Efficient detailing order

[Craig_K]

Couldn't find a thread dedicated to this topic. This could lead to some very useful info for beginners such as myself.

What is your order in which you detail a car? Right from the very first thing you do right down to when you hand the keys back to the owner. Wheels and tires before the interior? Interior before paint correction? etc. List the order of your activities and why you think it is the most time efficient method.

This will help newbies and veterans both with improving their efficiency. Time is money!

Thanks guys

[FinishingTouchA]

Engine Bay, Wheels&Tires, Pressure wash door jambs & gas door, wash paint, spray tire shine, dry glass & mirrors, dry paint, dry wheels, dry door jambs, air purge interior, vacuum, tornador plastics, extract carpets, wipe down any overspray, clean windows inside, clay towel paint, AIO paint, clean exterior windows & trim. This is a typical "selling your car" detail. Its the most common in my market and takes 4-8 hours at $50 an hour.

[Craig_K]

Thanks for the reply. I wish my area could support $50/hr lol

[dcjredline]

There are lots of threads about this topic. I have only been around for 3 ish years and remember seeing at least 4 or 5 threads discussing this.

[Kengo123]

Air purge interior/dry brush/vacuum
Pretreat door jambs with degreaser/close doors
Rinse car/rinse door jambs
Pretreat bugs/wash car/dry car/wipe door jambs
Pretreat wheels tires, wheels, wheelwells/ agitate/ rinse / dry
Shine tires/ shine trim with meguiars/stoner aerosol dressing
Pretreat carpet/agitate/ extract
Clean leather seats or pretreat/ agitate/extract cloth seats
Clean plastic with apc-dressing mixture
Spot clean headliner
Clean inside glass
Wax paint
Clean outside glass

Insert clay after washing car
Insert polishing/paint correction before wax

[FinishingTouchA]

Thanks for the reply. I wish my area could support $50/hr lol

I didn't think mine would support it either. It's funny, though, once you start quoting jobs at an estimated 40-50 an hour you weed out the people you don't even want to work for and you get a whole new customer base of people who are glad to pay good money for quality work. When people stop by for a quote and it's too much for them I secretly celebrate that I didn't have to deal with a customer looking to get everything for nothing. And once you work for 40-50 an hour you ask yourself why you ever put in 40-80 hours a week and pocketing 3-5 an hour after cost of supplies and taxes. You have to figure in business management time, cost of supplies, cost of upgrading/replacing tools, and taxes into your hourly rate or you will get burnt out quick.

[lawrenceSA]

Blow out interior
Initial vacuum
Wash under the hood so any dirt falls onto the engine bay
Wash the engine bay so that any dirt splashing onto the car will get taken care of during the wash
Clean fender wells
Clean tires
Clean wheels
Tar removal on wheels
Iron removal on wheels
Clean door jambs
Wash exhaust tip
Wash car
Tar removal on paint
Iron removal on paint
Clay car and wheels
Correct paint
Apply LSP to wheels and paint
Dress tires
While LSP is setting up clean window rubbers and dress
Clean glass
Wipe LSP off
Clean interior and final vacuum

[Billy Baldone]

1. Chill 12 pack of frosty beverage
2. What the other guys said

[kdubski]

1) WHEEL CLEANER on dry wheels, agitate, rinse.
2)Foam canon the car, WASH, rinse.
3)Foam Canon sections, CLAY, rinse.
4) APC door jambs, agitate, rinse.
5)Don't waste time drying the car if you are buffing right after.
6)Buff
7)Wax/Sealant + Windows (exterior)
8)Interior (windows)
9)Dressing

[parttimer]

Pull up on 2x10 boards to keep the tire from touching. Clean wheel, barrels and wells, visit door jamb between each corner. Pre treat bugs/tar before last tire/wheel. Wash, clay/nanoskin, rinse and dry. Start interior, work interior section by section. Vac carpets, treat spots and while waiting clean doors/dash and seats if leather. Scrub carpet and vac, wipe door jambs and move to next section. Hopefully your tires are dry, treat tires. Perform exterior services, clean windows, done.