sde Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I took my car to a nice car wash this morning.. and I wondered how many DIY car wash purists we have around here. ( does this thread belong in site polls? if so, i dont think anyone would see it ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D-2.5-GT Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 i will always wash it myself, unless during the winter. I usually then try to stick with a no touch, or something where i can do it with the gun thingy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Yes, though I will take it to a touch free carwash during the winter. Rob IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JdanS Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Yes, Always. You really get to know a car when you wash it...and there is no-one else to blame for the kind of job that gets done when you do it yourself. Cheers, JdanS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
05LegacyGT330Ci Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I've never not done it myself except when I get it professionally detailed and it comes back looking better then new. '05 Black Legacy GT Wagon 5-spd '02 Topaz/Black 330Ci 5-spd Drift Ryder's School of Rally Arts, coming to an Australia near you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sde Posted November 19, 2004 Author Share Posted November 19, 2004 do you guys notice the water build up in the mirrors? everytime i drive away, water spills down my doors from the mirrors and i have to wipe it up later. even today i asked the guy to put the air on the mirrors so that won't happen, but it still did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 once a week, full wax twice a year (2 or 3 coats).. I clay my car about every month, polish/clean the paint every month or two.. wipe and vac the car down about every Friday. 52 car washes a year.. of which about 40 of them is at home.. the remaining is at the full self-service bays (they use warm water and less chance of me of busting a pipe from the cold weather at home if I use my hose at home).. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enlight Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 The weather is getting pretty cold now in NY, and I can't find the time (and weather) to get a coat of wax onto my car before the winter. Does anyone know how much a wax job will run me up? Or has anyone washed their car in weather like this? muFreight.co A JDM Container Sharing Service from Japan to NYC Website | Instagram | Email Bessie II's Thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunderkind Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I received a bunch of free car wash coupons by a new automobile detail shop that just opened. I might just use them this winter. hehehehe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtguy Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 Until it gets below 45 degrees. Then we have a most excellent hand wash place less than a half-mile from the house. Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carman493 Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 i wash and wax it just about every sunday, makes sense since i do own a mobile auto detailing company as well as other things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 [quote name='Enlight']The weather is getting pretty cold now in NY, and I can't find the time (and weather) to get a coat of wax onto my car before the winter. Does anyone know how much a wax job will run me up? Or has anyone washed their car in weather like this?[/QUOTE] Full detail car (8 hour job with 4 people working on the car) including handwax work in MD is $200 to $250.. a hand wash and hand wax should be around $50 to $80. Normally, I charge about $200 for a 6 hour full-detail job: Hand Wash Undercarriage high pressure spraydown Machine Non-orbital Paint Cleaning (orbitals ruin the paint with swirls and burns the clear coat) Hand Light Scratch Removal Machine Non-orbital Polish 2 Coats of Liquid Wax 1 Coat of Spray-on Wax for hard to reach areas Vaccuum Interior Vinyl/Rubber/Plastic Interior Wipedown ALL Glass Clean including Headlight Clean Steam Clean Carpet and Minor Stain Removal Claying will be another $150 for the whole car, and it would be close to a 9 hour job for me. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euclid Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I'm the only one that touches my car with cleaning products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I wash my cars myself every time with no exceptions. If you are a purist about your car's finish you would never let the monkeys at a carwash touch your car. If I was made of money, I'd have a professional detailer come and do it for me, but since I'm not, I'm more than happy to wash it myself. I usually wash once every other week. Between my girlfriend's car and mine, that means I'm usually busy washing a car on the weekend. Being in SoCal helps, as it's seldom too cold. I usually try to do a full detail on each car once every 3-4 months. That usually means claying, polishing and waxing. I do an interior detail about that often as well too, ie: clean and condition the leather, apply UV protectant to all plastic surfaces and shampoo the floor mats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 [quote name='Xenonk'] Machine Non-orbital Paint Cleaning (orbitals ruin the paint with swirls and burns the clear coat) Keefe[/QUOTE] I will have to respectfully disagree with machine polishers doing any harm whatsoever to the paint or clearcoat. The cheap $20 orbitals barely have enough power to do anything so they do no harm. The professional grade dual-action orbital buffers such as the Porter Cable 7424 (I think that the model number) are every bit as safe as hand polishing. Actually, the PC is very useful in REMOVING minor swirling and marring. The PC is practically idiot proof and highly effective. The other type of maching polisher is a rotary. It spins, but doesn't "jiggle" like and orbital. This type of polisher can be a very potent tool in the right hands. In the wrong hands it can easily generate enough heat and friction that if left in one spot will quickly burn through the clear coat. So in short, orbitals do not induce swirls, and unless used in a completely moronic fashion cannot burn the paint. Rotaries can more easily remove swirls and get you the most perfect finish possible in the right hands, but in the wrong hands can very easily mar or damage the finish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 [quote name='Boostjunkie']I wash my cars myself every time with no exceptions. If you are a purist about your car's finish you would never let the monkeys at a carwash touch your car. If I was made of money, I'd have a professional detailer come and do it for me[/QUOTE] If I were made of money, I would rather get my car repainted every time instead. But even if I had about a billion dollars, I rather do