[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

Ok....

Brush my teeth after every meal - 5 mins
3 times a day - 15 mins
one week - 1.75 Hr
52 weeks - 91 hrs
10 years - 910 hrs
20 years - 1820 hrs

Daily Shower - 20 mins
one week - 2.33 hrs
52 weeks - 121 hrs
10 years - 1212 hrs
20 years - 2423 hrs

Average daily commute to work and back - 1.5 hrs
one week - 11 hrs
52 weeks - 572 hrs
10 years - 5720 hrs
20 years - 11440 hrs

In 20 years times... I will spend 3/4 less time in washing my car then commuting. Spend 19 % more time than taking a daily shower. Spend about 50% more time than to brush my teeth after every meal.

I fail to see how this is relevant.

LOL.So you comparing your teeth, shower and commute with your car? it Teeth, shower and commute has nothing to do with car wash
spending more than an hour for car wash is abnormal
may be you have lot of free time on your hand..........

Good luck

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by SHEEDI

LOL.So you comparing your teeth, shower and commute with your car? it Teeth, shower and commute has nothing to do with car wash
spending more than an hour for car wash is abnormal
may be you have lot of free time on your hand..........

Good luck

I don't want to get in to a philosophical discussion but I chose my 3 examples for a reason. All these were considered to be abnormal practices at one time in the history of man. Normalcy will change or evolve and it is heavily influence by society.

Normality is also define as expectedness as a consequence of being usual or regular or common. Let's be honest....Most subject matters being discuss in this forum would be deemed abnormal to 95% of the population. Forums like this give us a place to exchange new ideas that pertain to our one interest (which is our vehicles). All of us should remember this.. First and Foremost. When we project our view as the only correct view...we have violated the spirit of why we are here in the first place. This is all I have to say in regards to this.

Like I stated earlier, I tend to spend more time on a maintenance wash than a wash before a paint correction. Maybe I should have been more specific on what my process entails. Besides the body panels, I would scrub and dress the wheel wells. Go through all emblems and gutters with various brushes. I would also do the same with the door jams as well as all the vents on the nose. I do go over the car with a QD/sealant booster and I would dress all exterior trims. I have a bad case of OCD and my clients all seems to appreciate what I do.

Hey. Sheedi. No hard feelings. Yes.....my wife, at times,thinks that I have too much free time on my hands as well. No....I don't wash the car every week. I live in San Francisco and the hippie environmentalists will picket my house if I do.

[SHEEDI]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

I don't want to get in to a philosophical discussion but I chose my 3 examples for a reason. All these were considered to be abnormal practices at one time in the history of man. Normalcy will change or evolve and it is heavily influence by society.

Normality is also define as expectedness as a consequence of being usual or regular or common. Let's be honest....Most subject matters being discuss in this forum would be deemed abnormal to 95% of the population. Forums like this give us a place to exchange new ideas that pertain to our one interest (which is our vehicles). All of us should remember this.. First and Foremost. When we project our view as the only correct view...we have violated the spirit of why we are here in the first place. This is all I have to say in regards to this.

Like I stated earlier, I tend to spend more time on a maintenance wash than a wash before a paint correction. Maybe I should have been more specific on what my process entails. Besides the body panels, I would scrub and dress the wheel wells. Go through all emblems and gutters with various brushes. I would also do the same with the door jams as well as all the vents on the nose. I do go over the car with a QD/sealant booster and I would dress all exterior trims. I have a bad case of OCD and my clients all seems to appreciate what I do.

Hey. Sheedi. No hard feelings. Yes.....my wife, at times,thinks that I have too much free time on my hands as well. No....I don't wash the car every week. I live in San Francisco and the hippie environmentalists will picket my house if I do.

no hard feelings man, i was just trying to pull your leg,relax and enjoy your car and cleaning it

[smack]

It takes me roughly 2-3 hours as well to do a thorough wash down. Most of the time though I am doing either a waterless or rinseless wash and that helps cut down on the time involved.

[airhitman]

Takes me an hour doing the exterior and I do it twice a week. Im starting to hate the break dust on my rims. I love clean n sparkling rims. Maybe time to reconsider caliper covers. Maybe paint out those name tag on calipers so wont have the ricer look?
Amiright?!!!

[Elliott@DetailAddict]

- Dual bucket hand wash
- Clean wheels (inside and out) and tires
- Water pressure pre-rinse
- Foam gun soak
- Air pressure blow dry all crevices
- Dry door jambs
- Wash behind gas lid area
- Clean exhaust tips
- Clean windows inside and out
- Tire dressing
- Polish
- Wax

2.5 hours, but that's because I do this for a living and had a ton of practice. haha

In all honestly, it just takes time. The more you do it the faster you'd get.

[sylonien]

- wash engine bay
- dry engine bay
- clean wheels inside out with wheel cleaner
- snow foam
- gentle rinse
- 2 bucket hand wash
- dry everything, all the gaps
- clay bar
- spray wax
- dry wheels
- dry engine again
- polish exhaust tips
- dress tyres

I will consider this a basic wash. 4 hours ish. Every 2 weeks?

[Otruba_843]

Originally Posted by sylonien

- wash engine bay
- dry engine bay
- clean wheels inside out with wheel cleaner
- snow foam
- gentle rinse
- 2 bucket hand wash
- dry everything, all the gaps
- clay bar
- spray wax
- dry wheels
- dry engine again
- polish exhaust tips
- dress tyres

I will consider this a basic wash. 4 hours ish. Every 2 weeks?

Why on earth do you clean your engine bay every 2 weeks. Honestly thats just ridiculous, and thats coming from a hobbyist detailer. Claying every 2 weeks probably isn't the best idea either. Your probably doing more harm than good.

