For the Junkman.....
 

Seeking your knowledge, as to not be labeled "A Funk Faker" to use your eloquent words. lol
I am considered by all who know me fanatical about the cleanliness of my vehicle, and am also the type of person who refuses to pay someone to do anything I can do myself. Making a long story short, a new position at my work has me working 12-16 hours a day, and weekends are mostly reserved for the significant other, or the children, and grandchild, so on and so forth.
Herein lies my question... How critical is it to do my detailing steps in succession, in one sitting? Do you see a problem with me doing my clay, wash and cover for a day or so, uncover and do swirl removal, wash and cover, then back later to do polish, and later yet to do wax? Is this wise, or are there unforseen dangers in doing so?
Maybe someday I will get the time to drive her again.
Please don't suggest losing the old lady, I really like her, and she lets me do guy stuff whenever I want!!!:ughdance:
Speak to me, Oh great OZ

Are you driving the car daily? thats the most important question!

I am not. It is in a heated garage, and covered. It does not see daylight during the winter months. My garage is not, however a dust free environment. The car is Black cherry, and the paint is in better than showroom condition.

You can clay the entire car and bring it in for correction. Just use a quick detailer if it sits to long.

NO. No, no, no!

If it sits too long then it will need to be washed, period. That's not what a quick detailer should be used for, although every manufacturer will tell you to do so because they want to sell product. They have a dog in the fight that needs to make money, not your paint's best interest in mind. If they weren't trying to sell product, then they would tell you to grind week-old dirt across your paint with a cheap microfiber towel.

To the OP, YES you can work in stages. It takes me 3 weeks to a month to do an entire car. Do you think that I am working straight through during that whole time? Hell no, I only work when I'm felling it. Those sessions may last 1 hour or 18 straight hours but once I hit the wall, I walk out of the garage. I always know what I have done so far and where I have stopped. I've had people ask me how I remember what I have done. That question completely blows me away as I don't know how you can forget where you've stopped (after all, YOU'RE doing the work :confused:). But thanks to man's invention of the writing utensil, you can always make yourself a note. It's not rocket science, it's fixing paint.

Now there's one thing that should be happening here and if not, you are seriously doing something wrong. You should only have to do a major paint correction ONCE in the life of your car's paint and from that point on, NEVER have to do a major paint correction on it again. If you are doing a major paint correction more than once, your paint maintenance methods suck and really need to be re-evaluated. Stuff like using a quick detailer all the time and improper washing are the two main things done incorrectly that introduce swirls into your paint. Whenever you touch your paint, that's an opportunity to create paint damage so you want to make sure that you are touching it the proper way using a proper method.

Once your paint has been completely fix, maintenance is going to take A LOT LESS TIME. You will run into light scratches here and there (i.e. from some fat chick walking past your car with a kitchen sink for a purse), but those scratches should come of the car in a few buffing passes. So maintaining your paint after it is finally fixed won't take nearly as long as it did during the first fix. If so, you're doing something wrong. From how you are touching it to where you are parking, something would need to be addressed.

All of this should make sense because as you can see, I only preach common sense. I don't do rocket science and as you know from my videos, I definitely don't fake the funk. ;)

Thats the answer I was seeking. I haven't done any Major paint correction to date, but I do clay twice a year, and swirl removal when necessary (more frequently). I am waxing at least once a month during summer months, when the car is driven.....And break out the polish whenever the urge strikes me.
Thanks for the replies...