How long should a decon + compound/polish + ceramic coat take to complete?

**Henga** · 08-10-2023, 02:34 AM

Okay so the setup for this question comes from my recent DIY of an SUV decontamination with a clay bar, then a compound/cut, then a finishing polish and then a ceramic coating. All in all it probably took me 16-20 hours of work to complete. There were a fair amount of scratches from machine brush washing.

I'm just wondering how long should a job like this take? Don't professional shops do all this in a day? I just don't understand how. At least for a medium/large SUV, there is so much surface area that it just seems impossible. I don't have a rotary, just an orbital so that would cut some time off surely, but still I don't see how you can get it done in a normal working day.

Am I missing something here? Am I just slow? Would a rotary halve the time it takes to complete the paint correction?

**Danube** · 08-10-2023, 02:40 AM

Speed comes with experience.

After 13+ years of detailing it takes me approx 20hrs for all 5 stages, for a small vehicle like VW Golf.

I do this for my own pleasure, my family and friends, and not for $$

For a medium 4WD It'll take me about 30hrs or so.

There are a lot of variables in this, such as condition of paint, color, 1 or 2 pack paint, previous history of detailing, etc.

At the end of the day, the quality of work and your satisfaction is what counts, not your speed.

Hope this helps.

**Coatingsarecrack** · 08-10-2023, 04:52 AM

Shops will usually have at least 2 people to get it done in a day.

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**UncleDavy** · 08-10-2023, 08:28 AM

I'm old so it takes me an entire weekend starting on Friday afternoon and ending on Sunday night to do a complete detail which includes wash, decon, clay, compound, polish and sealant on my truck. A professional shop has a crew of 3 or 4 young guys that will work on the vehicle and knock it out in one day.
Don't rush through it and just enjoy the process. I know I do. The final result is very rewarding.

**Paul A.** · 08-10-2023, 10:41 AM

Like UncleDavy, i'm also old however as a business owner i do this in 1 day. Might be 6 hours for a small vehicle or 10-11 hours for large.

I decon fully (wash, iron x, clay) anywhere from 1 to 1.5 hours. Rotary cut (fastest for me) from 2-4 hours. Fine polish with Flex 3401 from 2-4 hours. And finally prep wipedown and LSP from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

As previously mentioned it depends on vehicle size, paint condition, customer expectations and experience.

If it's your own vehicle take your time and do it so YOU are satisfied. It isn't about doing it fast but doing it right to the best of your abilities.

I have had those 20-30 hour jobs over 2 days because the client wanted as perfect as possible.

**opie** · 08-10-2023, 11:17 AM

I agree with Paul A on his working times for each step, as im similar to that. If im doing a coating, i would add more time to that part of it. If its a large suv or pickup and i need to use an actual clay bar intstead of a clay mitt due to heavy contamination, i would add a little more time to that part of process.

Also for the same size vehicles i would say 5 hrs average(for me) for polish step using flex gear driven da. Rotary time is about the same.

Imo, the amount of time basically comes down to experience, having the right tools to do the job for whatever you may encounter, and the real big one is your machines etc that you are using, and your ability to effectively use said tools

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**briarpatch** · 08-10-2023, 11:24 AM

Took me around 12 hours to do my Tundra. Paint was not too bad, but I also did not go after any deep scratches...perfection was not the goal. A lot of time was spent masking off for the polishing phase. I also think the coating itself has something to do with it....as it pertains to flash times and ease of use.

**Desertnate** · 08-10-2023, 11:40 AM

When I single-step polish our mid-size SUV it takes me around 12~14 hours to do all the washing/clay/polish/coating, but that is because I keep my vehicles in pretty good shape. I could do a mid-size coupe or a small car in about 10~12 hours most of the time. In both cases, I split it up across two days. I'll start one afternoon and work to a good stoping point and then finish the following morning.

The one time I had to two-step polish and SUV (a Porsche Cayenne), I think I had close to 24 hours on that job.

**TTQ B4U** · 08-10-2023, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by Henga

Okay so the setup for this question comes from my recent DIY of an SUV decontamination with a clay bar, then a compound/cut, then a finishing polish and then a ceramic coating. All in all it probably took me 16-20 hours of work to complete. There were a fair amount of scratches from machine brush washing.

I'm just wondering how long should a job like this take? Don't professional shops do all this in a day? I just don't understand how. At least for a medium/large SUV, there is so much surface area that it just seems impossible. I don't have a rotary, just an orbital so that would cut some time off surely, but still I don't see how you can get it done in a normal working day.

Am I missing something here? Am I just slow? Would a rotary halve the time it takes to complete the paint correction?

Depends on the SUV. Small, medium, large? I can bust through most medium sized ones in 6-7 hours. Keep in mind however, I do this a lot and have very specific products and equipment that I use.

Pics for attention:

**opie** · 08-10-2023, 02:03 PM

Originally Posted by TTQ B4U

Depends on the SUV. Small, medium, large? I can bust through most medium sized ones in 6-7 hours. Keep in mind however, I do this a lot and have very specific products and equipment that I use.

Pics for attention:

You use a fancy camera? You pictures always compliment your work with such crisp pictures

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