[sylonien]

Sorry forgot to add.
I don't do the engine and clay every single time - no time for that.
Every now and then.
Just said that cause thats' what I did yesterday.

But I will still wipe the engine though cause of the water and dust.

[Otruba_843]

Originally Posted by sylonien

Sorry forgot to add.
I don't do the engine and clay every single time - no time for that.
Every now and then.
Just said that cause thats' what I did yesterday.

But I will still wipe the engine though cause of the water and dust.

Yeah I do wipe the engine down with a rag occasionally. I couldn't even imagine claying a car every 2 weeks.

[sylonien]

Only occasionally.

But the thing is I drive my car day and night every day and the roof gets contaminated with water / tree crap.

It rains like every other minute here so it tends to dry a lot of crap on the roof which is difficult to remove until I use the clay. So I few quick cleans is necessarily sometimes.

[psnt1ol]

Originally Posted by sylonien

Only occasionally.

But the thing is I drive my car day and night every day and the roof gets contaminated with water / tree crap.

It rains like every other minute here so it tends to dry a lot of crap on the roof which is difficult to remove until I use the clay. So I few quick cleans is necessarily sometimes.

It sounds like you are a perfect candidate for a coating.

[sylonien]

Coating?

[Otruba_843]

Originally Posted by sylonien

Coating?

Opit-coat or CQuartz. Opti-coat is a permanent coating that will supposedly last a life time. CQuartz will last a few years. Both can only be removed my compounding.

[sylonien]

Wow - learnt something new today!
Thanks for that. I just checked out the CQuartz stuff.
Very interested.

http://cquartz.com/pages.php?page_id=71

is it difficult to apply?
Since its such a strong coating, will it will weird marks on it if not applied well?

[Otruba_843]

Originally Posted by sylonien

Wow - learnt something new today!
Thanks for that. I just checked out the CQuartz stuff.
Very interested.

http://cquartz.com/pages.php?page_id=71

is it difficult to apply?
Since its such a strong coating, will it will weird marks on it if not applied well?

Ask SHEEDI on here. He has used CQuartz on his car. I have never used a coating, but will be applying Opti-Coat 2.0 on my wheels in the future. I get detailers syndrome and like to try new products so coatings are not for me on my paint.

[psnt1ol]

The process is very straight forward. The work is in the prep. The vehicle should be almost flawless prior to applying the coating. You don't want to lock in any defects since the only way to remove the coating is through compounding.

After the surfaces has been polished, the surface must be clean (no oil, no dirt, etc). CarPro makes another product (Eraser) that is design for this step. Just as long you spread the coating even and thin, you will be fine. Most coatings will have a small window in which you could level all high spots.

Cquartz UK edition is the easiest to apply and besides....it had your weather in mind when it was in development (hence - UK edition).

I don't have a coating on my car because I also like to play with products way too much but I had applied numerous coatings for clients. I have yet to hear any negative feedback from anyone. CQuartz UK is silica based and it is glossy. The depth is pretty amazing as well. If durability is important ...Opti-coat and look no further.

[Zero_09]

This reminds me I need to clean my gas cap and engine bay. I usually never do that.
Just wondering how do you guys clean your engine bay?

[sensi09]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

A maintenance wash always seem to take longer for me. I don't want to do anything that would induce defects during the wash.

If I am on a client's vehicle with paint corrections to come, it will naturally be a different story. Much shorter time since I don't have to be as careful.... I will be buffing it out anyway.

Which parts go faster or are you not as careful with if you polish after?

[gewse2k]

Basic wash? Around 45-60 mins.

- pre-foam powerwash.
- snow foam + rinse
- 2 bucket wash by hand
- rinse
- dry off with waffle weave towel.

It's mostly sand from the rain on the car... and even then there's still beading.

Every 3-4 months, depending on the state of the sealant/wax I take about 3-4 hours for a thorough cleaning. (includes claybar, light abrasive compound or paint cleaner, sealant and wax, wheel wax).

[sylonien]

Originally Posted by psnt1ol

The process is very straight forward. The work is in the prep. The vehicle should be almost flawless prior to applying the coating. You don't want to lock in any defects since the only way to remove the coating is through compounding.

After the surfaces has been polished, the surface must be clean (no oil, no dirt, etc). CarPro makes another product (Eraser) that is design for this step. Just as long you spread the coating even and thin, you will be fine. Most coatings will have a small window in which you could level all high spots.

Cquartz UK edition is the easiest to apply and besides....it had your weather in mind when it was in development (hence - UK edition).

I don't have a coating on my car because I also like to play with products way too much but I had applied numerous coatings for clients. I have yet to hear any negative feedback from anyone. CQuartz UK is silica based and it is glossy. The depth is pretty amazing as well. If durability is important ...Opti-coat and look no further.

Never tried sealant before. But thanks to you guys i might try the cquartz cause its sounds like its easy, glossy and not too permanent so hopefully i won't make a hash out of it. And I don't mind if it just lasts a bit longer than normal wax. Sounds interesting. I will find some and try

Especially long road trips. Can't really wax when I'm on holiday

[Otruba_843]

Originally Posted by Zero_09

This reminds me I need to clean my gas cap and engine bay. I usually never do that.
Just wondering how do you guys clean your engine bay?

I use a boars hair lug-nut brush and a daytona speedmaster brush. I cover my alternator with 2 shopping bags then rinse it off first. Don't use direct or a strong stream of water. Next I spray Meguiars D103 All Purpose Cleaner + liberally all over the engine bay and let that sit for a minute or 2. After that I go to town with the brushes and rinse.