax. Complete undercarage with VRt.

[chicklet]

The morning of the Junkman Clinic here in Atlanta...it took me about 2 hours to wash, dry, vac (interior), wipe down (interior), glass clean (ext/int), wipe down the engine bay (waterless wash), VRT tires and exterior plastic trim. That was a rush job at 30 degrees.

 

I love it when people tell me my car looks brand new (even the engine bay). I tell 'em its a year old and thanks to Adam's.

[randyfox]

Hmmm, now that I think about it, I averaged two days. But...that has been on cars that haven't had a proper detail. I think to do those same cars again, a lot less.

[Sandysmobilecar]

Usually about 3 hours Services (godaddysites.com)