Early on my dad could never afford a new car. He bought used and he took very good care of them. I remember helping him wash them as soon as I could walk. He waxed them at least twice a year with Simoniz or Dupont #7.

I learned from him and started taking care of the car once I was driving it. When I got my own car, I followed his lead.

I later on spent 21 years in the car business and had a well equipped garage with all sorts of cleaning materials and products at my disposal.

Last time I waxed my car, it really got to my shoulders. I now pay a guy to detail it twice a year. In between, I wash it on the drive in the Summer and take it to a car wash when too cold.

I sold a lot of cars to people who said "I want a car as clean as yours." I sold them one, but told them it was their responsibility to take care of it.

I'm somewhere in between and it's changed as I've gotten older. Because I was co-owner of a quick lube shop, I still do my own oil changes and transmission flush/fills. I used to be pretty anal about washing my cars myself, but now I get unlimited car washes at local centers that do a damn good job. After, I use their vacuums and rags to wipe down door jambs, inside and even engine compartment. Doesn't take long and doing it often enough makes it a breeze.

My problem is that the choice between "wash it" and "drive it" is a no-brainer.

The RAV gets run through the car wash when I can't stand it any more, and vacuumed on the same schedule.

Haven't had the truck long enough to have to wash it, but it'll get the same treatment. Might have to take the radio antenna off, it looks pretty vulnerable.

Between being plastic and a convertible, the Vette will get hand washed (has a couple of times already) and may even get detailed when I can force myself to part with it on a nice day.

You are either a "car guy" or you ain't. It's all good no matter where you fall. I've been a car guy all my life. I love everything about them. It wouldn't even occur to you to have someone else wash your car or change your oil.

I had a couple of show cars (59 Vette and 67 Pontiac Firebird 400 convertible) thru the 80's and 90's. Never missed a car show if I could help it. Sadly, those are both gone now.

The big problem is getting older. I'm 78 now and doing all the maintenance on my truck and the wife's new SUV is becoming more and more of a challenge. I'll probably farm out the maintenance on the wife's car but I can still do oil changes and tire rotations on my Colorado. There is a brushless car wash downtown and I do use that during the winter months.

Sucks getting old.

I had always kept my vehicles clean and detailed them regularly, especially the motorcycles, but now not quite so much. My truck that gets driven most is usually dirty, my car kinda clean and motorcycles get cleaned more often.

The reason for slacking off is I now have a gravel/dirt driveway that leads to a gravel road. When wet the tires fling dirty spray, when dry the dust is even worse. It becomes frustrating to clean a vehicle only to have it already dirty or dusty by the time it gets to the paved road. So what I've been doing mostly is just giving the car and truck a good spray with the hose and calling that good enough. Once in a while I get out the bucket with Wash and Shine in the water and go over with a soft long handled brush then sweep out the inside.

quote:

ridewv said:So what I've been doing mostly is just giving the car and truck a good spray with the hose and calling that good enough. Once in a while I get out the bucket with Wash and Shine in the water and go over with a soft long handled brush then sweep out the inside.

That's about as involved as I get. Did spend the morning checking fluids on all the vehicles, vacuuming out the car and washing the rubber floor mats. They were pretty crusty from Winter driving and hauling recyclable cans in the back.

This is a timely thread for me.
First of all, I have to note RIZZLE's comment on page 1. The time I spent washing /detailing our vehicles or working in the yard could have been better spent doing other things, like spending time with our 2 Boxers, especially the last 2 years.
On to the detailing. Always did it myself. took me days for each vehicle.
Now I'm 70 and just don't know if I have the ass to do it anymore. Wash, yes, although I will take my employer provided truck to the car wash occasionally.
But I just bought a new GMC 2500 HD Duramax on April 30.
I polished and Rain-x all the windows, inside and out. I just finished installing Front and rear Dash cam system.
I'm really wanting to get the truck Ceramic coated professionally but it hard letting go.
I just need to get in touch with the 3 guys I'm looking at and verify that they clay block it and polish it before doing the coating. Also, do they coat the black plastic like the bed rail covers, bed sidestep and fender flare bottoms?
All 3 guys want the truck for 2 days because it must be kept inside.
It's expensive but that's not an issue.
I guess I know what I'm going to do, just have to pull the trigger.

I just washed my truck this past weekend, the timing worked out as the winds died-down and the heat wasn't too crazy.
I'm pretty basic when in comes to wash/detail, I'll handt wash about 4x a year, will run it through a car wash when convenient and I'm feeling generous. I don't pig out my Tunra so, vacuuming usually is 2-3x a year and giving the surfaces a basic wipe down with 303 & Chemical Brothers. I used to scrub and detail the wheels/tires but, no longer. While I'm not overly detailed with this process, I think it's a good 2-3 hour investment to keep the second most expensive purchase in good shape.

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
I just need to get in touch with the 3 guys I'm looking at and verify that they clay block it and polish it before doing the coating. Also, do they coat the black plastic like the bed rail covers, bed sidestep and fender flare bottoms?
All 3 guys want the truck for 2 days because it must be kept inside.
It's expensive but that's not an issue.

What kind of costs are involved with getting a vehicle ceramic coated?

quote:

Originally posted by corsair:

What kind of costs are involved with getting a vehicle ceramic coated?

It depends:
The ceramic is not that expensive. It's the hours of paint correction where it will hit you. When I bought my last BMW, it took over half a day of paint correcting because the old lady let it sit outside for two years and put less than 4000 miles on it.

The ceramic coating I did on my alfa was less than $80 and took 40 mins. The prep time was over 6 hours. Then the cure time took a while too. Thankfully I left it in the garage at work .

The guy I'm leaning towards is $1,200 for a 2-year Ceramic coating. Considering the cost of the truck maybe not that bad.

We have a couple of decent stand-alone car washes around. I run mine through there fairly often... 10+ times a year. We have a lot of rain so that keeps me from doing it more. I typically keep the truck fairly clean on the inside but only vacuum it out a couple of times a year.

I would hand-wash more but driving big trucks (currently a Yukon) means it takes forever and many areas are a pain to reach.

I'm a step or two above indifferent.

I care just enough to hand wash my car using a foam cannon and mitt, and vacuum and wipe out the interior, about once a month.

But not enough to wax it beyond using a "wax while you dry" spray wax, or to clean it more frequently.

No real wax. No clay bar. No buffing. No ultra-anal detailing. No loving rubdowns with a cloth diaper thrice a week. Nothing fancy.

It's the intersection of "good enough" and "not that much effort".

Well, with my Dodge truck and old Honda, meh.

But my Acura? PPF protected, ceramic coated, washed every week, vacuumed same.

It is truly fun to do now, and I am in touch with my auto's finish.

It has paid off in dividends that I can't even begin to describe here....

quote:

Originally posted by BOATTRASH1:
The guy I'm leaning towards is $1,200 for a 2-year Ceramic coating. Considering the cost of the truck maybe not that bad.

Thanks for the perspective!