Something that really grinds my gears is when i see a car on the road so excessively dirty that 80% of the **** would come off by taking five minutes to pull out a hose, turn the spout counter-clockwise to full blast, and put a thumb over the other end to create enough pressure to rid the car of what looks like a disease. Personally, I like to take pride in my ride. Even when I was driving my parents 01 Camry I kept it clean inside and out. On top of that bought excessively loud amps speakers and a nice receiver to mount in the dash. Your car says a lot about you and you should take care of it like it takes care of you. Now that being said, when I bought my miata, she wasn't exactly clean so within the past three months I've washed and waxed countless times, pulled the center console apart and cleaned every inch of it, changed the trans fluid out because it wreaked inside my car after letting it sit without driving for a day (seemed like an excellent sign to change), wirebrushed and painted the windshield wipers, and of course regularly change oil and filter. Taking care of her.
Which brings me to today. When i got the car, the front bumper was faded (still is..but with multiple coats of wax it looks much better), and more importantly the rear bumper had cracks in the paint along with some black substance that still eludes me. It looked like spots of tar but solid and hardened. Wasn't sure what to do about it until today my dad hands me a container of this

It's like using wet sandpaper but doesn't hurt the paint and you use microfibers. The results were rather impressive to me.
These are the only before pictures I have.

^This was actually from the advert i found on craigslist

and ^this one was when i was hanging out with the guy that got me hooked on these things. Now for results




So if I can spend two or three hours just to clean a bumper, riddle me why there so many vehicles with the ever-pleasant "clean me" scrawled on the rear window by hardly literate children.

 

and the actual final

 

This is why I don't like nice things.

Also: with 90s mazda red, you can use that rubbing compound maybe twice before you go through the paint. :P

 

I detail cars. I totally get it.

I had a heart attack seeing this:


So I did this:

 

Oof, having done that to my fathers Tundra engine bay, I know how much work you put into that.

A lot of people see their car as a machine to get from point A to point B. Most have no idea what happens to paint without proper car, or they just don't care at all.

Take my brother for example. His idea of washing cars is when it rains. How we share the same genes is beyond me.

Most people perk up to the idea of taking care of their car after I show them my Jetta with 75k miles and it looks brand new. Also when I tell them they can get close to 25% more money if not more in resale value just by detailing their car.

Yet I have come to the conclusion that I have too much time on my hands so I can care for my vehicles. Most have professions and when they come home, families, and so the last thing on their mind is washing the car.

During the winter I hardly ever wash my car besides a touchless car wash, it doesn't take much.

 

I used to be like you gayz when I was single. I literally washed my cars twice sometimes 3 times a week. They were cleaner than bran new dealership cars.
Then marriage and busy job I'm down to just keeping them super clean, not worshiping them religiously.
Now kid and I'm down to washing once 2-3 weeks and vacuuming/thorough cleaning same amount.

I guess priorities change, but even with no time on my hands I still find the time to do this crap, some people just don't care.

 

But really though Vlad, that is all it takes to take care of your car. 2-3 times a week is actually doing more damage than good at a certain point(depending on what products you are using).

I wash my Jetta maybe once a month. That is, a full wash, vacuum, and detail. Besides that I don't worry about it unless it rains or I take it offroad to go mountain biking.

People think I am going to constantly tear my Miata apart to keep it perfect but after I'm finished it will just get regular maintenance like any other car I've owned.

 

I havent washed my car in like 6 months. I got **** to do and I dont give a ****.

 

Why I Like Living In A Converted Former Firehouse Reason #216:

Floor Drains

 

My daily does not get washed in the winter unless its going to be over freezing for long enough for it to completely dry. So it went most of this winter without getting washed. But its ok, because RALLYCAAAAAAAAAAR is supposed to be dirty. Of course the wax was still good when I did wash it last weekend, still beaded right up. I have some touch up paint to do after an unfortunate bumper scrape on a parking garage wall... I'll be ordering a WRB spray can for that one.

What I dont understand are wiper condoms. What the heck are people trying to accomplish there?

 

I'm closer to the OCD mentality than to the other side, but I have to admit there's something liberating about driving around in a dirty, smelly Miata that I paid $1200 for.

 

I wouldn't let a can of shitty rubbing compound come near any car. Let alone claim to use it and suggest I had pride in my ride.

what I would use is something like this: Wolfgang Total Swirl Remover 3.0 - All new formula fuses Menzerna and Wolfgang abrasive technology! Works on ceramic clear coat, nano abrasive

because it can turn this poor baby of scratchy, swirly, unwaxed, water spot, bird turd sadness:







into this:







If you want to see the true condition of your paint, look at the reflection of the sun in it. You'll see into the swirliest spider web city you've ever witnessed.

 

Because some of us rather spend our time doing things that we enjoy, rather then cleaning. That is 2 or 3 hours you spent cleaning a single bumper that I could have spent wrenching on the car, or driving it, or a million other things that I find more productive.

All my cars look horribly dirty. They get washed if I happen to have a $20 on me on Wednesdays when the car wash people come to work. Other then that it is a once in a blue moon event to get me to wash cars.

 

I have lots of pride in all of my cars, none of which are "clean". Seriously though, why wash your car 100x when the paint looks like this:


Yes, that is peeling clearcoat. Unfortunately the car was repainted horribly at some point in its life before I acquired it, and that peeling clearcoat cannot be "buffed out". The car needs a respray plain and simple, but I'm not doing that until I have a permenant garage or at least covered parking.. or it will just happen again.

Also, try living down a mile of dirt road. ONE trip down that road makes a clean car dirty.

This is why my love for cars goes into the performance aspect for now, although i do want to paint my car and make it pretty one day.

 

Some people spend an hour in front of the mirror every morning. I get out of the shower, comb my hair back, slip on a clean t-shirt, yesterday's jeans, and **** you.

 

I'm the opposite. Cleaning it helps me forget I'm driving a cheap POS. When it looks dirty and nasty, I feel less inclined to spend money fixing it up.

Besides, washing the cars gives me an excuse to get outside for a few hours.

 

ROFL!

You get props.

 

Well, in your case you have quite a clean POS. I'd wash/detail mine all the time if the paint was any good. I ALWAYS wash my Buell before I ride it, because it looks so damn good clean.

Also, i don't need an excuse to go outside

 

Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't DARE put the stuff on something with any sort of clearcoat or any version of real paint. The rear bumper is...well I'm not positive how it's done but there are like solid 1/16 deep crack like things, but there's paint inside of those open cracks like a bad rattle can recoat. For waxing on the rest of the car (which honestly needs a paint job because of the chips here and there everywhere) and such I use Mothers. However I'll look in to getting a bottle of wolfgang if swirls start to get bad thanks for the suggestion.

...I've never been more jealous of a garage

Mind you I woke up this morning, took a five minute shower, halfway towel dried my mane and sorta parted it with my fingers, put on yesterdays jeans and a shirt i wore for half of yesterday, and then drove an hour to go weld in a small box at school.

 

I live in a low lying area that has a lot of dust in the air at all times and moisture in the air in the early morning. This means if I wash my car I wake up to it being dusty, this is especially notifiable on a dark green car. Can't wait to get my white NA out here.