How old is too old to detail...

Hi guys

We just completed our move to new offices and showroom, and there is plenty of air-conditioned space to detail

So thought id use the opportunity to do a one step correction with 106FA, glaze and wax and split it over sat and sun. I washed the car, did all the pre-polish wash prep, clayed, dried, blew excess water out of panel gaps/window rubbers and taped up. By this time i was already getting quite knackered and i had spent about 3 hours already

I began polishing about midday, 106FA on the white LC CCS was doing a great job, but man it was taking alot out of me. Im using a snap-on seat on wheels for lower panels, but still im sitting here typing with sore shoulders and lower back

It took me about 6 hours to correct the car, and this includes switching back n forth bw 6" and 4" pads, cleaning pads out etc

Its the end of day 1 and i have the car fully corrected and ready for a glaze and wax

How do you pro's do it all day every day. I couldnt even fathom doing a multi-stage correction in a single day

I'm 28 years old and i think my correcting days are over. I started out having pro detailers correct my car, and i would maintain it with paint cleaners and waxes myself. I then started getting into correcting, enjoyed it at first seeing the results i could achieve myself, but its become a real chore and physical burden

Next correction im going back to a pro detailer to prep. Ill just paint clean and wax it myself

Would love to hear some feedback if anyone else is going through the same thing

 

I think it's just as it is with many physical exercises: if it's something you don't do often, it's going to hurt. I had to dig a trench not long ago, about 30 feet long and 20 inches deep in order to lay the wiring down for my detached garage. I was about 70% done and I had to give up, it killed me. The electricians sent in their "ditch digger" and that fool made it look like childs play.

Machine polishing can be awkward. Bending down, leaning over, stretching left and right, all abnormal movements for the body. Pros aren't any different from you, they're just used to it and so are their bodies and muscles.

 

Well I am not a pro this past August I did two, two step corrections, 105, 205, 845 LSP, on a Audi Allroad and a crew cab F150, with a torn ligament in my shoulder (probably not a good idea now that I think of it) and I am 34. Although truth be told I could only handle about 4 hours a day of that. The truck was easier than the car because of it being higher off the ground. Also I have a very physical job and that has kept me in decent shape. I am sure it is like anything else the more often you do it the easier the job gets.

 

in hindsight, maybe that big mac for lunch didnt provide the sustenance required

im looking forward to tomorrow, glazing and waxing is the fun part

im glad ive religiously adopted safe washing techniques through our winter, id hate to have to 2 step the car

 

It's definitely something that you have to get use to. If you don't do it often your going to get sore. I don't do paint correction enough to actually get my body use to it, so I get the sore shoulders and lower back as well. I make it a habit to take a break every hour or so and stretch. It really helps a lot. Especially when your working on those lower panels that are awkward.

If it's something you enjoy doing don't let that get in your way. It's just like exercise...the next day after a hard work out your going to be sore, but it's a good sore. I look at it the same way.

But if it's not for you it's not for you. I enjoy doing paint correction and have spent literally days in my garage doing it. It's tiring but after I'm done and I look at the car it makes it all worth it.

 

thanks for the replies guys

good to see im not alone

i think whats making it harder for me, i learnt to correct paint on my M3 convertible. The GTR in comparison has almost twice the panel surface area, and much fussier paint to finish down. And that's what im feeling

 

I'm 42 years old, somewhat of a gym rat and never seem to tire of detailing .......... ever.

Physical conditioning definitely has a lot to do with it, BUT to someone who loves this line of work and takes pride in their achievements along the way with each & every car .......... well, the "hurt" is that same "good hurt" that makes it all worth it.

The pain just becomes secondary and ultimately something that you get over rather quickly. You have to have a certain amount of passion to stay in this field and deal with the aches & pains.

 

I'm 39 and also a "gym rat" LOL I like that one. I am a 50 hour a week construction worker and my detailing business takes place at night and weekends.Nutrition, gym, Skoal mint keep me alive I think LOL.I can dig trenches all day long but sit me down in an office chair to do my bookwork for an hour and it feels like I got hit by a bus. I guess its all what your body is used to.

 

At 48, all the hard work in the gym in my 20's-30's is paying of now as I do get tired like anyone but mentally I can go more because I am used to it and love working on cars.For me when it is late in my shop and no one is around and I have the music I like on with a beautiful car to detail and make as nice as possible..........to me that is a pretty good deal.

 

Normally the fist car of the season gets me pretty sore. But it gets better with each succeeding car. Your muscles need time to recondition to the exercise. Ever taken a year or 2 (or 5 lol) from the gym, then start up again? That first workout is BRUTAL. everything hurts for like 2 days afterwards. But then you do it again, and again, and after awhile, there really isn't any more pain. Just fatigue. And the fatigue gives you that sense of accomplishment as well.

Well said.

 

I'm pretty passionate about it and I can go for hours. Sometimes I forget to eat and it seems like after all is said and done, then I feel hungry, tired, yada yada. I never feel the consequences during though.

 

I hear that. Almost feel like a zombie when someone comes out when you're 4-5 hours into the polishing zone and wants to talk to you.

 

I'm in the same boat. I'm 44 and have no problems detailing after doing it full time for the last 18 years. My right arm gets sore occasionally but other than that I'm fine. Its like anything. Once you've done it for awhile, your body gets used to it.

 

Nobody who does good work does a multi stage correction in a day.

 

^true words there. Although I have found that, for me, the compounding stage goes by the fastest. If I'm doing a multi stage correction, I take care of the wash/prep/compounding on the first day. Maybe take a pass or 2 with a refining combo to get the guesswork out of the way so I can hit the ground running the next morning. Of course, ymmv.

 

im 22 (23 next mth) but im exceptionally unfit thus after 6hr detail, i get sore back the next day. However during the process, its mental drive and forget about food and drink.
I need to get back to the gym, i've been gaining 10 pounds every year and i started at 180 5 years ago.

 

im 37.... and at the end of the day of climbing around inside a car, or laying on the ground i feel like I did when I was 21 at the police academy getting my ass beat down. LOL.

But I find with detailing the results are so worth the effort, I work slow and methodically and dont try to rush it, my friend is a pro and he is constantly at the chiropractor. I guess as doing this part time i have the luxury of not rushing.

 

<insert picture of phil's arm here>

but man i thought about joining the police force as a part time officer when i was still fit but i went screw it, I just had to pass some endurance tests to pass the screening.

 

It has gotten harder.......
And I was working out daily etc at that point in my life but it was still taxing...

 

Last year I took part in a light correction, mostly protection detail on a yacht. We had 3 guys working on it in the marina's indoor boat storage (the boat was getting winterized), and it was certainly a task. When we were finished, we ran in to a gentleman in his 60's, and started to small talk. Turns out he just performed a great correction and sealant on his yacht by himself with his buffer. His boat was huge, and he was a short, old man with very poor posture, and a huge hump in his back. Just watching him walk looked painful. I can't remember the hours he said he put into it, but it was a lot. It blew my mind that he did the whole thing himself, and after taking a look at his gel coat...it looked great. You could tell he was a very dedicated individual, and his boat was his life.