Why do you detail?

I got my first car senior year of high skool(4 1/2 - 5 years ago). Was a 1997 Ford Taurus that was given to me by mom. I got her car and she bought a new car.

The paint was crap. I wanted to get it painted and found my way to earl scheib and got a paint job for I think $299 or $399. The guy said it had an integrated clear coat!:rolleyes: If only I knew..

Anyways, it was my baby and it honestly didnt look that bad. It wasn't at all reflective, but it had a nice gloss to the blue. Cant forget the generous amounts of overspray and my blue exhaust pipe! I wanted to keep it looking nice and started messing around with the ancient car cleaning stuff that had been sitting in the garage for several years.

Some of it was from a meguiars kit my sister got for her car that she never really used. From what I remember, I had turtlewax liquid hard shell, meguiars spray wax(I JUST threw that away recently), meguairs natural shine, A2Z wheel and tire cleaner(that bottle was interesting, they had different coloring. I think the label was black with silver writing if I remember correctly), TW wet & black, TW P2001 polish, and a meguiars wheel brush. There were a few other items but I cannot remember them.

My car was bath/beach towel dried and buffed to!

Ahh memories. :xyxthumbs:

I totalled that car out in 2009 because it needed lots of repairs and the car wasn't worth much, only a few hundred bucks. I replaced it with my 2005 Nissan Altima 3.5SE! I was so excited to detail this car. I couldn't wait to wax a car with clear coat and make it shine. Up to that point, I still didnt know that much. Was still applying armor all to the interior with a sock and drying and buffing the car with bath/beach towels.

Wasn't till a little while later that I started looking for detailing websites and found autopia that I really started to learn. Bought my first pack of microfibers and the rest is history. :)
 
I find it relaxing and it gets me outside. I also find it satisfying to see the end result.
 
Why do I detail

1) love a clean car
2) Cars are expensive, why not take care of them mechanically and cosmetically
3) Therapy - Stress relief
4) compliments from family, friends, and complete strangers on the appearance of my vehicles
5) OCD?
 
Another one for stress release. After a week of classes and work, being able to take my time on something I love doing is a great feeling.
 
I detail my car, because I can't stand a dirty car. And I always love that SMILE :) I get when I drive my just detailed car down the highway!

For my customers, I love that they get the same exact look on their face too! :dblthumb2:
 
I started working for an auto detail company my senior year of high school in O7. From there I learned how to do production detailing and learned the basics of detailing. To tell you the truth I was not a big fan of detailing at this point.

It wasn’t until I was in college that I wanted another job and the only thing I really knew how to do was clean cars. I decided to start a business to pay for college and from there my passion began. I got many compliments and got to get my hands on many nice and rare vehicles. I am not going to lie about this too, but detailers pay is pretty nice and it is especially great when you are your own boss can work around your own schedule, especially when FINALS come about. I guess the fact that I had an insecure boss breathing down my back and buying cheap equipment all the time killed my passion for cars.

Now I love detailing and I have been getting good at buying tons of detailing supplies!!!! Although I don’t plan to detail as a career I am always going to detail my own cars and possibly keep my business on the side.

I don’t have kids yet but I will say ahead of time that I am not going to make them wash my cars!! That makes my future children really lucky lol. Until I can teach them the proper basics. :xyxthumbs:
 
I just love driving a clean car. I'm Kind of OCD when it comes to cleanliness and the car is no exception. I also like how a car looks when it's shiny... Been waxing since I was 10 years old so I guess it runs in my blood.

I've heard someone say "how a person takes care of their car reflects how they take care of themselves."
 
I've been a Car "Buff" since I was a young boy. My first car was a 1956 Chevy Belair and the most natural thing to do owning your first car was wash and wax it. Now keep in mind that I wasn't old enough to drive yet so all I could do is marvel at it's paint, chrome, and glass.

Detailing has always been a passion with me and I quickly realized that it was a great way to relieve stress. I also realized that keeping my vehicles spotless made them a pleasure to drive, they last longer, and their resale value was much greater at trade in time.

Type A personality also comes in here somewhere however I don't obsess over it..
 
I like working on my own rigs, that is doing all the mechanical rebuilding or replacing and then when all the hard wrenching is done it's time to make whatever it is shine. I find the wrenching portion of a project very relaxing, for example replacing a small block Chevy engine with a big block Chevy engine. After all the mechanicals are buttoned-up then cleaning and polishing inside and out just comes natural.

In my life, I've met so many people, generally guys but also women, that own something cool or special interest only the paint is messed-up. They don't know how to fix it, (polish paint correctly), and they don't trust anyone else to "touch" their car's paint. So their really cool fill-in-the-blank never has the finish it deserves.

When our paths cross, usually from a recommendation from someone else I've worked for, I get the opportunity to undo the damage and create the finish on the car the owner always wanted and hoped for and helping others get what they want in this fashion has always been very rewarding.


This last Saturday is an example. I borrowed Craig Danzig's 1966 Corvette Stingray for some video work and while the car looks awesome from 5' away, any "Detailer", like those of us that hang out on a forum like this, when we look at the paint we see the swirls and scratches but also see the potential the paint has to be improved.

Craig is a total Car Guy, but that don't mean he's a proficient detailer and as most of you reading this in order to be caught up on all the latest tools of the the trade you really have to be active on a detailing discussion forum and like many car owners, Craig doesn't have the time to hang out on a detailing discussion forum all day.

