a_guerrajr
New member
yup i take around 1 hr or more, depends how dirty and size of vehicle. but never in 15-20 minutes. i take my time.
I need to speed up my wash process like a pro ;-)
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JimmyCutlass
New member
I would estimate my average wash being just under 1 hr for exterior wash/dry, tires/wheels cleaned using respective cleaners, wheel wells and door jambs dried. More if the wheels are really bad, there is tar, door jambs need serious degreasing/APC treatment, pre-soak is needed.
Accumulator
Well-known member
I was thinking about this thread the other day while washing the MPV. I probably spend as much time doing its sliding side doors (and all their attendant stuff) than some people do on the whole wash 
I sure do seem to spend a lot of time washing/drying/QDing the various hinges on my vehicles! Nothing like the time I spend polishing/LSPing them though, glad I don't have to do *that* very often.
I *DO* get the '93 beater-Audi washed pretty fast, but it has issues that can only be solved with a year in the bodyshop anyhow.
Or you end up taking even *longer* than you once did I used to wash a whole lot quicker than I do these days, but I had to polish at least once a year too and I wasn't inspecting with the over-the-top methods I now employ.
At the 40 minute mark I'm probably starting on the bodywork proper, if the wheels/wells/undercarriage went quickly. Just so much stuff in those areas that seems to need attention. I have all my mitts/brushes/swabs close at hand, all my products hanging from the "wheel bucket", and I just can't figure how I'd do things any quicker :nixweiss I sometimes do the undercarriage rinses with the undercar wand (instead of crawling around on a creeper and doing it right), but that only saves a few minutes (does save me from getting as wet though).
And as I'm always saying, I don't "take my time"; I'm trying to get it done as quickly as I can without compromising the end-result. Usually using both hands at once and so on...working harder than many of my friends' workouts, that's for sure!
That's the sort of thing that *will* improve with experience. You'll learn to have a really good idea of what'll be called for and how to get things set up for the job.
As for having stuff ready to go, I do that before the "scheduled wash time". Maybe this is easier for me than the normal non-pro since I have a dedicated washbay that's usually set up just for this. No need to get out/put away the carwash stuff, other than the choice between stuff I use on the drivers vs. what I use on the garage-queens. And that's just a matter of which [stuff] I reach for from the same general areas.
Note that I think my redundant systems (i.e., hoses/buckets/etc. on each side of the wash bay) save me a lot of time. Not moving stuff around saves a lot of effort/hassle too.
I sure do seem to spend a lot of time washing/drying/QDing the various hinges on my vehicles! Nothing like the time I spend polishing/LSPing them though, glad I don't have to do *that* very often.I *DO* get the '93 beater-Audi washed pretty fast, but it has issues that can only be solved with a year in the bodyshop anyhow.
ALAN81 said:
Or you end up taking even *longer* than you once did
I used to wash a whole lot quicker than I do these days, but I had to polish at least once a year too and I wasn't inspecting with the over-the-top methods I now employ.At the 40 minute mark I'm probably starting on the bodywork proper, if the wheels/wells/undercarriage went quickly. Just so much stuff in those areas that seems to need attention. I have all my mitts/brushes/swabs close at hand, all my products hanging from the "wheel bucket", and I just can't figure how I'd do things any quicker :nixweiss I sometimes do the undercarriage rinses with the undercar wand (instead of crawling around on a creeper and doing it right), but that only saves a few minutes (does save me from getting as wet though).
And as I'm always saying, I don't "take my time"; I'm trying to get it done as quickly as I can without compromising the end-result. Usually using both hands at once and so on...working harder than many of my friends' workouts, that's for sure!
corrswitch said:
That's the sort of thing that *will* improve with experience. You'll learn to have a really good idea of what'll be called for and how to get things set up for the job.
As for having stuff ready to go, I do that before the "scheduled wash time". Maybe this is easier for me than the normal non-pro since I have a dedicated washbay that's usually set up just for this. No need to get out/put away the carwash stuff, other than the choice between stuff I use on the drivers vs. what I use on the garage-queens. And that's just a matter of which [stuff] I reach for from the same general areas.
Note that I think my redundant systems (i.e., hoses/buckets/etc. on each side of the wash bay) save me a lot of time. Not moving stuff around saves a lot of effort/hassle too.
imported_JoshVette
New member
Usually takes me at least 1- 1 1/2 hours to fully wash the car.
Process: Three Bucket wash (one for rims)
Presoak Soap
Rims
Inside Rims
Lug nuts
Tires
Wheel Wells
Underside of Rocker panel
Exhaust tips
Two bucket wash exterior
Rinse with open nosel
blow dry with leaf blower
Touch up with QD and MF towel
Windows inside out
Door jambs
Tire Dressing
Josh
Process: Three Bucket wash (one for rims)
Presoak Soap
Rims
Inside Rims
Lug nuts
Tires
Wheel Wells
Underside of Rocker panel
Exhaust tips
Two bucket wash exterior
Rinse with open nosel
blow dry with leaf blower
Touch up with QD and MF towel
Windows inside out
Door jambs
Tire Dressing
Josh
imported_JoshVette
New member
Probably the only reason some pro's can do it faster is they might have a team of guys working on one car, that can really cut the time in half or faster.
Josh
Josh
FinishLineAuto
New member
Well, the speed of a wash can vary greatly as far as what you are wanting to do and more so what the state of the vehicle is in for sure. For just to quickly wash your car to make it look like you don't driving dirt around 15-20 minutes to quickly wash the exterior meaning just the body panels and quick cleaning of wheels shouldn't take you more than 15-20 minutes. However, that's not really detailing a car that's just cleaning. I'd say if your car is about medium in the dirtyness category to detail the exterior (panels, wheels, door jams, windows, trims) should take you around 45-60 minutes, minus any paint correction (2 or 3 step). Sometimes however detailing can not be given any set time due to the fact that you never know how easy or hard a part might be until doing it.
I'm a part time detailer and have a full time job on top of that, so I do want to try and save some time if possible to feel I have some time off in the week. Here is what I do, when accessing the vehicle of what needs to be done, I write it down on a pad and then estimate how long I think the job will take plus my steps on what I'm going to do. It keeps me working towards a goal and not wasting any time that is not needed. Also, consider things like having everything easily accessible to get to. Other than that, things like a foam gun, pressure washer, better techniques and the right products can help cut time quite a bit.
I'm a part time detailer and have a full time job on top of that, so I do want to try and save some time if possible to feel I have some time off in the week. Here is what I do, when accessing the vehicle of what needs to be done, I write it down on a pad and then estimate how long I think the job will take plus my steps on what I'm going to do. It keeps me working towards a goal and not wasting any time that is not needed. Also, consider things like having everything easily accessible to get to. Other than that, things like a foam gun, pressure washer, better techniques and the right products can help cut time quite a bit.
VanityDetailing
New member
It used to take me about an hour for my car, with soaking the car, filling the soap bucket, washing the car, rinsing it, and then using the leaf blower.
Now, with ONR, I'm down to about 25 minutes, start to finish.
This is also just a quick wash though, nothing hardcore. The paint on my car is damn near indestructible, so I basically just wash it to get the bird poopies, bug guts, and dirt/pollen off of it. It's a lot of car, though.
Now, with ONR, I'm down to about 25 minutes, start to finish.
This is also just a quick wash though, nothing hardcore. The paint on my car is damn near indestructible, so I basically just wash it to get the bird poopies, bug guts, and dirt/pollen off of it. It's a lot of car, though.