Losing the willpower

Route246 said:
I reserve Saturday mornings and I work very fast and expend a lot of energy detailing the cars. It is my aerobic exercise for the week because I'm occupied with work, family, etc. for all other times.

Detailing is my exercise, I work up a good sweat, get fairly winded and don't let up on the accelerator. Even something as mundane as cleaning and detailing the windows can be turned into decent aerobic exercise. Everything is organized and laid out on the cart and on a portable table I setup so I can bang out three cars in under 4 hours. Most of the time I use spray wax as my QD drying agent. Door jams, under the hood and every other part of the vehicle gets attention. The interiors are sometimes neglected if I'm running short on time.

Periodically I hit the paint with a DA, clay and paste wax, etc. Those are all done with precision and intensity, too. My upper body strength and flexibility is pretty decent for my age, too.
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This is what works for me too. My priority is more a workout than a clean car. I just don't see why if i'm going to spend the time exercising, I shouldn't have both.
 
i want a shiny car to bring my family out on weekends and also preserved as much energy so that i don't look worn out...
I use the lazy man's method
 
i think that its like therapy for many of us (too), but not the most important thing when you have to juggle with Family, work, and other responsibilities life throws out you. I haven't had much time lately to do anything detail related, but am looking forward to doing a full out detail on the van soon..
 
I only take the time to properly detail my "garage queen" but even then the car is stored for around 5 months out of the year and it never really gets dirty so all it needs is a quick wash every couple weeks. I could totally see how I would get sick of trying to stay on top of several cars. Detailing is a hobby for me and if I tried to treat my DD the same way it would stop being a hobby and start being a job. For that reason I purposely don't give a crap when it comes to my DD. For me it should be fun not laborious. I'd feel the same way if I were you.
 
You're not alone. I was into detailing our vehicles more when I had the extra time/energy. My wife's vehicle gets the most love because it's the most expensive.
My pick up and jeep (that I four wheel in) get detailed when it's convenient or I just need to do something different, which could be 6 months to a year in between.
You really don't need to do them both so often.Take a break and you'll find yourself coming back to it.
I didn't do any of our vehicles for a year + while we were building our house, and now kind of enjoy it once in awhile.


Don't be so hard on yourself and when you're motivated then do it.
 
I think it's completely normal. I am back after a nearly 2 year hiatus. I got to where I was doing 25 -30 cars a year and got totally burned out. Now I am back and passionate about it once again on a smaller scale.

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ducksfan said:
This is what works for me too. My priority is more a workout than a clean car. I just don't see why if i'm going to spend the time exercising, I shouldn't have both.
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Same here, work fast, get the heart rate up, finish sooner, have a clean car. It's a nice light work out and you get something out of the deal.
 
chet31 said:
Same here, work fast, get the heart rate up, finish sooner, have a clean car. It's a nice light work out and you get something out of the deal.
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Ditto.. it keeps this 65 year olds blood moving and makes me feel good looking at a clean car...
 
Everybody has the same amount of time in a day. People saying they don't have time for things like exercise or whatever is an excuse. We make time for things we really want to do
 
While I agree people can make time for things they want. Priorities can move up and down invisible ladders in different seasons in life.

Do what’s important to you now. If that means no personal car wash and mini detail then so be it. Most of these cars are just appliances anyways and not going to matter 2-5-10 years down the road when you have something new to drive with new shiny paint

If you want a clean shiny car. Nothing wrong with buying a monthly pass to the car wash either. I see cars daily that use a certain one in our area and honestly they look pretty darned good. Not perfect. But good.


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In 2002, I had a cute new girlfriend. That was when I stopped maintaining regularly, and started back up the summer after we split in 2007, which was 2008.

I had a ton of products from the 90's that I just threw in the dumpster.
 
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I think I might try a combination of everyone's suggestions and see how it goes. I do love a clean car, and right now they're both as gross on the interior as they are the exterior. Once I have a nice day where I can get them both cleaned up a bit, I might think differently. It's been a long winter that we haven't been able to break out of in northeast Indiana.
 
Yes, I get it. We have two black Infiniti's. And, you know what Mike Phillip's says, "Black isn't a color. It's a full time job." But, once I got them both spotless and sealed, maintenance washes are a breeze. ONR, Bucket, Grit Guard, Microfiber mitt, and Guzzler towels and I'm done in 30 minutes or less.
 
Y2KSVT said:
Thanks for the replies, everyone. I think I might try a combination of everyone's suggestions and see how it goes. I do love a clean car, and right now they're both as gross on the interior as they are the exterior. Once I have a nice day where I can get them both cleaned up a bit, I might think differently. It's been a long winter that we haven't been able to break out of in northeast Indiana.
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It's all good. Do what you want to do.... maybe you'll get another passion or renew an old one. The great thing is whatever you choose... you'll be right.
 
I totally get it. On days I go into work, I'm out the door by 6AM and don't return until 6 PM! Leaves little time for family, with no chance whatsoever of pampering a car.

Luckily I can work from home a few days per week, which allows me to go out during lunch or after I'm finished working. Still, it is hard at times trying to balance work, family life, car care, other hobbies, car/house maintenance, and whatever else tends to pop up.

Don't beat yourself up if you don't have time for you car. Actually, you should probably be thankful that there are other things in your life that are more important :)
 
I always use to wash my brand new Lexus RCF every week and give it a quick interior detail. Now, just because buisness of detailing got busy I have not touched the car for weeks. I have no time to detail my own cars but the fact that I have to drive my clients home sometimes gives me the will power to wash it tommorow lol! Need to set an example with my own car!
 
Maestro Sam said:
I always use to wash my brand new Lexus RCF every week and give it a quick interior detail. Now, just because buisness of detailing got busy I have not touched the car for weeks. I have no time to detail my own cars but the fact that I have to drive my clients home sometimes gives me the will power to wash it tommorow lol! Need to set an example with my own car!
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So true! If you roll up to detail my car in something that looks extremely dirty, I might send you packing ;)
 
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