How much work can you do in an hour?

**The Skillmaster** · 02-12-2008, 02:09 AM

Hello everyone. I have been trying for awhile now to start a part time detailing business for some cash on the side while I'm in school. Unfortunately, I have not made much progress so I am starting to do car washes at a gym (that my friends and I used to get trained at) in order to get known. Right now, I can just barely get a car washed and vacuumed in one hour. How many cars can you guys get washed and vacuumed in one hour? How much work can you do on one car in one hour? I'm stuck with this time period because the training sessions are an hour long and I can’t expect the trainer’s clients to wait around. I know I will get faster with practice but does anyone have any tips? I'm also stuck with ONR at the moment but I'm looking into whether or not any neighboring businesses have a spigot that they will let me use (with the favor to be returned of course) so I can use a hose. Hopefully this will help lead to a fulfilling part time job detailing cars (instead of just washing them).

**Z06-Goose** · 02-12-2008, 03:28 AM

A quick wash and vacuum, I would think at least 3 cars an hour or an average of 20 minutes on each car including windows, wheels and tires which is what most people would want to have done in a basic car wash...
As far as the price, it depends. Anywhere from 20 to 35 bucks...don't know

**sparkie** · 02-12-2008, 05:43 AM

Hard to say, depends on the vehicle....On a full detail it takes me anywhere from 6 to 12 hours to do.....

**Jimmie** · 02-12-2008, 11:43 AM

Originally Posted by sparkie

Hard to say, depends on the vehicle....On a full detail it takes me anywhere from 6 to 12 hours to do.....

but I'm always closer to the 12 hr.

**tripperfx3** · 02-12-2008, 12:01 PM

That makes me feel not as bad. I've only just started and it takes me about 7 hours to do a full detail

. To the OP I can do a wash w/ vacuum in about 15 minutes. Also whats wrong with ONR? The reason I bought it was so that I could go to peoples places of business/homes and not have to rely on them having a faucet. If the car is really dirty you can just do a pre-rinse with a pump sprayer that you can pick up at home depot or wal-mart.

**The Skillmaster** · 02-13-2008, 03:00 AM

Thank you everyone for your responses. tripperfx3: I like ONR but I like to have a hose for the tires and wheel wells because I feel I can do a better job (a degreaser does a better job then ONR but needs to be rinsed off).

D · 02-13-2008, 01:02 PM

You shouldnt be racing to finish a detail.

**Deep Gloss Auto Salon** · 02-13-2008, 01:27 PM

Originally Posted by D&D Auto Detailing

You shouldnt be racing to finish a detail.

I think his sights are set on being a wash and wax operation & not detailing.. not that there is anything wrong with that

**mobiledr.detail313** · 02-13-2008, 01:28 PM

@skillmaster, i usually take about 30 minutes to wash a car and that includes: pre-saoking the rims,tires and wheel wells, then i vacumm next and after the vacumm i do all the inside windows,quick wipe down of the dash and consule add air freshner close the doors. next: wash car clean wheels tires rinse off, dry vehicle , wipe down rims and tires, apply tire dressing and dress wheel wells. this procedure should be no more than 35 minutes unless the car is extremly dirty in or out. hope this helps

**trlblazer3** · 02-13-2008, 01:57 PM

No matter how extensive a detail you are doing, the expectation of quality over quantity remains constant. If it takes you an hour to wash/vac a car then so be it, as long as you are producing an acceptable end product for your customer. After a while you'll become faster at it and can maybe shave it down to 20-30 minutes. But I agree with D&D; no matter what you are doing in the detail world it is imperative to do the best job possible and not rush things through. You will build a larger and more loyal customer base with quality results. Going too fast and missing the smaller details will only hurt down the road. Best of luck to you in your endeavor!