Why don't you wash your own car?

I hate washing my car. my storage facility is better at it and does a great job.
But I love to detail, wax, and polish her.
The dirt is well, dirty!!!
vdm

 

To me it is boring and repetitive, and provides zero sense of satisfaction. I'll do oil changes all day, every day, swap engines, anything mechanical...but I do not wash any of my cars myself. I'm far too anal about it, and I would spend hours and still worry I'd missed a spot. And then it'll rain the next day and all my work will be for naught...

 

Much like yard work, the hired folks do a better job than I do, because frankly I don't care as much as I should about the small details. I drive my cars, they're usually dirty and dusty with grass on the floorboard. When they have to be shiny and pretty, I'd rather someone with a clay bar and OCD get after it, and I'll gladly write a check.

 

Tell us what is in your Arsenal in terms of products



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I wash my own. Always have. I enjoy the peace and quiet and find it therapeutic. Mostly, I'm too anal to let anyone else touch the car. In my experience, 99% of people don't know how to properly wash a car without damaging the paint, and the rest charge more than it's worth to me, especially since I enjoy it.

 

Mike

 

I also wash and wax all my own cars, to sum it up everything you just said I could not have said better ,I feel exactly the same way.

 

Ditto, except for the part about enjoying it. For me, detailing is hard, tedious work. But I hate having a car that isn't as perfect as I can make it.

I've been detailing my cars since I was 18 and bought my first car. That includes not only washing, waxing and sealing, but claying, compounding, polishing, wet sanding and cleansing.

My favorite products come mostly from Pinnacle, P21S, Meguiar's, Optimum, Sonus, Duragloss and The Rag Company (for most MF towels). I spend a fair amount of time reading and participating in the detailing forums at www.autopia.org to stay up on new products, and buy almost all of my products from www.autogeek.net

3 years ago I concours-prepped my '88 911 and it took just under 200 hours. I removed the bumpers, mirrors, side rockers, all exterior lighting and trim items. I did a partial engine drop in order to clean the engine bay. Removed the wheels and brake calipers and cleaned them off the car while detailing every inch of the wheel wells and suspension and brake components. What a job, and I swear I'll never go that far again. But I won second place at the Colorado Concours with 192 pts out of 200. The first place beat me by just 1.5 pts.

A word about washing, and putting swirls and fine scratches in your paint...most damage is done in the drying, not the washing. And, it isn't the products that cause or prevent swirls so much as the technique that you use. Most people wash and dry their cars by rubbing and scrubbing the same area over and over. When you do that, your wash mitt or drying towel picks up dirt and dust and scours the paint with it, causing the scratches and swirls. ONE swipe when washing is all you need, and all you should do. When drying, I prefer to use a leaf blower or detailing blower such as a Master Blaster to get rid of 95% of the water. What water remains after that gets blotted, not wiped. Nothing but high quality microfiber towels and foam polishing pads touch my car. The only time I allow my hands or fingers to touch the car is when opening/closing the doors or trunk lid. A single fingerprint anywhere on the car bothers me, and I fix it when I see it.

Here's a shot I just took of my main detailing products shelf. I have two shelves in a nearby closet dedicated to other products, and various detailing tools such as polishing pads and my Flex 3401 random orbital polisher.

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I have no issues whatsoever washing my Ferrari. That's the 2nd easiest part of ownership (the 1st being driving it).

 

As an aside, any car designer worth their colored markers and pencils, will tell you that washing a car by hand allows one to really discover a design and the surfaces/forms.
Nothing like passing your hands down a fender or quarter panel/bodyside to really appreciate a design.
Just sayin'

 

Just got my Ryobi pressure washer. Any recommendations on foam attachments? I use the multiple wash mitts approach but no foam yet.

 

Hello,

I really like the foam cannon (their deluxe one) that Griot’s Garage offers. Their foam products are outstanding! I also do all of my own detailing and washing. I love taking care of my 458!!!

Cheers!

 

Time

 

I get your point of view.

Me? I’m a driver. They’re just cars, very cool cars, but just cars. Once I’m done driving, somebody else can wash it. Guess that’s why I like black interiors. They are easier to keep “clean.”


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I wash and detail my cars, it’s my quiet time away from everyone


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I wash my own; why would I pay somebody to do something that I can do good enough?

They usually just get a wipe down with detailed; but if they are properly dirty they will get washed. Then I will tinker detailing in the evenings; beats watching tv!!!

As I do a fair amount of my own maintenance; it also gives me a good opportunity to go over the car and check things out!

Ive tried a foam cannon, and if anybody wants one, it’s yours for free, just collect it. It’s fine for light dust; but try living in the country next to a farm; it can’t touch proper mud or cow pooh!!!

Double bucket for me on all our cars; pressure washers are for patios only!

 

I love washing all our cars.
Waxing, not so much anymore. I used to hand wax the Fcar and others with Zymol, to much time now.
I just take them to the detailer for waxing, they can do it in half the time I could.

 

I love washing my cars as well. And for the past 6 months since we sold our house, we have been in temporary digs in a big apartment building and my cars are filthy. I’m going to put a dedicated wash bay in the new house so that I can properly spend time cleaning. I love the therapeutic aspect of it. Need to get out of this damn apartment building!