So I polished and waxed the paint on the Corvette for him and when he picked up the car late on Saturday you should have seen his smile. That's what's rewarding and satisfying about being able to "touch" paint correctly.


:)
 
I sit in an office all day and its great exercise. But since I bought my first car at 16 I have been detailing. I also enjoy it. But inevitably my car gets scratched, keyed, one car got literally hit by a huge truck tire on the hood when the car in front of me hit it. I get rock chips too. Its tough to want to work hard to keep nice things when it seems that everything around you is trying to destroy your property. Its a way that pschologically I can keep control of chaos. Just like the car commercial with that guy mayhem! Lol. Now I have two mercs that I worked real hard for and I want to keep them a long time and I love my cars. They are moving pieces of art to me.

Detailing, I know every curve and feature of the car. It helps you appreciate what you have, its fun, good exercise, good way to retain your cars value.
 
When my sister left for college, I got her car...a fire engine red 95 POS Ford Probe...but man did I love that car. I washed that car at least once a week, sometimes twice a week. I would regularly wax the car, but this was before I even know what a clay bar was. I was scared of machine polishers so I would do everything by hand. My neighbor would always come out and say..."you keep washing that car and there won't be any paint left" I always loved a shiny car...and felt proud because I did it myself.

I detail because it’s a passion...it’s also a huge stress reliever. Most of my friends are back in Columbus, OH, so I don’t get a guys night out. Sometimes I just gotta get away from my fiancé. I love her to death…but I just gotta get away sometimes. So as a substitute, I detail cars.

I never once thought of detailing for money, but after finding AG and AGO, I am, in fact, starting a side car detailing business. I don’t think I’d do it full time or own my own shop, but I know that if I were to ever lose my job (God forbid) I have something I can fall back on.
 
I detail cause stupid Tampa electric company won't give me any free electricity :(
 
I detail because:
1. Growing up my Dad had all sorts of Mopar muscle that he was always waxing.
2. I've got too much blood, sweat and tears invested in my own car to have it not look its best as often as possible. I was thisclose to showing up 30 minutes late to work today just because it rained yesterday and my car is dirty in the sun today, lol.
3. I make a little money on the side every few weeks detailing the car of someone who knows me and has seen my car.
4. It's my favorite way to relax and unwind short of taking a vacation somewhere tropical. The hours fly by too fast when I'm detailing.
 
For me, detailing is a paying hobby and a form of therapy... it beats seeing a pshrink.

Being a clean car fanatic is another reason...
 
I have alot of reasons. I work hard for the money to pay for my car so by detailing it its

like driving a new car all the time. It gives me instant gratification (something i don't get

at my job) . I have always taken good care of my things. Finally I (like most) find it

theraputic.
 
I have always loved to drive a clean shiny car. I would wash my car once a week when i lived in upstate NY, especialy in winter!!! When i got my second car it was in great condition. I managed to keep it looking as good as when i got it. It wasn't until i got my mustang gt that i really got into detailing. Now i literally get lost in my details. I can spend the whole day and not realize it. Thank god i have a forgiving wife somewhat....Now for me it is a de-stresser its all about< this panel looks good but can i make it look better?> This wheel is clean but can i make it shine more ?
 
A great stress reliever.
I not only feel way better about driving the car when it's clean but somehow it makes me feel better about things in general.
Always new and improved and different products to experiment with which I think adds to the fun.
I love cars and having a clean car just seems to make sense.
The learning curve never ends. At least not for me:laughing:
 
I grew up with a mechanic father who had his own shop with a body shop. I helped some in the body shop. One of my chores from age 12 on was to clean and wax the family vehicles. I like keeping my vehicles looking their best and it gets my mind off running a business. It also is fun experimenting with products- I feel like a mad scientist sometimes. My wife now calls me "Autogeek" when I'm tinkering with the cars.
 
I do a better job than many detailers and especially any of the local car washes or dealerships.

About 3 years ago, I was traveling all over the world every week. I just didn't have time to wash our cars and had an airport car wash service wash and wax my car. It looked like someone used a brillo pad.

My friend recently bought a used VW convertable and negotiated a repair of the rear bumper that was scuffed up. My son washed her car and I inspected the car. The idiots burned through the clear on the bumper with a rotary.

I hate scuffed shoes too.
 
1. Stress Relief (isn't this why our products are scented so nicely?)
2. OCD (I'm a USN Submariner, attention to detail is imbedded in me)
3. Being outside ( ...again, submariner... give me an excuse to breath fresh air)
4. My Dad ( my dad used to wax the hell out of his cars, it may be heriditary)
5. Excuse to have a beer (in between steps, I reward myself. But not too much)
6. Love of my car (you spent all the wrench time and money, why not show off?)
7. Car shows (I love having one of the nicest detailed cars out there)
8. Clean cars run better (as if the car is saying thank you for you spending the time)
I do this all for my own satisfaction. I am a hobbyist, though my nieghbors try to recruit me. Sadly they get disappointed when I tell they I would charge them $35 for a 2 bucket wash, wheel well cleaning, rim clean, tire dress, and spray wax. I am not Delta Sonic or Car Spa. Sorry... I pay way more attention to detail than those folks ever would. Yet, sadly they would never notice the difference between my detail and the $20 quicky. But to me it's okay.
 
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