Am I abnormal? How long to wash and polish your car?
Discussion
M22s said:
Until my little girl was about 2, I cleaned it every weekend which took about 3 hours, waxed once per month which was another 2 hours. Then every quarter did a 2 day detail/clean.
Now she is a bit older, it hasn’t been washed for *takes a deep breath* 18months.
I don't really bother any more either. It's something that seems important under some circumstances. It's not that I couldn't make the time now although something else would have to give, and it's not that the children render it a waste of time. It's more that I came to realise it was something I did whilst it seemed important but I never actually enjoyed it - and now I'd rather do other things with my limited time. Cleaning cars no longer seems good use of time and I don't actually care any more either.Now she is a bit older, it hasn’t been washed for *takes a deep breath* 18months.
Keepersball said:
So I may well be heading for a divorce due to my OCD in cleaning my car!! My process is hoover inside, clean and polish interior, rinse exterior, snow foam, rinse, shampoo, dry, polish, wax, treat tyres, take many many photos haha
This is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
I only polish & wax it maybe twice a year.This is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
Regular wash take an hour and a bit once every two or three weeks.
Wash/detail/polish both cars once a year and do enjoy a proper dedicated slot to do them, but the cars are left for months not washed, I clean the inside more often.
Can't be bothered these days to do it any more frequently, got enough things to be wanting to spend my free time doing.
Can't be bothered these days to do it any more frequently, got enough things to be wanting to spend my free time doing.
It says a lot that people list things like pre-wash, foam, clay bar etc etc but only one has mentioned a fluid check and no one uses the time to get underneath to look for damage, component play, fluid leaks etc... I’m assuming these are mostly modern cars that make home servicing a bit harder?
pablo said:
It says a lot that people list things like pre-wash, foam, clay bar etc etc but only one has mentioned a fluid check and no one uses the time to get underneath to look for damage, component play, fluid leaks etc... I’m assuming these are mostly modern cars that make home servicing a bit harder?
I do. The only rusty bit on mine is the jacking points.
Why do all cars have the main jacking points on the sill seam, which then gets mullered with a trolley jack or lift.
pablo said:
It says a lot that people list things like pre-wash, foam, clay bar etc etc but only one has mentioned a fluid check and no one uses the time to get underneath to look for damage, component play, fluid leaks etc... I’m assuming these are mostly modern cars that make home servicing a bit harder?
Thread is about cleaning?AJB88 said:
I dont understand these people that polish/wax every time they clean. Surely polishing and wax/ceramic needs to be once/twice a year then maintenance washes in between.
They won't be prepping the paint correctly i.e won't be polishing it rather they will be wiping something like super resin polish across the paint work and then applying a wax that doesn't bond to the paint hence they feel they need to do it every 2 weeks.You shouldn't have to polish and wax your car more than once every 6 months if you've done it properly, in between it should just be a wash and dry
pablo said:
It says a lot that people list things like pre-wash, foam, clay bar etc etc but only one has mentioned a fluid check and no one uses the time to get underneath to look for damage, component play, fluid leaks etc... I’m assuming these are mostly modern cars that make home servicing a bit harder?
It’s a thread about cleaning cars, why would you expect folk to talk about servicing? I used to spend hours and hours cleaning my car when I was young, but as I got older and had kids I came to the conclusion I'd prefer a clean car to a perfect car.
So hose, one bucket (shock horror) a woollen mitt, Henry hover and a microfiber drying cloth.
I can do two cars inside and out in about an hour
, some times less, I treat it as exercise and often I'm left out of breath with sweat running down my back when finished, but I get into a "zone" and quite enjoy it.
I'd say it's 95% as good as I used to do and means my cars are cleaned every week/fortnight rather than once a year!
To be fair I do take it once a year to get professionally done, so never have to spend any time de-taring or polishing.
So hose, one bucket (shock horror) a woollen mitt, Henry hover and a microfiber drying cloth.
I can do two cars inside and out in about an hour
, some times less, I treat it as exercise and often I'm left out of breath with sweat running down my back when finished, but I get into a "zone" and quite enjoy it.I'd say it's 95% as good as I used to do and means my cars are cleaned every week/fortnight rather than once a year!
To be fair I do take it once a year to get professionally done, so never have to spend any time de-taring or polishing.
The difference in some cases is that some people actually enjoy it (true OCD related?) and find it either essential or indeed therapeutic to get their car (whether its a 107 or a DB7) to an immaculate "eat your dinner off it" condition. In which case, i think for those folk, the other halves are possibly a bit more understanding and those hours just roll by....in fact, I know a couple of lads for which this is the case, and its almost as if they can't stop......(little brushes in wheel arches, removing engine components to clean firewalls, trim treatment inside the petrol cap etc).
I'm certainly not in that camp but I like my cars to look fairly presentable.....I'll do a 1hr wash / dry on each car, possibly twice a month....although once a year i'll give them a little more attention, usually spring time, with a polish and a wax as others do. I can't bring myself to do much more, particular as both cars have kids, dogs and holiday duties to do.
