How many hours and how many pads does it take you to do a maintenance polish using a Porter Cable on Acura's soft paint ?

 

^that is super subjective.
One cannot tell you a time.

because we all are different.
with different schedules.
with different work ethics.
with different health problems.
with different experience.
with different time zones/weather.
with different paint conditions.


I can go on and on.


for what its worth, it took me 8-12 hours my first time.
after that first detail, doing a maintenance polish would be less.

 

Depends on your pads/polish and condition of paint .. Sat I clayed and polished my Civic and added Megs #21 in about 2 hours.. BUT even through the winter my car is properly washed and kept up so swirling was minimal.

 

To add to what the above posters said....

YOU NEVER EVEN TOLD US WHAT KIND OF CAR YOU WERE LOOKING TO POLISH!

MDX? TL? TSX? MDX will take considerably longer than a TL because there is more surface area in harder to reach areas.

 

What pads and what polish was used on the Civic ?

Do you prefer Megs # 21 over Four Star UPP ? I recall UPP was used on your WDP TL in the past.

 

Possibly my TL ...

 

The civic got Optimum Polish on a white pad for 90 % of it ... there were a couple places I used the polish on an orange pad to get out a couple scuffs.


#21 and UPP are to me 2 different worlds ..

#21 looks really great and has great life ..

UPP looks even better but doesn't last near as long .. the TL gets it for the looks and I take it to a few shows etc. The Civic is the daily driver but I still want it looking nice.

 

The other thing that comes into the "time it takes" is your experience and ability.


I do a lot of cars in a season ( May - Oct) and have the different products etc..


Where it takes the average person a good part of a Sat morning to wash and dry his car I do it in 40 min. An hour and a 1/2 if that includes vac and windows.


My son who is 40 and he had a lot of the right stuff .. takes him all of Sat morning ..


Also I am task driven so there is no coffee & smoke breaks ...


BTW .. I am 67

A full detail , wash , clay, polish , sealant , vac everything , windows takes me and my helper about 4 hours .. ( 8 total ) We do everything but engines.

 

my twice a year maint polish takes me about 2 hours, 2 pads....one white lc and one black lc....the while one for xmt 360 and the black one for 4 star upp....

 

Holy I had no idea you can legally retire already! Major props to you for continually detailing

8 total man hours for that much work is incredible. I need to work on honing my efficiency this summer.

 

Thank you.

because; every one is different.
there is no one answer to your question, OP.

there are a lot of variables to take into account on the time it takes to detail a car.

 

fark....guess am slow as a bish....

have done this 2 times:

wash
clay
vacuum
leatherique
painters tape
polish
wax
sealant
final touches

takes me freaking 18-20 hours

 

On a TL? probably between 8-9 hours. I'm sure I will spend a good 3 hours just on wash and clay.

 

Hell I been retired from my reg. job since Jan 2002 after 41 years in the work force ... never was without a job nor laid off.


Got to remember me and the girl that works for me have been at this for close to 7 years as a team so its like clockwork .. She has ADD and no one would hire her ... best detail helper in the area .. I have been at it since I was 16. Been through all the phases and fads...

 

It takes me a while too lol dont feel bad.

 

 

A single step polish takes me about 4-6 hours (maybe more) to get around my car. I will use 2 x 5.5" pads and 2 x 4" pads.

 

I also take roughly around 20 hours or more sometimes for a two stage polish with full detail: wash, clay, tape, polish, sealant, wax, finishing touches. I try not to waste time but with the surface area on the 02 TL it takes me a while. I know some of the vets on here do this for a living but I simply cannot fathom how they do everything so quickly.

I would say the average size sedan would require 3-4 pads and roughly a full day of work for a full detail depending on paint condition.

 

Do you do a diluted IPA wipedown after using the XMT 360 ?