VV: I cannot give you a definitive reply but only opinions. I believe it is impossible to do a great job in less than 3.5 hours. A wholesale or low quality job can be done in 2 hours by some guys. Many pros take 6 or so hours to do a detail right.
You can speed things up by putting together an Interior Kit in a bucket or carry-all that can be taken with you into the car so you have everything you need at hand and don't get out of the car to fetch items.
Make sure your chemicals are pwerful or abrasive enough to do their jobs quickly.
The fastest way to wax is to apply a one-step prduct that can be wiped off right away. If you use a wax that must dry for ten minutes, Do something else during that time.
You may wish to get some hints from Rick Schmitt of Auto Magic. He has a good system and a book for sale.
There's a motto some guys have, TIO ( touch it once ), meaning to try to go over each surface as few times as possible.
You can do things in either an " area-specific" or a "task specific" manner. For example, you could apply interior dressing during the interior phase of the detail or else dress all applicable surfaces , both interior and exterior at the same time so you needn't reach for the dressing bottle again.
The principles of mass production tell us that the use of a standardized procedure with repetitious actions leads to greater speed.
You can apply a quick coat of Meguiar's #26 with a $1 sponge mop from a dollar store ( some are better than others ). The same tool is great for dressing Jeep and Avalanche cladding.
The quickest way to dress tires I've found is Meguiar's #40, put on with a big applicator with handle and simply left to dry ( no wiping ).
The carpets should be vacuumed thoroughly. If you do that, you may be able to do a quick once-over with the extractor. That way, you avoid soaking the carpets and upholstery and increasing drying time and effort.
Try to get your system simplified so you have a minimal number of chemicals to worry about: one water-based dressing perhaps...one one-step wax...
I hope at least some of this helps you to reduce your time spent .
Doug Delmont
" Optimism is a force multiplier "-Gen. Colin Powell
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 09/14/2006 05:37AM by Doug Delmont.