My Neighbors Think I'm NUTS!

[Cam]

I get the usual "You're gonna wax the paint right off there!" and "Hey, you can do mine next!"

But for me, the most embarassing part is when I have to get in & move my car to get dressing on that lowest part of the tire. I always check that nobody's watching...

[drag_slick]

I put the car back in the garage, then get that lowest part of the tire!!

[DSG Man]

I tell neighbors, as I tell my wife, its better that I spend my time here at home working on my car, than out at a gin mill with my buddies.

[Beercan31]

Well The wife thinks I'm nutz also But she's the one who comes home from the store and says "Look honey I've found some Meguiar's stuff can you use it?" ...just gota love her.......to expensive to get rid of her....ROTFLMAO

I tell my wife, its better that I spend my time here at home working on my car, than out at a gin mill (bar) with my buddies.

Yep used that one many times also

One of my neighbors walked by and I heard one of those sounds (tssh) of disgust but she was the same person who used the reflection to readjust her blouse...go figure!!!

When everybody around me don't understand why I keep my truck so clean and not a good word to say I think of an "OLD"Rick Nelson Song, Garden Party
But it's all right now,
I learned my lesson well.
You see, ya can't please everyone,
so ya got to please yourself

I may be taking it out of context
but it helps.

[Rick]

Don't worry, my neighbors probably think I'm worse. They've for the most part given up waundering over any more. For the past 3 days straight from around 3 till 7ish I've been working on the same car, same detail. Now wait till they see the final day in which I will remove each wheel, wash thoroughly each wheel and wheel well and wax the wheels front and back.


Well, at least I don't they can legally lock you up for such behavior... at least the neighborhood kids get a kick out of the car (it's a 04 350Z).

[zey]

People around me often laugh at me and wonder why I never let pipe water to air-dry on any part of the car. They just never understand the chemistry behind it...

[Rick]

Ok I take that back, the three neighbors that saw me doing my final touches to the above mentioned vehicle probably now think I'm absolutely insane. I got home from work that night and started the front to back wheel wash and wax with fender well detailing included at 10 oclock at night. Each wheel was removed, washed front and back and waxed front and back. Then the wheel wells were washed and I applied some 38. One wheel was particularly more nasty than the others so I ended up clay barring it. I finished right around 12:30 in the morning by the time I got the lights, hose and everything put away.

But boy they look good.

[Desertdawg]

Well, out here in Arizona, I don't think your nutz by working into the wee hours of the morning on this stuff. The daytime heat will kill you if your not careful.

[JG_Detailing]

I never waxed the wheel's well's of my car. I should try it.

[NVCobra]

The bottom line is that we all "spend time"(hours,days,weeks) doing something we enjoy. Some people like walking around the block 10 times, i like a clean car! We are all alittle qwazy, the only difference is the object of our qwazyness..

[Black Diamond]

Actually, this is a kind of therapy for me. Gets my mind off of things and focused on something I enjoy doing. It may be the feeling of gratification when one sees the final results of your labor.

[cheapthrills]

I'm a weekend washer, sometimes I'll even do my sisters brothers or friends car if there around. As I'm washing I give them tips, always use car wash soap, sheepskin mitt, separate rinse bucket, and never use anything on your paint that has come close to your wheels. I tell them, Hey if you plan on keeping the car, take a bit of time and try to keep wax on it. Not only does it protect and make the paint look better, it also makes washing a brease.


I notice my neighbors starting to get involved after see me out there all the time. I notice a neighbor up the street washing his little red hatch back Mercedes. I took a little walk over, and I was pretty impressed, he was using Gold Class, Sheepskin,Absorber, and large bucket. However talking to him I noticed he cleaned the wheels after the paint. I gave him some advice, and told him to now keep that as your wheel mitt and get a new one for your paint, and also to try and use a rinse bucket, to help remove dirt from the mitt before soaping it back up. He actually thanked me. I Think he has been spying on me, I have been using Gold Clash wash for years now.

Another guy down the street, comes out to wash his car, He doesn't speak very good English, I think he is Indian. He was using a rag and bucket of water. His car was Black, I didn't know what to say to him so he would understand me. I ran up the street and grabbed my car wash soap and mitt. I told him cleans better, cleans good, you can get them at the auto store. He understood me I think. But after walking away I noticed he had no hose, and was working in the sun.

[Bill D]

I dislike the Absorber, it's a piece of rubber you use to dry with, too much risk marring the paint. I heckle over the quality of ww towels now, got rid of my Absorbers long ago. Just my two cents.

[cheapthrills]

Bill D, I don't use the absorber myself, I use soft microfiber towels about 4 of them after using the pour method to rinse. The absorber is better then most local bought drying towels. The moral to the story is if someones spending time to wash their own car they could do much better with a few tips. Marring will happen anyways, as long as the cars are not waxed and polished often. I know the extreme wash method helps, but I don't think your average Joe will go to the extreme to wash. I don't go to far into details, But give simple advice that I know will help.

[cwcad]

i wish it were my neighbors who think i am nuts

am relatively new to the forum and the neighbor hood that i live in but as i was reading this thread i realized that my neighbors have not had enough time to see how crazy i am about my black chevy pickup. so i get nothing from the neighbors. it is my family....! my wife is always giving me the look...you love your pickup more than me. the daughter is just like her mother. my oldest son asked me oneday. 'DAD, why do you spend so much time working on your truck?" i aswered him truthfully," Son, when you have as much money invested in a vehicle as i do you will better understand why i keep this vehicle clean and shiny." the only one of the family that does not think i am crazy is my four year old. he is with me every time i do anything to the truck. he just loves playing in the water. he washes his door and works on the wheels. then one day he said something that made it all worth it to me. as he was washing his door he stops and says to me, "i love this truck almost as much as you , daddy."
out of the mouth of babes.