I had a bit of a lazy day at work & thought the car could do with a bit of TLC, so I washed/waxed the bodywork & cleaned the inside. I could feel the polish being eaten by the paintwork, but I was quite chuffed that the old girl (14 years old) was looking good again, got home & thought that just won’t do so I got the tar remover out & went over the paintwork with that, then I polished it again.
Now I’m thinking of getting a clay bar & borrowing a mop to give it a proper going over. I used to love cleaning my car & I used to do it everyday some 20 years ago, but I’m feeling the love all over again after years of being lazy & getting others to do it for me.

Anyone else still clean their own car & enjoy it?

I have just cleaned my new 10 plate Mondeo! 1st time I’ve ‘cleaned’ any car for about 5 years.
It’s nice so I aim to look after it.

The Eastern Europeans do i great inside and out job on mine for a tenner. There’s not a cat in hells chance that you would see me outside with a shammy…

Life is short and my time is just too important which makes me wonder why im sat on here right now! 😀

Yep, I love cleaning the car. I have never used a carwash. Love the therapeutic effect of hand washing followed by a sense of achievement after a wax or polish.

I don’t clean cars more than about once a year and then it`s a quick wash with a brush .Never waxed or polished a car in my life

I haven’t washed my van since I moved house. That was 18 months ago. Don’t you have a bike to ride?

I have never washed my car by hand. Last time I did that, I was a wee laddie trying to earn some pocket money.

£6 and the lads at the old petrol station will spray some unknown but strong chemicals over the car and it comes out shiny. twice a year I’ll give them £15 to do the interior too.

Spare time is far too precious to waste it cleaning a car which seems to live on the motorway getting filthy. There are bikes to ride, mountains to roam, seas to sail and other adventures to be had!

Pahhh,7 years never washed the outside of my van(inside is cleanish and tidy it is my office),manager complained but fell on deaf ears so he took it and washed it.So I went offroading in a quarry I was working to restore the patina. 🙂

Waxed mine last night and it was raining this morning when I left for work. I wasn’t too happy!

beaker – Member

Waxed mine last night and it was raining this morning when I left for work. I wasn’t too happy!

Surely that’s why you wax a car, protection from the elements?

Our car gets cleaned once a year for free, when it goes for its annual service.

Waxed mine last night and it was raining this morning when I left for work. I wasn’t too happy!

Surely that’s why you wax a car, protection from the elements?

If you were REALLY into washing your car you would be out taking photographs, then posting them on Detailing World for everyone to geek out on and admire the beading of the waterdrops on the freshly waxed surface…

It is quite a beautiful thing to be fair.

C’mon then?….show us your efforts so we can pass STW righteous judgement on your labour.

My car is as tall as I am so doing the roof might be a problem

I used to be a Valetor and hated it. I now enjoy cleaning the cars but I’m not over the top with it.

The Fiesta gets a quick hose and wash, vacuum and a bit of interior cleaner and it smells nice then.

The van got a polish last weekend as it had passed its MOT so thought I’d treat it. I used a clay glove from Halfords then polished it. Looks like it will be well easy to clean now.

I’ve been known to spend a whole weekend detailing my car!

Follow all the steps as recommended on Detailing World and have quite the collection of products to apply at each stage!

A pic or two:

Yes, it’s an Audi and I am a clean car geek, but otherwise fairly normal, well, apart from my love of getting hot, sweaty and muddy with mates in a forest while talking about 6 inches of travel!

I’m another ex valeter, I keep them reasonably clean but don’t go to too much for trouble.

If you were REALLY into washing your car you would be out taking photographs, then posting them on Detailing World for everyone to geek out on and admire the beading of the waterdrops on the freshly waxed surface…

It is quite a beautiful thing to be fair.

I think the moment has passed, it’s a black car & it’s dark outside, but I’ll give it a go if you want? 😉

Dunno about you lot, but when I spend tens of thousands of pounds on something I tend to look after it.

Mine is getting a decent clean, polish and wax tomorrow as it’s suffered a bit recently on the weekly drives to That There London. And I need to get the swirls out that the dealer put in it a couple of weeks ago despite being told not to clean it.

My car is cleaned everyday. I park it in my place at work, and the drivers clean it for me. I park it under a tree that sheds a l ot of leaves, so they feel that they should clean it for when I get out of work.

It is nice of them to do it, and I have told them not to, but they want to clean the bosses car. I do take care of them though as much as I can.

I wash my car to add more activity/exercise.

Been a month so definitely will get a wash this weekend unless the rain does it first.

Never used to bother with anything more than a quick blast with the Karcher.

Then I bought a shiney sparkly black painted car.

“Hello. My name is Seadog and I am a car polish addict”

No one should go to this website….. Polished Bliss

bencooper – Member
Our car gets cleaned once a year for free, when it goes for its annual service

Free? You do realise you are paying £100 an hour for someone to wash your car don’t you? It’s all built into the servicing cost.

Oh, I’m sure it’s built in – but the total service cost is reasonable and they don’t do dangerous stuff like Kwik Fit did.

Besides, it amuses me to park our old car next to all the big shiny Mercs 😉

bensales – Member
Dunno about you lot, but when I spend tens of thousands of pounds on something I tend to look after it.

Mistake #1; spending tens of thousands of pounds on a car.

Mistake #2; not realising that cars are designed to be left outdoors.

A neighbour has a couple of light aircraft, that I’m guessing cost a bit.
Haven’t seen him waxing them once.

People confuse polish with wax I hope. I would only polish a car once a year because it cuts the paint back. I wash my new one once every two weeks cos I made the mistake of buying a black metallic one, never again. Then I go over it with a detailing wax to get the water marks off comes up like new takes about an hour.It will get a black wax once every 6 months at most. That detailing wax spray is superb and really quick.

Mistake #1; spending tens of thousands of pounds on a car.
Mistake #2; not realising that cars are designed to be left outdoors.

#1 Smacks of jealousy
#2 So things designed for the outdoors shouldn’t be looked after and maintained? Strange attitude. Is your bike left covered in mud all the time? Probably is.

When I see the bloke in my road washing his car regularly, when it’s not dirty, I think “Weirdo”.

#1 Smacks of jealousy

Definitely not. Cars are tools.

#2 So things designed for the outdoors shouldn’t be looked after and maintained? Strange attitude. Is your bike left covered in mud all the time? Probably is.

I think four of my bikes are currently dirty. Actually no, make that five.

I just don’t get that people won’t/can’t be bothered to look after their stuff. My bike & car cost me a lot of my hard earned cash, so why not keep them clean and look after them. They still get used, but I was always brought up to look after my stuff as a kid….same nowadays.
Am I weird?

I just don’t get that people won’t/can’t be bothered to look after their stuff.

Each to their own mate. I do look after my stuff, my car gets regular oil changes etc, but cleaning? No. Personally I’d rather do something else, but whatever floats your boat. I imagine it can be quite zen if the weather is nice.

For the ex valetors out there I gave my bike the diamond brite treatment today. Looks and rides ridiculously good now.

Just finished giving the Mondeo a wash and glaze…….

Mmm reflections……

It’s raining now.