Is it even possible?

So a few days ago, I had seen a detail thread of a guy using PC detailing an Impreza. I won't say where I found this from because I do not want to offend that person. However, he did say used at least SIP. And... finished the job in 4.5 hours. Now, I can't even use SIP and a sufficient finishing polish on hard paint with my rotary in 4.5 hours. A full detail though? NO WAY!

 

What is defined as "the job"? 4.5 hours is definitely do-able depending on what services were performed and AFAIK, I haven't experienced any Subie's that have hard clears.

 

What were the before and afters like? That would make a big difference.

 

Using SIP on a small(er) four-door vehicle, then sealing and waxing it in 4.5 hours?

Sure.

 

You can depending on the conditon of the paint, and the level of gloss you want to achieve. I only use rotaries and it can be done in that time frame. You have to work your ass of though

 

Subaru's are pretty famous for soft clears. DetailAddict on this forum works with them almost exclusively, and he's told me that the paint is soft all over!

the before and afters aren't great. in fact, I am pretty sure he skipped out on a finishing polish. From his 50/50 pictures, I seriously doubt that he could have given the car back without using a finishing polish first. However, the car was white. My photography nut friend also alerted me that if you expose white long enough under the right lighting, the imperfections will go away on their own.

Impreza is a mid size sedan. But 4.5 hours is seriously possible?

It's hard to tell from pictures on a white car, so I can't judge.

It's just bugging the hell out of me that he is can get it done so quickly with an machine that takes longer than mine!

 

i have finished down SIP on light color cars just fine. it was for a one step polish job, and the owner was aware that the gloss wouldnt be as perfect as it could be.

 

I understand what point your trying to make. To wash dry clay rewash etc and to polish and finish so fast one can only expect sub par work. I've seen your work and read your posts and rest assured I'm sure his definition of at detail is nothing compared to yours

 

Way to go Choopy...That is the answer...I agree with you...Somebody needs to relax...:thumb:

 

Another thing to consider would be skill level, although with a PC, it doesn't really come into play. On a rotary, the more skill or experience makes the work alot faster

 

Even if all he did was wash, polish and wax the Impreza, he wouldn't have been able to work the SIP long enough with a PC to get any kind of correction happening. Brighten the paintwork? Sure. Paintwork correction, not a chance. Like choopy said, not everyone has the same standards so just concern yourself with your standards and forget about it. I know its frustrating when you see someone not doing it properly, it drives me nuts as well, but thats life.

 

4hrs huh...I don't know, I consider my self slow when it comes to detailing, i enjoy taking my time. Any who to put it in perspective, it takes me at least 4hrs to wash the vehicle, wash the engine bay, wash the rims, apply Tardis on the lower panels, clay the vehicle, take paint gauge measurements and tape up the vehicle...but like I said that's just me.

As to polishing the vehicle in that time frame..um..I'm sure it can be done but I don't know if I would call that a paint correction...more like a one step process...to be honest it depends on the conditions of the vehicle :shrug:...I'm sure it can be done.

 

Let's put it this way, I wouldn't be comfortable doing a 4.5 hour job unless it was a full detail, which to me is just a fairly basic cleanup of the interior and exterior of the vehicle without paint correction. I know, I name my packages weird. My website explains it all, rofl.

 

Thats how long it takes me as well. Oh my god, am I that slow? LOL I wouldn't say your slow, I'd say that is the appropriate amount of time to do it right!

 

I agree, it takes me about the same amount of time for the above plus door jambs. 4 hours my ass.

 

Thanks for the reassurance everyone. I knew I wasn't alone when it came to here! It takes me four hours to do all the prep work before polishing too. I consider myself really slow when it comes to polishing too. When I just had a Meguiar's backing plate and 5.5 inch pads, a one step would really take me well over 10 hours of work for a complete job.

What also bugged me about his detail is that he was getting a ton of attention whereas my multistep polishes got about half as many responses! It drives me nuts!

 

Don't worry about the attention, just worry about your clients.

 

Well, I'll through my 2 cents in too. I saw somthing in a paper not long ago about a "detailer" in the Vancouver area. (i'm sure nobody on here) who claimed he could do a "full detail" and make cars look "better than new" in about 5 hours. It really pissed me off but then I decided I shouldn't let it bother me. It was actually my neighbour that showed me the article because I've done his Jeep (he knows how long that took) and I've been trying to teach him some of the things I've learned. He even thought it was a ridiculous claim.
I don't usually talk about times because I think I spend a lot more time on a vehicle than many and I work my ass off. But realistically I don't see how someone can do much more than a wash, dry, clay (inc windows) in much under 4 hours. Wheels take me 2+ hours but I remove them and clean both sides and seal them before putting them bake on and torquing them to spec.
I say take what time it takes you to do the vehicle the way that satisfies your need for doing the best job that you can do and are comfortable with. There will always be claims of speed doing this type of work. It probably wouldn't meet your standards so why worry.
Cheers, G

 

Oh wow and all this time I thought I was slow, sounds like we have something in comon boys :chest:

I feel much better now, no really all this time I considered my self to be extremely slow when it comes to detailing but I don't like to rush things.

Regarding a single step getting more attention vs a multiple step...to be honest all comes to presentation. I mean take Clark from Polished Bliss or Marc from the UK as an example (there are many more, just using them as an example) these two guys do an incredable job on there write ups, so incredable that they inspire others, they make other detailers want to go detail a vehicle as soon as they are done reading there write up.....well what I'm saying is that presentation is key, sure you can spend 30 man hours detailing a vehicle but proper documentation is great.

I know that some of my friends want me to detail there vehicles just so they can get the spot light on them and there vehicle, my friends enjoy reading the write ups I do and the amount of pictures I take and videos.

Well now don't go crasy and start neglecting your paint correction process for pictures, no that's not waht I'm saying I'm just saying if you can spend some time making your write ups look just as good as the vehicle you just finished detailing. But remember, I detail as a hoby, if I did this full time I don't think I would have time to document everything like I currently doo..but then again I'm sure I could with the proper process, just my :2cents:

 

These speed detailers... they're just :applause:

I know what you mean! I try hard for a good write up, and it usually comes out pretty well for me. I don't cut any corners when detailing too, so I can be confident in my work.

Thank you all for the reassurance! This stuff won't bother me anymore.