the work myself because I take in great pride of doing all the work myself.. even painting it as well.. never let a monkey mess with your car.. a lot of my friends are those kinds of workers at install shops and cleaning bays and such. Word of advice: If you bring a car with crap on/in it, they will treat it like crap. If you bring in a decent shape car that needs some care, they will take care of it for you as if it was their own. No one wants to work on a car where it smells like you just spilled a gallon of milk and let the car sit in the sun for 5 days ON top of driving it through a rally dirt/mud stage. If you keep your car in good order, the people who have to take care of it will be nice to your car. Especially if you are looking into getting someone to do your stereo installs or engine mods and such. Dealership porters are worse because they are usually young guys that can't afford fun cars and they will have some fun with your car if you are not around.. I only give the keys to my car if I trust them and that they have the money to cover the damages. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 what I meant was the single-action orbitals or Rotaries. I do have the PC that you are talking about which has a dual action orbit, or Non-orbital as I put it (wrong choice os words stated above) giving it a more random application. You'll be surprised of how many people use an pneumatic single action buffer on the car (like a speed of an angle grinder) with the wrong technique. HIGH rpms and a mid-torque motor can leave some hairline swirls (more damage than good) if the application pads are thin (backing plate might get in contact with the paint surface) and starts picking up some of the non-clayed bits from the paint. the Porter Cable 7424: [url]http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=2805[/url] while crazy inexperienced people try to use things like these to polish the paint: [url]http://www.porter-cable.com/index.asp?e=547&p=2807[/url] Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Hey Keefe. So I guess in the end we were actually talking about the same thing. I also own a PC 7424 and think that it is a great tool. I totally agree about if you treat your car well, and others can see that, they will also treat your car with respect as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Yea, same thing, I just chose the wrong words. Ever since I bought my PC 7424, I can apply about 2 to 3 coats and polishes more than doing 1 coat by hand.. I remember the days when I had to do it all by hand to clean my legend for a car show.. I spent 5 days on the car's exterior to make it as smooth and clean as possible, inside and out. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver72 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 8 out of 10 times I do it myself (which is about every other week) In between washings, before the car gets too dirty, I usually do a wipe down or two with a soft cloth and Meguire's Quick Detail, but only after a light mist of water is applied first. If I'm clean and in a hurry, I'll go to a Hand Wash place and let the "Monkeys" as you guys say, but what are really illegal Mexicans, wash my car. I keep an eye on them while they do it. In years past, before I owned a home with a garage and lived in apartments with subterrain parking, I would always go to the Hand Wash place. I've never gotten scratches, or anything from them. The only bad part is the "monkeys" always stink up my interior for a bit. I have to open the sunroof to let their B.O. out! But hey for $7 bucks plus tipping a buck (sorry I guess I'm cheap and feel they should be happy they have that job since they're living here illegally and not paying taxes on that money) it's nice not to have to get wet and dirty from time to time. And don't kid yourself, if I had the money, there's no way in H3LL I'd clean my car myself. I'd have a professional detailer come to do my dirty work. I only keep cars about 2 years or so anyway, so what do I care. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 why just 2 years? no car is fun enough or satisfying for you to keep? I take a lot of joy and pride in my car. It could be as crappy as a 88' honda civic dx for all I care.. it's all a good working car that needs care just like every other car out there. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boostjunkie Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Just to clarify guys, when I used the term "monkeys", there where absolutely no racial implications. I just used the term to represent unskilled laborers who really don't have a personal stake in what they are doing. You know, "a job so simple a trained monkey could do it". Of course, there is nothing that simple about serious detailing. Takes a lot of practice and attention for it to be truly done right. Anyways, not much to add here, and for you guys who don't have the time or inclination to wash your car yourself, it's not that big a deal. There are some decent car washes that won't likely harm your car, but being as anal as I am sometimes, I'll gladly chase that last nth of perfection that commercial car washes won't give you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver72 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Paul, I knew you weren't using racial implications. I just thought the terminology was funny and therefore used it myself. Oh, and sometimes I bring my car home from a Hand Wash place and go over it with detailer or liquid wax myself. This way they dealt with the dirty work, I just finish the job once the dirt is gone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agctr Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 Personally I would rather wash my own car, find it a lot more relaxing to do so and get plenty of enjoyment out of it. I have heard so many stories about guys getting rim rash from the tracks at the car wash its not funny and let be honest, when they are good, they do a great job but on their off days they are terrible. To wash my car at home takes a good 1.5 hrs for a good fast wash, and double that for a more detailed wash. Trust me, the fast wash comes up as good as showroom condition. Have had guys ask if I have used a paint protector over my original coat, ahh no, its called washing it and looking after your ride. Adam. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fan42025 Posted November 21, 2004 Share Posted November 21, 2004 [quote name='agctr']Have had guys ask if I have used a paint protector over my original coat, ahh no, its called washing it and looking after your ride. Adam.[/QUOTE] I have paint protection but still wash it often. I use a very mild solution and dirst just rolls off. I don't dry the car as it appears to dry well with little or no water marks. I'm hesitant at drying the car for fear of leaving scratch marks. Anyone with a similar concern? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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