Detailing Job - Plan of Action

[Relentless58]

I have my 1st paid job coming up in exactly one week. My client has requested not to do any polishing. He wants simply to have a well waxed car in preparation for winter. Below is a list in chronological order of what I plan to do.

Please reply on this thread and let me know what you think of my plan of action.
1) What would you change?
2) How long would it take you (realistically)?
3) What would you expect to get paid?
4) What do you think of the products I will be using?
5) What would you do differently?

2007 Nissan Altima 3.5L SE {Satin White Pearl}

1.Interior
-Pick up interior - place all personal items in a bag and place on passenger seat.
-Vacuum interior and seats
-brush out and vacuum vents and crevasses
-wipe down all plastics with interior polish
-clean all interior windows, glass, screens
2.Engine Bay
-Hose down engine bay
-spray engine degreaser onto engine
-scrub with bore hair brush
-let sit for 15 minutes
-vacuum out trunk while engine degreaser is working
-Rinse engine bay
-run car for 15 minutes to help dry engine bay
-wipe down engine bay with old cloth
-spray down engine bay with interior detailer
-wipe down detailer
-dry off overspray on the rest of the car
3.Clean wheels & tire
-Rinse down wheel and tire
-wash with CG Citrus
-rinse
-spray with wheel cleaner - Griot's Garage Wheel Cleaner
-let stand and scrub with cleaned bore hair brush
-rinse wheel
-apply tire shine spray to wheel well
-dry wheel
-dry any overspray on car
-Repeat on other 3 units
4.Decontaminate paint
-wash car using CG citrus and Dual bucket method
-dry car
-tape off acrylic
-apply CarPro iron-x to whole car
-start rubbing in with damp sponge
-rinse
-apply CarPro tar-x
-start rubbing in with damp sponge
-rinse
-clay entire car from top to bottom using Mothers QW
-wash entire car with CG Citrus
-dry car with new microfiber
-tape off edges
-apply CarPro eraser to whole car
5.Wax Application
-Prime LC 5.5” CCS Blue Foam Pad
-Apply Wax -Pinnacle Liquid Souverän Wax
a) roof
b) hood
c) trunk
d) Front driver fender
e) driver side doors
f) passenger side doors
g) front passenger fender
h) front bumper
I) rear bumper
j) hand apply wax to drivers side door jam and other small crevasses
-Remove Wax
-Same order as above
6.Finishing
-peal all tape up
-Wipe entire car with Mothers Professional Instant Detailer
-apply tire dressing
-Wipe off wheels
-wipe down all door jams using QD
-clean inside and out side of all windows using Stoners
-put all personal items back in place
-deliver car
7.GET PAID$$$



Thanks for your input. I plan on posting a full write-up of the work I do.

[allenk4]

Everyone does it differently. Here are my thoughts

Agitate the carpet before vacuuming, it speeds up the process and gives better results

If you are going to use Griot's wheel cleaner, apply it to the wheel when it is dry, not after washing with soap. Skip the washing w soap step all together, unless you think the wheels can be completely cleaned w/o using to wheel cleaner

What is the acrylic you are taping off prior to Iron-X. May not be necessary. IX is pH neutral and pretty safe stuff

Do all of the glass at one time, at the end of the detail

Do a baggie test to make sure it needs claying. Often, only the horizontal panels are contaminated

Eraser is not needed when using Wax as your LSP

Move this to the end, "apply tire shine spray to wheel well". You wont get good results spraying on a wet wheel well. Either dry the WW with an old MF and apply or wait until the end, when you are dressing the tires and trim

[lawrenceSA]

I would also look at sorting the wheels out, then the engine bay, then the car.

This way, and runoff from cleaning the engine bay that will land up splashing on the front windscreen and down the front fenders and bumper, can be cleaned off while you are washing the car, instead of having to potentially wash the car twice.

I would also remove the tar before the iron - generally the tar spots will be bigger than the iron spots, so if you remove the tar first you will uncover iron contaminants, which you can then remove using iron-x

I have not personally used Tar-x, but generally with tar removers I try to spray on, let it dwell, gently wipe away with a clean MF towel - I try to avoid rubbing as tar can be 'hard' and easily scratch the paint.

[Relentless58]

Agitate the carpet before vacuuming, it speeds up the process and gives better results (I typically use the bristle part of the vacuum cleaner...What do you use to agitate the carpet?

If you are going to use Griot's wheel cleaner, apply it to the wheel when it is dry, not after washing with soap. Skip the washing w soap step all together, unless you think the wheels can be completely cleaned w/o using to wheel cleaner (Great note...This is really insightful. Now that I think about it, I only need to clean the wheel once! Good catch)

What is the acrylic you are taping off prior to Iron-X. May not be necessary. IX is pH neutral and pretty safe stuff (Mainly the headlights. I have used Iron-x on my Honda Accord in the past and have recently started to see an erosion of the clear coat on the acrylic lights. I can only assume its from the Iron-x. )

Do all of the glass at one time, at the end of the detail (Will do)

Do a baggie test to make sure it needs claying. Often, only the horizontal panels are contaminated

Eraser is not needed when using Wax as your LSP (Whats and LSP?)

Move this to the end, "apply tire shine spray to wheel well". You wont get good results spraying on a wet wheel well. Either dry the WW with an old MF and apply or wait until the end, when you are dressing the tires and trim

Thanks for all your feedback. I think it will make my process much more efficient.

[Relentless58]

I would also remove the tar before the iron - generally the tar spots will be bigger than the iron spots, so if you remove the tar first you will uncover iron contaminants, which you can then remove using iron-x

I have not personally used Tar-x, but generally with tar removers I try to spray on, let it dwell, gently wipe away with a clean MF towel - I try to avoid rubbing as tar can be 'hard' and easily scratch the paint.

Good note, I will try this and see what kind of results I get.

[thebeastofrock]

-clay entire car from top to bottom using Mothers QW
-wash entire car with CG Citrus


You will save so much time if you clay while you wash. Use the wash solution as your lube. Wash a panel with your wash media. While the panel is still wet with soapy water, clay like you normally would (no need for QD or drying at this time), then repeat for all panels of the car. Rinse, dry, and you're done! :xyxthumbs: