Am I the only one who hates detailing?

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I absolutely LOVE washing/cleaning/detailing my cars. It`s a real sense of pride and ownership.

X2, nothing better for me to unwind during the weekend, the compliments are nice too on how good the car looks

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[asiancivicmaniac]

I love detailing, but I've gotten to the point where other things have either sapped all my time or made me so exhausted that I just would rather sit back and relax. And my car is a dd and it gets parked outside so it doesn't stay looking good for long anyways. And Florida isn't the kindest to people who want to spend hours outside in the sun.

In the (distant) future, I think I'll keep a garage queen and a beater just so my efforts don't go to waste.

 

[NYSteve]

I don't mind the detailing but farm out the wash and wax. In Chicago, we have serveral great places that will hand wash for around $10. This includes hand dry, wiping down door jams, and trunk area, and compressed air drying cracks and crevesses. I have another guy who does hand waxfor around $60 and will clay, wax, polish for a little bit more. Just not worth it for me as I'm not that great at the exterior stuff and saves me hours in effort, plus I don't have a garage.

 

[FZ1]

3 coats of wax Spring and Fall when it's still cool helps me. I try to,only,wash in hot weather.

 

[Errtt]

The more I do (3 vehicles + motorcycles) the more I hate it.
Considering checking into a local place that does from simple wash & dry, to hand waxing & different levels of detailing.
The summer heats makes matters worse.

 

[dishdude]

Originally Posted By: Malo83

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
I absolutely LOVE washing/cleaning/detailing my cars. It`s a real sense of pride and ownership.

X2, nothing better for me to unwind during the weekend, the compliments are nice too on how good the car looks

Uploaded with ImageShack.us


That's a beautiful Malibu. Very sharp!

 

[97tbird]

I do like detailing, but having a white car discourages me tremendously, as one can never really show it off, and doesn't have the chance to gaze at the deep reflections that a darker color crates...But i still force myself to take good cars of it...

I guess I can still enjoy the results of my wife's blue Mazda 6 ...

 

[bowlofturtle]

When I was the owner of my black maxima, i was washing every weekend and waxing every 3 months. My brother now owns the car and it NEVER gets washed but the paint still feels great on it.

Now with my grey infiniti, i've owned it for 4-5 years and only have washed it say 15 times. Only had on full detail after one bad winter. I'm with you, i've lost the drive to really wash/wax these cars. Plus IL has stupid stupid weather.

I do like cleaning the tan interior more because least if it rains no biggie.

But mechanical work, i would like to say all the cars are pretty solid and nothing big is required at the moment. I do enjoy wrenching on the cars a lot more then cleaning them.

 

[surfstar]

99.9% of the time I have something better to do, especially on the weekends!
On the occasion that I do it, it does look nice for a short while and I like that. But in general, I'd go nuts if I owned something new enough, that I actually cared about how it looked and keeping it in near new condition. Another reason I avoid the costly headache of a new vehicle.

 

[charbaby]

I still detail my own vehicles but, don't do it professionaly anymore as my body just can't keep up with it.

I do still love it! I'm at peace when I am cleaning a vehicle. I get lost in my work. 10 hours on one vehicle is nothing for me

 

[RTexasF]

I did it for a living and got tired of it. The satisfaction just wasn't there any more like in the past and the effort was mammoth so I retired from it. I completed my last car early this year. Working in South TX where it is summer for ten months of the year also cooled my enthusiasm as did age. This morning at 6AM it was 82º and 85% humidity.....our cars will remain dirty for a while longer as I have difficulty dealing with the energy sapping combination of temp and moisture.

 

[Scum_Frog]

It's me time when detailing the vehicles.

I generally do a major detail in spring and fall and try to maintain inbetween.
On the exterior, with todays products, it easier than ever to maintain.
The interior, with kids and a dog, it's a little more of a chore lol

 

[SLCraig]

I enjoy it... Just not when its gross and hot out.
I washed and cleaned up my car real good yesterday. I hate stuff dirty so I'm happy to do it.

 

[Malo83]

Originally Posted By: Char Baby
I still detail my own vehicles but, don't do it professionaly anymore as my body just can't keep up with it.

I do still love it! I'm at peace when I am cleaning a vehicle. I get lost in my work. 10 hours on one vehicle is nothing for me

Amen Brother!

 

[DAC17]

I have become comfortable with a 90% outcome, rather than 99%. Makes a world of difference in how you approach the job.

 

[dwcopple]

Originally Posted By: DAC17
I have become comfortable with a 90% outcome, rather than 99%. Makes a world of difference in how you approach the job.
+1

 

[jimbrewer]

I kind of wonder about the family dynamic when you feel obligated to not only wax and even wax family member's car, but detail it as well. Oh, well. Not my business. In my area Its illegal to wash your car more than once a month. I get along just fine.

One word of advice: Automate. Get a DA polisher and use it. It will save you a ton of time, especially if you get comfortable with the 90 percent solution. If you are taking care of three cars, and adopting a conservative three waxes per year schedule, that's still nine hours or even 18 hours you save with the good DA polisher (about an hour per coat).

 

[nicholas]

Try Carpro Hydro2 - Seriously easy and amazing results!!!

 

[RamFan]

Originally Posted By: jimbrewer
I kind of wonder about the family dynamic when you feel obligated to not only wax and even wax family member's car, but detail it as well. Oh, well. Not my business. In my area Its illegal to wash your car more than once a month. I get along just fine.

One word of advice: Automate. Get a DA polisher and use it. It will save you a ton of time, especially if you get comfortable with the 90 percent solution. If you are taking care of three cars, and adopting a conservative three waxes per year schedule, that's still nine hours or even 18 hours you save with the good DA polisher (about an hour per coat).


Family dynamic? I enjoy having clean things and taking care of items that costs 10s of thousands of dollars. I'd rather not spend hours a week in a filthy vehicle.

 

[mcrn]

i really like the Ford!