I have only recently discovered spray on waxes (I know very late to the party), which I tried for the first time on the weekend (Megs Ceramic Wax) and I was able to get an absolutely sparkling / glossy finish in around 10 mins once the car was dry. Happy days - almost feels like a massive cheat....
I'm certainly not in that camp but I like my cars to look fairly presentable.....I'll do a 1hr wash / dry on each car, possibly twice a month....although once a year i'll give them a little more attention, usually spring time, with a polish and a wax as others do. I can't bring myself to do much more, particular as both cars have kids, dogs and holiday duties to do.
I have only recently discovered spray on waxes (I know very late to the party), which I tried for the first time on the weekend (Megs Ceramic Wax) and I was able to get an absolutely sparkling / glossy finish in around 10 mins once the car was dry. Happy days - almost feels like a massive cheat....
I think it's normal if you want to do a fairy decent job. Takes me about 3hrs but I find that the prep time....getting the jet wash out and connecting the hoses, power cable, wash buckets and filling with water, etc, etc, that impacts on the time than the actual wash itself.
Therefore due to other life commitments, I don't wash the cars as often as I would like to but I find that a good spray wax at the end of each wash helps to keep the car looking clean for longer between washes.
I've also found that keeping the windows clean between washes also does a good trick of making the car look cleaner than it is..... .this I recently discovered when we had a strange dusty wind from the Sahara this summer over a couple of days and all cars were covered in dust in the South East.
Didn't have time to wash the car at the time but cleaned all the dust off the windows with window cleaner and was mightily impressed by how cleaner the car looked. 5 mins of applying tyre gel between washes has that same effect.
Used to go to the gym 2-3 times a week and spend a couple of hours each time but don't have the time for that anymore so I can justify spending 3 hrs on car washes every so often, 3 - 4 weeks in my case which in itself is exercise.
It easy to spend that same amount of time seated daily watching tv and not even realise one's inactivity and its impact, so it's all about perspective!
Therefore due to other life commitments, I don't wash the cars as often as I would like to but I find that a good spray wax at the end of each wash helps to keep the car looking clean for longer between washes.
I've also found that keeping the windows clean between washes also does a good trick of making the car look cleaner than it is..... .this I recently discovered when we had a strange dusty wind from the Sahara this summer over a couple of days and all cars were covered in dust in the South East.
Didn't have time to wash the car at the time but cleaned all the dust off the windows with window cleaner and was mightily impressed by how cleaner the car looked. 5 mins of applying tyre gel between washes has that same effect.
Used to go to the gym 2-3 times a week and spend a couple of hours each time but don't have the time for that anymore so I can justify spending 3 hrs on car washes every so often, 3 - 4 weeks in my case which in itself is exercise.
It easy to spend that same amount of time seated daily watching tv and not even realise one's inactivity and its impact, so it's all about perspective!
Once a fortnight for the daily driver which takes about an hour, but only around two, or three times a year for the Seven, as that does not get used in bad weather so often. But it does require some preparation, including removing the spare wheel, noes cone etc to do a proper job , and it cannot be done with a hose, or lots of water etc, as I never have the hood on when it is being washed.
Keepersball said:
So I may well be heading for a divorce due to my OCD in cleaning my car!! My process is hoover inside, clean and polish interior, rinse exterior, snow foam, rinse, shampoo, dry, polish, wax, treat tyres, take many many photos haha
This is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
To do the full job takes me all day, and is usually a once every three or four month job. It'll be: rinse, wheels, snow foam, rinse, wash, rinse, bug and tar remover, iron oxidant remover, rinse, clay, wash, rinse, dry, polish, wax, glass, trim, tyres, inside hoover, inside clean and polish, inside glass, inside paintwork clean and polish, stand back and admire the results and watch a seagull sThis is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
t on it.Although yesterday I managed rinse, wheels, snow foam, rinse, wash, rinse, dry, polish, glass, trim and tyres in two and a bit hours. Car looks peachy and will do for at least a week or two. As for excuses, she's glad I'm out the house and even more glad when I give her car's exterior a good once over every couple of months!
Keepersball said:
So I may well be heading for a divorce due to my OCD in cleaning my car!! My process is hoover inside, clean and polish interior, rinse exterior, snow foam, rinse, shampoo, dry, polish, wax, treat tyres, take many many photos haha
This is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
Sounds fairly reasonable to me, with two notable exceptions:This is usually a 3 hour process twice a month
How long do you spend and what excuses do you give the other half? Hahah
(1) You do the interior first? What sort of madness is this? Outside first. Always.
(2) You take loads of photos. I'm guessing you're either young and desperate for followers on Instabook or some sort of hipster douchebag? Actually, no, you must be young as if you were a hipster douchebag then I suppose you wouldn't own a car and would take Ubers everywhere.
About 3 hours,couple of times a month,if swmbo is feeling generous,also get the “you love that car more than me!”,etc. Well,duh,course I do. I actually find it relaxing,I’d do it more often if I were able to. Some may find that sad,but each to their own,wait til you’ve gone down the Polish Angel rabbit hole,and see if you can get back out 🤣
Gassing Station | Bodywork & Detailing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff